by Amy Cross
“Don't try to analyze me,” Elly muttered.
“You're not used to having someone care about you. Fine, but -”
“Can I be alone now?” Elly asked.
“So you can feel sorry for yourself?” Kirsten paused. “Okay, I'll leave you alone, but I'll be back.” She headed to the door. “I feel we're quite similar in some ways, you know. There have been times in my life when I've been alone, when I've felt that being alone made me stronger. I moved past that and I hope you can too, but I know it takes time. You never know, maybe we'll even become...” She smiled. “Well, let's not get ahead of ourselves. I'm just glad you're here, Elly, so that I can supervise your recovery personally.”
***
“I don't know what's up with him,” Sharon muttered as she made some notes on a chart in the office, “but whatever it is, he's in fine form tonight. Some of the words that come out of that old man's mouth... Well, they'd make the Devil blush, I'm sure.”
“He's always been difficult,” Nurse Olona pointed out.
“Not like this.” Pausing, Sharon turned to him. “You know what I think? I think the stroke did more damage than anyone noticed. I think there's some serious missed connections in the old fart's head.” She sighed. “Then again, what do I know? I'm just a nurse, like you. I'm sure the doctors know what they're doing.”
“As if,” Olona muttered with a smile. “Odds are, they're just -”
Before he could finish, the lights flickered for a moment, threatening to leave the office in darkness before finally coming back to life.
“That keeps happening tonight,” Olona pointed out. “Someone needs to check the wiring in this place, 'cause I swear, it's getting worse. Do we even have a back-up generator?”
“Officially,” Sharon replied, heading to the door, “we've got two.”
“Unofficially?”
“Unofficially we ain't got squat,” she added, heading out into the corridor.
“Figures,” Olona muttered, turning to the desk and adding some remarks to one of the files. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a figure entering the office, but he didn't immediately look up. “Forget something?” he asked. Hearing no reply, he turned, only to find that there was no-one nearby. “Huh,” he continued, looking back down at the file. “There's something else that keeps happening tonight. We'll be lucky if -”
Before he could finish, the lights flickered off again, and this time they stayed off.
“Uh-huh?” Olona said after a moment, waiting in the darkness. “Seriously?”
Heading to the door, he leaned out into the corridor and saw nothing but darkness. He waited for a moment, before hearing footsteps nearby and turning to find that Sharon was making her way carefully toward the office, feeling her way along the wall so as to avoid bumping into anything.
“What did I tell you?” she muttered, clearly annoyed. “Time to check on the patients and make sure everyone's okay. And someone's gonna have to go down and check on the generator, find out what's causing this. I guess that'll be my job.”
As she and Olona made their way into the office to grab some equipment, neither of them noticed a group of figures lumbering slowly along the dark corridor, heading for one of the rooms at the far end.
***
Sitting on his bed with his suitcase on his lap, Thomas Clay Lacy watched the door and saw dark figures starting to arrive in the corridor outside.
His victims had finally come for him.
Part Seven
Crashing Down
Chapter Twenty-Nine
“I don't see anything,” Sharon muttered into her phone a short while later, as she reached the bottom of the stairs and looked both ways along the corridor. “Are you sure the generator room's down here?”
“No,” Olona replied, on the other end of the line, “but I can't find Nurse Winter anywhere to ask. Just keep looking.”
Sighing, Sharon cut the call and slipped her phone away, before shining the flashlight both ways and then deciding to take the left turning, for no reason other than that she figured she had to start somewhere. Passing various rooms in the old part of the building, she tried to work out what she'd do if he even found the generators, since anything more complicated than a simple on and off switch would probably be a little too much to figure out. In fact, she even -
Stopping suddenly, she realized she could hear a faint banging sound from one of the nearby rooms.
She turned, shining the flashlight toward the opposite wall until she saw an open door. Taking a couple of steps forward, she peered through and saw a sign on the wall:
DANGER:
HYPERBARIC CHAMBER
AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY
Listening for a moment, she realized the banging sound was sporadic, but that it definitely seemed to coming from inside the room. She pushed the door open and shone the flashlight inside, and the banging stopped immediately. Over on the far side of the room, the large hyperbaric pressure chamber stood in darkness.
“Hello?” she called out, although she immediately felt foolish. She knew full well that there couldn't be anyone down there, and that the sound had most likely been a rat or some other creature that had found its way into the hospital.
And then, slowly, she realized there was another sound in the room.
A faint but steady creak, accompanied by an almost imperceptible metallic vibration that came and went every few seconds.
“Hello?” she said again.
Unable to see anything that wasn't picked out by her flashlight, she stepped forward and looked around. The room itself was mostly bare, with just the large chamber having been left behind. As she edged closer, the flashlight reflected off the chamber's dark window, picking out a series of scratches on the other side of the glass. Tilting the flashlight slightly, she peered into the chamber and saw to her surprise that the interior was filled with some kind of ash, as if there had been a fire inside. Figuring that the place clearly hadn't been cleaned properly after it was abandoned, she made his way along the side of the chamber, trying to find the source of the persistent creaking sound.
