The Underground Hospital (Short Story) **Poss very triggering**
The Underground Hospital
The five teenagers sat in a loosely grouped circle around a roaring fire in the church graveyard on the hill looking over the bay. The sun was low in the sky as the final few hours of the summer drifted away. It was a mild evening but a gentle wind caressed the skin as the youths chatted while passing around several bottle of alcohol and a freshly rolled joint.
Living on the tiny Craven Island, a tax haven located just of the northern coast of France in the English Channel the five had always felt like outcasts. Home mostly to rich Britain’s seeking a bit of sun and no tax to pay. The islands main industry was tourism. If you lived there all your life it would not be long before you ran out of interesting things to do, or even uninteresting things to do unless sailing or golf was your thing.
Sadly for this group of misanthropes it wasn’t and while the rest of their peers had spent the summer dicking about in all manner of water bound craft or improving their already abnormally dark tans on one of the many beaches. They had tried to find some space for themselves away from the prying eyes of the public. Unfortunately in the height of the tourist season this proved to be difficult, very difficult in fact. They had explored the limited available options. An old and neglected boat house had at first appeared to be an ideal solution given its location in a mostly run down and abandoned part of the harbour. However not long after they made it their hang out a more than hazardous combination of fire, alcohol and testosterone left the old shack as no more than a pile of smouldering ash and rot.
A secluded and off track cove in the bay had been a serviceable substitute until the night of a particularly heavy summer storm at high tide had left them trapped and exposed. They would not forget that freezing night they spent huddled together for a long, long time. Especially not two of the group, Jess and Vince as they had used the opportunity of intimacy to finally unleash some long time repressed feelings for each other. The two had been an item ever since.
The group had begun to despair, the island was mainly beach, what little land there was usually was turned over to agriculture or golf courses. There was very little public space, less still public space that the public didn’t actually use. There was only one real town of any mention on the island, a combination of it being a tourist hub, hang out for the trendy kids and a more than overbearing police presence made them avoid this like the plague.
So for a while at least they were left with little option but to go to one of the fives homes. Usually one that was devoid of any parents, guardians or other equally annoying siblings. At least there they could be relatively undisturbed and they could play their music without hindrance. They still would have preferred it though to have a space of their own. Soon though a twist of fate turned in their favour when one of the group’s great aunts died unexpectedly in her sleep. It was at the funeral that he had noticed the relative quietness of the graveyard. If you took away the funeral goers and the various associates there was not a soul to be seen.
Though to most people sitting in a graveyard had heavy touches of the macabre about it and was more than a little creepy. The five found it to be a sanctuary, a fortress to keep out those who judged them to be bad or even evil simply because they were different. The nearby church also offered shelter in the form of a wide archway which led to the front door.
So they sat in an uneven balance of 3 boys to 2 girls drinking cheap mass produced cider and sharing the weed Will had stolen from the tin on top of his brother’s wardrobe. All around them were weather beaten stone crosses and huge lovingly crafted tombs once the grandest in the yard, now festooned with moss and Ivy
The drink and narcotics fuelled the directionless idle banter that unravelled itself into the warm evening air. That was until Samia, the prettier of the two girls declared that they had to do something fun, it was after all the last night before they returned to school. The last time they weren’t forced to worry about their GCSE year. As they were constantly reminded this was going to be a very important year in their academic lives and if they failed to achieve they might as well apply for a job as a burger jockey in Burger King then and there. She tried to emphasise her point she got to her feet, a task made more difficult by her ankle length black denim skirt and knee high platform boots. She did however achieve it all be it with all the grace of an albatross landing on a frozen lake. She was a tall and slender creature something that was enhanced by her trademark purple and black corset which also pushed her burgeoning bosom to the forefront of the boy’s attention. Her long dark hair skipped gently in the breeze and as the sun set behind her she cut a particularly breathtaking silhouette.
She looked down at the others clustered around the fire, the flames licking light in small does across their boredom ridden faces. She gazed at Jess and Vince huddled so closely together it was hard to know where one began and the other finished. Jess was an untamed beauty her jet black hair framed her white pearlescent face from which two bright blue sapphire eyes shone out enhanced by a liberal application of black eyeliner. Her lips glistened with a dark purple lipstick. Vibrant streaks of candy pink sporadically woven into her mane only made her more beautiful in Samia’s mind. As long had she held a candle for her in her heart.
Knowing her ever since nursery school she had over time built a close bond with her and the strong feelings she felt inside could only be interpreted by her as love. She dared not mention it to her though for fear she would destroy an important friendship. Besides now she had Vince and she seemed happier now than she’d ever been before. Samia liked Vince, he was short and a little podgy but he was handsome in the right light and he had a gift for making them laugh which was much needed at times. Though she longed to tell Jess how she felt she was at least pleased she’d found somebody who treated her well, on this island she could have done far worse. With a sigh she attempted to address the group in a way that didn’t seem too push and was more of a motivation into action. She was bored and wanted some fun she was very keen to press the matter.
“We could go to the beach?” her voice, high in spirit but rather lacking in conviction.
