God Save The Queen Ch. 01

This story is part of an ongoing series. The chronological order of my stories is listed in WifeWatchman's biography.

Feedback and constructive criticism is very much appreciated, and I encourage feedback for ideas.

This story contains graphic scenes, language and actions that might be extremely offensive to some people. These scenes, words and actions are used only for the literary purposes of this story. The author does not condone murder, racism, racial language, violence, rape or violence against women, and any depictions of any of these in this story should not be construed as acceptance of the above.

There may or may not be discussion of political issues in my stories. If you are a Snowflake that feels you need to be protected from any mention of politics, then click the Back button now, and never attempt to read any of my stories ever again. You've been warned.

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Dedicated to the memory of Her Majesty Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith, and Sovereign of the Most Noble Order of the Garter.

Part 1 - Prologue

"You want to do what?" I asked in stunned disbelief.

"I need to go to Point Hol-low." my daughter Carole said. "And see the painting of Nellie Blye."

It was 7:00am, Monday, September 6th, and it was the Labor Day holiday. We were at The Cabin, and Carole had joined Bowser and Buddy at the back door to go out. So I poured a cup of coffee, and Carole and I went on deck and sat in the metal mesh loveseat as the dogs went around the side and down the mountain trail to inspect their territories and do their business.

"There's the train, Daddy." Carole had said as the light of a train appeared on the western horizon. As it made its way towards Town and the curve that would take it south, Carole had 'hit' me with the request to go to Point Hollow. Considering all that had happened there in the past, it was not exactly something I was comfortable doing.

(Author's note: Readers may wish to (re-)read 'Return To Point Hollow', especially Ch. 02 for Carole's experience there.)

But I got a sense that it was important, and not just to Carole. "Okay." I said. "We can go. Do I need to call Father Romano to come with us?"

"No, Daddy." Carole replied. "He's with Dr. Mickelson. We can go see them after we see the painting..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

9:00am. We arrived at Point Hollow in my Police SUV, and it didn't seem to be as forbidding in the morning light as it was at night. I still had a key to the front door of the house, and I unlocked the door and looked inside, then allowed Carole to slip past me and go inside.

We went into the large greatroom. The big windows allowed in plenty of light, which was muted by the dark, rich paneling of the walls. I saw that the mechanism that Dr. Charles Westbrook had used to attempt to hang me had been removed, and the stones were set in place with cement so that they could not move. The painting of Nellie Blye Westbrook was still over the fireplace mantle, still somehow bolted in place and unable to be moved.

Carole just stood in front of the painting, looking at it. I was moving around, looking out the window at the front lawn and the copse of trees on the other side, and then came around and sat down on one of the plush chairs. My daughter had glanced over at me a few times, and had finally had enough.

"Sit still, Daddy!" she ordered. "Clear your mind." I did so, breathing slowly in and out, letting thoughts come and go until the distractions cleared. And then I heard it... what sounded like wind chimes just outside the window filled my ears.

I looked over at the window, but there were no wind chimes there. I focused inward again, and heard more wind chimes, though much more faintly. And then I saw something in my mind's eye. It was my son Jim as a young grown man. He and a lovely blonde woman were admiring the baby boy she was holding. Instinct told me that he was their son. And something beyond instinct told me who that baby boy was going to grow up to be...

"Okay, I'll tell him." I heard Carole say, which dissipated my vision. I looked over at my eight-year-old daughter just as she turned to look at me. "Daddy, can we go see Dr. Mickelson now?"

"Sure." I said, a little quietly, as if I were in a reverie.

"Did you hear the wind chimes, Daddy?" Carole asked as I got up and we walked out of the room.

"Yeah... yeah, I did hear some wind chimes." I said. "Did you?"

"Yes, Daddy." Carole said. "That was Alice, playing her violin for us on the Other Side. But all we can hear is wind chimes..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The Hospice wing of University Hospital is on the lower floors of the southeast wing of the 'I' shape of the Hospital. Carole and I went down the hallway of the third floor to the room that was almost at the very end, and went inside.

The window to the outside faced south, and we could see the bottom of the mountain finger that The Cabin was on, and the tops of several buildings and something of a vista southwards. The headboard of the bed was against the wall to our left. In the bed was Dr. Mickelson, holder of the Gregor Mendel Chair of Genetics at the University Department of Biology... but for not much longer.

