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Chapter 19

They sat in silence for a while. Eventually, Joseph tried to push his companion off of him, but the man refused to budge. Although Joseph struggled fiercely, he couldn't break free from his grip.

Suddenly, the man reached a hand into his pocket and pulled out a knife. As the man crouched down over Joseph, he placed the point of the knife directly against his throat. Joseph stopped struggling immediately as the blade pierced into the skin on the underside of his jaw.

The man grinned maliciously and removed the knife, pressing it against his own flesh.

"Why don't you run along now." He growled, tightening the grip on his hold on Joseph's neck. "Before I decide to kill you right here right now."

After a few seconds, Joseph felt himself being thrown violently sideways to land on the floor. A few painful gasps escaped his mouth as he laid there in shock. The sound of footsteps echoed through the empty corridor as he slowly got to his feet, his whole body trembling. Joseph could feel sweat pouring off of him as he slowly made his way towards the doorway. The light from the hallway illuminated the room, revealing a figure standing a few yards away.

Joseph's body went completely rigid; he couldn't seem to move or breathe, not even blink. Suddenly, the figure turned around, revealing a pale, ghost-like countenance underneath a thin layer of grime. He took a single step toward Joseph, who remained rooted in place. The figure tilted his head slightly to the side, exposing two large fangs as he revealed a wide grin.

"Hello, my darling."

~oOo~

As soon as the doctor finished speaking, he rose swiftly from his chair. Without hesitation, he strode briskly out of the room.

Alexander stood up as quickly as he possibly could, clutching the edge of his chair as his legs wobbled uncontrollably beneath him. He glanced back over at the doctor, who was still standing near the entrance of the theatre, his fists clenched tightly and his expression one of pure rage.

The doctor walked over to where the nurse stood, her face contorted with terror. She backed away nervously as she spotted him approaching.

"Get Dr. Morris." He ordered curtly. "And take Mr. Barringford with you."

The nurse nodded mutely and raced out of the room without uttering a word. The doctor watched her leave and then turned his attention to Alexander who remained motionless on the spot.

"Mr. Barringford!" The doctor called out sternly. "Are you alright?"

Alexander continued to remain speechless, staring at nothing in particular as though he didn' notice the doctor standing before him. The latter raised his eyebrows slightly when he noticed that Alexander was staring off into space, his pupils dilated and his breathing ragged.

"Mr. Barringford! Are you listening to me?!"

Finally snapping out of his daze, Alexander looked up at the doctor, looking utterly confused.

"I…uh…sorry, sir." he stammered. "I guess…my mind was somewhere else…"

Doctor Montgomery's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Where were you thinking?" He asked quietly.

Alex opened and closed his mouth several times as he tried to formulate some sort of response. At length, after a moment, he found himself unable to come up with anything.

"I…um…."

He couldn't remember. How could he remember? Wherever it was that he had been, he hadn't remembered a thing. It was as if it wasn't there any longer and everything else had simply disappeared. All he knew was that it had involved Charlotte, and now it concerned someone else…the person who had caused his heart to race and his blood to boil with rage mere moments ago.

"Did you hear me?"

The question caused Alexander's head to snap to the side as he realised that the doctor was still addressing him. He hesitated for a moment before he finally answered.

"Y-yes…" He muttered uncertainly.

The look that Doctor Montgomery gave him spoke volumes: he clearly didn't think that Alexander had heard him; he probably thought that Alexander was mentally ill. The look made the young detective wince slightly as he felt another surge of pain shoot through his broken ribs. It was bad enough to be beaten senseless. But if Doctor Montgomery decided that he needed to treat him to the doctor's private hospital instead, he knew that the pain would intensify tenfold.

His mind racing rapidly, Alexander racked his brains to try and find an excuse for his behaviour. Unfortunately, he couldn't think of any that wouldn't result in the same fate he had suffered earlier. He had lost control of himself, his thoughts became clouded and irrational, and he had lashed out at the only person he knew.

A sudden idea suddenly appeared in his brain and his breath quickened with excitement. After all, what other reason was there for him to lash out at the man and attack him? If Alexander could just get out of this situation unscathed, perhaps he might actually be able to start healing again.

"Well, Mr. Barringford, let me tell you something. You don't need to apologise to anyone. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself." The doctor replied impatiently.

Alexander's gaze fell upon the ground and he nodded silently. In an instant, his mind was consumed by questions. Was he really able to recover? Could he regain complete consciousness? Or had the doctor lied to him? What exactly had happened between them? Why did his friend suddenly become furious at him?

The question of how they had met and why they both wanted each other dead hung heavily in Alexander's mind like a black cloud threatening to crush him in its grasp.

"We should continue with the examination…" said the doctor. "I'll send the nurse in later to clean your wounds."

The doctor then turned around and left the room. Alexander sank into an uncomfortable, wooden chair and stared straight ahead. For a few minutes, he sat completely still, his mind a million miles away, until the familiar sound of the nurse's heels clattering softly across the polished floor of the theatre brought him out of his trance.

"Dr. Montgomery sent me to bring you back here."

She bent down before him and gently helped him stand up. Her hands were warm and soft against his skin and her gentle touch seemed to calm him down instantly. Still leaning forward to steady herself, the nurse took a deep breath as she guided him toward his bed where the patient with whom he had spent the past two days sleeping lay sprawled out on a white sheet.

"How are you feeling today?" The nurse enquired, smiling kindly.