Seven

Chapter 10

Over an hour had passed. Tim felt as if he'd been walking all night. Why was it taking so long to reach the hospital? He wondered if he'd lost track of time, but with a broken watch he couldn't tell. The fog was thick, but Tim followed the yellow road lines until he finally saw the green sign that read: CRESTWOOD NEXT RIGHT. 

Tim knew it was another mile until he hit the hospital and let out a labored breath. "I can make it. What's one more mile?" 

He dragged his aching body on the road, and struggled a bit as it started to climb. The fog made it impossible to see off into the distance, but Tim prayed that maybe someone would drive down the road to see him. There was nothing. No one. Not even a stray deer or two appeared on the path back to Crestwood. 

The pain in his head increased tenfold and Tim felt like he couldn't move. He was exhausted and his leg hurt. For some reason, he had difficulty breathing, and he could barely focus. His back was drenched in sweat from all his efforts, but he pushed himself to walk up the incline. He knew the hospital was going to be over the crest, hence its name of Crestwood. It stood on the summit over the surrounding woods. 

After he made it to the entrance, he fell on the ground. He was dizzy with relief, and nearly cried with joy as he leaned towards one of the brick columns by the front gates. The fog was thick, and he could barely make anything out, but he didn't care. He made it to the hospital. "Thank God," he managed and slowly limped towards the administrative building that should be on the right.

Except, it wasn't. 

Confused, Tim kept walking. The street lights weren't there and neither was the admin buidling. That's not right. It's supposed to be here, he thought, but it wasn't. He was standing on the road that was supposed to lead to the small red brick building, but it simply didn't exist. He grabbed his head. The gash on his forehead started to ache.

"Must be the accident. My brains are rattled. I'm sure it's here."

He walked on the road, but it suddenly led directly to Crestwood. It looked ominous in the dark. There were no lights on in the building and it looked like the entire electricity went out. Something was off. He knew the hospital had backup generators in case it happened, but why was it completely dark? Tim felt the hairs on his arm stand up. Something wasn't right. A part of him wanted to go on through the doors, but his gut was telling him not to. 

He walked through the entrance. He could barely make out the reception desk. Suddenly, he saw a little girl appear on the top of the stairs that lead to the second floor landing. 

It was dark, yet he could see her, due to the white gown she was wearing. When his eyes adjusted enough to focus on her, he saw that it was a hospital gown. She stood there motionless, as if she had been waiting for him.

"Who are you?" he questioned the figure. She didn't move. "You were the one on the road, weren't you?" Again, the girl just stood on the landing without moving. She was silently staring at him. Tim couldn't make out her face, but he felt her looking. 

"I---I need help. Can you get someone to help me?" Tim moved forward, and leaned onto the reception desk near the bottom of the steps. He looked over at the clock on the wall to the right. 3 o'clock. The third shift would have been there. However, it looked as if Crestwood was completely deserted. Where was everyone?

His head hurt so much, he couldn't think straight. The girl made a movement. Tim watched as she backed up and walked up the steps. "Wait!" He stumbled after her.

He heard a soft giggle and saw that she had run up to the third landing. In pain, Tim climbed the steps in the darkness and followed the girl. She wasn't much older than ten, it seemed, but it was difficult to make out any features. He saw a small, pale figure run through the doors of the third floor's Red ward. 

"Hey! Wait! Please!" 

Tim followed her past the doors, but the corridor looked as if it was bathed in darkness; no light filtered through, not even from the outside. The emergency lights, as well as every other light in the hospital, were mysteriously out. Tim continued to walk down the long hallway. He looked into the glass of the doors to the patient rooms. They were all empty. 

He stared down at one of the door knobs and put his hand on it. The cold metal felt like ice underneath his skin. He turned it. It was locked. He heard a giggle down the hallway and continued to move.

The door at the end was open. He knew it was Room 346, Nicole Whelan's room. Was she in there? Or was it the little girl? Tim needed to know, so he limped down to see. He didn't care. At this point, he needed to know if he was going mildly insane or if this was all part of reality. At this point, nothing made sense to him.

He walked through the room. It was pitch black. He could see the fog moving outside the window. 

The door slammed shut behind him. Tim turned around and clutched at the handle. The steel doors were impossible to open from the inside without a key. He fumbled in his pockets for his I.D. badge and found it. Frantically scanning it through the magnetic lock, the door refused to open.

He began pounding on it. "HELP ME! Someone help me!" He screamed at the top of his lungs. The atmoshere in the room was so thick, it felt as if something evil took form and was inside there with him. He was too scared to look. He knew someone was in the room. Sheer terror began to grip him. 

Ice cold fingers appeared around his neck. Tim clutched at it, and tried to hurl himself backwards towards the wall, but the person behind him had inhuman strength. Tim's body didn't budge. Not an inch. He couldn't breathe. The sharp nails on the hands were digging into his skin. He felt them draw blood. His airways closed.

Tim rasped, "P---pl---please...stop," he tried to reach behind him to grab at their head, hair, or any part of the body he could reach. 

Nothing was there. There was nothing to hold on to. It was as if a pair of hands appeared out of thin air to strangle him. Tim's throat closed. He couldn't get any air. He felt his head grow heavier, his heart was going to burst. For a split second, he thought of his sister, Becca, and her kids. How he was sorry he couldn't get back home to them. 

Sorry, Becca, I couldn't say bye to you and the kids, Tim's heart finally gave out and he let one long rattled breath escape before his eyes rolled to the back of his head.