The emaciated old man's eyes were closed, and he was lying on his back. Sitting in a chair next to him was Father Alberto Romano. I was remembering that ghastly night at Point Hollow when I stopped Charles Westbrook from murdering a girl and in the process liberating a hideously evil demon, and remembered that Father Romano and Dr. Mickelson had endured beatings at the hands of Westbrook's supplicants.

Father Romano had not broken, and had refused to reveal what had been told him in Confession. Unfortunately, Dr. Mickelson had never recovered. I'd visited him many times, and each time he was worse. "He's practically in a coma." Father Romano said. "He wakes up and has a few minutes of lucidity, but every time he says a demon is coming for him. They're keeping him sedated now. The end won't be long, now."

"That's why I have to talk to him." Carole said resolutely. She brought up to the bed a high chair that a doctor would sit on, and climbed up onto the crossbar footrest. Her head was a foot away from Dr. Mickelson's. "Hi Doc-tor Mickelson." she said.

I should not have been surprised that Dr. Mickelson opened his eyes and looked right at her. Carole said "I'm Carole, the Iron Crowbar's daugh-ter."

"Hi Carole." Dr. Mickelson said, his voice weak but steady. "Your dad is going to give you his crowbar one day. Will it be the one with the Sigma radiation? The one he beat the Slender Man with?"

"No sir." Carole said. "That's the one I'll give to the next Iron Crowbar. I have to tell you this message from Nellie Blye. When the bad guys try to trick you into going with them, don't be fooled. They will tell you the truth is in the woods, but they're lying. The real truth is on the other side of the Stream. Go with Nellie Blye, she'll take you across the Bridge, to the Real Truth."

"Okay." said Dr. Mickelson. "Thank you Carullll..." His eyes fluttered shut, and we did not know it at that moment, but it would be the last time his eyes opened while he remained on this earth...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Daddy," Carole said as we were driving back home, "you didn't even ask me anything about Nellie Blye or Dr. Mick-ul-sun."

"Do you want me to ask you about them?" I asked in reply.

"I was just ex-peck-ting you to." Carole said. "The bad man you stopped at Point Hollow wants to trick Dr. Mick-ul-sun into going the wrong way."

"The Slender Man?" I asked. (Author's note: 'Return of the Slender Man', especially Ch. 02-03.)

"No sir, the other man." Carole said. "The man who tried to release the demon."

"Ah, Charles Westbrook." I said. "Yes, he was a bad, bad man. But he's dead now."

"And Nellie Blye said he still wants to hurt Dr. Mick-ul-son." Carole said. "So I had to warn him. But don't tell Mommy any of this. She gets mad at me because I can't explain why I know that."

"No worries." I said. "It's strictly between us." And you better believe I had no intentions of mentioning any of this... especially my own 'look' into the future... to anyone. Things around Point Hollow were probably best left unexplained, and definitely left undiscussed...

Part 2 - Ode to Joy, Ode to Alice

2:00pm, Monday, September 6th. Teresa and I were in my Police SUV, delivering a very precious package.

"Little Joy wants to see Bowser on Bowser Day." Teresa said. "But I don't want to set too much of a precedent of cured former patients coming to visit, because we would have way too many people."

I replied "Hopefully, we can solve that problem today."

We arrived at Joy's house, a modest home in the Kensington District on the north side of Town. Joy's mother opened the door and let us in. Joy was in the living room, sitting on the floor, looking healthy.

"Hi Mr. Crowbar! Hi Teresa!" Joy said, seeing the box Teresa was carrying. "Did you bring Bowser to visit me?"

"No, we didn't bring Bowser today." I said. Joy's face fell, then I said "But I did bring someone else to meet you." With that, Teresa set down the box and opened it. An all-white puppy poked her head out and looked around.

'Joy' was the proper description of what appeared on the little girl's face as she squealed, and her little hands went to her cheeks in utter surprise. The puppy clambered out of the box and immediately identified her new owner. She went over and began sniffing and pawing at Joy, who began laughing and petting the pup.

Yes, Bowser had gotten some pussy, and he and Sadie Mae had produced another litter of all-white puppy dogs. The firstborn one was the little female we were now bringing to Joy.

"Can we keep her, Mom?" Joy called out as she and the puppy petted each other.

