THE EMPATH

JUST BEING HUMAN

I was a night of a full moon. The kind of night that got me thinking about all the books and movies I had read and watched about the werewolfs and other mythical creatures that were believed to walk in the dark shedding blood and hauling. By then I had seen many strange things, and I believed in the supernatural world, but for some reason it was hard for me to believe in the myths. I believed that the human beings were more than capable of doing all the evil stuff they portrayed in those scary books. In fact, I was seated in a van, outside one of the most dangerous criminals house waiting for him to come back so that I could hunt him, and kill him. I liked to tell myself that what I was doing was noble and everything, but deep down I knew I was no better than the people I hurt in the name of justice. If that didn't make me seem like a werewolf or a vampire, I don't know what else could. Away from the myths, I was enjoying a warm night for the first time in a whole month and I didn't even have to turn on the vans heater. I could feel in my being that that night was going to be different from the others. I looked at my watch and two hours had already gone by as I was waiting for Eddy to get back home. Seating on the back of the van looking at the computer was beginning to get boring and for the first time in a while, I missed my two invisible friends who had agreed to stay watch inside Eddy's house. The others were just seated in the van staring at me as if they expected me to explode or something. Being around them felt weird but I could not find the strength to ask the to go away since I already knew they were tied to me.

Time seemed to be frozen while I was conscious about it but it would fly by the very moment I wasn't. As I was looking for something to keep me busy, I came across the files I had found about Eddy and I found myself going through them. Eddy was once a good guy who had worked selflessly for the country. He had joined the army immediately after highschool where he started at the lowest possible rank. He did what he was asked, when he was asked and he never questioned. Then a war broke and he, amidst hundred of others were sent to fight for the country at its border. When he came back he was a whole different person. Before the war, he was the sweetest, most gentle guy, he was a family man and the bond between him and his mother was unbreakable. But then, the war ended and he came home. He had no need for family and all he did was remind her mother all the little things he hated about her. At last, he left home and came to the city where he laid low for years before joining the police force. His mother was now long gone and his sister never wanted to see him ever again. He had left a hurting family and he never even bothered to go back there and check on them. I had no business in that, but I sure would have loved to know what had happened to him while he was out there. "People don't just change, there is always a trigger and I know he has one," I found myself saying out loud.

I was about to go for another file when I saw his car approach. I waited until he had finished getting some stuff from the car and into his house. I then walked out to his door and knocked. I had no solid any solid plan of my own and so I was following what the ghosts had thought was a good idea. A minute later and amidst curses, he opened the door and asked me to go away without even looking at me. "Hey, I have some info about the guy you came by the dinner with the other day," I said in the most polite tone. "Ooh, I almost didn't recognize you for a moment there, come on in." He said opening the door a bit wider. As I walked past him, a strong smell of alcohol hit me. The guy must have been out drinking. I could feel that he was both scared and angry and the vibe around him scared me a little. I could tell people's intentions and I knew that most people had bad once but his were different. He was what you could call pure evil. There was no good thoughts in his mind. "Well, I could ask you to seat down, but then again maybe you don't want to, so, do what makes you comfortable," he said without even looking at me. Suddenly, I didn't feel lucky at all and the night was no longer warm. My heart was pumping faster by the moment and I feared that it could explode at any moment. I had never felt such a negative come from a single person before, not even the cleaning crew members. I walked over to the old leather couch and sat uncomfortably at the edge. I waited as he made his way to the kitchen and brought back two beers and a box of pizza with him.

"Well, I guess I don't have a choice but to offer you something to eat. It seems like you have been waiting for me for quite sometime and I guess you are hungry," I nodded as I accepted the beer and took a slice of BBQ Pizza. And awkward moment of silence followed. "So, what do I have to do so you can start talking?" he asked at last. I had to swallow a piece of half chewed pizza and force it down with a huge gulp of beer so that I could clear my mouth to talk. I hated being in his presence. "Ross was his name I guess, he came by and asked me if I could confess that I saw you on that night months ago, he even offered me money and gave me this video recorder to record myself testifying that you had made me lie before. I said I couldn't and he got pretty angry. He believed that it was Bob who had asked me to turn his request down as he had seen him talking with me earlier..." he had to stop me to ask questions and I was there to answer. "Wait, he wanted you to frame me? And you had talked with Bob earlier? What did you talk about?" he asked, putting his beer down on the table and leaning in close to me as if my story would hit different then. "Bon stopped by my apartment yesterday to question me about the night again. He thought that maybe if I was relaxed enough, I could remember something. He said he knew a thing or two about hypnotherapy and he wanted to try it on me. In the end, he found nothing more than I had already told you guys and he left me alone with a promise that he would make sure nobody bothered me anymore," I reached for my beer and the bottle was empty so he rushed to the kitchen to get me another one. I had the perfect chance to spike his drink and I took it.

