The Red to My Grey

by William Dudley Berridge Tuckey

  The detective’s notes underneath disproved this article and left any evidence it had to offer inconclusive as it didn’t add up. Sinclair was known as a violent loan shark that preyed upon the city at the time, his wealth and strength wouldn’t have allowed for such an event to occur.

  Mr Swan re-entered the room with a coffee mug in hand.

  “I’m impressed with your research, sir. You’ve clearly thought ahead on how to conduct your investigation.”

  “Thank you, Mr Norcross, the information you provided me about the inside of the Natsuki estate is unsettling but well documented and has shed some real light on the investigation.”

  “You’re welcome, are we free to go or do you need something else?”

  “I’m not one for bringing civilians into the field but there’s somewhere we would like to investigate. I’d appreciate it if you would accompany me.”

  We accepted his request and next thing we knew; we were inside a black vintage car on route to an abandoned hospital on the outskirts of the city. We stopped out front to see a crumbling building decorated by moss and overgrown trees covering the entrance, their roots clung to the ins and outs of the windows and vents. The doors to the inside were chained and secured with a padlock. Mr Swan drew his pistol and aimed for the lock, but Johnson pushed his arm to the side and lock picked it instead.

  “It’s entirely possible the structure still has residents inside, let’s not wake them with a gunshot.”

  We entered the lobby. The only light came from outside. There was no power and none of the equipment was in operation.

  “Here, boys,” he threw us a torch each for us to explore with. “I want you two to map out the lower floors. I’ll take the high ground. If you find any trouble, do not hang around. Run for it and contact me as soon as possible.”

  We explored the main lobby of the bottom floor without entering any rooms, marking them in Johnson’s notebook. We marked a total of eleven rooms separate to the reception desk in front of the main entrance. The room that really caught our attention was the faculty office; inside was a white board and all around it, chairs and empty coffee mugs decorated the benches on either side of the room. The writing on the board although slightly smudged could still be made out. It showed multiple dates and which staff would be designated to each task to the assigned date.

  “19th May. Angel Natsuki C.T Scan. This is dated after when she was said to be murdered. Her presence here, however, is still unnerving.”

  “The whole thing is making less sense by the second. What about her being here at some point sets you off?” I asked hoping he had come up with more answers than me.

  “If she was here that means the other Natsuki’s were as well at some point; wherever they go, trouble seems to follow.” As he said that, the door slammed behind us and the white board flipped over to the other side. Splattered across it was blood, the only pieces left untouched formed text. ‘IDIOTS’. Rumbling in the vents above created a sense of urgency, that if we didn’t leave, we would die. The door was locked and the lockers at the back of the room snapped open one after the other. Johnson tensed up but didn’t panic as the room fell apart around us. He examined our surroundings carefully before he quickly threw a bookshelf to the ground, revealing a hole in the wall leading into the kitchen. Pots and pans were scattered along the ground; the air was stale despite the size of the room. As we exited the faculty office, the rumbling stopped, and we poked our heads back through the hole. I felt liquid drip on top of my head and I looked up to see blood leaking out of the vent grate above. I said nothing and instead we continued through the kitchen. We opened fridges and pantries to find one with stagnant water with rotting food floating inside. The other was as dry as a bone and was covered in dust. The water wreaked of death and even after tightly closing the fridges, the smell wouldn’t leave our senses. After we distanced ourselves from the stench, we noticed something.

  “You smell that?” Johnson asked after covering his nose. I took a deep breath only to hold my head as it then throbbed from the smell.

  “Ugh, there’s a gas leak. But where from?” We both turned to the oven. Johnson closed the gas valve on it and we went back to the lobby through a large pair of steel doors.

  At the very end of hall to our left, we saw a figure turn the corner. We followed it until we hid around a corner to see a man in a full jet-black suit. He wore a gas mask of the same colour and was armed with both a submachine gun and a heavy shotgun hanging over his shoulder. We didn’t call attention to ourselves; we could only see him from the light that was attached to his submachine gun. Suddenly, a gigantic creature like the one we had encountered in the Natsuki residence ran out into the open and charged towards him. The soldier opened fire and the beast fled as bullets pierced its thick skin. The man pursued after it and disappeared around the corner. I looked to Johnson as if I was going to leap out of my skin and make a run for it myself.

  “I know that was a sign we should leave, but there’s more to find here. We shouldn’t be discouraged quite yet.”

  “If you say so; let’s just keep sneaking around.”

  We entered patient room 101; besides the desk being upturned and a broken lamp hanging by its cord out the window, the room was tidier than others. On the neatly made hospital bed was a journal belonging to the patient that lived in this room. After sitting down and reading it for around twenty minutes, we came to know the patient as Anne. She was being treated for third degree burns to her left arm. The journal describes encounters with her, Angel and the medical staff; she liked to make note of who entered the hospital as well. These are just some of the entries.

