A sneak peek into a supernatural thriller
The emotional impact of a sneak peek
“I’m so sorry I couldn’t come earlier.” Luke apologized and
bent down to kiss her forehead.
“What happened?” Lauren managed to whisper, trying hard to
hide the dreadful feeling her premonition triggered. The raw emotion was more
painful than her physical injuries.
“A client called. He was arrested and I was with him trying
to figure out his defense.” He sighed, sitting down on the bed facing Lauren.
“Nothing for you to be worried about, though. How are you feeling?”
“Everything hurts, but I’ll be okay. More importantly, the
baby is fine.” She baited him for an answer she didn’t get the day before.
“Yes, I’m so glad there’s no lasting damage. I spoke to the
doctor on my way out last night, and she assured me of your full recovery.”
Lauren noticed the lack of emotions in his eyes when she
mentioned the baby. It made her wonder if her husband even cared. Luke smiled,
but it didn’t quite reach his eyes, which made Lauren even more suspicious.
She tried hard to hush the bitter feeling. “I don’t
understand why the person who broke into the office beat me so brutally. I
don’t even know if it was a man or a woman. Without saying a single word just
knocked me unconscious as if wanting to kill me. The detective said the person
might have been looking for drugs, but nothing is missing.”
“Maybe someone disturbed him, and he got away,” Luke
speculated.
“But if someone else was there too, why didn’t they call for
help? I was on the floor, bleeding until Marcia found me.”
“I don’t know, darling, and we may never find out,” Luke
announced reaching for his phone, which was ringing in his pocket. He looked at
the screen. “It’s the office. I must take this call.” He looked at his wife for
approval.
“Sure, no problem.” Lauren nodded and reached for the orange
juice on her table to take a sip. She listened to Luke talking to someone in a
hushed voice. “Do you have to go?” She asked when Luke ended the call.
“Unfortunately, yes. There’s another crisis at the office.”
He scratched his chin nervously. “I’ll stay if you want. To Hell with the
office and clients, you’re more important.”
“No, there’s not much you can do here but sit with me. The
nurses keep an eye on me, and things could be a lot worse. I’m alive, and I’ll recover
in time.”
Nodding, Luke glanced at his phone. “It’s ten o’clock, I
hope I can be back in the afternoon to stay with you.”
“Sounds good. Go get your work done. We both know what
you’re like if you’ve got something still to do.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure. Go.”
Lauren felt exhausted, every part of her body and mind cried
for rest and sleep. Luke won’t be back for a while; I must rest and think.
She rang for Tammy and with her help, she got to her bed. Tucked in and feeling
relatively comfortable, she closed her eyes and sunk into a dreamless sleep.
Her phone woke her an hour later. “I’ll be in later than I
thought.” She heard Kathy’s voice. “The police put a seal on the office door, I
can’t get in to pick up the candles and book. We don’t really need the book
because we know the spell, but I don’t have all the herbs and candles we need.
I’ll have to stop at the magic shop in Brooklyn, so it will take a while.”
“Don’t worry. Be careful. The traffic is brutal this time of day.” Lauren mumbled.
On the verge of falling asleep but too tired to open her
eyes, she felt the nurse checking her vitals and then walking over to the IV
pole changing the IV bag. Later she heard Marcia’s muffled voice talking to the
nurse outside the door, and then she tiptoed into the room and sat down on the
chair beside her bed.
Lauren recognized the tune of her phone, but before she
contemplated opening her eyes, Marcia answered it on the first ring. “She’s
asleep,” She whispered. “No, she’s fine. She needs as much rest as she could
get. When are you going to get here?” She was quiet for a few seconds and said
before disconnecting the call, “I have to go home but I’ll try to come back
later.”
Lauren was oblivious
to the world for a few hours when a loud noise woke her. Her eyes popped open
and saw the Raven on the windowsill. The black bird stared at her with its
black pearl eyes and made a loud “kraa”. Not again! Please, what do
you want now? She begged silently, a dreadful feeling flooding her.
Suddenly, Luke’s sinister, sneering face swam into her mind
as a powerful vision, his eyes glowing with anger and hate. Behind him lurked
in a haze, a longhaired figure. Lauren strained to make out the features of the
blurry figure, but the vision disappeared within seconds. Lauren had no way of
being certain if she was dreaming, or if it was a premonition her grandmother
warned her about to pay close attention to. Eyes closed yet wide awake and her
nerves on edge, she tried to make sense of her terrifying vision.
