Still the same Chapter 2, just fixed it a little bit. Tried to make it easier to read 'cause I know I have long paragraphs. Last thing I wanna do is confuse everybody !Sorry and thank you!
Chapter 2: Nightmare
*Why am I back at the hospital? Where is everybody?* It felt like something was sitting on my chest. My adrenaline was through the roof. I was in front of the steel doors inside of my sector. All of the glass walls to the rooms were open, but no patients were anywhere in the hallway.
"Iruka!? Naruto!?" My gut was telling me that it was no use. Then again, it was telling me I wasn't alone either. I began walking forward down the hallway. Slowly I walked since my body was trembling. Some relief came over me when I had seen that turn where Naruto and I first laid eyes on each other; I knew I was getting close to the main office.
*S-Something doesn't feel right…I shouldn't go around that corner…N-No, why, why am I still moving…?* I sensed something malevolent around that corner. But as much as I tried to fight it, my legs kept walking. Like an out of body experience, per say. Finally my body made it around the corner, while my mind was screaming to run in the opposite direction. I squeezed my eyes shut as my body trembled forward. I could hear a strange nose, something indescribable. Energy of some sort…I could hear it. Fear forces my eyes open, my heart skipped a beat. The main office lay straight ahead of me, but one of the hallways adjacent to this main one had a black aura pouring out of it. The aura looked as if it were dancing. But then it hit me; my pupils constricted immediately.
"That's Sasuke's hallway." I whispered. After that statement I felt that I regained control of my body. But I didn't run…I just stood there, spellbound by the life-like aura. Slowly I walked towards it. Before I knew it, I was blankly staring down that hallway. The aura moved towards me in one large mass. Then, what almost looked like arms shot out of it. I fell back and landed on my hip. Stumbling I scrambled to my feet and began to run towards the entrance where I first was, but it was inevitable; they were too fast. The arms wrapped around my body and dragged me down that hallway…Sasuke's hallway. Everything went black. When I regained consciousness I quickly opened my eyes. I blinked a few times; this place wasn't familiar to me. I was lying on a cold floor. I used a considerable amount strength push myself up just so I was sitting. My body felt so drained, so heavy. I looked to the left to see the well-lit main hallway, and I looked to my right to see a wall. Images of the aura carrying me away flashed to my attention.
*I'm in that hallway.* Once I realized where I was I immediately look straight ahead of me to see only darkness. I studied closely to see that outside of the darkness was a speaker with a white button on the border.
*This is Sasuke's room…* my heart skipped a beat and the feeling of terror, but yet, melancholy overwhelmed me. I wasn't sure what to do. The aura was no longer present; it was just me and this room. I could sense somebody, or something, was in there.
S-Sasuke…?" His name barely left my lips, saying it took my breath away. Shortly after that black aura returned and began circling me. It swirled into something like a tornado and lifted me off of the ground; I couldn't scream. It forced me to stare into his room. It was holding my eyelids open; I couldn't do anything but stare. A devastating feeling of impending demise came over me, like something was coming. Demonic sounds deafened me as the aura's winds became stronger. I see something in the darkness, eyes…a pair of glowing red eyes, those of a monster. Instantly I couldn't breathe.
"NO!" I throw myself up gasping uncontrollably. I couldn't catch my breath. I put my hand on my chest to feel that my shirt was soaked, I was sweating profusely. I closed my eyes and became internally focused. I imagined myself breathing normally, concentrating on how to actually do that. Gradually I started to catch my breath.
*I have never been this out of breath in my life…* I hugged my knees and concentrated some more. Finally I was breathing like anyone would if there were sedentary. I looked over at my alarm clock. It was 5:00pm.
*I need to get ready for work.* I leaned over to turn off my already set alarm for 5:30pm. I undress as I walk to my bathroom and turn the shower on. I brushed my hair back with my fingers. I wiped the condensation from the mirror and looked myself. There were dark bags under my eyes even though I got a full 8 hours of sleep. I sighed and stepped into the shower. Images of my nightmare tortured me. After my shower I put my uniform on and drove to work. Images continued to torture me. My stomach was in knots. Once I got to the parking lot I could see some employees walking to their cars.
"Uh-oh…" I said while holding my stomach. I kept swallowing my spit and hurriedly found a parking spot. Barely doing so in time I step out my car and vomit. The employees in the parking lot all stop and stare at me with offended faces. I just slam my car door shut and walk towards the main gate. There I see Naruto swiping his badge to unlock it.
"Hey Naruto." Naruto looked over and smiled at first, but then looked concerned.
"Oh hey Sakura, are you ok? You don't look so good." Naruto put his hand on my forehead.
"Well you don't feel warm; you look a little pale though. And you've got some serious bags under your eyes." I sighed and used my hand to sluggishly wipe my face and Naruto laughed.
*What a jerk! He sure knows how to make a girl feel hideous!*
"Oh I see, you're not used to the night shift yet are you? Felt weird sleeping during the day didn't it?"
"Uh…yeah." I said drowsily. Of course he didn't know that wasn't the issue at all. Naruto patted my head and gave me a reassuring smile.
