Chapter 4

The door alarm!

The night shift nurse dropped her romance novel on the desk and swiveled her chair to the webcam monitor: West door number three was open! She mouse clicked to the outer West cam, and sure enough, an old man in a wheelchair was pushing himself along as fast as he can towards the forest, wheelchair weaving a crooked but quick path. Was that old man Aviles, off his medicine again? She grabbed the public address microphone.

"Security! West door number three! Mr. Aviles or maybe Duncan, AWOL!"

Security responded, calling her cell phone. She answered on speaker.

"We're on it!"

She hung up the phone and returned to the monitor. The old man made it to the forest and disappeared into the moonless night but no matter, the two security guards could out run him and catch him soon. The webcam showed them heading towards the forest at a dead run, no more than two or three hundred feet behind the old geezer.

Third time this summer!

The crowbar wouldn't work as easy as it did on the West door: the East door entrance was not only locked, there was a chain across the door handles.

Damn! Wendy slipped the crowbar in between the handle and chain and then looking around one more time, slowly began to pry it backwards.

The handle suddenly snapped, and went flying past her before she could react.

"Ow!" Wendy turned around. An old man was holding his head where the flying metal door handle struck him. It was too dark to see if there was any blood. Wendy would know that voice anywhere, pain or not.

"Oh! Sorry Dipper! I didn't expect you to meet me here so soon."

He whispered back "I'm OK. Let's hurry!"

Then she turned back to the door. Now she only had to get the door itself open, now that the chain was off one side.

"Wendy, hurry!"

"OK, OK already! Hold your catheter!"

She slipped the crowbar between the electric sliding doors, and slowly pushed them apart.

"Hope there isn't a damn sensor here too! The less we open them the less chance we have of triggering one if it's there. Sideways dude. Go in sideways." She nodded for Dipper to go in first, who easily slipped in sideways through what must have been 18 inches, although he snagged his bathrobe. Then Wendy turned sideways and slipped in between the doors too, but with effort. Dipper blushed as he saw her boobs get squished a little as she forced her way through.

"Ow. Damn doors." But she made it in without any new alarms. Now they lowered their whispers even more softly. She got behind him and gently pushed.

"Lead the way Dipper."

"But…I don't know where the delivery room was. Is. You do, right?"

"Oh yeah, right. Follow me."

There was still a little light reflected from some overhead lamp around the hallway corner somewhere, but not much. They could make out the hallway and doors on the left and right, and could smell dust, a LOT of dust. They could hear distant sounds like a door closing on the other side of the building, but it was a distant echo.

Wendy was brave, but now as they came to a hallway intersection, with a large double door on the right side she began to slow down and then stopped. Dipper noticed her breathing became quick and shallow as they stood there.

"Wendy…are you…OK?"

She nodded, saying nothing, then she grabbed his hand and slowly began pulling him.

Her grip is strong…but…she is scared!

He squeezed back. His emotions were mixed.

We're holding hands! But…I want to comfort her and let her know it will be OK.

"I'm right here Wendy. Just get us there and I'll do the rest."

"Thanks man. I think we are there. Those doors…"

Dipper let go of her hand and walked in front of her, and across the hallway to the doors.

He pushed them open, looked inside and then looking back at Wendy he nodded and waved her forward to join him.

She slowly walked up behind him and placed her hands on his back.

I must be brave for her! I'll prove her trust in me was the right thing. They walked into the delivery room.

It was darker in the room than in the hallway, there were no lights at all. Wendy used her cellphone, its dim white light showing only a small circle of view at a time. She slowly panned across the room.

There was an ultrasound machine. There was a heartbeat monitor. An old chair with cobwebs. Then…the delivery table.

It was unmistakable: the stirrups at one end, and the gurney rails on either side. Wendy kept staring…and staring…

"Wendy…are you OK?"

Please take the children to the waiting area! They are not allowed in here!

Wendy! Bring your brothers! NOW!

Dipper could see Wendy start to shiver.

Mommy? I wanna stay with you! Mommy?

Wendy, come, now!

Daddy? Is mommy gonna be OK?

Dipper saw a tear drop sparkle in the dim light of the phone as it dropped from her cheek onto the cold tile floor.

"Wendy. Wendy listen to me. Shut the light off."

She just kept staring at the stirrups.

"Wendy! Please! Shut the light off!"

"Huh? What? Why?"

"Trust me on this OK?"

Wendy turned and stared at Dipper. "Oh. Right, sorry man."

She shut off the light. Now they were in darkness.

"What's the plan man?"

"We need to give her an opportunity…to …appear. If she is here."

"Ah right. Kay man."

As they stood there in the dark, straining their eyes and ears, Dipper felt her search for and hold his hand again. He could feel himself blush again, but held her hand firmly. He could tell she was shaking a little, and her hand seemed cool.

"Mom?"

"Hush. We have to be quiet."

"Sorry."

They stood in the dark, holding hands. Nothing.

"Wendy, try touching the table thing. The..."

"The stirrups?"

"Uh yeah, the stirrups, or even the table. Let her know you're here."

Wendy let go of Dipper's hands and touched both stirrups with her hands.

"They're cold."

"Try calling her again."

She hesitated but stood between the stirrups, and holding one in each hand, looked up in the dark, eyes opened then closed.

"Mom? Mother? Are you…here?"

They stood in silence. Nothing.

Dipper spoke up again.

"Maybe we need to check out the other maternity rooms. Maybe she didn't …die…in here."

"OK"

Wendy grabbed his hand again and they walked out of the double doors and back into the relatively lit up hallway. They opened the first door they came too.

This one had a window to the outside. It had drawn curtains but enough light came in from the outside parking lot lamps that they could see without her cell phone.

There was an old bed, sheets missing, and a stained mattress. Wendy walked up to it and touched it.

"Mom?"

Nothing.

She walked up to the window, and drew back the curtains an inch and peeked outside.

There were the security guards talking to the nurse, She had a clipboard and was quite animated as she was talking to them and then pointing to the clipboard. They walked back to the West door.

"We may be running out of time Dipper."

"OK a few more rooms then we bail."

They went to the next room. Then the next. And then next.

Dipper washed his face again with soap and water then growled.

"What a hassle!"

"You have to use remover broseph! Here."

"Now you tell me."
"You didn't give me a chance."

"Sorry Dipper."

Dipper and Mabel turned to Wendy.

"No, no, no I am the one who is sorry Wendy. I don't know what I am missing, but we'll find her. One way or another we'll find her."

"Thanks for going through a hassle."

"No Wendy it isn't…I didn't mean it like that."

"I know."

Mabel walked up to Wendy and placed a concerned hand on her shoulder as the redhead was bent over sitting on Dipper's bed, her head in her hands.

"Wendy…forgive me for…what if…what if you can't find her ghost, because…she isn't a ghost?"

Wendy looked up.

"I did think about that…and if it is true, then I am a little happy because…she is in heaven? But…"

"It's OK Wendy. It's OK to be a little selfish, to want to see your mom again."

Tears began falling from her face again, and Mabel sat on the bed next to her.

Dipper wiped his face with a towel and then sat down on the other side of her. The twins wrapped their arms around her. Dipper lay his head on her shoulder as he hugged her.

"We'll find her Wendy."