“And do what?” This gruff slightly spiteful reply and come from her left, a tall skinny boy with a great dollop of curly hair upon his head and a wispy boyish attempt at a beard on his chin. “I don’t know Will; we could always bury you in the sand!” Samia scoffed; the others giggled inanely, Will; just grunted and shrugged trying to act as if he didn’t care.
“Well I don’t see why we can’t just stay here” Jess squeaked. “Because it’s the last day before we have to go back to school and its exams next year, we wont have much spare time. “Why not?”, “it’s just a few exams” Spat Will “Well you may want to spend the rest of your life cleaning toilets but I want to aim a little higher” the others laughed again. “Oh come on we have to do something” she got up in an attempt to enhance her point and encourage the others to follow. They didn’t. What about the pier? Suggested Jess “no there’s always trendies down there; I want to do something new, something fun!” “Good luck on this island!” Said Ollie, who had until this point remained cautiously silent, as he often did.
Quiet by nature he usually preferred to listen to other people so he could assess them. He only ever really came out of his shell when drunk even in front of his closest friends he was often solemn and unengaging. A short lump of a boy, he felt uncomfortable in his own skin and seriously lacked confidence. He was more often than not dressed head to toe in black so as to not draw attention to himself; he hoped to just blend into the back ground. If he’d never met the others he probably would have been just as happy on his own.
“Well there is one thing we’ve never done” Samia said with a delightful glint of mischief in her big brown eyes. “I’m fairly sure that’s illegal in this country” Vince piped up with a cheeky THC induced smirk across his face. Samia picked up an empty cider can and chucked it directly at his head. The can grazed the top of his head skipped up and landed with a metallic clang on a collapsed gravestone. Jess slapped him around the back of the head for good measure. “No! I’m being serious, you know about the underground hospital right?”
“Yeah Yeah, We went there on a school trip a couple of years back, Germans, World War 2 blah blah blah, it was boring then and it’ll be boring now” Scoffed Will. “Yeah but don’t you think now to go in there when there’s nobody else around it’ll be sorta creepy and exciting?” Will simply made an overly elaborate yawning gesture. Samia responded in kind with a far more obscene one. “Look all I’m saying is we go down there and check it out, it’s not that far from here, if we get bored or whatever we can always come back here and drink more” She stooped to pick out a small bottle of vodka from her bag, as she did the silver inverted crucifix that had previously been resting alluringly on her chest dropped forwards, hanging from its chain in mid air twinkling in the firelight.
Will caught himself staring down her top, he quickly but unsubtly changed his focus to his shoes. Hoping she hadn’t noticed he rebuffed “OK, but how exactly are we going to get in? They always lock up after closing.” She had noticed his stare and for a while she pondered how she could use this to her advantage she replied “Yes but even your tiny child like mind must remember that there was an emergency exit, the Germans put it in when it was built. All we have to do is find the hatch and open it up. She tried to catch his attention by stroking her hair playfully and making her eyes as wide and inviting as she could manage. He remained staring down at his feet clad in big heavy boots. She continued, “And I’m sure a big strong guy like your good self would have no trouble getting that open for us would you? Attempting a pout she was throwing the best impression of a weak and feeble maiden she could muster, directly at him.
Feeling as though his teenage manhood had been brought into question he retaliated “It’s not me I’m worried about, its you girls” he gestured half heartedly towards Samia and Jess, “There’s bound to be lots of spiders and rats running around down there” Samia stamped her feet “you’re the one who practically ran a mile when that moth landed on you earlier” The others laughed, Will seethed but said nothing in response. Samia smiled in anticipated victory. Vince cleared his throat in the way you only do to attract another person’s attention. “I don’t we have much choice anymore anyway” He pointed over to the entrance of the church yard. Approaching rapidly the vicar dressed all in black accompanied by a police officer. Boozily and staggered the teens made a B line for the large stone clad wall kicking over bottles and cans as they fled. Making it to the wall first Will scrambled his way to the top then helped the others climb over. Vince gave Jess a boost before making his own way over, his trailing leg narrowly avoiding the reach of the outstretched policeman.
When the whole group were back together they made a dash down the hillside towards the forest. The sun now almost set, the light was low, and they could barely see where they were stepping. Jess let out a scream as she tore her long flowing dress on a bramble. The hole created revealed small amounts of blood seeping from her calf and partly staining her pink fishnets with a tinge of crimson red. Vince picked her up and carried her in his arms. They ran on for a while but they couldn’t tell if they were still being pursued. A huge recently felled tree lay in a clearing ahead of them. As one they instinctively dashed around the obstruction and laid flat to the ground. “OK so what the **** do we do now? Said a breathless and irritable Will.
Before Samia could respond Vince answered “we just lay low here for a bit until we know it’s safe. There’s now way the pig and the rev are going to follow us this far, probably sitting on their fat arse’s drinking tea as we speak” He looked over to see Samia carefully trying to clean Jess’s wound. She poured some of vodka she still carried on to the cuts. Jess let out a whimper as it stung her slightly, Samia fought back the urge to kiss it better, her heart screamed yes but her brain narrowly overrode the deeply felt compulsion to do it. Instead she cautiously got to her feet to check the cost was clear, peering over the gnarled mossy log. There was barely any daylight now of course but she was confident there was nobody behind them. She felt sure she would be able to hear the cracking of twigs and the no doubt breathless puffs of an underworked police officer.
