Paper Trails

The more the paper crinkled beneath Clarisse, the more agitated she became. She hated everything about hospitals: From the suffocating stench of cleanliness, to the blandness of the walls, to the stupid puppy posters that always hang on the ceiling, meant to inspire cheerful, happy thoughts to anyone laying down on the examination table-- Which, oh yeah, are covered with the most obnoxious paper known to man, the crinkle and ruffle enough to make you swear your ears are bleeding. So instead, you sit, stiff as a board, waiting, for hours it seems, for the doctor to finally knock on your door.

Clarisse held her arm close to her stomach, stroking around the spot that was most tender, trying to relieve the pain. She glanced up at the clock on the wall. It really had seemed like an hour had gone by at least, or maybe it was just her lack of patience.

1:42 a.m. She estimated that the last time she saw anybody was around 1:00. Not quite an hour, but this was getting beyond ridiculous! Gently, she scooted herself off the table, the dreaded paper mustering all it could to give one last snarly cackle as she slipped out the door into the hallway.

The sound of silence was deafening. Clarisse spun in the middle of the hall, taking in her surroundings. Something was different. It seemed that the blandness of the place had gotten blander in some way. Or maybe it was that she was getting delusional in her sleep-deprived state. Choosing a direction, she proceeded to walk, poking her head in the doorways to every patient’s room.

Room 223, empty. Room 225, empty. 226, 227, 228-- all empty. Clarisse felt her heartbeat quicken, and her arm started to throb more than it had all night. This wasn’t right. She saw the lobby in the distance, with the desk unattended, and the computers off. The lights were set to their lowest setting. Turning on her heel, she intended to make quick work of grabbing her things from her room and hauling ass out of this eerie place some would call a hospital.

Almost to her room, she stopped dead in her tracks after hearing a gasp escape from a room across the hall. Then a voice:

“Hello Mrs. Medluck, I will be your doctor tonight.”

A pause.

And then: Crinkling. Ruffling. Scrunching, crumpling, TEARING. Getting louder and louder-- more frantic as the seconds ticked on.

And finally: a scream.

Higher and louder than the human ear could register. Clarisse stood frozen in fear, as she really experienced what it was like to have her ears bleed.

But then, just like that, it was over. No more screams, no more rustling of paper from across the hall.

Only haunting silence.

Instinct finally took over, and Clarisse sprung into her room and slammed the door in one fluid motion.

However, as she turned around--

There he was, sitting on the table.

“Hello Clarisse, I will be your doctor tonight.”

picture link:

http://www.piperreport.com/archives/Images/Empty%20Hospital%20Corridor.jpg