Grace of Heaven

“Doctor!“, the short older nurse called out as she peeked her head out into the hallway. “The man, it is happening again!”

The hallway was busy with the hospital personnel running and scattering to help the injured people from the recent chemical factory explosion. The injured ones ranged from older workers to children, seeing as today just happened to be, Bring your child to work day. A valued tradition for all the factory workers to show their children their passion and devotion.

“Coming!“, the doctor yelled from across the hall as he released the hand of a young boy no older than 6, who unfortunately passed away in his care. “Tie him down!”

The nurse quickly walked back into the room only to find the bed empty and bloodied. She gasped as she noticed a trail of blood that led right into the small bathroom on the far end of the crowded hospital room. She hesitantly started to walk towards it as her heart beat like a drum in her chest. When she was reaching out to grab the door a handset themselves on her shoulder making her screech in fright.

“It is just me Nurse Jackie”, she heard Dr. Matthews say as she turned around slowly her hands on her chest. “Sorry to frighten you, I didn’t mean to.”

“Its fine”, Nurse Jackie whispered softly.

Nurse Jackie looked at Dr. Matthews’ face which was covered in blood and a black liquid ran down the side of his jaw. His face seemed to have gotten a few shades whiter and his eyes kept twitching.

“Are you feeling okay?“, she whispered clearly worried for her colleague.

“We lost them all”, Dr. Matthews said looking away. “We lost all of the children Jackie.”

“That is horrible”, Nurse Jackie said as she put a hand on his arm. “But it is not your fault, you tried your best to save them. So do not blame yourself!”

Once Nurse Jackie yelled, there was a loud thump from inside the bathroom making their eyes shift back at the closed bathroom door. Nurse Jackie looked back and Dr. Matthews ushered her out of the way and knocked on the door.

“Adam”, he called out knocking. “Adam Jones?”

There was a groan from inside the bathroom and then another thump.

“I’m coming in Sir”, Dr. Matthews said loudly.

Once Dr. Matthews started to turn the doorknob there was a shriek from outside the hospital room making Dr. Matthews let go of the knob and run out of the room with Nurse Jackie following closely behind him.

“They are gone!“, a tan curvy nurse yelled as she ran straight into Dr. Matthews. “They are all gone! I went to check in on them in the mortuary and get all of their names and files but they were not there!”

“Breath Giselle”, Dr. Matthews said as he gripped Nurse Giselle’s shoulders. “Calm down and tell us what happened.”

Nurse Giselle rubbed her face harshly and looked around the room. Every doctor and nurse in the entire Emergency Ward was staring at her in both shock and worry. She looked back at Dr. Matthews’ serious face and took a deep breath before speaking.

“The children”, she whispered. “They are gone, I literally left them for like 5 minutes and when I go back to the mortuary, the stretchers were all completely empty.”

“Who moved the corpses?“, Dr. Matthews asked loudly as he let go of Nurse Giselle’s shoulders. “Who dared touch the corpses of those children?! I swear I will tear the necks of the person who did it!”

Dr. Matthews stormed past the watching eye’s of the hospital personnel in a rush to get to the mortuary where he knew all of the corpses of the children should be. He played with the ring on his ring finger as flashes of his own deceased child flashed before his darkened eyes.

“Nurse Jackie”, called out Dr. Harris as he stopped her from following after the storming Dr. Matthews. “Where is Adam Jones? Is he not the patient in your care?”

Nurse Jackie’s eyes widen as she ran into her assigned hospital room once again, she ran to the bathroom door and swung it open without any fear or care.

There stood Adam Jones, the owner of the chemical factory, facing the bathroom mirror. His once white hospital gown was now drenched in blood and he had a thick black liquid running down his mouth which dripped and formed a black pool at his feet.

“Mr. Jones”, Nurse Jackie whispered fear and panic gripping her tightly. “Mr. Jones, are you alright?”

The old man’s eyes sprung open only to show his once green eyes had been swallowed and hidden behind thin red lines that looked like spiderwebs around his sclera whilst his pupil looked to be the size of a mustard seed.

Nurse Jackie in sheer panic slammed the door closed before Mr. Jones’ could approach her.

She took a deep breath and ran out of the room in search for any doctor to help her with Mr. Jones’ strange condition. As she approached the hospital room Dr. Harris’ was assigned to, she noticed a fast shadow flash from the corner of her left eye.

Nurse Jackie quickly stopped moving as she looked at the hospital room right across from Dr. Harris’. The patient who was previously in there had been declared dead for at least an hour and a half, meaning no one should have been in that hospital room. The grayish blue curtain had been shut which was completely usual once a patient had passed away. But the unusual thing that made her gasp and back away were the two tiny feet could be seen from the bottom of the long curtain.