Rising to her fully she assured everyone they were safe and suggested they made their way to the bottom of the hill. “The hospitals just over the next ridge from here, its built inside the hill so that emergency exit must come out somewhere on the top” Preparing herself for more protests she was pleasantly surprised when every last member rose to their feet and began to carefully traverse a path to the bottom of the valley. This rather unconventional route had its advantages. If they had walked along the road they would of course have had to put up with more of the silent judgement they encountered on a daily basis.
People felt no embarrassment at staring directly at them as if they had just from outer space. They almost always wore a combination of blacks and greys, the girls were more colourful often adding dashes of bright vivacious hues to a black base. Nobody else on the island dressed the way they did, nobody else listened to the music they did, and there was no heavy metal scene. That music was almost unofficially banished from the land. The one small music shop on the island did not deem their limited custom sufficient to stock any. Every CD they owned between them had been bought online or from infrequent trips to the mainland. Now all a little worse for wear and with Jess’s dress a tattered mess from the knee down the accusatory looks would have only been intensified. As they reached the bottom there was an unmistakeable trickle of water as very shallow brook ebbed and flowed its way down towards the sea. In the height of summer it was so low it could be crossed without even the aid of the stepping stones that branched its narrow girth. They paused as they reached the other side before attempting to reach the summit of the hill.
Though it was a relatively shallow ascendancy the gradual nature of it would sap the energy of five teenagers who although young had already begun to blacken their lungs with tobacco and to make matters worse were hardly wearing ideal attire for the task. Even so, they had come this far and either way they’d have to go up at some point, they pressed on. As they pushed their intoxicated bodies onward and upward the many sheep that were busy grazing scattered in all directions. A slow and arduous process though it was, all of the five made it to the top without incident. Wheezing heavily Vince declared “that’s it I’m definitely quitting smoking as of now” “yeah right!” laughed Jess prodding him hard in his belly. “You’re right” he nodded as he promptly withdrew his lighter from his pocket, placed a cigarette between his lips and lit up “on last time for the road”
The sun had now completely disappeared from the sky but a full moon shone down iridescent light on to the hilltop. It was a somewhat baron landscape only a few morose trees and jagged rocks gave it any character whatsoever. “So where is this hatchway then?” Will looked around, to emphasise his point he made a searching motion with his hand to his face. “Give me a chance to catch my breath and look around will you? It’s definitely here” Samia said this so convincingly even she believed it. She took a few purposeful strides around before she noticed a particularly aged tree that for reasons unknown to her drew her attention. As she approached slowly and with caution she rummaged through her bag and pulled out a lighter. Using its small flame she could definitely see at the foot of the tree an overgrown square roughly 3 feet by 3 feet that upon closer inspection was without doubt the hatchway she had imagined. In triumph she turned with an uncharacteristic but not unwelcome smile across her resplendent face. “Found it!”
The wooden hatch was of a thick wooden construction, time had taken its toll on it. Sitting in situ for over 60 years it had rotted so much in places that small holes roughly the size of a golf ball had opened up. The handle appeared to be no more than a ring of solid rust. When Samia pulled on it in a vain attempt to open it, the door didn’t budge, she pulled with all her might, muscles in her back tensed and began to gently ache before she admitted defeat. “OK He-Man” she called to Will “It’s your time to shine”
He confidently approached the troublesome door presuming that this would be no trouble for him. He grasped the metal ring and as he pulled upwards let out a girlish squeal and as before it remained firmly closed. “It’s rusted tight, that thing is never going to be opened again” as he uttered those words, Vince appeared from behind carrying a large chunk of rock the size of a cow’s head he’d plucked from the ground. Putting as much force behind it as he could manage threw it down upon the hatch. For a split second, nothing happened, and then a loud cracking sound was followed by crumbling wood as it collapsed down into the tunnel below. A sound of shattered glass barely pre-empted the thump as the rock hit the stone floor.
As they lent over the newly created gap a musky gust of stale air rose to pollute their nostrils, the moonlight crept in to show a series of rusty ladder runs moulded into side of the concrete shoot that presumably carried on all the way to the bottom. Tree roots jabbed out from all angles where they had broken through the concrete. “So, who’s first?” Samia gazed round to find nothing but blank expressions, Jess hid behind Vince who himself didn’t look entirely confident it was safe, Ollie was staring into space and had been so quiet she’d barely remembered him being there. Will had taken an unhealthy interest in his own feet again.
