Chapter 1: The Night Shift
619 Words
The hospital was always different after midnight. The sterile smell of antiseptic seemed sharper, the fluorescent lights hummed a little louder, and the long, empty corridors of the clinic felt less like a place of healing and more like a labyrinth.
Audrey rubbed her eyes, leaning back against the desk at the nurse's station. Her twelve-hour shift was finally winding down. She pulled off her stethoscope, letting it rest around her neck, and sighed. The ward was completely silent except for the distant, rhythmic beep of a heart monitor down the hall.
She pulled out her phone to check the time. 12:34 AM.
An i********: notification popped up at the top of her screen.
Message Request from @shadow_script0:
You look exhausted, Audrey. You’ve been on your feet for nine hours.
Audrey frowned. Her personal account was private, and her handle didn't even include her full name. She tapped the request. The profile had zero posts, zero followers, and a blank black circle for a profile picture.
Probably a bot, she thought, though a small prickle of unease brushed against her neck. She typed back a quick, sharp reply.
Audrey: Who is this? How do you know my name?
The three dots appeared instantly. Whoever it was, they were waiting for her.
@shadow_script0: It's on your badge, sweetheart. Right above your heart. But you should really stop drinking that machine coffee. It’s terrible for your blood pressure.
Audrey’s breath hitched. She looked down at the paper cup of lukewarm hospital coffee sitting next to her keyboard. Her eyes darted up, scanning the empty hallway. The double doors at the end of the corridor were shut. The lobby was empty.
She was completely alone. Or at least, she had thought she was.
Audrey’s heart hammered against her ribs. She gripped the edge of the desk, her eyes darting to the glossy reflection in the dark monitor screen in front of her. No one was behind her.
Determined to prove to herself that this was just a cruel prank by one of the resident doctors, she stood up. The rubber soles of her sneakers squeaked softly against the linoleum floor as she stepped out from behind the nurse's counter.
The hallway stretched out before her, bathed in the eerie, dim night-lights.
“Hello?” she called out, her voice sounding small and fragile in the vast silence of the ward. “Is anyone there?”
No answer. Just the distant hum of the ventilation system. She walked toward the double doors that led to the main lobby, her eyes scanning every shadow, every closed patient room door.
Ping.
The sound of her phone notification was like a gunshot in the quiet corridor. Audrey jumped, nearly dropping the device. Her fingers trembled as she illuminated the screen.
@shadow_script0: Sent a photo.
Audrey tapped the preview. The breath trapped itself in her throat.
The photo was high-resolution, taken from a slightly elevated angle. It showed the back of her head, her dark hair tied up in a messy clip, and her green scrubs. She was walking down the exact hallway she was standing in right now.
But the terrifying part? The photo had been taken from the dark alcove of the supply closet she had just walked past two seconds ago.
She turned around slowly, her eyes locking onto the heavy wooden door of the supply closet. The gap at the bottom of the door was pitch black.
Ping.
@shadow_script0: I told you to go back to the desk, Audrey. You're safe there. Don't make me come out.
- Writer
