The Hospital

Epilogue

The Priest looked at Rocky's dead body on the floor of the hospital room. He had been a good servant, useful to their cause, but his death was not a big loss, as was Doctor Geer's. The Righteous knew what they needed to know. They had the recipe of a powerful serum, capable of creating all kinds of visions and make them look believable, even to people who did not believe in religion at all. The real plan could soon be set into motion. But the Priest was angry. He had come to the hospital to see how exactly the situation had gone wrong, with police not reacting the way he had expected them to, and a young girl finding out about him in messages on Geer's computer. When he had arrived, he had noticed the traitors in the police had been wanting to find out the truth and had given an antidote to the patients. The Priest had found three of the patients and killed them, suffocating them with the pillows they had been resting their heads on, but the fourth one had been nowhere to be found, as was the young blonde girl who seemed to know way too much about the Righteous. He slammed the door of the chamber, leaving Rocky behind him. The organisation had to take the next step, which meant completely isolating the city from the outside world, so no more information would leak in nor out. And, paradoxically, they would be forced to send people out of town, to send them after the young girl and the surviving patient before they talked too much. These were the two immediate priorities of the Righteous, actions that would have to be taken very rapidly to ensure the survival of their masterplan.

Before leaving the room, the Priest searched Rocky's pockets for anything valuable, any information about the organisation he did not want anyone else to see. He found a gun, which he took, and a small notebook. He quickly went through it, but it contained nothing of interest, just Rocky's thoughts on depression and how to overcome it. He noticed that the name of the Righteous as well as his own were mentioned a couple of times in the diary. The priest made a mental note to burn it as soon as he got home.

Then, he took a deep breath. The past was not to be changed. He had to look into the future. The future he was going to shape according to his ideals. As he pushed the heavy doors of the hospital, he felt unstoppable. He was going to carry out his plan, he knew it. This time, no one would dare stand in his way.

He did not look back at the hospital as he dropped his cigarette, the oil he had carefully spilt inside of the building instantly catching fire. Everything lit up behind him, giving him the ever satisfying feeling that his soul was being cleansed from all sins. In this precise moment, even the screams of the nurses who had stayed in the hospital sounded like a choir of angels.

'Burn the past to light up the future', the Priest thought to himself, his mouth forming a devilish smile.