Page 22 of Amnesia

I saw a nurse hustle by and on down the hall, and I let out a sigh of relief.

See? Everything is fine.

My knees were shaking on the way back to the bed, holding the cup in one hand and leaning on the pole of the IV stand with the other. I couldn’t wait to get this thing out of my hand. They said it would be soon.

At the bedside, I set down the cup and glanced at the blankets with derision. Another person moved down the hallway, dimming some of the light filtering in from beneath the door.

With one knee on the mattress, one hand balancing on the IV pole, I prepared to heft myself the rest of the way into the clammy, damp-feeling sheets.

I never made it.

A hand clamped around my ankle as it lifted off the ground, and I shrieked, instinctively pulling to get away. The grip tightened, and I felt the pressure from strong fingers molding around my bones.

“No!” I gasped, but it was too late. The arm pulled me with so much force I fell backward off the bed.

The IV pole came with me, lifting off the ground and hitting the tile beside me.

Pain echoed in my back and shoulders as well as a dull ache in the back of my head. As I tried to scramble up, another hand shot out from beneath the bed and latched onto my other ankle.

I began kicking and opened my mouth to scream.

Instantly, the body catapulted out from beneath the bed, releasing my ankles, and I turned to rush away. The figure tackled me. My fingers griped the dark, thick fabric of the hoodie concealing their body and face.

A gloved hand covered my mouth, pressing down so hard the back of my head hurt where it rested on the floor.

I tried to scream, but the sound was muffled. The attacker outweighed me as I struggled to get free, and the line of the IV in my hand tugged as I fought, causing my hand to scream in pain.

I couldn’t see the face; it was completely shrouded by fabric, but hate rolled off them. The more I fought, the calmer the person became, until they shifted, sat up, and brought down the second hand to pinch my nose closed.

My eyes shot open. They were suffocating me!

This was murder!

Opening my mouth, I did the only thing I could and bit down into the hand as hard as possible.

The person gave a muffled, low cry and wrenched away. I twisted from beneath them, kicking them in the chest as I went. The person fell back against the bed, and I rushed forward, literally dragging the IV stand behind me as I wrenched open the door and collapsed into the hallway.

“Help me!” I screamed.

The hallway was no longer lit up. The nurses I saw before were missing. It was oddly still and oddly quiet now.

I was alone. With a killer.

“Help!” I screamed again. The way the plea echoed down the long, lonely corridor was not hopeful.

I turned when I heard the assailant behind me. They stood hunched over in the doorway. Without saying a single word, they lifted their finger and pointed at me… just pointed and said nothing at all.

“No!” I screamed, back-crawling farther down the hallway.

The sound of squeaking sneakers around the corner made me openly weep. “Help,” I called weakly as I prepared to defend myself again.

The attacker heard, too, and suddenly burst forward. I fell back, but they were done with me. The cloaked figure disappeared just as fast as he’d materialized, leaving me a hurting, trembling mess on the hallway floor.

“Amnesia!” one of the nurses exclaimed.

I began to cry harder.

The nurse crouched beside me, yelling for help. As she issued orders to those bustling around her, I took solace in the fact the hallway was no longer so bare. Even lights came back on.

---