Last before day! Yeah ! I think I'm going to make it ahah . A big thank you to all of you for your supports and comments.
Day 30: "Are you with me?"
He swallowed his saliva and tried to refrain the shiver that wanted to move down his spine. He looked at the desolated hallway and wondered where they had all gone. One second they were all together and the next he was all alone in this fucking haunted place. He kind of wondered why they were investigating these murders, not that homeless people did not matter, but seeing the place solved the case. It was the Devil's place and you could feel its bad mojo from outside. Not that he would say so to anyone but he was 100% some evil forces were in cause. He was just so glad Sharon stayed at PAB.
"Are you with me, guys?" He called out, looking around for his team.
"Down here, Sir!" Said Julio, his voice far away.
Andy looked once more at the deserted hallway. The wind was running through the narrow passage in a long whistling. A few leaves danced in the air. In the distance, he could hear hinges creaking and a door open and slam. At midway distance, a green puddle had formed and a continuous plic ploc could be heard, filling it despite the absence of rain. He felt a presence behind him, like a hand touching his shoulder and jumped out his bones. He turned around, sure Julio or Provenza were messing with him. No one was there.
His heart was beating widely in his chest, bordering pain. He had crossed the hallway once and did not feel like doing it ever again. From the moment they passed through the large iron gates of the early XIX century, now vacant, psychiatric institution he felt like he was in a bad horror movie. And it was without counting the things he saw in those old hospital rooms. He blinked and the memory of that wooden chair with a metal helmet full of wires came to his mind. He couldn't imagine what those poor patients had suffered through there. In fact he totally could and that was what caused him to break into cold sweats. The old operation room came to his mind with its freaky looking metal gurney with leather straps along the arms and legs. He wondered briefly what kind of surgery could necessitate being tied down like that. Like everyone else, he had heard about lobectomy and craniectomy performed on mentally ill patients but always thought they were at least sedated to do so. God, that place…
He considered his options. He could either cross, again, that horrible and devil infested hallway or he could walk around the building and go back to his car. The last option was from far the most appealing but he was a police officer and had to act as one. Gathering his courage, sending a silent prayer to his soon-to-be-wife God, he took a step in the hallway. A piece of tiling moved and he had to put his hand on the adjacent wall to balance himself. A sensation of wetness greeted him and when he looked at his palm he saw it was covered in something red akin to blood. He refused to scream, even if every cell in his body insisted on it and kept on walking. At the end of the hallway, something white caught his attention. He blinked, not believing what he was seeing. A woman, dressed in a white gown, with long messy reddish hair was there. She wasn't translucid per say but she wasn't made of flesh and bones either. The only thought that came to his mind was that movies really depicted ghosts well. That was before she came towards him, floating in the air, screaming in such a high pitch tone that his ears hurted. "My heart.. Stroh…" He understood in between the screeching. When she came closer, he recognized her pale green eyes. He couldn't help it, he screamed too.
He sat up in his bed, drenched in sweat. Sharon was gently shaking him, eerily in her white nightgown, her long hair tangled and her fair skin glowing under the moonlight filtering through the window. "Are you ok? Are you back with me, honey?" She asked. He ran a hand over his sweaty face, trying to gather his bearings. He noticed she was holding her chest, that she was covered in sweats too.
"You okay?" He asked, shaken by his dream but conscious enough to worry for the woman he loved.
Breathlessly she said. "I.. I just have a bit of chest pain. The doctor said it could happen when I lie on my back. Nothing to worry about." She tried to minimize it and they both knew it. He looked at her, really looked at her and could tell she was not having "a bit" of pain. A strange feeling took hold of him. In that instant, he knew she would die soon and by the looks in her eyes, he could tell she was thinking the same.