She went down to a closet to grab some towels and sighed with relief as the doctor and two orderlies came running down the hall and into the room. Betty took a moment to herself, letting her racing heart calm as she held the towels to her chest. It had been nothing, she told herself.
“Then what were those shadows and the laughter?” She wondered aloud but quietly. “If there was nothing there then what were those shadows?”
Walking back to the room Betty watched as Adam stitched the man’s wrists back up and gently placed bandages over the stitches. Adam was a good doctor. He was limited in what he could do here but he was a good medical doctor. Adam worked here as a medical doctor while the psychiatrists were here to treat the underlying mental problems of the patients. He had worked hard to bring himself to the position he was in now. His parents had been poor sugar cane farmers but had encouraged their rather intelligent son to go to university and follow his dreams.
He treated his patients with respect and care, even though they were criminals, and Betty admired his drive to actually care for people. Adam had a lot of qualities she admired and she tried listing them in her head now as a distraction. He was kind to the homeless, treated wait staff with respect, treated her with respect, and did not rush her; he hadn’t even put his hands under her clothes yet. From books and movies, and talk amongst women she had overheard, men were always trying that but he hadn’t.
Betty could feel her nerves calming as she watched Adam working. All she needed was his presence and her heart rate had started to calm. Now she watched him talking with the nurses and orderlies and her heart fluttered. What was it about him that delighted her so?
“Are you alright, Ms. Taylor?” Adam asked his hand at her elbow suddenly.
Betty blinked and gave him a quivery smile.
“I am fine, Doctor Raines. How is the patient?” Betty watched as the orderlies started going through every inch of the room until they came up with a piece of thin metal. The end was sharp and if the patient had been persistent, he would have been able to cut his wrists with it. The blood on the sharp end let them know they’d found what they were looking for. The men kept searching the room just in case he had other dangerous items hidden away.
The doctor examined the metal and showed it to Jackie and Betty. It was shiny and looked like the metal used in coat hangers. The end looked as though the coat hanger had been twisted until it snapped. The end was wicked looking and very sharp.
“Coat hanger?” Better said to the other two.
“But those are only allowed in our locker rooms. How would he have gotten it?” Jackie responded. “Do you think someone gave it to him?”
Jackie looked to the doctor for an answer. He shrugged and looked down at the now unconscious man. Betty assumed the doctor had given him something to make him sleep.
“It is hard to tell where he got it from.” Adam looked around at the walls and grimaced. “Who is the Shadow Man then? I do not remember seeing anything about it in his file.”
“Another delusion? Who knows? I will get these fellas to scrubbing down the walls though. We do not need the other patients seeing it and going on about it.” Jackie stepped over to the two men and left Betty and Adam alone.
“Come to my place tonight?” Betty asked suddenly, her mind made up. She had to think about it later. For now she knew she did not want to sleep alone and Adam was the only person she wanted in her bed.
“What? Oh yes. Of course. I will meet you there when I get off of work.” Adam said, his eyes curious, asking questions Betty did not know the answers to.
“I will put some wine in the fridge then.” She said, walking out of the room before she could change her mind.
Betty felt disjointed, as though she was at the hospital but not really there, for the rest of the evening. Her mind was consumed with what was going to happen later. She had asked Adam to her place. He had always left her at the door before, or come onto her porch, and she had never asked him inside. Now she had. He had to know that meant something.
She drove home later and raced through the shower, shaving her legs, and drying her hair. She tried to decide what to wear and settled on a caftan she had bought for her beach excursions. It was light, airy, and sexy without being gaudy. It was also safe in case she changed her mind. She did not expect to but perhaps Adam would say no? She could not imagine why he would but just in case she did not want to look desperate.
She had stopped to pick up a bottle of wine on the way home but ended up picking up a white and a red because she did not know which he would prefer. She did not know a lot about wine but she liked the white. Twiddling her thumbs as she waited Betty kept popping up to fluff her hair, went into the bathroom twice to remove her makeup but then decided not to as she had put it on special, and changed the records twice. She finally settled on some light jazz they’d both enjoyed when at a restaurant a few weeks ago.
Betty was going back to the couch when she heard Adam’s car pulling up a little after midnight. She had worked herself up into a ball of nerves. She was a virgin, even at her age, she was still a virgin, and she was not sure how to please Adam. She had ideas of what she needed to do but she just was not sure.
For a moment, she felt a rush of resentment, towards herself more than towards anyone else.
“This is why you have avoided relationships, Betty. It just causes stress and anger. Are you sure about this?” But before she could answer herself Adam was knocking at the door lightly.
She stood still for a moment, rooted to the floor. This was it. She stared at the door, uncertain. Could she do it? Before she could talk herself out of it Betty walked to the door and opened it.
“Betty.” Adam said, his voice breathless.
“Adam.” She replied, her voice as shocked as her face.
Adam gave a light laugh, wondering if they were both standing there with the same shocked look on their faces. He knew she had to be nervous. From her slight hints he knew she had never been with a man before. This was something new for both of them, he had never been with a virgin before.
