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Tony Stewart’s

THE NIGHT OF THE DARKNESS

EPISODE 53

As Joseph slowly opened his eyes he wondered why he had shut them in the first place.
He was uncertain, but had a glimmer of an idea that it had something to do with an unusual thought, or day dream, that had entered his mind.  But, much like waking in the morning to fragments of a dream breaking apart like dandelions in a wind storm, everything was disintegrating far too rapidly for him to make any sense out of it with the exception of the image of … but even then, whatever the last blurred image he could still see was, it too disappeared completely from his memory banks … and nothing, nothing whatsoever existed within his mind’s now empty thought and memory bubble. 
  “Well, there are several more minutes of my life wasted without any explanatory reason.”  He thought.
  “Well, that’s the way it should be.”  William stated loudly, his choice of words causing Joseph to stop in both thought and movement, and swing his body around to face the hotelier.
  “That is the way what should be, William?”  Joseph asked, wondering if William had suddenly developed telepathy.
  “The air conditioner.  I have just fixed it.”  William replied,  “Why do ask?”
  “Jolly good, William.  Just curious.  What was wrong with it?”  Joseph shook his head and rolled his eyes back into his head at William’s reply to his previous question.  He had no idea what William was talking about, but he wasn’t reading minds … and that was all Joseph was really interested in.  He really wasn’t interested in whatever William was going to say in response, and immediately regretted asking his second question, when,  in point of fact, he was much more interested in addressing the problem he was having with his memory, than caring why William was so happy about fixing an air-conditioner.  It appeared now to Joseph that it was not just his daydream that had dissolved in his mind … for the moment it appeared to be the complete contents of his in-built hard drive that had gone missing.  He knew that he had been about to do something reasonably important when he had walked into the room a minute or two earlier, but what it was would not come back to the fore.  Nor were there any thoughts of anything that had taken place before he had reopened his eyes … and certainly nothing forthcoming that reminded him why he had closed them in the first place. 
  “Joseph, are you mocking me?”  William asked in an indignant tone, “It was freezing in here.  Poor Doris.  Look at her.  She is a blob of ice.  She is still shaking.  Somehow it had been turned down to maximum.  Though I have no idea why we didn’t feel it earlier.  Perhaps the power went off.  These rooms have auto lighting settings that flick the room switch off when the power goes off at the main, and the room lights need to be rebooted from the wall when the power returns to avoid an overload, however, I don’t think that applies to the hall lights.  Perhaps that could be why the bulb blew in the corridor when we were trying to get in the room, and the air-conditioner may have just come back on in the past few minutes.  We may have had a power outage and switched over to the backup generator.  The air-conditioning and hall lights won’t come back on until the main power is restored.  The generator is meant primarily for the kitchen and the bar.  There are torches and lamps for the rooms, and of course the one safety light in each room.”
  “Do you mean the weird light that was covering Doris?”
  “Yes.”
  “Do all of the rooms have a safety light.?”
  “Yes.”
  “Could the safety light have been a bed lamp instead of a spotlight?”
  “No.  It would have been the same as this room.”
  “Are you absolutely certain of that?”
  “Yes.  Why are asking?” 
  “Would a power drop out have caused the air-conditioning to reset itself to freezing?”
  “It would seem so.”  William replied with a shrug,  “I am not certain.  But it is all fixed up now, and full power has obviously come back on.”
  “We are all so very proud of you, William.”  Joseph had asked the question because he did not understand William’s instance that both rooms had similar security lighting.  He had utilised the only light that was turned on in the bedroom, and it was a table lamp, of that he was certain.  And something in that thought seemed to bear a close relationship with whatever it was he felt he was supposed to be engaging in at the moment.  But his mind was still no closer to sharing that piece of information with him, and Joseph found himself tiring of this idle chit chat that he and William were currently engaging in.  He needed to remember what it was he was about to do next, ‘but how’, he wondered, ‘how?’  Then Mary spoke, and her simple reaffirmation of William’s previous comments regarding Doris’s condition sent the already forgotten unexplainable images his mind had received and dismissed only a few minutes earlier screaming back into his head.  Images that mystified him so much he decided immediately to retain their presence to himself, and himself alone.  He was adamant that he should not, would not, share their arrival within his head with anybody in the room until he felt satisfactorily content with his own acceptance of the reason for their arrival, whenever that may turn out to be. 