"You'll get used to it Sakura! You won't even think about sleep while working with me!" Naruto was using his thumb to point at himself.
"You're such a goof." I say elbowing his stomach with a smirk. Then I run past the gate and begin walking up the stairs.
"Hey Sakura!" I heard in the distance. Naruto had his hands around his mouth to enhance his shout.
"WHAT!?"
"Why are you going that way!?"
"UGH…" I impatiently walked back down the stairs.
"What do you mean?" I asked. I was face to face with him now.
"You don't have to go up all of those stairs you know. There is a secret entrance for employees. You just need your badge for it." I get an infuriated look on my face and Naruto laughs.
"I can't believe Iruka didn't show you before you left this morning!" I followed behind him as we walked down a pathway to the right of the stairs. Less than a minute later Naruto stopped.
"Here it is!" He said happily.
"Oh yes, how could Iruka forget to show me this lovely door on the side of the mountain." I said sarcastically. Naruto laughed and swiped his badge to unlock the door. We walked inside and I looked around in bewilderment. It was literally a secret tunnel underneath the hill outside of the hospital that the stairs were on. We walked down the tunnel for a few minutes. I wasn't sure how long because my watch had stopped working.
*Again? It thought it started working after I got home this morning.* I heard Naruto's footsteps stop and I look up from my watch. Standing there were two armed guards in front of an elevator. They looked as if they were from them military.
"Oh REAL nice." I said sarcastically. Naruto walked up to the elevator and hit the only button with an arrow pointing up on it. When the door opened he stepped inside. When I started to walk I was stopped by one of the guards placing their arm across my chest.
"Oh! Right, sorry Sakura. Show them your badge." Naruto said. He put his hand in front of the elevator door so it wouldn't close. I reached into my pocket and held up my badge. The guard nodded his head and let me walk in.
"What was that all about?" I asked.
"Yeah sorry I forgot to mention, just wear your badge around your neck at all times. Even though we both came in together, they don't know if you're an employee or not. No one is allowed through that tunnel unless they are an employee. So when they had seen my badge and not yours, I'm sure they assumed that you were just a friend of mine or something, and that's not allowed. You're never allowed to bring anyone personal through this way. Otherwise, you would need to walk up those damn stairs." Naruto shook his head back and forth.
"…and the armed guards?"
"This is a maximum security hospital. If any of the patients were to escape the premises someone could really get hurt. We have guards surrounding the outskirts." My eyes widened a little and Naruto shrugged his shoulders. The elevator door opened. When I stepped out I realized where I was. Immediately I looked over to my left to see those steel doors. They still had dents and blood all over them. Naruto was walking over to them rolling up his sleeves. On the floor in front of the doors were gloves, a bucket, a mop, 2 large sponges, outerwear, goggles, a mask, and a spray bottle that said '1-10 Solution: Bleach & Water'. Naruto put the yellow outerwear on first, then his goggles, mask, & gloves. He dipped one of the sponges and wrung out the soapy water.
"Hey I've got to clean this up; Iruka asked me to 2 days ago. Do you think you could start the showers for me?" I just stared at him.
"Are you comfortable with that?" A silence went by. He blinked at me. I knew I was more than capable of doing the showers, but I was nervous. I sighed and nodded. I could only see Naruto's eyes but I could tell he was smiling. I turned to my right and started to walk down the hallway.
"You'll be fine Sakura!" He hollered. I waved my hand back at him and continued walking, soon after I was in front of the steel doors to my sector. I looked up at the camera and that creaking noise started. The doors opened and I squeezed in between them before they could finish. I power walked down the hallway towards the main office.
*Don't think about it, don't think about it. Just go, just go.* Repeating what I wanted my body to do wasn't successful. I was approaching Sasuke's hallway. I was dreading this moment. Still, I stopped in front of it. I swallowed my spit and squeezed my eyes shut. I turned my head to the right. I opened my eyes to see nothing at out the ordinary. His room was actually lit. The hallway looked normal. I sighed in relief and began walking forward. Suddenly I heard a loud popping noise and glass shattering. I immediately ran backwards to look back down hallway. On the left hand corner was Sasuke's room, pitch black again. I looked up at the light to see sparks coming from it and small pieces of glass falling onto the hallway floor. I gasped and ran to the main office. When I opened the door I saw Iruka sitting at a table. He had his hand on his forehead; his hair was laced through his fingers. He was looking at some paperwork.
"Hey Sakura." Iruka said. Then he turned his chair to face me. He had bags under his eyes like mine.
"How'd you know it was me?" He stood up and leaned back against his hands. I heard his spine crack.
"Who do you think let you in?" He lit a cigarette and pointed to the monitors on the wall. They were for this sector only. Each monitor had a number above it. These allowed us to watch the hallways and patients. Each room had an individual number and camera. I looked over at the monitor whose picture was all black.
*Number 17…* Iruka noticed my facial expression and looked at the monitor I was staring at. He sighed.
"Ugh, again? This is the second time this week!" Iruka threw his hands up in the air and fell back into his chair.
"What's wrong?" I asked. I knew that was the monitor to Sasuke's room.