He brought back two beers moments later and handed me one. "So, did Ross get to you shortly after or was it like hours apart?" he asked and reached for his beer. The best part was about to begin and I was having a hard time trying to hide my impatience. All I needed him to do was take a single sip. "Well, it was like say...ten minutes later. When I refused his offer, he left my place cursing and he told me that it was not over. I heard him talk about going to his parents for a bit but that was it." I said as he had already taken the drink and I didn't have to keep talking for much longer. "Why didn't you come to me yesterday? And why are you telling me all that?" he asked. I didn't see the point of explaining as I knew he would not make it through the conversation but I didn't want him to suspect that something was not right so I found myself making up more lies that I had not even planned. I was never a very good lier and I knew that if I kept going, I would mess things up at a certain point. I didn't however understand why he had not blacked out yet. "The only reason I came here is because I know Ross hurt Bob badly. I am afraid that he will be coming for me next and I think that you are the only person who can help me. I know now that he is not a very good person," I said trying to take fear and a sad face which worked better than I thought it would.

The d**g finally kicked in and my huge "friend" fell to the couch head first. It was time to initiate the next part of the plan and luckily, I had thirteen ghosts to help me. Eddy was a giant and carrying him was not something I looked forward to doing so I let the ghosts do it for me. Once they had airlifted him into the van, I connected him to a drip. I had to make sure that he stayed asleep throughout the night. I had big plans for him and I didn't want to ruin his surprise. I drove back to my apartment in the middle of the night and took my bags which were already parked to go. For the next three hours, I was on the road heading home. I was thankful for the house that Robert had left to me and the fact that no one knew it belonged to me as Robert had told me that it was best if I kept it a secret. It may have been tiny, but it was complete with an escape proof basement panic room as like I would later name it, the courtroom. That was the place I planned to keep Eddy while I tried to get a story out of him. I also had not figured out the best way to kill him yet and I had no plan on giving him a choice like the others I had felt with before. He owed the world so much and I had to make sure he paid his dues. There was no doubt about that.

I got to the farm a few minutes to four in the morning. I put him in his new hideout before resting for a couple of hours. I had to walk home since I could not let my parents see the van just in case my secret plan didn't work out as I had intended it to. The last thing I wanted was to put them in trouble. By the time I got to my parents house, it was almost seven. Mum was surprised to see me that early in the morning and dad was just glad I was home safe. I could tell that he was still very worried about me and I wished there was something I could do to help him take it easy. After hugging and having a short chat about the time I had been away, I went to my cubicle to put my stuff and shower. I had a huge day ahead and I wanted to make sure that everything was smooth and normal. Mum made my favorite meal and we all enjoyed before leaving the house for the morgue where I had agreed to meet Nancy and the others. The program said to be there at eight but to my people, that meant two hours later. The process of body viewing began and people walked by the open casket. I had expected it to be an overly emotional day for everyone, but only Alive's immediate family seemed to be affected. All the others seemed to have made peace with her fate an year ago when the accident happened. Mum held my hand as we walked close to the casket and I made sure to reply by gripping her hand firmly. Alice was standing right next to her uncontrollably sobbing mother wishing she could hold her and assure her that everything was going to be fine. I could also see other ghosts but I pretended not to because I couldn't afford to have any more of them haunting me at the moment. The morgue was viewed by many as a creepy, no go zone and I received a vibe from most people that all they wanted was to go home. Immediately the body viewing session was over, the casket was closed, loaded into a hearse, and we were all on the way back to Alice's home. That was where the sermon was to happen followed by the burial.

Seating down through the ceremony was the most trying thing I had to do as all I could think of was the sleeping guy in Roberts basement. I feared that he would get up before I got back and somehow find his way out. All I wanted was for the whole thing to be over so I could back to the thing that actually made the day big. Every once in a while, Alice would whisper something into my ear and I would forget I was around other people and talk out loud. Then came the part where I dozed off and snored for a bit before dad could wake me up. I was tired and bored. I hated it when the priest kept saying that Alice was in a better place dancing with angels. I mean it was nice to think that the dead went to a beautiful place, but it was burning me to know that Alice was right there amidst the congregation talking endlessly about who was faking their grief and who was crying genuinely. I wished that for once, someone would know what I knew so that I could at least compare notes later for the sake of my sanity. My dad kept throwing this glance at me and I couldn't help but answer his unspoken question. "Yes dad, she is here. In fact, she is just telling me about her aunt in red blouse and black skirt," I told him. Finally, the priest had finished and we all proceeded to the graveyard. Twenty minutes later, people were hugging and kissing and like every other burial, Alice was already forgotten. Soon, they would all move on like she never existed but that was just being human and no one could blame them.