When she reached the far end, she shone the flashlight at the chamber's large metal door and saw that the access wheel was wobbling slightly, causing the creaking sound as it slowly turned.
“What the...”
She stepped around to get a better look, but the wheel was clearly turning, even though no-one was touching it. Reaching out, she hesitated to disturb anything, before figuring that since the chamber was inactive, there could be no harm. Grabbing the wheel, she held it still, but she could feel some kind of force still trying to make it turn, apparently from the inside of the chamber. Letting go again, she trained the flashlight on the wheel and watched as it continued to turn, protruding further and further in the process until the locking mechanism could be heard disengaging, at which point the wheel slowed and then came to a halt.
She stood in silence for a moment.
Finally, there was another faint bump from inside the chamber, and the door began to creak open. Taking a step back, Sharon watched as the door swung slowly to the side, allowing her to see into the dark chamber. Fragments of ash began to drift out, and as she stepped forward and shone her flashlight inside, she saw what appeared to be particles of fabric, accompanied by a foul smell that indicated something had been burned. She swung the flashlight around, before holding it still and reaching into the chamber to pick up something small and white that was glistening among the ash. As she examined the item, which seemed to be a piece of bone, she gradually became aware that there were more such pieces a little further to one side. Turning, she saw that several of the pieces were close together, and slowly she began to realize that someone was watching her.
She looked to the other side of the chamber.
A burned, skeletal face stared back at her from the darkness.
“What the hell?” she whispered, convinced that it had to be a trick of the light. She leaned closer. “What
in God's -”
Before she could get another word out, the skull screamed as an ashen figure lunged at her and bit down hard into the side of her neck.
***
Leaning on her crutches, Elly made her way slowly across the dark room until she reached the corridor. As she leaned through the doorway, she saw that Nurse Olona was ushering several patients toward the main door at the far end.
“What's happening?” Elly called out. “Why are all the lights off?”
“The generators are all down,” Olona replied, clearly not amused by the situation. “Nurse Winter wants me to get all the patients out of the building so they can be shipped off to another hospital. Until we've got the power back up, we can't keep anyone here. The Overflow might be known for cutting corners, but even we can't get by without electricity.”
“Where's Sharon?”
“Trying to fix the power.”
“But -”
“I'll be back to get you in a moment,” he added. “Just stay put, and for God's sake don't go messing up the system, okay?”
Watching as Olona led Mr. Anderson and Mr. Burrows to the door, Elly paused for a moment before realizing she could hear a voice coming from one of the other rooms. Still using her crutches, she struggled along the corridor until she reached the door to Mr. Lacy's room, at which point she saw to her surprise that he was cowering in his bed with his right arm covering his eyes.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
No reply.
“Mr. Lacy -”
“Leave him be,” Kirsten said suddenly, putting a hand on Elly's shoulder from behind. “He's had this coming for a long, long time.”
“What do you mean?”
“Don't you see them?”
“I...” Elly paused, before turning to her. “What do you mean?”
“Well, that's a disappointment. I would have thought you might be able to see such things unaided by now. Still... Do you have your phone with you?”
“My phone?”
“Give it to me.”
Confused, Elly reached into her pocket and pulled her phone out. “What's wrong with Mr. Lacy? Should we -”
“Mr. Lacy has been a very naughty boy,” Kirsten replied, snatching the phone and tapping the screen, causing it to light up, “for a very long time. Have you ever heard of the Sobolton serial killer?”
“Should I have?”
“Only if you read the right websites. The Sobolton killer is a nickname applied to a series of murders that have taken place in and around the Sobolton area over the past fifty years. Eleven of the cases have been linked to one another by DNA evidence, but the police have long suspected that the killer is responsible for around forty deaths. They're wrong, of course. The true figure is more like eighty.” She smiled. “One man, killing more than once a year for so long, yet evading capture all that time. When the true story eventually gets out, the police will have a lot of questions to answer. I mean, I was able to piece it all together, so why weren't they? Then again, perhaps I have a gut feeling for such things.”
“Why are you telling me this?” Elly asked. “What does this have to do with -” Suddenly realizing the implication, she looked over at Mr. Lacy. “No,” she said firmly. “No way, he's not -”
“His victims come from all over the country,” Kirsten replied, interrupting her. “Some of them have had to walk a very long way to get here tonight.”
Elly shook her head. “No, this isn't possible.”
“Some people can see ghosts with the naked eye,” Kirsten added, “but most can't. Fortunately, different types of light can be useful, and one of the best types comes from the screen of a mobile phone. Not a flashlight app, you understand. Just the basic screen of a certain model. Some types of ebook reader work the same way, but smartphones are the most effective.” She examined Elly's phone for a moment. “This should do nicely,” she continued, handing it back to her. “Hold the screen up. I dare you.”
“Why?”
“Because then you'll see them.”
Pausing for a moment, Elly felt certain that the whole thing was some kind of trick. Nevertheless, she felt a degree of nausea in her belly as she slowly raised the phone, and then she gasped as she saw that there were several figures standing right in front of her in the dark room, looking toward the bed. They were barely visible, but the light from the phone's screen seemed to fall on them in just the right way to let them be seen in the otherwise dark room. Instinctively she lowered the phone again, and now the figures were gone.
