The Leader Read Online Free

It all happened so fast, and the
next thing I knew, I was in the hospital.”
    “ Those don’t sound like the
symptoms of a heart attack,” Dr. Reyes commented with a frown. “And
it doesn’t match the side effects that are possible with that
prescription. Do you drink alcohol or take any other
medicine?”
    “ No.”
    The man leaned forward, placing his
elbows on his knees and said, “Level with me, Alex. I need to know
what’s going on for your well-being. Do you take drugs?”
    “ What?” Alex practically
shouted, hardly believing his ears. “No! How could you even think
that?” He fidgeted in his chair and ran his hand through his hair
again. “No, I don’t take drugs, and I never have.”
    “ It’s okay. I didn’t mean
to upset you. I just had to ask. You know, to cover all my bases.”
He sat up straight. “I can’t explain why that happened to you, but
it’s not because of the pills. Nothing in any of the trial studies
reported any of those side effects. I think you’re safe going back
on the pills. I’m going to write you another prescription. I
believe you’re due for a refill anyway.” He stood up and wrote on a
pad he dug out from his pocket. He ripped the piece of paper and
held it out to him.
    Alex stared at the piece of paper and
hesitated. Which was worse? Could it be that the pills were not
responsible for this hospital stay? Finally, he took it. When he
picked up his prescription, he would carefully read the list of
possible side effects.
    “ And I think we should look
into doing some psychological evaluations. It’s possible we could
be dealing with a mental illness.”
    Alex swallowed the lump in his throat.
He expected this. Glancing up at his doctor, he asked, “Will I go
to the mental ward?”
    Dr. Reyes smiled. “No. Most people
with mental disorders take medicine that enables them to cope in
the real world. You are mentally capable of going about your life.”
He patted Alex on the shoulder. “Be sure to see me for a visit in
two days. If you have any complications before then, give me a
call. Okay?”
    Alex nodded and stared back down at
the paper.
    Once the doctor left, he tucked it
into his pocket and got to his feet. He needed to get to it and
check out.
    Another gentle knock came from the
door.
    A relieved smile crossed his face.
“Hi, Autumn.” After the stress and horrors of all he’d been
through, he needed a friendly face.
    “ Are you ready?” she asked,
looking concerned.
    “ I guess.” He zipped up his
bag and swung it over his shoulder. “Can we stop by a pharmacy to
get my prescription filled?”
    She waited for a long moment, as if
carefully weighing her words. “Are you sure that’s a good
idea?”
    “ Dr. Reyes said they had
nothing to do with my heart attack.”
    She bit her lower lip. “I don’t
believe you had a heart attack.”
    “ The emergency doctor said
I had one.”
    “ Doctors can be wrong.” She
shrugged. “What would happen if you don’t take the
pills?”
    “ It could come
back.”
    “ The alien?”
    “ Yes.”
    With a heavy sigh, she studied his
expression. “It’s not an alien, Alex.”
    “ Then what is
it?”
    She hesitated for a moment, shifted
from one foot to another, and finally said, “It’s a
demon.”
    He laughed. “That’s old-time
superstitious nonsense.”
    “ Is it? You said the thing
attacked you and gives off an evil vibe.”
    “ Yes, but the aliens aren’t
the good guys they’re pretending to be.”
    She shook her head. “The demons are
masquerading as aliens.”
    “ That’s really farfetched.
Weren’t demons around since Jesus’ time? If these things were going
around pretending to be aliens, then why haven’t we seen aliens
before now?”
    She stood still for a moment and
thoughtfully replied, “Well, there was Roswell.”
    “ Okay. Fine. That was in
1947. That wasn’t way back in the past.”
    Shrugging, she admitted. “I don’t know
why they’re doing it now. I just know they