  I’ve been pretty bored these past couple of days after being admitted here. It’s so far from the city so I can’t even sneak out to go get some actual food. I did meet a nice little girl today though. She’s well-mannered and polite…she was really cute too. I can’t believe I was avoiding her because I thought she looked creepy. Then again, red eyes are enough to freak anybody out. Her name’s Angel; she kept me company while I waited for the doctor today. – Entry N.1 11th May.

  Today I think I’ve never been so frustrated. I was talking to Angel when some man in a black coat walked into the hospital. He had his arms over some bimbo in nothing but a pair of shorts that hardly touched her legs and a black tank top. I found out these loud visitors were Angel’s parents. I’ve never seen more irresponsible people. It’s the first time I’ve seen them visit her while I’ve been in here. Her father was scary though. I saw in an article in the paper that he was the one who did this to her and was still under suspicion. I can see why. – Entry N.5 16th May.

  There was a fight in the lobby today; it took three members of security to break it up. It was Sinclair Natsuki, Angel’s dad, and this guy named Jason? I think that was his name. He was visiting his wife in room 208 and I guess he was already on edge, so it didn’t help when Sinclair called him trash. Now that I think of it, I remember his wife Amy wasn’t doing well lately. I really hope she gets better soon. I’ve never talked to her, but she always smiles at me when I walk past her room. – Entry N.7 18th May.

  Grim news today. Amy passed away. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Angel so upset; she’s cried for hours. Though I can understand why, the two of them were close. To make things worse I saw Angel’s mother and that Jason guy going at it in the stairwell. Poor girl, I wonder where her crazy parents are going to take her in life while she’s growing up. – N.9 21st May.

  The last entry was torn from the journal. Two words were scribbled on the next page ‘I’m done’. It left us with the feeling that she had given up after trying hard at something she must have thought hopeless. Well that’s how Johnson described it. I had only one thing on my mind after reading the journal, I wanted to visit room 208 to at least understand what my mother went through.

  “Wade, if we want to visit her room, the stairs were in the same direction as the commotion we saw earlier,” he said to me even though I didn’t say anyth
ing.

  “Sigh. I guess we could check out the other rooms first.”

  We took the journal with us and made our way to the next room of interest, the examination room. Inside was various types of medical equipment laid out neatly on a desk, along with medical files of several patients. It didn’t take long for us to find both Angel’s and my mother’s file.

  “Angel Natsuki hospitalised due to fatal head injury. Fatal? Amy Naem hospitalised due to instances of sudden heart failure,” I read aloud to Johnson.

  “Quite the mystery at hand; all the evidence leads to an opposite outcome.” We could hear more gunfire as it echoed throughout the lobby outside. The sounds of gunshots grew louder as the sound of pounding thuds against the floor drew closer. Johnson quickly dragged both himself and me under the desk as we watched the enormous creature swing into the room. It peaked around the doorway with one of its giant claws pressed against it while panting wildly, trying to catch its breath. It watched carefully with big red eyes as the soldier cautiously passed the room. Once he did, the beast rested itself against the wall. We sat silently waiting for it to make a move. It went to the centre of the room and tore open the floorboards; it dropped down and then slid them back in place one by one. Johnson took down notes while I dreaded the thought of going down there. The way was clear of both the beast and its pursuers, so we went upstairs to room 208. Inside the room it was clean and there was a respirator next to the bed. It was just an empty room. I felt no closure. I felt nothing at all, really. When I searched under the bed, I found a photograph of my mother and Angel dated for ten years ago, 19th May. I lost myself and I couldn’t help but cry. The photograph was taken two days before her death and she looked gentle, kind and full of life. It didn’t make any sense and I felt utterly wronged. My hands shook as I held the photograph, we received a call from the detective.

  “I’ve collected sufficient information to carry out my investigation. I think we should call it a day; it’ll be dark before too soon. Where are you two? Let’s meet up before we headed back to the car.”

  “Very well, Mr Swan, we’ll meet you at the elevator on the second floor; be careful, this place has shown its fair share of danger.”

  “Alright, meet you there.”

  When the detective arrived, his overcoat was drenched in blood and his pistol was smoking, his sleeves were ripped and shredded all the way down to his wrist.

  “These Natsuki beasts are tough. I didn’t kill a single one. Fortunately for me, they don’t deal well with shots to the head. How did you deal with your share of them?” he asked casually.

  “We managed to hide from them and collect information in the meantime.”

  “Hey detective, could you just photocopy the evidence? I would kind of like to show some of it to Angel back home as well as my dad,” I asked optimistically hoping he wouldn’t be selfish about it, though I was the one probably being selfish.

  “Normally I would refuse but since she and you are connected in all this, I suppose it’s a reasonable enough request.”

  Ping. The elevator sounded, and it lowered from the top floor to this one.

  “I thought this place was out of power!”

  “So did I!” We all yelled as elevator doors opened. Two of the same jet-black soldiers stepped out and behind them, the elevator was paved with blood and guts of several beasts that laid dead on the floor. We said nothing as they walked past us with armaments slung over their shoulders, like heavy machine guns and shotguns. They disappeared around the bend and more gunshots followed shortly afterwards. We left the hospital and drove back to the city while Mr Swan shared his findings.

