by Amy Cross
The Night Girl:
The Complete Series (All 8 Books)
by Amy Cross
Kindle Edition
Copyright Amy Cross, All Rights Reserved
Published by Dark Season Books
This edition first published: March 2013
http://amycrossbooks.wordpress.com
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment. If you enjoy it and wish to share it with others, please consider buying them their own copy. Feedback is always welcome. The author reserves all rights in respect of this work.
Coming Soon
The Roof of the World (The Library 1.3)
Comes a War (The Library 1.4)
Affection (Broken White 1.1)
Home (Broken White 1.2)
Also available by Amy Cross
Dark Season: The Complete 1st Series - All 8 Books
Dark Season: The Complete 2nd Series - All 8 Books
Dark Season: The Complete 3rd Series - All 8 Books
Lupine Howl: The Complete 1st Series - All 8 Books
Lupine Howl: The Complete 2nd Series - All 8 Books
Asylum: The Complete Series - All 8 Books
Devil's Briar: The Complete Series - All 8 Books
Ghosts: The Complete Series - All 8 Books
Broken Blue: The Complete Series - All 8 Books
Table of Contents
Book 1: The First Shift
Book 2: Death Watch
Book 3: Bandages
Book 4: I Can't Do This Without Laughing
Book 5: Juliet on the Moon
Book 6: Mad World
Book 7: So Low
Book 8: The Final Shift
Bonus
Cloth Man (Devil's Briar 1.3)
The Night Girl
Book 1:
The First Shift
Prologue
"Isn't this where that woman died?" I ask, staring out the rain-spattered window as my father parks the car. It's late at night, and Eldsview Retirement Home looks suitably gloomy, with just a few lights flickering in the darkness. I've walked past this place so many times and barely even noticed it; now, somehow, it's become my destination, and I really, really don't want to be here.
"That was six months ago," my father says, sounding tired.
"But still," I say, turning to him, "it's not a good thing, is it? I mean, it makes you wonder what's really going on in there if some woman can just die like that".
He stares at me, clearly not impressed.
"What I mean is, there's obviously a question mark over the safety of -"
"Nice try," he says, forcing a smile. "One-off incidents aside, there's nothing wrong with Eldsview. Do you think I'd send my only child to work there for the summer if I thought there was any danger of an ax murderer stalking the corridors?"
"It was an ax murderer?" I say, clutching my backpack as I stare wide-eyed at him.
"No!" he replies, leaning over and opening the door next to me, "it was not an ax murderer, as you well know". He sighs as he glances at the dashboard clock; it's 9:51pm, just two minutes before my first shift is due to begin. "Juliet, I really think you should get going. You don't want to be late. You have to set a good first impression, so they can tell you're a reliable person. If they don't like you, they won't want to keep you on".
"I don't want them to keep me on," I say.
"Come on," he replies, "time to get going".
"It's not gonna take me nine minutes to get to the door," I point out.
"Better to be early than late," he says, unbuckling my seat-belt. There's an awkward pause. "We've talked about this, Juliet. There's no way I'm going to let you sit around all summer, twiddling your thumbs and spending all your time chatting to people online. That's not how things work in the Collier household, okay? You're an adult now and you're going to work and earn money, and you're going to save most of that money for when college starts in a few months. Laziness is not an option".
"I can find some other job," I point out, seeing that the clock has already rolled over to 9:54pm. "One where I don't have to become completely nocturnal".
"I gave you two weeks to find your own job," he replies, "and you got nowhere".
"I got that job at the mall," I remind him.
"And how long did that last?"
I take a deep breath. "Twenty-seven minutes," I say, "but it wasn't my fault. They didn't give me any training, and they -"
"Whatever," my father says, interrupting me. "It's time to do some real work. Trust me, it'll be good for you. Most kids have started working way before their eighteenth birthday. It's my fault for cutting you too much slack. You've got no idea how privileged you've been so far, but a dose of work in the real world is going to set you straight. Now get going. You don't want to be late on your first day. If you need me, you know where to find me".
"Fine," I say, getting out of the car and slinging my back-pack over my shoulder. With rain pouring all around, I turn to face the car. "Good night," I say sourly. "Sleep well in your big, comfortable bed while your daughter toils away in a retirement home for minimum wage".
"I'll pick you up at 8am," he says, pulling the door shut. I step back and watch as the car pulls away, and then I turn and hurry along the driveway that leads to Eldsview's main entrance. I'd never realized how big this place is, but I can see now that there are darkened sections leading off in both directions. Reaching the door, I find that it's locked, so I ring the bell and wait. Glancing over at a nearby window, I stare at the darkness and suddenly realize there's a person in there, watching me. A shiver runs down my spine, but moments later I hear a key being turned in the lock and I turn to see a middle-aged bald man opening the door.
"Juliet Collier?" he says, not looking particularly enthusiastic as he checks his watch. "Right on time. Come on in".