“Fine, someone hold my bag” she tossed it in Vince’s vague direction and using her lighter she made sure of her first few steps before taking the plunge. With her back to the hole she crouched and while supporting herself with her arms reached a tentative foot back to find the first rung as she did her confidence grew and she repeated the process with her other foot. As she put her weight on it the metal creaked but remained in place which came as a relief to all concerned. She took each step slowly and steadily, as she reached the mid way point the roots and foliage that seemed to eek out a living in the narrow cracks only allowed tiny spoonfuls of moonlight to trickle down. Taking one hand off the rungs of the ladder she retrieved her lighter from her pocket used it to guide her way down. On the way she passed a smashed light fitting that had been ripped from its moorings by the plummeting rock not minutes ago.
Upon reaching the bottom she called up to the other “come on down, it’s safe” As Ollie and the others began to descend the ladder she decided to explore a little further. Hopping over a barrier designed to keep visitors away from the escape hatch she held her lighter aloft as a rudimentary torch. The hatch came out at the end of a long dark tunnel, the odour of damp and rotting vegetation filled the air. Brownish dirty water slowly trickled down the green slime ridden curved walls. Samia could feel her skin grow taught and her body shivered. The air was so cold that her warm breath turned to a visible vapour as it exited her mouth.
As Will reached the bottom he approached Samia and with little warning he tapped her sharply on the shoulder. Almost jumping out of her skin she lost her grasp upon the lighter; it clattered to the ground and skidded for several feet across the hard wet floor. Before Will could protect himself she spun around swiftly and slapped him hard across the face. The snap of skin on skin was so loud it echoed off the claustrophobic walls. Will clutched his hand to his face and added a sheepish “sorry”.
Vince clambered down and waited for Jess who followed close behind. Nervously she reached the three quarter point. As she lowered her weight on to the next step it gave way underneath her and for a while she was left dangling several feet above the hard floor. Panicking slightly she scrambled her feet up the wall trying to find some purchase. Failing to do so she called down to Vince to get ready to catch her, she relinquished her grip and dropped into his freshly outstretched arms. As she clung to his broad shoulders Vince carried her to where the others stood around a single flame cast from Samia’s retrieved lighter. Setting her down on her feet again he returned to the stairwell where he had spotted a large branch lying in the corner. Picking it up he noticed it was damp and grubby in his hands. Without any hesitation he removed his t-shirt from his flabby torso and tied it in a tightly coiled ball around one end of the stick. Taking his lighter from his pocket once more he held it up to the material and cast a flame upon it. The shirt was quickly engulfed in orange flame almost singeing his eyebrows as he lifted it and held it over his head. Cautiously he walked past the others and began to explore further into tunnel system. “Who does he think he is? Indiana ****ing Jones?” Will declared with jealous overtone. “Stay here, I’m going to try and find a light switch” He called back as he disappeared further into the black.
Moments passed, Jess began to hum to herself break the silence which was almost deafening. Then from nowhere the unmistakable buzz of electricity that momentarily pre-empted the cold sterile flickering man made light that now illuminated them. Minutes later Vince returned still clutching the lit torch and visibly shaking as the cold crisp unforgiving air kissed his naked flesh. As he returned to the group he dropped the torch to the floor and it extinguished itself in a pool of muddy water. Jess ran to him and held him tightly in her arms trying to impart some of her body warmth on to him.
Locking her lips against his she kissed him gently but as she moved her hand to grasp the back of his head she felt damp matting in his shaggy locks. She whispered at first “I think your bleeding” “huh” he replied woozily. She took half a step away from him and withdrew her hand. On inspection she confirmed the fact. “You’re ****ing bleeding, what the hell happened to you?” Before he could draw breath to reply he dropped suddenly to his knees with a loud smack. Kneeling bolt upright for a few seconds he then crashed forwards headfirst to the ground barely giving Jess time to move or attempt to catch him. As his face met the concrete there was a squelch and blood began to pour from his now crushed nose.
Jess let out a loud scream that rebounded around the tunnels as she spotted that a small section at the back of Vince’s skull was missing entirely and through tangled hair part of his purplish red brain was clearly visible. Once the initial shock cleared her system she knelt by his side, the ever increasing pool of blood flooding and soaking into her clothes and skin. She summoned up all her strength to roll him on to his side but it seemed all too late. His life blood flowed from him at pace, the severe cold sapping his remaining energy. His pulse grew weak as she cradled his head in her arms.
She looked up and around, the others had remained rooted by fear or by trauma. She wanted to cry out but her tears and growing hysteria prevented her. She could hardly breath, she felt as though she was choking yet nothing obstructed her. Mascara blackened tears streaked down her white cheeks until they rained down and mixed with the puddle of blood. With a final splattering cough of blood mixed with mucous, Vince gave up the fight for life; his pulse slowed to a complete stop and lay still in her arms. Jess shook in disbelief only minutes earlier she had been held in his strong arms and now his body lay motionless and cold. Darkness over took her, tears now cascaded from her eyes. Samia now knelt beside her, placing her arm around her she tried in vain to comfort her. Jess simply rocked gently backwards and forwards clutching her departed tightly as she could.
