"Out where the mountains meet the heavens above
Out where the lightning strikes the sea
I can swear that there´s someone somewhere watching me
Through the wind and the chill and the rain
and the storm and the flood
I can feel his approach like a fire in my blood"
Bonnie Tyler/Holding Out For A Hero

"I can't seem to face up to the facts
I'm tense and nervous and I
Can't relax
I can't sleep 'cause my bed's on fire
Don't touch me I'm a real live wire
Psycho Killer
Qu'est-ce que c'est
David Byrne/Talking Heads/Psycho Killer


Phil was so very happy to see her alive, even if it was for a short time. It almost clouded his thinking, he was so caught up in the vision of her. Suddenly the door to her room opened and in walked Jon, Dennis, Dana and Mike. They had all taken up the vigil of being with her, and now with the end near they all decided to visit her together. Phil smiled, seeing his old friends and wished he could talk to them, but he was running out of time.

"Jan," Mike said, "we're here, honey." She turned her head and opened her eyes.

"Oh, hi fellas. Why didn't you tell me you were going to come, I would have bought snacks." They smiled at her with a mixture of humor and pity. "Oh guys, you didn't say hi to Phil." She mumbled. They looked at each and just shook their heads. The doctors had mentioned something like this happening after the cancer spread to her brain.

"What, Phil?" she said, facing the other way now. "He says to tell you that it is okay if you don't believe me, because he doesn't believe you are really here either." she began to giggle.

"Look Jan, Phil is dead, okay?" Jon said, still not able to come to terms with his loss. "I know that, silly." she said to him, "I know that better than anyone, but he is here, he is standing right there. Can't you see him?" She raised her hand slightly and pointed toward the window. They followed her finger and looked. Jon did notice just the slightest bluriness when he gazed across the bed. He wiped his eyes and looked again but it was gone. Just something in my eyes, he thought to himself.

"Phil says don't be an idiot, Jon. You don't see him now cause he moved. He's standing there now…" She pointed to the end of the bed and sure enough there was that same slight distortion in the air. It was about Phil's height, too. "Oh guys…" Jon began, but he didn't need to continue because they saw it too.

"Mass hysteria." Dennis said out loud. "Look, there's nothing there." he said, walking into the haze. "Holy Fuck!!" he backed away from the spot in a hurry. "What is it, D? What did you feel?" they all asked. "I didn't 'feel' anything, but I heard Phil as clear as day, saying to get off his fucking foot." They all broke into laughter. Jan was smiling now. "He says to be careful going home cause you are gonna get into a little fender bender. Everybody will be okay, just make sure your wearing your seatbelts."

They were all so happy and amazed they could barely contain themselves. He was okay, he was really here and he was really okay. Jon, for the first time in two years, felt a weight lift off his shoulders. Now he could get on with his life. "Boy, who regulates the temperature in here, it is too damn hot." Dana said, checking the thermostat on the wall. It read 82 degress. Phil had been so caught up in seeing them again that he lost track of time. With an urgency born of a deeper knowledge, he knew he needed to get them to leave. He told Jan to tell them but she had very suddenly lost conciousness, taking a major turn for the worse. He had no way to communicate with them except to pass through them and that wasn't a good thing to do right before going into battle. Putting yourself into someone elses body was a trick that was one of the most draining. He couldn't afford the risk. If only he could get them to hear him. He closed his eyes and concentrated very hard on throwing his thoughts across the room in the hopes that one of them would pick it up.

"Get out of here now. You have to leave. It is dangerous to stay. Leave." He repeated it over and over, then opened his eyes and watched their reactions. Only Mike seemed to be listening. "Hey fella's, I think Phil is trying to get us to…" he began to say but just as he was about to grab everyone and run, sensing Phil's urgency, the heat in the room jumped a good 5 more degrees, the door knob to the room was too hot to touch and the door locked itself shut. They were trapped in a sauna with no way out. Phil could do nothing for them at the moment because he could tell that Jan was very close to passing over. Her breathing was shallow and irregular, and she was in a state that was impossible to communicate with. He would have to wait for her to come to him now.

"Dear God, I hope she hurries." was the last thing he said before he saw the inky black circle open up in the corner and Simon walking through it.

Part 35