Chapter 2: Lord of Plague

The room's wall is pristine white, void of dust and suspicious yellow smears like the dump I called home. It is rather clean to the point of being sterile

My therapist is checking something off from his notebook as I tried my best to distract myself from the inevitable question

"You've been missing two appointments in a row just this week alone. That is most unusual, John"

"I was occupied with work. My phone was turned off so I didn't receive the notification yesterday"

"From now on, please do check the time occasionally. Make sure you don't miss out on our meeting"

I gave out half-hearted apologies and assurance. The truth is that I've ignored his calls in favor of writing my book

Sometime you just have to turn off distractions for the things that matter, even if said distraction is your mental health

"Right then, John. Let's begin today's session" The man closed his note, pulling me from my thought "How are you feeling?"

"I don't know exactly. Emotionally. fine I guess"

"Do you often feel abnormal shift in mood?"

"Not as far as I'm aware"

"Any instance of oversleeping in the last two weeks?"

"None. It's been normal so far" I answered a few more questions until the doctor nodded in satisfaction

"Sorry if my questions annoy you. This is all part of the inspection protocol" He checked off the note "With that all done, how is your day? Mine has been fantastic to start with"

"Fine, I guess. Just got messaged from the company this morning that one of my draft is accepted and will begin to be reviewed for publication" I shrugged "Its going on sale next month"

"What is it about?"

"Stories about the Ars Goetia demons. It is an adaptation of their original myth into a modern context"

"Not exactly what I was expecting" He smile "Do tell me more about it. I'm always curious what my patient are up to"

"Basically, imagine how demons would live in a society filled with sins and unbelievers when their existence had faded into history. Instead of taking in physical forms, they chose blend into concepts and everyday anomelous phenomenon. Each chapter explores upon how a demon make their contract"

"So what you're saying is that...the Goetia demon are intangible concepts of will that can only manifest through anomalies? Please explain"

"For example, there is a Marquis of Hell called Aamon" I hum "In my book, he embodies the concept of [Vengeance], meaning to get back at something for their action against you"

"I am aware of the definition"

"It is quite simple. By himself, he could not manifest, except only in circumstances where revenge is the summoner's intention, thus invoking his concept"

"When you harbor hatred for someone who have harmed you, he will chase them down and kill the person. A day, a week, or a month later, they would end up dead"

"Aamon can not be killed because he is the summoner's will. You can't escape him. There was nothing you could do but pray the name of God once he had his eyes on you"

I stopped and looked down. I was holding my therapist by the collar with him dangling off his feet. I released him, and both of us calmly sit down

"Sorry. Forget my rambling here"

"I'm glad you've finally found something to focus on, John. Writing is a hobby with many interesting applications in curing mental issues"

"Yeah. Coming up with new ideas have helped me take my mind off trouble" I relaxed "I don't have nightmares anymore"

"It is to be expected, but good news nonetheless. You've been making a lot more progress compared to our first session, which almost ended with you murdering me"

"You think the reason I felt better is because I've been venting myself through the stories I write" I tilt my head "Will the police let me off the leash if I can prove I'm not insane?"

"As long as you talk to other people and take your daily meds, I am positive a full pardon will be possible"  He assured "This is the fastest way. The other choice is prison"

An electronic ringing sounded between us. My therapist reached over and turned off the alarm on his phone, while I stare ahead into nothingness

"It's time" He remarked "Do remember the date of our next session, and don't forget to visit the psychiatrist. They've been dying to give you the medicine"

I left his office and went downstairs to where the psychiatrist work. They gave me a dose of meds for the next two weeks, which needs to be taken daily

I looked at the bottle before flipping it over. A warning label greeted me, detailing the drug's side effect

Insomnia. Fatigue. Hallucinations

________

The apartment where I stayed in is located on the other part of town. A downrodden alley filled with trash bags and drunken shitass too busy drinking themselves to death

I wade past the nauseating smell and entered the inner area, past a couple houses that narrowed my path and to a small complex made of bare cement blocks. An entire floor has its stairs removed, so I climbed the chimney to my place

You must be wondering if anybody on their sane mind would even let people rent this place

The landlord is an old lady who reside here. She used to let people live in this dumpster for 10 dollars a month. From what I know, she has no relatives and is thus living alone

I became one of her tenant due to financial difficulties. The price is affordable, and it's not too bad in term of space

One day, the landlord lady died from a heart attack. Since she live in such a remote area nobody searched for her. Not even the police would ever wander down this dump-- Not even if there is a school shooting

So I made the best of it. I buried my landlord under the basement, and have been living here for free ever since. The water and electricity were cut, of course, but I have my own means

I opened the door to my room. Walking pass the straw mats, I slung my bag on the table with a missing leg and sat on the floor where the planks have almost been pulled up

A noise in the walls caught my ears. I turned to stare, wbere the silhouette of a rat stared back at me between cracks.

