Chapter 23 (T) - Silent Hospital

When I get home, I close the door behind me, and slump into the nearest chair. I can barely make heads or tails of everything I’ve found out today. I’ve barely done anything but talk to people today, but I feel exhausted. Though I guess maybe that could be from when I overdrew my magic from fighting that giant dragon monster thing.

…I’m hungry. Guess I’ll have some food and go to bed, and think more about all this stuff in the morning. I grab a spoon and some yogurt from the kitchen, and sit down to eat. This yogurt… really isn’t very good. I wish we had some fruit or something to throw in it. …Oh yeah, it was supposed to be my turn to shop. Oops.

I hear wingbeats by the front door. Someone lands outside, out of breath with their heart racing, and starts knocking frantically.

“Xander? Is that you? C’mon in.” The door slams open as Xander stumbles into the room, doubled over as he gasps for breath. “Xander? You okay? What’s wrong?”

He gasps, “Your dad…! He’s- He’s in the hospital!”

Everything I’d been thinking about vanishes from my mind. “WHAT?!” I drop my spoon in shock. “What happened?!”

“I- I don’t know! Zach told me! He said to tell you!”

“I’m going to the hospital.”

“Tessa, it’s late! Shouldn’t you-” Without waiting to hear whatever else Xander had to say, I bolt out the door. Irace to the hospital as fast as I can, and find Zach at the front doors.

“Gah! Wh- Tessa?!”

“What happened?! What happened to Dad?!”

“Tessa, calm down! You’re going to wake everyone up if you keep shouting.”

I take a few deep breaths, trying to slow my racing heart. “S-sorry. What happened? Is he okay?!”

“Apparently, he got a minor concussion and overtaxed his magic. He’s in rough condition, but he’ll be fine after a few days of rest.”

“He’s going to be okay…?” A wave of relief washes over me, and I finally manage to get my breath under control, somewhat. “But… what happened?”

“I… don’t know. When we found him, I figured it was better to get him here as soon as possible, and leave the investigation for later.”

“You’re a detective! You have to know something, right?!”

Zach sighs, and looks around. There doesn’t seem to be anyone in sight. Zach looks a little uneasy, but he decides to talk quietly anyway. “The Shade attacked another lab on the night that fire beast attacked. Your dad went to scout the place, make sure there were no enemies inside to threaten the investigation team. Well, a while later, a giant geyser of fire comes pouring out of the ground a ways away. Everyone runs over, and we find a giant hole leading into a giant room like five stories tall with the ceiling blown out, and your dad passed out in the dead center.”

“What… happened there…?”

“No idea. Like I said, I didn’t have time to look around. And since he hasn’t woken up yet, it’s not like I can question him.”

“I want to see him.”

“Tessa, he needs to rest.”

“I don’t care. I want to see him. I won’t wake him up, I promise.”

Zach pauses, then sighs. “...Fine. I don’t really have the authority to stop you. Take the stairs on the right. Third floor, fourth door on the left. Just… try to be quiet.”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it.”

“Alright. Now I’m going to bed. Ugh, tomorrow’s going to be a long day…” Zach walks off into the darkness, complaining to himself. I turn back to the hospital, looming over me in the dark, silhouetted by the sunset. Taking a deep breath, I quietly step inside.

I hate this place. It’s so quiet here. It’s always so loud outside during the day, but now that the sun’s set, everyone’s left the streets and going home. Without any noise from outside, the only sounds left in here are the ones coming from in the hospital itself. Sitting at the front desk is the loudest source of noise- the receptionist, fast asleep at their desk. Pretty sure they’re not supposed to be sleeping on the job, but hey, what do I know? Maybe they’re overworked. …Well, I’m not one to wake someone up when they need sleep, so I’ll just go up to where Dad is.

I take a right and go down the hall towards the stairs. The sounds of the receptionist fade, slowly being drowned further and further out by those of the patients behind closed doors. From all sides, the only things I can hear are the patients’ quiet breaths and heartbeats. As I reach the top of the stairs on the fourth floor, I think to myself, “Wow, this place is seriously creepy. It’d probably be a lot nicer if the lights were on.”

…Wait. The lights aren’t on? I can see just fine in the dark, so I didn’t really notice. But yeah, there aren’t any lights on this floor. The other floors had dim lighting, but there’s none here? Dad told me they never turn the lights off in here. The staff need to be able to see what they’re doing, even at night. …The staff. The receptionist was asleep, and I haven’t seen or heard anyone else. It’s not my imagination, something is seriously wrong here.

…What do I do? No, that question’s obvious. I’m going to Dad’s room. If something weird is going on, I’m going to be right there with him. I’m not letting him disappear too.

As I creep down the hall, I finally hear something new. Footsteps. Counting the doors, it’s coming from the room right across from Dad’s. A chill runs down my spine. Something’s happening inside that room. Someone other than me is awake here, and moving around. Maybe it’s just a doctor tending to a patient, or someone got up to use the bathroom! Wouldn’t that be nice? …But, no. With how weird everything is, I have to check it out.

I swallow, open the door as slowly and quietly as I can, and peer into the room. At the far side is a single hospital bed. A figure lies in the bed, unmoving. And someone else in all black is standing over them, holding something in a raised hand. I let out a gasp. Immediately, the figure spins around, and something impales the door right next to my head.

I don’t have time to think. I slam the door open and rush into the room, duck under another spike as I draw one of my knives, and lunge at the person. They block my strike, so I only cut their sleeve. They stab a spike at me and I stumble backwards into a wall as the spike brushes past my hair. They move for a second strike. I try to block it, but the spike manages to cut my palm and sleeve. I shout in pain as I recoil, and a spark flies from my hand, lighting the room for the briefest of moments. I trip over something on the floor and fall over backward into a table. I try to catch myself on the edge of the table, and accidentally throw my knife in my haste.

They rush at me with their spike held up, and stab downwards. I grab something from the table- I don’t really know what- and manage to get their spike stuck in that instead of me. I kick them in the chest, making them stumble back. I lunge at them again, hitting them in the wrist with the thing I grabbed, making them drop the spike. Suddenly the other hand has a spike in it too, but they trip over my knife, causing their stab to barely miss, and only snag the neck of my shirt. I bash them in the head with whatever I’m holding. They shrug it off and tackle me to the ground. We grapple on the floor for a moment, vying for leverage. I try to electrocute them, but my magic still isn’t working right, and the best I manage is a few sparks.

One spark manages to fly past their face and they flinch, giving me just enough time to push them off me and scramble away. I take this chance to draw another knife. They lunge at me again, spike outstretched. I try to grab their wrist, but I use my cut hand to do it, and only clumsily knock them away. I get another tear in my shirt as another spark flies. They immediately stab at me again with their other hand. I can’t block from that side, so I throw myself back, away from the stab. I avoid the brunt of it, but the spike still manages to make a shallow cut on my stomach. I shout in pain again and stumble, falling and hitting my head on the floor. I see them lunge at me again, and then there’s the sound of wings, and a loud CLANG… and then nothing.