The Other Doorway

By Alex R Casey

A young couple and their cat named Crackers are having a hard time making it from payday to payday.
Todd the husband had an accident leaving him with medical problems, and cannot hold down a job.
Jody his wife is the only wage earner.
Events lead to where Todd is sent to the University to hopefully benefit from the Doctor who once practiced psychiatry.
Todd is hired as an assistant, and becomes the center of the psychiatric experiment.
An accident causes the experiment to go wrong and Todd's spirit is thrust out of his body. Once the Doctor and Todd realize what is happening the whole intended psychiatric experiment takes an entirely different direction.
Todd who is sent to investigate the spirit world finds there are many dangers to avoid.
On one of Todd's missions into the spirit world a desperate rescue is required.
There is revenge, unwanted police involvement, espionage, kidnapping, and a murder to solve.
The whole family becomes involved with the spirit world experiment.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Alex R Casey
• Release date: Oct 8, 2014
• ISBN: 9781310038808

Alex R Casey

Alex R Casey resides in Prince George.

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

Confrontation

A loud, angry voice fills the room. The cat takes off and hides under the couch.

Jody stands in the middle of the room, tense demanding. She has had enough.

As she speaks, she looks stern and says, Todd. I want you to see Doctor Morgan. I can't keep going on like this. My wages hardly cover the bills, and you haven't worked in a long tome.

After they let you go at Gem Computers, you haven't even attempted to look for any other type of work.

Jody's sternness takes Todd by surprise.

He sits up to quick and feels faint; he squints his eyes shut' and hopes that everything will go away. He reasons if this moment will pass; he will not have to deal with anything.

It seems to him that everything is moving in slow motion. Sounds are more like echoes in a cave. He takes a deep breath and shakes his head; it seems to help clear his mind.

Jody looks at him to see if anything she said has registered.

Her anxiety level has hit a level nine out of ten.

She takes a few deep breaths; her heart continues to pound.

She clasps her hands together to stop the shaking.

Todd feels trapped.

The encounter has caused his left eye lid to start twitching. He places the knuckle of his index finger of his right hand under his left eyelid and gently massages.

He stalls for time and tries to wiggle his way out of this situation; but nothing materializes.

Jody waits for Todd to speak.

He slowly opens his eyes and looks up at his agitated wife.

The words just seem to slip out of his mouth, I am just a bit depressed and do not need to see a Doctor; I only need a little more time to figure things out.

Jody struggles and shakes her head back and forth while she looks for a solution.

She bites her lip while playing with the tangle of hair in front of her left eye; and lets out a long deep sigh.

She is concerned about Todd; his lack of focus is getting on her nerves.

She has his full attention, and determines not to let up.

Jody manages to relax a little before she says, Todd. I am worried about you; it will not hurt for you to have a check-up; the last time you saw Doctor Morgan was a long time ago. It wouldn't take long; a quick visit is all I ask.

The mention of Doctor Morgan jolts him back into reality; he looks at her, as if she just appeared out of nowhere, and lapses into a slow motion mode. On the back of his hand he picks at a small skin tag while trying to think of an escape plan.

Jody anger is back, and she thinks to her self; enough is enough, this is just about a marriage breaker.

Jody places her hands on her hips, and pauses a few seconds, before she takes control over the situation.

Jody in a stern voice says, I am making an appointment for you with Doctor Morgan, and that is final.

Todd places his hands in his pockets and looks down at his feet. He then looks up to face Jody; there is no getting out of the check-up this time.

It is time to face the music.

Todd is done, finished, and has no answer; he says, Okay. I will go.

CHAPTER 2

University

The bus arrives at a bus stop near the clinic and Todd steps off the bus. He stands by the bus stop for a long time; he is undecided. He watches people come and go at the clinic.

Finally he approaches the steps leading up to the clinic door, and stops in front of the steps to mentally prepare him to enter.

He feels unsure of himself and thinks; Should I or shouldn't I go in.

Finally as he watches, a man with a crippled leg works his way past him and up the front steps; the man uses the hand rail to pull himself up towards the door.

