“Yes?” she said.
“Erm, I wonder if you can help me. There was a woman brought in earlier.”
“Name?”
“Erin.”
The receptionist stared at him as though he were stupid. “Erin who?”
Bruce leaned forward. He knew all too well that hospitals had strict visiting procedures. “McVey. She’s my sister.”
The receptionist tapped a pencil against her teeth.
Bruce gave her what he hoped was his best smile. After another moment, the woman ran her finger down a list on her desk.
“Well, visiting hours aren’t for another hour.”
“How is she?”
“I wouldn’t know.”
“Well, couldn’t I just pop in and see how she is?”
After another embarrassingly long silence and prolonged staring match, she said, “Second floor. Ward four. Tell the duty nurse I said it was all right.”
“Thank you.” Anxious to be out of her sight, Bruce turned and followed the signs to the second floor. On the way, he passed a small kiosk selling flowers, and he bought a bunch. Probably the least green-fingered person he knew, he hoped the flowers didn’t die before he reached the room.
Bruce followed the signs to the ward until he found himself standing outside the double doors. Small squares of glass in each door allowed him to peer through before entering. He couldn’t spot Erin, although there was one bed with the curtains drawn around it. He realised his palms were sweating, and he felt slightly nauseous. What the hell was the matter with him? He was only paying a visit in the hospital. But he knew that wasn’t all there was to it. He swallowed to dislodge the lump in his throat, then he took a deep breath, pushed open the door and stepped into the room. A small woman wearing round glasses sat at a desk inside the ward. She looked up at Bruce, and he quickly explained the reason for his visit.
The duty nurse pointed along the ward. “She’s resting. Bed at the end with the curtain drawn around it.” With that, she returned her attention to the paperwork on her desk.
As in the rest of the hospital, there was an antiseptic aroma in the air, but there was also the undeniable faint smell of blood and human waste that almost made him turn around and head back out.
The few patients who weren’t drowsing looked at him for a moment then turned away. The television at the end of the room was on, but with the sound turned down low the muffled exchange of views between the host and guests on a daytime chat show sounded as though it was coming from another room.
The patients were all female, and seeing them in their nightgowns and pyjamas made Bruce blush. The ages of the patients ranged from late teens to late life. Some sat in chairs, but most reclined in bed.
He quickly made his way down the middle of the room, towards the curtained bed at the end. When he reached it, he coughed to clear his throat. Butterflies danced in his stomach, and he chastised himself. He wasn’t a goddamn teenager.
“Erin? Erin McVey?”
When no one answered, he timidly peeked through a gap in the curtain. The woman lying in the bed was asleep, but he instantly recognised her. She looked pale, her breathing laboured. There was a tube in her arm, and a clear liquid dripped through at regular intervals. Bruce felt his heart miss a beat. Christ, what had happened to her?
He slipped through the curtain, shaking his head despondently. Not wanting to disturb her, he placed the flowers on the bedside cabinet, and turned to leave.
“I’ve got to get out of here.”
Bruce jumped. He spun around and saw Erin struggling to sit up. She coughed, the action making her cringe in pain.
“Here, let me help you.” He reached down to assist, but she held her hand up.
“I can manage,” she snapped. After a moment’s struggle, she sat up. “What are you doing here?”
Bruce stared at her, unsure what to say next. He nodded. “Yes, I… um, I—”
“Well, I don’t know what you’re doing here, but I’ve got to get out. I’ve got to warn them.” She started to swing her legs out of bed. The tube in her arm pulled tight, almost toppling the stand it was attached to.
Bruce grabbed it before it fell. “Take it easy.”
“Don’t tell me what to do.”
Bruce sighed and his shoulders slumped. This wasn’t going how he had imagined. “I’m sorry. I’ll leave you alone.”
“Wait a minute. What did you come here for anyway?”
“I… Well, I heard about your accident–I don’t know what I came for really.” He shrugged, could feel his face burning up.
Erin exhaled noisily. “Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you.”
“That’s okay. You look like you’ve been through the mill.”
“That’s not the half of it.” With surprising speed and strength, she reached out and grabbed Bruce’s arm. “You’ve got to listen to me. They’re saying it was lack of oxygen, but I know it wasn’t. You’ve got to believe me. There’s something out there. In the water. Something unnatural.”
“Yes, I already know about it.”
“You do?” Her hold relaxed.
“Yes, a shark I heard.”
Erin shook her head and squeezed tighter. “Not a shark. It was something else. Something, I don’t know… something monstrous.”
Bruce patted her hand. “You’re safe now. Nothing can hurt you here.”
Erin sank back onto the bed. “I don’t think any of us are safe,” she said before sleep engulfed her.
Chapter 15
Jack was bored. He was also hungry again. A quick inspection of the fridge revealed milk, a tub of margarine, a couple of eggs, and a half empty can of beans.
He took a swallow from the milk to sate his appetite, then replaced it on the shelf and closed the fridge.
His dad had left ten pounds on the kitchen table, so he picked the money up, and with Shazam in tow, he left the house and headed back to the village.
Hopefully, Rocky would have gone by now, and if he was really lucky, Jen might still be around.
On the coast road, he stared out to sea. The great expanse of water stretched before him, and he wondered whether there really was a man-eating shark prowling beneath the waves. If there was, then he could see a scene straight out of ‘Jaws’ might ensue, and a flotilla of boats would set out to destroy it. Not that he would support that. The shark was only doing what came naturally to it. How the hell was it supposed to know that mankind was not on the menu?
When he reached the harbour, he noticed Trent Zander’s boat had set sail. A couple of seagulls sat preening themselves on the harbour wall. Shazam barked at them and the birds cocked their heads and looked across at her before squawking loudly. They flapped their wings, then settled down.
The aroma of brine was heavy in the air. It stuck to the back of Jack’s throat, making him feel a little sick.
Across the road at the cafe, Bites, there were still a couple of tables and chairs outside, but no one sat in them. Jack wandered across. A faded blue canopy shaded the front of the shop.
A chalkboard nailed to the wall listed the food available.
“I’ll have to leave you out here,” Jack said to Shazam, who stared up at him with her tongue lolling from the side of her jaw. “It’s no good giving me your sad face. You see that sign, it says no dogs allowed.” Although she was generally well behaved, he attached Shazam to her lead and tied her to a drain pipe. Then he quickly scratched her behind the ear and entered the shop.
After the smell of brine, the aroma of freshly baked food was wonderful. Jack breathed deeply to fill his lungs with the fragrance, and his stomach rumbled in response.
Inside the shop, a glass-fronted cabinet held a few cakes. Jack salivated at the sight of the chocolate éclairs. A big black potato oven sat behind the counter, along with a cash register, a microwave, and a rack of bread.