Contagion - Plans of Deception - Book One.

To Peter’s surprise he was woken early and informed that he was about to be transferred, incredibly the warden was not hostile, and even had brought him a flask of coffee. While Peter collected his few personal belongings, the warden spoke. “Listen mate, I’m not much good at expressing my feelings, or at that, saying what I mean, but in truth, I actually thought you were guilty. It appears now, you may well have been telling the truth all along, and that you really are innocent of the charges placed against you.” He stopped momentarily as he gathered courage. “Well what I am trying to say is that I am sorry, I never once gave you the benefit of doubt, and that well, that was wrong.”

At that he stopped with his apology, and walked Peter through the isolation ward to the waiting Prison van. It took some moments for Peter to realize what was actually happening, and that this man had drawn all his courage together, and had admitted that he had made a mistake, and had even taken him personally to the van, rather than delegate it to other members of staff.

Before he stepped into the van, Peter turned and stretched out his hand, looking the warden straight in the eye he spoke. “I’m not going to pretend it hasn’t been hell here for me, especially when I knew all along, that I was completely innocent of these crimes. I not only had to cope with that, I also had to cope with loosing my family, my dignity and my home, along with that, I have had my business been taken into liquidation.”

For a few seconds, he could see the warden flinch, at the thought of what he had been forced to endeavour. “However, in your apology, which I accept, you have restored some of my faith in the human society.”

He kept his arm extended showing he genuinely meant what he said. The warden took his hand with a smile, and explaining that everything was far from over, and that he hoped that his solicitor could now prove him to be truly innocent.

As Peter watched the building fade away in the distance, he leant back on the seat with a smile; this unexpected event, had restored some of his strength, and he was actually looking forward to proving his innocence. It was Guy’s Marsh custodial centre that he had been transferred to, as he walked into the newly build building, he found it difficult to believe he was actually in a prison.

Each room only housed one inmate; and there were fully operational flushing toilets included in all the rooms, along with built in remote control colour TVs. He had noticed a fully equipped gym, a recreation room, and even a row of computers; he could feel himself almost wanting to cry at the freedom and dignity that he had so unexpectedly regained.

Adam could feel the tension growing, he hated anyone keeping him waiting, yet he was powerless, and the growing queue of cars all faced the same problem. As he managed to inch his car forward, there before him some thirty or so metres ahead, he could see the blue light of a police car flashing. Twenty-two minutes later a Police officer stood in the road and waved him on, looking to his right, just beyond the police officer, was a wrangled heap of metal. It no longer resembled anything like the gracious car that it had once been; he could not help thinking to himself, nor wondering if the driver had committed deliberate suicide, or whether it had been a tragic accident. Either way it would have been an impossibility, for anyone to survive the scene that was before him, he could not even make out, what model of car that it had been.

As he drove on, his mind kept reflecting back to the scene of the accident, suddenly there in front of him was a child who had run across the road. “Shit, what the bloody hell…Good Lord I almost killed you”, he shouted. His heart increased its beats three-fold, the child never even stopped, she just seem to fade into some bushes, that led into a wooded area off the main road. As he managed to calm himself, he tried to regain his posture, then there in his mind, he saw the child’s face, it was Elaine.

For some seconds, he never moved the car on, until he heard someone tapping on his side window. “All right, all right” he bellowed, “I’m just about…” He stopped in mid sentence as he realised it was a police officer standing by his car. “Is there any thing wrong sir?” Adam looked into his rear-view mirror; there he could see a police car behind him and a growing queue of cars all waiting for him to pull away.

“I am sorry it was that child who ran in front of me, it just sort of scared me after having seen that accident.”

There was a moment’s silence before the officer spoke, “Well possibly if you had been paying more attention to the road and had not been looking at that accident, you may well have seen her coming.”

Adam was already highly strung; he resented anyone speaking to him in such a manner, and protested angrily at the officer for his remarks. Unknown to him for the last four miles the Police car had been following him, the driver and his passenger had seen the child, as she had run across the green field, before they even had joined the road.

The police officer smiled, “I’m sorry you feel that way sir, were you aware that we had been following you for some four miles?” Adam looked stunned, “Now if you don’t mind sir, would you pull over there, just off the road, so we can let these other good people on with their journey.” He raised his hand and pointed to a lay-by. “Then could you show me your driving licence and any other documents of identification.”

