• Era Noctis
    The Death of Victoria Annesley

    by Jeremy J.T. Stephen


    It was the 5th of July 1941, and I was responding to an early morning house call in the nearby town of Portsmouth, . It was a horrible morning, to say the least. The rain fell that morning with such a fury that even the devil would have been struck with fear. One could have gone so far as to call the horrible weather an omen.

    I pulled in the driveway of the Annesley House and parked my car. I sighed deeply. I was here to see the daughter of the late Alexander Annesley, owner of Annesley & Bolton Enterprises. For the past month and a half, she had severe fevers, chronic pain, seizures, and many other seemingly random symptoms. I, like the rest of the doctors that her mother hired before me, was resigned to the fact that all I could possibly do was make her passing easy. We were all simply at a loss for what could possibly be the reason for her illness.

    Stifling a yawn, I stepped out of my car and looked towards the heavy oak front doors that served as the entrance to the mansion. Mrs. Julia Annesley was already there, wrapped up in her night robes, waiting for me. I signed again as I began the short walk over to her. “Why did you take so long, Edgar” she asked in her usual rude tone, “You take your sweet time coming here while Victoria is left to suffer in her bed!”

    I bit my tongue and followed her into the foyer of the mansion. She was not the woman one could win an argument with, and arguing with her while I had a patient to attend to was definitely not going to benefit anyone.

    “Take off that wet coat too,” she added, again in the same rude tone that she usually addressed everyone she dealt with in.

    I complied with her request (though it was much more like an order), and I did my best to keep an aura of professionalism as we walked up the two flights of stairs to Victoria's room.

    Victoria was in her bed when we reached her room. I set my briefcase down on her night stand and glanced over her. In the dim light of the room, I could just make out the beads of sweat on her forehead, and the sickly flushed look that masked the attractive girl's face.

    “Have you been putting cold towels on her head and keeping her hydrated?” I asked as I pulled my thermometer from its place among my tools.

    “Of course I have.”

    “And her medication?”

    “Of course.”

    I turned towards Victoria and gently slipped the thermometer into her mouth, “Any seizures today?” I turned my gaze to Mrs. Annesley who was staring at me as if I had just told her that pigs flew.

    “Did I call you earlier in the day?” She shook her head slowly and looked around the room as if searching for something out of place before meeting my gaze once again, “Let me ask you something. Is there a reason, Dr. Crowley, that you feel the need to pester me with questions that have obvious answers? Just do your job and make sure that my Victoria is as comfortable as she can possibly be while she is on her way to recovery.” She turned and walked out of the door, closing it loudly behind her.
    “Your mother really does have the charm of a rabid beast when she is dealing with me, doesn't she, Victoria?” I reached down and pulled the thermometer out of her mouth. 103.4 degrees. “And when I tell her that your fever is increasing, well, I might have to practice in another town like the other doctors she hired before me. Of course if she did that, she would be tasked with replacing me.”

    I chuckled slightly at myself as I turned and walked across the room to the windows. The storm still raged outside, and the pounding of the rain on the roof could be heard clearly here on the third floor of the mansion. I stood there, staring out into the storm as I thought of what could possibly be afflicting Victoria. There were a total of five other doctors that had been brought in to see Victoria and she mysterious illness. The results of the research, as I had read in their papers when I was called for the first time to see her, were inconclusive. No one knew what was causing the girl to have such high fevers, violent seizures, and bouts of excruciating pain.

    A creak in the floorboards pulled me back to reality. I turned and saw her standing there, looking at me with a soft smile.

    “Victoria,” I began, making sure my tone was appropriate, “I thought you were asleep. You didn't hear what I said, did you?”

    She shook her head and stepped towards me, “Dr. Crowley? I had a dream about you before you came.” She smiled awkwardly at me and took another step forward, “You and my mother were talking about me dying. Am I going to die?”

    Her question was like a bullet that struck my heart, “Miss Victoria, I-”

    She shook her head at me. “Just Victoria,” she said.

