A Spirit Broken

By: IsisRose

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hospital or any of its characters

Chapter 2: Fallen

Down in the Sleep Lab, all was quiet as Lona typed away at her computer. Then someone charged through the door, scaring the crap out of her. She jumped out of her chair and turned to find Elmer in a panic. "Elmer, what the...?"

"Look at me!"

She rolled her eyes. "What is it now?"

"Am I asleep? Is this all just a dream?"

She looked at him thoughtfully. "Are you feeling alright?" she asked after a moment. He collapsed into a chair and Lona sat back down.

He sighed. "I don't know, maybe I'm just stressed. Or, or maybe I'm crazy..."

"Elmer, what is going on?"

"I don't know. Two days ago, after Rickman checked out, things were fine. They were great. But all morning, I've been seeing... things..."

"Things?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah. Like when I was pulling into the parking lot, I thought I saw that weird ambulance, but when I looked, there was nothing there. Then, walking down to the morgue, I saw this kid in old clothes turn the corner. But when I looked, he was gone. And just now, in ICU, Carrie's hanging out with this girl that I apparently dated. But I've never even seen her before."

"Well, the last part I understand. This guy at the coffee shop down the road has been greeting me like we've been friends for years and I don't recognize him at all."

"How is that possible?"

"You changed the past. It's understandable that other things would have been changed as a result. So, just relax and go with it. As for the other stuff: has anyone else seen anything strange like that?"

He thought to himself. Those nurses walking across the parking lot didn't seem to notice the ambulance. And Dr. Abelson did come around the corner right after the boy turned it, and she didn't look like she'd seen anything strange. "No, I don't think so..."

"Then blame it on stress and talk to your father about taking a day off." She turned back to her computer screen.

"Yeah... yeah, that makes sense," he told himself. "I mean, I have been feeling rundown lately."

Lona typed away, pretending she was listening. "Uh huh, rundown, that's great."

He reverted instantly back to his usual self. "See, I knew you'd know what to do. You're so smart..." He got out of his chair and started to inch his way towards her. "And beautiful... sexy..."

She swiveled around in her chair and gave him an indifferent look. "Elmer, let it go." With that, she stood up and, grabbing a file off the desk, walked out of the room.

Later that day, Blake sat in the dingy medical library, typing away at the new computer on what used to be Mr. Bates' desk. She finished up what she was typing and got up to leave. On her way out, she shut off the lights. Then, suddenly, she heard a low growl behind her and froze. Turning back to the darkened room, she strained to see where the noise came from. Deciding it was only her imagination, she left to meet her friends for lunch. When she was gone, there was another growl as something large moved through the shadows.

Blake stepped off the elevator and entered the ICU, which was much more active then it was that morning. She walked over to the nurses' station, where Carrie was swamped with paperwork. The other girl looked up to see Blake walking towards her.

"Hey!" she greeted.

"Hey, are you almost done?"

Carrie struggled with the stapler as Blake watched with amusement. "Yeah... almost."

She suppressed a laugh as Carrie tried to pry a stuck staple out with a nail file. "So, where's Kelly?"

"Ummm... she's probably still up in pediatrics. Why don't you go get her while I finish up here?"

"Good idea. She probably forgot, anyway."

"Again." Blake grinned and headed back down to the elevators as Carrie continued to wrestle with the stapler.

Upstairs in pediatrics, Mona sat on the floor, rocking back and forth, focusing intently on the wall she was currently painting. Her mother sat in a chair just behind her, watching mournfully. A young nurse of about twenty-two walked towards them; her nametag read Kelly Burns. She stopped beside Mrs. Klingerman, who didn't seem to notice her, and offered her a coffee.

"Mrs. Klingerman?"

Renay snapped out of her daze and noticed the nurse beside her. "Oh, thank you, Kelly," she said softly, taking the coffee from her.

Kelly looked at her worriedly. "You've been here all night again, haven't you?" The older woman didn't respond. "Renay, you can't keep torturing yourself like this. It's not healthy."

"I know, I know. I just hate leaving her like this. And things are just so crazy at home right now, with the trial coming up next month." She sighed, her eyes getting a little teary.

"On the plus side, it looks like Stegman's close to finding himself in the psych ward," Kelly said suddenly, hoping for a reaction.

Renay looked back to Kelly a mix of shock and joy on her face. "What? Why?"

"I don't know, but it's all over the hospital." A small grin spread across Renay's face as Kelly continued. "All I heard was something about the anesthesiology report, a gun, and," she paused and continued skeptically, "something about 'minions'... whatever that means." The grin broadened. "Anyhow, I'd say he's bound for the loony bin."

