The Beast of 1977 (Book 1)

"They both will fall to the ground. People will wail in agony at the feet of their god...but they will not find mercy."

Isaac's grainy, wicked sounding voice droned on over Doctor Sanyupta's tape recorder.

"I see, Isaac. And can you tell me when these buildings will fall? Do you have a specific date? A month, time or even a year," Sanyupta asked with a thoughtful composure in his tone.

"Od ton kcom em, hctiw rotcod." (Do not mock me, witch doctor) Isaac hissed.

"I assure you, Isaac, I am not mocking you. I am simply curious to know just when this harrowing event will occur, so I can warn others, that is."

"Your time in this world is drawing to a close, mystic. Ruoy niart lliw eb ruoy tsal etaf. Deeh ym ylluferac." (Your train will be your last fate. Heed my words carefully)

"I will do my best to be very careful, my friend." Sanyupta compassionately assured. "On that note, let us conclude our session for the day. After lunch, you can go downstairs and help set up the Christmas decorations with the others."

Doctor Levin pressed the off button on the tape recorder before wiping his teary eyes dry. He wished that he had known about the recordings earlier, but like most of his so called "safe patients", he chose to shove Isaac off to the side, waiting to see if he would relapse back into his schizophrenic state once again.

Just one week earlier Isaac seemed perfectly well. From Jeremiah's point of view there were no apparent or visible signs that would have suggested the man required more time at Ashlandview.

But there was Jeremiah Levin, slumped over at his desk while the Thursday edition of the Cypress Guardian that was lying in front of him kept begging for the young doctor to take yet another glance down at Isaac Mercer's grinning black and white photo.

There was an overwhelming sentiment of shame that he was sinking in. Jeremiah felt like a failure not being able to fully diagnose Isaac's problem. There was that persistent pinching in the back of the man's throat that wanted to believe Isaac's despairing shape-shifting story, to a certain degree that is.

All alone in his office, Jeremiah sat and stared endlessly from the newspaper to his multiple degrees on the wall that in times past he cherished and fawned over so proudly. He has listened to the chilling taped sessions at least five times in the past hour, and not one of his precious diplomas had prepared him for any of what he had listened to in Sanyupta's meetings with Isaac.

A series of knocks at the door interrupted Jeremiah's penitent moment to himself. Discreetly and quickly, the man wiped his eyes with a Kleenex before shouting, "Come in!"

From behind the door appeared a young, bearded, well dressed white man. With a cordial smile wrapped around his face, the man strolled inside and announced, "It's almost noon, Jeri. How about some lunch? My treat."

Clearing his throat, Jeremiah swiped the newspaper from off his desk before slipping it inside one of the drawers.

need to get out

know," Paul prudently uttered, "these cases usually turn out like this most of the

to look up at his colleague with

"Paul, how many patients have you had die since

Paul blushed and turned away as to say that the question had embarrassed him. All Jeremiah

how many," Jeremiah impatiently

what you're parents are gonna say, then don't be. Paul shrugged. "You've got a helluva career still ahead of you. This is only a

on his pale face, Jeremiah got up from out of his seat, grabbed his coat from off the coat rack and stormed right past Paul on his way out the

the door!" Paul shouted, following Jeremiah down

The instant Jeremiah reached the elevator, an unrelenting sense of being closed in suddenly seized him. Even though he wasn't even remotely hungry, the very thought of remaining inside his

off to Calcutta next." Paul

Sighing, Jeremiah replied, "Yeah, that's one city down, ten

is from Bombay all the way to Calcutta?" Paul

his step, Jeremiah followed in suit. The man stuffed his hands into his coat pockets, looked up

trucks honking their horns and yelling for her to move faster. One by one she watched as vehicles veered past her, cursing and giving hand vile gestures.

she and her car were right under the bridge's steel girders. To the side was a large enough walkway where she could park her car

withdrawn woman sat in her cold vehicle, sulking and feeling sorry for herself. Everything she did, from knowingly sleeping with an attached man, to handing down her curse only gripped her body with the kind of

with a

to enter into her head, Karyn began to slip off her clothes. From her hat, scarf, coat, sweater, pants and boots, all the way down to her underwear, every item went flying to and fro inside the car until she was completely naked. Before long, the woman found herself crying. She

even cutting off the ignition, Karyn got out and stepped onto the freezing cold pavement while drivers honked their horns and careened their vehicles from one side

could feel the fur begin to stalk out of her skin; that alone caused her pace to quicken towards the bridge's double ledge that

It was well below ten degrees that afternoon. It was a possibility that people could see her change, but that jarring notion didn't seem to weigh heavily upon the fraught woman as she stepped up onto the first ledge and looked

near frostbite stage at that point. Her toes felt as though they were going to fall right off of her feet at any moment. With every passing horn, Karyn found her shaking body nearing closer to the second and final ledge. Within the part of her brain that still held a remnant of common sense, she