Cryptid Girl — Chapter 32

Copyright 2013

A novel by Mystery Jones

Art by Terrill Chappell

Lorna’s eyes flittered and batted as she struggled to get them open. Her gaze was cross-eyed, but when it came into focus, she realized she was in a hospital room. She flexed her fingers, just to make certain she was really alive. An uncomfortable, awkward tube scratched the back of her throat. There was another tube in her nose, and it tickled her nostrils. Both were signs that life was still coursing through her body. She glanced to her left and saw machines, monitors, and tubes that connected back to her body in various places. To her right, she discovered that her wrist was handcuffed to the bed railing.

She closed her eyes and tried to remember what happened and how she may have arrived at the hospital.

The creature. El Chupacabra. It was me all along.

The full weight of all the lives she’d destroyed crashed down upon her again like a tidal wave. She’d murdered five people, each in a heinous fit of rage. Then she tried to kill her best friend.

The events from that terrible night flooded her brain, and she remembered stabbing Wesley, attacking Paige, being shot — all of it. Tears welled up in her eyes and slid down her cheeks.

She heard the voices of two other people in the room.

“Were her eyes just open?” asked a female voice.

“They couldn’t have been,” replied another. “It’d be a miracle if this woman pulls through. She’s been comatose for two weeks and almost died twice on the operating table. You must be mistaken.”

“No, look, there are tears on her cheeks!”

“We’ll I’ll be…”

Lorna opened her eyes again and this time there were two faces staring back at her.

“Miss McHaley?” a woman in light blue scrubs said. “Hathaway, go get the doctor!”

The other nurse fled the room.

In moments, a tall black man in a white coat arrived at her bedside.

“Nurse,” he said. “Go call the detectives on this case and tell them their suspect is awake.”

The nurse rushed away, and the doctor addressed Lorna.

“Miss McHaley,” he said. “Can you hear me? You’re at Creighton Medical Center. We treated you for multiple gunshot wounds. Do you remember what happened?”

Lorna gave a weak nod.

“You sustained life threatening injuries and lost a tremendous amount of blood,” the doctor said. “We performed surgery to remove the bullet from your chest…”

The doctor proceeded to explain the procedures she’d undergone, and as he did, she tuned him out. She stared at the drab beige wall behind him and wondered what was going to happen to her next. She was in dire trouble. The doctor had referred to her as “the suspect,” which meant the police knew she was the killer they’ve been looking for. There would be no use holding back when the detectives arrived to talk to her. She’d tell them everything, no matter how bizarre it sounded. The truth would finally come out.

The consequences for her crimes could be only one of two things. She’d either be confined to a psych ward or imprisoned. Both would be for life.

More tears flooded her face at the realization that she would no longer be able to live her life in freedom, but as a dangerous criminal who deserved the worst possible retribution for the lives she’d ended.

She was lost. Empty. Void of everything but sorrow. Never before had she been more crushed. Broken. Her sins were unforgivable. She didn’t deserve to even be alive; she should be dead, condemned to an eternity in hell.

Oh God, I’m so sorry. So terribly sorry. Please help me. I can’t live like this, with this guilt, this shame. Forgive me for all the horrendous things I’ve done.

Was that a prayer she just said? The words flowed from her defeated and desperate heart with such ease.

It didn’t matter. Why would God listen to — let alone forgive — a despicable wretch as herself?

Her friend Kelly seemed to think God forgave her for all the bad stuff she did.

But Kelly wasn’t a murderer.

Was it possible that God had enough grace and mercy for the likes of a serial killer?

She wasn’t sure. But Kelly would know. Once she was able, she’d get in touch with her.

There came a sudden, inner peace. An overwhelming liberation like nothing she’d ever experienced. The creature was gone. It was as though El Chupacabra exited her body as swiftly as it entered. She no longer felt the bond, the connection, the hunger. It was like she’d been cleansed of all the terror and strife that once flowed through her bloodstream.

No one else would be harmed by the horrible creature again.

The tears she shed turned to ones of joy. She closed her eyes and smiled. The police would be there soon, so she readied herself to tell them the truth about the slayings and El Chupacabra.