Mister Thirteen

STASIS

The doctor glanced at his clipboard briefly, then looked back up to Delilah,”Twenty-eight days.” He said flatly. The nurse released hold of Delilah and stepped back, turning to the doctor,”I heard her scream just as I was coming into the room Doctor Phillips.” The doctor stepped closer to the end of Delilah’s bed, his aged face held a look of slight concern.

“Are you in severe pain?” Asked the Doctor,”Is something bothering you?”

“She seemed to have been having a nightmare, Doctor.” The nurse said.

“A nightmare?” The Doctor questioned the nurse, his face now hardening with inquiry. The nurse nodded sheepishly as he stared at her. He then looked to Delilah, his face like stone, his brow furrowed.
After a minute he exhaled heavily and then stepped around to Delilah’s right side.

“Is that true, Miss,” he asked,”were you having a nightmare, or are you in harsh physical pain? Please be completely honest with your answer.” He finished sternly.

STASIS

“Miss Stevens!” Came a frantic voice,”Are you alright?”
It was the nurse from before. She was standing just inside the door, which was standing open. The young dark-haired nurse had a frightened expression on her face as she rushed over to Delilah’s bedside. Her eyebrows were arched upward and her forehead mottled in lines of worry. She clasped Delilah’s shoulder gently with both hands. The room was the same as before, the nightstand, the small end table with the assorted gifts, the single burning light above. Then there was the overhead clock, which stated the time as 8:05 A.M.

“Are you alright?” Repeated the nurse still grasping Delilah’s shoulder, her voice was calmer but her concern lingered. “Excuse me.” Came a lower pitched male voice. Standing in the open doorway was a doctor, an older man with a Snow White beard and hair, which was receding back across his head. He held a clipboard before him and a black pen perched on his right ear. He was initially looking at the nurse, then his gaze drifted toward Delilah. His face lit up and he lowered the clipboard to his right side. “Miss Stevens,” He chirped, pushing the door shut behind him,”welcome back!”

He briskly crossed the room, taking long, broad steps. “How are you feeling?” He asked as he approached her bedside.

STASIS

The light flickered again, going dark for only a minute before returning.
The cloaked figure was now closer, roughly five feet away from Delilah. The light flickered again, darkening and then returning. The malicious being was now face to face with Delilah, hardly two inches from standing nose to nose with her. It’s ghoulish face stared back into her own. It’s moon-like eyes seemed empty and hollow, yet beheld a certain darkness within. It’s grayish skin was leathery and looked decayed, and yellowed teeth could be seen between cracked, parted lips.

In remained silent, leering back at her, cold and unmoving. The light began flickering again but only slightly, never completely darkening the room.
The figure moved suddenly. It raised its right up upward in a jerking motion.
It held it’s right hand out palm-up before it, a boney, clammy looking hand with long skinny fingers. It was then that the strange entity smiled slightly.
The corners of it’s mouth turned upward slightly, it’s cheeks riveting with crooked dimples.

It suddenly grabbed her. It’s right hand lurching upward and grabbing her throat tightly in a cold, deathly grip. It’s long fingers squeezed tightly as it remained stiff and smiled leerily at her.

STASIS

It drew closer, that cold, angry presence that seemed to be following Delilah. It was near a climax, the unseen energy seemed to be swirling around Delilah, closing in around her from the surrounding walls in her room. Whatever the source of this maliciousness was, it was approaching, seemingly from every direction. It was at that moment, with a sharp fizzing of electricity, the light in Delilah’s room failed. There she sat, surrounded in total blackness.

The darkness held. The cold, sinister force was stronger than ever, as if some unseen demon was embracing Delilah, wrapped around her in an unforgiving hold. Then it came again, a sharp fizz of electricity, and the light returned to function barely, providing just enough light to illuminate the room. But this was not for the better. Because standing there in front of Delilah, towering before her in the way of the door, stood a dark and gloomy figure. Its face dead and it’s body shrouded in a black robe and cowl.

+

It glared at Delilah with milky eyes, it’s face twisted into a sneer of hate. It was without saying that whatever this male-like apparition of death was, it was the source of the dark aura that plagued Delilah’s mind and surroundings. It stood still and unmoving, seemingly paralyzed in place yet alive and active.

STASIS

The nurse had turned and was briskly heading back down the hall, toward the light. Her long black ponytail swinging behind her once more as she took short, quick steps. The rustling of her scrubs becoming distant as she faded within the light, becoming a simple shadow in it's cast glare once more. It was at that moment that the unpleasant happened.