  “I am still cold, Joseph, and so is Doris.”  Mary said in a soft, slow, and methodical voice, “and I can tell you there is something strange going on here.  Look at her, Joseph. look at Doris.  She is freezing.  She is cold.  Something happened a minute or two ago when the room suddenly got cold, but I am uncertain what it was that happened.  What I can remember is imagining the colour of Doris’s eyes changing from red and yellow to green several times … and not long after that the room became colder than the north pole in winter.  Yet you, you’re not cold.  I’m sorry, I can’t explain it; what I saw and felt.  I know it has been a long day, and I know that I am getting tired, but I could swear that I saw you staring at Doris with hatred in your eyes.  Hatred like I had never seen anyone project in my entire life – and that includes my previous husband.  He absolutely hated my insides by the time our divorce became final, and believe me, that man knew how to hate.  However, the passion in your hatred left him for dead.  Then suddenly, in front of my very eyes,  your head burst into flame, the scene went white, I couldn’t see you, you had disappeared from sight … then out of nowhere you reappeared … and you were acting quiet normal, as you are now.”
  “When did I come back to normal?”  Joseph asked in disbelief at what Mary was describing.  “How long ago, approximately?
  “Just a minute or so ago.  Just as William called out that he had fixed the air conditioner.  I am sorry, Joseph, but I swear that was what I saw, though I am also certain that there were gaps in whatever was happening; black shadows in my memory of the events that took place.  It was as if I kept closing my eyes after each event and did not open them again until the next scene unfolded.  Mary looked at Joseph and saw the horrified reaction that was taken place on his face and immediately regretted telling him what she had seen, but she felt certain in her heart that he would want her to tell him the facts that he may not be aware of.   It was not like she understood what she had seen.  In fact she was telling him partly for just the opposite reason; she was hoping that he could explain it all to her.  And, of course, Mary had no idea just what was running parallel through Joseph’s mind with every word she spoke; she had no idea of the images that he could see whatsoever.
  “I had only just come back into the room when he said that.”  Joseph advised,  but I am afraid that I have no idea what you are talking about.  In fact, I have to admit that I can remember very little about anything that I did before I came back into the room.  Bit of a fog in the old grey cells at the moment it would seem.”
  “I was possessed, but you saved me.  Thank you.”  Joseph and Mary swung around to look at Doris who smiled shyly up at them from the chair, and still clung tightly to the silver crucifix.
   Joseph looked at the nurse and was surprised at what he saw.   “She is still shaking.  I had no idea that it was that cold in here.  It all felt fine to me.  William, well done, you.  It is very fortuitous that I brought in this blanket … or is that what I went into the room to get for her?”.  Joseph immediately proceeded to place the blanket around the nurse’s shoulders, tucking it into a join in the middle at the front so that it completely enclosed her from the neck down, before gently beginning to press the cool washer against her forehead.
  “Joseph?”  Mary asked in a rather subdued tone.
  “Yes, Mary?”
  “Aren’t you going to say anything.  About what I just told you.  About what I thought I saw”
  “No.”
  “Why?”
  “Like you said, it has been a long day.  It has been a long two days.  Do you remember the time you spent on your time at the garage yesterday morning, before Frank came back in?
  “Yes.  Oh god, yes.”  Mary could feel her legs beginning to buckle under her as she let her mind wander back to that fear induced day when she had felt certain that the creature was going to take her life or her sanity.  Or perhaps both.
  “Then we will discuss this in greater detail later if that is alright with you?”
  Mary did not understand Joseph’s coded message, other than the fact that it was coded – or at least she thought it was coded, but she had faith in him, and that faith helped her overcome the obsessive craving she had to have her insatiable curiosity satisfied immediately.  “I look forward to it, Joseph.”
  Inwardly, Joseph was satisfied with Mary’s reaction to his suggestion.  Satisfied enough to somehow force the images that had returned to his head out again and turn his full attention to the nurse, because he  had finally realised what he been going to do … to  learn more about the rubies from the nurse.
  “How did I do that, Doris.  How did I exercise you  Did I have you running, jumping and standing still, or were you doing step ups?”
  “No, you silly boy.”  Mary rebuked with a sheepish smile on her face,  “Exorcise, not exercise.  I don’t know how to explain it.  Something got inside me.  I could feel it taking over my body and my mind.  I tried to fight it, make it go away, but it was hard.  It was much stronger than I was.  And it hated you.  I could feel its hate. It was powerful.  It was what gave it its strength.  But you were stronger.  You used the power of your mind to fight it; to make it leave my body … and it did.  Thank you.”
