Open Heart One Shots (Choices)

The Haunting of Edenbrook

Summary: It's All Hallow's Eve, and something wicked lingers in the air of Edenbrook Hospital's hallowed halls.

The October sky raged, dark and churning, echoing the turmoil of a sea in a tempest. Every once in a while, the skies erupted, and a brilliant streak of lightning would illuminate the city. It was a night made for things that went bump in the night.

Witches and ghosts roamed free in the dark shadows, floating above the cobblestone streets of Boston that glistened in the pale. As the clock neared midnight, church bells tolled in eerie harmony, their rhythmic clanging calling all the lost souls home.

Thunder rattled the windows of Edenbrook Hospital's cafeteria, and a fleeting glow of a lightning bolt forked across the horizon. For a split second, Cassie Valentine thought she saw something streak across the black sky, but she blinked, and it was gone.

She glanced warily at the storm raging outside and wondered if the Emergency Department would be calling for reinforcements. She hoped people had the good sense to stay inside on a night like this.

But it was Halloween, and Boston was a college town. College students weren't exactly known for playing it safe, she thought with a heavy sigh.

The overhead lights in the cafeteria flickered, and she hoped the hospital wouldn't lose power.

"You know hospitals have backup generators, right?" Jackie Varma mocked, and Cassie realized she'd spoken the words out loud. "Why so antsy, Valentine?"

She ignored her roommate's jibe and looked away from the stormy scene outside. "I hate working nights."

"Welcome to the intern life," Bryce Lahela called out. He plopped down on the seat across from her and handed her a pudding cup. "Scared of the dark?"

The surgical intern was part of her friend group, so she didn't mind his glib attitude, just like she was getting used to Jackie's occasional surliness and cutting remarks.

"Of course not," Cassie huffed, but Bryce smirked, clearly not believing her.

In the dim light, Bryce leaned in and whispered, "Haven't you heard? Once upon a time, in between the world wars, Edenbrook used to be a mental hospital. They housed the most dangerous patients on the tenth floor, where the path lab is now."

He slowly licked his spoon. "They say it's haunted. Years ago, on a night much like this one, with a storm raging across the harbor, a fire broke out. In their hurry to escape the raging flames, the staff forget about those locked in padded cells above."

Bryce paused dramatically, his gaze turning inward as he stared at the darkness beyond. Jackie snickered, but Cassie felt dread rising at what was to come.

"The legend goes that nurses hear phantom footsteps in the hallways and icy chills grip rooms," his voice dropped further, and Cassie leaned forward, her forehead almost touching his. "On All Hallow's Eve, at midnight, you can hear their sorrowful wails echoing, searching endlessly for a way out."

Thunder clapped outside, and Cassie jumped in her seat, a shriek escaping her lips. Bryce burst into laughter.

"You should've seen your face, Valentine," Jackie chuckled, giving Bryce a high-five. "Who knew you were such a scaredy cat?"

Sick of being made fun of, Cassie grabbed her tray, pushed back her chair and stalked off, Bryce and Jackie's laughter echoing behind her.

She started for the staircase, but the creepy feeling from Bryce's ghostly tale still lingered, so she detoured instead toward the elevator bank. The hallways were quiet this time of night, and she hunched her shoulders as she waited.