A Grave Problem

15. Up on the Roof

It was Friday night, and instead of doing anything fun – or even normal – Mia and her friends were going to the hospital to snoop. It was bad enough that they were going in the first place, but they didn't even know anyone who was sick! No, instead they were going to the hospital to see if some mythical creature was hanging out down there. And the worst part was the fact that they shouldn't even have to be the ones taking care of it. It wasn't their responsibility – why didn't that annoying Summer just deal with her problems herself? She and her little friends should be out here doing this. But no, instead Mia and her friends had been blackmailed into doing their work for them. So now Mia, Anna, and Carmine were sitting on a dirty bench, waiting for the bus that would take them to the hospital downtown.

The bus pulled up and the three got on. It was more crowded than Mia would have liked, but they were all still able to find seats. The ride was quiet; no one felt much like talking. Mia decided to spend the time pouting about having to go to the hospital.

As the bus pulled away, Mia sat staring out the window, watching the trees go by. She thought about why it was she hated hospitals so much. It wasn't because she'd been forced to stay in one; even before she'd become a vampire, Mia had never really gotten sick. In fact, no one Mia had ever known had gotten sick enough to stay at a hospital. No, it wasn't personal experience that made her hate them so much. It was really more of a feeling she got from the few times she'd been forced to visit with her school. They were full of sickness and death. People went there to die, even if they realize it. And the smell. Every hospital Mia had ever been in always seemed to smell. She didn't know what the smell was exactly – maybe too much cleaner being used. All she knew was that she didn't like it.

Mia was still counting off all the things she hated about hospitals when Carmine nudged her.

"Mia!" she said somewhat loudly.

Mia turned expectantly.

"We're here. Come on."

Startled, Mia got up quickly and hurried after her friends before the bus had a chance to pull away with her still on it.

Silently, the girls started walking the four blocks it would take to get to the hospital. Each one of them seemed to be keeping an eye out, as if they might spot a banshee any minute now, just hiding behind a tree.

The girls had just rounded the corner, hospital finally in sight, when Mia caught something out of the corner of her eye. She stopped. She turned around and craned her neck, trying to figure out what had moved in that darkened street. She didn't see anything for a minute, and as she waited, her friends got further and further away, unaware that Mia was no longer following.

"Mia!" Carmine called from about twenty feet ahead. "What are you doing?"

Carmine walked back to where Mia was still standing, Anna in tow.

"Look," Carmine said as she approached, "if you really don't want to go, you can wait here. We'll be back in about an hour, ok?"

"No, it's not that." Mia said, somewhat exasperated. "I saw something."

"Like what?" Anna asked, as the three stared down the street. "Did you see the banshee?"

"No, I don't think so." Mia wasn't quite sure what she'd seen, but she was pretty sure she'd know if it was a banshee.

The girls continued to stare down the street. After what felt like several minutes of not seeing anything, Mia started to wonder if her mind was just playing tricks on her. Finally, they turned around, heading for the hospital once again. They were almost back to the main street when a loud crash behind them made them turn around.