the night owl

Working nights wasn't fun, it meant the same patients but a fraction of the staff. It didn't really help that the home was so remote, almost hidden away in a forest. The only upside was if you managed a break you could go outside and share it with the local wildlife.

The care home was built on the site of a farm, the main buildings had been combined and upgraded for the residents, the out buildings were barely touched. They had classic scary story creaking boards and banging doors. Many other staff wouldn't go near them at night, I didn't go inside or believe in ghosts so where was the harm.

The usual lack of humans in the area was probably the reason that the wildlife would congregate in the quietest area. If you stood silently at the corner of the biggest barn and peered round slowly you had a nocturnal zoo. The foxes foraged on the ground, the squirrels busied them selves in the branches while owls called from higher up.

The shift was worse then usual as the extra staff we needed from the agency didn't show up. By the time I knew she wasn't coming it was too late to call and I had to plan my shift alone. There was plenty I should only do with two staff present but I didn't have a lot of choice. I had to give my residents the best care I could manage.

A couple of residents continued to aimlessly wander the corridors, a couple snored in the lounge chairs and the rest I hoped were safe in their rooms. The best idea seemed to be to guide the mobile to their beds, check those in their beds and then worry about the sleepers after.

As those with dementia had a habit of wandering and not always choosing their own beds the first job was to check everyone was where they should be. Also in case of an escapee I had to have an hourly count to make sure all were still present and correct.

The day staff told me no one had passed on during the the day so I needed to account for 23 people. I had a helpful list of names to work from, this was good because we unfortunately had quite a turnover of residents due to age and illness. Adding the ones in bed to the wanderers to the settee snoozers worked out fine. As soon as those in bed were in their own beds in every case it would be much easier.

Eventually after some juggling and persuading everyone was in the correct bed. It was a bit like juggling sand as many residents had no concept of time , even of day and night. They would wander when they woke, whatever time it was. This meant the head count was both complicated as well as needed. All doors were locked or protected by key pads but I still had to know where everyone was.

I decided I would need to have fresh air when I could rather then when I was supposed to. I went towards the barn, leaving the door to the home slightly open so I could hear any residents having a late night stroll. As I approached the barn I heard the usual scuttling of tiny feet and rustling of the bushes. I slowed down and reached the corner as quietly as I could.

I spent what I thought was a brief time getting fresh air, it was only when I checked that I found it was nearer 20 minutes that I had been watching for animals that didn't show. I walked back to the house quickly, feeling a little guilty. As I was the only member of staff I don't know where the guilt came from.

my return was well times, as I went in one of the wanderers appeared at her door. She wandered continually and had a habit of making a lot of noise and waking others. Therefore as far as possible we had to encourage her to have a quiet ramble and then return to her own bed.

This took a while as she had more energy then usual, probably due to her few hours sleep. This meant by the time she had patrolled the hall a few times and I had guided her round the furniture the head count was long overdue.

As Mary lived at the far end of the corridor I started there and checked on everyone on the walk back. It was only as I reached the penultimate room that I saw an empty bed. I checked the last bedroom, the hall toilets and the office and all were empty.

A little confused but not too worried I went in to every room I had checked, expecting to see my errant person in chair or using someone else's toilet. This search was also fruitless and the worry now set in. The rules were if someone was missing that a member of staff remained inside and one looked in the grounds. Obviously this was impossible as I was alone. Knowing the missing man didn't move to quickly I decided to go back out with the torch and have a look myself before calling the emergency number.

When I got to the door I had used earlier the panic was multiplied, the door was open. I was sure I had closed it, at least I believed I had. My plan to walk the grounds became a run. I knew that the missing man liked the seated area in the grounds so tried their first.

Again with no success I had to carry on the search. Finding nothing I had to admit he was truly missing and called for help. The manager told me to search everyone again and in turn she called the police. I decided to check the grounds again before the house as their were more risks outside then inside.

I retraced my steps, finally arriving at my animal viewing spot. Just as my confused brain considered asking a nearby owl if they had seen my missing man, I saw something that would remain ingrained in my brain. A dressing gown cord was caught in a bush, also the shed door was slightly ajar. The shed door was always supposed to be shut as their were so many hazards inside.

As I moved to the door I saw my missing man lieing half in and half out of the door. The worst part was that although his body seemed to not be doing anything it was moving into the shed. As i got closer I heard noises of animals, noise of crunching and the welcome noise of a police car. Whatever had happened the police could help. My man was either knocked out or just tripped, I would get in trouble for having the door open but all would be fine.

As I got into the shed these plans ended abruptly. The reason for the seemingly still body moving was the foxes and badgers dragging it inside. The sirens were getting closer and my head was beginning to spin. What had I allowed to happen to this poor, confused man.

Then as I pointed the torch towards the mans face I discovered what the crunching was. As the owl bit clean through the mans little finger I found my head spinning and I hit the floor too. As the fog cleared before my eyes I became aware of immense pain and also Of footsteps outside of the barn. I also became aware to the ravenous fox standing by my head. We opened our mouths together, I started to shout but before I could get a second word out the foxes jaws found my throat and everything went black.