    “Then by all means call me Edgar, Victoria.” I gave her the most comforting smile I could before continuing. “Victoria, I do not know if you are going to die or not. I can say, however, that its my job to figure out whats wrong with you and do everything in my power to prevent you from dying.”

    "You will be okay, Victoria, understand?” I lied.

    Her eyed lit up as she smiled at me and nodded her head in understanding, “Yes, Edgar.”

    I felt like jumping out of the window right then and there. Telling her that she would be fine when I knew otherwise threatened to tear me me apart right where I stood, but part of me stood strong against the sick feeling in my stomach. What would either of us gain from causing her more stress? All I could do at this point was make her passing as easy on her as I could possibly make it. I sighed in resignation. “Now, back in bed, Victoria. You really shouldn't be standing in your condition. You do want to get better, don't you?”

    The girl complied without the need for much more persuasion, and I made my way across the room to sit on the bed next to her. “How old are you, Victoria?”

    “17,” she said as she idly played with a few strands of her jet black hair, “How old are you?”

    “29,” I replied.

    Satisfied, I stood up and reached into my bag. I pulled out a glass bottle and a dropper, “I'm going to give you this medicine in a bit. It will ease your pain and help to put you to sleep, okay?” I opened the bottle and filled the dropper with the thick, clear fluid. “Sorry if this tastes horrible.”

    I moved the dropper to her lips, and when they opened, I emptied its contents onto her tongue. “Swallow it and try to go to sleep.” I left the bottle on the nightstand with a note to her mother to use it on Victoria as needed, and then packed up my things. I was ready to leave this room from the minute I stepped into it, and that feeling seemed to only intensify the longer I stood in there.

    I turned for the door and began to step outside when I heard my name called from behind me. I turned my head as I opened the door, “Yes, Victoria?”

    Her face was serious now, but her voice remained soft an non confrontational. “You didn't have to lie to me, Dr. Crowley. I know and accept what is going to happen to me, so don't blame yourself for something that you can:t control. God is the only one left out there who can save me, so if I do die, you can blame him.”

    I quickly stepped out of the room when she was done and made my way to the foyer of the mansion to wait for Mrs Annesley to see me off. I stared out into the ominous darkness of the early morning. The storm was over, but occasional roll of thunder could be heard faintly, adding to the terrific mystery of the storm that had just passed.

    I felt a hand rest on my shoulder and I turned to face its owner, Mrs Annesley. Her face was a mask of concern for her sick daughter, and her tone was, for the first time, not rude. “Her condition is getting worse, isn't it, Doctor? Tell me the truth, Edgar.”

    “Mrs. Annesley,” I struggled to keep my voice as calm as possible, despite the horrid feeling that gripped me, “I am afraid that Victoria doesn't have much time left, and at this rate, there will be nothing that I, or any other doctor, can do.” The weight of my words seemed to hit her like a sledgehammer.

    “I see...” Julia stared down at the ground for a second before looking back up at me, her eyes filled with tears, “I understand, Dr. Crowley. Thank you.”

    “Mrs. Annesley. Julia. If there is anything I can do for you, please tell me. I know how hard-”

    “No, you don't know how hard this is, Dr. Crowley. You are giving up on her. I can't let you do that because I will have nothing if she dies.” The sound of thunder echoed though the house, as she stared at me, her face stained by the tears that flowed from her ice blue eyes. “I think it would be best if you left now, Doctor. ”

    I took a step forward and looked down at the woman, “Julia, please. Do you think I like not being able to do anything for her? I am supposed to make people better, damn it. Am I not a doctor?”

    “Please,” she begged, “Please just leave, Edgar. Just like you said, there is nothing you can do.”

    Part of me wanted to protest, but I knew that it would do neither Julia or men any good. I grabbed the handle of my briefcase and put my overcoat on. “Mrs. Annesley,” I struggled for something of value to say to her as I moved the short distance to the door, but I knew there was nothing I could do or say that would make her better. “I pray that God delivers you from your sorrow,” as I opened the door and stepped outside. It was the best thing I could say to someone who seemed to have already given up on God siding with her in a battle that we were all fated to lose.