“OK what the **** is going on here?” Will broke the deathly silence. Samia gave him an angry; this is not the time look. Regardless he carried on “We have to get out of here, we have to get him help or something” “I think he’s a little beyond help now, don’t you?” Ollie muttered. “That as maybe we still gotta get out of here, I knew it was a bad idea coming down here in the first place” Will said with a growing anger. “Look!! I’ve slapped you once today don’t make me do it again because believe me nothing would give me more pleasure right now”
Samia was frightened; she didn’t know what to do. Her mind was filled with all kinds of emotions, obviously she was devastated her friend was dead, worse still, the person she cared about more than anyone in the world was an emotional wreck. But what worried her most, the thing that played most on her mind was that a tiny part of her was happy he was dead, pleased he was out of the way. In her currently unbalanced mind part of her believed this was the opening she’d been waiting for and she hated herself for it.
“You guys stay here, I’ll go back out, check and see if there’s anyone around who can help” Will’s voice as he trailed away back towards their unorthodox entry point. Looking up the shaft before he began to climb his heart sank; the hole they’d all just emerged through was now mysteriously blocked once more. He climbed, carefully avoiding the missing step to give it a closer inspection, pushing with all his might against the new seal he couldn’t make it move. It looked like a carbon copy of the hatch it had replaced only this time there was no way they’d get the leverage to open it, the handle was on outside after all.
Climbing back down, he returned to the group with a look of despair. “It’s……blocked up again” he murmured in disbelief. “What?” Samia looked up from the still trembling Jess, “it can’t be blocked up again” She went to check for herself “How the fu….” “It doesn’t matter how it happened does it?” Will interrupted “It has so we need to find another way out; I say we head for the main entrance figure out what to do from there”. Samia nodded reluctantly and looked over to grief stricken friend. “There’s not much we can do for him now” she said as she strode over and placed her soft hand on Jess’s shoulder. “We have to get out of here” Tears still rolling from her eyes she grudgingly agreed. As she struggled to lift herself her sodden bloodstained dress rained claret to the floor.
Helping her to her feet Samia led Jess and the others in the direction she vaguely remembered the main entrance being. The original hospital was intended to be a vast network of underground tunnels that would allow the German occupying infantry to withstand air raids and bombardment. The rambling nature of it coupled with near identical look of every tunnel made it difficult to navigate especially if unfamiliar with the layout. A number of chambers branched off in the meandering network these rooms were used as wards, storage facilities and there was even an operating theatre. Now though stripped of its former clothing it looked bare and neglected.
As they walked they could make out a steady trail of red leading all the way to where Vince had clearly found the light switch before whatever nightmarish tragedy had befallen him. Under a violently flickering fluorescent tube lay a small lump of blood and hair which at first glance looked like a small rodent but on closer inspection it became obvious that it was missing piece in the now very simple puzzle of Vince’s skull.
Samia guided Jess quickly past the debris, forcing her head in towards her chest as they turned right to enter another ever more, vast cavernous tunnel that sprawled out ahead of them. Walking together in a near silence the sound of their footsteps reverberating off the walls seemed to grow louder and louder, the incessant beat pounded through their minds. On their approach to the end of the corridor they saw signs pointing towards the exit. To reach it they had to navigate one further tunnel to their right. Before long they had reached the large double doors, closed and they presumed locked from the outside. Giving it a tentative nudge Ollie confirmed that it was indeed firmly shut. So large were the doors that they would require a huge amount of force to open them. Far more than any of the group could plausibly muster.
Samia looked around any kind of tool that may help them with the job. On the wall she spotted a large fire axe. She moved to pull it out of the brace which held it to the wall. As she placed her hand upon its handle she heard a gentle eerie voice whisper two words she thought she recognised as German rang quietly but clearly in her right ear. The hairs on the back of her neck sprang to attention as a cold chill wrapped tightly around her for a few seconds before disappearing entirely. “Did you hear that?” she said as she turned to the others. “Hear what?” Jess said faintly. “Oh erm it was probably just my imagination then, never mind” she noted reassuringly. Jess looked at Will and Ollie failing to hide the worry on her make up stained face.
Taking the axe from its brace she approached the door, while doing so she inspected the axe a little. The wooden handle looked well past its best and it was moist to the touch, the sizable silver blade looked sharp enough though, she noted a number of abrasions that suggested this was not the first time it had been called into action as well as some faint red stains on each edge. At first she used the tip of the axe blade to scar the door slightly to give her a target to aim for.
Now she stood ready to take her first swing, holding the heavy instrument, arms out stretched in front of her with its tip just about brushing the wooden door. As she raised her arms with a slight struggle to take it on the back swing the voice that had troubled her moments ago returned but far louder this time, like a banshee scream. The axe still travelling backwards suddenly felt light in her hands as the handle splintered into a thousand pieces the blade carried on flying with considerable force, before stopping suddenly as the mercurial metal battered its way into a shocked Ollie’s temple. Pulverising its way into his skull, a bloody explosion erupted as his left eyeball popped under the pressure.
Jess let out an ear ripping shriek as Ollie collapsed with his arms flailing in full spasm. Slumping to the ground he rolled into a position where he faced up to the ceiling where is one remaining eye was blinded by the harsh light directly above. The blade was embedded so far that only the blunt end was visible. From the wound it carved, blood and sinew squeezed its was through pulsing vigorously as Ollie lost consciousness entirely and his body lay cold on the floor.
