The short walk that seemed like the longest walk either had ever taken finally ended at a set of unremarkable metal double doors. Jill and Kelly stopped a few inches in front of them and shared a look. Emergency, the red on white lettering read, but there was nothing urgent about this dark empty hallway.
It looked unsettling inside. Jill couldn't pinpoint what it was, but the absolute stillness in the air drove a chill down her body.
"Okay..." Jill whispered nervously, her sweating palms gripping the cold metal door handle. If she stared at it any longer, she'd lose her nerve and right now Kelly was depending on her to be brave. "Don't worry. It's a hospital. They'll take good care of us."
Before Kelly could respond to her, she shoved the handle down and swung open the door.
Jill nor Kelly were sure about what to expect on the other side of the emergency room doors and though both thought themselves prepared for anything, the sight that awaited them was still a shock.
Three people, a man and two women, in crisp white nurses uniforms stood in a row in the middle of the room, eyes fixed on the door they'd come through and smiles on their faces as if the two injured detectives were expected guests. The nurses stood in an empty, green tiled room, the large area lit only by one set of bright fluorescent lights in the opposite corner. Their presence in a hospital was more surprising than it should have been given the circumstances, but much more unsettling was what wasn't present.
Where were the patients? Where was the equipment?
Jill blinked her eyes in confusion.
Where were the lights?
One of the female nurses stepped forward and though she was smiling, Jill felt Kelly's hand grab and then tighten around hers. For some reason it made her stomach lurch. Knowing Kelly was scared definitely wasn't making this any easier
"You're the girls from the highway." The older nurse said sympathetically. It wasn't a question; it was a statement, as if she already knew. The heavy set nurse did not give off any impression of malice, making Kelly wonder why she didn't feel more at ease. Her light brown hair hung just above her shoulders, curled in toward her cheeks and accenting her oval shaped face and small, light eyes. There was an uncomfortable looking grin on her face that made it appear as if she was squinting, making it difficult for her eye's true color to be revealed. Her smile lines and faded crow's feet gave away her true age. Without the lines she might have thought the nurse was younger. But something about her appearance was strange, old fashioned, reminding her of nineteen forties housewives she'd seen in old magazines.
"Uh..." Kelly stammered, caught off guard. She stiffened and shot Jill a look as the older woman gently took hold of her arm. "Yeah, we hit a deer."
"Hit a deer." The nurse echoed, clucking her tongue sympathetically. "What an awful mess." She smiled warmly then draped an arm around Kelly's shoulder and began leading her toward a hallway to their right.
Jill fought back the urge to keep Kelly from following her and reluctantly let go of her friend's hand. The older nurse was being uncomfortably sweet to them, like a grandmother humoring a small child. Certainly she could see their injuries, but didn't seem overly concerned with them. And just how in the hell did she know they'd hit a deer?
"How did you know we were coming?" She blurted out before she realized she'd planned to speak.
The older nurse chuckled softly. "You don't believe we're psychic?" She chuckled again and this time the male nurse joined her. The younger female nurse turned away as if annoyed.
"No, dear, a man called to make sure you got inside. He seemed very concerned."
"I don't blame him." The male nurse agreed with a smile. "You two are sure in the right place. I'm Nurse Shepard, this is Nurse Stone and..." His smile faltered slightly as he jerked his head in the direction of the younger woman, "That's Anna." He put back on an easy grin and approached Jill. He was much younger than the talkative nurse. Early thirties at most and if this had been any other situation, his smooth, boyishly handsome face and bright blue eyes would have intrigued Jill.
It wasn't any other situation though. She ignored him when he took her elbow, her eyes locked on the hallway the older nurse was leading her friend. "What about her?" She heard Kelly ask the nurse nervously, suddenly digging in her heels to stop. "Are you going to help my friend?"
"Of course, honey, but you have a pretty nasty head wound by the looks of it. We need to run some tests on you." She replied to Kelly patiently.
She gave her a gentle push forward but Kelly wasn't having any of it. She glanced backwards and the panic in her eyes was unmistakable.
"It's okay, Kell." Jill called to her as the male nurse lead her the opposite way. "I just have a bloody nose remember? I got off easy. Go on, I'll be over as soon as I'm done."
"See? Nothing to be afraid of." The nurse soothed. Having decided that Kelly was fast becoming a belligerent patient, she nodded toward the other female nurse and the younger woman quickly joined them. Kelly rolled her eyes lightly as a second nurse took her arm, but was done protesting.
