Berceuse for The Suffering (Complete)

26. {Ode To My Family}

The hospital was a towering edifice of concrete and steel, standing tall on the edge of the town. It was a place of healing and hope, a sanctuary for the ailing and the injured. But tonight, as the dark mist descended upon it, the hospital lay silent and still. The usual cacophony of voices and sounds that filled its halls was absent, replaced instead by an eerie silence that seemed to pervade every inch of the building. It was as if the hospital itself was holding its breath, waiting for something to happen.

As the second ticked by, the silence only grew more pronounced. The halls were deserted, the rooms empty and dark. But then, in the stillness, a sound began to emerge. It was a low, guttural growl, echoing through the corridors and causing the very walls to tremble.

At first, it was barely audible, but as the seconds ticked by, the growl grew louder and more insistent. It was a sound that was both terrifying and otherworldly, a sound that seemed to herald the suspended vengeance of something dark and malevolent.

As the growling continued, the hospital seemed to come alive with a strange energy. The air crackled with an electric tension, and the very fabric of reality seemed to warp and twist under the weight of the presence that was within its midst.

Then, suddenly, a creature borne of sin ang pain, its eyes burning like verdant flames crawled upon the walls, hiding in the darkness.

With a roar that shook the foundations of the hospital itself, the creature unleashed its fury upon an elevator. The metal doors buckled and heaved, the ropes and contraptions that held it groaned and creaked, and the very air around it trembled with the force of its rage.

And yet, amidst the chaos and destruction, there was a strange beauty to the creature's wrath when it smiled upon her father. "Lyli, I got him," he said to her. But the creature doesn't respond. It tore the elevator door completely and jumped below.

As it descended the creature's fury only grew more intense. It tore through the walls that confined the elevator, leaving nothing but destruction in its wake. And yet, even as it raged, there was a strange serenity to it, a sense of purpose that could not be denied. The twelve-story hospital that sat on the edge of the town was not just a building of concrete and steel any more. It was now a beacon of hope and healing for a being that had so long lived in confusion and pain.

***

As the elevator doors opened on the fourth floor, Kaneshia's heart clenched in her chest. The sight that greeted them was not what she had expected. Everything in front of them was dark as if a dark mist had enveloped the entire floor.

Kaneshia's mind raced with thoughts of her brother, Antonio, and the warning he had given her about Billy being hunted by a creature born of the sin her niece had committed years ago. She knew that they couldn't stay on that floor for a moment longer. But where could they go?

She called out for the nurses that were supposed to be there, but there was no answer. The silence was unsettling, and it only served to amplify the fear that had already consumed her. As she called out again, a demonic growl answered her from within the darkness. Kaneshia's heart raced as she realized that the creature was there, waiting for them.

Billy's body shook beside her, and she could feel his fear as acutely as her own. She had to get them out of there, to safety. With adrenaline pumping through her veins, Kaneshia urgently pressed the elevator buttons again and again, not even bothering to check which one she was selecting. All she wanted was to escape and get as far away from that dark and ominous floor as possible.

As the elevator doors finally closed, Kaneshia let out a deep sigh of relief. But the memory of the demonic growl still lingered in her mind. She knew that their encounter with that creature was far from over.