It was bigger than my forearm, perhaps one of those Brooklyn breed that made their ways into the slum.

"You look very killable today"

I went to retreat my broom.

To be honest, I've never been on here once.

Before, it's the landlord who hired people to clean it up. Now it's just me taking care of myself

As I broke down the wall, I opened the window to let the evening sun shine in. The weak rays illuminate the space before me

Numerous rodents might be a nauseous sight, but what lays before me might as well be the second coming of the black plague

A few whacks and slams sent most of them flying. I swept the captured rats into the cage while the rest scattered into the darkness. For a scant few monutes, I could still hear them hissing and screeching from inside the walls

"Just shut up will you?" I hissed

And then the noise stopped.

Where there were a loud pack of mouses chittering at me for disturbing their home, now there was but silence

I looked up in surprise, and no bit of suspicion. What could have caused them to be intimidated? Then it occured to me that the rats might have been startled by the noise I made

"Go bother someone else"

They moved. A mass of black furs stained with garbage and flailing limbs climbing over each other as though they are one entity, a tidal wave pushing in one direction

An unholy smell greeted me in its glory as the swarm of dirty animals passed by, making me gag and cover my mouth.

In less than a minute, the walls have been vacated of its filthy resident, leaving me behind with year long scraps of food and accumulated feces from the rat community

I cleaned up the mess before going back to my room to make dinner.

_______

I woke up feeling groggy. The first thing I noticed is that the prescribed drugs for me is still laying there.

It seems like I''ve forgotten to take my medicine last night

I got up and prepare for the day, dressing myself up before going outside. The beautiful sunlight shone down on me

The place I came in is a cafe on several blocks away that I often visit to brainstorm new ideas for my books

It was a calming shop in the middle of a busy road, so it was very hard to notice. I dsicovered it last year and has been a frequent customer ever since

"Hey, morning miss Crowley"

"John! I haven't seen you in a while" A woman greeted me from the counter. She has curly gray hair, is of medium height, and has a bunch of scars on her face

As I sat on my usual seat, she poured me a cup of hot coffee

"How have you been doing these days?"

"Just finished a new book in the process to publication. Well on my way to climbing the social hierarchy" I yawned "Soon you'll be seeing me walking the aisle to the likes of Stephen King--without the cocaine stuff"

"Sounds wonderful dear. I'm sure many readers will be thrilled to learn of Goetia's existence"

That was an odd phrasing. I attributed it to morning sleepiness and nodded in return. As ms.Crowley leave to tend to her customer I finished my coffee with one gulp

I looked at the TV, my eyes lazily sweeping through the headlines in search of something interesting

"Numerous cases of the Bubonic plague has been reported in this morning on East of Brooklyn. 213 victims have been hospitalized, and the number is increasing"

....What?

"From midnight of the thirteenth through 5 AM, a mass of rodent movement has been spotted going through South West of Kings County, numbering in the thousand as they flood the city. Traffic and pipelines have been rendered unusable due to the sheer number of mouses inhabiting them. There were no previous report of such behaviors occuring to this specie"

I stare in amazement at the footage of the humongous swarms of rats marching the streets, akin to an army

"The infection rate for the bubonic plague is almost approaching zero with today's science and medicine. Yet more than two hundreds have been inflicted when they made contact with the swarm. Experts suggest this may be an evolved form of Y.pestis bacteria with specific counters to an organism's immune system. We will move on to Dr. Swanson who can give us more insight as a renowed figurein the medical field"

"Thank you Jack" The elderly man wiped his forehead "It can be said this is a never before seen form of the disease, likely to be a mutated version of the Bubonic plague from the Middle Ages. As we know, it is the disease that started the Black Plague that killed a third of the continent's population then"

"We are currently working on a way to prematurely eradicate the bacteria before it can mutate and spread faster. Until then, the best way to prevent catching the illness is total isolation. Lockdown yourself and your family and refrain from go outside"

"That is Doctor Swanson speaking, and I'm Jack Highweed. Await for further reports on CNN news"

The TV switched over to something else. The scene yesterday replayed in my mind: a black plague, swarm of rats, rats in the walls, climbing atop each other in a pile

I calmly ordered a glass of water, before pulling out my medicines from the pocket

_________