Betty’s nerves disappeared as soon as she saw Adam and she joined him in laughing as she held the door open.
“Come in. Get comfortable. Do you want something to eat? I know it is late but that was a long day.”
“I am not really hungry now but that wine you mentioned might be nice.” He said as he took off his sport coat and spread it over the back of the couch. He sat down and looked around. The room was furnished with heavy antique furniture but Betty had brought in some bright yellow curtains to brighten the room up. It was decorated sparingly but the room was comfortable. The kitchen was just to the right of the living room, her bedroom in the back along with the bathroom. A small house but it suited her needs.
Adam twisted his hands nervously as Betty appeared with two glasses of white wine. He smiled up at her and thanked her as she sat at the other end of the couch. She looked nervous as she sipped at her wine.
“Are you sure you are not hungry?” She asked, looking at him with her big green eyes rounded.
“No, I am not hungry. Do you want to dance?” He asked, holding his hand out to her.
There was not a lot of room for dancing but Betty liked the idea. She took his hand and they went behind the couch, where the floor was more open, and he took her in his arms.
“Are you alright?” Adam asked as they began to dance, her body close to his.
“I am fine now.” She responded as she allowed herself to melt into him.
It had been years since Betty felt anyone so closely. She had had light hugs here and there but nothing like this. She was vividly aware of every inch of him that was now pressed into her. Her heart speeded up again but this time it was in excitement, not fear. She moved smoothly with him, letting herself lean against him more and more until her head was on his shoulder and they were no longer moving.
Betty could hear his heart beating beneath her ear and knew he felt the same as she did.
His heart was racing, strong and steady, but racing. Adam’s hand moved, pulling her chin up so that he could look down into her face.
“You are beautiful, Betty.” His hand traced her cheek and down to her jawline. He looked at her, needing her to let him know he could move forward with this. “This doesn’t have to happen if you do not want it to.” His full lips spoke but Betty only saw their shape, heard the sound of his deep voice.
She placed a finger over his lips before she reached up, letting her lips press into his. She was safe, she was cared for, and with Adam, she was happy. She wanted him.
His lips pressed into hers, as her inexperienced tongue flicked out, curious to feel the soft flesh of his mouth. Adam inhaled slowly, letting her explore as she chose. His hands fell to her waist and held her to his body as he imagined what she was going to feel like, how she would move beneath him. His excitement grew but he controlled the urge to pull her to the couch.
Betty’s hands explored his back but then moved lower, clasping his bottom. She had never felt a man’s bottom before, not sexually anyway. It felt firm, soft but firm. She liked it. She heard a satisfied sound from Adam and continued her exploration, moving her hands up to his front, to the spot just above his belt.
She looked up at him once more, her mind made up. She was going to be brave and discover what she had been missing for so long. She craved him like she had never craved anyone before. It was time.
Chapter Nine
Betty went to work the next day with a spring in her step and a smile on her face. She had had no idea of what she had been missing but now she knew and it was time to catch up. Her brain filled with possibilities as she remembered the way Adam made her feel the night before, but as soon as she stepped onto the second floor of the building and headed for the nurses’ station her smile disappeared. She felt oppressed, as if someone was watching her while waiting to jump her, and fear tangled her smile into a frown of worry.
She saw Adam there, alone, and hurried to get out of the dark hallway and into the light he stood bathed in. For a moment, she thought he looked like an angel, haloed in the bright lights overhead. This man, her man, with his gleaming smile and warm eyes, was the comfort, the happiness, and the completion she had had no idea was missing from her life. She let the fear and anxiety slip away as she came up beside of him.
Betty sighed as she came close to him, and a quiet giggle escaped her throat. She smiled up at Adam and looked to see if they were alone.
“I am so glad you are here tonight. I had the oddest feeling when I came in but now that is all gone.” She truly did feel relieved and went about checking charts and looking at paperwork.
“Have you thought about leaving again? Finding something else? I would push for it but Travis is being transferred to another facility tomorrow. Apparently, Margaret has been working with the doctors to get him moved. Maye it’ll be fine after all?” Adam’s smile looked relieved and he winked at her before he handed her a batch of papers.
“You are kidding?” Betty exclaimed, happiness filling her, pushing away any lingering darkness. “To breathe free without the Lurking Spectre always near, oh how very beautiful that will be!”
“Yes, just a few more hours, and then he’ll be gone. The place will be better for him being gone.” Adam patted Betty on the shoulder before leaving her to go on his rounds.
Betty sighed happily, all well with the world. She could not believe how different she felt this morning, all because she had had sex last night. She felt confident, as though she knew secrets that others did not know, and as though she could conquer the world. There was even a new bounce to her step, though she could not really see it. She just felt different and that made her smile even more.
The evening carried on, Betty’s smile proving infectious as even the patients responded and became calmer, easier to handle. Jackie smiled knowingly at Betty and Betty gave back a pleased smile. Neither would say anything but they knew what had put that smile on Betty’s face.