"Yes." said Joy's mother. "But you have to take care of her. She's your responsibility."

"I will!" Joy promised. And yes, Teresa and I had arranged this with Joy's parents a few weeks before.

"She's had her shots." I said. "But she's on the young side to be spayed yet. Y'all can make that decision later."

Teresa asked "Joy, what are you going to name her?"

Joy thought a moment, then said "Alice. After our violin-playing friend that died."

"Aww." Teresa said, trying not to get emotional. "I think Alice would be very proud to have Bowser's daughter named after her."

And so it was that my Guardian of Love and Peace now had a canine sidekick. Joy and the Redoubtable Alice were now family, and would be so for the next thirteen years...

Part 3 - Storm Clouds Gathering

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Channel Two News!" shouted the redheaded MILF reporterette at 7:00am, Tuesday, September 7th, from the rooftop of the building at Riverside and College, with City Hall in her background. "Massive chaos and upheaval in the Town & County Public Safety Department!"

After the hard-charging intro music, Bettina began: "Dr. Rohit Gupta, Acting Public Health Officer, resigned from the Public Health Department over the weekend to take a position in the University Biology School's new Climate Change Center!"

Bettina: "The Public Health Department, which is under Sheriff Antonio Griswold's Public Safety Department, has been run by Dr. Gupta since PHO Beth Paige resigned last November." (Author's note: 'Smoke On The Water', Ch. 02) "Assistant PHO Stella Waters is expected to become at least Acting PHO, and could be nominated to be Public Health Officer full time by Sheriff Griswold, which would require the approval of the Town & County Council. The Sheriff's Department has not responded to Channel Two News's repeated requests for comment."

Bettina: "And now let's go to respected reporter Carl Lemay for more on the Toyota Gang's success in eluding the Police. Carl!"

"That's right, Bettina!" said Carl Lemay from just eight feet away from Bettina on the same rooftop, with the State Office Building and Federal Building behind him as his backdrop. "The Toyota Gang struck again, this time in Midtown over the Labor Day weekend. Four convenience stores were held up at gunpoint by the masked gang in all black, and the perps got away in Toyota vehicles."

Lemay: "Although no one was hurt in any of the robberies, local Police believe the gang members are becoming more violently aggressive in their actions, and local politicians fear that eventually someone will be injured or even killed. Increasing pressure is being mounted on the local Police Forces, and Lieutenant Governor Corey Coons is demanding that Governor Sharon Marshall have the SBI and FBI come in and push the ineffective TCPD and other local LEOs to the side and take over the cases."

Lemay: "In a statement, Lieutenant Governor Coons said, quote, 'Commander Donald Troy has totally failed to protect our citizens, especially People of Color, from this vicious gang, and we need State and Federal level professionals to come in and do the job Troy can't get done', close quote."

Lemay: "The FBI responded to Channel Two News's request for comment, with Special Agent Karl Coleman issuing a statement saying, quote, 'We are monitoring the Toyota Gang situation closely. If we can find evidence of drug distribution, arms smuggling, human trafficking, or anything crossing State lines, the appropriate Federal agencies will come in and shove Donald Troy out of the way, and get the job done that the Town & County Police are incapable of doing', close quote. Back to you, Bettina."

"Thank you Carl!" Bettina shouted as she reappeared on the feed. "That was respected reporter Carl Lemay with that insightful and important story. And in national and international news, first a sad and alarming story from Elberton, Georgia. The famous Georgia Guidestones were badly damaged by a domestic terrorist attack!"

As photos of the Georgia Guidestones were shown, Bettina said: "The Guidestones were erected out of local granite at the behest of a mysterious person named 'R.C. Christian'. Some believe Mr. Christian was in reality Atlanta magnate Ted Turner, who founded CNN and owned the Atlanta Braves for many years. But that was never conclusively shown."

Then photos of the badly damaged Guidestones were shown as Bettina continued: "The Georgia Guidestones were aligned with astronomical events, and had inscriptions in several languages advising human beings on how to live in peace and harmony. They were damaged in an overnight attack that caused the overall structure to become unstable, and authorities had the remaining parts of the structure demolished."

(Author's note: That really happened; you can duckduckgo it. And your author is most very displeased about it.)

