Coma

Julia is a friend of mine. Enjoy.

By: Julia Ellis

I can’t move.

That was my first thought as I woke up from what seemed like the longest sleep of my life. I felt stiff, like my whole body was weighted down by lead shaped to my tall frame.

What’s that noise? Something sounded like it was ticking, but…Wet, somehow. And there was this annoying beeping

Crap. I was in a hospital room. The wet ticking was the IV and the beeping was the heart monitor. The more I thought about why I was in a hospital room, and who was hurt, the faster the heart monitor sounded off, like high-pitched gun shots. What’s happening? What happened?

“Poor Benjamin…My boy, so reckless,” someone sniffled nearby. If I’d been able to move, I’d have jumped at the sound of another person in the room. I know that voice.

“Aunt Shari, you can’t just stand here staring at him forever. It won’t wake him up. You know as well as I that standing around doing nothing accomplishes nothing.”

“Jarie, honey, do an old lady a favor and shut up. Do something useful and get some coffee or tea for your parents – you know they need it. Standing around nit-picking your aunt won’t accomplish anything either.” No wonder her voice was familiar – that was my aunt Shari, and my elder sister Jarie.

“Mrrpher.” That was Jarie mumbling an expletive as she stomped out of the room – I know she was stomping because her stilettos clacked on the hard floor louder than they would have normally.

A few minutes later, a set of more confident sounding steps came close to the room I was in. They stopped a few yards away (I guess that’s where the doorway was) and there was the sound of plastic scraping on plastic, and then pages being turned. That must be my file. Someone put the file back, and then the footsteps entered my room.

“Ms. Stackdom, I’m Dr. Carver. I’ll be handling your boy Benjamin’s case. Now, I’ll explain what I think is going on with his condition.“

“You will do no such thing,” Aunt Shari interrupted, taking control as always. She may have been softhearted when it came to people in need, but she was no pushover.

“Ma’am?” The poor man sounded so confused. He must not be used to being told what to do anymore, not since he got his PhD.

“Do you have a hearing impairment along with your chronic stupidity? I said, you will do no such thing. I will not have you guessing at what my nephew’s newly acquired health problems may be. Obviously you doctors are way overrated, since I don’t have to have some fancy PhD certificate hanging in my office to know what’s happened here.” Way to go, Aunt Shari!

“Ah…Well, excuse me, I only meant that—“

“I don’t give a damn what you meant, boy. Either help my nephew with these overrated skills of yours or I will whisk him out of this place without giving you your outrageous payment, and get help elsewhere.” Wow, she must really be worried to say all that. Normally she’s so appreciative of modern medicines…

“Yes ma’am,” the doctor replied. He really didn’t seem like he knew what he was doing, but maybe he was just intimidated by Aunt Shari – that happened a lot, people being intimidated by her. “Well, obviously he’s in a coma. The injury to his head whacked his brain hard enough that it could be swelling, though we don’t know for sure because if we took him into X-ray, he’d likely fall into a deeper coma from being moved around too much. Six broken ribs, two wrist fractures, a contusion on his pelvis and a broken thigh bone. Those are the worst of it; the rest of the injuries are minor, though it’ll still take him a long time to heal. And he might not ever be completely normal again. That broken leg could result in a cane for the rest of his life…”

He went on and on, getting more detailed and using bigger words. Aunt Shari sounded like she understood everything, commenting and asking questions, and mumbling a few curses of her own.

About 20 minutes later, the doctor was gone, and I could hear Aunt Shari’s pencil working on a puzzle, like she so often did to fill up time gaps. She knew there was nothing for her to do now but wait.

The worst part about this whole situation was that I still couldn’t remember what was going on…I didn’t know how I had gotten all these “injuries,” and I felt fine, other than the fact that I couldn’t respond to anything or move. Ugh, I was just so frustrated; I swore I could break something.

I heard a noise from where Aunt Shari was sitting. It was quiet for almost a minute, and then she got up and came to stand next to me. I could almost feel her staring at me, her gaze boring into my skin, my body, my mind.

“Benjamin?” She whispered. She sounded startled, excited and nervous. “Benny, can you hear me? I thought I saw your hand move…Oh, maybe I’m just crazy. Everyone else seems to think so.” She sighed, turning to sit back down. I wanted to scream at her to come back, to tell be if I had moved. I didn’t know how I’d done it, and I thought I’d felt my fingers twitch, but I’d also thought it was a trick of my mind.