A panicked hysteria set in, Jess ran scratched desperately at the door to try to open it, clawing her long polished fingernails into the heavy oak she soon ripped and lacerated her skin but she seemed to feel no pain seemingly numbed from seeing first her boyfriend and then close friend die before her eyes. Samia still stood as if she were holding the axe, transfixed she barely noticed the splinters that littered her hair and body. Will stood silent is mouth open as if to speak but no words would come.
Samia finally broke from her trance and her first though as always turned to Jess grasping her tight and pulling her away from the door before she could wear her fingers down to a nub. Dragging her kicking and screaming back from the door she held her firmly, stroking her hair attempting to reassure her, she whispered “I’m going to get us out of here, I promise” Trying to hold back her tears for Jess’s sake she sat her down and reached back to her bag dragging out the bottle of vodka once again, now less than 2 thirds full she handed it to Jess “Drink this, it’ll help” Opening the bottle Jess knocked back most it’s contents in one go pausing slightly to catch a breath before she drained the last drop.
Realising that her long dress was restricting her movement already slowing her up majorly on their earlier escape from the graveyard Samia plunged back into her bag where she pulled out a large decorative dagger, she mostly used this as a deterrent than anything else but she loved its beautiful black dragon handle and feel of the cold steel against her flesh. Removing it from it’s sheaf, she swiftly ran it down seam of her dress and then as neatly as she could she ripped away at the material so now the tattered edges sat just above her knees. Between what remained of her dress and the long boots still most of her long legs remained covered but what was now exposed was smooth but a very pale white colour as they rarely saw the sun.
Placing the knife back into her bag, she checked to see how Will was doing. He still stood quietly contemplating events. Seeming as though it hadn’t really hit home, he was frozen in time. “Come on Will, I’m going to get us all out of here, we need to stick together, I think the best plan now is to get something to prise the doors open with, something long, hard and thin” Jess giggled drunkenly to herself imagining what Vince would have said to that he still been alive. Seemingly ignoring this Will broke his replied hesitantly “What about one of the struts from the hatchway? They were pretty rusty but they might just be enough” Samia nodded to him as this had been the only plan she had too, she doubted it would help but they had little other option. “Well no time like the present” she said trying to be positive despite everything. Pulling Jess to her feet again she supported her once more as they made their way back to their original entry point.
Just before they turned the final corner to return to where Vince had fallen Samia stopped. Realising of course that Jess probably wasn’t in a state to see her boyfriends drained corpse once again she told her and Will to wait there while she retrieved the strut. Will held Jess in his arms gently stroking her hair while Samia ventured on. As she turned the corner and walked just a few steps she noticed something about was very wrong. Where Vince’s body had lay there was now just an immense pool of blood, to the right it swept off as though his body had been dragged. A red painted stroke across the floor trailed off into a tunnel entrance they hadn’t previously noticed. Cautiously she approached the mouth of the passage and peered in, it was far darker than those surrounding it. The gloom was ghostly, only a little light flickered from it. She noticed that unlike the rest of the complex the light came from candles sporadically placed along the walls. Drawing out her dagger, she bravely sidled into the darkness. She could barely see a thing in front of her but her nose was now being assaulted by something far stronger than the general musk she’d already become accustom too. This was different like the smell of rotting meat, the pungent scent of ammonia made her eyes water and she was fairly sure she could hear rats running around at her feet.
Approaching the end, she could see the tunnel widen out to a large and spacious room, she was pleased to see at least this room was well lit with a liberal sprinkling a light fittings. Unlike most of the other rooms she’d seen this one looked to be a fully furnished ward with around 20 beds lined along the walls all with dividing curtains. She took a moment to wonder why they’d never shown them this part when taking them on the school tour. Shrugging she assumed it must have been closed for renovation or something. The rat problem would have to be dealt with for a start. Walking towards the middle of the room she noticed that the curtain on the last bed was drawn around it. Her curiosity getting the best of her she couldn’t help but tug back that curtain to see what it cloaked.
Reaching out in front of her she ripped the curtain back with such vigour the wind it created blew her flowing locks across her face, obscuring her vision briefly. Brushing her hair back into place with casual flick she was agog from the sight that now befell her. Tucked in tightly to the bed was the cold motionless body of Vince. Stepping back several long paces she grasped her hand to her mouth in disbelief she turned to look away. A heart began to beat so rapidly it felt like it would rip itself from its tether and burst clean out of her chest. Her breathing accelerated to a point where she felt she was choking on air.
Involuntarily she clamped her hand even tighter around her dagger in preparation for possible attack. She had blocked out all these thoughts before but now they were all she could think about. Something was not right here, they were not alone. Whatever or whoever was doing this clearly didn’t want them there. She took a moment to calm herself so she could try to think clearly. She regained control of her breathing, taking long deep breaths which also slowed her heartbeat at least back to just that of a speeding train.
