Next to the club sat a large building, with steps in front of it. The sign above the door said "Brookhaven Hospital."

John stepped forward and picked up a nearly invisible object. It was a dark blond hair, about four inches long, coarse and fresh.

"This could be James'. He might have been here."

Henry tugged on the door. It opened readily.

"Henry, I don't like this," Eileen said. "There's something wrong about this place."

"There's something wrong with this whole town," he replied.

"No, more than that." She shivered. "I don't know how I know…I just do."

"I don't think we have a choice, Eileen," said John. "We haven't got any other leads."

The heavy door swung open, and they entered the hospital. The bang of the door as it closed again echoed down the hallways.

A map lay discarded on the floor just inside the door. Eileen picked it up.

They went into the first room they found, which was labeled "Reception Office" on the map. It was quiet, but more footprints in the dust showed that they weren't the only visitors the room had seen recently.

The front halls of the hospital were musty and dirty. Mysterious stains covered the floors, and the walls looked as though they hadn't been cleaned in years.

Most of the doors on the floor were locked, except for the bathroom doors. In the bathrooms, the drains were bloody, and the water looked as it if had been sitting there for years.

"I don't know anything about hospital regulations," Eileen said, "but I'm guessing this is way below code."

John smiled. "Highly unsanitary."

Henry opened another bathroom stall door. "Ugh..."

Eileen looked over his shoulder. The toilet was in terrible shape, and seemed to be blocked. The smell was overwhelming.

"There's something stuck in there," John said, looking over Henry's other shoulder.

"Yeah, there is," Henry said slowly.

They both stared at him. He sighed.

"Come on. Why me?"

John shrugged. "You're the expert around here."

"Not in plumbing…" Henry muttered.

"And I know you wouldn't make me do it," Eileen chimed in.

Henry rolled his eyes.

"In case anyone cares, I'd like to state that I'm doing this under protest."

"So noted," John said.

"And no, we don't," said Eileen.

Henry handed his jacket to Eileen, pushed past them, and grabbed a plunger from under one of the sinks. He positioned himself in front of the toilet, turned his face away, and pushed the plunger in. It hit the bottom with a splash.

"Back up," he said. They did. He put a foot against the bowl, steadied himself, and closed his eyes.

"Here goes."

For a moment, nothing happened. Then, the plunger flew backward and took Henry with it, spraying smelly water as it traveled. He crashed into the other two, and all three fell to the floor.

They struggled back up as quickly as possible to get out of the muck.

"This...is...thoroughly...gross," Eileen said.

"Glad I'm not a plumber," John said.

They both looked at Henry, who was splattered with...

"I don't want to hear it," he grumbled, and reentered the stall.

The toilet had cleared, and in the bowl sat a large lumpy object in a bag. John fetched a broom that leaned against the wall and gave it to Henry.

"Good idea," Eileen said.

John shrugged. "Can't imagine anybody actually sticking his hand in there."

Henry used the handle to fish the object out, and dumped it in a sink. He turned on the water to rinse it off.

As the water ran, Henry turned on another tap and did his best to clean the muck off of himself. Eileen found some towels from a closet (clean, thank goodness) and handed them to him.

While Henry was washing, John turned off the first tap. In the sink, almost clean, was a plastic bag. He opened the bag carefully. Inside was an enormous keyring, clean and dry, with a note.

I've got better things to do than bug people for keys all day just so I can do my job.

"Keys for the rooms, hopefully," Eileen said.

Henry turned off his tap and stood up, toweling himself off. He was damp, but cleaner, and the smell was almost gone.

"Somebody else can get the next one," he grumbled, rubbing his head. He threw the last towel into the sink and took back his jacket, and they left the bathroom.

The keys let them in to almost all of the rooms they found as they wandered the front halls of the hospital. The rooms held rusted beds, bloody sheets, and tables and cabinets in various stages of disrepair. Stained sheets draped the walls.

They found little of interest. A few papers, medical supplies, the usual things you'd expect to find around a hospital...but no people, alive or otherwise.

One room was labeled "Doctor's Lounge". It seemed to be a small break room. A table took up most of its space, along with a sink and a small refrigerator.

"Food Only. Do Not Store Drugs!" Eileen read.

"Like that matters any more in this place," Henry grumbled.

They ended up at a large set of double doors by the stairwell that led to the patient rooms. Just as Henry was reaching for the handle, Eileen put her hand on his.

"Hear that?" she whispered. Through the narrow crack of the door, a hissing and shuffling sound floated. Whatever was on the other side, there was more than one.

Weapons came up, and the door opened.

They found themselves facing three nurses. Not really nurses…the stench of rotting whatever and the pus on their uniforms told them otherwise. Chin-length hair hung from their heads, and their nurses' uniforms were short and tight, like a Halloween costume.

One of the nurses turned to Henry, and lifted her head to him. As the curtain of hair fell back, Eileen saw that her face was perfectly smooth and featureless, like a white egg.

