When I awoke from surgery I expected to see a nurse or maybe two nearby, but the reality was horrifying. Not only was I in a dimly lit room filled with other hospital patients, but there was not a nurse in sight. The walls and ceiling looked makeshift. The room had a damp, cool atmosphere that I just could not seem to shake.

I sat up in my bed, searching for a nurse to explain where I was and how the surgery went. It was useless, however. The room was not very large, but there were five other patients with me. It felt cramped and rushed. I laid back down, the other patients fast asleep, and closed my eyes.

Sleep evaded me, though I so longed for it. It must have been an hour or two that passed by and I was still wide awake. I could hear the other’s breathing, soft rain on the roof or walls, and every now and then someone would walk past the only door to my left. Suddenly I heard a noise that made me freeze. I held my breath, daring not to make any movement. A low growl, a guttural sound that was almost human but more animalistic. Primitive. Like it had been here since the beginning of time. The room was filled with an icy heat, a cold that burned the edges of my fingers and toes. The air felt heavier, thicker, darker.

“Yes, Master?” A patient to my right whispered. I dared not open my eyes to look.

“It is time. Kill. Kill for me.” As quickly as the sound has come, the entity that uttered it left. I could feel the room go back to normal - well as normal as it was to begin with at least. For the first time I allowed myself to breathe, slowly, quietly. I opened my eyes cautiously to see the patient standing over a young girl directly across from his bed. His eyes were closed, and he moved as if he was still asleep. I watched in horror as he pulled a syringe from a drawer and filled it with air. When he went to put it in her IV, I knew already was going to happen. I closed my eyes and waited. The cacophony of alarms and nurses shuffling did not take long to come alive.

When the chaos had died down, one nurse remained to clean up the bed. I sat up in my bed, and she rushed over to me. “Finally awake huh? I bet that wouldn’t have been easy to sleep through. Let me give you something to put you back down until the doctor is ready.”

“What? No, tell me what’s going on here! Where am I? Why hasn’t anyone seen me after my surgery? Did everything go okay?” I almost began to tell her what I saw when I awoke, but I decided to stop there.

“Oh no, it’s worse than I thought.” Her blue eyes sparkled with cheer, but her smile had turned downward. She quickly reached for medicine I assumed was to knock me out. I refused to stay still for her, I fought with every ounce of strength I had. I didn’t understand what was going on. Why was she trying to make me sleep? I decided I had nothing else left to try.

“You don’t understand, I saw someone in this room kill that girl! I can’t stay here!”

She stopped trying to inject me for a moment, but a horrifying grin formed on her face. “Yes, that does tend to happen.” The icy cold air was suddenly back, and my shoulder burned hot with pain. A large black hand with long claws and rough skin gripped me tightly and I felt a pinch in my arm as the nurse was able to inject me.

I couldn’t fight the sleep, though I tried.