By X-treme X-taggano (backfire@subdimension.com)
I screamed in terror, realizing I had put myself right back into the hell I had escaped from just a little while ago.
I ran back to the elevator, pushing the button several times, trying desperately to get the door to open. No matter how many times I slammed on the button, it wouldn't open. I looked at it one last time, feeling defeated. I kicked it with all my might, swearing at it. I then looked back into the hallway.
I was surprised that the hospital wasn't pitch black like the alleyway and school were. A then layer of fog shrouded the 4th floor. I noticed that the vending machine next to me was burnt as well. The floor was made of reddish steel and walls were a blend of all these colors, burnt and disfigured. What kind of person or thing could possibly create such a nightmarish hell? I walked up to the door. If this one was locked, I was trapped here.
Fortunately for me, it wasn't.
I looked down the hallway. It was very similar to the other floors in the hospital, except now it was burnt . . . like an alternate version of it. The floor was still made of red colored steel . . . as if bloodstained, but now it had several holes in it. It was too dark to see if there was indeed a third floor beneath me, however. It was strange . . . I felt like I was a parallel universe of some type. I walked up to one of the doors and pushed on it lightly.
Locked.
I soon realized that every door on this floor was locked. It became apparent to me as I walked down the hallway and tried every door individually. I hated the way the rusted, burnt steel felt on the palms of my hands, but continued onward. To my right, I noticed a set of double doors. I wondered where they might lead, as where this floor wasn't on the map. I opened the doors in front of me and closed them quickly.
And then it got darker.
I turned on my flashlight, hoping that it had enough battery power. I realized that this was an alternate hospital. The rooms were hideously charred and the atmosphere was dark. I also had to ask myself, just like before . . .
Is this real?
I walked down the hallway, heading towards the door I saw not that far ahead. I had no idea where I was because this floor wasn't listed on the map. I hoped that the door ahead would lead me to the third floor where I could use my map to find my way around. I reached the door and opened it. Before me was a staircase. I smiled, hoping that maybe this alternate . . . vision would disappear on the third floor.
It didn't, however.
The same nightmarish hell that had infested the hospital had spread into the lower levels. I realized I was going the wrong way. I didn't need to be in the hospital if I had seen that vision of what looked like an older Cheryl entering an antique shop. There was no way that any of that could be real . . . no matter what that old lady had said, there was no way in hell that I was supposed to be here.
I noticed a door leading into the main hallway of the second floor. I soon opened it and stepped inside. I was slightly apprehensive as I entered the room, hoping that there was nothing of any harm was in here. I examined the room from left to right.
I suddenly noticed a human. A nurse . . .
I noticed she slouched over in a way, and her position made me conclude that perhaps she was wounded. I noticed she carried a knife . . . maybe for self defensive purposes. Whoever she was, she probably needed my help. I walked up to her quickly until I stood right in front of her.
I heard her groan slightly as she looked up into my eyes. Her eyes glowed blood red. She must have been more seriously injured then I thought if blood was flowing into her eyes. I then noticed blood spilled across the the silk white dress and red cotton coat she wore. I lifted my hand and opened my mouth ready to speak.
I suddenly noticed how she lifted her knife above her head, ready to stab . . . me!
I quickly dove backwards as the knife went flying down in my direction. I then fell to the floor, terrified. What was wrong with her? Did she think I was some sort of monster? I then pleaded for her not to attack me, but she paid no attention. She ran at me, still murmuring incomprehensible words. I pushed myself backwards with one hand, reaching for my pistol with another. I realized she didn't think I was some sort of monster.
She was some sort of monster.
I soon found the gun in my pocket. I wrapped a steady grip around it, still continuing to move myself away from the nurse. I then yanked the gun out of my pocket and aimed it directly at her forehead. I fired 2 bullets which both dove into her skull.
She didn't stop.
