Thriller: Horror: Spirit Doll (Mystery Suspense Thrillers) (Haunted Paranormal Short Story)

by Stephen Kingston

  “I need to talk to you about Travis Brown. Something has to be done about him.” Betty blurted out.

  “Ah, I thought that might be the problem. The guard left me a note about the incident last night.” Margaret held up a piece of paper and waited for Betty to continue.

  “Our manuals say we are to report anything like this and so here I am. Normally I would just brush it all off but the man seems to be fixated on me. He was following me around the facility and last night he made some very disgusting suggestions.”

  “But he has not harmed you? Has he touched you at all?” Margaret looked concerned but somehow cold, detached even.

  Betty felt confusion and hurt, she had expected more from Margaret. She was not sure what she expected exactly but she knew where Margaret’s question was leading.

  “Not in a violent way but yes, he has touched me. He touched my face and tried to touch my hair. I found it far too personal.” Betty could not repress the shiver the memory sent through her body.

  “We will keep an eye on you both then. I have instructed the guards and orderlies to keep watch on him. You will have to continue to interact with him but that is all we can do for now.” Margaret looked away from Betty, staring at a spot behind Betty’s head. “Until he does something violent we can’t do much more than that.”

  Betty stared at Margaret stunned. She did not have to be a psychiatrist to know where this was heading. The man’s past made it clear where all of the behaviors the man displayed were leading to. She started to say something but Margaret cut her off, the other woman’s gaze still not meeting her own.

  “Stop being so paranoid Betty. You will be under watch every moment you are 'on the floor' so to speak. This is something you will have to deal with from time to time. You are young enough, pretty, and you are new and all of those draw attention. Things will calm down, I promise.” Margaret still was not looking Betty in the eye and Betty did not like that one bit.

  “I see. I will do my best to follow your advice then, Margaret.” Betty’s words were clipped and there was an air of accusation to her tone. She tried to not be angry or hurt but Margaret’s unwillingness to help upset her. Betty stood from her chair and went to the door.

  “Betty, I do wish there was more I could do but my hands are tied.” Margaret said as Betty left without speaking. She really did sound contrite but that did not ease Betty’s mind.

  Betty walked through the halls with her back straight and her head high, going up to the second floor to the nurses’ station. During the day nurses were there and they all gave Betty sympathetic looks. Jackie, the nurse Betty was making friends with, was there too and took Betty’s hand in her own.

  “We will watch out for you honey, even if they won’t.” Jackie promised with a smile.

  Betty smiled back and asked for a report about the patients that day. It was routine now, asking how the day had gone, who was agitated, who was too calm. Calmness could mean a storm was brewing or that a patient was sinking into a depression, they both needed to be watched. Betty listened to the other nurses’ reports then gathered up the charts of the patients she would be working with. She checked to see which were due for medicines and went to prepare them.

  The rest of the evening was spent pretending everything was alright but Betty was dreading speaking to Travis. The man had deeply disturbed her and she knew he was around. She kept seeing his shadow and hearing his laughter. He would always be near, lurking around a corner or hiding behind a door to walk out after she passed. She hadn’t had to speak with him yet, that was a blessing.

  Betty was heading down to the cafeteria, planning a salad in her head, as she kept an eye on the hallway’s darkest parts. Betty knew the slightest thing would set her off, her nerves were strung tightly, and her pulse was racing. She kept rubbing her hands down her pants because her palms were sweating so much. Betty was afraid and she did not like it one bit.

  Jackie had offered to go to the cafeteria with her but she had decided she had to be brave. The guards reported Travis was in his bed and there was no way he could get past them. She was safe, she just could not get her body to believe that. Her fight or flight response was working overtime and would not let her body calm down.

  Betty was almost to the cafeteria door, her hand reaching out to push the doors open, when something hit her from the back, and she flew into the door. Her nose broke immediately and blood spurted all over the glass before she slid down the door. Betty did not even have time to scream before her feet were jerked and her body started to slide down the hallway as her head bumped on the floor.

  Confused by shock and pain Betty finally tried to turn over, reaching out to grab onto anything that might halt the sliding.

  “Help! Somebody help me!” Betty kicked her feet, hoping that would dislodge her attacker’s grip but he just grunted and grabbed her ankles more tightly.

  The only sound that greeted her at first was a snicker from her attacker. Betty looked back to see who it was but all she could see was a shape in the near darkness.

  “Stop!” Betty heard a male voice shouting from the other end of the hall. “Stop right there!”

  Betty’s feet dropped suddenly and the man disappeared into a door, she saw it was the door to the stairs as she sat up and pushed herself back to the wall.

  “Guards! Down here! He went down the stairs!” Betty looked up to see one of the doctors racing towards her, his light hair gleaming in the darkness. Her knight in shining armor had appeared. Betty smiled up at the man through the gore on her face and then promptly passed out.

  Chapter Seven

  “Are you alright?” The doctor asked as he and a guard lifted her to a gurney a few moments later. “Let me see what’s happened.”

