Mind's Echo

Shelly

Shivering from what she had just seen in the doorway, Shelly turned on Mark and Alex, asking if they had seen the misty thing she had. They both shook their heads. She let out a sigh. Dammit. Once again, no one saw what I did! What's wrong with me? She grimaced in frustration. Then Mark began asking questions to the air more or less and Shelly felt a little better, because he was validating her having seen something!

After a bit, Mark activated the camera hanging around his neck, telling them they should pick up anything moving from here on out. Making sure to grab the file she had been reading, Shelly followed Alex and Mark as they left the room. They moved down the hallway, curious as to what they would find next ...

Soon, they came to another stairwell, this time leading down. Shelly did the same thing as before, telling them to wait there while she tested the stairs. Alex offered to do it instead, and while it would have been much easier to let Alex be the one testing them, she just did not trust him. He had acted strangely ever since looking at the picture in the lobby, and she was not taking any chances with him. She was distracted thinking about Alex when she was almost to the bottom and the rotted stairs gave out beneath her. She went tumbling down, busting her nose in the process. The fall was so hard she had probably broken it. It sure felt like it.

"Oh, holy fucking shit!" she screamed, blood gushing out of her nose, as she lay there in a heap at the bottom of the stairwell. 

"Shelly! What happened??" Alex and Mark yelled, both of them racing down the stairs to her.

They were both lucky they did not meet the same fate as she had! She wanted to be angry at them for being so foolish, but she was on the verge of crying from embarrassment and pain, and she was too angry at herself to spare any for them.

When Mark reached her side, he shined the light on her face. He and Alex gasped in unison.

"Oh, no, Shelly!" Alex cried, lifting her head, and putting it on his lap. "I have some first aid stuff in my backpack. Hold on!" he said, the anxiety in his voice apparent.

Mark's eyes grew wide, as he sat back on his heels watching helplessly. "I'm so sorry, Shelly! What can I do to help?" 

Alex had finally gotten out a towel, an ice pack that activated when squeezed in the middle, and some water. He carefully wiped her face and nose with the towel after wetting it down. Handing it to Mark, he told him to hold it for now. After cleansing Shelly's face and nose, he waited a moment to see if the bleeding had stopped. It had, so he placed the ice pack on her nose, above the area that was swelling fast. 

"Hold this to your nose, Shelly," Alex instructed her in a calm, decisive voice. "It will help to keep the swelling down until you can get to a doctor." 

Shelly smiled gratefully at Alex, noting how gentle his touch was, and how efficient he was. He acted just like a doctor - so self-assured, so knowledgeable! She looked into his deep hazel eyes, feeling like she could get lost in them ... 

Wait ... She blinked in stunned horror. Alex is acting just like a doctor ... Just like a doctor!! And in the photograph he had been the doctor!