“Dr. Harris”, Nurse Jackie called out as she stayed frozen on the spot her eyes not leaving the pair of feet. “James, come out here right freaking now.”

The small feet started to move around the room making a patting sound echo across from where Nurse Jackie stood shaking from fear.

There was shuffling from behind Nurse Jackie as Dr. Harris approached her.

“What is is Jackie?“, Dr. Harris said as he stared at Nurse Jackie.

Nurse Jackie hesitantly raised her index finger and pointed at the moving feet. Dr. Harris’ eyes slowly followed Nurse Jackie’s finger and his eyes immediately widen.

“I sent Giselle in there”, he whispered to Nurse Jackie, as the feet started to shuffle around even more than before. “She was supposed to take the corpse from that room to the mortuary following her outburst with the children’s’ corpses missing.”

“So where is Nurse Giselle?“, Nurse Jackie asked as she felt her heart sink down to her stomach.

“I don’t know”, Dr. Harris confessed.

Laughter erupted from the room making both Nurse Jackie and Dr. Harris flinch and back away from the hospital room. What terrified the couple, more than the shuffling and laughter, was the fact that instead of two tiny feet shuffling around more and more feet started to appear as the laughter grew louder and louder.

“I found them!“, Dr. Matthews yelled as he walked down the dimly lit hallway his hands behind his back as he limped his way towards the couple. “I found the children!”

“Damien”, Dr. Harris whispered as he shoved Nurse Jackie behind him. “What happened to you? You don’t look so well.”

“The children”, Dr. Matthews whispered as he stopped a few feet in front of the couple. “They were really really hungry, so I had to feed them.”

“What did you feed them?“, Nurse Jackie whispered as she continued to stare at the children who were laughing and shuffling behind the hideous curtain.

The Emergency Ward seemed like a ghost town and no noise was made other than the laughing of the kids, which was completely odd considering the explosion had recently happened. Minutes ago this place was loud and filled the clattering and shuffling feet, what happened?

“That nurse”, Dr. Matthews said laughing hysterically as thick black substance fell from his mouth dripping down his white doctors’ coat. “I fed them that dumb stupid nurse. What’s her name again? Oh, I remember now, Giselle!”

A sob escaped Nurse Jackie’s lips and the children instantly stopped their laughter.

“Show me your hands Dr. Matthews”, Dr. Harris said.

Dr. Matthews shook his head softly as he chuckled like a maniac.

“Damien, now!“, yelled Dr. Harris his hands trembling at his sides.

Dr. Matthews stopped his chuckling and raised his hands up, well hand. Dr. Matthews left hand seemed to have been mauled by wolves, or in this case the children he claimed to have found.

“Jackie”, Dr. Harris whispered. “Run to the main tower, and tell them we have what looks to be a contagious outbreak. If you make it, please tell my wife I love her.”

Nurse Jackie quickly spun on her heels and started to run towards the main tower as the children rushed out of the hospital room and unto Dr. Harris who was screaming in agony as they clawed and bit into his skin. It seemed to the children that the more he screamed, the more motivated they were to continue eating and tearing him apart.

Jackie ran and ran even when her knees seemed to want to give up on her.

Wilmore’s Health seemed like a ghost town, no hospital personnel could be heard or seen hustling around and absolutely no footsteps, other than Jackie’s, could be heard. It seemed as if the hospital personnel just got up and abandoned their duties.

Once a panting Jackie made it to the main tower, she snatched up the phone and quickly dialed the higher-ups, in other words, their council of chiefs.

“We have an emergency!“, She screeched out of breath. “There seems to be a contagious outbreak here in Wilmore’s Health in Pennsylvania! I repeat there seems to be a contagious outbreak! My name is Jackie Lewis and my collegue James Harris has just recently been attacked. I don’t know if we will make it out alive, but if you manage to hear this let Harris’ wife know that he loved her dearly and let my son know I love him from the bottom of my heart and that I am truly sorry I abandoned him.”

As Nurse Jackie finished speaking tears ran down her face as she heard the pattering of the small feet approaching the room she was trapped in. The only way of escaping was a window but the fall would kill her seeing as she was in the 8th floor. A pair of feet could be seen from the bottom of the door making a choked sob escape Jackie’s lips. There was tapping on the door as if the children were knocking, begging to come inside. But soon enough the tapping turned into banging. The banging on the door was so powerful that the metal door started to crack.

“I love you Thomas”, she whispered as she closed her eyes.

The door was then torn down and Jackie was swarmed by the infected children.