A shrill, ear-splitting pitch broke through the quiet hallways. Not that of a human or animal, but the unpleasant sharpness of a whistle or radio equipment. The high-pitched sound was intense within the ears of Delilah, so much that it effectively altered the surroundings into a blur as it drilled into her eardrums. The unpleasant sound lasted for roughly ten seconds before suddenly stopping, screaming within her mind with a vengeance.

As the shrill noise stopped, the surrounding area had changed. The bright light at the hall's end was gone, the entire corridor once more enveloped in darkness. The nurse was gone, and no sound could be heard from the hallway's length. The only remaining light was that within Delilah's room, just as things had been before the nurse returned. The heavy ominous presence from earlier seemed to have strengthened, the entire hallway now warped with a strange and unpleasant aura, as if something angry and unseen was stalking through the darkness.

STASIS

As the footsteps continued, their direction was finally revealed. They were in fact coming from the direction of the light. They were somewhat fast-paced, but not hurried nor frantic. They seemed to be closing in, whomever it was was quickly approaching upon Delilah.

It was then that a shadow could be seen. Or rather the shadowy silhouette of someone walking down the hallway in Delilah’s direction. It was a woman, as could be seen from the height and shape of the approaching figure. As they closed in on Delilah, the mysterious figure was revealed as the nurse from earlier. Her long black pony tail swung against her back as she briskly approached Delilah, her blue scrubs rustled together. In her right hand she carried a tall clear plastic cup filled with water.

Her face held a stern and rather cold expression, her blue eyes pierced into Delilah’s as she came to face her. “And just what are you doing out in the hall,” she demanded rather harshly,”you should be in bed getting your rest.”
She stood before Delilah now, still and unmoving.

“The doctor can’t see you yet I’m afraid,” she said,”there have been some difficulties. Here, take your water and get back in your room Miss Stevens.”
She extended the plastic cup outward to Delilah, her face stern and somewhat demanding.

STASIS

It was then in that sudden moment that a single light suddenly came to life. At the far end of the hallway to Delilah’s left, a single ceiling light could be seen, casting away the darkness around it. This lone beacon shone at the hallways’ end, which was a good sixty feet ahead of Delilah.

The entire hallway held an ominous presence. It was as if some unseen force or being brooded over the entire length of the corridor, warning Delilah to return to her room. While not threatening nor dangerous, this unseen aura radiated an unsettling mood. It was then that a single sound split through the air, echoing through the hallway’s length. It was the sound of heavy footsteps, though it was unclear which direction they came from, due to the heavy echo that sang across the walls of the hall.

STASIS

The room itself was somewhat empty and bland, even for a hospital room.
There was a small table against the far wall away from the bed. Next to the bed, on the right side, there was a small night table with a simple lamp, which was turned off. The bathroom door stood open and the light was off.
On the small table were several assorted items.
A glass vase of flowers, red roses to be exact, wilted and crumbling. A sealed white “get well” card with a heart on the front, from Delilah’s coworkers. A small white box of assorted chocolates, still unopened and wrapped in plastic. All of these items lay together and were obviously untouched since having been delivered. The digital clock that hung over the door states the time as 7:04 P.M.
There was no sound at all coming from the hall, no voices could be heard, no one walking up or down the hall, not but deathly silence. The only audible sound being the flatlining heart monitor nearby the bed.

STASIS

The nurse nodded as Delilah described how she felt, her face solemn as she listened. When Delilah asked regarding her injuries, the nurse calmly replied,”You suffered a serious concussion Miss Stevens, you were in a coma for the past four weeks in fact.” She briefly paused to allow this news to sink in before continuing,”you suffered several bone fractures and moderately serious cuts across your body. Fortunately, everything seems to be healing up nicely. Excuse me please, I’ll go fetch the doctor and bring you a drink of water as well. The doctor will explain everything.”

The nurse stepped back from Delilah and headed for the door. She passed through and gently closed it behind her as she did when she first entered, leaving Delilah alone with her thoughts.

STASIS

Knock-knock-knock, came a sound at the door, the sound of someone knocking to announce their entry. The door immediately opened thereafter and in stepped a young nurse. She was of average height and had long brunette hair tied into a pony tail. She was of slender build and stood up straight as could be. The young nurse gently pushed the door shut with a sharp click and then slowly approached the hospital bed where Delilah lay.
A short, friendly smile etched across her face as her eyes met Delilah’s face.

“Your awake,” she said, her voice gentle and calming,”this is good news. I’ll go and get the doctor. But first, how do you feel Miss Stevens? Though I suppose that’s a silly question, I still must ask.”

The nurse stood over Delilah looking down at her. She was standing right at the edge of the hospital bed, her arms clasped behind her back as she awaited a response from Delilah.