Chapter One
Today
"You'll have to excuse me for just a minute," the man says as he re-locks the door behind us. "First, though, here's your first lesson". He slides the second lock across. "Always keep the external doors and windows closed. Some of the residents can be a little flighty, and if one of them wanders off, we could have a huge lawsuit on our hands". He turns the third and final lock, before turning to me. "I'm just sorting out some paperwork, so if you can take a seat in the reception area, I'll come through as soon as I'm done". He turns to walk away, but then he stops and turns back to me, reaching out a hand. "My name's Charles Taylor, by the way. We spoke on the phone. I'm the manager of Eldsview".
"Hi," I say, forcing myself to smile as I shake his cold, clammy hand.
"As I said," he continues, "take a seat and I'll be with you in a minute". With that, he turns and heads into a nearby office, leaving me to wander through to what turns out to be a high-ceilinged reception area with a bunch of sofas arranged around a small coffee table. The first thing I notice about the place is how warm it is, but I guess that's because old people get cold easily; the second thing I notice is that there are three dark corridors running off in various directions, which I assume must be three of the four wards. I suppose the lights are low since it's late and the old people are in bed, but as I sit down on one of the sofas, I can't help feeling a little overcome by the hushed silence of the place.
After a few minutes of glancing around the room, I pick up a magazine from the coffee table and start flicking through the pages. It's all about plants, which I guess is what people like to read about in a place like this. Spotting a plant next to the sofa, I reach over and feel the leaves, finding that it's made of plastic. The old people probably don't even notice; I suppose they're not the most observant types. Putting the magazine down, I glance along one of the dark
corridors and suddenly realize that there's someone at the far end, standing in the darkness and staring in my direction. I can't make out his or her features, and I know it's just one of the residents up and about, but it still feels pretty creepy.
"Okay, Juliet," says Charles as he emerges from his office. "Let's go and find your colleague for the night and give you a quick run-down of your duties". He leads me away from the reception area and along one of the corridors. "I have to leave in five minutes," he explains, clearly in a hurry, "but Lizzie's a great worker, she'll show you the ropes". We reach a junction in the corridor and Charles looks left and right before sighing and taking a phone from his pocket. "Just a minute," he mutters as he pulls up a number and dials. After a moment, he puts the phone away. "I guess she's busy with a patient," he says. "Come on, let me show you the rec room".
He leads me into a small, warm room with a number of chairs spread around, all of them facing a TV in the corner. So far, this place is kind of disorientating. All the long, darkly lit corridors seem to be the same, and I already feel as if I'm lost in some kind of warm, plastic labyrinth.
"This is the recreation room for the green ward," Charles explains. "Each of the wards has a room like this, so the residents can gather and socialize. It's important that they don't just sit in their bedrooms. We need to keep their minds active, or they can end up sinking into lethargy. Anyway, I think Lizzie might be on the red ward, so let's go and find her".
As we hurry along another corridor, I see a set of double-doors off to one side, with a large padlock over the handles and some tape down the middle. I pause for a moment and take a look through the small window, seeing a brightly-lit but deserted corridor; it looks like the rest of the place, except that the lights are on full and the padlock on the door suggests someone really doesn't want anyone going in there.
"That ward's not in use," Charles says. "Come on, we have to find Lizzie, I should have left already".
Adjusting my backpack, I follow him to the red ward, which turns out to be just as dark and empty as the green ward.
"Huh," Charles says, trying to call Lizzie again but still having no luck. "This kind of thing happens sometimes, Juliet. The night shift tends to be fairly uneventful, but occasionally something happens that requires your attention. Lizzie's probably helping one of our residents. The important thing, though, is to make sure you answer your phone if it's at all possible. As the night progresses, you need to make an effort to stay in touch with your colleague". He sighs. "Okay, we're clearly not going to be able to find Lizzie before I leave, so let me find you something to do".
"Sure," I say under my breath.
"Take a look around this rec room," he continues, checking his watch again. "If you find anything that needs cleaning, give it a clean". He opens a small cupboard to reveal a set of cleaning supplies. "I don't really know what's in here, but I'm sure you'll find something. Just make sure you don't leave anything out that someone could trip over, okay? I promise you, Lizzie will be through very soon to go over your duties with you, but the basics are pretty simple. You're here to support the trained medical professional who's on duty, but the most important thing is that you remember that you yourself have no training and therefore can't provide direct medical care. Once again, we're in danger of a major lawsuit if an untrained worker attempts to perform medical duties, so if you're ever in any doubt, always ask Lizzie, okay?"
"Totally," I say, starting to feel that this place is a kind of fly-by-night operation. I guess I'm just the dogsbody, hired to carry things and clean up after the residents.
"There are some forms you have to sign," he continues, "but Lizzie can get you to do that before you leave. Okay, I have to head off, but just hang on in here for a few minutes and I'll make sure Lizzie comes through. Don't worry, she's one of the nicest people you could ever hope to meet. You'll be fine". Checking his watch again, he hurries to the door. "Just work hard and use your common sense, Juliet, and you'll have no problems. Welcome to the team!" With that, he runs off down the corridor, and I stand alone for a moment, just listening to his footsteps racing away.