As Adam pulled his car into the allotted lay-by, he watched as the other drivers slowly drove by, many of the passengers pointed towards him with a smile on their faces. Elaine found she had unconsciously taken herself to a remote spot of woodland that her mother and Adam had used in the past, when going for picnics. She actually had liked the area, as it had a small cave that went some hundred meters or so into the cliff face. She had only really found it one day by accident, when her mother’s attentions, were continually been directed towards Adam.

She had felt left out and bored, and not knowing what to do with herself, so she had decided to go exploring, it was then, that she had found the cave. Later that day on their way home, she tried with some excitement to explain to her mother about this wonderful play area that she had found. To her great disappointment Adam had interrupted her, and explained that he and his brother use to play there, when their father also took them for picnics.

His knowledge of the area had disappointed her, as she had hoped and wanted it to have been her personal discovery, having Adam already know of it’s existence had at that time, put the dampers on her excitement.

As Brien came to the road, he noticed the police were talking to someone in a car, hurriedly he crossed dodging between the cars; he had seen Elaine in the distance, as she had crossed the field, and then run straight out into the passing traffic. At the time, he prayed she would make it across quickly and without harm. As the police got back into there car and drove away, Adam looked up and recognised Brien, just before he had disappeared into the wooded glaze, he was still trying to catch up to Elaine. “Dam little Brat,” Adam thought to himself, “Someone ought to teach her a lesson.”

He was still fuming, at having been humiliated, by what he mentally described as a “Dam pig headed little Hitler of a policeman,” not for one moment accepting that he had been in the wrong. Looking into his rear-view mirror he waited until there was enough space to pull out, and then drove off still fuming in a rage.

Elaine reached the clearing where Adam had taken them for the picnic; she was tired and some small droplets of blood stung in her eye, from where she had hit her head, and bouncing off Brien in her apartment. She knew just ahead, tucked secretly away was a place where she could rest and regain her thoughts, as she made her way towards the cave, the hedgerow had grown, and proved to be a tiresome barrier to forge her way through.

Finally, she made it, and then sitting down she breathed in deeply, needing to recover from her ordeal. She was unaware that Brien had been following her, even though it had been some three miles of fields and roads to cross, he had, unknown to her, managed to keep her in view, but only at a distance.

As she rested, she heard a voice that she instantly recognised. “Elaine, where are you?” Her body tensed as she realised someone was near, “Elaine come on love, no one is going to hurt you.”

Realising it was Brien, she could feel her anger growing within her, squatting down she kept herself as low as possible, praying he would not see her. Brien was literally less than five metres from her, and was walking slowly in her direction.

As Elaine watched him, she quietly moved herself slowly backwards, and after a few minutes she had lost sight of him, through the thickness of the hedgerow. Waiting a few more seconds, as been unsure how close by he might be, she listened intensively, and as she stood, a hand grasp her from behind.

Before she had time to scream, another hand was placed firmly over her mouth, muffling her wild and agitated protests. No matter how hard she tried, her captor was far stronger, and with ease she was lifted and carried deeply into the cave behind her.

Frantically and in a blind panic, she tried biting deep into the hand that was covering her mouth; within seconds there was the taste of blood on her tongue. In the next instant, she felt a deadening blow to the side of her face, the force was such that she could feel her head explode with pain. As her feet touched the ground, hands gripped her upper arms and she was shaken violently, in a daze she realised she was losing her consciousness.

In a last desperate bid to try and scream out, another blow knocked her off her feet, her head hurt, it was stunned and she was in acute pain as well as confused, now been unable to even regain any pattern of clear thought.

As her mind drifted in and out of consciousness, there was a smell of cigarettes, and she felt someone’s face pressed close to hers, only seconds, just before she fully lost consciousness, there was a sweet almost sickly smell of cologne. After that it mattered not what happened to her, she lay there no longer resisting, limp and almost dead to the world.

The attack had been so sudden, and incredibly violent, it had not given her time to even think clearly. Then to her surprise, she could see herself lying on the ground; her clothing had been partly ripped off her body, although strangely, she thought to herself that she kind of looked silly just laying there, not moving and helpless. There was a man standing over her body; having his back to her, she could not see his face.

