When You Leave...

I have compared sitting in this hallway to a fair purgatory destination for the worst kind of people. A thick and almost nauseating stench of old oak, medicine, and sanitation cleansers waged war on my nasal cavity. The anxiety on this floor alone was enough all by itself.

I tried everything from excessively washing my hands to burrowing my face in my hoodie to escape the smell. The bright fluorescent lights overhead seemed omnipresent. As I adjusted my position, the only scenery readily available was the eggshell-toned walls met halfway down by light oak furniture guards followed by boring paneling.

I knew about this stuff because my favorite uncle was a carpenter. I used to wait for my mom at Uncle Kevin's wood shop after school every day. The vintage chairs and paintings accented the walls. It gave me a failed sense of comfort. I was stuck here missing out on a perfect day outside.

Days like this do not come too often in fog city. My doctor was young and what my sister Kiera called handsome. That's the male version of pretty. I gave her a break. I knew that after dad passed, she took on the role of the second parent. Mom was always working. That was a good thing. Kiera was only 16, and if mom knew she was flirting with my doctor, all three of us would be in trouble.

"You pass out on me, girl?" Kiera asked playfully. "Sorry, I was tired." Kiera gave me a playful smirk. "Look, I know it's taking longer than usual". I rolled my eyes at her attempt to pretend she cared she was wasting my Saturday on Dr. Xang.

"I promise I'll make it up to you. Just a few minutes more." I looked at my poor young doctor. He wanted to escape as much as I did. Kiera looked back at Dr. Xang and then back at me. "So it's just going to take a little bit longer to get some papers for mom. If you can wait out here for a few minutes, I'll be right out."

The energy in the hall shifted after she said those words, and my gut sank to the floor. I knew this part of the story and I reluctantly knew it all too well. The next 5 minutes played in my mind like a flash. My body tensed up and I rushed towards my next words. "I don't want to stay out here because she comes when you close the door on me!"

"She?" Kiera looked at me like I had a bug on my face. I fought back the hysteria growing inside of me. "If you leave me out here, she will get me!" I knew I was becoming hysterical and nothing seemed to make sense to anyone but me, but I didn't care. Fear somehow made me lose any fear of my dying ego at that moment.

Dr. Xang offered me a green sucker, but I turned away in a desperate attempt to gather a fraction of control in the situation. Tears began to stream down my face, and everyone resented me in my emotions. Suddenly, the hall and everyone in it apart from myself froze. Frozen in their resentment. I relaxed a little for the first time since we'd began our debate. There is no point in persuasion, Tye, I thought to myself. You know she’s not going to let you in, just like every other time. Why don’t you get this over with?

The moment I made my decision, everything and everyone began to move again. I took a deep breath and backed away from the door frame of my doctor’s office. Cold and emotionless my sister stared into my eyes. "It won't be long, sis. Just hang tight, and I will be right out." I snickered at her response to my sudden cooperation. My heart jumped up into my throat as I continued to slowly back into the hallway.

The torture of watching the door close so slowly added to the terror and suspension carving at the halls of my mind, but I held in my panic. The door shut, and immediately every other door on the floor followed suit. The light that gave the only sense of safety and comfort swiftly faded away.

The sky that gave such warmth a moment ago from the single window at the end of the hall was replaced by unforgiving cumulus clouds. I felt that all too familiar energy circulating the walls of the hallway. Like a blanket of darkness and hopelessness, it covered not only myself but the entire hospital.

I stared at the single window at the end. A dead stillness cementing me to the floor. My fear was at war with my thirst to survive and as I struggled in my paralyzed state, the door flew open breaking me away from my paralyzed position to turn around in sheer panic. The thought of facing what was to come next was unbearable.

The rain and the smell of the wet cement outside was laced with the rancid scent of the abomination approaching. It overpowered the old oak and medicine. It seemed like an eternity went by when I finally heard the first foot hit the ground and then the second. Drips of viscous liquid seeping from the pours of this creature hit the ground like drops of paint falling on plastic.

I knew what it was… what she was… a demon. Her hatred for me and all things opposite of her vibrated the walls like a heartbeat. It was so overpowering that the only way I knew I was innocent was by the fact that my heart did not beat to the pattern of those vibrations. She was right behind me now and so I closed my eyes tightly, and braced myself.

There was nowhere to go. I tried every door the last time… every other time and they were always locked. I knew that once she touched me I would wake up. The moment she placed her hand on my shoulder the acid from her elongated hand burned through my skin I let out a scream of sheer terror and pain and instantly woke up.

The room was dark and still and my down comforter was soaked in sweat. I feared any sudden movement or sound out of fear that I’d not yet awoken or she’d followed me into my waking life. I was hesitant to breathe. My shoulder ached from where she touched me… I did not move.

It was a cruel truth to realize that the very thing that made me uncomfortable was the only thing that also made me feel safe… my blanket.