Night shift Ghosts

Chapter Four: Nightshift Ghosts

Lincoln was plagued by unanswered questions, the most pressing being his new role at Dr. Cook's morgue center. The job terrified him, and he struggled to understand how others worked so effortlessly in such a grim environment.

His mantra—"The job must be done now or never"—kept him going. Weeks into the role, he still couldn't identify any other motivation.

Two nights ago, his experience had been particularly terrifying. Sleep had become elusive due to recurring nightmares, possibly induced by working night shifts.

One early morning, a strange breeze swept through the morgue. It rustled window blinds and scattered papers. It stopped briefly, only to return with greater force. Alarmed, Lincoln woke his colleague Pete.

"Didn't you feel that?" Lincoln asked.

Pete responded dismissively. "It's just the spirit of a corpse who died young. It's said that souls of those who die untimely deaths wander in frustration."

Lincoln scoffed. "That's just a myth. There's no science behind that."

"Then explain the breeze," Pete challenged.

Before they could continue, an eerie sound, like a peacock's call, echoed from the corpse room. Objects shook violently. A hum followed.

"Oh my God, am I alive or dead?" Lincoln exclaimed.

"Dead men don't talk," Pete replied sarcastically.

Lincoln was terrified. "Should we go and confront the corpse causing this?"

"You haven't seen anything yet," Pete warned. "Ghosts visit this place regularly."

Lincoln fell silent, overwhelmed with fear. His clothes drenched in sweat, he undressed for relief.

"Even Mary handles night shifts better than you," Pete teased.

Lincoln said nothing but silently prayed for dawn. Pete recounted his five years at the morgue, sharing chilling tales of ghostly visits and unexplained phenomena. Lincoln refused to believe it but was clearly shaken.

Dr. Cook hadn't heard from Lincoln in days. He respected the young man for his energy and reliability. The last contact had been when Lincoln collected his salary and benefits.

Lincoln had long hoped to transfer to Dr. Cook's mall. After recent traumatic experiences at the morgue, he became desperate for a change.

He often wondered if Dr. Cook knew about the supposed ghost sightings at the morgue. Surely, he would have addressed it. If he hadn't, perhaps it was all fiction.

Rather than returning home after another horrifying night, Lincoln went straight to Dr. Cook's office. He needed answers and hoped to confirm whether the tales were true or simply hallucinations.

He knew showing up at Cook's home would be unprofessional. The mall was the best place to make his case—and perhaps finally secure the transfer he had always dreamed of.

Lincoln had finally found peace of mind since he started working at the mall. Yet, the latest rumour from the morgue still found its way to him. Dr. Cook, too, couldn't deny hearing it.

Pete, on the other hand, felt nothing could faze him anymore—not after everything he had seen at the morgue. He was somewhat relieved that Lincoln had left before another strange incident occurred. It was almost pathetic to believe that a particular corpse had performed some incredible, inexplicable acts.

Pete's experiences from a few years ago couldn't be dismissed lightly. The most terrifying of all involved a certain corpse who would rise in the middle of the night, give himself a clean shave, and then return to his original place.

At first, the story sounded like pure fiction—until two other employees witnessed something chilling: the entire floor was littered with freshly shaved grey hairs. They were shocked, trembling with fear as they rushed to report the incident to Dr. Cook.

That was the first and last time anything of that nature was officially reported. Every other strange occurrence was quietly handled by Pete, Mary, and another employee who had recently left.

Dr. Cook was stunned beyond words. Without delay, he brought in the police, instructing them to apprehend the "corpse" if possible.

After a period of surveillance, the police concluded that it was a case of impersonation. Dr. Cook accepted their explanation, even though the officers couldn't provide solid evidence. Eventually, he dismissed the entire matter with a wave of the hand.

Not long afterward, family members of the suspected corpse arrived at the morgue to claim the body for burial. Strangely, peace returned almost immediately after the body was removed.

Dr. Cook never subscribed to tales of whispering ghosts or self-shaving corpses. But Pete and Mary remained convinced that something paranormal had been tormenting them. After all, how else could one explain the sudden calm once that particular corpse was gone?