“Don't be a coward,” Kirsten said firmly. “It doesn't suit you.”
Grabbing Elly's arm, she raised it again, and this time the light from the phone's screen picked out a dozen or so more skeletal figures standing in the room. Raising the phone even higher, Kirsten revealed that the room was full of spectral figures, all of them crowding around Mr. Lacy as he sobbed and covered his eyes on the bed. The screen's light was only effective for about half a meter, but as Kirsten moved Elly's hand around, it became clear that there were more and more of the spectral figures.
“Each one of these women was murdered,” Kirsten explained, letting go of Elly's arm. “Thomas Clay Lacy lured them in and killed them over the years. Their bodies were usually either dumped or buried in unmarked graves, but their spirits haunted the places where they died. A couple of them even had babies, but he showed no mercy. Each one of them deserves justice.”
“This can't be real,” Elly whispered, still holding the phone up as she stared at the figures. Some had patches of skin left on their bodies and large, violent wounds, while others were mostly skeletal. One was carrying a dead child in her arms. “It's a trick.”
“Look behind you,” Kirsten said with a smile.
Turning, Elly saw nothing, but when she held the phone up she gasped as she saw more figures approaching the room, briefly visible in the light from the screen as they walked past.
“They're still arriving,” Kirsten explained, grabbing Elly's hand and forcing her toward the bed. “Each and every one of them has a very good reason for wanting to see this man suffer. They're waited a long time for him to face the true horror of his actions. All across the country, his victims have been rising up and walking to this hospital. Somehow they seemed to know when to arrive.”
“But...” Turning, Elly saw the horrified dead faces of the figures all around her, although they were only visible in the light cast by her phone's screen. As she turned again, some of the faces fell back into darkness with others came into view.
“Hello, Mr. Lacy,” Kirsten said, stopping at the foot of the old man's bed. “How are you doing today? Are you your usual combative self, or are you feeling a little 'off' right now?” Spotting the ghostly figure of a nurse among the others, she smiled. “Do you see her, Elly? That's Priscilla Parsons, Thomas Lacy's very first victim. He killed her right here on the hospital grounds, shortly after his mind had been damaged. After that, he found that killing women was the only way to silence the voice in his head. There's something deliciously poetic about the fact that he's ended up here tonight. Of course, I must take some of the credit.”
“No,” Elly whispered, still looking at the faces of the ghosts all around her. “Please, whatever you're doing...”
“I'm breaking him,” Kirsten replied. “Mr. Lacy and I have something in common, and I want to push his madness to its natural conclusion so I can see what happens. If I'm right, he's going to be very useful to me.”
Hurrying around the bed, Elly looked down at the old man and saw that his whole body was trembling. None of the monitors were working, but she felt certain that his readings must be off the scale. “We can't leave him like this,” she stammered, turning to Kirsten. “He's going to have another heart attack!”
“Maybe,” Kirsten replied with a nod. “That's definitely one possibility.”
“Why are you doing this to him?” Elly shouted. “What's wrong with you?”
“Thomas Lacy is the key,” Kirsten e
xplained. “He'll help me to understand the signal at Lakehurst.”
“Where?”
“You'll see soon enough. All the pieces are coming together, and it's time to hit the road. I finally found out what happened to Annie Radford. I'd hoped to speak to the woman herself, but I'll have to make do with her grave. Still, I'm confident that I'll find what I'm looking for, and I suppose I should have guessed that she'd be buried back at Lakehurst. That's where all the roads seem to be leading.”
“You're insane,” Elly replied, taking a step back. “None of this is real! You're making it all up!”
“Do you really think so?” Reaching into her pocket, Kirsten pulled out a phone. “I should warn you that I have a tendency to make explosive exits. Middleford Cross is a disgrace, it should never have been allowed to operate. Fortunately, I've seen to it that the local media is about to find out about the place. I'm going to bring Middleford Cross crashing down in flames.”
“But -”
“Literal flames,” Kirsten added with a smile. “That's why I shut off the power and evacuated the patients. I need to bury someone who's down in the basement, and I figure dropping an entire hospital on her head should do the trick. Hopefully, anyway. She's probably taken a different form by now, and I imagine she's already working on a way to get out of that chamber. Fortunately, I don't need to stop her completely, only delay her. All I need to do is activate the explosives.”
Elly shook her head.
“Come on,” Kirsten continued, taking hold of the bed and starting to wheel it to the door. “I need your help, Elly. As soon as you first walked through the door, I realized you'd be useful. I think Mr. Lacy is nicely crushed by now, his mind should be all sorts of damaged so it's time to get out of here.” She turned to Elly. “Come on!” she shouted. “I don't have time to stand around!”
“I'm not going anywhere with you,” Elly replied, shocked by the idea. “Are you insane? I mean, obviously you're insane, but...” She paused, before tapping the screen on her phone. “I have to call the police. None of this -”