Pinned Down

"All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen "
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

I got my first job as a Nurse working at a government hospital in my hometown. During the time that I was working, the local government decided to expand the hospital to accommodate the growing demands of the city. Because of the large number of patients coming in the hospital, the 5th floor of the building was left unfurnished. The budget for the construction of the medical center was instead utilized to support poor patients medical bills and hospital staff salaries.

There were several empty rooms on the 5th floor that are used as storage facility for supplies and worn out medical equipments. Each floor has a its own laundry-chute that serves as transport for soiled linens to the laundry room.

As a novice Nurse, I was assigned to work at the 5th floor General Unit, where only half of the floor were used for hospital operations. The other half was left forgotten.

It was a quiet evening on the unit, where my mentor and I are the only staff working on the unit that evening. We are usually short-staffed as the city could not afford to hire more people to fill up the vacant job positions.
After giving the medications for midnight, my colleague asked me to help her change some soiled bed covers that was left by discharged patients.

Stretching vast lines is my elasticity favorite nursing task. My colleague spoke to me about something random. Something I would never thought would come across her mind. She warned me to never go to the other side of the floor by myself . "Whatever happens, don't go there on your own" she sound very calm and yet spew the words in the coldest tone.

Being a young 20 year old nurse, I can't help my yearning mind but to be curious about why she has to spook me that way. It gave me a creepy vibe but at the same time, it ignited the inner child in me. While she was talking, I was already formulating my plan on how to get out of her sight so I could check out what's the hype about this abandoned unit. But that's where the laundry-chutes are... I didn't want to be rude so I kept my thoughts to myself.
I asked her "What's so special about the chute?"

"There are some unseen beings that lives here amongst us". I couldn't contain the absurdities of her opinion, I laughed out loud and ignored her. I mean this only happens in the movies, right?!

As a medical professional, I give no credence to the paranormal. I strongly believe that there is nothing in this world that couldn't be explained by Science.

That's what I thought...

02:15 am

Ding! Ding!

Mechanical door opens. . .

A soft thud followed by the screeching scream of worn out wheels, desolate the silence of the night.

As the stretcher glides towards the front of the nursing station where I am busy transcribing doctor's orders, a lady wearing a white lab coat over her freshly pressed forest green scrubs greeted me with a charming smile. She asked in a delightful fashion "Can I speak to the senior nurse please?" I replied to her "She's in the medication room, I'll go get her for you".

My colleague was careful listening to the OR nurse's report. After looking at the admission papers she accompanied the other nurse to the patient's room. Bored like a kid, I thought it would be nice if I would put away all the soiled linens by myself. This girl is not afraid of anything, I've been sleeping in the dark and on my own since I was four.

I pulled the hamper across the hallway as gentle as I could and head towards the end of the unit. Where east wing meets west. I took a glimpse back at them and saw the two nurses and the orderly went inside the third room close to the station.

I did it! The adrenaline rush that I felt after escaping from my coworker nurtured my eagerness to explore. The closer I walk towards the deserted nursing station, the darker my surroundings had become. Thick dust, crumpled newspapers, empty drawers, arid sinks, shattered chairs, ragged tables and what seems to be an epiphany of unexpected hurricane. Most of the bulbs around were busted. Majority of the rooms has broken doors and window panes. I don't mind the ere look of an empty nursing unit, I'm not afraid of anything...

I finally reached the front of the laundry-chute. Apparently the famous haunted area in town, I chuckled.
Suddenly, I felt a cold thick mist of air hovered above my left ear. It almost resembled the feeling you get whenever you're riding a plane, a heavy pressure blocked my tympanic membrane. One weird thing about it, is that I can only feel the pressure on my left ear. Then it started to hear a deafening ring on the same ear. Tinnitus? It must be from an adverse effect of my vitamins. I shrugged it off and look around the area allowing my eyes to adjust in the dark. With my gloved hands and petite built, I took out the linens from the creel. A rush of cool air filled the entire milieu.

I'm not sure why and how but I can sense an invisible presence standing behind me. As I froze to death, I turned my head to my left and saw a large dark cloud like smoke that appeared on my peripheral view. It feels like a masculine presence. hmm must be the janitor's shadow. The longer I stayed the more I realized It doesn't even look human at all!

It was drifting slowly towards my direction. My mind was arguing over my body, I don't know if I should I finish the task or save my life or both.
No one will surely believe my excuse for living all of these dirty blankets, anyways it was my fault that I didn't listen to my coworker's advise. The Unit Manager will surely be furious if she found the laundry scattered on the floor the next morning. I tossed the blood-stained blankets in the chute and run like an olympic track and field champion back to my unit.

I walked slowly into the pantry pretending like I nothing weird had happened. My co-worker asked me where I've been. She said she was looking all over the rooms for me. I gave her a grin and chugged my water bottle.

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