What the hell was wrong with this nurse. She wouldn't stop after two direct head shots! I was frightened as she approached, moving much faster than I was. I then thought maybe I could slow her down by shooting her legs. I re-aimed my pistol straight at her leg and fired. The bullet sunk right into her leg as I witnessed blood squirt out.
She then fell to the floor on her stomach with a terrible moan.
I stood up, realizing she had no way of getting to me now. I walked up to her body, examining it for a moment. I then noticed something squirming on her back.
A parasite . . .
I examined the pink skin of the parasite. It looked like some sort of barnacle. It was very large and wouldn't stop moving. I figured that whatever this thing was, it was controlling the nurse. My brow wrinkled with anger as I kicked the parasite as hard as I could. I felt the central oval fly off the top of the body. Blood squirted out and the creature stopped moving. I heard the nurse moan a final time before she met her death right in front of me. I stared at the dead body, wondering what the parasite on her back was. Maybe it ran rampid through the hospital. Maybe . . .
Maybe more of the hospital staff had been infected.
I noticed a door to my right, trying to ignore the fact that I had just killed another human being. I walked up to it, hoping that it would be unlocked so that I could pass through and explore some more. I pushed on it, but it was locked. I frowned, but decided there was nothing I could do about it. I did notice, however, that there was some sort of slab next tot he door. I looked at it, realizing that it was made of stone. I then read what was engraved into it.
The Grim Reaper's List
35 Lydia Findly
60 Trevor F. White
18 Albert Lords
45 Roberta T. Morgan
38 Edward C. Briggs
The Grim Reaper's list? I started to quiver at the thought. These were all people who were to . . . die? I shook my head. No . . . that wasn't real.
None of this could be real!
I turned around and walked away from the stone slab. I walked passed the dead body of the nurse towards one of the doors. I hoped it might be open. To my fortune, it was. I opened the door and stepped into the dark room. I noticed the walls had a red shade to them, which made me curious. As I had recalled, the school walls were mostly dark brown, except for the rooms that I had found dead bodies or blood stains in. I decided it was just a color difference and nothing more. There was nothing unusual about two buildings being differently shaded.
I noticed a television set on the other end of the room. I walked up to it slowly, cautious towards my hostile surroundings. I soon stood in front of it and stared at it for a moment. I realized that the glass on the VCR display was shattered and the TV did not look as if it were in good condition at all. I pressed the power button, hoping that maybe it would turn on.
To my surprise, it did.
I was shocked that power actually ran to something in the hospital. I knew the elevator was working, but it had stopped, causing me to believe that the rest of the power everywhere else had also died. I pressed the channel button, but nothing showed up on the television. Static was the only thing that filled the screen.
I pressed the power button again, turning the TV off. I decided there was nothing left in the room. I headed twords the door and exited the room. I ended up back in the hallway, wondering which way I should go.
I started to wonder if the main lobby was open and if I could escape from the hospital through the front door. I realized that I had to get to the first floor. I quickly turned around and walked towards the door that lead to the staircase. I soon opened the door and walked down the set of stairs, walking past the second floor and down to the first.
I noticed a door directly in front of me on the first floor. I crossed my fingers, praying it would be unlocked. I then ran up to it and pushed on the handle.
Locked.
God damn it! My only hope of escape was locked! I kicked the door a few times, hoping it would open. It never did. My bullets would do nothing to the door . . . it was rusted shut. I pounded on the door one last time, feeling a sense of defeat. I then pulled out my map, deciding I'd at least look for a place to hide. I examined it for a while, desperately searching for a room to take shelter in. I couldn't stay in any room without tables or chairs. I had never seen it, but I had a feeling that, if the monster tried hard enough, it could get to where I was, and these monsters were human. That really made me unsure of my safety . . . if they could follow me . . .
My thoughts came to a halt as I noticed a different room lead to the lobby! The room I had met Kauffman in . . . I realized that maybe it was unlocked. I decided anything was worth a try. My only thoughts were on survival in this hell. I quickly ran passed the two bathrooms to the door on my right, hoping that this one would be unlocked. I pushed on it, still speeding forwards.
