Voiceless

Chapter Fourteen

Macy was gone.

She hadn't arrived for breakfast nor did she make an appearance during group discussion. My neck ached as I kept peering over other's shoulders and kept an eye on the door, hoping she'd walk through it any second. When she didn't make an appearance I begrudgingly walked towards Anna and enquired about my friend's disapperance. 

"She's just having a long check-up" Anna replied back annoyingly and irritated by my presence. 

"Sure, a check-up that's nearly two hours. Very believable" I retorted and walked off. My mind started racing. This was definitely not good. Macy is approaching seven months and so her state of well-being was very important. I wandered around the hospital, searching for my friend. For the first time ever since I arrived, I left my button camera in my room, hidden under my pillow. Nothing has been happening for a while, so why should anything happen today. But Macy's lack of presence made me alert as this was out of the ordinary. I ran towards my bedroom and pinned the button on making sure that it was recording. As I stepped out of my room, I slipped on a puddle that I didn't spot earlier. I immediately held onto the radiator besides me to support myself. If I fell heavily who knows what damage could have happened to me. My heart banged inside me loudly as if it was echoing throughout the hallways. For a few seconds I just stood there trying to catch my breath. An ominous silence overwhelmed me. Everyone else was either in the canteen or in their own rooms. That's when I realised something.

I was standing in the exact same spot where Chichi collapsed and began bleeding heavily. Flashes of that night barged into my mind and I jumped away from that spot hoping to erase the thoughts along with the distance. I was angry that no-one placed a hologram sign near the puddle. I mean this is a hospital for goodness sake! I got up angrily and patted myself down, suddenly noticing the huge patch of wet fabric down my side. I groaned as it looked like I peed myself. I turned around towards my room, ignoring the irritating feeling of cold water drips sliding down my thigh. As I reached my door I noticed another puddle to the left of the corridor. I frowned. Was someone drunk when they were fetching a cup of water?

But that idea seemed too unrealistic in a government hospital located in an unknown setting where booze is most definitely unavailable.

However Macy's disappearance and the strange puddles of water alerted my instincts. I followed the puddle which eventually minimised into small drops. It led to the staffroom door. Through the small square at the top of the door I peeked a look to see an empty room with coffee mugs discarded at the sink. Assuming it's empty I slowly pushed open the door. Immediately my eyes caught on to the mini puddles of  water on the floor. The sofa was also drenched with water but as I felt it I realised it was semi dry. This meant that whoever spilled the water had done it a while ago. 

Abruptly the voices of females came nearer and I ducked down behind the sofa. Knowing that the staffroom was strictly prohibited to patients it quickly became my main priority to keep myself hidden. Their voices were getting louder as they approached the door, making me crawl across the floor and get my elbows wet. The wet fabric of my green cardigan stuck to my skin, making me uncomfortable more than ever. A pregnant woman playing detective on the wet ground of a hospital staffroom - imagine that.

"She just won't shut up that crazy lady" spoke one of the nurses in an accent that I detected was Jamaican but I couldn't hear much as they both went further across the room. They left through the door, allowing me to release a sigh of relief but still wonder in confusion. Who were they talking about?

With a more determined stance I began travelling on my hands and knees. I took off my cardigan and groaned in disgust as I observed the dirty stains that were adorning the elbows. I squished it into a bunch and continued crawling until I ended up in front of the door the two nurses walked out of. I stood up and slowly pulled the heavy door open. It was pitch black. Looking back into the staffroom I tried searching for a torchlight but none came to sight. I couldn't risk rummaging through the drawers and cupboard in case I got caught so ... I relied on my hands.  

Entering the doorway, the staffroom light helped me realise that I was standing in a passage before the door shut behind me and  I was engulfed in darkness. Using my hand I travelled cautiously through the space, avidly aware of the bumpy texture of the wall under my fingertips. Walking slowly and carefully in the passage took ages when normally it would've taken me a span of a few seconds to cross if I wasn't fully blind in the current situation. Stumbling over my feet a couple of times the next thing I expected was to fall flat on my face.

Not have a bright light confronting me, blinding and hurting my poor eyes. Forgetting for a few seconds where I was I shouted: "Get that blasted thing out of my face!"