Bettina: "And in the United Kingdom, the new Prime Minister wad received by Queen Elizabeth II and asked to form a Government. The new leader will be the Queen's fifteenth Prime Minister, a long list that includes notables such as Sir Winston Churchill and Lady Margaret Thatcher..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"My goodness." lamented Lieutenant Commander Teresa Croyle as the Usual Suspects drank coffee in the Chief's Conference Room. "Could that possibly have been a more dishonest report?"

I said "It was orchestrated, for damn sure. Corey Coons and Karl Coleman used virtually the exact same language about pushing local LEOs aside and taking my name in vain. They think we don't notice those things. They think we are stoo-pid."

Teresa asked: "Don, can you add that to your lawsuit?"

I said "No, I can't use it. Yes, they should say it was an editorial opinion piece, not factual news reporting. But it was carefully worded to not be outright false."

Partly to change the subject, Commander Tanya P. Muscone said "Sheriff, what is going on with Gupta leaving? Is Stella Waters going to be the next Public Health Officer?"

The Sheriff replied: "She's Acting PHO by default; she's the only Assistant PHO left. But I don't like her. She helped Beth Paige run interference for that little snot Walter Walton you arrested in that HAZMAT incident, Crowbar. So I'd rather find someone else to fill the PHO role." (Author's note: 'Smoke On The Water, Ch. 02.)

"Sounded like Bettina was actively campaigning for her to become the permanent PHO." Teresa astutely said.

"Working hand in glove with the Democrats on the Council, too." replied the Sheriff. "Both Malinda Adams and Susan Weston have been pressuring me to do so. I would imagine they'll get louder and more public about it now that Gupta has left."

Chief Deputy Sheriff Cindy Ross said "You guys may have missed the most important thing in that newscast. Just vat ees thees 'Climate Change Center' ov vich shee speeeks?"

Teresa said "It's something the University Biology School is creating. And it's too bad, too. Todd told me that the Biology School was ranked the worst of any relatively major college in the Nation. Dr. Mickelson is in Hospice, and I don't think he's going to live much longer. And they were down to just four Professors left in the Biology School."

Teresa: "However, with my Research Trust funding research to cure children, we've been getting a lot of Pre-Med students majoring in Biology or Biochemistry, and several medical doctors nationwide had expressed interest in joining the Faculty to teach these up-and-coming doctors, and do research to help save children's lives. But then this happened."

Cindy said "Why? Can't they still come and teach pre-med students?"

I said "It's worse than Teresa was just suggesting. Much worse. Under the (air quotes) 'enlightened' leadership of our new University President, Dr. Jerry Moore, and heavily influenced by the filthy one-eyed Totalitarian Socialist, Lionel Carmela, it's not just a 'Climate Change Center'. They're fundamentally transforming the entire Biology School into the (air quotes) 'Biology & Climate Change School', and they're creating a newly endowed Chair, named the 'John Kerry Chair of Climate Justice and Research'."

Me: "Laura told me that almost all of those doctors withdrew their applications to join the Faculty, and that a large number of the Pre-Meds either switched their majors to Chemistry Pre-Med, which could make it harder for them to get into Medical School, -orrrr- they are applying to transfer to other universities in other States."

Teresa: "And Don, you remember that Booster at the Madden Award Reception that left rather than sit at the same table with Jan Camp?" (Author's note: 'Private Practice' Ch. 01) I nodded, and Teresa said "Well, he's no longer financially contributing to the University at all, not the School, not the Athletic program. Nothing, nada. And he's been working hard to have other big-money boosters stop contributing."

Teresa continued: "Tom Riordan is one of the University's biggest donors, and has been for years. But when he heard about this Climate Change Center crap, he told Dr. Moore as well as all the Trustees that they can expect to not receive another dime from him."

I asked "Is it hurting contributions to the Hospital, and to your Research Trust?"

Teresa "Not yet, but I've been on the phone a lot, asking them to keep my Kids in their hearts."

"So who is funding this 'fundamental transfor-may-shunnnn'?" drawled Police Chief Sean Moynahan.

"The Federal Government." I said. "The current Regime's Department of Education and the EPA dangled huge amounts of grant money to do it, and Dr. Moore grabbed it like a lifeline. And for the Biology School, it really may have been a lifeline. And now... they're beholden to what the Federal Government wants to hear. It won't be real science, it will be the results the Government says they want and expect, bought and paid for."