A Visit To The Shaman

Detective Yolanda Hamilton was in an elated mood tonight. The most anticipated victory of the past month had just been secured and now, she was just one step closer to becoming a lieutenant. Could there be any better news than this? 

Her eyes began to feel dizzy as she drowned another shot of the whiskey in her throat. It caused a burning sensation as it made its way into her stomach, and then the lingering feeling of satisfaction followed. 

She belched out in another moment and a satisfied grin crossed her face. From her vision which was now beginning to dull, she could make out the faces of three of her colleagues who had joined her in her drinking spree. 

Kevin Owens, the nerdy officer with glasses was seated on his far left trying to coax the barman into fixing him another shot even though it was obvious that he'd had enough. 

Tyler Hartman, who was perhaps the most experienced one amongst them having been in the force for almost fifteen years was seated by his right. He was the oldest amongst them and the most well-behaved. So far, Yolanda thought he still looked very sober even after all the shots he'd had. A person could only achieve such a feat through experience. 

Then, the officer seated next to her was Charles Hilary, her closest companion, partner, and friend. All along, Charles had watched the whole drama unfolding before him without having even as much as two shots. He was the perfect gentleman among them. 

Yolanda tried to focus her eyes on the barman who seemed determined to make her crawl home with her hands. Even though her memory was hazy, she could still remember when she'd first stepped foot into the bar and how skeptical the barman had been about entertaining them as he was just about to lock up. 

The waving of crisp dollar bills in his face had changed his mind instantly and now, he was getting them drunk with reckless abandon. 

Yolanda drank the last shot and stretched her hand toward the barman for a refill which he obliged to after a moment. 

As she lifted the shot to his mouth, her hand began to tremble and the glassware fell to the ground, shattering into many pieces. 

The rest of her companions were instantly attracted to the unwelcome sound they had just heard. Their stares followed the scattered glassware on the floor and refocused back on Yolanda who had a blank look on her face. 

"What?" She blurted out sharply. "The damned thing had it coming anyway."

Charles observed her for a moment, unable to put his thoughts quickly into words. Rather, what came out was, "Yolanda, I think we should leave. You've had enough. Plus it's almost midnight. We need to get home in time to get to work early tomorrow."

Yolanda gave him a lingering look and burst into a fit of laughter. "What? You think I'm drunk?" Another sarcastic laughter followed. "Would a drunk person do this?"

In an instant, Yolanda struggled to her feet and began to stagger. 

Her friend had an understanding smile on his face. "That's it, Yolanda. I owe it to you as your friend to get you off the street in one piece. Off you go."

He rose to his feet and waved a 'goodbye' to the other officers on the bench. Then, he put his arm over Yolanda's shoulders and led her out of the bar. All her protests fell on deaf ears. 

Outside, the air was chilly and smelled of dead leaves in autumn. Yolanda could barely see the road that lay ahead of him. Thankfully, her friend was strong enough to cling to her frame and hold her up while they took drudgery steps to the parking lot. 

The parking lot was deserted leaving only two police vans parked askew. Charles pulled Yolanda to one of them. He made her lean on the car while he tried to open the door. The car made a beeping sound and clicked open. 

With an enormous surge of strength, he pulled Yolanda to the other side of the car and dumped her body inside. She was barely awake now and was constantly mumbling words to herself. 

Charles heaved a sigh of relief as he turned over to take his seat on the other side. He turned on the ignition as soon as he was comfortable and the car revved to life. 

He drove out into the city. Yolanda was still mumbling words to herself and every now and now, Charles looked over her with concern. There was not much to do. He could see that his friend was spent. But it was nothing that a good night's rest and sleep could not fix. 

He drove in silence for almost fifteen minutes, tearing his way past the obscure part of town where they were and making his way to the suburbs. Then, he came to an abrupt stop before a roadblock. Charles looked with utter disbelief at what lay before him, then his gaze returned to Yolanda who seemed suddenly sober. 

"What is it?" She asked, wide-eyed. 

Charles gulped hard, going over his next course of action in his mind. "There's a roadblock. We have to go through the other side of town."

By that, he meant the side lined with woods and God-knows-what. 

For some reason, Yolanda did not seem bothered even one bit. 

"Well then, go through with it." She said matter-of-factly. "What are you waiting for?"

Charles opened his mouth to respond but thought better and closed his mouth again. Then, he stepped on the pedal and reversed the car. It looked like it was going to be a long night 

Ten minutes later, he was driving past the thick woods with a drunk woman seated beside him. He turned on the volume on the car stereo to drown the mimicries of the forest creatures. It was giving him the creeps. Sia's Chandelier was blaring from the car stereo. It gave him some sort of soothing effect. 

Suddenly, he felt a small tap on his shoulder. He turned to find Yolanda staring wide-eyed at him. He shot her a questioning look at once. 

"Stop the car, now!" Yolanda ordered. 

Charles gave her an adamant glare. "What's going on, Yolanda?"

But she was barely listening. She was staring at a glowing building just across from them. Charles squinted his eyes, trying to read the sign on the door. 

It said: We could all die tomorrow. Want to read your palms and tell the future? Stop by the Shaman's house to find out. 

He turned to look at Yolanda, a puzzled look on his face. 

"What do you want to do in there?"

Yolanda gave a faint smile. "You wouldn't understand but you're welcome to come with me if you want."

Before Charles could stop her, she'd jumped out of the car and had begun to walk towards the glowing house.