Page 75 of Hospital for Immortal Creatures

“Let’s hurry. Doctor Hale’s shift is ending soon.” She had no idea if a Doctor Hale existed or not, but she was proud of her quick thinking.

She gestured to the father and boy to follow her, speeding up. Guilt tried to distract her – she was forcing a kid with a knee injury to rush.

Not a father and a boy, Amelia! Creatures.

The mother led her children through the door.

Amelia placed her hand on the boy’s shoulder, gently nudging him to stand in front of her and right behind the woman in front. By doing this—positioning herself between the father and the boy, her hood covering her face—she hoped they would blend in as just another pair of parents with their child.

She passed through the door, keeping her eyes on the ground, well aware that the hybrid was somewhere in the lobby. The mother headed for the reception with her children, unaware of Amelia trailing behind with the father and son. A few seconds later, they all entered the reception and, when the door closed behind them, Amelia lifted her gaze.

They were in a long hallway with waiting areas on either side. Adult voices mixed with crying children. Along the corridor was a big door labelled Examination Room, and if her recollections were correct, at the far end was another exit.

“Sit somewhere and wait. They’ll call you,” Amelia said to the father.

“All right, thank you. And we should ask for Doctor Hale? Is she out front?”

“It doesn’t matter. They’re all great. Good luck!”

With that, she marched to where she thought the front door to the yard was.

Ten, nine…

Dave’s bedtime story had made her realise she’d let herself be fooled. These were not ordinary people.

And she had fallen for his words. His passion for helping.

Eight, seven…

But she wasn’t one of them.

After a few steps, she pulled back the hood and met the indifferent stare of a blonde woman who was waiting in front of the examination room.

Despite his human appearance, Mikhail wasn’t like her. Warming up to him had been a huge mistake.

Six, five…

Mikhail would never let her leave once she had seen his world. Trusting him was risky.

She wasn’t hiding herself anymore, but her nonchalant stride, the unremarkable dark jacket and expressionless face allowed her to blend in. No one paid her attention. There were much more attractive and noticeable characters, like the blonde exposing her cleavage, who had hurt her ankle after her four-inch heel had got stuck in a shaft, or the grumpy nurse who barked at two children for eating chocolate in the reception and touching the seats with their “dirty little fingers.” And their mother, who had been engaged in a lively conversation with a handsome man and remained oblivious to her kids as they had, in fact, smudged chocolate all over the seats.

Four…

‘The obvious answer often remains unnoticed because it doesn’t challenge the imagination.’ Amelia remembered her mother’s words as well as she remembered her face. It was those same words that helped her summon all of the courage and composure she had inherited from her mother, and walk out the door.

Three… two…

The other day in the courtyard with Mikhail, Amelia had observed the cars coming and going from this side of the building, so she had expected a parking lot or a garage of some sort. Instead, she found herself in a short tunnel leading outside. Invisible hairs on her neck bristled as the warm reception air gave way to a cold current. She hurried along doors and an entrance to an underground garage, before reaching the yard. Two vans awaited nearby. A couple of men in winter jackets smoked cigarettes and heatedly discussed a football game.

One.

Amelia sashayed towards them. “Hello, boys. I need a ride to the city. Either one of you headed that way?”

One of the men took a long drag of his cigarette and asked, “You work here?”

“Yes, I’m a nurse.”

Lust and suspicion filled his gaze. “Haven’t seen you around.”

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