  “And when did that happen, Doris?
  “Just a few minutes ago, like this young lady said.”
  “What happened, Joseph.  Did you do battle with the creature?”  William piped in in astonishment, “What, right now, in front of us”
  “I don’t know, William.  I really don’t know, but I don’t think so.”
  “But Doris said that … .”
  “I have no recollection of anything that Mary described before she said that you began praising your own efforts in fixing the air-conditioner.  I can’t even remember going to the bedroom to get the blanket, oh … yes I can.  No. wait a moment, that was when I got the blanket to get the ruby out of Doris’s hand.  I think that is what Doris is talking about – when we were all under the blanket rescuing her.  And I certainly don’t remember it getting cold.  In fact I can’t seem to remember anything after rescuing Doris until you fixed the air conditioner.  Perhaps the Punjaniti implanted some form of false memory into us, or at least some of us.”  I shouldn’t worry about it too much.  I am not suffering from dementia just yet.  Nor have I had a stroke.  Whatever it is I have forgotten will return to my little grey cells in time, I am certain of that,
  “Do you mean that we had thoughts planted into our heads to make us forget things, or remember them the wrong way?”  Mary asked in excitement, “Do you really think that we might remember more as time goes on?”              
  “There is that possibility.”  Joseph replied.  “Look, I am not certain of what did happen in the past few moments, but it certainly does seem obvious that we all saw the events differently.  Though, in my case, I don’t remember seeing anything at all, and when you think about that, that should be impossible.  Even doing nothing is doing something, and with that logic I would have known that I was doing nothing.  Even daydreaming; surely I would have had a vague idea what I was daydreaming about, but I have nothing.  I know that it would be both illegal and immoral to have security recording in guest’s room, but they would be totally appreciated right this moment if the recordings were to show us what really did happen.  However, they don’t exist, and perhaps seeing the true facts might leave us more disturbed than we already are.  I suggest we dismiss everything from our minds for the time being.  Lock it away somewhere safe until we start to suspect the reality of our individual interpretations of the events that occurred over the past few moments.”
  Remember, we have no idea why Rangor was attacking Doris.  And it wasn’t doing that much of a job of things judging by what we saw.  So. perhaps it was just a show it put on for us while it implanted thoughts into our mind that were more suited to its own agenda.  Supposing it has set up questions that will return to us sometime in the future that will make us question what one of us said today.  Questions and new interpretations that may make us become suspicious of each other’s words; questions that would cause mistrust.   Mistrust between Rangor’s nemesis can only work in Rangor’s favour.  And creating a thread of mistrust into one’s enemies minds is not something done by  a creature, or an apparition, but it can be attributable to a being, to something with guile and cunning, and definitely something that has a brain … and I believe a brain is definitely what Rangor has.  I think calling him a creature is simply pandering to our interpretation of his looks, which is fairly soul destroying I must admit, but it is also doing us a disservice because we are underestimating his powers and intelligence.  To refer to him as the Punjaniti also tends to belittle his capabilities.  It makes him sound like an escapee from a Marvel comic.  I really think we should not be blindsided by the fantasy it seems that we have stumbled into, and try to get inside Rangor’s head so we can better understand exactly what we are up against so we can protect ourselves.  And we must always remember to be extremely calculating and cautious in our trusting of outsiders.  I don’t think that we can completely trust anybody outside of this little circle. 
  “But he can destroy us now, can’t he?”  Mary asked, “Why should it wait for the future to set us against each other?”  
  “I don’t think that Rangor is fully here yet.”  Joseph replied in the most serious tone that Mary had ever heard him use,”  I don’t think that he is here yet,  not in the same way that we are here.  However, I think I know how he can be brought into this time for a short period.”
  “What. by dipping a lock of hair into a magic potion like Harry Potter?” Mary asked with a laugh.
  “Not quite, it would be much more technical than that, I should imagine.  I just don’t know what word to use to describe the type of power that I am referring to.  But you must remember, we don’t know very much about Rangor.  It’s not like he is listed in Who’s Who or Encyclopedic Britannica.  We don’t even know whether to think of him as a creature or a being half the time, but what we do know about him makes us accept the fact that he can do things that a normal being here on this planet would never be able to undertake.  This would probably be where the rubies fit in to the picture.  I expect that they are used in some kind of guidance system like we use G.S.P.; or perhaps they are used to create a mini worm hole that can allow Rangor the ability to project himself or his power into the future for a short period of time.  Perhaps even for only a few minutes, but enough time to allow him to carry out whatever he needs to do, or at least partly carry it out … it may restrict him occasionally.”