The door was unlocked!
In the knew room, I looked to my left, hoping that this door would be unlocked as well. I turned the knob, waiting for a moment until the door opened in front of me. I then stepped into the room, thanking God that the door even opened. Now all I needed was a way into the door at the other end of the narrow room I was in. I noticed that the same bookshelves were lined up to my right and left as the other hospital, only now burnt and bloodstained. I walked passed them, realizing that the books were all burnt.
I suddenly heard footsteps behind me.
I suddenly spun around and stared right into the face of an infested doctor.
The doctor fell forwards, grabbing onto my arms and pinning me to the ground. I struggled, screaming at the top of my lungs as the doctor readied his knife above his head. He groaned and breathed into my face. The smell of death occupied his breath, bringing me to the point of sickness. I then started to kick him, hoping to knock him off of me.
I soon kicked him so hard that he fell backwards to the floor and landed on his back. I knew the parasite was on the other end of him and I couldn't kill this . . . thing until he turned over. I noticed him trying to get back up to his feet, but I kicked him in the head, causing him to fall back down, this time on his stomach. I saw the squirming parasite that infest the doctor on his back and quickly drew my weapon, aiming it at the parasite. I shot the parasite twice.
I heard the doctor groan as the parasite stopped moving on his back.
I sighed, putting away my gun. Another infested medical staff member. I had seen a doctor and a nurse now. I hoped nothing else was beyong the door that stood before me. I then walked up to the door and turned the handle.
Locked.
This told me for sure that my only option was to hide from everything. I buried my forehead into the door of the examination room, pounding on it a few times lightly.
I suddenly heard something from beyond the door. It sounded like . . . footsteps.
I noticed how they ran and then abruptly stopped. I listened for a few seconds, curious as to who or what was passed the door. I noticed, however, that I could no longer hear anything beyond the door. I shrugged, deciding that it was nothing and even if it were, it didn't matter because there was no way to get through.
I pulled out my map, wondering once again if there were any place I could hide. I realized that the basement was not far from where I was, and figured it might be my safest bet on where to hide. turned around as I folded up my map and passed by the burnt bookshelves. I then opened it and stepped back into the hallways, examining the rest of it with my eyes. I knew that I had a blind spot and that was to my right and left. I had to be aware of that . . . last time, the infested doctor had used that to his advantage. I took a deep breath as I continually walked down the hallway, hoping to find the basement door through all the others.
I walked down the L shaped hall until I found a door that looked much different from the others. I realized it looked exactly like the one at the 'normal' hospital . . . the basement door! I quickly ran up to it, hoping that it would be unlocked. To my fortune, it was. Finally, some place to hide until I was able to make my escape. Maybe I would wake up from this nightmare while I was hiding . . . like at the school.
When I was inside, I noticed a stair case in front of me. I ran down it, noticing another door. I hadn't gone to the basement in the 'normal' hospital, but I guessed that somehow, a basement would be a good place to hide for a while. I opened the door in front of me, hoping that no more of the infested medical staff would attack me in here.
I noticed the basement was fairly small, but there were perhaps five doors in total in the entire room, which was quite a lot for a basement. I was guessing it was larger because in hospitals, they needed to keep more things in storage, such as medicines and such. I also noticed that the floor beneath me was made of stone instead of thin chain links. There were no more treacherous gaps that poised any threat. I pulled out my map, wondering if there were a storage room to hide in. I noticed a generator was in one of the rooms, but I realized that it was probably unimportant. The power wasn't going to turn back on . . . as much as I wanted it to, it wouldn't. I figured that the generator was simply for the purpose of providing the elevator with electricity.
My head darted left as I heard the sound of glass shattering.
