Taken (4 page)

“That I do,” I moaned
softly
as his mouth
found
mine
once more.
There was no other man who could make me feel this beautiful, this wanted.
I would always come back for this
, for him
.
I could never be torn away.

C
hapter 4

“Well, that was easier than I thought,” Arie
whispered
, grabbing my hand and
pulling me
through
the double doors to the outside.

“Something tells me people aren’t lining up
to work at a facility like this,
”
I replied.

Athen pulled t
he car in front of the hospital
,
and
we both
climbed in.

“Did you get hired
?” Athen asked.

“
You know it
. Firs
t s
hift starts tonight.” I replied, ignoring the nerves that were building.

“Hopefully the
only
shift,” Athen countered.

“They even gave us outfits,” Arie
squealed
, completely ignoring her brother.

“It’s a white
skirt and shirt.
You’re excited about it?
”
Leave it to Arie to fall in love with the idea of a new outfit, no matter its form.

“Don’t forget the hat,”
she offered.

I shook my head, unable to control my laughter.

“I can’t wait to see you in it,” Cyril told Arie.

Arie blushed and
lowered
her eyes.

“We need to go
get the shoes they specified.” Arie changed the subject.

Athen turned down the main street of Victoria
,
parking in front of a bank
. The weather was holding out. The skies were overcast
threatening rain
but
not actually producing it.
It was typical for December.

The stores in town had everything ready fo
r the holidays. The dime store
windows
were covered in
large red poinsettia leaves
that had been painted in the corners. The café had snowflakes hanging in the window
,
and the
jewelry store
displayed
a beautiful Christmas tree
covered in tinsel
.

“I love this time of year, even if the dark demons are trying to take away a bit of our fun.” I
hopped out of the car.

“I agree.” Arie smiled.

“So
what did the hospital look like
compared to
last night?” Cyril asked, walking next to Arie.

“Like absolutely nothing occurred,” I replied, looping my arm through Athen’s.
“You’d never know those creatures were there.”

Cyril shook
his head
,
and we all fell silent as I realized the reason I wouldn’t be able to detect any of it.

“Oh, that’s right.
I’m a mortal now.” I sighed.
“I wouldn’t know if I tripped right over a problem.”

“After you,” Athen said, opening t
he door to the shoe store
.
The
door hanger jingled alerting
the
sales
man inside to our presence.
The store smelled faintly of leather. I’m sure in my normal state it would be overpowering.

“How are you doing? Is there anything I can
help
you
with?” t
he salesman asked. He was a slight man,
seemingly
timid. His eyes
also
carri
ed a burden I couldn’t decipher
as a mortal
.
Athen
seemed to notice
something too
. At least I could ask him later. This mortal thing was tough.

“We need the
Oxford leather
s in white,” Arie replied.

“Nurses, huh?’ the man asked, finding his way to the appropriate shelf.

“My wife was a nurse,”
he replied, his voice tender. “What sizes?”

As we rattled off our sizes, I noticed At
hen and Cyril’s demeanor begin to change. They both took a seat near the cash register and began
quietly
speaking. In my mortal state I couldn’t hear what they were saying, which was a bit aggravating. Arie looked over at me and wrinkled her nose. She was feeling the same thing as I was. We both tried on our shoes quickly
. I could tell she wanted to get over to the guys as much as I did to find out what they were thinking.

“
So you’ll be
working at Valley Hospital?” the salesman asked.
“That’s a great place to work.”

“No,” I replied
, shaking my head
. “We’re over at Masons.”

“Oh,” he said slowly.
He became quiet and glanced
up at Arie and then back at the counter as he packaged our purchase.

Athen slid his hand on my shoulder, and I knew this wasn’t making him any
calmer. “What do you know of Masons
Hospital
?”

The man’s hands began trembling
as he placed everything in the bag. Several moments went by before he said anything.
Finally he looked into my eyes.
The sadness couldn’t be hidden and neither could the fear.

“You both need to be careful there
,” the man replied at long last.
“Many go in and never come out.”

“
Patients
?” I asked.

He
shook his head
.
“Workers.
”

How long had this been going on? My visions made it seem like a new incident, but what if
it wasn’t?