  “The hospital’s service was discontinued in June ten years ago. Officials said it was due to widespread malpractice from the medical staff, but the medical records seemed in check to me, except for the treatment of a women named Anne Frey. She was being extensively tested for countless illnesses when she was admitted for third degree burns to her arm,” Johnson and I looked at one another, pretending that name was new to us.

  “Her file said she was even put into quarantine under the pretence of her being a biohazard.”

  “May we see the file?” Johnson asked politely.

  The file read as follows.

  Patient Anne Frey placed in quarantine after undergoing alarming sudden changes. The patient underwent changes to eye colour, hair colour and skin tone in the period of eight hours while asleep last night on 27th May. She was as surprised as we were and is currently in a state of distress as she’s almost unrecognisable to even herself. Her green eyes have completely pigmented to a bright red. Her hair, mid length blonde, turned completely black and grew several inches overnight. Her skin is now very pale and her blood pressure and body mass are the same as last tested, testing in average range. We have come to believe these changes were brought on by Angel Natsuki, a patient whom she’s close with that shares identical symptoms. Perhaps she transferred some kind of infection, regardless now both their injuries are healing at an accelerated rate." – 28th May Doctor Hein.

  What the fuck’s going on anymore? So, the way she is, is infectious? Why am I unaffected then? I thought to myself while Johnson also wracked his brain for answers. The detective dropped us home after we made notes back at the police department. It was around seven pm when I put my foot through the door. Dinner was about an hour away. Angel was chatting away with Charlotte at the table while Dad and Sophia fooled around as they cooked dinner.

  “Say, Granny. You know anyone by the name of Anne Frey?” I asked persistently.

  “I do actually, from a while back, she and Angel were close until she moved away for work.”

  “You do? How’d you meet her?”

  “I met her when I visited Angel in hospital just a few days before her release, actually.”

  It didn’t take either of them long to figure out that I knew something I probably shouldn’t have. The granny looked to the floor while Angel stared into my eyes as hers flickered. I stared back but she darted her eyes to my hands where I held the journal, the photograph and the copy of Anne’s medical file. I could tell she recognised the journal as she nervously brushed her hair from her face while keeping her gaze fixed to it.

  “Hey, Granny, quick question. What did Anne look like when you met her?”

  “A lot like my daughter, just a bit younger and slightly thinner at the time. Why?”

  “Oh, no reason,” I replied with a smug smile on my face as I threw the evidence to Angel. She looked at me in shock after realising her intuition was correct. I kept the photograph to myself and went to the kitchen, so I could shove it in Dad and Sophia’s faces. I threw the photo on the bench in front of them and demanded an explanation.

  “Sigh. I miss her every day. Where’d you find this son?” He asked as he handed Sophia the photo; she looked at it with a smile on her face while preparing dinner as we had our conversation. I told him about my experience in the hospital and he tried to warn me away from it. “I don’t know what this detective is hoping to find from investigating in a place like that, but I want to you to promise me that next time he asks you to tag along, you refuse. That place is dangerous; it’s not just the monsters you need to look out for.”

  I promised that I would keep my involvement to a minimum, but I knew if it meant getting answers, I wouldn’t pass up my chances at them.

  “Sophy, what are you so happy about?” he asked her as he went back to helping her cook.

  “It’s nothing; it’s just that my little Angel was so cute all those years ago,” she continued to reminisce on the past until I interrupted her.

  “Oh, also, I found a journal belonging to one of the patients; her name was Anne. I know I shouldn’t pry but how long have you two been doing this whole flirting thing or whatever? In the journal she said she saw you ‘going at it’ in the hospital stairwell. The journal was dated for over ten years ago.”

  They both went quiet. Sophia’s face turned a bright red while Dad looked to
the ground as he held one hand behind his head. Sophia walked me out of the kitchen and spoke under her breath, so the others wouldn’t hear her.

  “That’s enough, Wade. Go keep Angel company while we cook…don’t look at me like that. Your father’s a great man; don’t let what we have convince you otherwise. I-it’s just complicated between me and him is all.”

  “Whatever you say, Sophy,” I replied sarcastically before walking away from her.

  “Don’t call me that, it’s Sophia!” Dad’s laughter from the kitchen dissolved any chances of tension building between any of us.

  I sat back down at the table after having a shower to wash away the dust that lingered in my hair. Charlotte scowled at me as I noticed the pained expression of confusion from Angel. Her hands shook as she read over the journal, making sure she hadn’t missed out on anything.

  “Where did you find this? It doesn’t make sense at all. I remember Anne, but I can’t remember what would have made her write something like the last page, she was always cheerful with me.”

  “I found it at the same hospital that the two of you were admitted in. So, you never kept in contact afterwards?”

  “I don’t remember anything after the hospital except going home,” she answered as she held her head. I decided not to ask any more questions, but Angel wouldn’t drop the conversation just because I wanted to. She asked me what I was doing at the hospital in the first place. I struggled to answer without panicking on the inside.

  “It was a part of an official investigation,” I replied in a tone I thought was professional.

  “The same as my house?” she asked with frustration in hers.