I looked in every direction of the dark basement. I soon realized it was nothing. Cold sweat did, however, run down my forehead. I was extremely high-strung, and with good reason. I didn't know what had caused the sound, but whatever it was, it came from the generator room. I decided that maybe . . . just maybe . . . it wasn't the safest place in the world to hide. I examined the map, still trying to find out which of the doors lead to the storage room. I soon found it on my map, realizing that it was close by. I ran to a door down the hall and put my hand on the knob. I prayed that this door wouldn't be locked, as where I wasn't will to find another place to hide in this god-forsaken hospital.
It opened in front of me.
I laughed as I walked into the storage room, visually scanning the room. It was filled with many shelves containing bottles. I realized that many of the shelves, burnt and twisted, were knocked over. In the back of the room, I realized that barred windows were built into the walls. I wondered if any type of drug was contained within any of the containers. I noticed how some of them were filled and others were completely empty. I searched bottle after bottle, noticing that none of them contained any type of useful substance.
I did, however, find a bottle of . . . disinfectant alcohol, it looked like. I soon realized that it could be helpful to me . . . it I ever had a serious wound, I could pour some of this on it. I decided to hand on to it, hoping that I wouldn't have to use it.
I walked to the back of the room, hoping for a more convenient place to hide myself from my enemies. I then noticed some sort of bookshelf in the back. It was made of reddish steel and contained no books at all. I then noticed something next to it, however.
Skid marks.
I realized that the bookshelf had been pushed aside . . . and not just once, either. The skid marks were deep . . . so deep that it could only be that way after moving it several times. I started to wonder . . .
What the hell are they hiding?
I wondered if the bookshelf would move at all. I walked to the right side of it and put my hands on it. I took a deep breath and pushed as hard as I could on it. Sure enough, it started moving. I continued to push it, moving it further along the room.
I then started to noticed some sort of door behind it.
Soon the shelf was out of the way. I stared at the door in front of me. This was definitely something someone was trying to hide . . . but why? Was there something past here?
My heart started to race as I opened the door in front of me.
I looked into the next room, wondering what was down here. I realized that the room was fairly empty and nothing harmful was in here. I walked in, wondering why they would hide an empty room. I closed the door behind me, continuing to mentally scan the area. The only objects I had seen were the shelves to my right and some sort of square shaped brick formation ahead.
I was most curious about the square. I walked up to it, looked at it. It looked like some sort of pit covered with vines. I knelt down, examining it. I wondered if the thick layer of vines could be removed. I tugged on them, but they barely budged. I soon realized that the vines could not be torn. There was nothing I could do to remove them.
I noticed that, through the holes in the vine layer, there was a staircase going down. I then began to wonder once again if there was anything that they were hiding. The hospital staff had very obviously tried to block off all entrances to this secret room of theirs. I felt the vines once again, more desperate then ever to find out what was beyond those stairs.
I then wondered . . . could I burn the vines?
I reached into my pocket, praying that the lighter in my dream of the alleyway would be in my pocket. I soon found it. I gave off a sigh of relief, thankful that I had it at all. I then knelt down by the vines. I then lit up the lighter and put the flame against the thick vines.
They didn't light.
I growled angrily. Why the hell didn't they catch on fire? They weren't wet in the slightest and there was no plausible explanation for why it wouldn't light. I tried to think . . . was there any sort of gas or lubricant that would help get these damn vines to light. I remembered that there were several bottles in the other room filled with substances abound, but was not sure as to what they were. I knew that maybe one of them was filled with something that could help this thing light.
I suddenly remembered . . . the disinfectant alcohol!
I reached into my pocket and pulled the bottle out. It was a good thing I had thought to take it along, although not necessarily for this purpose. I opened the bottle up and pulled the lid off the bottle. I then poured the substance all over the vines. I prayed that this would work and I could get to the bottom of whatever was happening to this hospital. As soon as the vines were soaked in disinfectant alcohol, I reached into my pocket for my lighter. I then attempted to light the vines once more.
