Dead Awake Page #3

Something was choking me.

I thought I was going to die.

And if I could just move,

just break the paralysis,

then I would be OK.

But I couldn't.

I wasn't strong enough.

It's been happening to me too.

The night Beth died and last night.

What should we do?

Get dressed.

Excuse me, Dr. Sykes?

- Excuse me.

- No problem.

Hey.

You helped Linda with

her sleep paralysis.

What did you do?

I told her exactly what I

told you, which is that it's

a harmless medical condition.

It's not harmless.

There's all this research.

There's thousands of cases

where people have died from it.

The victims all saw this thing.

The sitting ghost.

Or an old hag.

Because that's what it's called, right?

The old hag syndrome?

Linda has seen it.

My sister saw it.

It attacked me last night.

It attacked you.

Yes.

I told you it can make you hallucinate.

This wasn't a hallucination.

OK, you've been talking to Hassan.

I warned you not to do that.

He's making your imagination go nuts.

If this is just my imagination,

then how do you explain

people all over the world

seeing the exact same thing?

And thousands of healthy

people dying every year?

And don't tell me it's

from fatal asthma.

Respectfully I'm going to

have to ask you to leave.

Let's go.

This is a waste of time.

Uh, may I see you, please?

Look, we've done amazing work together,

and I would hate to see you

fall back just because...

Linda.

Superstitious madness.

Come in.

Where have you been?

- I've been calling you all day.

- Yeah.

Ringer's off.

The same thing is happening to Linda.

You're done checking out, OK?

I need you to be focused.

I know you don't believe me, but...

No, I do.

I saw it last night.

What the hell are we going to do?

We'll call Hassan in the morning.

I think he can help us.

Hi, you've reached Darryl.

Leave a message.

You don't want to call me back?

Fine.

Then just forget it.

Hey, come here.

This guy's in Austin.

Came again last night.

The doctors, they want

to put me on meds.

Their answers for everything.

I'm scared.

I'm tired.

I don't know what else to say.

Um, pray for me, I guess.

Day six, and I haven't seen it.

I think it's working.

Watch your back end, just to make sure.

But I think I figured out what to do.

How to beat it.

Yeah.

Check back.

That's his last one.

Last entry.

Could mean...

Hello, can I speak to John Pang, please?

Yes, I'm sorry to call so late, but...

Right, well, if I could just

speak to him for a moment.

It's very important.

OK, I'll try back in the morn...

Hello?

He's alive.

That's great.

Yeah, but the woman

who answered the phone

wasn't very friendly.

She said he doesn't want to talk

to anyone and hung up on me.

Keep calling back 'til

they take our calls.

No.

Tomorrow we'll go get Linda

and see him, face to face.

If he figured out how to beat it,

this nightmare could be over.

Linda's gone.

Darryl, Darryl, Darryl.

Well, I got your message.

Seriously.

Lin, this has got to stop.

Really?

Silent treatment?

I know you can hear me.

And all the money we've

spent on counseling?

Nothing's changed.

How do you expect to fix us

if you can start trusting me?

Linda.

Linda.

Linda.

Linda.

No, no.

Linda.

Linda!

Be right back.

What's wrong?

Where's Linda?

She's dead.

Oh my god.

Oh my god.

I tried to tell you.

You wouldn't listen.

Now do you believe me?

I offered her sound medical advice.

And then you showed up, filling

her head with this nonsense

about ghosts and demons.

This isn't my fault.

Well, it's probably not, no.

They found alcohol and

pills next to her body.

No.

That thing killed her.

Nothing killed her.

Except her own fear, fear

you may have helped stir up.

Now I understand that

your sister's death

has been very hard on you.

But you can't blame imaginary

evil for life's misfortunes.

Now, please, go home.

And for your own good, get some sleep.

What happened?

Is she...

Sykes keeps warning me about

Hassan's unorthodox treatments.

I think it's time we find out

what they are.

Hassan?

Hassan?

Let me...

After you.

Hello?

Hello?

Look at all this religious stuff.

What do you suppose this is?

It's a Tibetan prayer wheel.

Inside are ancient words,

prayers of protection.

And when it's spun, it binds to you.

Sorry to barge in.

The door was open.

Yeah.

Sorry, uh, it's a great collection.

Some say it's a bit much.

Nah, it looks like you're

covering all your bases.

Smart to me.

Linda, the friend I told you about.

She died in her sleep last night.

Come, come.

Sit.

We've barely slept since Beth died.

Lack of sleep, yes, that drains

the body, the mind, but...

but fear, doubt, uncertainty,

that drains the spirit.

It's drawn to that weakness.

Once it's locked on, it

attacks over and over

'til it's worn you down.

And once you can't fight

it anymore, It takes you.

I told Beth to stop fighting.

None of this is your fault, Kate.

The hag can visit anyone,

but preys on the weak.

It preys on their fears, because

once you believe, it keeps coming.

Belief, that's how it finds you.

Like a beacon, a light

that draws it towards.

I found a guy.

He says he beat it.

What?

That's impossible.

We're being hunted by a supernatural

force, and that's impossible?

If someone had defeated

it, I would have found them.

I've studied thousands

of medical records,

researched supposed cures

from all over the world.

Did you try the online message boards?

I didn't think of that.

Where is this man?

Austin.

Your friend, how often did she see it?

Couple of times.

But she said Sykes cured her.

If she only experienced it a few times,

Sykes may have convinced

her that it wasn't real.

Is that easy?

You just stop believing in it?

How do you stop believing

in something you know is real?

This is it.

I think it might be better

if you wait in the car.

Oh, cool, yeah, I'll just

stay here and die in my sleep.

Sounds awesome.

All right, but let me do the talking.

Oh, absolutely.

Yes?

Hello, uh, I'm Kate Beauman.

I called last night about Mr. Pang.

And I told you, he don't

want to talk to nobody.

I'm a lawyer working on Mr. Pang's case.

There's a matter I need

to discuss with him.

What kinda matter?

A private one.

I'm not at liberty to discuss it.

Attorney-Client privilege.

You understand.

And who are you?

Lawyer.

Lawyer.

Come on.

Thank you.

Um, will you let him know we're here?

You tell him yourself.

Down the hall.

Second door to the right.

OK, great.

Mr. Pang?

Mr. Pang?

Go on in.

Mr. Pang?

Mr. Pang?

Mr. Pang.

My name is Kate.

I'd like to speak with you.

Such a pretty lady.

No one comes and sees me.

I came to talk to you

about your sleep paralysis.

There's nothing to talk about.

It's not real.

That's what the doctors said.

It's all up here.

No, it's not.

It's real.

I've seen it.

Doesn't come anymore.

No more.

I stopped it.

How?

Huh?

It's OK.

You can tell me.

I need your help.

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