  “How do you explain the power discharges suddenly firing after we moved the ruby away from Doris’s hand and threw it against the wall.  It doesn’t make a lot of sense if he was in the room,”  Martin argued, “he would have seen that it was not hitting anybody?”
 “It may never have really been firing.”  Joseph pointed out,  “It may have been a thought implanted in our minds.  It could easily have been implanted while we thought we were taking a risk saving Doris.  The original discharges, the ones that burnt poor Doris, were real enough, not very effective, I may add, but I think that Rangor implanted our minds with his instructions for the future once we had the blanket over our collective heads and were concentrating keeping ourselves safe.  The blanket may not have done anything whatsoever in saving us.  If I am right in my thinking, Rangor never had any intention of harming us at that stage, I think he simply planted the idea of using the blanket into my head to distract us.  Or if he did mean to harm us, it was not going to be by the method that we witnessed.  Perhaps he attempted something during that missing two or three minutes, but we may never know the truth.  So, as to the possibility that he has implanted something in our minds, we will just have to watch out for anything that doesn’t seem right and act on it as fast as we can.”
  Then, in an attempt to prove his theory, Joseph walked over to the blanket and, to everybody’s shock and horror, reached down and whipped it up with his hands   Mary was panic stricken at Joseph’s suicidal action and screamed, while Martin and William froze in their attempts to get the words of determent out of their respective mouth.  But to everybody else’s surprise there was no sudden blast of thunder or light emerging  from the wall.  No bolts of blue and silver light screaming down the from the wall or the ceiling.  Nothing!
  “Oh, Joseph,” Mary cried out in frustration at Joseph’s antics, small tears forming in her eyes, “you frightened the life out of me.  I thought you would be killed.”
  “My god, Joseph.  You took quite a risk.”  Martin added with reluctant admiration.
  But Joseph, so engaged in what he was doing, was unaware of the impact his decision had made on his friends as he busily inspected the blanket for signs of trauma or other damage.  Finally satisfied with the condition of the blanket he reached down and retrieved the ruby, examined it, then threw it to Martin.
  “There is not a mark on the blanket, nor more than a scratch or two on the ruby,”  Joseph reported, “Rangor never ever meant to harm Doris, or us.  Not at this point in time at least.  The attack on Doris was all for show; all to get us involved so it could do whatever it was it had planned to.  The burn marks on Doris’s arms were unavoidable, but certainly not life threatening, and it gave Rangor the time he needed for whatever reason he had … and as far as I am concerned, the missing two or three minutes of our lives was the reason. 
  I am beginning to believe the ruby is used not by somebody wishing to have an enemy eliminated by Rangor, rather it is used under Rangor’s instructions for his own purposes.  I am starting to wonder if Rangor so desperately still requires the assistance of humans to gain entry to Earth, he has engaged mercenaries other than the Punjani to seek out the statue.  Rangor is covering all of his bases.  I doubt he gives tuppence about the lives of his helpers, he just wants to ensure that he gains entry to Earth … and time may be running out for him for his next attempt.  There is every chance that we all have hidden instructions implanted in our brains should he need our assistance in guaranteeing his entry to our planet sometime in the very near future.  it could also be suggestions on how to eliminate each other once the statue has been handed over.”
  “That is a rather morbid thought, Joseph.” Mary noted.
  “Of course none of this may be factual, but it could have been engineered by a desperate Rangor.” Joseph continued, and for that possibility alone we have to try and remember this conversation should we find ourselves becoming suspicious of each other in the future and nip it in the bud as quickly as we can.  Now, if you will excuse me, I have somebody that requires my full attention.”
  And with no more ado, Joseph swung around and gave his full attention to Nurse Doris.
  “Alright, my darling, let’s all forget about exorcisms and their ilk, and get you back to your old cheery self.” Joseph advised the middle aged woman with a huge smile on his face, and a genuinely happy smile appeared on Mary’s face as she watched Joseph charm his way into the woman’s heart.  She could see the woman’s eyes slowly begin to focus again, while the fear frozen muscles on her face began to show signs of relaxing.  The veins on both hands that held such a firm grip on the crucifix also began to relax, and for the first time since they had entered the room, the woman allowed the object that had saved her life on numerous occasions to slide down onto her lap.  It was then that Joseph took the initiative.
