Alice and Her Doll

Chapter 16

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Megan woke up in the hospital. She felt numb all over and could only move her head and fingers. She was laying down and was trying to remember what had caused her to be in a place like this. Megan lifted her head off the uncomfortable pillow in her hospital bed. She looked at her surroundings-- white bed, white walls, a chair in the corner of the room, a window and a big piece of machinery to her left.

The door opened and in came a young nurse with dark skin and short hair. She came over to Megan's bed and knelt down.

"Good morning, Mrs. Cook. How are you doing?"

Megan didn't know what to say or how she got there or anything. "I, um...why-"

The nurse put a hand up and said, "Let me start by saying that I'm Nurse Madison and-"

Megan cut her off as her voice got its strength back. "I'm sorry. I'm a little shaken up and I don't know how I got here. Can you please explain?"

Nurse Madison nodded and told Megan about how when her husband woke up, he found her next to him, unmoving and eyes and mouth wide open. She told Megan how she couldn't talk or move; she could just breath. Raymond rushed her to the hospital and they ran tests, took blood samples and such.

"Long story short, you were paralyzed last night by something. Did you drink anything or eat anything out of the ordinary?"

Megan shook her head. "I- I think I'm starting to remember. I remember waking up in the middle of the night and laying back down. Then, I think I felt something cold and smooth against my neck or something. And I woke up here. That's all I can recall,"

The nurse nodded and wrote something down. "Interesting. Well, your family is right outside your room. They've been here all night waiting for you to wake up."

The door opened and Raymond, Alice, Carrie and Carrie's mom came in with flowers and balloons. They all hugged Megan and asked her if she was alright.

"I'm fine," Megan said tiredly. "Gosh, so much love in one room!"

She got a group hug from her loved ones. After that, each visitor talked to Megan, asking questions. Ray was the last to visit his wife.

He knelt down and caressed Megan's hand. "Hey, hon."

"Hey," Megan looked into Ray's eyes and immediately safe and comforted.

Raymond's face went serious and he said, "I have some news: our house isn't safe. We can't stay there anymore, or at least for a couple months. I know this sounds silly, but I think our house is haunted."

They all waited expectantly for Megan's reply. After a few moments of thought, she finally said, "Okay. I was actually starting to think that our house wasn't safe, either. I don't think the weird things happening in our house is safe for Alice. But, where will we stay?"

"Grandma's house!" Alice shouted, with obvious joy on her face. She hopped onto the hospital bed with Megan and laid in her arms.

Megan smiled and stroked Alice's hair. She then looked to Raymond, who nodded and mouthes the words, "My mother."

So, the Cooks' were to stay with Ray's mother. She lived about thirty minutes away from their current house. They moved in shortly after Megan recovered. Their stay was temporary, or until someone could solve the mystery of their 'haunted' house.

*****

That night, Carrie and Ben were on their first date at a middle-to-high class restaurant called The Mozzarella Palace. They were seated in a corner booth. The lighting was dim, the walls were a velvety-red, the tables were covered with pressed white tablecloths and soft violin music was playing.

As Carrie was looking over her menu, her heart pounded. She couldn't even begin to think about food with Ben sitting across from her. Carrie could smell his sweet, musky cologne in the air. She took in a whiff and looked dreamily at him. She couldn't believe she was here with Ben.

Carrie was quickly snapped back into reality when the waitress came to take their order. "Okay, here are your drinks. Now, are we ready to order?"

After the couple placed in their order, Ben leaned across the table and stared into Carrie's eyes. His eyes were filled with love as he admired Carrie's beauty.

"What are you doing?" Carrie asked hesitantly.

"Staring. Admiring. Loving," Ben said with a shy smile.

The two held hands under the table and entangled their legs together.

Carrie thought about all the things in her life--Ben, her family, school, the Cooks. That was when she was aware that she had not made much progress with investigating the Cook house. She retracted her hands and legs from Ben. He could tell something was wrong.

"Carrie, you okay?"

"I don't mean to ruin our date by talking about this but, we haven't figured out a lot about the ghost in the Cooks' house. Don't you think it's time we get a move on things?"

Ben bit his lip and looked up to the ceiling in thought. "Yes. I completely forgot about that. We need to call Fiona and arrange for us to do some investigating. Do you think we can go in the house and look around for you know, some clues?"

Carrie nodded then said, "I think so. Ever since they went to live with Ray's mother, nobody has really been watching the house. When do you want to go?"

"Let's see....today's Friday. So, we have Saturday and Sunday to 'snoop around'. Let's all three go tomorrow at nine in the morning. Is that okay with you?"

"Yes, that's fine. Thank you so much! Thank you for being there for me and for being so kind. You don't know how lucky I am to have you," Carrie looked at Ben with starry eyes.

"I feel the same way;couldn't have said it better myself."

They leaned across the table and kissed briefly when their food arrived.

As the couple ate, they didn't notice the person all alone at a table. This person had been watching and following the two for quite some time. He was pleased at learning more about Carrie. Very pleased.

*****

"Tomorrow!" The Infector said, excitingly. "Tomorrow, Sally, you will make them run, and I will have my revenge. A little part of my revenge, that is. Just until we are ready to do our master plan."

Sally nodded and smiled menacingly. "Master, allow me to go and retrieve something. It is a part of our plan."

"Yes, please do."

Sally hopped out of the attic and snuck to Megan and Raymond's room. She got on the bed and reached down back behind it. Her china hands grasped the hidden hand gun. As the doll pulled it out, she looked to see if it was loaded, which it was. Sally smiled and turned the gun over and over in her hands.

*****