A nurse entered her room. Lauren watched her through half-closed
eyes, uncertain why that specific nurse gave her a bad feeling. Nurses came and
went all the time, but there was something telling her to be wary—most likely
her strong intuition. With a syringe in her gloved hand, the nurse made her way
over to Lauren’s bed, grabbed the IV tube and injected something into it. Lauren
watched her eyes open just enough to see under the protection of her eyelashes.
A nurse would never inject anything into the line before wiping it with
alcohol. She’s not a nurse. Thoughts were popping in her mind sending her nerves
on edge. If she finds out that I’m awake, who knows what she would do before
I can call for help. I can’t defend myself, not with broken ribs.
With eyes still half-closed, Lauren slowly reached over to
her left arm under the blanket where the IV needle was taped to her hand,
trying to make her movements seem as natural as she could. Ever so slowly she
pulled the tape off and pulled the IV needle out and pinched the tubing, not
wanting whatever had just been injected into the IV to go into her body or to
drip on the bed. Fortunately, the possibly pretend nurse didn’t
seem to notice.
After a few seconds of a heart-pounding wait, the nurse
walked away, not checking to make sure the IV was still attached. I wish I
could see her face. She moved her head slowly and managed to look at the
woman’s back before she reached the door. Lauren observed the surgical cap on
her head and the ribbon of her mask tied over it. I’ve never seen a nurse
without a stethoscope and she’s wearing low heel pumps. Nurses wear sneakers or
clogs. Now I’m sure she came
to kill me! Lauren screamed in her mind and took a deep breath to calm
herself. Thanks to her messenger, she knew she had to be suspicious of
everything and everyone. She heard the door open and sighed in relief when she
saw Marcia walking in.
“What’s wrong?” Marcia asked and rushed to her bed.
“Thank God! I’m so glad you’re here!” Lauren cried out. “I
have to get out of here, now!” She tried to sit up but the sharp pain in her
side made her fall back to the pillow.
“Wait! Let me help you. What do you mean you have to get out
of here? You’re in no condition to go anywhere!”
“I have to. I have a strong feeling that someone is trying
to have me killed and it might be Luke.”
“What? Why?” Marcia cried out.
“I just had a premonition and I have a strong feeling that
it’s Luke.”
“Luke? I never trusted the guy, but to kill you? A
premonition? What did you see? Tell me! You’re scaring me.”
“I don’t know for
sure but… he’s been distant and cold. He’s changed since… I don’t… we’ve been
married for so long. I don’t know what’s really happening and why. I just know
I’m in danger and I must get out of here and away from him. A woman dressed as
a nurse had injected something into my IV line just now. I’m unsure and
confused. I’m scared! I must get away.”
“Should we call security or the police?”
“And tell them what? What could they do to protect me based on
my suspicion and feeling without any proof? If I’d tell them about my vision, they’d
most likely admit me to the psych ward. No, I must leave and go to a safe
place. You can help me.”
“You might be right. I’ll do anything, but how are we going
to get you out of here?”
“Find Tammy. I trust her. She’ll help us. I’m still not
convinced it’s Luke, but premonitions never lied to me before. All I know is
that I’m not safe here and there’s only one place Luke doesn’t know about. Now
I’m glad I never told him about the summerhouse I inherited from Grandma. It’s
not too far from here, about a two-hour drive up to the Catskill mountains.”
“Right, I’ll go find Tammy!” Marcia turned and hurried out
the door.
Kathy! She didn’t call. Lauren grabbed her phone and
dialed. After a few rings, the call went to voicemail. Lauren didn’t bother
leaving a message, disconnected and sent her a text. Kathy, where are you?
Are you okay?
Marcia came back trailed by Tammy. Lauren told her
everything she knew.
Tammy looked at her wide-eyed, terrified. “You’re right.
You’re in danger here! I’ll do anything I can.”
Lauren remembered. “I closed the IV line to save what she’d
injected in it. Would you put it into an evidence bag and about half an hour
after we leave, call this detective.” She handed the card to Tammy. “I want to
know what she injected into the tube.”
Tammy sprang into action right away. “Of course, I’ll do as
you asked. To get you out of here is easy. I’ll get a wheelchair and when
you’re ready, I’ll create a little commotion on the other end of the hall and Marcia
can push you to the elevator.”
Marcia agreed. “Great! My car is in the ER parking lot.
Nobody will pay attention to us if I wear scrubs and Lauren changes her
clothes.”
