Never Failed, But I Chased Him Relentlessly

Chapter 6

She wanted to lunge forward and tear that face apart, but her body couldn't move an inch. She could only dig her fingernails viciously into her palms, drawing blood.

"You... animal!" she forced the words through gritted teeth.

"Shh," Celeste pressed a finger to her lips, her smile unwavering. "Don't get so worked up, Valeria. Look how perfect things are now. Your dad is gone, you're paralyzed, and Dominic feels so guilty toward me that he stays by my side every single day. Oh, right, the forensic doctor has finished examining Gerald's body. He's right here in this hospital's morgue. Don't you want to go see him one last time?"

Valeria glared fiercely at her, eyes brimming with monstrous hatred.

Celeste straightened up and seamlessly slipped back into her frail, delicate persona. Raising her voice, she said, "Get some good rest, Valeria. I'll come visit you again another day," before gracefully fluttering out of the room.

Valeria lay there for a long time. Eventually, gritting her teeth, she used her still-mobile right hand to slowly shift her body inch by inch, breaking out in a cold sweat from the excruciating pain with every movement.

Reaching the walker by the wall, she gritted her teeth and dragged herself out of the ward and toward the elevator, step by agonizing step. No one came to her aid; a nurse at the station merely glanced her way, perhaps assuming she just wanted to exercise in the hallway, and paid her no mind.

She took the elevator down to the morgue. A staff member doing paperwork looked up, clearly surprised to see her.

"I... I'm here to see Gerald," she heard her own raspy voice say.

The staff member checked the registry and pointed to a compartment further inside. "Over there, number 107. Go ahead, but don't stay too long. It's cold in there."

Valeria dragged herself over, her trembling hand pulling open the freezing metal drawer. Staring at her father's body, she opened her mouth but couldn't produce a single sound. Her tears finally broke through the dam, large drops spilling over and crashing down.

She cried until she was nearly drained of all strength. After an eternity, she extended a quivering hand, wanting to touch the icy body bag one last time.

Just then, a soft click echoed through the room. The heavy iron door of the morgue had been shut from the outside, followed immediately by the sound of a key turning in the lock.

Valeria stiffened and abruptly whipped her head around. Through the small window on the door, Celeste's face flashed by, wearing an eerie, twisted smile.

"No!" Valeria screamed hoarsely. She lunged toward the door, only to fall from her wheelchair and crash heavily onto the freezing concrete floor. Her cast struck the ground with a dull thud, sending a piercing agony straight to her core. Unable to get back up, she could only slam her hands desperately against the iron door. "Open the door! Let me out! Open it!"

The only response was a deathly silence and a damp chill that seeped straight into her bones. The temperature seemed to drop relentlessly, the frigid air invading her body from the floor and all directions. Dressed only in a thin hospital gown, she was soon shivering uncontrollably, her lips turning purple.

Darkness, freezing cold, and utter silence surrounded her, with her father's icy remains just steps away. Terror and despair crashed over her like a freezing tide, drowning her completely. Curled up by the door, her consciousness began to blur.

An unknown amount of time passed before the sound of footsteps and voices drifted in from the outside.

"Did it sound like something was in here just now?"

"This is the morgue, right? Why is the door locked? Where are the keys?"

The door was finally opened from the outside, allowing light and warmth to spill inside. Several hospital logistics staff and security guards stood at the entrance, staring in shock at Valeria, who was nearly frozen stiff on the floor.

"Hurry! Call for help! There's a patient in here!"

Speechless and shuddering violently, Valeria was quickly helped up by the staff and escorted away from the freezing realm of the dead. Yet, even after returning to the warmth of her ward, she still felt the morgue's bone-chilling frost radiating from the very marrow of her bones.