A/N: My father calls me morbid… I love horror stories, do you?
Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters belong to Kishimoto; this fanfic, however, belongs to yours truly.
Day 5: Tag
It was another long night of working the graveyard shift for one Uchiha Sasuke. As a security guard for Konoha General Hospital, he was making his rounds for the first three floors of the hospital, not including the basement. Sasuke had had just finished the last stretch of the ground floor when he made his way towards the elevator. He jabbed the 'down' button and then zipped his jacket up a little further. He made a mental note to check on the thermostat later; it was unnaturally chilly in the hospital…
He sighed, not really looking forward to the basement; not only was it dark but it was also where the morgue was located. Sasuke radioed his partner that had taken the upper floors, but there wasn't a reply. He shrugged, it wasn't all that weird, for all he knew, his partner could be taking a quick nap somewhere. The life at the hospital was an ancient device, and it took its time before finally reaching the floor with a sharp 'ding'. Getting his flashlight ready, he stepped into the metal box. It shocked him however, when, just as the doors were about to close, a pale hand reached in and grabbed hold onto one of the doors. Thinking quickly, Sasuke immediately pushed the 'open' button. The door opened and revealed a pink haired woman around his age, her eyes closed and her mouth in a big grin,
"Whew, thank goodness the door didn't close all the way! I was afraid my fingers would have been seriously injured." She exclaimed as she entered the elevator. She adjusted her beige coat and red scarf tighter around herself as Sasuke peered curiously at her. She turned to him and her jade green eyes blinked at him,
"What is it?" She asked the mirth in her eyes evident. Sasuke glanced towards the control panel of the lift where his finger was still on the button. He turned back to her,
"Ms, this lift is heading down. If you are here to visit a patient, you should wait for the next round. Although, it seems weird that you would be visiting a patient this late at night. Visiting hours are over, you know?" He told her. She smiled at him,
"No worries, mister security guard! I'm a med student here and I'm actually heading towards the morgue." She explained. He nodded slowly in understanding and let go of the button. She rubbed the back of her head sheepishly,
"I accidentally left some files at the morgue when I was down there just now. I made it halfway to the exit when I remembered them!" She pointed out before letting out a little chuckle which Sasuke found rather cute.
"I hope you don't mind, mister security guard, but I was hoping if you'd accompany me to get my files? It gets a little creepy down there at night." She requested. She looked away in slight embarrassment. Sasuke shrugged his shoulders, he really didn't mind. It didn't help that she was pretty too.
"No problem, miss; as long as you don't mind me patrolling as well… I'd rather not make a second trip down if I could help it." He told her. She nodded her head and told him that she didn't mind. Sasuke smirked,
"Also, the name's Sasuke. I'd rather not be called 'mister security guard', it sounds really old… and I'm probably around your age too." He teased her. She giggled,
"Well okay, Sasuke… You can call me Sakura." She smiled and held out her hand for a shake. Sasuke took it and almost jumped at how cold her hand was,
"Whoa, you're freezing cold!" He exclaimed. She chuckled and placed her hand into the pocket of her coat. The elevator dinged and opened its doors. They stepped out into the hallway that was dimly lit with a light source right in front of the morgue. The morgue was straight ahead of them, (maybe some forty feet?) while offices were located in the hallways to their right. Sasuke turned his flashlight on and Sakura stuck by her word as she accompanied Sasuke on his rounds,
"So… why are you working the graveyard shift, Sasuke?" Sakura asked with the intention to fill the silence. Sasuke decided to humour her,
"I need the extra cash to pay off law school." His reply was short and straightforward. Sakura hummed as she peered through the glass of the offices. She turned back to him,
"Don't we all? Med school is expensive too… I can hardly get by each month as it is." She joked as she returned to his side. Sasuke nodded as he checked the last door,
"I'm done here. Shall we get to the morgue?" He jerked his head back towards the start of the hallway. Sakura nodded excitedly,
"Yeah, I'll get the files and then we can get out of here. It's super creepy being down here…" She quipped and they made their way back to the start of the hallway. At the entrance of the morgue, Sasuke swiped his access card and the door opened with a 'beep'. Sakura felt the side of the walls for the light switch and flipped it on. They both flinched back when bright lights flooded the room,
"Sorry about that." Sakura apologised. Sasuke shook his head and motioned for her to get her files. Sakura nodded as she made her way towards the desk at the back of the morgue while Sasuke looked around. The bright lights did nothing to make the place feel any less creepy. He was studying the names on the freezer when he heard a clatter behind him. Hands on his baton, he immediately turned around to detect the source of the noise. Nothing, there was nothing standing behind him. There were only the trolleys behind him, trolleys that were used to transport the dead…
"Sorry, that was my fault! I spilled over some pens!" Sakura cried out from the back. Sasuke didn't answer. It really felt as though the sound came from behind him, not from where Sakura was. His hand tightened around the baton…
He turned to where Sakura was and saw that she was approaching him with some files in her arms. She grinned brightly at him,
"I got the files! Now let's get out of here." She said proclaimed. Sasuke couldn't agree with her more. They shut off all the lights and made their way back to the elevator, which was still on the same floor. The elevator opened its doors and the got in. Behind them, they heard the rustling of cloth. They turned around and saw a figure shuffling towards them. It's back towards the light so they couldn't see its face,
"Wait. Hold the door, please." Its raspy voice called out as it slowly made its way towards them. Sakura smiled,
"Sure, it is not a problem. We'll wait for you." She agreed and reached out to press the 'open' button on the control panel. Sasuke stared warily at the figure before he directed his gaze towards its feet. His eyes widened in horror and immediately he shot his hand out to grab Sakura's outstretched hand. With his other hand, Sasuke jabbed the 'close' button of the lift repeatedly. Sakura turned surprised eyes at him,
"What are you doing?! Can't you see someone wants to get on as well?" She chided as she tried to pry her hand from Sasuke who held on tightly. The figure increased it pace as it shuffled eerily towards them. Fortunately, the doors of the elevator closed when the figure was about ten feet from them. Slowly, the ancient elevator made its ascent and Sasuke released Sakura's hand from his grip. She turned towards him and saw that his jaw was clenched tightly,
"What was all that about? I thought you're a better person than that!" She reprimanded with her face in a frown. He peered at her,
"Listen, I'm sure that you, as a med student, would have basic knowledge of this… What do you do to tag dead bodies?" He questioned her. Sakura shrugged,
"Well, you tag their big toe with a piece of paper that contains their relevant information. Why?" She prompted. Sasuke sighed and rubbed his eyes with the heels of his palms,
"Well, that thing walking towards us had a toe tag…" His gaze drifted downwards, towards their feet. His eyes widened,
"…Like you do."
~Up next, Day 6~