  Now able to see everything in the room due to the lights that had been turned on, Joseph walked over to a lounge that was facing the chair the nurse occupied, pulled one end closer to the nurse and sat himself down … then reached over and tickled her under the chin and began to talk in a mockingly Alf Stewart ocker voice as if he was speaking to an old friend. 
  “Well, old girl.  Strewth, it’s been flaming heck of a day, hasn’t it?   First some ‘orrible looking fella begins to poke his ugly mug out of the wall.  Weird lights start flashing in your eyes and stinging your fingers.  Somebody smashes the flipping door in and snaps the chain in half, then there was the smell of burnt flesh as the sharp flames singed your skin.  And then, on top of everything else there was my flaming ugly mug staring eyeball to eyeball with you.  Frightening enough to scare a rabbit out of a briary patch that would have been.  Oh, it’s been a shocking, shocking day all right for a well bred sheila like you.  Probably wish that you had never found that piece of flaming jewellery, don’t you?  The ruby, I mean.  Pretty enough stone, I suppose, but definitely attracts the wrong kind of admirer judging by that weirdo up on the wall trying to take if from you.  Well, just you hold on for another few tics and everything will be alright, scout’s honour.  My mate Martin is out in the kitchen making you a cuppa, and we all know the best thing that we can have after being attacked by a flaming lightning throwing monster from Mars is a cuppa, don’t we?   Don’t worry, he ain’t gonna be long.” 
  And, right on cue, Martin appeared on the spot with a large cup of freshly brewed English Breakfast.
  “Here you go, mum.” He offered with a smile equal to Joseph’s, “Nice and hot as you like it, or if you wants it not quite so hot I can blows on it for a while to cool it down.  You just tell old Martin what you want … and I promise me teeth won’t fall out in the effort.  Promise.  Stuck in with crazy glue they are.”
  Martin’s addition to the dialogue and exaggerated dialect that Joseph was using to calm the nurse down raised everything to perfection, and they gained their reward as the nurse couldn’t restrain a few giggles coming out of her mouth.
  But as she finally truly came out of the fear induced catacomb where her mind had been hiding, the nurse suddenly could no longer recognise anyone in the room.  The faces of Mary, Martin, Joseph and William; the faces that had helped break the spell her own fear had cast over her mind, began to blur.  For the moment her mind was going through relapse, suddenly seeing once again the face that had appeared on the wall … and the lights that had streaked down at her, burning her, frightening her.  Then, unexpectedly, for the first time she looked down at Rosetta’s crumpled blanket lying up against the wall … and then at the crucifix lying limply on her lap.  Suddenly, everything that she had seen, and felt, and heard, over the past few minutes, all became a reality, rather than the strange dream it had appeared to be at first … and as it became real, all the fear and panic that had been progressively storing up inside her was finally released.  Doris screamed as loud and hard as she needed to free her mind from the fear that bound her … and when the screaming stopped, the tears flowed freely.  Instinctively Joseph reached forward to hold the nurse’s hands for comfort, but William went down on his knees between Joseph and Doris and placed his arms around  her, pulling her into his chest.
  “It’s alright now, Doris.  It’s all over.”  William whispered consolingly to the distressed, sobbing woman he cradled in his arms, “Easy.  Easy.  The doctor will be here as soon as he can.”  Recognising William’s voice, Doris began to relax, and very soon the sobbing ceased.
  “William,” Joseph asked abruptly, interrupting the tranquility of the moment, “her burns need to be seen to fairly quickly, and she most definitely needs a sedative.  Will the doctor be very long?” 
  “I hope not.”  William replied in a disappointed tone, “I only got his answering service.  It appears that the doctor is not in the village at the moment.  I had to leave a message.
  “How very co-incidental,” Joseph muttered, “Do you have any burn cream in your medical box?  We should try to give her some relief as soon as possible, especially if the doctor will be a while getting here.”
  “Yes, yes, of course.  I should have thought of that.  I won’t be a moment.  I will ring down to reception.”  Martin released Doris from his arms, making sure she was comfortable, before reaching into his coat pocket and retrieving his phone which he began to use immediately.