The sound of sneakers running down the hall towards my room sounded loud against the former silence. They squeaked like whoever was running had just walked in puddles and slapped the floor like they were running with a purpose. Sooner than I expected, a heavy breathing man asked Aunt Shari, “How is he? How is my son? What the hell happened? Why is he here? No one’s telling me anything!”

Aunt Shari responded too calmly, like she was striving to keep her patience. “That’s not surprising since you haven’t bothered to find out how your son has been doing for the past 12 years. Why are you even here? Aren’t you supposed to be on some big important tour in Europe?” By the time she finished, her tone went from a deadly calm to an even scarier dry sarcasm that she only used when she was about ready to break something – or in this case, someone.

“Now, Shari, that’s not fair. You know the band’s been struggling to stay noticed. Since we got a bigger gig in Europe, I thought it was a great opportunity to get some moment and—“

“Save me the expense of your unconvincing and gimp excuses. I don’t want to hear it.” Not good – she was starting to bring out some of her better vocabulary, meaning she was trying not to swear at him. “No one wants you here, Daniel. And since he can hear us, I’m sure Benjamin is agreeing with me. Aren’t you, Benny?”

She knows I can hear them? Of course she does, she always knows these things. Not for the first time today, I tried to move, to show her I could, in fact, hear everything. Just then, I heard Daniel’s sneakers squeal on the floor as he went over to another chair and plopped himself down. Hearing Aunt Shari go back to her puzzles, I decided they wouldn’t talk for a while and I could go back to sleep.


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I was choking.

Or at least, that’s what it felt like. I couldn’t move, couldn’t speak, couldn’t tell anyone that I couldn’t breathe. The ringing in my ears was so loud that I couldn’t hear anything else – just when I thought that, someone screamed, “GET HIM SOME HELP! HE’S DYING!!”

Who’s dying? Me? No, I wasn’t dying – yet. All I needed was for someone to fix whatever was blocking my airways.

“Benjamin.” That voice wasn’t loud at all but somehow I could hear it through the ringing in my head, the high-pitched wailing that made my head feel like it was exploding with white-hot pain.

“Benjamin, you have to choose. This has nothing to do with your throat, or anything choking you. You were dreaming, Benjamin. Of what happened to hurt you like this.” Whoever was talking was crazy, I decided. No one can just choose to stop choking. It’s not a matter of, “Well, let’s see…Do I or don’t I want to choke today?” But even as I thought this, I remembered a flash of my dream: a deafeningly loud crash, metal screaming and folding in on itself, and the muffled sound of my own bones breaking. A car crash, my fault.

“Benjamin. I know you understand this. It’s buried within you to hear me. Boy, you must choose now. If you wait any longer, you’ll die. Choose whether you want to live or die, and it will happen.”

Choose…What? How do I choose whether I want to live or die? Of course I want to live! It’s obvious! Life is what everyone craves, even when they want to escape the horrors that it sometimes brings – oh. That’s what this person means. Choose to live and deal with pain, or choose to die and be at peace.

“Make the choice, kiddo. Your Aunt Shari understands either way.” Aunt Shari…She knew about this? “Son, God shows me a lot of things, and this is one of them. You need to choose, now.” Somehow I could hear her through the ringing, but only her and the other voice. The voice that was neither males nor female, but had a strong quality that made me want to hear everything this person had to say.

I want to live…Of course I want to live. I don’t care what life hits me with; I want to be alive and well.

I sucked in the biggest breath I could, my eyes popping open, and I was blinded momentarily by bright hospital lights. There was a group of people hovering, frozen over me, staring wide-eyed as I stared back at them. I clenched my hands, wiggled my toes, and looked around the unfamiliar faces. All but one, a small woman with graying hair at the back of the crowd, farthest from me. This woman I knew – my aunt Shari. She smiled at me, a small, proud smile.

“God boy, Benjamin. This is the beginning of a long, powerful journey for you. Be proud that you have such a good woman to lead you.” As the person spoke, I looked around the faces above me, noting that no one’s lips moved, and none of them seemed to have heard anything.

Such an odd voice, not man or woman.

But I got what I wanted. Now I’m alive and well, and leading the life that God said I would. My name is Benjamin Stackdom, and I chose to live.

