Acid Rain by R.D Rhodes (ebook reader txt) 📕

swear to God I saw something! I think it was a ghost.”

Her eyebrows raised, but with fear rather than doubt. “Where did you see it?”

“Outside my room. It went this way I swear. Did you not see anything when you ran along?” I sprinted the length of the corridor for a second time. I checked the common room again. I checked the bathroom and the quiet room. The night nurse walked towards me, “Okay. Can you get back in bed please? Do you want a drink of anything? Milk or tea?”

I was buzzing. I took a deep breath. “Yeah. Can I get a tea please?” I couldn’t think of anything but whatever that was.

“Right, back to your room and I’ll bring it down for you.”

I drew another breath. She put her arm around me and I let her lead me back to my room.

“Can you leave the door open, please?” I said.

Her soft, green eyes summed me up. “Okay. For five minutes, alright?” She pulled the door fully open so all the light from the corridor brightened my room, then she turned and walked away and I sat down in shock on the edge of the bed.

She came back two minutes later with a steaming mug.

“Thanks.” I said. “That was quick.”

“It’s instant. We have a machine. Can I sit down?”

I nodded. I held the mug to my lips and drank.

The mattress sunk down under her weight. She stretched her long legs out across the floor. “You’re shaking. Are you okay?”

I closed my right hand tighter around the mug. I could feel the adrenaline running through my chest. “I’m fine. Thanks.”

…“So…what did it look like?”

She was quite a pretty girl. She didn’t look like she was humoring me.

I told her, and she listened intently. She kept nodding, going “uh-huh,” “uh-huh,” “really?”

I started to calm down. I had almost finished my tea.

“I’m going to have to go back soon.” she said finally. “Do you need anything else?”

I looked towards the door, still fully open, then back at her expressive face. She seemed impressionable, honest, somewhat naïve. It flashed through my mind to steal her keys, try to make an escape. But maybe she could actually help me instead?

“Actually,” I leaned close in, “Can I speak to you about something?”

“Yeah. What is it?”

I breathed in deep. “Well, I-”, I heard a door slam shut, then loud, forceful footsteps. A tall guy appeared in the doorway. He didn’t look happy. “Katie! What are you doing in here?” He demanded.

The nurse nodded towards me. “I’m talking to Aisha here. She thinks she saw a ghost.”

“Don’t give me that! You’re supposed to have mopped the corridor by now. And the toilets aren’t done either. You’ve been warned already this week. Now get it done. Please.”

She pulled a face at me as if to say “Sorry. What am I supposed to do?” and she got up off the bed.

“Wait!” I said.

But her blonde head turned out the door. The male nurse, or whoever he was, frowned at me. “You needin sumthin? Eh?”

I shook my head. He closed the door, locked it and walked away.

Chapter 24

I  was awake the rest of the night. Long after the morning light came in, I finally got the knocks at the door and was able to leave. I headed down the corridor with the others, the din of the TV getting louder, before I heard Sanders raised voice from behind the door of the nurse’s station. I looked behind me and waited behind for the others to go.

“I don’t know what to do!” I heard her say. I bent down closer to the door and tied my shoelaces. The corridor was empty but for me.

“Well, have you tried contacting head management?” another, calmer woman’s voice replied.

“I’ve tried everything, Lisa! I’ve gone everywhere I could go. Exhausted every avenue, but they don’t listen. I’ve begged them and begged them; we need more staff! If I can’t get paid can I bring in some volunteers? Lots of people would be keen to get some work experience here, we don’t have to pay them. But everything has to be decreed from above! It’s all bureaucracy. One of those bastards is sitting in an office in London, or somewhere else hundreds of miles away, and he’s telling me how I should be running the ward according to his book. It’s driving me nuts, I just feel like a puppet here.”

“At least we’ve passed the inspection. That’s one thing we don’t have to worry about anymore.”

“Yeah. Until next year. But it could all fall apart before that. I can’t work like this. Neither can you. It’s not healthy. It’s not fair. One of the patients is going to flip and that’s going to be that. In ward eight things are even worse. I’m telling you Lisa, I’m at my wit's end. Why won’t they just let me make the changes I know I need to make to get this place running properly again? I’m the one who’s here working in it.”

I heard a door shut behind me- a patient was coming my way. I pulled my shoelaces tight and stood up and went into the common room.  I took my tray, took my pills, and sat down at the table where Harry was. I couldn’t see Nina or Sandy anywhere, and I couldn’t see Kev. Maybe it was his day off.

Harry almost choked on his apple juice. “You saw what?”

“A ghost. I’m sure it was.”

“Where?”

Outside my room last night. It was just drifting down the corridor.”

“Cool.” He spooned up a mouthful of porridge. “Were you scared?”

“Not really, just excited.”

“Hm.”

He looked thoughtfully over my shoulder. Then his eyes widened. “Hey! Do you know what day it is?”

I counted back the four nights I