CURSED; a fear street trilogy

Chapter four: The Hospital

THE HOSPITAL WAS QUIET WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE SOFT MUSIC AND THE NAIL FILE COURSING ACROSS THE NURSE'S NAILS. No one else was there, only the five of us and the nurse at the front desk. It was weird, but it was late so it wasn't unexpected.

Deena hit the bell that sat on the desk, getting the attention of the nurse that clearly didn't want to be there. The nurse handed Deena a clipboard with some sheets. "Fill these out and take a seat." 

"No, I'm just visiting." She told the nurse, pushing the clipboard closer to her.

"Visiting hours ends at nine." The nurse hadn't looked up once, continuing to file her nails.

I cleared my throat, leaning against the desk top, a sweet, innocent smile growing on my lips. "Tell Nurse Beddy she had a patient." That got the nurse to look up from her nails, and soon enough, in walked Beddy.

Beddy wore pink scrubs with a stethoscope around her neck. "Beddy. Long time, how you been?" I asked her, having to look up, smiling.

"See you're still toting around with this moron." She responded, referring to Simon.

Simon held his arms out by his side as though he were presenting himself. "She can't quit me, Beddy. I'm, I'm too pretty." He smiled.

Beddy scoffed.

"Listen," Kate said, getting the nurse's attention to now sit on her. "We need your assistance."

"Im sure that you do, but there happens to be a new security protocol. We kept coming up short on blueberries and bananas. So, now I need a special key-"

"I need to see a patient." Deena cut her off, stepping closer so she was right up in Beddy's face.

Beddy led Deena to Sam's room, leaving Simon, Kate, Josh and I to ourselves. Josh queried the 'blueberries and bananas', Kate telling him what they really meant.

"You want anything from the machine? I'm starving." Kate said, before heading for the vending machine down the hall, the three of us following.

My hands were stuffed into the back pockets of my jeans as we walked, me at the back. I was walking slower, looking through each door window that we passed. You could say I was a tad paranoid still.

Without me noticing, a hand had linked with mine, gently pulling me down the hall with them. By simply looking at our entwined hands, I could tell it was Simon from the painted nails and the rings he wore.

My eyes travelled up his arm and his neck, stopping at his face. He was already looking back at me with a content, somewhat reassuring smile as he walked with me down to Kate and Josh at the vending machine.

"Yo, Si-Money. Cash me." Kate stuck a hand out to Simon for money.

Releasing my hand from his, he shrugged and began searching his pockets. "Don't look at me dude. I'm...I'm...I'm broke."

"Eliza?" She looked to me with hopeful, wide eyes and a half grin.

I shook my head with a sigh. "I got nought on me." I told her with an apologetic expression.

Kate then, as last resort, looked to Josh. "You got any change?" She asked the boy.

Josh looked up at her, caught off guard. "Oh, um.." He awkwardly began searching himself for any spare money he may have had in a desperate attempt to do a favour for the girl he oh so obviously liked.

"Um, uh... um no." He finally answered after basically searching every pocket he had three times. "But, I..." Josh wandered closer to the machine, pressing a couple buttons and voila! All the candy in the thing came tumbling down, landing with a thud.

Josh leant against the machine, smug as a bug with his arms crossed. "What do you want?"

After Josh grabbed multiple hand fulls of candy bars, I grabbed the last twix that he had missed, immediately opening it and biting into one of the chocolate bars. It was slightly melted, but it's not like I was complaining.

"Dude, where'd you learn that?" I asked him, before taking another bite.

"Oh, a lot of people trade hacks online." Josh replied as Kate and Simon took some of the candy from his arms.

"Nerd." Simon commented through a fake cough to cover it up.

Josh was silent for a second, before awkwardly speaking to Kate again. "So, um...when'd you get into the fruit business?" He asked through an awkward cough.

"What?" Kate tilted her head as Simon chewed on semi-melted chocolate.

The blond dope beside me had chocolate covering his fingers, so, doing the only thing he obviously would, Simon decided to poke his fingers at me.

For a short moment, I managed to avoid him, swatting his hands off like flies before he wiped two fingers down my cheek and I could feel the chocolate already beginning to set as I quickly tried to wipe it off with my sleeve.

"Um...the, uh...drugs."

"Oh, that's just temporary. Saving up to get out of here." Kate explained.

"Take me with you."

At Josh's words, my eyes widened and I stifled a laugh, turning my head so as not to embarrass the boy. Simon did instead. He whistled, raising the tone with his hand before imitating a bomb with his hand and making a noise.

A sudden, toe-curling scream bounced off each wall of the hospital, echoing down the corridor. All of our heads turned in the direction.

The double doors at the end of the corridor were pushed open by Sam and Deena, the two exes running through together. "Run!" Deena called out as the two passed us, never appearing to be stopping.

"Did they get back together?" Simon asked as the four of us watched them continue to run away from whatever they believe to be following them.

Running just as quick as Sam and Deena had, the guy in the skull mask from the house ran past Kate, an ear-hurting scream leaving her mouth, much like the one that was echoed through the hospital. 

Simon tightly grabbed my hand in his, and I grabbed Kate's. The three of us ran down the way that Sam and Deena had come from, Josh following closely behind us with the candy falling out of his arms.

Thankfully, we reached the entrance of the hospital unharmed but still nowhere in sight was Deena of Sam.

"Where are the keys? Do you have the keys?" Simon panicked, asking Kate, Josh and I.

Kate turned to look at the three of us after quickly glancing around the hospital. "Come on. The ambulance."

Once we had reached the ambulance, the back doors open, Josh and Simon got in, soon followed by Kate and I. I kept my head peered out, looking for Deena and Sam.

My heart was beating so fast I thought I'd die, I felt like I was dying. My palms were clammy and sweaty as I rubbed my fingers against my hands with my arms and legs shaking like mad. My breathing was rapid and messy, I was unable to control it and I felt like bursting into tears at any moment.

Through the doors of the hospital, the skull mask came into view. I audibly gasped, grasping the attention to the others as they joined me in looking into the hospital front desk. 

Beddy then walked into view, facing the skull mask and ,without hesitation, the knife the guy carried was through Beddy's chin and her now lifeless body fell to the floor as blood never stopped pouring from her body.

My hand instinctively grabbed beside me, strongly clenching Simon's hoodie in my fist. Deena and Sam clambered over the desk, and Simon basically passed my body to Kate who held my arms tightly, for her sake and mine. The blonde boy stepped out of the van a little, calling for the two girls to run and get to the ambulance.

Skull mask had Sam in a strong hold with Deena trying to fight him off of the other girl. With a bite from Sam and a toss from Deena, the two girls managed to get time to sprint to the vehicle and we were immediately driving out of there.