“For how long?”
Athen asked.

“I lost my wife to that wretched place four years ago,” he replied, grabbing a handkerchief out of his pocket.

“I’m so sorry, Mr.?” I whispered, hoping to be able to piece together who his wife might be once inside.

“
Tony
. You can call me Tony. My wife’s
Charlotte.
She went in there determined to help the patients
,
and before long she started confusing fact
and
fiction. She became so immersed
she couldn’t separate herself from what she saw inside those four walls.
She became one of them.
”

“
One of who
?” I asked, my throat becoming dry.

“The possessed,” he replied.
“ She’s gone now.”

“I’m so sorry your wife passed away,” Arie whispered.

He shook his head, his lips forming a tightened
crease
.
“Oh, she’s very much alive, if you can call it that.”

Athen squeezed my shoulder
,
and Cyril grabbed the bag from the man.

“Girls, be careful,” he whispered again.

“Thank you for sharing.” I nodded. “And we’ll be extra careful.”

The
emptiness in the pit of my stomach began growing. How lon
g had this hospital been active?

Out on the street we were all in a daze.
If the dark demons had been using this hospital as a front for so long then why only now was I getting the premonitions.

Athen held my hand as we continued walking down the street.
We were expected at
the hospital
in less than an hour, and now what I really
wanted was to act like it never existed. But I couldn’t do that. Those people needed us.

The sidewalk was beginning to fill up with families.
H
usbands and wives holding hands;
children bundled in their coats
staring at the Christmas window displays. The large red velvet bows
hanging on the lamp
posts
began flapping as the breeze picked up.
It was quickly turning into a brisk evening, signaling winter
had arrived along with the holidays. Seeing the festive mood of everyone
around
us left me with a sense of hope — a
gentle reminder of what I was fighting for.

“I’m going to be okay. We’re going to be just fine,” I finally said, stopping to look into Athen’s eyes.

“I know, angel. It’s what you do
best
.” He smiled as I stood on my tippy toes to reach his lips.
“
Besides,
Cyril and
I
will
be outside waiting.”

He started laughing nervously,
and I cuddled into his arms.

“Is that so?” I asked.

“You can count on it.”
Athen looked across the street, and I followed his stare.

“I s
econd that.” Cyril
was hugging Arie just as intense
.
These guys were worried
,
and I’d be lying to myself if I said I wasn’t.

“If this is bigger than I thought —”

“I think we ca
n count on that,” Athen replied, narrowing his eyes on whatever he spotted.

“This mortal form is certainly annoying,” I whispered. “What do you see that I can’t?”

“Something I’ve never noticed before. And it’s not that I see it. I sense it.” His voice
was
somber.

“Yeah?” I asked.

“There’s activity under these streets.”

“Oh no, a
re you sure?” Arie asked.

“I am.
You feel it, Cy?”
Athen folded his arms.

“I do. It’s gotta be new.
We would’ve picked
it
up
earlier
otherwise.
”

“One more thing to add to the list.” I sighed
, shaking my head
.
“We’ve gotta change
into our lovely uniforms
, so we should get going.”

“After you,” Athen replied, ushering
me
with his hands.

I stepped into the crosswalk and glanced around Main Street one last time, wishing I felt what it was that Athen caught under the streets.
But something told me I’d be finding out soon.

I caught Arie’s expression and saw the fear I was feeling.
We would be walking into something much larger than ourselves in this
mortal
state
,
unable to protect ourselves, but
there was no turning back
.
Whether this was an invitation specifically sent
to us or not
, we had accepted the invite
.

C
hapter 5

We jumped out of the car and closed the door, waving at Athen and Cyril as they drove
off
to the far end of the parking lot.
It was completely dark outside. I looked down at my uni
form and began smoothing the wrinkles out of it.
Arie
caught on to my nervous ways and
reached for my hand
,
gently sque
ezing
it as we opened the double doors leading into Masons
Hospital.
The air was not right, but I couldn’t figure out why. That would have to be for another day. One when my senses were back to where they should be.

The
floor of the lobby was ivory stone,
polished
to a glossy finish. This room was the prize of the hospital. Everything else about this building
reeked of
its archaic and institution
al
presence
.