She turned back to look at him again, just to make sure her eyes had not been deceived. They had not, still there static, haunting and bloody. The red stains seeped through the sheets. A sudden freezing wind swept into the room with such ferocity it battered the dangling light fittings until one swung so far it smashed into the ceiling smashing bulbs inside and raining glass and darkness, though the electricity continued to flow arcing fiercely. The screeching banshee was back in Samia’s ears as she saw a spinning cloud of what appeared to be dust move past her. She shielded her eyes but could still see, caught in the middle of this tornado what seemed to be a body, she was sure she could make out Ollie’s face. Sure enough the body was placed in the bed opposite to Vince’s.
The whirlwind span for a split second on the same spot before it slowed and took the form of a man. A large man roughly 6 foot tall with short blonde hair neatly parted and held in place with a lavish application of hair product. He wore a dark grey green military style uniform with heavy black boots. Around one arm he wore a white armband with a red cross in its centre. He looked flesh and blood but it was obvious from his appearance and clothing that he came from another time. He had creepy ambience to him, he turned and looked directly at Samia. She backed away slightly before plucking up enough confidence to ask “Wh… who are you?” She wasn’t even sure if he could hear her. In the same Germanic tone from before he did reply “Ich bin die Nachtkrankenschwester” Even from the basic German she knew she could work it out. “I am the night nurse” she whispered to herself.
Samia stood back trying to take everything in, her two friend’s deathly quiet in their beds being looked after even though they are way beyond help. Whatever demonic force this was it at least looked to her like it was trying to help. But wasn’t that the same voice she heard just before the axe mysteriously broke in her hands? She couldn’t be sure, something didn’t add up. Could she question him more? Would he even answer? Running this through her mind she noticed that even as he stepped on the hard floor his heavy boots didn’t make a sound. Then what was it she could hear? There was definite noise of leather on stone and it was approaching rapidly.
Then through the doorway ran Will closely followed a frantic Jess. Spotting Samia they began to run towards her Will shouting at the top of his lungs “We saw this wind thing, it had Ollie, We ran down to find you but when we couldn’t we were worried it had you too” he paused for breath then continued “And what happened to Vince’s body?” Samia gestured to the bed behind her. Looking confused he then caught sight of the night nurse “And who the **** is that?” he pointed. Before she could reply the night nurse looked up and with a deafening diabolical roar he took the form of the spinning fury once again and headed in Will’s direction at full tilt.
Before he could turn to run it had scooped him up and consumed him. Lifting him into the air his legs and head dangled from either side they flailed wildly in a desperate but futile struggle to free himself. As it rushed the human storm battered Will’s body against the walls breaking his legs and bludgeoning his skull leaving dashes of blood to trickle to the floor. The broken light fitting swung wildly in the wind, still sent out huge strokes of electric blue. The high voltage occasionally arcing down to one of the metallic beds below. Broken and beaten Will’s body lay barely moving as on one final swoop the cyclone forced him directly into the exposed electrics.
Wedging his body into the casing completing the circuit the current ran through him. His legs and arms moved involuntarily as the electricity flowed searing and scorching him as he cooked from the inside out. The smoke bellowed out as he screamed in intolerable pain. A jet of steaming hot vomit spewed from his mouth showering the ground in gloopy mix of red and brown. Soon his pain was over as he fell silent, the night nurse relinquished his hold on his pathetic body and it crashed to the floor with splatter of burnt flesh, his skull shattering on impact shooting his scrambled brain a few feet across the ground. He now still smoking looked less like a human than a mishmash of bone, guts and blackened skin.
The night nurse hovered over him for a while, Samia wasted no time in rushing over to Jess. Grabbing her by the hand she pulled her into a run, sprinting as far away from there as they could get. Checking back over her shoulder as they ran through the doorway she could see the night nurse busying himself with collecting up what remained of Will and moving him to yet another bed. She gripped on Jess’s hand so tightly that her long nails broke the skin. Jess followed her clumsily, always appearing to be narrowly avoiding a trip. Running down tunnel after tunnel the pair were soon lost but the fear of what they faced drove them on. They feared it would not be long before that thing would track them down. They carried on running until they hit a dead end.
Turning back on themselves they noticed a room to their left, dashing inside they were halted by what they saw in front of them. The room glowed with an intense light provided my row after row light rigging dangling from chains. In the very centre of the cavernous room was a steel table surrounding it were several bizarre looking machines neither of them recognised. On the table laid a mannequin with a foe leg wound. Standing over him a second mannequin dressed in a blood stained white apron, gloves and a face mask. In his plastic hand he heavy duty saw, used for the cutting through bone when amputating limbs. The blade of the saw was angled so the light caught its shiny edge causing a glare directed at their eyes. Samia remembered this from the tour, it was the operating theatre. The dummies were there to enhance the idea.
Looking around the rest of the room it was pretty bare, just a few somewhat random pieces of furniture placed sporadically up against walls for no apparent reason. Then they heard it, the sound they dreaded. The rushing wind of impending doom, the lights in the room began to flash on and off intermittently before a loud electrical surge and a bang the lights shut off entirely. In the pitch black the rushing tempest hit the room. The wail of the spirit rang through Samia’s ears almost drowning out Jess’s terrified screams. Then with a metallic flash her screams became a gurgle and soon after she heard a powerful bang as something struck wood. Seconds after the light returned and the chilled wind disappeared.
