Wendy

Chapter 7: Darting Shadow

Moments later, Wendy and Jade walked along the hospital lobby. People brushed past them, totally oblivious of any presence other than themselves and those around.

Wendy had come to the hospital on several occasions, she recalled she never liked it here. The hospital constantly reeked of disinfectant, medicine and sandalwood air freshener, and there were sick people everywhere!

When she asked her mother why they were sick, she said most were sick because of unhealthy habits while others were simply unlucky. Wendy did not like the answer at all.

As they walked on, she began to notice other angels of Jade and Abel's kind. Jade kept waving and greeting them cheerily. When Wendy waved, they also smiled and waved to her surprise. Wendy felt like squealing in delight at their friendly action.

Sometimes, Wendy could almost swear she saw dark shadows lurking in corners. She could also feel eyes on her but she wasn't scared, rather it stirred her curiosity. As she was about to ask Jade about the shadows, she noticed they had stopped in front of a door labelled 'Ward 11 (Private)'.

Jade looked down at her with dark green eyes and asked, "Ready?"

Wendy nodded. She could already sense her mum was in the room. Jade took her right hand in hers as they passed straight through the door.

The first thing Wendy noticed was the eerie depressive air in the room; it hung in the air like storm clouds. Her brows furrowed as her eyes settled on her mother. She was seated on a bedside chair with a far-away look on her ashen face. She looked most terribly sad...and lonely.

Wendy rushed to her side without thought and placed a comforting arm on her mum's slim shoulders. It had no effect; her mother's expression was still blank and she was totally unaware of any presence in the room. Wendy caressed her mother's face as she felt deep sadness for her.

"I'm so sorry, mum." Wendy placed her forehead against her mother's, she wished she could transfer her joy to her. Wendy was glad that she was able to touch her mother now; when the accident happened, she remembered she couldn't.
As she glanced at Jade, she noticed the angel had a somber expression on her face and she kept looking around the ward. Was she looking for Abel?

The ward door opened slowly and a tall man walked in followed by a thin smallish woman. The woman was obviously a nurse. She held a kidney tray that contained two syringes and some medicine vials. The nurse had a nasty look Wendy guessed was a result of years of frowning and she kept chewing bubble gum audibly.

The tall man looked to be in his early forties. He possessed a long face with small eyes, his long nose resembled a hook and he had the thinnest lips Wendy had ever seen. The man adjusted his wire rimmed glasses with one hand, and held a stethoscope rather too tightly in the other. Wendy thought he looked nervous.

She watched the nurse come closer and drop the kidney tray with a clatter on the bedside table. Margret looked up sharply, but refused to speak. The tall man cleared his throat and adjusted his shirt lapel. The name tag clipped to his breast pocket read: 'Theophilus Chime M.D.'.

"I heard what happened. I'm so sorry, Margret." His voice was low and he seemed to be avoiding eye contact.

Margret fixed him with a poisonous glare. "Why did you have to make me work over time? Is it because I'm single and have no family that's crying for my attention? If you hadn't indirectly forced me to come to work for four days in a row, I wouldn't be in this mess.

"Hope you're happy? You have time for your wife, and numerous children, while single women like Margret do most of the work because our responsibilities are little."

Wendy took her arm off her mother's shoulder as she noticed she was trembling.

"Margret, be reasonable. It was a coincidence. It had nothing to do-"

"IT WAS NOT A COINCIDENCE!" Margret yelled. She half rose from her seat but immediately sat down; her legs were obviously too weak to support her.

"I was so tired. I picked her late from school. In fact, as I come to think of it, it seems as if I always pick her late because of this slavish job-"

"Margret, you agreed to it. It was your decision." The doctor was beginning to sweat.

"No it wasn't, and you know it." Margret's voice was low now.

"You dangle extra pay in front of us and add subtle threats. Making us feel as though if we refuse, our jobs are at stake," her mum added coldly.

Wendy's eyes widened in surprise as she noticed black clouds were literally gathering around her mother. She shifted farther away.
What was happening? She felt panic as she watched her mother get consumed by whatever that was.

When the nurse attempted to remove the IV needle, she held on to her mother's hand too tightly.

"Get your hands off me." Margret grounded out through clenched teeth.

When the nurse refused to let go, she wrenched her hand free, grabbed the kidney tray and threw it across the room.
The medicine vials smashed against the wall, scattering tiny shards of glass and the kidney tray bounced crazily on the floor, giving off a harsh clanging sound.

The nurse had an aghast look on her face as she sprung back. "What is the-"

"Get out!" Margret hissed. She immediately turned to the dumbstruck doctor. "Please leave before I do something I'll regret for the rest of my miserable life." Her voice sounded low and tired.

Theophilus pressed his lips together as if to prevent himself from speaking. He looked at Margret for a brief moment then opened the door quietly and walked out. Wendy could hear him talking to the nurse about not taking Margret's actions personally. The nurse hissed and stalked off.

As Wendy diverted her attention back to her mum, she watched the dark clouds around her immediately fade to nothing.
Whatever that was, she was certain it wasn't something good. She had never seen her mother act the way she just did and she was certain it had something to do with the ominous looking cloud.

Out of the corner of her eyes, Wendy saw a shadow zoom past. She blinked then swirled around, searching for what she just saw. The ward looked the same and she could not spot any moving shadow. But just as she almost convinced herself that she saw nothing, she saw it again. This time it flew right above her head. She ducked and looked up sharply. What was that?

"Wendy, come stand beside me." Jade's voice sounded stern, quite unlike her usual cheery tone. Wendy hurried to her side as she kept looking around.

Jade had a grim expression on her face as she dipped two fingers into her squally hair and retrieved a tiny silver prong. It gleamed as if it generated its own light and it was decorated with several intricate designs. Wendy figured it must be what she retrieved from one of the drawers at the utility room.

Eyes still fixed ahead of her, Jade raised the prong inches above her head. She concentrated hard as she waited for some seconds. With lightning speed and the force of a moving train, she threw the prong like a spear. It zapped forward, trailing white light in its wake.

Wendy noticed the prong had grown in milliseconds and it was now about the length of a garden rake. Just then, the shadow appeared again but this time the points of the weapon sank deep into the wall trapping a tiny creature by the neck. 

When a piercing shriek filled the air, Wendy shuddered.
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