Todd thinks; why didn't he make use of the wheelchair ramp; it would have been easier.

Watching the crippled man work his way up the steps gives Todd incentive to attempt going up the stairs.

Todd thinks, if he can do it, so can I. Todd makes his way up the steps using the hand rail.

As he walks past the doorway, he stops to let his eyes adjust to the lighting, then glances at the receptionist. She is young and well dressed.

She looks up and smiles at him; he wonders if she noticed him admiring her.

A boy comes running, followed by another boy who is smaller. As he tries to catch up to the older boy, he rebounds off Todd's left leg; any thoughts of the reception quickly vanish, and he is back in the real world.

A tired looking mother notices the boys running about, and calls out, Boys for heavens sake be careful!

The air is stale; there is the smell of some powerful disinfectant. Above the sound of canned music there is the sound of noisy children who seem to live in a world of their own. The sounds of a busy office fill the room. Somewhere an exhaust fan whines at a high pitch that threatens Todd with a headache. An overhead blinking fluorescent light adds to the assault, and this makes his head ache somewhere behind his left eye; he wishes he never came.

Todd blinks, shakes his head, then rubs his leg where the boy collided and walks over to the receptionist. She is busy talking on the phone; Todd waits until she finishes the call.

She looks up at Todd and waits for Todd to speak.

Todd makes eye contact and says, Todd Allen to see Doctor Morgan.

She studies her notes, checks off something on her desk and asks him to wait until the Doctor is available. They will call him when it is time.

He finds a chair and sits near magazines and other reading material that are available; Todd picks a chair that is the furthest from the small boys and the man coughing all over the place. Todd is confused, and evaluates his decision to sit here, and realizes it was because of the noisy kids and the man, not because of the reading material.

He looks around the room, and sees more people enter; soon all the chairs are taken.

Todd is happy that he has a chair to sit on; he smiles, and thinks; good thing I got here early and got a seat; pity the people who are still coming.

Soon an elderly woman enters the building, she goes to the receptionist and then over to the seating area, and pointedly looks at Todd.

Todd wonders why she is looking at him; I think she wants my seat, just my luck; I wonder what else can go wrong?

Even though Todd does not feel like standing, he gets up and gives her his seat.

He reflects on his decision to give up his chair; what else could I have done with all those people watching. I would look like an idiot if I didn't.

The grateful woman says, Thank you young man,

She sits down and proceeds to take some wool out of her bag and starts knitting.

Todd gives a weak smile and looks around; his legs feel wobbly.

He tries to think of a way around this; a feeble thought tumbles through his brain; I wonder if it is permitted for me to bump someone a bit younger than myself.

He lets the thought pass, and instead finds a post to lean against.

He watches a man in his late twenties enter the room with tattoos all over his face and arms. There are multiple rings in his ears and on his face. Todd finds the ring through his nose the most hideous.

He tries to envision himself with all those rings and tattoos on his own body and then thinks about the possible consequences of those tattoos; this is probably one guy nobody will hire, and he probably wonders why.

A long time passes before a slim nurse dressed in a white uniform comes and leads Todd to the doctor's office. As she leads, he cannot help but notice her well shaped tanned legs. She opens the door and tells Todd to sit in the chair and wait for the doctor.

As he passes through the door way he wonders. How many more door ways will he navigate through in his lifetime. He also wonders why he is obsessed with doorways.

The room is warm; he sits on a metal tubular chair with a faded grey padded cushion top: it is the only one in the room. He looks around and marvels about some metal hose connections on the wall.

He wonders if he will be required to strip down and lie on the padded table by the wall.

The room is small; he questions whether he will use up all the oxygen before the Doctor arrives and opens the door.

He then notices the air vent in the ceiling. He reasons that the air coming in the ceiling vent is the same stale air in the reception area.

He thinks; at least there are no blinking lights or whining fans in the ceiling.

He looks around some more and wonders if there are any hidden security cameras in the room.

He then mentally considers where he would place a hidden camera if it was up to him to install one.

Many minutes have passed, and Todd wonders why it is taking so long.

Finally the door