What do you do when your life is flipped upside down? ...and how do you cope when your memories and sanity begin to fail you?
Things took a turn for the worst for Mark when his wife, Rachel, passed away.
But he's got other matters to deal with. A demonic entity stalks him. And he's just found out he's a healer.
Join Mark as he travels down an unfamiliar path, discovering a world filled with lies and deception. But the worst was not being able to make sense of what was real anymore. Between life-changing decisions and troubling questions, a dark conspiracy reveals itself and faces Mark.
What was going on, and was it too late to turn back?
What do you do when your life is flipped upside down? ...and how do you cope when your memories and sanity begin to fail you?
Things took a turn for the worst for Mark when his wife, Rachel, passed away.
But he's got other matters to deal with. A demonic entity stalks him. And he's just found out he's a healer.
Join Mark as he travels down an unfamiliar path, discovering a world filled with lies and deception. But the worst was not being able to make sense of what was real anymore. Between life-changing decisions and troubling questions, a dark conspiracy reveals itself and faces Mark.
What was going on, and was it too late to turn back?
The last two months had been a blur, but Mark remembers the nightmares beginning only a few weeks ago.
Rachel was furious—he didn’t recognise her. During his dreams, she’d turned into a man-slaying demon with only one objective: kill Mark. She was angry—vengeance and death emitting from her core. Her long blonde hair was now jet black, curled like rearing snakes, and her eyes—her soft and bright hazel-green eyes—were folded into dark narrow slits. A demon ready to devour its prey.
He feared her. At times, he swore that he’d seen it during his waking hours, the beast slipping out from his subconscious. One time, he was sure he saw it looking at him with those threatening eyes as he pulled into his driveway, but maybe it was a sign he was beginning to lose his mind.
“Mark? Mark!”
Eyes blinking, he snapped out of his reverie.
Right. Board meeting.
He must have zoned out—the general topic was regarding the direction of the company based on the last quarter’s performance. He’d been in countless meetings like this. He enjoyed the post-meeting chatter. It allowed him to interact with some of the company’s most senior teams.
Mark had proven himself as a programmer, single-handedly (for the most part, although his close work friend Brad would probably disagree!) developing the CyberGuard Security Solution the company still uses to this day. It was twelve years ago. He’d completed his degree in computer science and IT and was one of the lucky few to be granted an internship working on Varion’s (the company’s) security system and coding for cutting-edge software. It was a crucial step at the time—Mark was young and full of enthusiasm—and it didn’t take long to prove himself to his bosses.
From a young age, Mark focused on his career. His thirst had led him to become the general manager of Varion, a company boasting some of the globe’s greatest minds in tech, VR and AI. It employed just shy of one thousand people with sixteen offices worldwide.
With relentless passion, each day was a new and exciting challenge. He was smart; articulate and intellectual—something many said about him—but things at Varion quickly went from bad to worse.
Mark tilted his head, a quick gaze to his left before scanning the room. They all wore the same expensive suits—Briony, most likely.
“…Mark, after our last two meetings, we haven’t seen a change in your behaviour and performance and the board feels you’re no longer an asset. Out of good faith, we feel it’s appropriate to let you finish the last three months of your current project. But following that, we’ll have no choice but to—”
A pause.
“—to let you go.”
Mark squinted, simultaneously scrunching his face. He wiped it with his right hand before springing his head up, attempting to survey the space. He had no idea who’d given the speech—just that it was someone on the opposite end of the room. It didn’t matter though.
It took him a few moments to realise what was happening, but once it sunk in, red and black smudged across his vision.
“What, me?”
Silence.
What the fuck? All those hours—the sleepless nights working on proposals, plans and apps. All the challenges and effort. He’d given this company everything. And those first two “meetings” about his behaviour and performance (or lack of)? Bullshit.
And not to mention Mark’s contribution to Varion. His CyberGuard system had implemented a strategy that ensured the company’s data was secure—it filtered spam, prevented viruses and its AI was complex enough to update itself by attempting to hack Varion’s system, the one it was designed to protect. CyberGuard had gained industry-wide recognition as the most secure software available. It made Mark famous as the Corporate Security Genius. And now they were sacking him. Bastards.
And Rachel—
“Anything you want to say?”
Mark snickered. “No.” What was the point?
“We know how hard it’s been, especially with your loss.”
Mark’s palms began to sweat. The nerve they had to bring her into this. Crimson filled his mind. He balled his fists at his sides, rage blurring his thoughts.
I can’t blow up now. I have to calm down.
His heart pounded, threatening to burst through his chest. His shirt felt uncomfortably tight, the air around him oppressive and heavy. Fury rose, a tangled, throbbing knot of rage demanding to take over.
He took a few deep breaths before muttering, “I’ve been nothing but committed to this—to the company.”
“We might be able to shuffle things around but for now, it’s not the best look. Your lack of professionalism and attention to detail has given the board no other choice.”
It was difficult to understand why they were so calm. Can’t they see what I’ve been through?
Mark wanted to grab each one of them and shake them—shake some sense into their heads.
“I was willing to focus on this company more now than ever—and it’s come to this?” His anger dissipated, but the frustration didn’t. Despite his efforts to keep from exploding, his voice quivered like a wounded child, betraying his feelings to the boardroom.
“Mark, we’re with you. If there’s anything you need—”
He scoffed, wiping his face again, this time with a little more vigour. “No, don’t give me that!”
“Well, that concludes our meeting. Business as usual.”
They all hurried out. Mark rose from his chair last and walked over to the window that stretched from the floor to the ceiling. He stared out over the city skyline and the Brisbane River below. It felt like a rock was tethered to him—to his guts, to his chest, to his heart—and he feared he’d fall through the floor.
He’d miss the view. His eyes trailed a vessel that floated on murky, brown water. It calmed him, but not by much. Not the most pristine view, but magical in its own way. It brought a distinct flavour to the city he had enjoyed calling home. A culture that locals and visitors appreciated about a town that screamed progress, but deep down, was as laid back as they come.
He’d always wanted a corporate job, working in IT and software development.
What was all that for?
All those years. He’d lost Rachel, and the same had just happened to his career. He couldn’t understand the board’s decision to dismiss him. Had he been that bad at work? Sure, he probably could have worked a little more efficiently, but that calls for more conversation, not a sever.
The Healer by Brown Mohamed asks the question: can humans be trusted with superhuman powers? Mark is struggling to adjust after the death of his wife Rachel. He loses his job, finds himself haunted by a demon, and finds out that he can heal the physical ailments of others, all within a very short span of time. He tries to cope by helping as many people as possible, but he soon learns that not everyone has the same good intentions. He struggles to navigate his new ability, and he must also learn who he can trust. Dark forces play mind games with him and cause him to question everything he knows about himself.
This story was fast-paced without becoming confusing. Each time Mark experiences a flashback, the leaps back and forth in time are clearly defined and easy to follow. Even during Mark’s struggle to identify reality, the storytelling remains consistent. During this struggle, the reader experiences the same bewilderment as the main character. One moment the truth is present, the next it is cloudy. There is also a great use of mental imagery within the story. Mark’s method of healing takes place in a space outside the physical realm. Each of these scenes is vividly described and specific to the sick person. The devices used by the antagonist to confuse Mark are successful in keeping the reader guessing, indeed to the point that the reader is not even certain who is a friend and who is the enemy.
I thoroughly enjoyed the plotline and storytelling. This book was well edited and there are no errors present that would detract from the story. The language used in the story makes it easy to read and understand, which is important for such a shifting storyline. It is imaginative and well-written and will keep the reader guessing until the very last pages.