THE WATCHMAN

The Sting of Death

Lord Murillo cut a desperate figure as he came down from the plane. Ricardo Pereira followed closely behind. As they walked towards the SUV you could see that Lord Murillo was still furious from the latest information here just received.

"Sir please may I ask why we are here? Ricardo Pereira nervously asked.

"We have come to right a wrong!" Lord Murillo smartly replied as he entered the car.

Ricardo was confused about the answer but dared not prod further so as not to further offend the Baron

"There is only one person I know who can deal with this properly for me. He is someone I have been using for a very long time. I decided for him to lay low but now I have to call for his skill sets". The Baron said to Ricardo

"And who might that be?" Ricardo Pereira asked.

"When we get there you will see him". Lord Murillo replied

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When the Oraha and Jose Reyna got to Bucharest the whole house was deserted. Those who followed them decided to do a clean sweep of the house. After a few minutes, their attention was called to something. A woman has been found passed out on one of the floors

They rushed up to see who it was

"Susan!" The Oraha has screamed

Susan still laid on the floor where she passed out days after the incident. After examining her the Oraha knew that this incident was not an ordinary occurrence.

" This must be the handiwork of the Fates," he said as he turned to Jose Reyna who stood beside him.

"How are you sure about that? Jose Reyna asked him. "Her body is still warm, even days after she passed out. She should be dead already. look at her eyes!" The Oraha said as he opened her eyes to reveal bloodshot eyes.

" I don't think she's going to survive this". The Oraha said in a sad tone.

Jose Reyna put one hand on the Orahas shoulder and said. "Don't worry Bernardo, she's a fighter. Let's hope she can pull this one through. We can only help her by keeping her in the best condition possible".

They immediately took her into the car and rushed her straight to a hospital right there in Bucharest.

She was admitted straight into the ICU. Upon examination, the doctor confirmed that she had slipped into a major coma and only had hours and at most a day to leave. He also revealed that all her vital organs had begun to fail and there was nothing they could do to bring her out of the coma.

This news devastated the Oraha. He held her in his hands and began to weep profusely.

" Susan you can do it! I believe you can fight it..." He whispered in her ears, as he struggled to hold back his tears.

After long minutes of shedding tears, fatigue took over due to the long trips and lack of adequate rest since he and Jose Reyna left the monastery. So the Oraha slept off while still holding Susan's hands.

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Antonio slowly opened his eyes. He was met with a bright light, shining directly over him and into his eyes. He had to squint to try to see things. At first, everything was in a blur but little by little his sight became clearer and he could see that he was inside a white room that looked like a lab.

He was breathing through a respirator and also realized that he was inside a transparent rectangular tank that was filled with a mysterious liquid.

He tried to move his hands and legs but they were very numb. He just lay there helplessly wondering what he was doing there and how he would regain his mobility.

He tried to recollect the events leading to this moment, but he couldn't remember anything! He seemed to have lost all his memory!

After a few minutes, some men in white walked into the room.

"He's back! Antonio's awake!!" One of the men invite exclaimed as they all rushed to their duty posts upon the man's announcement.

"I must be a very important personality for these men to react like this to my waking up". Antonio thought to himself.

Then one of the men in white approached him and took a long hard look at him from outside the tank. After a few minutes, he pressed a button that open up the top part of the tank, and then the mysterious liquid began to drain from all around him.

The man checked all his vital signs to make sure that he was in good condition. Then he said to him. "Mr. Castillo? Mr de Castillo? Can you hear me?"

After some seconds without a response, the man said to him. "Blink twice if you can hear me, Mr. De Castillo". Antonio then blinked his eyes twice.

The man then breathed a huge sigh of relief. "Don't worry Mr. Antonio, it may take a while but everything will be ok, and you will be back on your feet in no time! the man said in a reassuring tone.

A few hours later, another set of men came into the room and moved Antonio into another room where they carefully cleaned him up and administered some medication before returning him to the original room.

At this point, Antonio had regained mobility in his fingers but he still had no idea where he was.

From time to time, he could hear one of the men in white make calls to give updates to someone about his condition.

"That's probably the person who is responsible for my present state". Antonio thought to himself.

*************************************************

A squeeze of the hand woke the Oraha up from his sleep. He lifted his head, expecting to see Jose Reyna standing beside him but to his amazement, there was no one beside him.

Then again his hand was squeezed, then he realized that he was still holding Susan's hands. Susan was awake and was the one squeezing his hand to get his attention.

" Susan!" he exclaimed. She turned towards him with her eyes open and smiling.

" I knew you would make it!" he said in an outburst of joy. "I know you are a strong woman! I'm so glad to see you alive! The doctor said you wouldn't make it, but here you are! The Oraha said with happiness and relief were written all over his face.

"Doc!" the Oraha tried to get the attention of the doctors, but another squeeze from the hand drew his attention back to Susan as she shook her head in disagreement.

"What? You don't want me to get the doctors?" He asked with a confused look on his face.

"Not yet.." Susan replied with a faint voice. "No need to rush. I just want to spend some time with you before everybody comes in".

"Okay then!" The Oraha replied. "I am here for you, but we would need to alert the doctor very soon. He told her.

"There's so much I need to tell you!" Oraha Susan said with a smile on her face

" I'm all ears..." The Oraha said, still holding her hands a little tightly

"I have been to the land of the Dead and back! I have seen things no normal woman or man for that matter". She said to him

She then went ahead to tell him all about her time in the land of the dead and her encounter with Antonio's spirit and all that they went through together.

The Oraha listened intently to all that she said trying not to interrupt her so that she could pour out all that was on her mind.

As they were discussing, Jose Reyna walked into the room. He almost screamed out of surprise but controlled himself knowing that he was in a hospital environment.

Then he slowly walked up to Susan's bedside and said. "Welcome back Susan! We have been waiting and hoping for your recovery and we are glad to have you back!" He continued with a beaming smile on his face.

"Thank you, Sir..." Susan replied, struggling to smile back. Then she turned to the Oraha with an inquisitive look. As if to say "Who is this?"

"Oh!" The Oraha exclaimed. "This is an old-time friend of mine named Jose Reyna. He was a very high-ranking Watchman and was responsible for saving my ssss... Sorry Antonio's life when he was a baby and he's back here to help us fight the Murillos'. The Oraha continued.

"Thank you for everything," Susan said turning back to face Jose Reyna with a sincere smile this time. "I sincerely appreciate your help". She said

"You're welcome".

"It was nothing just my duty". Jose Reyna replied with a smile on his face

" I will be leaving you two now, to continue your discussion. Let me go and break the good news to the rest of my team. Jose Reyna said as he walked out of the room.

Susan and the Oraha discussed so many other things and after a while she said water. "I need a bottle of water to drink".

"Ok dear, let me run out to get you some water from the corridor". The Oraha said. And then he quickly stepped out to get her a disposable cup and a bottle of water.

"You have no idea how relieved I am to have you back!" The Oraha said as he walked back into Susan's room.

Beep! Beep!! Beeeeeeeeeeep!!!

The monitor sounded out.

There was no response from Susan and her eyes were closed.

The Oraha immediately dropped both the cup and the bottle of water in his hands and rushed to Susan's bedside.

He began to shake her while screaming, "Susan! Susan!! Wake up, Susan... Please wake up!!" But there was no response from her.

" Doctor please help!" He screamed calling the attention of the doctors and nurses.

They immediately came rushing into the room and he was pushed outside the room, as they tried to resuscitate Susan.

After a few minutes, the doctor came out of the room. The look on his face was all the Oraha needed to know that the worst had happened.

Susan Boyle was dead!