“Where am I?” Eleanor said with a whisper of a voice. Ada had to strain both her ears to hear her.
“Springs County Hospital. A hiker found you in the forest and radioed in for help. You were brought in early this morning by ambulance.” Ada paused for a moment, and then asked, “Are you ok?”
“My husband Harry, where is he? I have to see him. Where is he?”
Ada looked at her with a worried look and said, “I don't have any of the details but when you feel up to it there are a few police officers who want to speak to you.”
With each waking moment Eleanor’s mind began to grow clearer and clearer. Yes, she knew she was in a hospital, that somehow she had lost her husband Harry, and that something had happened in the cottage but she did not know what. She thought about it for a moment and then said, “Send them in.” Nurse Ada looked at her, smiled, and then said, “If you’re sure you are ready.” A second later Ada left the room to retrieve the officers.
When the door closed the room was quiet yet again. The police would be here any minute no doubt asking questions about what had happened to Harry. What had happened at the cottage, and how Harry and her got that far out into the wilderness. The door to her room began to turn and as it did Eleanor heard a sound from behind her. It was faint and hard to hear, but it was there. The sound sent a chill through her entire body.
Knock Knock
--
That first night in the cottage it had latched onto her like a leech does to awaiting skin. It had wrapped her in its embrace and it would not let go. She knew that now. The cottage had nothing to do with it. No, whatever it was, it was waiting for someone at the cottage. That was all. It was waiting for a host and it had found one. She could feel its presence with her. Before when she was frantically trying to find Harry she had not noticed it. But now, now she could feel it. It was akin to the feeling of someone staring at you without you knowing, you could feel their gaze but you could not see them. Your body was telling you that you were being watched but there was nothing.
The police came in and asked her a variety of questions. There were two of them, a taller man in his forties with a spotting of gray in his sideburns that had a name tag stating ‘Officer Knox,’ and another younger man who looked to be about Eleanor’s age (He introduced himself as Officer Holden). As the questions began she could tell they were as perplexed as she was as to what had actually happened. They asked about the gigantic hole in the cottage, what had happened to Harry, and how they both were found so far out in the forest. She feared that if she told them the truth of what happened, the truth about it, that they would see her as crazy. Or worse, they might think that she had something to do with it.
The most realistic story that she could come up with on the fly was a tornado. Yes, a tornado conveniently ripped a seven foot hole into one side of a building, scooped up her husband, threw him across the forest, all the while leaving Eleanor untouched. It seemed perfectly reasonable. The younger officer had a notepad out and was scribbling down notes as she told her story. As she told them what had happened they both glanced at each other with disbelief, the older one even raised his eyebrow. Eleanor knew it would be a hard pill to swallow but what other explanation could be offered? She had nothing to do with what happened and she felt that they knew that just from looking at her. She was a petite woman standing only five foot four and just barely over one-hundred pounds. There was no way she could have done any of the damage to the cottage let alone to Harry. Not to mention all of her various injuries from this morning. If she did have something to do with it than why would she subject herself to these cuts and bruises while she looked for her husband?
After about fifteen minutes the officers thanked her for her time and began to shuffle out of the room. Before they left they told her that she was free to leave the hospital as soon as she felt up to it. As soon as they left Eleanor plopped down back into her hospital bed and began to cry.
--
She tried to keep herself occupied throughout the rest of the day. There were magazines and newspapers scattered around her bed and side table that she had read multiple times each. Ada brought in dinner for her just before six that evening. Since she wasn’t ‘sick’ the dinner consisted of mostly real food. There was a cheeseburger, some fries, and a large glass of water. It hadn’t occurred to her that she hadn’t eaten anything since the night before. When the food appeared she realized how famished she actually was. The meal was gone in a matter of minutes. She had exhausted all of her entertainment and for the next few hours after dinner there was nothing to do. It was just her and her thoughts… and it. With her mind unoccupied she could really feel it with her. It hung over her like a cumulus cloud on a clear day. If she could actually see it, its shadow would be looming over her, covering her in darkness like a suffocating blanket.
At eight thirty that night Eleanor had fallen asleep. The bedspread, if you could call it that, was pushed down towards the bottom of the bed but the sheet was pulled up to her neck. On top of the sheet draped over her torso was today’s paper. Harry, and the cottage, would be featured in tomorrow's.
It was just past midnight the next morning when Eleanor began to dream. In the dream she was in her hospital bed just like she was in the waking world. She could hear the world she was dreaming in, she could feel it, and she could even smell that sickening hospital smell. The room was nearly pitch-black. The only light that came into the room was a small glimmer from the window across the room and a bright glow that came from underneath her room’s door. The nurse’s station was just outside her room and the lights were always on.