I jumped back as I brilliant display of fireworks exploded before my eyes. The flame was quite large and the vines were definitely burning. I waited a few moments for the vines to burn up completely. Soon, they had been completely burned up. I sighed , relived as I witnessed the staircase that went down into this hidden room. I walked into the pit and walked down the stairs.
The room I ended up in was very narrow . . . the walls were no more than an arm's length apart, and were no longer strangely burnt. Rather, they were made of stone. The floor beneath me was still made of chain links, but the rest of the hallway seemed fairly . . . normal, almost.. I noticed at the end of it was a door that probably lead to yet another area of this secret labyrinth I had discovered. I ran down the narrow hallway until I finally reached the door. I then opened the stone door in front of me.
The room inside was very dark . . . it seemed the pitch blackness that filled the rest of the hospital had increased if that were possible. The room was still made of the stone. Normal probably wasn't the word, as where it was still dark and the gloomy atmosphere still had it's affect, but it was certainly more "normal" than the twisted, burnt parts of the hospital. I noticed there were several doors around me. So far, there was nothing suspicious, but I had to keep in mind that there were several door around me.
I decided I'd start with the door to my right. I walked up to it and opened it. The door, unlike the walls and ceiling, was made of metal. I opened up the door slowly, stepping inside.
I suddenly heard glass shatter.
I leapt in fear, losing control of my limbs. I felt a shockwave go through my body, rippling through my arms and legs. The sound had startled me that bad. As soon as I had regained control of myself, I got back up.
I heard glass shatter once again.
I wasn't nearly as startled the second time, though my mind continued to wander as I thought about what creature could possibly be making those sounds. I noticed that the sound was echoing through the room continually . . . as if it were a tape on repeat. I tried to ignore it as I walked forwards, but was still feeling uneasy.
I noticed a metal stretcher with wheels, which I figured was here for storage. I did notice on top of it, however, a video tape. I examined it momentarily, realizing a thin layer of blood was splattered on it. I, being the curious man I was, decided to keep it and see what might be on it I knew there was a TV and VCR upstairs and made a resolution to watch this video as soon as I left the hidden area . . . if I ever was able to muster up the courage to leave. My original intent was to hide in this basement storeroom, but for some reason . . . I thought that the way out of here might be hidden somewhere in here.
I exited the room promptly. I searched the hall, wondering if there were anything important anywhere. I noticed that the door directly across from me was quite a bit larger than the other ones, so I decided to go to that one. It seemed somehow . . . significant.
I opened the door and found myself in a hallway very similar to the other one I was in. This was quite a hidden area of the hospital! Maybe this was for storage use and nothing else. Maybe the vines and shelf covering the entrance were part of the nightmarish transition from one world to the next. I didn't stop, however, and continued to explore this room. I decided to try the door to my left, hoping that there would be something of use in it. I turned the handle.
Locked.
I decided maybe whatever was in there wasn't important. I did notice, however, that the door was kind of loose . . . as if it could be broken down any second. I kicked it and pulled on the handle, trying to knock it down, but to no avail. I was quite annoyed and left it, heading towards a similar door closer to the edge of the hall. I then reached it. I put my hand on the knob and turned it.
It was unlocked! I laughed, relieved, as I stepped into the room.
Inside was . . . a bed.
It was odd that a bed would be down here . . . who where they taking care of in a storeroom? I knew that a patient was probably being taken care of in here because there was an IV tube and life support machine on each side of the bed. The floor was once again made of stone, and blood was splattered on it that had probably dripped from the bed to the cold floor.
It looked like someone had been here and the hospital didn't want anyone to know.
I noticed a shining object on the edge of the life support machine and next to it was . . . some sort of picture frame. Perhaps the picture of the patient the hospital staff had attempted to hide in here? I walked up to it and examined it for a moment. The gold casing that surrounded the picture was truly astonishing to say the least. I then examined the picture. I suddenly gasped.
The girl!