Samia looked around to see the saw firmly imbedded into a wooden chest of drawers. As she scanned around for Jess she saw her recumbent on the floor. Face up clutching desperately at her neck as she tried to stop blood flowing from a deep gash. Crimson jets spurted from between her fingers. Samia was so distraught; she had caused all of this. She had held herself together until now somehow hoping that she could at least get the one she loved out of this mess. The tears now flowed from her eyes relentless as she grasped at her rugged skirt to rip away more fabric. Fumbling slightly she managed to tear a decent sized piece. Blinded by her own stinging tears she scrambled to Jess’s side. Holding the material in her hand she tried using it to apply pressure to the wound.
Jess struggled to speak as the blood filled her throat slowly choking her. It came evident to Samia that she was too late; too much of her vital fluid was already staining the grey stone floor. She grew colder and she began to flicker in and out of consciousness. She released her grip around the wound; she wanted her suffering to end. To see her in pain physically hurt her. Hoping her brain was still functioning enough to hear her. She lowered her head until her soft lips nearly touched Jess’s ear and whispered faintly. “I love you” Before rising slightly to place her warm lips on her mouth. Delicately and solemnly she kissed her, but there was no response.
She drew her self up to her knee’s looking down at her face she saw her staring vacantly back at her as she had already passed. More tears flowed from somewhere though Samia felt like she’d cried her self dry. As one last act of respect she ritualistically used her fingers to close Jess’s piercing blue eyes. She felt like a husk of her former self. Everyone in her world she loved was now dead, all within the space of a few hours. Her mind began to unravel; she only had one clear thought in her mind now. It was her fault. None of them would have been down here if it wasn’t for her. She didn’t deserve to get out of here, not if all her friends had fallen, how could she live with herself?
The night nurse was sure to return soon. She knew what she had to do. Rummaging one last time into her bag she grappled around until she felt the familiar and now very comforting shape of her trusty tool. Removing its cover she took a quiet moment to study her reflection in shiny blade edge. Her tears had ruined her carefully applied make up. The black eye liner now ran in streaks of purplish blue. Looking into her own eyes she now felt there was nothing behind them. She was dead inside, she was numb.
Gripping the handle firmly between both hands she pointed the blade towards her fragile chest. With some struggle she drove it past the resistant material in her corset until its tip pierced the skin, she pushed on screaming as she penetrated her heart. When it was fully engulfed she fell forward coming to rest across Jess’s peaceful body. One arm tucked underneath her, the second outstretched in front. As blood spilled from her self inflicted wound, her last few breaths were clogged with fluid as she coughed, claret sprayed. She began to lose focus before it all turned to black. Her blood streamed and merged with Jess’s on the floor as one final act of union.
I love Alcohol Induced Altruism(Laura) I still say a church steeple with a lightning rod on top shows a lack of confidence - Doug McLeod Those who believe in absurdities will commit atrocities - Voltaire
Oh my god I loved it XD
It was exciting all the way through,
nicely gory,
the characters would blatantly be played by hot actors,
you use amazing...vocabulary,
and awwwwwwwww at the ending
It was so sad :(
wow what an amazing story :)
you're really talented
like Claireyfairy said you use really good vocab
i go urban exploring,which is basically exactly what the kids in your story do
scary stuff lol
when i argue i see shapes
"those who matter don't mind and those who mind don't matter"
Oh my gosh. I am so jealous of the way you write Adam! You write so damn well. And that was such an intense story. The only bit that made me shudder slightly was the mentioning of the saw, urgh. I'm glad I didn't read this before bed ha ha. Gory, but great ^_^ xx
You can't lose hope when it's hopeless.
You gotta hope more,
then put your fingers in your ears and go,
"Blah blah blah blah!"
Thanks everyone for taking the time to read it. I know its long and a lil rough around the edges but it means alot to me.
xxx
I love Alcohol Induced Altruism(Laura) I still say a church steeple with a lightning rod on top shows a lack of confidence - Doug McLeod Those who believe in absurdities will commit atrocities - Voltaire
Oo oo I printed this out and read it in bed last night and forgot to comment..oops, sorry Mr Adam =)
I loved it, I really did. It actually had me quite scared at one point and slightly jumpy [I'm not easuly scared or anything...no..nono...]
The only time you will find real light is when you're searching in the dark..
Thanks for all of your comments they mean a whole lot to me. xx
I love Alcohol Induced Altruism(Laura) I still say a church steeple with a lightning rod on top shows a lack of confidence - Doug McLeod Those who believe in absurdities will commit atrocities - Voltaire
fabulous story honey, it feels very real...write more! Even after 2 read it still stands up so well done, you've worked really hard and it's paid off.
Christ I sound like a teacher. Get me back to work!
xxxxxxx
How could you become as awesome as you are and still feel like a loser?