The scene before her, no longer shocked her, there was no pain, and even though she knew it was her lying on the ground, she was somehow distant, separated from what had happened. It was dark within the cave yet in part, it appeared to her as if she had been viewing a scene from her TV. In the next instant everywhere around her changed, her body was embraced in what appeared to be a bright light; all around her were bright shapely beings. There was an overwhelming feeling of love, with her very essence and soul becoming free, as if it had returned to its heavenly home.

Before Elaine had even realised, there was a gentle hand within hers, as she turned her head, there before her she could see her much-loved Grandmother. “Nana” she cried out in delight, it had been many years since her Nan had died, yet for the very few years that she had known this lady she had come to love her dearly.

Now she was there by her side, her whole body was bathed in a most beautiful bright light, for some seconds, the very warmth of love overwhelmed Elaine, and such peace, that now held her body and mind.

Then in the distance she could see a man walking towards her, instantly she had no need for any introductions, she had seen and spoken with this man long before she left her first estate, and was called down from heaven to grow in her mother’s womb. “Jesus, oh Jesus, it’s so wonderful to see you.”

As she reached him, his arms reached out lifting her from the ground and swirled her around like a fair ground ride. “My beautiful child, it is not your time to return home, your father on earth is in need of you. He deeply has missed your company, look there he is, see over there.”

Before she knew it, she was holding her friend’s hand; they were both looking down, as if looking through a frosted window. There as the scene cleared before her, she could see her father, he was writing her a letter, and in front of him on the table, was the card that she had made him, before he went away on his business trip.

It was as if she could read his thoughts and even feel the pain and love that he had for his child. He longed to see her again, and was unaware of the events that had led to this point in time. It was as if she was being drawn back towards him; knowing now that he was himself very ill, and longed to see his daughter again; she looked back, and quickly hugged her companion and eternal long friend, in a very adult like approach, she looked up to him. “You are right, and I must go back, my daddy needs me.”

Within a slip of time, and less than a passing second, she could feel herself moving, her whole body now screamed with pain and it was some hours, before she found the strength to move again. Yet within all of that time, she could see a mighty Angel, bigger than any man that she had ever seen, and he sat next to her, and at the times she needed him, when her body weakened and darkness started moving around her, he held her hand, and within an instant new strength flowed through her, and the darkness disappeared. It was a whole day before she had found enough strength within her, to stand on her own, she tried to walk, but one of her legs was badly broken.

Elaine knew she had to get back, her daddy was due to come home soon, and Jesus had told her that he would need her, to help look after him. Incredibly it was this very thought that kept up her strength. Placing a hand to her head, she paused, then slid slowly back to the ground. “Its no use, I know you will not leave me, but I can’t make it by myself, my leg won’t let me walk.”

As she had finished talking to the angel, in walked Amander, her friend from Weymouth. Elaine almost felt her presence before she had even seen her, reaching out her arms, Amander raced over, “There you are I have been looking for you.”

Incredibly even though her leg hurt, Amander somehow encouraged her to stand and supported her, as she walked from the cave. In her near nakedness, she somehow forced herself forward; with each step the pain grew stronger, until screaming out loudly, she fell to the ground.

Tears were blinding her, her mouth spat out some blood and dust, the Angel who had been constantly by her side smiled. At the same instant, a police dog licked her face, it kept barking trying to draw the attention of its master, yet refusing to leave her side, Amander laughed, she thought the dog looked funny, the way it kept licking her friends face, then turning to bark.

A tall policeman struggled his way through the hedgerow, as Amander turned to the direction of the noise, Elaine noticed the look of fear on her face, “Daddy,” she screamed. As Elaine watched the police officer push his way through the hedgerow, Elaine turned to talk with Amander, only to find that she had once again left the area.

As the policeman stood up, there before him lay Elaine, her dishevelled and torn clothing, along with her dirty body, was badly bruised, a broken bone had torn its way through the skin of a leg. Her face was swollen, making it almost impossible to see her eyes, with fresh blood still seeping from a head wound, and one of her arms hung limp almost facing in the wrong direction.

The stunned man momentarily froze at the sight before him, wandering how anyone, so small and frail could have survived such a violent beating. As he put his radio down, he took off his tunic and wrapped it gently around her, just before Elaine blacked out, she had moved her head to look and talk to the policeman. “I had to come back, Jesus told me my daddy was innocent, and that he was soon to come home, you see he needs me.”

One of her hands warmly slid it-self between his big fingers, as she smiled looking up to him; tears were flowing from his eyes, it was then for Elaine, that everything seemed to blacken out.