It was that girl that looked like an older Cheryl! So she was the hidden patient! She wasn't down here, though, and as I had recalled, she was at the school last . . . no, wait. I remembered the vision of her walking into the antique shop. I was confused by why there would be a bed with blood on it and many tools used to save one's life and this picture of that girl.
I then noticed small letters near the bottom of the picture. I squinted as I read them.
Alessa.
Alessa . . . I could swear I had heard that name before . . . so who was this Alessa? No doubt the girl who looked like Cheryl, but I had no idea what her relation with this town was. Perhaps she was in this hospital at one time, but was gone now. I shook my head. So much didn't make sense.
I then noticed a small key next to the picture frame. I picked it up and looked at it. It . . . it was the key that opened the examination room! I gasped as I realized that I could finally go through that room to the exit! I put the key in my pocket, ready to head to the examination room. I walked towards the door, but looked back at the bloodstained bed once more.
What the hell are they doing here?
I opened the door in front of me and found myself back in the dark hall. I walked down it, realizing my destination was the examination room . . . but suddenly I remembered . . . the video I had found. I was curious as to what was on it and if it were important. I decided to get to the video room as quick as I could as where I wanted to leave this place as soon as possible. I then started to run to the large stone door at the end of the hallway.
The door to my right fell to the floor.
I leapt sideways as I natural reaction to the adrenaline that had suddenly pumped through my blood. I stared into the now opened doorway.
Another infested nurse!
I turned my head from it and ran to the door. Not now . . . I couldn't fight now! The only thing I had to do was get the hell out of this hospital! I got to the door and opened, but I heard the nurse's footsteps following me. I slammed the door behind me and held it shut, hoping that the nurse couldn't get through. The nurse pounded on the door and I could feel the knob rattling around. She was desperate, that was for sure, but I was more desperate to survive. I decided it would do me no good to hold the door all day, however. What I needed was to let go and make a mad dash for the back door. I held my breath and silently counted to three. On three, I let go and ran for the back door. I didn't know if the nurse had made it through the door I was holding and I didn't care. I soon made it to the back door and flung it open, diving back into the narrow hallway. I slammed the door shut behind me and gave off a relieving sigh.
Thank God I'm alive . . .
I got to my feet and started to walk back up the narrow hallway. Back up the stairs, through the pit and back into the empty room. I knew that I had to see what was recorded on the blood-stained video casset . . . my curiosity wouldn't let me do otherwise.
To make a long story short, I went back up the stairs to the fourth floor where the VCR and TV were. I stared at it a moment before putting the video in. Once the video was in, the TV automatically flickered to life. The video quality, however, was terrible. The TV was distorted in a thousand different ways, making it impossible to see what the image on the video was supposed to be. I could barely make out the words in it either. I could understand a few words every now and then, such as "blood" and "promise". That made me uneasy of what the video's contents contained when they weren't scrambled. Perhaps just another piece to the nightmarish world I was trapped in.
I took the video out of the VCR and walked out of the room. I then found my way to the door leading to the flights of stairs. The stairs were far dirtier then I had previously remembered. This place was all terrible. I ran down the several flights of stairs until I finally made it to the first floor. I looked to my right, seeing the bloodstained, steel door. I ran to it and opened it. I ended up in the main hallway to the first floor. I looked to my left . . . the door that lead to the room! Through that room I could get to examination room and hopefully make my escape.
I opened the door and walked in. I walked passed the corpse of the infested doctor I had previously killed. I walked passed the burnt books on each side of me, realizing my salvation was perhaps at hand.
I was about to unlock the door, when I suddenly noticed some sort of memo lying on the floor. I hadn't noticed that there before. I picked it up, curious as to what it might say. I help it close to my flashlight, attempting to read the sloppy handwriting.
Doctor Jacob Singer called in today. Apparently, another member of the hospital staff has been killed. He did mention, however, that the woman seemed to have died naturally, although no previous symptoms to heart attack have been shown. The local police department has also been baffled by the loss of one of their own for the same reasons. We are currently trying to track down the source of the deaths of our medical staff.
