Absence of Faith by Anthony S. Policastro Page B

mouse to disable the screen
saver and then put in her password. She should have pulled the
shade down first, and then turned on the light, she thought, but no
one would notice anyway. The computer hummed softly and the monitor
came to life, illuminating her face in an eerie light that made her
appear spectral. She began typing - her eyes were on
fire.

Deception - Chapter 13

    C arson
couldn’t dial the phone fast enough, his emotions spewing out like
hot lava. "That was pretty low of your girlfriend to print that
story without asking. If I had known that everything I said could
end up in print, I wouldn't have said a thing!" Carson
shouted.
    "What are you talking
about?"
    "The article! Haven't you seen the
article! It was on the front page!"
    "No, I haven't seen it! What does
it say?"
    "The Hellfire Syndrome!" Carson
shouted. "It just makes us all look like a bunch of
quacks!"
    "I'll talk to you later about
this," Gary said and hung up. His stomach twisted and turned as he
took an elevator to the first floor and headed towards the lobby
gift shop. He found the stack of the Ocean Village Sentinels and
picked one up. The front-page headline read:
Doctors Baffled Over Hellfire
Syndrome
Patients Appear to Enter Hell
    By Julie Watson
Special Investigative Reporter for the Sentinel
    OCEAN VILLAGE - Several specialists
from local hospitals reported that area patients have had
unexplainable near death experiences and seemingly entered
hell.
    The mysterious symptoms have been
labeled, the Hellfire Syndrome, and include being pronounced
clinically dead, coming back to life with burnt skin, and having
memories of entering a dark tunnel and falling downward, according
to the specialists.
    The doctors have no clue to the
origin of the symptoms.
    Many patients have awoken
hysterical, claiming that they went to hell. All develop burnt
skin, similar to severe sunburn shortly after they awaken, the
specialists explained. The doctors declined to give their
names.
    Although many of the physicians
interviewed said there was a medical explanation for HFS, they
could not produce any evidence of a disease and only produced
unproven theories for the cause of the symptoms.
    A psychiatrist explained that for
several people to have the same experience, they would have to have
the same fears. However, he added that it was only a
theory.
    One church official, however,
disputed the doctors and said that it is very possible that these
patients actually entered hell because the devil has been gaining
strength in this century as evidenced by the rise of
Satanism.
     
    "That bitch! How could she! How
could she do this?" Gary yelled.
    A white-haired woman behind the
small counter looked up with wide eyes. Gary glared back and
started toward the doorway.
    "Hey, aren't you going to pay for
that newspaper!"
    He threw the newspaper at the old
woman, its pages coming apart like a fallen bird.
    "I'm going to report you to your
supervisor!" she screamed running from behind the counter to pick
up the pages.
    Gary took out his cell phone and
called the Ocean Village Sentinel. Julie wasn't there. He dialed
her cell phone and got her voicemail.
    "Who the fuck do you think you are?
Where do you come off printing that story without permission! You
really screwed things up!"
    Gary hung up and dialed Ocean
Village Hospital. He got a busy signal. After several attempts, he
got through.
    "Doctor Carson Hyll, please," he
said.
    "Hello, Carson. I had no idea she’d
write that story. I can't even find her - she's out on assignment.
I'm really sorry. It makes us look like a bunch of witch doctors. I
would never let her write it if I knew - I would have insisted that
she interview everyone directly and ask permission. I hope this
doesn't cause any trouble," Gary said.
    "Well, it has!" Carson said. "The
hospital's phones are ringing off the hook - everyone in town is
scared to death and calling to find out if it's true. There's a
general panic!"
    "I'm sorry. I had no
idea."
    "I