The Dying Ward

"Another damn nightshift," nurse Linda bitched as she ran across the parking lot in the rain to the hospital entrance. "And you couldn't remember your stupid umbrella either," she scolded herself.



The automatic doors swooshed open as she approached and Lars, the security guard looked up, surprised to see her. "I thought you had the night off?" He asked as she signed the security register.



"Oh I did, but Brigitte called in again at the last moment, so here I am." Linda stated with distain in her voice. Brigitte has been calling in a lot lately and Linda always covers. "One of these days I will tell her no."



Lars laughs, "Yeah right that'll be the day when you turn down helping someone."



Linda rolls her eyes and smiles at Lar, "Have a good night, Lars." She hustles down the long hallways to the elevator to take her up to the 2nd floor ward where she will be on duty.



She steps onto the floor and notices the three other nurses crowded around the desk talking in hushed tones. "What's going on?" she inquires with a smirk on her face.



Hildy looks to her and says, "We have a new patient in 207 who refuses to eat. He keeps jabbering on in a language none of us knows so we don't know what he wants or what he is asking. It's just odd."



Nurse Linda sets her handbag down on the floor by the desk, "Well what was he brought in for? Obviously he is terminal if he is on our floor. What do the doctors say?"



"According to his chart, he came into the ER early this morning, almost comatose, covered in blood. His wounds were centralized to his torso area and were treated and sewed up. It's strange though, I don't see the orders for him to be transfered here, nor does it say what his condition is. The orderlies brought him up at about 5ish and left without saying a word. And I can't seem to make out this doctor's signature. I don't know who is assigned to him. How weird." Hildy says as she reads the strangers chart.



"Well hell, we can't call records right now, they are closed. Maybe someone will be here in the morning that can help. I don't know what else we can do right now but look after him until we figure this all out," Linda replies, a smirk still on her face.



Linda picks her bag up, bringing it into the locker area so she can lock it up. No one notices the item she takes out of her purse and hangs around her neck. Glancing over her shoulder, she closes the locker door and sets the combination.



She walks back to the desk and picks up her cheart assignments, wouldn't you know, she has the new guy. Great, I'll just go see about him first before seeing to my other patients, she thinsk to herself.



Approcahing the door to 207 she can't help but notice the lights out at the end of the hallway, making the doorway to 207 very dim. She glances in and sees a form writhing on the bed, soft moans coming from his mouth. She stands a moment longer, watching as a chill creeps it's way along her spine. Something inside her telling her to stay away, she shakes her head laughing at herself and proceeds into the room. The man in the bed stops moving and opens his eyes staring at her. Linda looks to the man and is stunned, it seems as if his eyes are glowing in his almost cadaver like face.



"Don't worry, Mister. We're going to take good care of you." Linda says to the man, knowing he can't understand her.



He mutters something back to her she cannot comprehend, but she can hear the pleading in his voice. She reaches out and touches the man's hand, shocked by the coldness radiating off of him, but ignoring it as her job is to offer comfort to the dying.



She has learned to overlook some of the gross things that happen to the body in death. Has learned to look into the persons soul, rather than the shell that surrounds them. She digs in deep with this one, for he seems soulless. Squinting her eyes she says, "You've been an evil bastard, haven't you? I know your kind, but I will help make your transition easy for you. It may hurt, but you'll see, once the pain is gone, you will be in a better place." She pats the man's hand and smiles at him.



"So why haven't you eaten? You are refusing nourishment, this is not good. I will have to get you to eat something." She reaches for the green jello sitting next to the bed and digs a spoon in. The man's face scowls as the sppon nears his mouth and he turns his head away. "You really need to eat if you can. It will help."



The strange man turns his head back to her and hisses. Linda jumps back, "Fine, if that's how you're going to be you can starve for all I care." She sets the jello back down on the table, housekeeping can clean it up.



"I have to go see my other patients now, I will be back shortly." Linda walks out of the dimly lit room and down the hall, making rounds on her other patients.



Linda has grown accustomed to seeing the ill in their last stages of death. It's even come to not bother her like it used to. She has a better appreciation of death working here, a better understanding of the different ways to die.



A loud screaming comes from the hall as Linda is checking the temperature on an old lady on her last stages of cancer. She runs out into the hall and sees Brenda running from the opposite way. "What's happening?" Brenda asks.



"I don't know, I think it's the strange one," Linda replies as the screaming continues.



She and Brenda run into the man's room and see him on the floor, writhing in pain, screaming. Neither nurse can make out his words, a language that seems archaiac and unintelligable. Both nurses begin their check down on the man, to look for injury as he obviously fell out of the bed.



"He seems fine to me," Brenda announces.



"No injury here, " Linda says, "But he has not eaten, he must be delusional, his body starving for nourishment."



"Help me get him back into the bed," Linda orders Brenda.



The two ladies work together to get the strange screaming man back into his bed. "What the hell is so funny, Linda?" Brenda says.



"Oh nothing, I just realized something. I think I know what is wrong with him."



"Well what?? Do whatever to shut the guy up, this is crazy!" says Brenda



"Okay" says Linda as she reaches across the bed and grabs a handful of Brenda's hair pulling her down across the bed. Brenda strugles, but only for a moment, as Linda takes out the small dagger she keeps hung around her neck and jabs Brenda in the windpipe.



"She's all yours, love." Linda says smiling at the man as he sinks his elongated teeth into Brenda's neck. It doesn't take long for the vital essence to fill the man, his features transforming back into the young handsome man he is.



He tosses Brenda's body aside as he rises out the bed and approaches Linda. She doesn't move, she is not afraid of this man, is familiar with him. "I wondered what the hell happened to you. You hadn't shown up in months, I thought you were dead, you idiot. Now get the hell out of here before someone sees."



He leans in and kisses Nurse Linda passionately then turns and takes his leave through the window. Linda smiles her evil smile, then starts screaming, "Oh My God!! Someone get in here!! Brenda is dead!! He attacked Brenda!!!" .......