Frauleinstein

Chapter IX: A Night at the Morgue, Part I

Chapter IX

A Night at the Morgue

The Monster circled the hospital a second time. There was little activity at this late hour, aside from the emergency entrance. Still, he knew that he inevitably attracted attention. If he were to approach the hospital directly he would very likely be mistaken for a traffic accident victim. So he stuck to the shadows, and circled the building looking for the entrance which would allow him access unseen.

At the back of the building there was a loading bay, unlit and with no apparent activity. The Monster imagined this would be a very busy area throughout the day, with supplies for a major hospital arriving regularly. However at this hour it appeared deserted. Still, he remained cautious as he approached the area.

The Monster climbed onto the loading platform and tried the loading bay door; locked. A regular door at the side of the loading bay provided access for staff, but it too proved to be locked. Of course, all doors would be locked. The only doors which would be unlocked would be the main entrance and the emergency entrance, neither of which were possibilities for him.

No door could truly stop The Monster. Any obstacle that could be overcome by a bulldozer would just as easily fall to his strength. It was just a matter of how much noise did he intend to make. It seemed his choices were limited, though. Breaking glass, or tearing metal. Either would attract unwanted attention.

Suddenly the staff door opened. The Monster quickly slid into an inky black shadow and observed as a single hospital employee came out of the door, wedging it open with a brick. The young man stretched, and lit a cigarette. He then climbed onto the loading platform and sat, blowing smoke into the night.

The Monster was enormous, yet he could move as quietly as a cat. He quickly took advantage of the situation, sliding as silent as a shadow along the wall and through the opening, into the hospital.

The hallways were well lit, but deserted. The area he had entered appeared to be mostly hospital support services; laundry, kitchens, mechanical rooms, storage. He needed to find a way down to the lowest level. This meant either an elevator, or stairs. And that meant people. The Monster realized he would need a disguise, if he was to get past the many people roaming the hospital corridors. But how do you disguise yourself when you're a seven foot tall creature of nightmares?

The Monster searched the back rooms of the hospital for something, anything that might help him. When he finally found it, he smiled.

_____

+–+–+

(@ @)

 VVV

Officer Barbu cursed his existence. Somehow, it was always he who drew the worst assignments. He hated hospitals with a passion. Hospitals were the place you came to die. He would usually cross himself if he so much as drove past the building. Nothing good had ever happened in a hospital, he was quite sure.

And yet, somehow they managed to make it so much worse than simply being assigned to the hospital. He was also assigned alone, to the basement, at the door to the morgue! An eight hour shift, the entire night, alone without relief at death's door.

Officer Barbu wasn't sure what his assignment was meant to achieve. Was he to stop people from entering, or was he to stop something else from escaping? Barbu shuddered at the thought of the room at his back, and moved his chair across the hall where he could watch both the hallway, and the door.

Two hours had passed, and Barbu was alert to every sound. He had quickly realized that the noises coming from the end of the hallway were simply the sounds of his own movements echoed back to him, but every one still made him jump and his eyes dart to the corners. The occasional flicker from the cheap fluorescent lighting would make his heart race. Barbu crossed himself, as another flicker sent shadows scurrying at the edges of his vision.