I have always wanted to visit this old, abandoned hospital for a photo shoot. There was something about the place that pulled me in. I have figured it must have been the interesting textures and lighting I could get from the place.
I guess I was wrong. Continue reading “Fiction: The Old Hospital”
John and Mary had been looking forward to this vacation for quite some time. Being in the busy world of business made them figure a schedule with much difficulty.
John rolled down the windows of the RV for a bit to smell the cool mountain air. His face was assaulted by a rush of wind that rustled his hair and made his breathing quite difficult. He quickly closed the window, and glanced at Mary who was seated beside him.
Mary put down her phone, her face still illuminated by the screen.
“What?” She asked.
“There’s a fog up ahead.”
I was on my way home passing by my usual paths when I encountered a strange and unusual sight.
There, in the middle of the walkway sat an orange cat. At first it was busy cleaning and licking itself, but then it stopped and stared at me with those green eyes. However, it was not the way the cat looked at me that was unusual, it was that this cat wore a black top hat. The hat was small, just the right size for the cat’s small head.
I looked out the window while I took a break from my typing work. I peeked through the blinds, expecting to see the usual view I have of the busy streets from four floors above the ground.
People moved about, cars stopped and started to go again… The usual view.
I was about to go back to my work, when something caught my eye.
I saw a man standing in the street, dressed smartly in a black suit. He was standing there still as a statue, while everyone else seemed to be busy and moving.
I have not thought of it as odd, quite frankly. Perhaps he was waiting for someone?
He moved his head, and looked up.
For a brief moment, I could have sworn he was looking straight up at me.
Impossible, I thought. I was four floors up in an even taller building. There were also a lot of windows here. It would be very difficult for an individual standing on the ground to be able to spot another person inside a window in this height… Wouldn’t it?
The man’s actions made me question my logic.
I looked at him again, and found him still staring blankly and intensely at my general direction.
Perhaps there was something at the top of the building? A passing helicopter maybe? Or how about one of those advertisement billboards? Maybe there is one around here that he was reading? I tried to find reason to his act. I mean, there has to be reason, right? Why in the world would a person be looking up at my general direction for no apparent reason?
Oh, I know… It must be one of those social experiments where you look up and others would start wondering and follow suit.
I looked at the people walking around him… Do they even see him?
My eyes almost jumped off their sockets when I saw a man walk through the man in the suit!
I backed away from the window in complete shock and surprise.
“I- I must be tired…” I looked around the office as I tried to catch my bearings.
Some of my co-workers saw me, yet returned to their monotonous typing.
I gathered my courage and went back to the window. I was prepared to see the man in the black suit still staring at whatever in my general direction. Surely, it must not be me. I parted the blinds with my fingertips and looked down.
He was gone!
I was relieved.
I guess it was just my tired mind playing tricks on me.
I turned around and found myself face-to-face with the man in the suit. His face was expressionless, his eyes cold and blank, yet he was looking straight at me.
“Found you.” The man said. He snapped his fingers and everything went black.
I once found myself in a dark alley in the busy streets of the city one night.
I must have been lost in thought, or had my heads in the cloud that night, but it was incredibly stupid of me to be up and about in a city full of people, and not have my head on my shoulders. I could have been mugged, or my pockets could have been picked.
A loud crashing metallic sound made me spun around. I could not see what it was, but from the corner of my eye, a small, dark shadow scurried into the darkness.
“Rats…” I grumbled. Or it could have been cats, I reasoned to myself as I continued my walk, every so often glancing around at the street signs and lighted business signs that plastered the area.
I had this strange feeling in my gut that I was lost. How could I be lost? I have been a resident of this city for more than twenty years. I have been to almost every inch of the place… well, almost, but there was barely an area that I was not familiar with.
I started to slowly walk and tried my best to trace my steps.
Just how in the world did this happen, and where am I?
The feeling of dread crawled up from my stomach and seemed to choke me.
Breathing became difficult.
I kept walking and walking, and stopped when I realized something.
I was back in the dark alley again.
My forehead crinkled and a scratched my head.
A loud metallic clang made me turn around quickly, and then I saw a rat scurrying in the corner away from a garbage can that it turned over.
My mouth felt dry. I gulped down what little saliva that was gathering in my mouth.
I turned around and ran.
The lights and signs and people on the street were all a blur. I did not care where my legs would take me, I just want to get the hell out of whatever place I am.
I ran and ran and ran, until I could no longer run, and had to catch my breath.
I stood there breathing and sweating.
A few moments and I could somehow no longer hear my heart thumping like a loud drum set in my ears.
I looked around and almost lost the strength in my legs.
I was in the middle of a dark alley. I knew what would happen next and spun around quickly. I saw a large, black rat feasting on the contents of a garbage can. It saw me, and quickly jumped down, knocking the can over, spilling all its contents on the floor.
“What is going on here?”
Then I heard footsteps. It was faint, at first, then grew louder.
It was coming my way.
Who, or what could it be.
The sound grew heavy and loud. It was getting closer and closer.
Friend or foe? I quickly made assumptions, calculations and simulations in my head.
There was no time, I made the best decision I thought I could make at the time… I ran away.
I tried to run into the busy streets that was at the end of the alley, however when my sides began to hurt, I started to wonder how far the exit really was.
I ran and ran, yet saw no end. The alleyway kept going and going. I slowed my pace as I held on to my sides that were starting to be unbearably painful. My speed slowed down to a slow walk.
I probably would have stopped and rested there, however my eyes caught something in the distance, far ahead.
I saw a man running away.
I did not have time to think. I immediately chased after him.
I lost sight of him, but after a brief jog, I saw a figure standing in the distance. I heard a metallic clang as I saw ahead a trash can fall over when a small dark spot of a figure jumped out from the can.
I picked up my pace.
However, when I came closer, the figure up ahead must have been alarmed by my presence, or my heavy steps, that he decided to turn around and run away from me.
I found myself standing where the man that I was pursuing earlier must have been standing. I lost sight of him. He probably was just up ahead. My mind kept wandering as to how he got away from me, when the entire alley was just a straight path.
Clang! I heard a familiar scampering sound as the garbage can fell over.
Then I heard it again. My pursuer caught up to me! I ran again…
I hope you liked this story.
Did you figure who the follower was?
I hope I somehow managed to make it mysterious, and yet somehow enable you to be able to deduce what was probably going on.
If you found my content useful or interesting, please subscribe to my blog, or even share my works to others. It would be a great help in growing my blog, and I would really appreciate it. If you wish to support me in anyway, please consider checking out my Ko-Fi page, or my Patreon Page..
Jomz Ojeda’s Blog 