"Hey, Kel," Said a voice from the doorway. They turned to see Blake. "Oh, am I interrupting something?"

"No, we were just talking. Umm, Mrs. Klingerman, this is my housemate, Blake. Blake, this is Renay Klingerman, Mona's mom."

Renay extended a hand. "Hello."

Blake took it and smiled. "It's nice to meet you." Kelly cut back into the conversation as Renay turned her attention back to her daughter.

"So, what are you doing up here?"

"Well, it's nice to see you too, Kel."

"You know what I mean."

"Carrie sent me, we figure you forgot again."

"Forgot?" Kelly looked puzzled before realization dawned. "Oh, lunch, right. Sorry, I can't make it."

"What? Why?"

"One of the other nurses called in sick. I'm covering for her."

Blake sighed. "Alright, I guess we can do it tomorrow. I will be around, after all."

"That reminds me: how is the first day going?"

"Good. It's a little creepy down there, but it's okay."

Kelly broke into a sly grin. "Well, you'll get to see Sonny more often now that you're working here."

Blake just raised her eyebrows in disbelief. "Oh, please."

"I think he likes you."

"Yeah, and he's a friend, and after the whole Elmer fiasco, I've sworn off dating friends." Kelly just rolled her eyes. "And speaking of Elmer, he was acting so weird this morning."

Kelly laughed. "This is Elmer we're talking about."

"Yeah, but this was weirder than usual. He actually pretended like he didn't even know who I am. Can you believe that?"

"What, is he mad at you or something?"

"Maybe, but I don't know what for. We've been getting along really well lately, but for some—" Blake's sentence was cut short as someone seized her leg. She and Kelly looked down to find Mona hugging Blake's leg and Mrs. Klingerman trying to get her to let go.

"Mona! Mona, honey, let go." But Mona was completely attached.

Kelly looked on in astonishment. "This is weird. She never goes to anyone."

She attempted to help Renay as Blake tried to keep from falling over. "Umm, should I be worried?" she asked as they finally managed to pry Mona off. But she just reached out for Blake as another nurse who had come over to help ushered her away.

"I'm so sorry. I don't know what's gotten into her," Renay apologized as she followed the nurse.

They watched as they struggled to get Mona back to her room. "That was so odd," Kelly stated.

"Maybe I should go," Blake added, a bit shaken.

"Yeah, I'll see you at home. Tell Carrie I'm really sorry."

"I will."

She walked down the hall to the elevators and hit the button for one. As she stood there waiting, she heard another low growling sound like the one from earlier, downstairs. She looked down the hall to her left, but there's nothing there. She looked to her right—still nothing. She turned around and, as she did, the doors opened, causing her to jump. She was about to step into the elevator when she realized there was no elevator to step into.

Two floors down, Hook and Sonny were getting into the empty car and having a conversation, oblivious to what was going on above them. Blake heard the growling yet again. Turning to face the wall behind her, she noticed that it seemed to be coming from there. As she stared at the wall, it appeared to protrude slightly, as if it was made of rubber and someone was running their hand along the other side of it. She shook her head to clear it and focused her eyes again. The wall was normal.

Just as she breathed a sigh of relief, a hand reached out from behind the wall. Startled, she jumped back, accidentally stepping into the empty elevator shaft.

Her heart almost stopped as she felt herself falling backwards. Before she could even scream, she crashed into the roof of the elevator, causing it to lurch drastically.

Inside, there was a loud crash. Hook and Sonny were thrown off balance in the shaking car. "What the hell was that?" asked Sonny, pulling himself to his feet.

"Something fell on us," Hook stated, reaching up towards the ceiling. "Give me a hand with this panel, will you?"

Above, Blake was spread out across the top of the elevator, barely conscious. All she could see was a dark blur, but she could still hear the low growling. After a moment spent wondering where the noise continued to come from, she lost consciousness.

Everything went black for a few moments. But then Blake was suddenly awoken by the sound of howling. She sat straight up to find something was very wrong.

The shaft she had fallen into was gone. In fact, she wasn't even in the same part of the hospital. She looked around and realized she seemed to be in the Old Kingdom, where she works. But... this wasn't the Old Kingdom... at least, not the same one.

This one was rundown, as though no one had been there for years. It was dark and cold. There were spider-webs everywhere, and the floor she was sitting on had at least an inch of dirt on it. Slowly, she stood up, absentmindedly dusting her butt off.

She took a deep breath and spoke at last. "Oh... my... goddess..."