"See you in a few." She mumbled over her shoulder before reluctantly allowing herself to be lead down the hallway toward the bright light of a single open doorway.
Jill watched her go despite every instinct inside her screaming to not let Kelly out of her sight. She wondered briefly if her friend was feeling the same way.
"You can call me Bruce if you'd like."
The male voice interrupted her thoughts unexpectedly. He had a charming smile but Jill couldn't find it in herself to be interested. "Might I know your name? It's good to have it on the medical record."
"Oh," In that brief moment, Jill couldn't locate her name inside her mind. Seeing Kelly stricken with panic had done something to make her stomach churn. She wondered if it was a good idea to scout the area for the nearest trash can in case she had to vomit. It wasn't normal when she had to be strong for Kelly. Usually it was the other way around. "It's Jill." She finally said. "Jill Munroe."
"Munroe..." He said quietly as he wrote it down on the chart in his hand. Jill sat quietly, waiting for him to ask her to spell it as most did. He didn't though. "Just step right into this room and I'll close the curtain so we can take a look at you."
"Wait," Spelling forgotten, she grabbed the curtain before he could close it and peeked back out. "Why did my friend get a room with a door and I get this?"
Amused by her curiosity, he decided to explain. "Because she is a trauma patient, noted by the head wound. You are a maybe slightly fractured nose patient that doesn't need urgent attention. That room stores our equipment."
Jill put a hand up to her nose and narrowed her eyes. "I happen to like my nose and would find it a trauma if it's broken."
Bruce removed her hand and put the bridge of her nose between his thumb and pointer finger, then gave it a gentle wiggle. Jill immediately cried out in pain and jerked backward. "What the hell was that!? Are you a registered nurse!?"
"Yes, and you'll be happy to know that your nose isn't broken, just bruised." He spoke with his eyes turned down toward the paper he was writing on.
"Pull something like that again and I'll be happy to give you a broken one." She winced, lightly touching underneath it to make sure she hadn't started bleeding again. "I'll have you know that I work for law enforcement, pal. This gun isn't just for show."
He slid his chart into one hand and held out the other, his expression never changing. "Speaking of that, no guns are allowed in the hospital."
"No, I'm a detective. I can have this on me."
"No, security can wear one. Detectives don't count. Hand it over."
"I have a license for this!"
He didn't relent.
She couldn't believe herself when she found her hands slipping the holster off her pants and planting it into his palm without a fight. Jill could scoff all she wanted to about it but he wasn't lying. They usually had to sneak theirs in if they found themselves at a hospital. Only this time they were the patients. Jill felt sick again and sulked down into the bed. "Well, keep it somewhere safe. That's brand new."
"It'll be locked away until you come back for it when you leave." He gave her another pleasant smile. "Boy, Gunther was spot on about you. You're something else."
"Gunther?" She piped up in surprise. The nurse knew the stranger that had found them? "You know Gunther?"
Bruce stopped talking momentarily, looking as if he was regaining his senses. Even though he did it quite smoothly, Jill noticed something peculiar. "Of course, we told you a man called asking about you and your friend. He mentioned his name."
"Oh." Jill said quietly. Her enthusiasm lost to confusion and worry about Kelly, she dropped the subject. "Look, I just really want to see my friend. When can I go in there?"
"I'll check in if that'll help you relax. Meanwhile I'm going to go get you something for your pain and some ice to put on your nose to help the swelling."
Jill finally gave in and laid down on the bed as Bruce turned away. "I'll be back shortly."
"Good." Jill muttered and watched him slide out from the curtain.
What she couldn't see was his smile fade into something far from good.
"What's your name, dear?"
Kelly snapped her eyes forward, pulled out her daze by the older nurse's voice. It would have been hard to concentrate in the eerily silent and dark hospital corridor even without a head injury and an increasing feeling of claustrophobia. Kelly was having noticeable difficulty.
"Dear?" The nurse pressed. "Your name?"
"Uh," Kelly started, surprised at how shaky and unsure her voice sounded. "Kelly Garrett. Listen, can-"
"Kelly." The nurse repeated as if it were the answer to a difficult riddle. "What a lovely name for a pretty young girl."
"Thanks." Kelly mumbled in reply. Awkward now, she flicked her eyes away from Nurse Stone and to the younger woman who barely had a grip on her left arm. But, it was too dark to really get a look at anybody and too preoccupied to dwell on it, she closed her eyes against a spell of dizziness. When she opened them again after a few moments, she found herself stepping into the bright light streaming into the hallway that had earlier looked so far away.
