Catharine's first two days on the job for FedEx had been pretty rocky. She had dropped packages, gotten lost twice, and fallen down a flight of stairs. Still, the job had been a stroke of good luck after a string of terrible disasters. No one wanted to hire a junkie, even an ex-junkie. An old high-school friend she had bumped into at church had pulled some major strings for her. Yes, she had been to church, and how funny was that? But she had a lot to repent for and if she was going to turn this worthless life around, it seemed like a good place to start. Her manager had been the one that had interviewed her, and he had somehow managed to see past her messy dreads and nervous stutter to find someone worth hiring. She was determined to prove him right.
On the third day, when she arrived at College Hospital, she was having a better time with things. The box for the delivery at this address was quite heavy and she made sure to strap it to her little cart correctly. There would be no dropping this one. With her luck, it was probably some cure for an incredibly rare disease and dropping the box would mean a roomful of kids would die. As she weaved her cart through the hospital entrance, her mind came up with more and more incredible items that could be in the box. The last of these was a new liver for the President of the United States, with her screw-up would mean the downfall of modern western civilization.
As she approached the front desk, a nurse noticed her.
"Package delivery," Catharine said in her most professional voice.
"Oh, I bet that's our new coffee machine. Hey Mary, can you show her where to store this?"
"Sure thing." Mary was a tall, good-looking white nurse who had been busy chatting with a handsome doctor. Heck, the pair looked to be right out of some soap opera. Mary waved her over to a nearby elevator and Catharine followed. She struggled to get the box through the door before the elevator doors clamped shut. Can't ruin the coffee maker, doctors need their caffeine. She still had the lives of hundreds of people in her hands. She smiled at the thought.
Mary made no attempt at small talk as the elevator descended one floor, so Catharine kept her mouth shut as well. She figured that was the professional way to go. When the elevator doors opened, Mary stepped out and waved her on.
"This way."
Catharine again struggled with the cart and then followed the nurse down the hall and into a sort of break room. “It’ll be fine in here,” Mary told her.
Catharine began unstrapping the box from the cart, and as she did, she noticed that the nurse was standing far too close to her. It made her uncomfortable but she tried to ignore it.
“Umm, sign here.”
“Of course,” Mary replied, scrawling something on Catharine's data pad. Handing it back, she said, “Now let’s see what we can do with you.” She stepped in closer, lightly brushing Catharine’s cheek with a perfect hand. Her eyes locked with Catharine, looking somehow hungry.
“Look, I don't…” Catharine began to argue.
“Ssssh,” Mary stopped her. Catharine knew she should step back, get away, and yet she couldn't. There was something odd about this woman, something horrible in that perfect face.
She felt a strange panic rising up in her stomach. Some small voice was telling her to flee, but she could not seem to bring herself to run. Suddenly and violently, the nurse grabbed the back of her hair and pushed their mouths together in an awkward kiss. The nurse pushed Catharine's mouth open with her tongue. At last coming awake, Catharine tried to break free, but the nurse's grip was too strong. There was a sound like a wet cough and something slimy filled her mouth! Catharine at last pulled away and started to gag as whatever it was slid down her throat. She fell to the floor, trying to scream as she stared up at the nurse, but couldn’t get any air into her lungs. The nurse stared back, stroking Catharine's hair. Her eyes were perfectly black, as if filled with ink.
“There, there, it will be alright in a minute. Welcome to the family.”
And then she could breathe again, as whatever it was traveled back up past her throat. She did not waste time on screaming and instead struggled to her feet and ran. She moved faster than she ever had in her life, out of the door and down the hall. She collided with a woman on the way, but picked herself up and kept running.
She ran and ran, bursting out of the front doors of the hospital. She charged toward her truck, tearing the key out of her pocket. She slammed the key into place and gunned the engine...and then stopped. What was she doing? She couldn't remember. She shook her head. She must have nodded off for a second. She couldn't be doing that. She had more work to do. She did feel good though. In fact, she felt better than she had in a long time.
Ancient Awakening (The Ancient) Page 5