RAIN WAS BEATING down mercilessly on the pale blue Suzuki Swift as it turned into the parking lot of Lawrence Medical Centre. Clara Avery peered over the steering wheel to look at the sky, the last rays of sunlight long gone. She turned the ignition off, shoving the keys in her messenger bag and rummaging around the back seat for an umbrella only to come up empty-handed.
She sighed as she zipped her jacket and pulled the hood securely over her head.
Clara took a deep breath and steadied herself before pushing the door open and running the distance to the sheltered entrance of the medical centre. It was way past visiting hours and the sliding doors remained closed.
The tinted glass made it difficult to see into the foyer beyond the doors, but with the help of the light by the reception desk, Clara was able to faintly discern the figure of a person slouching over sheets of paper. She knocked lightly at first, but when the figure failed to react, she knocked harder against the glass surface, hurting her knuckles in the process. She watched as the person looked up before coming around the desk and walking towards the sliding doors.
With a soft whirring, the doors slid open to reveal a red-headed nurse, her face morphing into a scowl; evidence of her annoyance upon being interrupted. Clara gave her a nervous smile as she pulled the hood away from her head. By now, her knuckles were sore and reddening from the force she had used earlier to gain the nurse's attention.
"Yes?" the nurse said curtly.
"I was wondering if I could—"
The nurse hardly gave Clara a chance to finish her sentence before cutting her off.
"Visiting hours are over. Come back again tomorrow."
The nurse, or Jade, as her name tag read, turned to leave, the sliding doors whirring shut slowly behind her. In a sudden frenzy of panic, Clara slipped through just before the doors closed and stumbled into the foyer. Her sneakers squeaked against the cheap linoleum floor, causing Jade to whirl around. Her expression changed from shock to momentary anger and finally settling on annoyance.
"You need to leave," she said pointedly.
"But I need to see my Gran," Clara responded.
"Listen—visiting hours are over and you need to leave."
When Clara failed to move, Jade exhaled, gritting her teeth and squeezing her eyes shut as though she were nursing an oncoming headache.
"Go, now," she reiterated when she opened her eyes. "Go, before I call security."
Clara looked around her at the deserted centre. Though she was certain the place was empty, save perhaps the occupants of the wards themselves, she was still jittery over the possibility of being hauled out by security. But the place remained eerily quiet, the only sounds coming from the pounding of the rain against the glass panels and the humming of the computer on the reception desk.
Turning a pleading look in Jade's direction, Clara said, "I'll just be a moment, I promise. I won't take long."
Jade narrowed her eyes in agitation before her expression softened and she exhaled. She gestured for Clara to follow her as she walked behind the desk and unlocked the computer. She clicked several folders and files before looking up at Clara.
"What's your grandmother's name?" she asked.
"Agnes Avery."
Jade nodded and continued working on the computer. She squinted slightly and reached for something in the drawer to her right. She retrieved a visitor's pass from within and handed it to Clara.
YOU ARE READING
Obsidian's Reign ¹
ParanormalClara Avery was a normal human girl. Or, at least, that was what she'd been made to believe. And yet amidst the dying flames of her ruined car, the few boxes of her personal belongings, and her relentless bad luck, Clara has something far more valua...
