CHAPTER THREE

Walking down the hallway she felt cold so she looked around trying to figure out what caused the reduction in temperature but as she turned around she noticed something strange, she was alone in the hallway. As she kept walking, one of the fluorescent lights tripped off, but Nicole didn't notice it. The second one tripped off too and she still did not notice. Looking forward trying to figure out where everyone had gone, the ground became wet as if there was a water leakage somewhere. She immediately stopped and said "what the hell", she turned around to see where the water was coming from but she finally noticed the two lights that tripped off. As she looked at the lights trying to know what made go off, immediately the third one twitched and tripped off too.

On seeing this she figured something strange was going on. Removing her focus from the lights, she looked at the part of the hallway which was filled with darkness. Staring directly at the darkness, she could see someone standing still in the dark.

"Is someone there?" She asked. "Maybe it's just my mind playing tricks on me" she said to herself as she walked away.

Walking forward, she tried opening the door on her left to check if anyone was inside the room but to her greatest surprise the door was locked "What?!!" Nicole exclaimed. She tried the next one but it was also locked. She kept going forward trying each door but none was unlocked. As she continued she noticed the lights behind her tripped off one after the other . "What the hell is actually going on?" Nicole asked.

The further she went, the more lights tripped off and she became scared. She walked faster in other to save herself from the terror that lurked in the dark but unfortunately she slipped and fell on the ground due to it's slipperiness. She laid down for some seconds because she was a little bit hurt. She got up from the ground afterwards, turned around and all she could see was total darkness. Immediately she heard a mild but horrifying voice saying slowly "you can't run away from me". "Who are you?" She asked the unknown being that spoke from the shadows.

As she moved forward she realized her cloths weren't just wet but it was also sticky and red. There was blood all over her clothes and her body. She looked like someone who had been swimming in a pool of blood. At this point she new something terrifying was going on, so she looked around trying to see who or what was causing the horrifying experience but she couldn't see anything. She cried bitterly as she continued walking down the hallway which seemed endless at this point.

"Oh God No" Nicole said as she saw the last fluorescent light which brightened the hallway a little bit twitching endlessly. She looked at it like it was the last hope she had, praying and wishing it would be on till the horror she faced faded away.

She screamed for help but it was to no avail. "come get peace with me" said the voice. "No!!!" She screamed as she ran towards the light but before she could get there the light tripped off.

She started sobbing and crying in the darkness like a child lost in a dark forest. She could hear the dripping sound of water and the footsteps off a person who was walking towards her.

The closer the person, the faster her heart beat. "Please go away......... please go away" Nicole said to herself repeatedly with her eyes closed because she didn't want to see whatever it was that scared her to death. As she stood still with her eyes closed she could feel the presence of someone standing before her. Her hands and her legs began to shake uncontrollably. Frightened by the unseen person or thing, her entire body became numb and she couldn't breath properly. She opened her eyes slowly with a little bit of courage but when she did, she could only see darkness . Immediately she felt the breath of someone behind her ear and she heard " I'm back" she turned to see who it was and the light turned on immediately but she saw an empty hallway.

She stood still not wanting to turn around to see the darkness and the fearful nature of the hallway. The lights behind her twitched a little and it turned on. Nicole being compelled to look back, took a deep breath and turned around slowly. As she turned around fully the lights switched off again but this time it turned on after some seconds.

When the lights turned on, Nicole immediately saw who tormented her. It wasn't someone unfamiliar but rather someone whom she knew but had tried to forget. "Hey my Love" said the person.

Looking at the person with so much shock and fear she said "impossible".

The person walked before her and said " don't run away my love, I was always with you". Nicole stood still while her brain tried processing how someone who had become a memory could be standing before her. "Nicole....Nicole....Nicole!!!" the person called.

Each time she heard her name it felt like she was trapped in a dream and someone from the real world was trying to wake her up.

Nicole felt the touch of a person from behind and she became afraid but immediately she turned she saw doctor Shamen and everywhere became normal. She saw the doctors and nurses going about their various activities, she could see doctors coming out from the rooms she tried opening earlier. She looked up and the fluorescent lights brightened the hallway. "But they were all bad before. How is this possible?". She looked at herself to see if she was covered in blood but she wasn't . "What the hell happened?"

Turning to her left she saw an elderly looking man who seems to be the janitor with earphones on humming as he mopped the ground. Nicole walked away from Doctor Shamen like he wasn't even there. "Excuse me, excuse me" she said. She walked closer to him and gave him a tap on the back. "Oh hey nurse Nicole......How may I help you?" the man replied quickly.

"How do you know my name?" Nicole asked.

"I don't know if you know this but your ID is on your shirt" he replied.

"Oh yeah that's right" Nicole said as she looked at her shirt seeing her ID.

He smiled at her and asked "So....How may I be of service?"

"I just wanted to know where the leakage came from?" He looked at her confusingly and asked "what leakage?" Nicole was a little bit shocked by the question and she said "there was water everywhere earlier, I didn't know where it came from and there was no one here to report it too". The janitor looked around searching for the leakage "I'm sorry nurse but I can't see any leakage and as you can see this hallway is perfectly dry and has been that way all day. I'm only here because someone spilled coffee on the ground earlier...... and what do you mean by there was no one here, every room has been occupied with doctors and their patients.

Nicole was quiet after she heard what the Janitor had said. "Are you okay?" He asked. "Yes I am, Thank you". Nicole took a few steps backward because she couldn't understand what was going on. "But I didn't see anyone here earlier" she said to herself silently.

Doctor Shamen stared at Nicole the whole time as she kept talking to herself. He approached her and asked "Nicole are you okay?". Nicole didn't reply because she was still trying to wrap her head around the whole confusing situation she found herself. "Nicole!" Doctor Shamen screamed. She snapped out of her state of confusion as she replied him "Yes Doctor Shamen? ". He looked at her suspiciously trying to figure out what was wrong with her. "Nicole what's wrong?" Doctor Shamen asked. But Nicole being her typical self replied "nothing doctor".

Doctor Shamen sighed, walked up to her and said "look Nicole, I know you don't tell anyone about your problems but sometimes it's good to tell people or at least someone about your problems. You better face your demons or else they'll break out of their cages and consume you". Nicole had a little bit of fear when he said you better face your demons or else they'll break out of their cages and consume you because she knew her demon was already out of it's cage. "No need for all that doctor, I'm good. She smiled at him and asked "Can I help you with something?"

While they spoke nurses and some group of individuals ran in with a patient whose face was covered in blood and the clothes he had on were very wet. "Doctor Shamen we need you in room 102 now" said one of the nurses who rushed in with a patient. Doctor Shamen looked at Nicole and said "come with me now" then he hurriedly walked away with the nurses. Nicole stood still hoping to get a proper glimpse of the patient's face. Although she didn't see his face properly, she was frightened by the situation that took place. "Nicole snapped out of it!!!" Doctor Shamen screamed being a little bit annoyed. "I'm sorry" She apologized when she snapped out of her deep thoughts and hurriedly moved to room 102.