Lies In The Darkness

Chapter One

"Abby Melrose?"

All she could do was sit there in the waiting room of the Alaska Regional Hospital in Anchorage. Her thoughts were mixed together as she ignored the nurse trying to get her attention. Ever since she had sat down, she was listening to everything.

Everything.

Abby listened to the pattern of the rain beating against the window. The thunder was scarce and the lightning had stopped. The sun was hidden behind balls of dark clouds. Her eyes danced around the room and she spotted the bathroom where a tiny boy was having trouble opening the door. A baby was crying in the waiting room while a mother tried her best to push his pacifier back into his slobbery mouth.

Ever since her skin had begun it's change, she had been trying to see the doctor as soon as possible. The problem was, the only good doctor in Anchorage was Dr. Caitlin. Seeing her was hard. She was constantly booked with patients.

Yes, her skin was changing. Everyday she would wake up and notice her the hairs on her arm growing dark. She could feel her skin tightening and her muscles hurting. The muscles hurting was probably the worst pain she felt.

Stranger things were happening. Her sense of smell was so well, she could smell the sweat of others across the room at the gym. Her hearing was intense- Intimate conversations in the lobby where she worked, discussions about affairs, and comments made towards her. Her taste was superb. Everything tasted different. Strawberries were sweeter, steak was saltier, and wine appealed to the thirst.

"Abby Melrose?"

Abby's head shot up and she looked up to the nurse holding a clipboard, anxiously looking around. With a slight embarrassment, she grabbed her purse and stood before everyone in the waiting room. She joined the nurse's side.

"Hi, how are you?" The nurse asked her with a smile she had to show to every patient. Abby wondered if nurses truly cared how they were.

"I'm fine."

The nurse led her down the hall to room 232. "Have a seat." She said. Abby looked around the doctor's room. There were usual eye charts, pictures of the heart, tips to keeping your health, and the flu symptoms. The floor was tiled a gray, purple, and sea green; the walls a custom white. There was a cabinet stuck the wall with a counter below. The nurse washed her hands as she waited for Abby to take a seat on the high, sea green clothed table.

Abby took a seat on the table, nervously looking around. "Miss Melrose," the nurse said, "What seems to be the problem?"

"Shouldn't I be telling the doctor this?" Abby smartly asked.

"Well, I'm here to write down what's wrong. Now - what's wrong?"

Abby cleared her throat. "Lately...the hairs on my arms have become darker."

"That doesn't seem to be irregular. Maturing people get darker hair."

"No!" Abby snapped. "This happened over a period of three days. My skin aches and my muscles are painful. Lifting a bottle of water hurts. I go to the gym and I can't even work out."

"Do you work out regularly?" The nurse asked.

Abby shook her head. "A few times a week."

"It may be possible you pulled a muscle. Do you lift weights?"

"Yes."

The nurse pulled out the blood pressure badge. She strapped it around Abby's arm, curiously looking at the arm hairs. The nurse "mhm"ed to herself as she wrote down her blood pressure.

"What?" Abby asked.

"Sorry?"

"Well...is there something wrong with my blood pressure?"

"Your blood pressure is just a little irregular but nothing to worry about."

"What is it?"

The nurse said, "125 over 80."

"Is that...normal?"

"Well, the 125 is prehypertension. But that could be because you are nervous." The nurse suggested.

"Right, right..."

"Well," the nurse said as she opened the door, "I'm going to go get the doctor. She'll be here shortly." The nurse slipped out of the room.

"Prehypertension..." Abby slowly said. Hypertension was high blood pressure. Prehypertension was an early stage of high blood pressure. This all made sense. With all of the changes Abby was going through, of course she had a little abnormality in blood pressure.

Abby's head suddenly shot up and her eyes froze. Her eyes were the only thing that was focusing.

"Her hair is growing dark and her muscles ache. I think she thinks something is wrong. But I'm sure it's just a pulled muscle."

That was the nurse telling the doctor what Abby had told her.

The door knob turned and Dr. Caitlin waltzed in. She was a lanky person with straight, dark blonde hair to her shoulder and piercing blue eyes. Her lashes were messy with mascara. Her blue eye shadow was sprinkling into her lashes. Her lips were painted a faint peach. She was dressed in a murky green blouse and black pants followed by a doctor's coat.

Dr. Caitlin smiled. "Miss Melrose, how are we today?"

"I'm fine."

"Nurse Aprils tells me that your muscles are in pain. She's sure it's just a muscle sprain. When did you begin feeling the pain?"

"Um," Abby thought, "About two weeks ago."

"Did you work out around that time?"

"I...I can't remember. I went to the gym and lifted a weight and I felt a terrible pain in my arm muscles. Dr. Caitlin, something is wrong. I'm so sure it's not a sprained muscle."

"Well, why don't I feel you muscles." She waltzed over to Abby and felt her arms. "They feel fine." She pressed on her arms.

"Ouch!" Abby yelped.

"Okay, I'm going to prescribe some pain medications for you, alright? See how it treats you."

"Wait, that's it? Pills? What about my arms? Why are they dark? It just doesn't make sense. It happened the same time my muscles began to ache. Dr. Caitlin-"

"Miss Melrose, sometimes hair gets dark. You're getting older."

"I'm twenty." Abby reminded her.

"Hence the getting older," Dr. Caitlin said, "Why don't we run some x-rays on your arms? If it's not a sprain or a pulled muscle, then we'll do some more tests."

"Okay. X-rays. Good." Abby said.

"Nurse Aprils will take you to the x-ray room. I'll take a look at them and give you a call as soon as possible."

"Fine then."

"Alright. Is there anything else I can help you with?"

Abby shook her head. "No."

"Okay. I'll see you later then. Have a nice day." She passed her a prescription for the pain pills and left Abby alone in the room until Nurse Aprils returned to leave her to the x-ray room.

Nurse Aprils took the x-rays, which appeared normal to Abby. Abby knew nothing would appear. Something was wrong though. She could feel it in her gut.

"The doctor will give you a call telling you your results in the next few days. In the mean time, take it easy. Maybe your muscles are just strained from your exercise."

"Yeah," Abby said sarcastically, "That's it." She left the hospital in a disappointed rush. She didn't run through the rain. She basically ignored the rain. It soaked her clothing as she walked towards her silver Waltwagon Jetta. She hoped in and as she cranked the car...

She noticed it was raining.