  “He left a message for me to say that he had to go to Harrisville.  He has a patient there due to have twins at any moment, so he wasn’t certain when he would return.”  All eyes turned to face Doris … and there was joy in their hearts when they realised how well she had recovered.
  “Hello.  Welcome back.”  Joseph responded happily as he turned his full attention to the nurse, “How are you feeling now?”
  “A little better, thank you.  What was that thing that I saw?  It was very ugly, and very frightening.”
  “Yes, it certainly was, Doris,.” He agreed.
  “You called that monster Rangor before.  “Is that what it calls itself?”
  Joseph looked hard at Doris, uncertain how to answer at first, but the inquisitive face that stared expectantly at him deserved an answer, he thought. Especially after what she had been through.
  “Yes, we believe so.  Why do you ask?”
  “When I was possessed, I somehow knew that was his name.  Rangor:  The Punjaniti.  Lord cleaner of the Scourge.  Is that correct?”
  Joseph, Mary, William and Martin all stared at the nurse in disbelief, not because they didn’t believe her, but because they did.
  “Your name is Doris, isn’t it?  I didn’t get it wrong in the kerfuffle that has been taking place?”  Joseph asked, choosing the first thing that came to mind in order to change the subject.  Joseph knew if Doris was telling the truth, her words, along with the memories and images that had accompanied the story Mary had told him about what she had seen in the missing two to three minutes meant only one thing … he really did confront Rangor.  A bead of sweat threatened to form on his forehead, and Joseph immediately knew it was time to get away from the subject until he was alone in his thoughts.  Had to … because he did believe Doris, but he was not yet ready to accept that, if he really did do battle with Rangor, then he was the chosen one that William had spoken about … the one that the village awaited … and that frightened the life out of him.  Because Ranger also awaited him … to kill him.

********

“No, you didn’t get it wrong  It is Doris, like in Doris Day.”
  “The singer and actress like in ‘Calamity Jane’?”
  “Yes.  That’s right.”
  “Actually, you look a bit like her, you know.  I like to watch the movies of the forties, fifties and sixties, and I have seen a lot of her movies.  But I suppose that everybody mentions the resemblance.  Do you sing as well?  Perhaps you could give us a quick rendition of Pillow Talk, or My Secret Love?
  “No, they don’t … and no I don’t” Doris blushed slightly as she refuted Joseph’s suggestion, “But thank you.”
  “Doris,” Joseph continued softly, “why don’t you sip on your cup of tea while I introduce you to everybody, then we can compare notes about what just happened to you?”
  “That would be lovely, thank you.”
  “Thank you, Doris.  Doris, this is …”
  And so Joseph proceeded to introduce each and every member of his small group to Doris, including himself, in order to bring her into the fold; to calm her enough to extract everything that she could tell them.  Joseph felt it imperative that they knew as much as they possibly could about the rubies and how they fitted into the scheme of things; imperative because he felt at the moment that everything was of extreme importance to their safety … and their future.

********

“And, of course, you know William.”  Joseph asked at the conclusion of the group introductions.
  “Yes.  We go back a long way.”  Doris replied with a smile.
  “Yes, we do, Doris.  We are old friends.”  William agreed.
  “Yes, very old friends.  Now, I have some new friends.  New friends who obviously enjoy an adventurous life.  And, you, William, my oldest friend.  How are you feeling at the moment with all this excitement in your life?  It certainly seems to keep you looking young.”
  With William in the mix Joseph could sense Doris’s new found safety in the group and felt certain this would help her to relax and answer the questions he desperately needed answers to.
  “I’m fine, Doris.  But it’s you that we are worried about, not me.” “William insisted.
  “I’m alright, now, William, thanks to this young man … along with you and your other new friends, of course.  It’s just that it was so frightening for a minute or so … and I am not too sure what happened just before you arrived.”
  “Just tell us what you can remember,”  Joseph suggested  Tell us what was happening in the room just prior to the lights going out.” 
  “Alright then.  I will do my best, but please forgive me if I miss anything,  I was very terrified at the time.”
  “Your best is all we can hope for, Doris.”  Joseph advised Doris, “Please go on.”