Knock Knock
It was faint but she heard it. It came from the wall behind her. Her entire body shivered and she began to feel a wave of panic rising within her. At the time she was sitting up in bed surveying the room and as soon as the knocking was heard she was thrown back into the bed like someone had pushed her with all their strength. The hospital bed creaked and groaned with the force of her weight. Once she was lying back in the bed she found she was frozen in place yet again. It was happening again and there was nothing she could do about it. Would it come for her next? Would it take her now after it had taken Harry? She tried to scream but nothing happened.
Its presence was now like a stabbing knife in her brain. She could feel her heartbeat pounding in her ears. It was here and it wanted to feed. Like before, she could move her eyes but nothing else. Even though the room was dark she could begin to see it coming towards her. First, the cylindrical protrusion came out from the wall. It's black, lifeless face pointed straight ahead as it slowly emerged from the wall. As soon as it arms began to emerge from the wall its head began to tilt downwards toward her. Just like before its head was now right against hers. If it had had eyes they would be only a few inches apart and locked with hers. As she stared at the head of the creature its arms began to poke and prod her. One arm had found her right thigh where the injury still ached with pain. The arm seemed to dig in under the sheet, under her gown, and straight into the wound. Even though there were no fingers on these arms it somehow gripped the wound from the inside and squeezed it like a child would squeeze a lump of play-doh. Burning fire ran through Eleanor’s leg. It raced up her leg, her body, and into her head. Was this it? Was this how she would die? Stuck in a hospital bed in some unknown place without Harry by her side?
Then, just like that, it let go of her leg and withdrew its arms from her body. Its head seemed to turn to a tilt as if it was studying her. A second later the arms and the head of the creature withdrew back into the depths of the wall. Was it over? No sooner had she thought those words than an all too familiar noise rang through the quiet room.
KNOCK KNOCK
Eleanor’s bed was positioned against the interior wall. On the other side of the wall was a hospital hallway and just past the hallway was the nurse’s station. It consisted of one large rectangular desk that faced towards the hall elevators and then a few smaller desks that faced the i
nteriors of the hallway. There were a few work areas on the inside of the station and at any given time there were two to three nurses at the station doing paperwork, reviewing charts, or checking on tests.
The knocking shook the interior wall with such veracity that Eleanor could feel the vibrations through her bed. The IV stand that was next to her crashed to the ground and shattered into a thousand little glass pieces. She heard a muffled, ‘What was that?’ from the nurses’ station. For a moment there was silence but then the silence soon transitioned into screaming. Eleanor was still frozen to the bed, the only thing she could do was listen to the events unfolding around her. She could feel its presence still and she knew it was responsible for whatever was going on. She was just along for the ride.
On the other side of the wall the screaming had started along with a rhythmic thumping that seemed to be just outside her room. The thumping was nowhere near as strong as the previous knocking but it was still easily heard. The noise made Eleanor nauseated. It had a dull and wet sound every time the noise occurred. There was one person screaming and another frantically saying ‘stop! STOP! STOP IT!!’
There was one final thump and then the thumping abruptly stopped, but the screaming continued. Almost immediately after the last thump Eleanor found that she could move again, that she could sit up from her bed. She had to see the chaos that had just unfolded on the other side of the wall. She knew it would be terrible but she still had to see it. She sat upright, threw her legs over the side, and stood up being careful not to step on the broken glass that was scattered all over the floor. Not a second later after standing she remembered her thigh. The thing had gripped and knotted it like it was a play thing. Now the intense fire of pain rang through her leg like a church bell. The leg almost gave out but she grabbed the side of the bed and was able to stabilize herself. Each step she took required immense effort, but it didn't matter. She had to see what happened. The screaming in the hall continued.
The brownish wooden door was only a few feet away from her bed. It had a push lever rather than a door knob and as she pushed the lever and opened the door the first thing she noticed was the blood on the vinyl floor of the hallway. As she opened the door further she stepped out and to the left of her she saw the true horror of what had happened.
Nurse Ada, who had helped her not less than eight hours ago, lay dead on the cold linoleum floor right outside her room. She was lying on her stomach with her arms splayed out to their side as if they were reaching for something. Her head was nestled in a makeshift hole in the floor that she had made, or it had made. Eleanor could only assume it was done by pounding her head over and over again into the hard floor. The crater that her head rested in made it impossible to see her face. Blood pooled all around it and had begun to seep out of the hole and spread out and around her head. Her plain white nurse uniform was beginning to turn a shade of dark red at the shoulder.
One nurse was at the nurses’ station frantically speaking to somebody on the phone, the emergency room department most likely, and another was crouched down at Ada’s side trying to help but it was too late. It had done its work already. It had fed again. Eleanor was unnoticed when she opened her door. Seeing that there was nothing she could do she closed her door as quietly as she could, and retreated back to her bed. She closed her eyes and prayed for day time.
--
She did not sleep that entire night, not that she could of. The commotion just outside her room dragged on through the night. She didn't get up again from her bed but a few hours after the latest incident another nurse came into her room to check on her. The nurse looked visibly shaken but someone still had to look after the patients. Eleanor faked a smile towards her and said everything was fine. The nurse cleaned up the shattered IV, straightened up the room a little, and then left without further questioning. Eleanor was left alone yet again.