“Good evening, girls,” the guard greeted us
from behind a desk
. “If you’d sign in please
… e
very shift we ask
that
you sign in and out, date and time.
Do you know what floor you’re expected on?
”

I nodded my head and scribbled my name, hoping it would be the only time I would be doing that.
“Floor three.”

“The stairs directly behind me lead to the nurse’s station. Quickest route there.”

“Thank you,” I
replied, scanning the staircase.  I wondered
how easy it was going to be to find what we were looking for.

Arie followed closely behind me as we climbed the steps.

“I want to check on that woman from last night
at some point too
,” I whispered.

“Sure,” Arie replied.

Reaching the third floor,
Bethany
came over to greet us.
She was the head nurse on this floor and
appeared
not to
have any connections to the wicked sid
e of things around the hospital. B
ut after talking briefly with Tony I
could no longer presume
immediate innocence.

“We’re understaffed on this floor tonight. It’s wonderful that you came in when you did,” she replied apologetically. “Sorry we won’t have much time for intro
ductions and orientations. Hopefully tomorrow it will be better.”

“I understand,” I said, nodding my head.

Another nurse came over to greet us, and I began to worry we might not be
able to get away as easily
to snoop
as I’d hoped.

“Dorothy will take Arie
down hall A and I’ll take you down hall B to show you the procedures expected.
Each chart is
hanging
on the outside of the room
. It’d be best if you
could
familiarize yourself with the patients as quickly as possible
so we can all tend to what is needed
.”

Oh, thank goodness.

“Will do,” Arie replied.

Bethany walked back toward the nurse’s station and I
followed quickly behind.
She grabbed a
pen
and handed it to me before we took off down the hallway.

“This is where we let the patients who are well enough
congregate during the day.”

I looked around the bare room and wasn’t sure why anyone would want be in this room. The
cream
walls
were dingy. The couches
were stai
ned. I really wanted to move on, but it didn’t seem like Bethany had any intention
of that
.

“Over there is the rehabilitation room, but we rarely use it.
  And so
metimes
over there
is
where the nurses will
go
for a break in the evening.” She pointed over to a door that was closed
, but light was visible in the cracks. “You’ll see why in a moment.”

I followed
her
over to the
room and was stunned at the difference between this room and the one for the patients. I
t
was like it
wasn’t even in the same building.
Nice looking furniture
filled the space
a
nd a
television
was tucked in the corner.

“Our secret break room.” She laughed
, closing the door.

“
Onto the patients?” I asked, hoping to get on with the evening.

“You’re one of those, huh. Self righteous and all that.” She shook her head. “All right. Follow me.”

Maybe this nurse wasn’t quite what I thought after all.
It was so hard to judge
things in my current condition.
She flipped off the lights to the large room and I felt very empty, very lonely in this nurse’s presence.

“No. Not all. Just anxious. I didn’t mean to give you that impression.” I couldn’t believe I was apologizing for caring about the patients. I wonder if Arie was having the same luck with Dorothy.

She stopped walking and turned around to face me.

“You have to understand something about working here. It’s not like other hospitals.” Her cool
, blue
eyes scanned me for a reaction. I gave none. “We’ve
got to make the best of things — especially given
the situation.”

“How so? What situation?”

“Things aren’t right here.
If a building could
be possessed, I’d say this one wa
s.” Her mouth formed a skinny line
,
and she folded her arms across her chest.

“Then what makes you stay?”

She shook her head and looked around the hall we were now standing in.

“I honestly don’t know,” she replied.
“There’s something that pulls me
in
here
and doesn’t ever let go
.”

A shiver ran through me as I wondered about what her words meant. Could a building be possessed?
No. That’s ridiculous.

“How many years have you worked here?” I asked. She began walking down the hall again.

“Two years this Christmas. I didn’t think I’d last a week and here I am.”
She laughed quietly.

We stopped in front of a patien
t’s open door, and I looked over at Bethany. There was something she wasn’t telling me.

“After you.” She tumbled o
ut her hand, pointing at the chart.

I
picked it up and peeked my head around the corner. There was only one bed in this room. The male patient was sleeping soundly.
He looked to be in his twenties.