"Remember the one I told you about, Sasuke Uchiha? Well he always breaks the light whenever someone replaces it. I don't know what the hell he gets his hands on to throw at it! I've got to talk to the day shift. Maybe he has been sneaking in rocks from outside or something during their recess. It's ridiculous that he would even be able to though. All patients are frisked before they come back in. I mean, where do you think he's keeping them rocks!? They should be monitoring him much closer. But wait…99% of the time he doesn't even go outside! He refuses to! I DON'T GET IT." Iruka was holding his head with both of his hands comically.
"It drives me crazy Sakura! Ugh, what time is it…6:58pm. Well YOU are here on time. Where is NARUTO? He better be here in 2 minutes!"
"Iruka its ok Naruto is here. He is cleaning up the main entrance's doors like you asked. I assume you were the one who left all of those cleaning supplies there." Iruka stopped fumigating and blinked at me twice.
"I know that female patient that you had to inject yesterday was the one who did that to those doors. I saw her fingers." I said. Iruka crossed his arms and looked away.
"Oh I forgot I left that stuff there for him." Iruka smacked himself in the forehead. I couldn't help to laugh at his bizarre actions.
"Hey Iruka, Naruto asked if I could start the showers for him. Are you ok with that?" Iruka spun his chair towards his paperwork.
"Yeah, sure, fine, whatever. You did superb on your training yesterday. I trust you. Go ahead and get started, I'll clock you and Naruto in." Iruka placed his hand on his forehead and began studying his paperwork again.
"Thank you!" I said. I opened the door and Iruka wheeled his chair over to grab my hand.
"Oh wait, don't forget your remote! Do you remember how to use it?" He placed it in my hand.
"Oh, right…sorry. And of course I do!"
"No need to say sorry. And I'm right in here if you need me." I smiled and closed the door. I began to walk towards the steel doors figuring I will start from the beginning. Images from my nightmare suddenly came back to me. I realized I was approaching Sasuke's hallway again. I stopped in front of it once more and stared at his room.
*Only Naruto can handle him…* Iruka's voice was echoing in my head. But my curiosity was echoing louder. I knew Iruka was buried in paperwork, not to mention, he was facing away from the monitors. Naruto was at the entrance cleaning the doors. Now was my only opportunity. And with that knowledge I started to walk down that hallway. The mysteriousness of this patient was now haunting me in my dreams; I had to see him for myself. Mental images of what could be fucked with me. I imagined the black abyss swallowing me whole, not to mention all of the evil creatures I paired those red eyes with. I walked to the end and faced his room. I just stood there staring at it. I knew something was staring back at me, and it didn't like me. I stepped closer to it and the crunching of the broken glass startled me. I contemplated trying to look inside like any curious human would, by pressing my nose against the glass cupping my peripherals to get a better view. Trepidation fought with me for a while because of the possibility that something could slam against the glass and scare the shit out of me. But curiosity used is persistent demeanor once more and I heeded.
*Ugh I can't see anything!* I put my left ear to the glass and couldn't hear anything either. I noticed the speaker on the wall. I stood in front of it and held in the white button.
"…hello?" There was no response. I sighed in disappointment and backed away from the room.
*Open the glass, you have the remote, so do it!* I pressed 1, 7, and then squeezed my eyes shut and pressed the large red button once. The glass immediately lifted. I opened one eye, nothing happened.
*I-Is he going to come out…?* I was trembling.
"S-Sasuke…?" I could only speak a little louder than a whisper.
"I know you're in there!" I tried for a bit more confidence in my voice, but it still had a low volume.
*Talking from this distance is no use.* I walked forward, and stepped one foot into the room. I hesitated, and before I could take that last step I felt calloused hands grab my arms. I was slammed into a wall. The light from the hallway was my only aid. I could barely see anything, but what I could make out was the figure of a man clenching his fists. Clearly I had intruded, more so that I had to leave. I looked to my right to see that the hallway was just a few steps away. That well lit hallway seemed like it was the most important place I needed to be. I tried to run for it but was met with an arm slamming me back against that wall. I squeezed my eyes shut when he hit me. His arm lay across my upper chest and I felt his hand cover my mouth. He slammed his hand against my mouth so hard that the back of my head banged against the wall. Then I felt something press against my neck. I swallowed my spit and felt the object move with it, slightly nicking me in the process. I grimaced at the sting of it and felt blood seep down my collar bone.
*This isn't happening, this isn't happening! Oh God what if he kills me! I-I can't handle feeling that pain… I can't do this!* Images of the red eyes from my nightmare was all my mind would allow me imagine behind closed lids. My fight or flight response kicked in. I knew I had done this to myself, so I had to face him…now.
*JUST LOOK AT HIM SAKURA!* I finally opened my eyes to see a young man with glowing red eyes staring at me.
*Those eyes…* my nightmare had just become a reality. Instantly panic overwhelmed my mind and body. I was no longer feeling that brave impulse I did moments ago. Tears started to pour out of my eyes. I saw him break eye contact with me. He had blinked for the first time and looked down at his hand. He continued to look at it and stopped pressing his hand so firmly against my mouth. I continued to focus on his eyes; I could see the reflection of what he was looking at. My tears were flowing from my cheeks over his fingers.