THE RED CHRISTMAS
Chapter 6: THE D-DAY
Ada didn’t answer Mr. Lekan because she was scared he could be killed if he knows about it too. “I know you are scared but at least tell me so that I can find a solution to this problem.”, Lekan said to Ada in a calm manner.
For three days, Ada didn’t tell them anything. On the third day, Which was the eclipse day, Ada was at the end of her rope. She’d barely slept, she was starving, and her nerves were short. Everything seems ominous. A creaking floorboard was a possible assassin. A crack in the ceiling could be a hidden camera. But worst of all was the silence. The silence in the hospital was deafening, and it makes every small sound seem like a threat. Suddenly, she heard a knock on the door. She froze, her heart pounding in her chest. Who could it be? Is it…
The door creaked open. She saw the outline of a figure in the doorway, but she couldn’t make out any features. A small, trembling voice said, “Is anyone there?”
She knew that voice. It was one of the other patients, a young girl she’d seen in the hallway a few times and use to come and check on her at least twice a day, she was also aware of her predicament.
“I think someone is in the hospital.”
She said. Ada’s mind was racing. Could the girl be right? Could there be an intruder in the hospital? All these thoughts came to her mind, But then she heard a soft sob from the doorway. The girl was crying. Something in Ada’s heart breaks.
She walked slowly to the door and saw a girl standing there, shaking. Her eyes were red from crying and her face was pale. She seemed scared and so alone
“What’s wrong?” Lucas asks gently, “What happened? Can you tell me what’s going on?”
The girl takes a deep breath “I… I saw something in the hallway. It was horrible”. “Take your time”, Lucas said. “I’m listening”.
The girl’s voice was shaking. “It was a… a body. Someone is lying there and he wasn’t moving. I… I don’t know what to do”
Immediately, Lucas called his colleagues to the hallway and told them to surround the ward and the hospital. When Lucas got there, he saw a pool of blood. Ada’s heart sinks and she was panting. Lucas escorts her back to the ward. The officers surrounded her ward already.
For a few moments, there was silence. Then, suddenly, Ada heard a faint crackling noise from the ceiling above her. She looked up, alarmed. Is something falling? Is the building about to collapse?
The noise got louder, and then the ceiling shudders. A chunk of plaster falls to the floor with a crash. She gasps, and wanted to scream but she couldn’t. She stood up and ran to the door, she opened the door meeting all the officers guarding the ward in their own pool of blood. She looked up and saw a figure with maggots wiggling on his hands and emanating smell coming from him.
“Charming to meet you again, little girl. Oops, your officers were trying to stop me from seeing you”
She stumbles backwards, her legs weak with fear. She had to get away. But where could she go? She was trapped.
The figure took another step, the knife glittering in the dark. It’s coming closer.
Then, all of a sudden, the lights came on. The figure vanishes, like a shadow, In the blinding light, she saw a man standing in the doorway.
He was wearing a hospital uniform, and he was holding a flashlight.
“What’s going on?” he asks. “Are you okay?”
She nods, unable to speak. Her legs were trembling. She could barely stand.
“I heard a noise,” the man says. “I was just coming to check it out.”
She looked around the room, trying to catch her breath. Everything looked normal again. There was no sign of the shadowy figure, or the knife. It was just a trick of the light. Or was it?
With the figure gone, the room seemed to return to normal. But the sense of dread doesn’t go away.
Something feels wrong. She couldn’t shake the feeling that there was someone – or something – watching her.
She turned to the man in the doorway. “Can you please stay here with me?” she wrote. “Just until I fall asleep?”
“Of course,” he said. “I’ll stay right here.”
She lies back down on the bed and closed her eyes. As she drift off to sleep, she couldn’t help but wonder: was the figure real, or was it just her imagination?
Tbc