More death . . . maybe they were all related to the dealing of White Claudia . . . perhaps it was all part of a drug overdose and the drug was able to hide it's tracks in the person's body. I didn't know, but that was the second person I had read about who died of an apparent heart attack.
I pulled the key out of my pocket and put it into the keyhole. I then turned the knob. I heard a click, signifying me that the door was unlocked. I sighed, relieved that I had finally found my way out of the hospital.
I opened the door, but hesitated for a moment. I shined my flashlight on various objects in the room, hoping there were no more infested members of the medical staff. The room was exactly like the other examination room, only the objects were made of burnt, rusted steel . . . much like the rest of the hospital, but it was strikingly similar in that room for some reason.
My light suddenly caught a glimpse of something . . . it was . . . a nurse!
I jumped back, startled. I reached into my pocket, trying to get a grip on my pistol. I looked forwards, still trying desperately to get the damn gun out of my pocket. Suddenly, the nurse got up and ran up to me. I panicked as she wrapped her arms around me, ready to attack.
Wait . . . she wasn't attacking me . . .
She was . . . hugging me.
I noticed the young nurse in my arms was terrified. She was almost weeping, her soft voice trembling. She then looked at me and smiled. She must have been happy to find some other living human being.
She was a very attractive woman. Her skin was nothing short of perfection. Her light brown hair was the kind that I usually had found a liking to in women. She wore a cotton red coat over her white dress . . . much like the infested nurses. And, though it isn't very gentleman like of me to speak of, but her dress revealed more cleavage then the infested nurses too. To say the least, she was beautiful.
She continued to hold onto my arms. "Thank God . . . someone else who's okay," she sighed.
I smiled. "I'll say . . . what's you're name?" I asked.
Her big blue eyes stared into mine. "Lisa Garland . . ." she said softly. "What's yours?"
"Harry Mason," I replied.
She looked away from me and released her grip on my arms. "Harry . . . tell me what's happening!" she said, almost pleading. "Where is everyone? I-I must have gotten knocked out. When I came to, everything was like this . . ."
I sighed. "So you don't know anything either . . ." I said, disappointed. I stared at the charred walls. "I just don't get it. It's like this is all some sort of bad dream."
Lisa stared at me. "Yeah . . . a living nightmare," she said.
Then it hit me . . .
Cheryl!
"Have you seen a little girl around here?" I asked. I was surprised how many people I had asked that. "She's only seven . . . short, black hair."
"A little girl . . . what, she's you're daughter?" she asked. She shifted her weight.
"Yeah," I replied.
"I can't say I have . . . I was unconscious this entire time," she said. "I'm sorry."
I sighed. "That's okay," I said. "By the way . . ." I paused. I had just thought about that hidden room with the bed in the basement. "Do you have any idea what all that weird stuff in the basement is?"
Lisa suddenly directed her attention to me. "N-no . . . why? Is
something down there?" she asked.
I tilted my head. "You don't know? Don't you work here?" I asked
her.
She shook her head. "We're under strict orders never to enter the basement storeroom . . ." she explained. "Why? What's down there?"
I thought a moment, trying to explain. "Well, it's kind of like . . ."
Suddenly, a throbbing pain shot through my head. I heard those sirens . . .
I stood back a moment holding my head. Lisa's hand suddenly shot out towards me. "H-Harry?!" she screamed.
"Damn . . . my head . . ." I moaned. I realized the my head hurt so much that I could hardly stay conscious. I started to fall backwards as all my senses fell apart.
"Harry! Let me help you!" she started screaming. She stared into my face. I couldn't recognized her anymore, though. Everything started to became a blur . . . as if the world was collapsing around me. I heard her call my name, but her voice was soon blocked out by the sirens in my head.
My vision soon cleared up as I stared at the ceiling. I got up off the floor that I had fallen to. I waited for my eyes to focus.
The original hospital . . .