  The doctor held Betty’s face still as her eyes blinked open and he shone a light into her eyes. The doctor swung the light back and forth then made a sound of approval. He then used the light to check her nose.

  “Are you breathing alright?” He asked as he gently felt around her nose.

  “Yes, I am alright, just shaken up and my nose hurts. Did I faint?” She asked, looking up at him with confusion.

  “Yes, you did, it is hardly any wonder. Let’s get you to an exam room and clean you up. I am Doctor Adam Raines, by the way, Ms. Taylor. You are safe now.” The doctor nodded at the guard and the guard pushed her along the hallway and down to an exam room.

  Jackie came running into the room and took Betty’s hand.

  “You alright?” She asked, her question weighted with far more than she had said.

  “I am alright, Jackie, honest. I am okay.” Betty replied with a reassuring squeeze. “I think my nose is broken from the feel of it, though.”

  “I believe you are correct Ms. Taylor, you have got a lot of swelling, and you are already getting bruises under your eyes. Jackie can you get Ms. Taylor some ice please?” The doctor smiled kindly to the other nurse and she shook her head and took off.

  “Jackie sure is nice.” Betty said as the doctor tilted her head back. “How did you know my name?”

  Betty remembered meeting the doctor on the first day but she hadn’t seen him since then.

  “I met you on your first day here. I am working nights the rest of this month so this is the first time we’ve met since then. I am sorry it is under such bad conditions.”

  Betty felt something she had never felt before as she looked up at the doctor. An overwhelming urge to giggle bubbled up her throat and she had to fight hard to push it down. She told herself she was just reacting to the situation and that it meant nothing, she was not interested in this handsome young doctor.

  “Alright, sit up, let’s get you cleaned up and taped up before Nurse Jackie gets back with that ice. You may have some bleeding throughout the night but you should be fine. Why don’t you head home early? I think you need a rest after that.”

  “We are not going to call the police?” Betty asked quietly, suspecting she already knew the answer.


  “I can’t identify who it was, can you?” He paused, his brownish green eyes boring into hers. When Betty shook her head, he continued. “These things happen in facilities like this. I am not saying you have to get used to it but it may happen from time to time.”

  “I understand. I just wanted to make sure. Did Travis get out of his room? Is that why the guards were out like that?” She asked, holding her head up once more so he could wipe her face with a wet towel.

  “No, as far as I know he was in his room. We heard you screaming and came looking for you.” Doctor Raines began placing tape over Betty’s nose, trying to keep it in place. “At least we do not have to put your nose back together. You may end up with a bump on it and it may be crooked but I do not think it is going to be too bad.”

  Betty smiled at the doctor, not sure what else to say. She wanted to run home and cry into her pillow but she had a feeling she might lose some respect at work if she did that. She only had an hour left on her shift anyway. She had taken some acetaminophen and continued on with her shift.

  Jackie came back in and handed her the ice, bringing the salad Betty had been longing for with her.

  “I thought you might be hungry still. You take that on home with you and we will see you tomorrow, alright?” Jackie was the charge nurse and had the ability to allow other nurses to go home.

  “I think I will stay. Have my salad and finish my shift. My nose isn’t going to feel better for going home.” Betty tried to smile again but the pain in her nose finally became too much.

  “You tough girl, you tough. You can stay on if you want but if you need to go home you just tell me so.” Jackie displayed the gap in her otherwise perfect white teeth and Betty let her eyes do the smiling this time.

  “I will let you know. I just need to finish up my charts and I will be done anyway.” Betty looked over at the doctor. “You done with me?”

  “Yes, but I want to ask you a few more questions while you eat, if you do not mind.” Jackie left the room as the doctor spoke. “And you might want to change your dress before you go back out.”

  The doctor was pointing at Betty’s dress and she looked down to see she was covered in blood.

  “Oh yes, I believe you are right.” A tissue was not going to get all of the blood and dirt out, she was not sure the dress would ever come clean again, in fact.

  “Did you see the guy at all or recognize him?” The doctor asked. “If we can identify him we might be able to deal with it.”

  “No, nothing was recognizable. I expect it was Travis though. He has been giving me problems.” Betty tried the salad but put it back down. She had something draining down her throat, likely blood, and the salad just tasted horrible and it made her face hurt to try to eat.

  “Right, well, we will keep an eye on him. When are you off again?” His question was abrupt and distracted Betty from trying to wipe at the blood on her dress once more.

  “Friday I think, two days from now. Why?”

  “I would like to meet you for coffee if you would like.” Doctor Raines said with a smile.

  “What about Rule 22?” Betty asked, forgetting her own sworn bachelorette-hood for the moment.

  “To hell with it. I would like to get to know you better Ms. Taylor.” The doctor, tall, with a nice tan and light blond hair was charming and had a great smile. But there was something more, something powerful and strong about him that drew Betty in. It was not just the fact that his chiseled good looks reminded her of a movie star or that he was a doctor. She felt safe with him near.

  “I think I would like that.” Betty named a diner near her house and got up from the gurney. “Shall we meet at 5?”

  “Perfect. Do you have another dress?” He asked as he helped her down from the gurney.

