The Time Capsule

Chapter 10

It was a sunny summer morning when the dark blue ‘79 Ford Mustang headed out of the driveway. Devin had been thinking about how he could use his ability and how to maintain control of who knew about it. He wanted to walk into a busy emergency room and start touching injured people, but the security in an ER and the number of potential witnesses made that approach less than practical.

Devin had been excited about the possibility of using his gift as a ministry. But the death of Brittany had him wondering if that was still the direction he wanted to go. The idea of physical and spiritual healing had worked well in his plan, but now he felt derailed by the tragedy and thought a re-evaluation was in order. The one thing Devin was sure of was that until he understood the extent of his abilities, real plans couldn’t be made, and he was frustrated because he wasn’t sure how to get started.

Last week, Sawyer helped him design a half-page flyer. It read, ‘God gave me the ability to heal you. All he wants is for you to know him’. Beneath those words were three scripture verses. He wasn’t pleased with it, but assumed in time he would be able to improve it.

God gave me the ability to heal you. All he wants is for you to know him’.Devin parked in the main visitor’s parking lot at North East Regional Hospital. He got out of the car, adjusted his tie, and hurried across the street.

Sawyer had suggested that dressing up might make him look a little more official and less likely to be challenged as he moved about the hospital. Devin didn’t mind the tie, but he’d rejected the suit coat because it felt too stuffy.

Sleep had been elusive last night. He’d laid in bed thinking about how he was going to approach this hospital visit. It seemed like it was going to be impossible to move forward and still keep control of who knew about his ability. Eventually, he decided to try to maintain his secret a little longer. He fully expected to be escorted from the hospital by security today, but he hoped to interact with at least a half-dozen patients before that happened.

Devin walked through the entrance and past the security guard. He continued without looking at the guard, his heart rate increasing.

Devin kept his eyes forward and marched on. He figured that if he looked like he knew where he was headed, less attention would be drawn to him. The elevator was ahead on the left. By the time the car finally arrived, no one had even given him a second glance. He pressed the button for the third floor, and before the doors closed, two other people got in. The first was a man in his mid-fifties, wearing a faded t-shirt and ripped blue jeans. The second was a short woman in her late twenties or early thirties. She had Hispanic features and was wearing green scrubs and a lab coat with a stethoscope hanging out of a pocket. She had a backpack over her shoulder, and her left arm was in a sling.

The man pressed the elevator button marked 5. The woman just glanced at the buttons and did nothing, clearly satisfied with one of the two floors already selected. The elevator stopped on the third floor, which was for patients who were recovering from surgery. Several different recovery units were here, so there would be a wide variety of health issues Devin could encounter.

He exited the elevator, followed by the woman, and paused to look at an electronic directory mounted on the wall, showing the different units on this floor. A3 was off to the left and it seemed to be a good place to start. He headed in that direction, now following the woman with the sling. Devin slowed his pace so she wouldn’t be too close as he tried to determine which patient to visit first. He passed through the large open doors and could see there were about twenty or more patient rooms, with a nurse’s station in the center. Looking into the first room he came to, he saw a bunch of people inside. Several hospital staff members and a few visitors were all in conversation. That was precisely the type of room he wanted to avoid.

Devin looked into the next room and was disappointed to see it was empty. There were only a few more options close by, and then he saw some patient rooms directly across from the nurse’s station. Again, a place he wanted to avoid. For the third time this morning, he considered turning around and going home. He was getting more nervous.

A patient occupied the third room and there were no visitors. He entered, trying to look like he belonged. A middle-aged African American man was resting, reclined in the bed. There was an IV pole next to the head of the bed, with several fluid-filled bags of different sizes hanging from it. A tray table containing a cup of ice, a cell phone, and a magazine sat next to the bed, all within easy reach for the patient. The patient was awake but seemed sedated. He didn’t focus on Devin as he walked in.

“Good morning,” Devin said. “I’m stopping in to see how you’re doing and to leave you something to read.”

“Thanks. I’ll look at it when I’m a little more awake.”

“Do you mind if I ask what brought you in here?”

“My appendix. I waited too long to come in and it ruptured. I guess if I’d come in earlier it would have just been a couple of small incisions. Instead, since it ruptured they had to slice me wide open.”

Devin moved closer to the bed. “Okay. You get some rest.”

He touched the man’s arm and felt a familiar sensation. Something left him and was instantly replaced.

“What happened?” the man asked. “I suddenly feel much better.”

Devin could tell he was still lethargic from the lingering effects of the anesthesia and pain medication.

“Get some rest, and if you’re still curious later, read the paper I left. I only ask you please don’t tell anyone I was here, for a while.”

He turned and walked out, smiling at the confusion on the man’s face.

Devin decided it would be best to get away from the site of his first healing. He moved to the next hall, which was marked B3. This area had a similar configuration. It was an elongated U-shape, with the nurse’s station in the middle. As he was approaching the first room, a nurse and a male visitor came out. She was giving him directions to the cafeteria as they walked past Devin, who quickly stepped into the room. In the bed was a woman in her mid-thirties. Her left leg and arm were immobilized and packed in ice packs. She was sitting up and working a TV remote in her right hand.

“Hi, I’m just coming around to drop some paperwork off,” Devin said.

“Okay, just set it down and I’ll look at it later.”

“May I ask what happened?”

“I was on my motorcycle and a car backed out of a driveway, right into me.”

“Oh, no. It looks like you got it pretty bad.” Devin moved and got closer to the bed.

“Yes, I did. My stupid leg broke in three places, and my arm in two. They did one surgery on the leg and another on the arm. There are going to be at least two more on each once the swelling goes down. I’ll end up with lots of pins, plates, and screws.”

“Maybe that won’t all be necessary.” Devin took a final step closer and gripped the woman’s uninjured arm.

“What are you…” All her pain was terminated, and she felt movement inside her injured extremities.

Devin released his hold on the woman and smiled. “How does it feel?”

“What did you do to me?”

“Take a look at your bad arm. How does it seem to be doing?”

She reached over and took the ice packs off, and uncovered it as much as she could. Some of the bruising was still there, but it was much better, and the swelling had decreased considerably. Most noticeable was the arm was straight, no longer bent, and broken.

“Try moving it a little,” Devin said.

The woman gave Devin a questioning look, then slowly made a fist and then opened it, and then closed it again quickly. She started moving the wrist, feeling no pain. She took her eyes off of the healed arm and looked at the young man who had just shown up in her room.

“Is the leg fixed, too?”

“Yes. There won’t be any more pins and screws.”

“How did you do that?”

“God gave me a gift—the ability to help others. Please read the sheet I brought. Also, the hospital will probably throw me out of here when they notice what I’m doing. Please don’t say anything for a little while. I want to help a few more people.”

As Devin left the room, he heard a sincere, “Thank you,” called out to him.

He started toward the other side of the unit to look for his next target, unaware he’d already attracted attention.