Shudders

Chapter 22 - The Worry

3 days until the next experimentation...

"Please leave a message for, Blythe Sa-"

    (Y/N) frowned at yet, another straight to voice mail. "Hey Blythe, it's me again. I was just calling to check on you, see if you are getting any better..."

    She stopped when she heard movement coming from inside her friend's room. Before (Y/N) headed to work, she wanted to stop by and see Blythe, hoping she would answer her door if she wasn't picking up her calls. Unfortunately, after a few knocks, the Keeper was met with silence. Either Blythe was getting some rest or she wasn't here... 'But she's sick. Where would she go?'

    (Y/N) went to knock again, thinking Blythe probably woke up, but the door opened to someone she didn't expect. It was Mrs. Kholwa, the head nurse of Castor Labs. The woman was in her late thirties but she could be mistaken for much younger upon first glance. She was an average size thin woman with dark skin, deep brown eyes, and short curly hair that was styled in a pixie cut. Her glasses rested on the end of her nose and she had a piercing above her left eyebrow, her nose, and beneath her lips. A gas mask hanged from her neck which is rather odd for a nurse to have, it looked like the kind the Scientists wore.

    She opened the door and was surprised to see (Y/N) standing there. "Oh, Ms. (L/N)! I didn't expect to see you here."

"I was just checking on Blythe. Is she alright?" Concern laced the Keeper's voice which made Mrs. Kholwa look down. She placed a reassuring hand onto (Y/N)'s shoulder and smiled. "Ms. Sawyer's fever still hasn't gone down so I'm assigned to take care of her for now. I'm sure she'll start getting better by next week, so don't stress too much."

'That's what she said last week...' (Y/N) nodded sadly and moved so the nurse can exit the room. Before the doors could close, (Y/N) caught a glimpse into the room without Mrs. Kholwa seeing and her eyes narrowed at the bed. It was empty... Blythe wasn't there...

    She watched the nurse walk down the hall and debated if she should ask or not. But she had a feeling that she wouldn't get the answer she was looking for...

    Exiting the Keepers Quarters, (Y/N) sighed and continued her walk to the labs. She's been so worried about Blythe the past few days that it's really starting to get to her. She's not picking up her phone, she won't answer the door, Mrs. Kholwa won't let her see her because Blythe has the 'flu', (Y/N) just misses her friend and wants to see for herself if she was alright.

    She pulled out her phone and looked at all the declined calls and unread text messages she sent. The last text she received from her friend was a haunting 'bye' after their last conversation which took place two weeks ago.

"Hey (Y/N)!"

    Her eyes widened and she turned around to see Angel in his uniform walk up to her. He was holding his gun over his shoulder and his helmet covered majority of his face. (Y/N) wouldn't have recognized him if she didn't see his name tag 'Maverick' on his vest.

"Hey Angel."

    The man tilted his head at her dejected tone. It was clear that she was sad about something by the way she looked down and the frown that rested on her face. Angel lowered down to her height, concerned, he's not used to seeing her unhappy like this. "Are you alright?"

    She sighed again and continued her walk with the guard walking beside her. "I'm fine, just worried about Blythe. I haven't seen her in weeks."

"Why? What's wrong with Blythe?" He wasn't close to the redhead like (Y/N) is, but he has noticed she wasn't appearing to work lately.