Henry's mouth opened in a silent scream as she advanced. He was frozen to the spot, staring at her, and did not move. Her hand moved up to touch his face, and she leaned over him.

At that moment a whisper came from him.

"Mujina…"

But he stayed stone-still.

Eileen raised her spade and brought it squarely down on the creature's head. It went through flesh and bone with a loud crack. Henry fell backwards and scrabbled to get away as the creature dropped to its knees, and John finished it off with his bat. The other two went down just as readily, and soon John and Eileen stood over their bleeding corpses.

Henry was huddled in the corner, shaking. Eileen went to him. He seemed unaware of her presence. His terrified eyes stared straight ahead, pupils dilated. She stroked his hair gently and whispered to him.

"Shhh…Henry, it's me…Henry…it's OK…"

What's wrong with him? Eileen wondered. After all he's been through…to be that frightened…this was different. He's never seemed afraid, never, and we've faced a lot worse. Something was very wrong.

After a few moments, his shaking slowed, and he stared at her as if surprised to see her.

"What happened?" he said.

"We killed it," Eileen said softly.

"Which one?"

"You don't remember?"

"Don't remember what?"

"Henry, one of them approached you," John said. "You didn't move. It was about to kill you."

Henry shook his head in bewilderment.

"Henry," Eileen said, "what's a mujina?"

"A mujina? Why?"

"You said 'mujina'. What's a mujina?"

Henry sat forward. He was silent for a moment. "That's a word I haven't heard in twenty years," he said. "A mujina is a creature from an old Japanese ghost story that Mom told me once. It looks like a regular person, but it has no face at all." He looked at them curiously. "Was I really saying that?"

Eileen nodded. "But just now…that's the most scared I've ever seen anybody. It's not like you."

Henry shook his head. He looked over at the nurse, who lay still. "She didn't have a face…I guess it kinda makes sense."

"Kinda," said John. He helped Henry to his feet.

They found the hallway and the rooms off of it deserted, except for the dangling corpses and wheelchairs and blood and gore that were starting to seem almost routine.

The keys continued to work on the second and third floors. These were deserted, although Eileen got the definite feeling that they were being watched.

Deserted, that is, except for the nurse-monsters that shambled down the corridors and swung at them with their pieces of pipe. Henry seemed to have recovered, and fought as usual...but his eyes darted around more, and he said little.

One of the last rooms that they entered was on the third floor, labeled "Special Treatment Room" on the map.

"That doesn't sound good," John said as Henry unlocked the door.

They entered it to find a large hole in the roof. Afternoon light diluted by the fog filtered in through the hole and cast faint shadows in the debris. Four doors opened off of the back of the room.

John moved to the rightmost door. "I'll check this one," he said. The door opened easily, and he entered.

Henry opened the next door and went through. Eileen tried the third, but it was locked. She opened the fourth door, and entered the room.

Inside was something large and warm and breathing heavily. She backed up and fumbled in the dark for the door, but she couldn't find the knob. Whatever it was advanced on her, and pinned her to the wall. It was much larger than she was, and she couldn't reach her weaponry. She screamed.

"Eileen!" She heard Henry's voice, muffled by the door. He was pulling at the door, but it wasn't opening. "Eileen!"

The thing she couldn't see breathed its foul stench over her, and pulled at her jacket. Oh God, she thought, this is no mindless zombie…She raised her knee up as hard as she could. The thing grunted and released its hold for a moment. She pushed away and threw herself against the wall. The door opened, and she fell out into the light. Over her, she heard Henry and John shooting into the room, then after a moment or two, a loud thump as the thing fell to the floor.

Henry dropped to his knees, and pulled her into his arms. "My God, Eileen, are you OK?"

"Yeah, I think so," she said, but the look in Henry's eyes... "Henry, that thing…it was…"

"Shhh," he said, holding her tightly to him. "It's over now." He held her to him, her face in his neck, as she shook silently. "It's over now. It's dead."

John came out of the room. "Another monster," he said.

Eileen turned abruptly out of Henry's embrace. "That was not just another monster," she said vehemently. "It had a purpose."

"No, not just another monster. But definitely not human. Looks almost like a doctor. Not surprising, in a hospital."

"No, not surprising," she said. She straightened her shirt. It had a spot of something smelly on it from where the thing had grabbed her. "Let's get out of here."

They stood up, and turned to leave. The door opened, and all three gasped at what they saw.

The hallway was gone. In its place, the area in front of them was lit with an eerie gray light. Snow fell lightly from the…sky? It blanketed the earth before them, and wrapped them in a soft silence. The distant shadows of trees loomed darkly. Round, smooth stepping-stones led into the falling snow. Everything was white and gray.

They heard small footsteps running through the snow, then a fox streaked across the path in front of them. It was as white as the snow, and disappeared almost as soon as it had appeared.

Henry's face was grim.

"Stand back," he said quietly.