Betty was getting patients settled into bed, her last patient settling under their covers, when her world started to unravel. She heard screams coming from the same room as the night before. Betty felt as though she had been doused in a bucket of ice water as a feeling of déjà vu washed over her. Not again, please not again, she thought as she ran down the hall.
The man was there in his bed, screaming as he thrashed around, his wrists bloody once more. He was thrashing in the bed so much he had torn his stitches. Betty tried to calm him above the screaming but could not. She could not make out what his screams were but she knew it was something about the Shadow Man. Betty’s own fear grew as the man continued to thrash and scream. Then the fear ended as she felt a pain in the back of her head and the world went dark.
Betty awoke to a dragging sensation, and the sound of water dripping in the total darkness. It was not just the sound of water dripping from a spout though; the sound she heard was that sound that told you your location was dark, deep, cold, and probably concrete or rock. This was the sound of being underground.
Before the world faded away once more Betty heard a laugh. The maniacal laugh of the Lurking Spectre. She knew she was lost in that moment. Nobody could save her now. Throughout the next few hours, Betty awoke to pains, to burning sensations, and to the overwhelming urge to scream in mortal terror. Her mouth would open to unleash the scream but every time something would hit her in the head and the world would disappear once more.
She opened her eyes once and thought she heard Adam screaming her name. But she heard a scuffle in the darkness before she could call out to him and then the world went dark once more. She did not know if Adam had truly been there or if it was all just a part of the nightmare world that did not go away whether she was awake or unconscious; she was trapped in both, unable to escape.
Finally, much later, she heard very loud sounds, the sounds of scuffling in the impenetrable darkness she was surrounded by, and then the sounds of a gun being fired. Then, finally, out of the darkness came a piercing light. Betty fought hard to see the light, to open her eyes but when she did she wished she had gone blind. There before her was Adam.
Along his neck, a red line was oozing blood, and his eyes were staring and dead. The scream that had been building all night in Betty’s throat finally tore free. As the scream tore her throat, leaving it flayed, the world went dark again. There in the new darkness what had happened was not real, the death, the pain, the terror was just something she had dreamed and Betty fought hard to stay in that place but people kept dragging at her, calling to her from the dark depths of her solitude, and finally she could not fight to stay away anymore.
Betty let her eyes flicker open and looked calmly over at Jackie for a moment. Her friend sat there quietly, reading a book aloud in a very soothing voice. The soothing, calm words did not have their desired effect though as Betty started screaming as soon as she woke up. She remembered it all.
She later learned three things after they finally got her to stop screaming. After a month of being in a coma, Adam’s funeral had come and gone and she had missed it. Poor Adam had died trying to save her and she hadn’t even been able to make it to his funeral. Travis Brown had been shot and killed in the act of raping her for a second time, at least. Nobody was sure how many times he had raped her, not even Betty. And, just because her world hadn’t crumbled enough already, just to make sure she fully understood how totally screwed up it all was, the doctor let her know she was pregnant. He said the words as though they’d cheer her up. She wanted to strangle him. Or herself. Instead she rolled over in the bed and tried to make it all go away.
Chapter Ten
The Present Day
Charlotte, North Carolina
I tried to tell Clara about the Lurking Spectre, the Shadow Man as the girls, and that patient oh so long ago, had called him. I wanted to but I knew she would not believe me, she would just dismiss it as part of the disease or as my imagination. She had shocked me this morning
with her demands for answers and my response hadn’t been the best.
I still had nightmares, all these years later. I could still see Adam’s dead and staring eyes when I closed my own. And Travis Brown still haunted me. He still wanted me, even in death. I could never escape him.
My now aged hands trembled as I tried to remember how to make toast, such a simple task but one that escaped me for the moment. I wanted to make some toast before I took my pills but could not remember how. I finally gave up and took my pills, hoping the nausea that usually came when I took them on an empty stomach, would stay away.
I tottered off into my room and spread out on the bed. I turned on the television and found the channel that played old television shows. These new programs with all of their sex and violence, the foul language and crude jokes, just did not belong in my world. I sighed as I settled into the mattress, pleased that my daughter had ensured I had a comfortable bed. My old bones ached now and the pressure from the springs could be painful. This pillow top creation was heavenly to lie on!
I twitched as I heard a noise coming from the living room and got up to close the door. Sometimes if I put a barrier between us he would leave me be. His presence was one of the hardest things to get used to after I finally recovered enough to get out of the hospital. He was not really able to touch me, not that I had seen anyway, but he could knock things over, pull things down, move things you know? If I shut the door he might let me have some peace tonight.
I had tried everything under the sun over the years to get rid of him. Praying, exorcisms, spells, psychics, mediums, psychology, all of it but he would not go away. It had been hard enough not knowing who Clara’s father was without his constant presence but with him always lurking, his shadow there, laughing, I had been terrified. And then she came along and I learned to ignore him for the most part as I looked into the precious face of my child.
Thriller: Horror: Spirit Doll (Mystery Suspense Thrillers) (Haunted Paranormal Short Story) Page 24