"Okay," I say quietly to myself, turning to look around the low-lit room. All around me, there's nothing but silence and emptiness. It's as if I've been dumped in the middle of a large building and just left to get on with whatever work I can find, which isn't exactly how I expected to start my first shift here at Eldsview. Walking over to the cupboard, I pull out a duster and a container of spray-polish, and figure I might as well do a little light cleaning. If this Lizzie woman is going to show up eventually, I might as well look busy when she arrives. I set my backpack down on a nearby chair, turn the lights up so I can see what I'm doing, and start running the duster along the top of the TV. The place is thick with dust, so I guess no-one's been in here to clean for a while.
I spend the next twenty minutes giving the room a bit of a clean, occasionally glancing up to see if there's any sign of Lizzie. After an hour, I'm still cleaning and there's still no sign of anyone. Suddenly, however, I hear a shuffling noise in one of the nearby corridors; pausing for a moment, I hear it again, and I realize there's definitely someone nearby. When the shuffling noise continues, I realize it sounds as if one of the residents has got out of bed. Figuring I should go take a look, I put the cleaning supplies away and hurry along the corridor. Sure enough, when I get to the next junction, I spot a hunched figure in the distance, disappearing around the next corner.
"Hey," I call out, taking a step forward. As if startled, the figure disappears quickly from view. "Hey!" I say again, running over. To my surprise, however, I find that there's no-one in the next corridor. I'd assumed that all the old people in this place would be slow and lumbering, but this one definitely seems to be a little more sprightly.
"You must be the new night girl," says a voice right behind me.
Spinning around, I find a tall blonde woman smiling at me. She's wearing a light blue nurse's uniform, and she looks to be in her thirties or forties.
"I'm Juliet," I say, my heart racing.
"I know," she replies. "Charles told me you'd be around here somewhere. Sorry I took so long getting to you, but I was over on the blue ward. One of the patients had fallen over, and it was hell to get him up. Have you been okay?"
"Yeah," I say, glancing back along the corridor. "I thought I saw someone up there, though. I was gonna go and see if they were lost, but they moved too fast".
"It was probably just a trick of the light," she says. "None of our residents can move at more than a snail's pace".
"Huh," I say, convinced I saw an actual person in the darkness. "I swear it was -"
"Come on," she replies, putting a hand on my arm and leading me back to the rec room. "Let me guess. Charles told you almost nothing about what you're supposed to be doing here, did he? He set you loose with virtually no instructions, and expected you to work out your responsibilities along the way"
"Yeah," I say. "I did some cleaning".
"Typical Charles," she says, smiling. "The guy's always in a rush, never has time to do anything properly. I guess he just plonked you down and told you to wait for me".
"Yeah".
"He could have at least made sure you had some training before you started," she adds as we reach the room and she peers at the top of the TV. "Wow, you really have been cleaning, haven't you?"
"Yeah," I say. "I think he tried to phone you to let you know I was here, but you didn't pick up".
"He did?" She pulls her phone from her pocket. "I guess. Do you have a phone with you?"
We quickly swap numbers, before Lizzie shows me around the rec room. She explains that there are three wards at Eldsview, and they're all identical, so once I know one of them, I'll know the rest. She tells me that my job is basically to be her assistant, and to help her out with whatever needs doing. There are twelve residents altogether, with four on each ward, and during the day there's a team of nurses and porters to look after their needs; at night, however
, budget cuts mean that only one nurse is on duty to cover the entire facility, with a 'night girl' hired to help out. My priority has to be to keep listening out for any sign that one of the patients has woken up; as Lizzie explains, sometimes one of them will wake up and go for a wonder, and our main job is to just help them back to their room.
"You'll be surprised by some of them," she says. "You might think old people are boring, but this lot are a real bunch of characters. They've all lived such full lives, and just because they're old, it doesn't mean they've lost their personalities".
I smile, not really knowing what to say.
"You're nervous," she continues. "That's fine. It's good to be nervous, it means you're taking the position seriously. Just remember to take things slowly, and don't be afraid to ask questions if you're not sure about something".
"Okay," I say.
"There's also Mrs. Brown," Lizzie explains as we walk along one of the corridors. "She used to be one of our most interesting residents, but about two months ago she started to deteriorate. She's very close to death, unfortunately. Part of this job is dealing with that kind of thing. It's hard the first time, but you get used to it. Do you think you can handle being around people when they're at that stage, Juliet?"
"Sure," I say, although to be honest I'm kind of terrified at the thought of seeing someone die. I've seen someone when they're close to death, but I've never seen the moment itself.
"Don't worry," she replies with a smile. "It gives you a new perspective".
"What's the deal with the other ward?" I ask, stopping as we pass the sealed-up door that leads to the abandoned ward.
"We don't use that part of the building," she says. "Come on, I'll show you the office".
"Why don't you use it?" I ask.
"Various reasons," she says, seeming a little evasive.