  “Well, I had been reading a book when my phone alarm rang.  It was time to check on Miss Rosetta, but when I got up I found that I must have been sitting down for far too long … because my feet had become a bit cramped.  Oh, they were aching, I can tell you.  I took my shoes off and began to walk around the room to get the circulation going again.  And as I walked my eyes fell on Miss Rosetta’s crucifix that she had placed on that little table over there.  It is a beautiful thing isn’t it?”  Doris stopped talking for a moment to pick up the crucifix and admire it, “I couldn’t help but to pick it up and have a closer look at it while I continued to walk around aimlessly as I did so.  As I said, I had taken my shoes off when I first felt the cramp, and as I walked I somehow stubbed my toe.
  I was now in double the pain, hobbling around the room, the tears beginning to form in my eyes it was so bad, but that part of nature that brings out the curiosity in one made me look for what I had kicked, despite the pain.  Imagine my surprise when I found it was a ruby just lying on the floor near the door.  That was the last thing that I was expecting.  I certainly don’t remember seeing it when I arrived, or when Margaret, the off-going nurse, left a few moments later.  The shock of what I had found took the pain away almost immediately and I just sat down in the nearest chair with both the crucifix and the ruby to admire them both.  Then suddenly all the lights in the room went out with the one exception; the one above my head, though it wasn’t producing much light.  Now, mind you, I was a little off-put by all this weirdness, but I immediately thought of Miss Rosetta and thought I had better go and check on her to make sure she was alright … and that is when I got my first shock.  Something flashed on my hand and I felt a sharp pain, as if a needle had been stuck in it.  I looked up to see what where it had come from and there was this face on the wall and it gave me such a fright it made me scream my head off.  Oh, my heavens, I will never forget that horrible face.  Well, you saw it, didn’t you … ugly thing it was.  Then suddenly there was a loud crashing noise; a sound like something smashing the door in … well, it must have been you four seeing as how Martin spoke about it when he and you were playing the fool.  But at the time I was too frightened to even look anywhere but the wall and that face.  I couldn’t take my eyes off it.  Then those lightening bolts began flying out of the wall and zapping me.  Then you rescued me, and the creature disappeared.  That’s it in a nutshell.  So what was it?”
  As she concluded her tale Doris’s face became momentarily waxen, and tears began to form in her eyes once more.  Joseph squeezed her hand and Doris looked up and gave Joseph a quick, though very teary, smile to show she was alright.  She reached over and selected a tissue with her free hand from a packet on the small coffee table on the other side of her chair and dabbed at her eyes until she felt that they were dry.
  “I’m fine now, thank you.” She said with a sad, but much drier, smile now emblazoned on her still pale face, “The face that I saw was the most evil thing that I have ever seen.  It just hovered in the air – and little bolts of lightning came out of nowhere.  That’s all that I can really remember.  Other than becoming aware that you four were trying to help me, that is.  I found that to be a very weird experience.  It was like my mind was fighting itself.  I’m glad you brought me back.  It was a rather frightening place, inside my head.”
  Yes, I can imagine.”  Joseph agreed.  Doris, can you remember exactly where you found the ruby?”
  “Yes.  It was over there, near the middle of the door.  I really don’t know how it got there, or how I hadn’t seen it earlier.”
  “It would appear that Doris was most likely an unintended victim.” Joseph noted, “Someone else may have been the intended target.  I doubt it was meant for Rosetta seeing as how she already had one placed under her pillow and I doubt that anybody could know that I had taken it.  Not unless they were down in the small crowd in the lounge when I showed it to you three.  It was almost certainly dropped by someone who had no right to have been in the room, but how were they not seen by Doris or the previous nurse.  Unless it was the other nurse or the doctor that dropped it.  But if the second ruby had been accidentally dropped out of somebody’s bag or pocket, that may very well have been the reason why the attack is so low key in comparison to the one downstairs.  Definitely lower than it had been at the farm or the hospital.  I am almost absolutely certain neither one of these two attacks were meant to happen, or, at least, not to happen the way they did.  However, one thing we have learned is that Rangor seems to attack immediately upon arrival, which would mean that the person who plants the ruby on the intended victim does not necessarily have to be in the room when Rangor arrives, so they would possibly have no knowledge that the attack failed as in a case like tonight.  If my theory is correct they probably wouldn’t even care.  As far as they would be concerned they had complied with their instructions from Rangor once they had passed on the ruby.  Though in this case I really do think that if has been dropped, and I doubt that the mule would have any idea where they dropped or the resulting consequences of their misdemeanor.  Rangor, though, would have realised what had happened and has possibly punished the miscreant.   Regardless, I think that it may be best not to pass details of this event on to anybody.  For the moment, leave them guessing.  They will find out soon enough, I would expect.  However, if they intend attacking again, it would be best that we are better prepared.  We will have to check each of our rooms to check for hidden rubies, then ensure our doors are locked.  William, is there any chance that we can do anything about the windows tonight?