"Okay, Kelly." Nurse Stone said cheerfully as she led her into the bright room. "We're gonna take good care of you tonight. Let's have a look at you."
Kelly looked frantically around the room, a sense of unease growing ever stronger with every passing second. This seemed more like a storage room than a room for patients. There was strange looking medical equipment all around her, yet it was shoved against the walls, unplugged, half covered in white drop cloths. A hospital bed with no sheets stood like an island in the middle of the room.
A hand patted her shoulder and Kelly jumped. "Easy!" Nurse Stone chuckled. "If I can get you to lie down, Anna here will take care of you while I go get you something for the pain."
Kelly turned, remembering the younger nurse, and felt her stomach give a lurch.
"Lie down, please." Nurse Stone said again, pressing down on her shoulder. Kelly, her eyes fixated on Anna, finally obeyed. The older nurse began to happily hum a certain hymn that her mind recognized from childhood, but had long forgotten the words to. The melody sounded beautiful, peaceful. It began drifting further away from her hearing, and then there was unnerving silence.
Kelly lay in a trance for a moment, staring at the darkness outside before suddenly popping up to a sitting position with a gasp. "Wait... I don't know if I can take anything!" She called into the hallway. Sighing in frustration, Kelly whirled around to the other nurse in her room. "Hey, I forgot to tell her – I mean, I need to tell her tha-"
"You need to lie down." Anna repeated quietly. Her voice had an odd, childlike quality to it, whispery and soft yet commanding enough that Kelly felt compelled to immediately shut her mouth and lie down like an obedient pet.
"Whatever it is, we can deal with it when Nurse Stone comes back." Anna said dismissively. "Don't move." She gave Kelly her back as she pried open a plastic container in front of her and without knowing how, Kelly knew that it would be in her best interest to not say a word.
Instead she watched the young woman work, watched her impossibly elegant fingers unroll some thick gauze. It was hard to believe she was watching such a menial task the way her hands moved.
She was beautiful, Kelly noted absently. Startlingly so. Like a living, breathing hand crafted porcelain doll. Her skin was pale, almost translucent, so even toned that it might as well have been a mask, lending a stark contrast to her dark, almost black eyes. Underneath her nurse's cap, a lock of hair even darker than her eyes had slipped free and now formed a curtain against one pale, perfectly shaped cheek. Kelly blinked, the young woman's perfectly symmetrical features unsettling her for reasons she couldn't place. There was something about her, something off, something that bothered Kelly.
"This might sting." Anna's voice said from behind.
Kelly nodded and said nothing as something cool and damp pressed against the wound on her head. She lay quietly as Anna worked, finding herself wishing that Nurse Stone would return soon.
It was a surprise when Anna spoke again.
"I hope it doesn't scar."
Kelly opened her eyes. "What?"
"Your head." Anna answered, dabbing methodically at the wound. "I hope it doesn't scar. It would be a shame."
Kelly looked away. "Oh. I hope so too." She whispered. "At least my hair will cover it if it does."
"You would still know it was there." Anna replied promptly. "You would always know. It's a shame."
This time Kelly attempted to raise her head. "I... what?"
"You're so pretty." Anna continued, monotone. She had lowered the bloody gauze to her side and cocked her head, studying Kelly as if she was a puzzle to be solved. "You have dark hair. Not as dark as mine. It's so pretty."
Kelly felt her face flush. "I'm sorry… can we just..."
"But your eyes." Anna went on quietly. "Your eyes are light." She pursed her lips as if this fact upset her. "So pretty."
"Thanks." Kelly murmured uncomfortably. Her eyes darted to the door, willing Nurse Stone to walk through it. "Are we… are we almost done?"
Anna stared at her a moment before gesturing back toward the pillow. She seemed more intense than before and Kelly found herself wishing she was back under the eerie gaze of the dead deer instead of Anna. "Yes. Lie down. I need to give you a shot." She said and Kelly reluctantly obeyed. She felt Anna's long fingers run through her hair and fought the urge to shy away. "Close your eyes."
Kelly did as she was told. "Um, listen, I don't know if this makes a difference, but I'm four weeks pregnant. I tried to tell you earlier."
Something clattered to the floor and Kelly opened her eyes. The white of the nurse's uniform flashed by her face as she did and Kelly sat up to see Anna rushing out of the room