Demons In My Bed

Murder

Lilly’s eyes grew wide and she knew she had to calm the woman down. “Miss Undergrove, please-”

“No! Tell me now!”

Ferrow could feel the rage bubbling up inside of her like a tea kettle. She had reached her boiling point and could almost hear the imaginary whistling to signal she was ready to blow. In a fit of rage, the young woman started ripping away the various wires and leads running to her body from the machines monitoring her. The last one was her IV and she nearly went unconscious from the pain as soon as she ripped it out, but she was now free. Over the next few moments, everything felt like a blur. All she could hear was the desperate pleading and screaming of her nurse as she wrapped her IV line around her neck and pinned her to the wall. How she had gotten from her spot on the bed to the nurse so quickly was a mystery.

Ferrow was dead inside. Whatever happened to her almost nine years ago had broken something deep within. “Tell me now,” she hissed as she squeezed the line around her neck tighter, cutting off oxygen and any ability to respond. Once electric blue eyes had seemed to go darker in her fit of rage, locked onto the woman's face desperately searching for answers.

“Miss Und...”

Lilly was slowly losing consciousness and it only enraged her more. Repeatedly she began slamming the woman's head into the wall behind her while tightening the IV around her neck.

“Tell me what the f**k happened, now!” she demanded. One final slam of her head against the wall and Lilly’s head started to bleed. Her eyes had gone lifeless a few moments ago, but Ferrow was too enraged to notice.

Finally noticing what she had done to her nurse, she slammed her body one more time into the wall and watched it slump to the floor. She’s dead... I killed her. Looking down at her trembling hands, Ferrow had no idea what to do now. More nurses suddenly came bursting through the door to see what all of the noise was about, only to be stopped dead in their tracks by the gruesome scene before them. Lilly was lying on the floor in a puddle of her own blood, eyes wide open but unconscious and unresponsive. One of the nurses rushed to her side to check her vitals while another took off back down the hall screaming for help. The third nurse that had entered started to walk slowly towards Ferrow like he was going to try and stop whatever was about to happen next. With arms reached out, he attempted to restrain the patient.

It didn’t work. Ferrow knew exactly what was about to happen and felt the adrenaline inside of her spike again. “No!” she screamed and her left had quickly shot out and connected with the man’s nose. It was just enough of a jar to throw him off so that she could slip past him and out into the hall. Everyone was staring at her deranged self and she could see a group of security guards rushing her way.

“Stop right there!”

There was no stopping her though. She bolted off in the opposite direction and down the hallway. She had no idea where she was going, only that she needed to find an elevator or stairs so that she could escape.

A few moments later, she came bolting around a corner and spied the open doors of an elevator getting ready to close.

“Stop! Stop! You need help. Come back!”

The guards were screaming after her and gaining ground quickly. With no time left to spare, she barely managed to slip into the elevator before the doors closed behind her, blocking the guards from her capture and ensuring her escape. Taking a deep breath, she leaned back against the metal walls and looked at her reflection for the first time.

She could barely recognize herself. Over the years, her hair had grown out to its natural dark brown color and all of the blue had faded out, and it was now cascading down her back until just above her hips. Her body was as thin as a rail and pale, which made her look like a ghost of her former self. The only thing that remained the same after all these years were her electric blue eyes, so deep and full of emotions. Even her face had become incredibly thin and pale. Looking down at her skeleton hands, she felt the elevator suddenly jerk and begin to move despite her never having pushed the button. Someone else had summoned a ride, and now she was going up instead of down. She had been distracted by her reflection long enough and still needed to find a way to escape.

Ding!

Once the elevator reached the 5th floor, it stopped and she sucked in a deep breath. She needed to be ready to bolt at any moment in case it was the guards on the other side of those doors. Preparing her body, she took a sprinting position and cautiously waited for the doors to open and release her once more.

No one is going to stop me. No one.

The elevator doors opened, revealing an empty hallway lined with a few plants, some slightly modern couches and little end tables, a few vending machines and some doors that looked like offices. At the end of the hallway, she could clearly see a door marked Emergency Roof Exit with a caution sign warning that by opening the door it would set off the fire alarms. Perfect. Ferrow bolted down the corridor towards her escape and launched herself at the emergency exit.

BEEP! BEEEP!

As soon as her frail body made contact with the door, flinging it open, the fire alarms and sprinklers began wailing and raining down everywhere.

Smack. Smack. Splash. Squish.

The sound of her bare feet on the stairs as she rushed to freedom echoed in the empty staircase, adding to the orchestra of alarms, sirens, and falling water. It was cleansing to have the water washing away nine years of prison that clung to her skin. Her thin little hospital gown she had been wearing tied around her started to stick to her skeleton figure and her hair kept cascading down into her face like a heavy mop. Finally, she reached the second door at the top of the stairs leading out to the roof and she stopped. What am I going to do on the roof? Jump? Sucking in a deep breath, she hesitated only a moment longer before shoving it open and rushing out to freedom.

It was pouring down rain and the thunder echoed off in the distance around her. Now what. She was free, but at what cost? Trapped again in another prison with a different threat and few options. This was supposed to be a fire escape so there had to be a way down, right? Right!

Pitter. Pitter. BOOM! Holy f**k I almost died!

She jumped at the sound of thunder crashing again, a little closer this time. Making it to the edge of the building, she could see different inflatable slides being used by patients and staff from various floor windows. What have I done? In a way, she felt bad, but in a way, she also needed to disappear as quickly as possible. I mean, she did just kill someone.

I’m a killer. What the f**k happened to me!?!

The urge to break down into tears and fall apart was quickly shattered by the sound of another large, closer crashing boom of thunder and a spiderweb of blue and purple lightning across the sky. Local authorities had already started arriving at the hospital before her rooftop escapade, and security was already making its way out and onto the lawn of the hospital grounds. A few more minutes of surveillance of possible slides for escape, Ferrow narrowed in on one that was off to the side of the hospital on the West wing and would put her in an alley next to some dumpsters. Perfect.

Another deep breath and she steadied herself on the edge of the building, preparing to jump. Holy s**t, this is five stories! Anxiety suddenly overtook her entire body, frozen like a deer in the headlights. She could either jump to safety or be hit head-on by the 5-ton semi coming her way. More lightning and thunder crashed around her again and she closed her eyes, exhaled, and fell forward.

In that moment she was free like a little bird again. Soaring through the air before making contact with the wet inflatable slide. Thwack. Sobering reality reminded her this wasn’t over just yet. After a clumsy slip and slide down five stories of terror, there she was sprawled out half naked and soaking wet in a little hospital gown next to some trash in a dirty alley way with burning rock rash all over the left side of her body. I should have just turned myself in.

It was too much for her weak body to take. Once again, her eyes started to flutter and the world around her began fading in and out. Pouring rain and thunder crashed down harder now that the storm had finally blown in with full force.

No...