Run

            Work had been the same as every day; come in, work on patients, daily routine checkups and shots, all things that a normal part-time nurse does when she is trying to make a living. She was on her last patient for the night and things weren't looking too good. Mr. Blake had walked in to the front door of the ER and collapsed onto the ground, writhing in pain. Instantly he was taken into extensive care and kept under close watch. When his seizure episode ended, nothing else seemed to change and he was stable for the majority of the day; his eyes were closed, moving spasmodically beneath his eyelids, locked in a dream he hadn't awaken from yet.

            Checking his vitals and making sure all his wires were still in place; Ruth Varner quickly found her excitement growing. Her shift was almost over and she had a date for the first time in ages, with a hot doctor no less. Shifting her clipboard from one hand to the other, she jotted down some notes and glanced at the monitor once more. The display on screen gave her pause; his heart beat had begun to rise and his blood pressure was increasing at a ludicrous pace. Thinking nothing of it, she switched out the morphine bag, noticing it was empty, and watched with relief as the screen returned to normal, beeping monotonously. 

            Just as she was walking out of the room, she heard a whisper. Turning around, she noticed that Mr. Blake's eyes were no longer closed, but instead staring at the ceiling full of fear. A scream ripped through his throat, but it wasn't very loud from the lack of use of his throat the past week he had been in the intense care unit, so it drew no attention from outside the room. Instinctively, his hands reached for the wires attached to his arms and tried to pull them out, but Ruth reacted too quickly. Setting the clipboard down on a side table, she held his arms down, paging a doctor to come help her. Mr. Blake struggled against her, but a week of being bedridden had taken the strength out of him. "Mr. Blake, calm down, you're in a hospital; everything is alright!" Ruth assured him, trying to bring him to his senses.

            He took in a deep breath and his eyes rolled into the back of his head. His entire body relaxed and he let out a loud moan. Gently easing off of him, Ruth gave him a doubtful look and shook her head, Poor man. 

            She turned once more to leave but found that something had taken a hold of her arm. Glancing down, she tried to pull free of Mr. Blake's iron grip but found that, much to her surprise, she was far weaker than he was. A smile split his face and he turned towards her, his eyes still rolled into the back of his head. An evil laugh erupted from his chest, sending chills down Ruth's spine. 

            Her panic slowly rising, she continued to try and pull free, but it was to no avail. "Help, someone please! Doctor!?" No one came to help her. 

            Struggling even more, she stared down at him in fear. In a small moment of clarity, Mr. Blake's eyes stared into hers, his fear reflecting her own. With a small quiver of his lip he whispered into her ear, "Run."