Dearest Penguin People.
Thank you for showing up for my weird little ghost adventure/evil kid novel. In the last chapter Larry “borrowed” an ambulance to expedite Max’s escape from the hospital and the nefarious Buttercup.
If you are new to Max and Sebastian please start here…
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19
As always, a special thank you to P.Q. Rubin for little penguin guy up top.
from the previous chapter…
“Do me a favor and don’t crash this monster.”
“No worries.” Larry wheeled the ambulance out of the space. “I used to drive a school bus, so this is nothing.”
Max’s incredulous voice broke in. “You drove a school bus?”
Bidwell waved pleasantly as they drove away. Larry kept on eye on him in the rear-view mirror.
“Larry?” Max was waiting.
He pulled his gaze from Bidwell’s shrinking image. “Incredible as it may seem, I used to be halfway normal.”
Autumn settled into her seat. “Normal is over-rated if you ask me.”
Larry smiled. “I couldn’t agree more.”
Eve found Fiona sitting by herself in the hospital cafeteria, sipping tepid coffee, and staring into space.
“Are you ready?”
Eve put her head on the table.
“It’s not that bad out there.”
The look Fiona gave her could make gorgons melt.
“If we go in service we can get real coffee.”
Fiona sighed and followed her back to the ER. They hesitated at the entrance.
“What the heck?” Eve looked around them in disbelief. “What kind of fire drill was this?”
An odd silence had filled the ER. Dazed nurses milled about, randomly picking up toppled IV poles and overturned supply carts while techs guided rattled patients back to their beds. The scent of burnt wires tickled their throats.
In the background, George screamed, “I told you! That ugly mutt let the shadow creatures out!”
Then the soothing voice of a doctor. “You’re not making any sense, George.”
“They were spiders. Didn’t you see them?”
“George, there were no spiders. We both know what happens when you don’t take your medication.”
“The pills control me, not them. They do what they want.”
They heard the distinct sound of a restraint snapping. A fist pounded a bedrail followed by the rapid patter of doctor’s feet on linoleum.
“Nurse, what’s the hold up with the Haldol?”
Eve glanced toward CT. Ugly mutt? It couldn’t be. Damn it.
She turned back to Fiona. “I need to check on Larry.”
“Take your time.” Fiona picked her way through the medical debris and left the ER.
Eve found the charge nurse, sorting through an overturned supply cart.
“Meg, what happened?”
Meg paused and sat back on her heels. “George happened. He insists that a devil dog walked into his room and released spiders from his brain.”
Eve’s insides went wonky. “A devil dog?”
“Yeah, a tiny black dog with a woman’s voice, no less.”
“You mean like Larry’s dog?”
Meg gave her a nasty look. “Don’t even get me started.”
“Sorry. Did George do all of this?”
“He was just the first. Something set off every psyche patient we have.” She hesitated and gazed at the confusion strewn around them. “Some weird stuff happened.”
“What kind of weird stuff?”
Meg chewed her lower lip. “Never mind. It was nothing.”
“Is there anything I can do?”
“I’ll be fine. Just go.” Meg went back to organizing the cart.
Eve headed toward CT. It seemed that the havoc of Tornado George had made a bee-line in the same direction. She pushed a gurney back against the wall and turned the corner. No Larry, and no little girl either. She saw Joe holding an ice pack against his head.
“Hey, what happened to you?”
“The Ogre clocked me one.”
Eve scanned the hallway. “Where’s Larry and the girl?”
Joe went pale. He walked to the empty chair. “I have no idea.”
Fiona turned the corner, storm clouds above her head. She dropped Eve’s backpack at her feet. “The ambulance is gone,” she said.
*****
Eve stood in the empty parking lot with Bernie, the shift supervisor. All the other units had cleared out after the fun was over.
“If you really want to discipline her, you should make Fiona stay instead of sending her home.”
Bernie took out a cigarette.
“Those things are going to kill you,” Eve said out of habit.
“One can only hope.”
A light rain pushed its way through the parking lot, misting Eve’s hair. She wiped cool droplets from her cheek and sighed.
“What?”
“No one locks their ambulance. You know that. I’ll bet not a single unit here was locked.”
“Maybe.” He took a long drag on his cigarette. “But it’s not my decision.”
“So, what am I going to do?”
“Chloe’s partner went home sick. I’m going to pair you two up. She’ll be here in a few minutes.”
Eve rubbed her forehead with her thumbs.
“You, okay?”
“Yeah, just feeling a little out of it. And Chloe is great.”
Bernie hitched up his pants with a grunt. “You want some coffee? I’m buying.”
“No thanks. Not from here anyway.”
“Suit yourself.” He flicked his cigarette on the ground and headed into the hospital.
Eve looked at her watch, 9:22. Her mother probably had her feet up with a cup of chamomile by now.
Anne answered on the second ring. “What’s up, sweetie?”
“Hey, Mom.”
“Is something wrong?”
Eve stared at her feet. What wasn’t wrong?
“Eve?”
“I’m at Memorial. There was a little girl waiting in front of CT, an admit from upstairs.”
“One of mine? Is she okay?”
“Not really. She was hallucinating and talking to ghosts.”
She heard the clink of a tea cup being placed on a saucer. Her mother’s voice was quiet. “That has to be Max. Poor thing has brain cancer.”
Eve’s stomach churned into an extra knot. She thought of the girl’s hollow eyes and shorn hair. “Oh,” was all she managed.
“Is she still in the ER or did they send her back upstairs?”
No answer.
“Eve, what is it?”
“She’s missing. They think someone kidnapped her.”
“Oh, my lord, that poor little girl. Who would do such a thing?”
There was a brief lull. Anne heard the catch in her daughter’s voice when she spoke again.
“There’s one more thing.”
“What dear?”
“There was a homeless guy in the ER. He was talking to her, too. I’m sure he was just playing along, but…” Eve faltered.
“Eve?”
“He insisted that Dad was standing next to me.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“He called me ‘Peanut’, like he knew what Dad used to call me.”
Anne remained quiet.
“Mom?”
A slight laugh on the other side.
“What?”
“This morning, I could have sworn I smelled your father’s aftershave.”
“So, we’re both nuts.”
“Us, and the whole world. Don’t worry about it, dear.”
“It’s just that… sometimes… I miss him.”
“I know, me too. Now you go back to work and pray they find Max. Poor thing shouldn’t die alone.”
“She didn’t know she was alone.”
“We’ll count that as a blessing.”
As a side note…none of this was written with AI and I kindly ask that no one use it for training purposes. Thank you :)
Love the picture you drew...
I had the best bus driver in 3rd grade... pointed out interesting things to us, like a whale in the woods. Wonder if it was Larry?