Demonic Encounter

By: Brandon James Scott Scholl


Jack watched as the hallway grew dark. The daylight dissipated and darkness began its reign. Amidst the eerie darkness, numerous pairs of red eyes flashed and stared at Jack as if he wasn’t there. They started to hover from the ceiling, down the walls, and to the floor where the bodies became visible as well. The young man stood his ground at the entrance to the darkness. He knew exactly what was happening in front of him, before his very eyes, the demons were coming.

They hissed as if from a nightmare. From the breathing to the clicking of their overgrown nails, they were all manifesting in an aggressive stance. It wasn’t here to scare any longer, it was here to kill. Jack had known this time was going to come. He didn’t know when, he didn’t know where, but this time, he was ready.

As ten demons stood three feet tall before Jack, another figure appeared. One that was far larger, taller, and more gruesome than the others. It seemed to literally walk out from the shroud of darkness with a low growl. It was a prince of darkness. This prince was the leader of the demonic manifestations that had led up to this event. It had caused pain, suffering, and death for years but now its territory was being threatened. The beast was unreal and the most gruesome and most unimaginable sight that Jack had ever witnessed.

“My name is Anesis,” the demon spoke in a dripping, base tone. “You have been the cause of many issues for me. How dare you challenge me.”

Jack smiled. A week ago, he would have literally turned and ran. But now, he had a lion inside of him that was fearless.

“My name is Jack Darranger, and you are no longer welcome here.”

Anesis laughed deeply as the other demons cackled and hissed in their own ghoulish laughter.

“You are nothing, human. Your death will be slow and painful. I will take pleasure as I destroy you from this existence,” The demon bellowed as he started to take steps towards Jack.

Jack stood his ground. He had no idea of what was about to happen. But, he knew that whatever it was, God would protect him. As the demon reached its talon hand at him, a brilliant white light started to shine off of Jack. The demon went to take a step back, but it was too late. It was already too close to Jack and its figure started to crack and come apart.

“What…are…you,” the demon struggled to ask.

“I, am a child of the one who is seated on the Throne. The one who is in control of all things and, in the end, will cause the eternal destruction of you and your master. I am a child of God.”

Just then, the prince of darkness blew apart. The other demons hissed and became uneasy. Jack looked at every single one of them. He was no longer just merely a human being, he was an antenna for the power of God.

“Your prince is gone. He has been sent back to the pit of Hell that he came from. Not just by me, but by the power given to me by my Master. So, either you leave this place and never return, or you will have the same demise as your leader. Your choice is now.”

As he said those last words, light flowed from behind him. He turned around to see a group of angels standing their ground behind him, their silhouettes shining brightly against the shroud of darkness before him. Jack turned back to the demons and took a single step forward. The demons literally jumped as his foot landed on the floor. Jack glared at them once more.

“Leave this place in the name of Jesus.”

The demons instantly became full of fear and filled the air with wretched screams. They were pulled into the darkness and the darkness pulled away as well and lifted. The demons were gone.

Jack turned around and stared in awe and wonder at the band of angels before him. He didn’t know what to say to them. One stepped forward to him and looked him in the eyes.

“The Lord is with you, Jack Darranger, always.”

With that, Jack felt tears stream down his cheeks. In everything that had been said to him, in all the things that could have been said to him, those simple words impacted him the most. He nodded at the angel and then they dissipated into thin air.

Jack collapsed to his knees and bowed his head with tears in his eyes.

“Thank you lord, for protecting me with your angels. You are my shield, my strength, and my King.” He opened his eyes and starred at the hall that was now back to normal.

“As for you, Satan. No matter how many times I screw up, my Lord is with me. No matter how many times you tempt me, my King is there to redeem me. No matter if I’m alive or dead, my God has his arms around me. The ground that you have taken and the lives you’ve claimed will be taken back. Your power will be reduced and your grasp will be pulled away. But I’m also here to remind you, your days are numbered.”
With that, Jack stood up and looked up towards the ceiling.

“Thank you Jesus.”

Then, Jack walked down the hallway and out of the school. He then played back the event that just unfolded before him as he walked towards his home. A smile came across his face as he realized that he had just had the first encounter with the real enemy. He also felt in his heart that this was going to be the first of many battles. Amid the little bit of terror that pulled at him with that thought, he welcomed it.