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Chapter V. . . The Mind Flayer.
Ziggy had never had much cause to go to the Hawkins Hospital. She'd only ever had one sick relative, her grandma, and she'd died almost immediately upon hospitalization. So no need to go visit her, or anything. And as she stood in the front lobby with Nancy, Ziggy decided she hadn't been missing out on much.
The front counter was sterilized in decoration—plain white paint, chipped and fraying around the edges, a stout woman sitting behind an ancient computer filing her nails. There was a singular pen in a cup on the left of the computer, and no paper to use it on in sight. The receptionist—clearly unmoved by the bouquet of flowers Nancy was cradling—blinked up slowly at the girls, like a lizard.
"Hi!" Nancy said, chipper.
The receptionist grunted. Her scrubs rustled.
"We're here to see Doris Driscoll," Nancy continued, looking to Ziggy and nodding. "I think she was admitted here last night."
"Name and relation?" The woman's voice was as dull and lifeless as her desk.
The receptionist's bored gaze drifted to Ziggy expectantly.
"Christine Holloway," Ziggy informed her with a tight nod. "I'm her daughter. This is my daughter, Nancy."
Nancy tensed up. Ziggy picked up her chin as if trying to challenge the receptionist into questioning her. Finally, after a moment too long of a stare-down, the woman finally gave in, realizing she truthfully did not care enough to intervene. She reached out and pressed a long-nailed finger to a red button, and a loud buzz signified the unlocking of the doors leading to the resident hall.
Ziggy gave the woman another nod, then turned and led the way down the hall.
"What are you expecting to see here, Wheeler?" Ziggy craned her head into the windows of each door they passed as she muttered, but all rooms were vacant, the plain blue hospital beds awaiting a writhing body to comfort.
Nancy shrugged, staring straight ahead until her eyes landed on rom 403 at the end of the hall. She pursed her lips. "Just... anything."
She reached out to the doorknob, but Ziggy extended a hand and stopped her from opening it just yet.
They met eyes. Ziggy's voice was earnest. "You know we're not here on a Hawkins Post matter anymore."