  “I am a nurse, of course I have extras.” Betty said with a laugh. A wave of dizziness made her sway but Doctor Raines held his hand to her shoulder to steady her.

  “You are brave. I believe you are terrified on the inside but you are brave. I like that.” He said before opening the door and letting her walk out.

  Betty changed and finished her charts deciding to go home when she was done. She had gained respect from her workmates by staying and she had a feeling she was going to need that in the days ahead. She could not afford to quit and go back to North Carolina. She had made her bed; she was going to have to lay in it now. Somehow, she would have to learn to cope with the bad because she was stuck here now. Maybe Doctor Raines could make that a little better.

  Two months later

  Betty had finally settled into a routine at work and though she still saw the shadows often, sometimes more than one, she hadn’t been attacked again. It had taken her weeks to be able to sleep properly and to be able to walk down the halls on her own but she was getting braver by the day.

  She and Adam, Doctor Raines, were growing more serious in their relationship but still kept it platonic at work. Neither wanted to lose their jobs, though Adam had tried to convince her to find a more sedate job where she would not be attacked or hurt by patients. Other than the run-in with Travis, things had been fine and she enjoyed her job. It was challenging but rewarding and the patients were usually very good. They seemed to be more violent with the male staff than the female staff. Betty suspected that said a lot about the male patients and their pasts.

  The relationship was progressing slowly; Betty was still leery of what was happening. She had lived her entire life uninterested in the opposite sex but Adam had changed all of that. The first couple of weeks had been tentative steps at friendship, on her part at least. Over time she had found she thought about him often and smiled without even realizing it. She was also catching herself daydreaming about him, about plans they’d made. Betty did not know if this meant she was in love but she knew she was wrapped up in Adam and that meant something important was happening.

  Betty was handing out medications to patients, waiting for the last of her bunch to show up. The staff had all worked together to make sure Betty stayed safe after the attack and she was never assigned to work with the Lurking Spectre, as she called Travis Brown. He was not allowed to come to the nursing station anymore unless there was an emergency. He had to speak to an orderly and the orderly would come to the station. There was no proof he had been the one to attack Betty but they all suspected it was him.

  Betty knew more about him now, how he had been found with the flesh of most of the women he’d raped and killed hanging in his house, how his landlord had started to smell rotten smells from the place, and sent the police in to search the property. Travis had been dancing with the withered head of one of the women as the police busted in his door, smiling at them maniacally as they arrested him. He had even asked them not to harm his “dresses”, as he had referred to the flesh, because they were precious mementos of his love affairs.

  Betty did not know what had happened to his last victim, the women that had been locked in his basement, but thought she might have ended up in a psychiatric hospital too. How could she have gone back to normal life after years of that treatment? She hoped the woman had received some kind of help but after working in the hospital for a while now she wondered if it would have truly helped the woman. The purpose of this hospital seemed to be to control and contain the mental patients, not cure them. That did not help them but Betty knew the hospital was underfunded and understaffed. Besides most of the general population wouldn’t have accepted the patients back into society if they were cured, these people would never be trusted again.

  Betty handed the last of the drugs out, watched the patient swallow, and looked into their mouth to ensure they’d swallowed it. She made some notes on her charts and turned to put the chart away. She turned back and started running down the hall as she heard a patient begin screaming. She looked around but did not see any of the orderlies, guards, or other nurses around. Running into the room she saw the patient had somehow managed to cut their wrists and was busy dripping it down the walls and smearing it
around as they laughed gleefully.

  There were words on the wall but Betty ignored them as she tried to get the patient to sit down. The male patient, shorter than Betty, frail, and bald, looked like a tiny harmless old man but Betty knew he had killed six young girls twenty years before. And he had a weapon somewhere if he had managed to cut his own skin.

  Betty chased the man down and tackled him to the bed. There were restraints on the bed already so she hooked those up to get him to stay still so she could look at his wrists. Betty started to notice shadows building up in the room as she looked at the man’s wrists but tried to ignore them. When the little man began cackling and a voice outside the room joined in Betty began to become frightened.

  Looking around the plain undecorated room, she saw the words finally. The words the man had scrawled in his own blood.

  “The Shadow Man will take us all!”

  Betty felt goose-bumps rising on her flesh and her blood ran cold. The Shadow Man? Who was that? Her head snapped back to the door as she heard footsteps coming closer. The shadows outside of the door were coming closer and the patient’s laughter was becoming more maniacal. Betty wanted to run but she could not leave her patient. She looked for a place to hide as the footsteps came closer. But there was nowhere to hide!

  Chapter Eight

  Betty’s mouth opened as the footsteps neared, her eyes wide in absolute terror, the scream just a second from escaping her throat as terror filled her. There was no escape!

  “Betty, you alright in there girl?” Jackie came flying into the room at a run, her arms reaching out for the frightened woman.

  “I am fine. Oh my God, you scared the life out of me, but I am fine. Let’s get this patient sorted. He has cut his wrists with something. We will have to get one of the doctors in.” Betty turned away, trying to hide her embarrassment at being frightened out of her skin over nothing.