"What's going on, Henry?" John asked.

"I'm not sure," Henry replied. "I just hope I'm wrong…"

At that moment, they heard the crunch of snow in front of them. Someone was approaching.

"You should leave," Henry said.

"No," Eileen said.

"Never," said John.

"You must," Henry said. He was calm, but his voice held urgency. "You shouldn't be here."

"It's too late," Eileen said.

A snow-covered figure stood in front of Henry. It wore a large conical straw hat on its head, and seemed to be wrapped in some sort of straw outer-garment.

It was still for a long moment. Then, it reached up and removed its hat, and Henry was face to face with a tall young woman.

She's beautiful, Eileen thought. Her skin was as pale as the snow, and her long hair was fastened in a single tail behind her shoulders. Her expression and bearing were regal. The straw cloak covered almost all of her garments, but the neckline of her kimono was visible. Its white silk glowed in the gray light.

Shock crossed Henry's face, then disbelief, then a steeliness. His eyes narrowed.

Eileen looked more closely at the woman's face. It was oval, with a small mouth and very red lips. Her eyes blazed green against the white skin.

Green eyes…Henry's eyes.

"Henry."

Her voice was low and pleasant. "It has been a long time. You have grown up well."

Henry was silent.

"Will you not speak to me?"

"I know who you are."

"Do you?" the woman responded. "Do you think so?"

"You are not who you appear to be. She is gone."

"Gone many years, but not forgotten. Else, I would not be here now."

John started forward, but Eileen held him back.

The figure looked at Henry closely. Green eyes met green eyes. "I see that you do recognize me. You have not forgotten, then. Why are you here, Henry?"

"We are searching for a man and a woman," Henry said evenly. "They have been here for many years."

The woman nodded. "So I have seen," she said. "You have no need to return, yet you come back. You are a fool, like your father."

"I am not my father."

"That remains to be proven."

Did the green eyes flicker her way for a minute? Eileen couldn't be sure.

A muscle in Henry's jaw twitched, but he said nothing.

"If you were here for yourself, I would kill you now for having known me," she said. "As it is, you and your companions shall live. What you do is noble, if foolish, and I cannot condemn that."

She nodded to John and Eileen.

"Your passage will be unimpeded while you remain here. I cannot protect you once you leave. And, if you ever tell anyone of seeing me here, you will not live the night."

She turned back to Henry.

"Now go."

Henry nodded. "Thank you - "

The figure held up a white hand.

"Do not speak my name in the presence of those who do not know it."

Henry bent his head. The woman did the same.

"Goodbye, Henry Townshend."

The figure slowly became hazy, then dissolved into a white mist. As Eileen looked on, the mist started to spread, then filled her vision with a blinding whiteness…

They found themselves still outside the Special Treatment Room. Henry had fallen to his knees, and his head hung low. Eileen rushed to him and put her hand on his shoulder.

"Henry…" she said, at a loss. "What…"

He covered her hand with his without looking up. His fingers were cold.

"Please, Eileen," he said softly. "Please...don't. What she said is true. We will be safe."

She nodded, and he got to his feet.

They looked around. Everything was as it had been before...

On the dark, muck-covered floor sat a doll and a note.

My love is gone. She's all I ever wanted, but she didn't want me. I dreamed of her for so long. Or was I part of her dream?

It doesn't matter any more. She is gone forever.

So, my faithful audience, la commedia e finita. I bid you farewell.

I leave you with this…seek, and ye shall find. But what you find may not be what you seek. I like to hide things outdoors. Don't you?

Stanley

"Maybe there were mental patients here, too," John said.

"Or maybe, they weren't mental patients when they first got here," Henry said.

"Guys, there's a garden on the bottom floor," Eileen said, pointing at the map. "Maybe we should try there next."

"What the hell," John said. "We're here."

"And I've had enough of this place," Henry muttered.

They continued down the hallway. As they reached the end, Henry turned back one more time and stared at the spot where the woman had stood. His eyes held longing, and sadness.

The door to the garden was already open. It spread out before them, with patches of foliage interspersed with paths and small concrete sitting areas. Strangely enough, the plants and flowers were green and lush. The bright colors of the flowers stood out against the gray fog. The paths were covered in red brick, and a tall fountain played in the middle of the yard, its eight side spigots and one large top spigot providing a cascade of water that caught the diffuse light.

"It's gorgeous," Eileen said. "You wouldn't expect to find something like this, not here."

"Where shall we start?" John asked.

Henry leaned casually against the fountain with one hand. It rotated under the pressure and moved sideways, and he fell backwards onto the ground. As the other two stared in surprise, he picked himself up, dusted off, and looked at the wooden trapdoor under his feet.

"This seems like a good spot," he said.

If you want to know who Henry was supposed to think he saw...read "Starting Over" (hint, hint). If you want to know who Henry actually saw, and more about mujina, read some Lafcadio Hearn. It's good stuff.