As she sat there in the relative darkness alone with her thoughts she began to come to term with what had happened to her and what will most likely continue to happen. The cottage was not a fluke. It was not a contained incident. No. Whatever it was had imbedded itself in her. Wherever she went it would follow. The hospital was evidence enough of that. It was somehow attached to her. It was a curse, a pestilence that she would carry.
She couldn't stand seeing any more death, let alone being responsible for it. Every minute she was here in this hospital surrounded by people their lives were at risk. Whatever it was would not kill her, it needed her. She was its transport. It was only interested in feeding off of others. Eleanor’s job was to get it close enough to a potential victim.
The room began to fill with early morning rays from the sun before she knew it. Her room faced east and she found that she could watch the sun rise through her window. It wasn’t the nicest sun rise as there were rooftops, light poles, and telephone wires obstructing the view. As the sun was rising Eleanor got up from her bed as carefully as she could being sure to baby her right leg. The pain had dulled quite a bit from the previous night and she found she could at least manage a walk. On the other side of the room alongside the window were a few luggage bags. The cops were nice enough to have picked up a few of their belongings when they were investigating the cottage. The first bag was a long rectangular duffel bag that had been Harry’s. The second was much smaller beige bag that had wheels on the bottom. Eleanor walked over to the bags, opened up the smaller one, and pulled out some of her clothes. Once she was dressed she gathered up her belongings and headed towards the door.
The door pushed open with ease and as Eleanor stepped out of her room she couldn’t help herself and looked directly to the left of her room to where Ada had been killed. Her body was gone, thankfully. The blood was all gone as well. The only evidence that something had happened here was a large perfect square of floor tile that had been cut away by a saw or blade. There was a yellow caution sign propped on either side of the hole so nobody would accidentally fall in. If you didn’t know any better you would think it was just a rotted piece of floor that they were replacing. Eleanor knew better though and she wasn’t going to let this happen again. Not under her watch, not as long as this thing was with her. She hurried past the hole towards the hall elevators that were just in front of the nurse’s station. There was only one nurse at the station and she didn’t look up from her paperwork. Eleanor didn’t think it mattered that she was leaving. She took the elevator down and left the building. Right behind her like a darkened shadow it followed her into the world.
4
The next few months for Eleanor were extremely hard. After she lost Harry she went back to their house in Carolsburg. It wasn’t a large house but now with just her living there it seemed immense. She was alone. Two of the three bedrooms stood empty and with Harry gone her house seemed more like a prison than anything.
Harry’s family seemed to have accepted that it was a tornado that took their Harry from them. Both of his parents gave her no ill will. They were supportive and did what they could to help. Harry’s older brother, Dale, was eight years older than Harry. He had always looked out for his kid brother and now Eleanor believed that he felt pity for her. He stopped by her house regularly in the late afternoon to check in on her. To see if there was anything he could do to help. She always faked a smile, told him everything was fine, and ushered him out the door before night came. She would not make the mistake of losing someone again.
--
It was always with her. Throughout her time after the cottage she was able to learn more about the creature that clung to her. It seemed to only ‘attack’ at night. It was ever present, but seemed weakened by the day. The most she had ever heard from it during the day was the faintest and slightest knocking. It either did not care for the day time or it had no power during the day. The night was it's playtime. Every night since the cottage it would visit her while she slept. It would slither out of the wall behind her bed, and its arms would lazily trail behind it as it came. Each night its head would look down into he
rs. It would watch and study her. She wasn’t sure if it had any intelligence or if it just existed off of instinct.
Through her studies she had learned that there were two types of spirits. There were the ones that were instinct driven. These were not so much a spirit but an echo in time. They kept replaying the same events over and over in time, like a broken record player. The other types of spirits that she had found were those that had sentience. They seemed to know where they were, what they were, and what they were doing. This did not dictate rather or not if they were moral or malicious.
As she did her research she seemed more and more confident that somehow when her and Harry had entered that cottage they had stumbled upon a poltergeist. The word itself made her shiver. The more she read on poltergeists the more it seemed hopeless for her. The only way she could be rid of this demon is if it left on its own. If it didn’t want to leave her then she would be stuck with it, and even if it did leave her it would leave her for someone else. Could she live with herself if she passed this curse onto another innocent person?
She had performed ‘tests’ at night. She needed to see what the reach of this creature was, what it would and would not attack. On one of her earlier tests she adopted an older orange tabby cat. The adoption agency wasn’t sure the exact age of the cat but it had to have been at least over ten years old. Some of its fur had even begun to turn a slight gray color around the face. The test was to see if this poltergeist attacked only people, or if it attacked any and all living things within range. An older cat was picked as Eleanor honestly believed that the cat would live no more than a day or two.
Close Your Eyes: A Horror Story Collection Page 26