  “Unfortunately the locksmith is away for the weekend, but we can place the wardrobes in front of the windows.  They will be very hard for anybody to move from the landing, and the noise they will make will probably wake up the entire floor, never mind the occupant.”
  “That sounds a good idea.  Martin, can you give William a hand to move Rosetta’s wardrobe and I will help Mary to move hers.  Give me a shout when you get back to your room and I will give you a hand with yours if you need it.  I think that there is much we have to learn about the rubies … I think that there is still much we need to know about Rangor – and we may need to do it more urgently than we had anticipated.  Mary, it really is imperative that you finish reading the diary.  In the meantime, we need to get some rest.  Tomorrow is going to be a long day … regardless of what happens.
  “Doris, we don’t know for certain what attacked you, but we think it may have been some kind of entity.  There was an attack downstairs several moments before you were attacked, but nobody was hurt.  I would suggest that for the moment you don’t mention anything about this to anybody, it may harm business for the hotel, but in time it will give you something to tell your grandchildren.
  “Do you mean the hotel is haunted?’  Doris asked with an excited smile.  “You think that it was a ghost, or a devil spirit, that attacked me.”
  “Something like that, Doris.  We are not absolutely certain what it is … only that it exists.”
  “Oh my sweet goodness!  Oh dear!  I hope that they are not moving in?  They will cause a lot of problems, I should imagine.  Is that what happened to Miss Rosetta.  Has she had her soul stolen by a creature of the night?”
  “We certainly hope not.  Just put in a temporary coma, we hope.  Doris, tell me, what made you put the crucifix up to deflect the things that were being fired at you?”
  “Oh, I don’t know.  I just reacted to the flash and tried to shield my eyes by raising my hands to my face.  I could have folded them either way, I suppose.  I had forgotten that I even had the ruby and the crucifix in my hands until you took the ruby out of my hand.”
  “Well it was a good thing that you did, Doris.”
  “Do you think it will come back again?”
  “I seriously doubt it.  But what about the door, William?  Can it be fixed tonight?  We really shouldn’t leave it unsecured.” 
  “Yes.  There is no real damage to the door itself.  I have spare chains and locks.  I will send Harry from the bar up.  I use him for all of the odd jobs.  He is a rather handy fellow to have around.  He’ll have it done in no time.”
  “I’ll wait until he is finished and keep Doris company,”  Martin offered.  “You get him sorted out, then between the three of us we will move this cupboard, William.  Don’t wait up for me, Joseph.  I should be able to move mine by myself, or William or Harry can give me a hand should I need it.”
  “Thank you, Martin.  Goodnight William.  Doris, it has been a pleasure to meet you.”
  “It certainly has been an exciting evening, Joseph.”  Doris replied, grinning  from ear to ear, and its been a pleasure to meet you all.  Goodnight, Mary.”

                                                                              ********

“Now, what’s next, Joseph?”  Mary asked asked as they made their way towards her room, in the vain hope that there may be more excitement to follow.
  “Now we go to your room to check out the remainder of the diary, then go to bed and have a good night’s rest and get ourselves fully prepared for Raji’s arrival tomorrow.  Tomorrow may be the end of all our problems … or it may be the beginning of a new, more dangerous, path for us to travel.  We will need to be fully alert for any eventually that may come our way.  Despite what I said to Doris, Rangor may be still baying for blood … our blood.
  “You think that he has it in for us for some reason?  The attacks are a personal thing?”  Martin asked in disbelief at the possibility, “Why?”
  Joseph swung around, surprised to find Martin half out of the damaged door, and despair on his face
  “Just a hunch, Martin, just a hunch, but I sense we are walking on very thin ice at the moment.” Joseph replied with a shrug of his shoulders, then turned and smiled at Mary,   “Like me to walk you to your room again, Mary.”
  Mary put a smile on her face and her arm under Joseph’s, and as Martin watched them walking down the hallway to Mary’s room he felt a massive shiver run down his spine … and he wondered what Joseph knew – that he didn’t.