Page 10 of The Bad Man
Once she’s gone, I take my book back to my room and leave it on the desk. As I suspected, Alton is in the hallway watching me.
“I need a night off,” I tell him as I cross my arms over my chest.
“You know I can’t do that.” He nods to the end of the hallway that leads to the executive offices. “Dr. Crane doesn’t like the way you look at the new nurse.” When I don’t say anything, he sighs. “All I’m trying to do is cover my ass. If he finds out, then?—”
“You owe me,” I say, cutting him off. “My chart will say I requested sleeping meds. You did your rounds and everything was as it should be.”
Alton hesitates, and I know I’ve got him. “Fine. But bed checks are at three, and if your ass isn’t tucked in tight, there’s nothing I can do to protect you. Do you understand?”
“It won’t be a problem,” I assure him. He gives me one last look before he goes to walk away, but I stop him. “Oh, and I’ll need the keys.”
He sighs deeply but unhooks the large set of keys at his hip. Instead of giving me all of them, he unlatches the smaller ring with the three keys he knows I want. “And I’ll find these in my locker before bed check, right?”
“Safe and sound.”
He tosses me the keys and then exits the men's hall while I go in the opposite direction. I use the first key to unlock the emergency exit at the back staircase and then make my way to the locker rooms below.
Mia is there looking nervous, but some of it goes away when she sees me. “Are you sure about this?” She’s checking the ceiling for cameras.
“We’re good. The only cameras down here are at the exit doors.” I take her hand, and her eyes meet mine. “Do you trust me?”
“Yes.” She doesn’t pause to think as she answers, and I nod in approval.
“Come on, I want to show you something.”
I lead her through the locker room and past the rows of lockers. At the back of the room, I use the second key to unlock a solid wooden door. It's an old storage closet, but behind the boxes of dirty towels and cleaning supplies is a false wall. I pull the hidden switch above the frame, and it opens to a stone hallway.
“Where are we going?” she asks when I lock the closet door behind us.
“Did you know this hospital was constructed during the Great Depression?” I ask, and she shakes her head. “The story was that the market crashed before it was completed. But that’s just what they told people.”
“I don’t understand. Why would they tell people it wasn’t completed?”
“My guess is they used all this storage down here to run liquor. If they told people it wasn’t completed, then you’d only know about the area of the hospital you could see. But all of this is underground, and it’s a shit ton of space to finish and not use.”
“I had no idea this facility was that old.”
“Most of it has been updated to the point that you’d never be able to tell. They updated the locker rooms about eight years ago and sealed this section off. I found out because I happened to overhear Dr. Crane talking to Alton about it.”
“So nobody else knows this is down here?” she asks, and I can feel her pressing closer to me.
“It’s kept quiet.”
“Are you sure we aren’t going to get lost?”
“I’m sure.”
There’s dim light overhead from where they ran electrical about fifty years ago, but other than that, it’s long hallways with big, empty rooms. I can see how she’d be afraid of getting turned around. It wouldn’t be hard to get lost because it’s kind of a maze, but I’ve been down here so many times I could do it with my eyes closed.
Up ahead is a door where I use the final key. Once I’ve unlocked it, I push it open and step back for Mia to take it in.
“What is this place?” she says in a whisper as we both step inside.
I turn the switch on the wall, and a few softs lights illuminate the space. The walls are stone except for the one corner that has tile with a showerhead above it. Across from that is a large wooden frame with restraints. There’s also a table with instruments on it, and against the opposite wall is a bed.
“It’s where they bring me,” I say, and Mia turns to face me. Her eyes are wide with what I can only assume is fear as I reach for my shirt and strip it off. She gasps and then covers her mouth with her hands as she stares at the bruises covering my body. “This room is so people can’t hear you scream.”
Chapter Nine