“The chart says
he’s here for amnesia?” I
queried
.

“He was hit by a car a week ago. Had no identification on him. He’s starting to come around.”

“Wow.
That’s bleak.
”
I placed the chart back on the wall peg, and we went down the hallway together checking on
each patient
. Everything seemed very typical, but I knew there was more to it.
There had to be.

“What makes you think there’s
something wrong with this place,” I paused.
“
I don’t doubt you, but it just seems pretty ordinary to me so far.”

“Doesn’t it thoug
h?” She narrowed her eyes at me
and placed her hand on the railing that was along the entire stretch of hallway.
“That’s how it gets you. The occurrences start out subtle. Make you doubt yourself at first. Then the events become more noticeable, more frequent until it’s undeniable. Whatever it is.
It’s made me even doubt my own sanity.”

“Have all the nurses experienced it?”

She bit her lip and dropped her head. “The ones who say they haven’t are probably lying. Afraid that voicing it will make it more real. But I can tell you it is real
, living
.”

“What was the first thing you noticed?” I asked
. “The first
strange
occurrence?”

“I’ll never forget it because I could never prove it,” she began. “It was my first weekend here. I went to check on a
female
patient
who was sle
eping. I heard a mumble coming
from her. I thought she was just having a nightmare or so
mething, so
I placed my hand on the bed
,
and as I leaned over her
she shot up and grabbed my neck. I managed to wrestle her back down and get released from her grasp.
”

Bethany’s eyes were wide with horror as she relived it.

“Wow. How horrible,” I replied.

“No. That’s not what got to me. It was when I looked into her eyes.
They
were blazing red.
Her irises weren’t human.
I was so startled I remember letting out a scream
, and that’s when the other nurses came running in. By that time the patient had closed her eyes and pretended to be sleeping. It wasn’t until she woke up that I thought that I’d be able to prove my story. Rather, it only made me look like I’d lost my mind. Her eyes were as a blue as a glacier. They weren’t red at all. But I knew what I saw
.
That was only the beginning.”

“Whatever happened to that patient?”

“She expired soon after
.”

I nodded and looked down the hall, surprised that I hadn’t seen Arie surface at all.
I wonder
ed
if she’d found something.

I began walking to the next room when I felt it.
I was surprised that the wickedness was strong enough for me to pick up on, even as a mortal.
I stopped and turned toward Bethany.

“Have you ever had any problems with this patient?” I asked, grabbing the chart and scanning the information.
It was a child’s room.
Her name was Eleanor.

“Oh, heavens no.
This one’s an angel. We hope we can send her home soon. The doctors think they’ve got the bug
almost
licked.”

A little girl’s voice began
singing an eerie melody that
was
quite inviting.

“She must be feeling
better. She’s never sung
before
,” Bethany smiled widely.
“
I never knew she had such a beautiful voice.
This is what makes everything worth it.
”

I smiled at Bethany
, wishing the song was that innocent, but something told me there was more to
it
.

I slowly
pushed
the door
open
to see a little girl with blonde hai
r cascading down her back, sitting on the side of her bed.
She appeared to be alone, but I doubted that. I just couldn’t see whoever else was in here with her.
I was at such a disadvantage as a mortal.

“A beautiful song, Eleanor,” I told her as I walked into the room.
She was facing the window, so I couldn’t see her expression. “You have a lovely voice.”

The singing stopped
. S
he turned toward me
and kept her head down
,
staring at the floor.
The frail
,
little body was certainly not holding the soul of a
ten year old. Her skin was pale and
wrinkled around the eyes.

“How are you feeling?” I asked, walking closer to her.

She
looked up at me
confirming
my worst fear. She was possessed
, but by what I wasn’t sure.

“Are you Lilith?” she asked.

“No. My name is Ana. I work at the hospital
, I’
ll be taking care of you tonight.” My b
ody was stiff with anticipation as I worried about what she could possibly be capable of. “Who’s Lilith?”

“
Somebody told me she’d be
c
oming for me,” Eleanor replied.

“
Who told you that
?”
I asked, as a sickening feeling spread through me.
If they
were
willing to turn children, there’s no stopping them.