Chapter 8 - The Ghost

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Denton closed the door to his hospital room and paused to steady himself against the wall. He closed his eyes and took a couple of deep breaths. His hands and legs were shaking. All he wanted to do was to go back inside that room, lay down in the bed and go to sleep. His body needed rest, not chase after missing people, much less an interplanetary conspiracy. He knew that, of course, but it was too late for second thoughts now. His mind was made up, and he was determined to see it through. It was his case and he had been through too much just to throw it away. 

He looked up, exhaled forcefully and forced a smile at a nurse that walked by with a concerned look. "I'm alright," he said and waved her off. He gritted his teeth and looked for the nearest exit sign. One step at a time, with one hand on the wall, he walked away from the comfort of his hospital bed. He paused briefly at a hallway corner and made a call for transportation and then continued towards the exit. He wouldn't make it far on foot once he left the hospital, that much he was certain of.

Denton had to stop several times to catch his breath and calm his spinning head. The last thing he needed was to pass out on the floor on his way out of the hospital, just after he had assured his boss that he'd take care of himself. He had no doubt he would be committed to a hospital bed until the doctors saw fit to let him out. That was not an option. Determined to make it out, he kept walking short distances at a time, and after a few wrong turns, the lobby of the hospital loomed vast and cavernous ahead of him. He smiled to himself and let out a sigh of relief. He had made it.

Before he could reach the door, nausea suddenly overcame him. Panicked, he looked around the hallway for a restroom but found none. He stumbled through the closest door he saw and fell to his hands and knees. What little stomach contents he had violently burst out and onto the floor. He collapsed next to the pooling transparent liquid, his body shaking, breathing heavily, his mouth desperate for fresh water.

He turned onto his back, arms stretched out and let his body recover for a few minutes before he struggled up onto his knees and looked around. The room was full of shelves filled with towels, toilet paper, and various other cleaning supply. He was immediately thankful that he had stumbled through the door to a cleaning closet and not an office. Just the thought of collapsing on the floor like he just had in front of dozens of people made him shudder. He grabbed hold of a shelf next to him and pulled himself up on wobbly legs. He noticed a water fountain tucked away between two shelves. It was exactly what he needed. Moments later, he wiped dripping water from his lips with his sleeve. He felt much better.

Denton took a deep breath, exited the closet and headed for the lobby, confidence building as his legs regained their strength. He was about to walk through the front door when he saw the receptionist at a desk by the door. He hesitated briefly and then walked over to her.

"Uh, you may want to get a janitor to clean up that closet," he said with a smile and pointed with his thumb back towards the closet behind him. "It looks like someone had an accident in there. It'll need a bit of cleaning up."

"An accident?" she said. "Oh, alright, thank you. I'll give the maintenance a call." She promptly picked up the phone and dialed a number, her eyes glued to Denton. He smiled and continued out the door. A glance over his shoulder revealed that the receptionist had completed her call and left her desk to check out the closet. He felt sorry for her, but at the same time, he knew he couldn't just leave without saying something.

He walked through the door and embraced the fresh air, greeted by the hustle and bustle of the city. People were coming and going. Cars honked. A gentle breeze was blowing down from the mountains, rustling the leaves of the trees that crowded the plaza in front of the hospital. The faint sound of an approaching ambulance alerted him to the fact that the emergency room would soon be a beehive of activity.

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