The next morning, Elena’s fever had finally stabilized, and she insisted on going home right away. The terrifying nightmares had felt too real, and being away from the hospital, even just by a little, made her feel safer. But just as they were gathering their things to leave, the woman from the neighboring bed suddenly rushed in with shocking news.
"The ICU on the east wing… there’s been a murder," she announced, a mix of fear and excitement in her voice.
Elena’s purse dropped to the floor with a loud thud, and her face went pale instantly. Thomas Light glanced at her in surprise, quickly picking up the purse and scattered items, including the medicine bottle the doctor had prescribed, and placing it all back inside.
“Don’t worry,” the woman said, patting Elena on the shoulder as though trying to comfort her. “The east wing is a ten-minute walk from here! You’re safe. But you sure do scare easily. If you were like me, you'd go check it out, but I guess with a boyfriend like yours, you have nothing to worry about—he’ll protect you.”
"Wait, what happened?" Elena quickly interrupted, eager to hear the facts before the woman rambled on further.
The woman scooted closer and sat down on the bed, her voice lowering conspiratorially. “This is first-hand info. My friend’s sister is a nurse in the ICU. She was on night shift last night, and when I went to see her this morning, I ran into a big crowd of police. You can’t hear the sirens from here, but over there, it’s all anyone can talk about.”
Thomas Light raised an eyebrow, confused by her choice of words. A murder being referred to as a “sensation” seemed off, but he kept quiet, noticing Elena’s color was draining from her face.
“My friend’s sister told me that no family members are allowed in the ICU, just the nurses. Last night, there were five nurses and a doctor on duty, and everything seemed fine until about midnight. After that, they all fell sound asleep, not knowing what happened in the middle of the night. But one of the nurses went missing, and they found her in the water station, hours later.”
“Elena!" the woman continued in a hushed voice, "The scary part’s coming. The nurse was dead! They found her head completely severed from her body, and her face was looking up at the ceiling, still smiling. She’d bled out everywhere. It was so eerie that the other nurse who found her fainted on the spot.”
“Water station!” Elena exclaimed in shock.
“Exactly. She was always careful, so whatever happened must’ve been something—well, something supernatural, I bet. But you know what? They say it’s because she had good energy—she’d gotten a little cut on her nose the night before and was upset about it. Maybe that’s why whatever it was chose her.”
The cut on the nurse’s nose… It was the same detail Elena had noticed in her nightmare.
“But wait, it gets worse,” the woman leaned in, clearly enjoying the effect she was having on Elena. "When they investigated, they found a patient in the ICU who might be the killer. He was covered in blood, holding a knife—one of those huge ones used for decapitation. But here’s the weird part: the patient was a vegetative state, completely unresponsive. They found him lying in bed with all his medical tubes still connected, and he hadn’t shown any signs of waking up. So how could he have done it? It doesn’t add up. They’re calling it ‘possession.’ I heard that the police have sealed the area, and no one is allowed to talk about it. So keep this to yourself. I mean, the poor nurse was just 23, so young, and she was beautiful too—she was even on the hospital’s honor board. But here’s the kicker—the patient in question is the son of that family from the recent mass murder!”
Elena's heart raced. She didn't need to hear any more. She immediately stood up, not saying a word, and rushed out of the room.
“Sorry, she must be really shaken up,” Thomas said casually, trying to smooth things over as he grabbed the rest of their things and followed her.
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When he found Elena in the hospital lobby, he noticed her staring at the honor board, looking as though she might faint.
“What’s wrong?” he asked urgently.
“Can you believe it?” Elena said with a bitter laugh, her face pale. “It’s not a nightmare. I was an eyewitness.”
Elena practically ran back to her apartment, and Thomas, ever loyal, stayed by her side. As they drove, she explained everything that had happened the night before, including the strange bruises on her ankles, which served as undeniable evidence of her encounter.
“Looks like we’re going to be living together for a while,” Thomas joked, trying to lighten the mood. "I’ve been waiting for this chance for so long! But I need to swing by my clinic and grab some things, and while I’m at it, I’ll take care of your leave. This will be a great story—our love story spreading through the building.”
“Let them talk,” Elena replied, barely reacting.
“Not worried about it? I mean, with someone as good as me around, other men will just feel insecure. It’ll totally block your chances with anyone else.”
“Don’t worry,” Elena said, a playful smile on her face despite her unease. “I’ve looked around. There’s no one here I’m interested in.”
"How about that guy from the 21st floor, the ad guy?"
"He’s too much of a softy."
"Ah, now I can relax. Alright, I’ll be back by noon at the latest. You don’t have to worry. It’s broad daylight. You don’t need to be scared."
“I know, stop talking so much. And hey, grab the case files on your way back. I want to go over them again,” Elena added, trying to focus on something else.
Even though she was still uneasy, Elena climbed into bed and tried to sleep. The morning light and the bright sky calmed her, and the exhaustion from the past few days finally took over. Surprisingly, she slept deeply, without any more nightmares.
When Thomas returned, he found her sleeping soundly, even though she was supposed to take medication every four hours. He made sure she was resting peacefully and her fever had subsided, then he retreated to the living room to read through his materials. He decided he would talk to Sebastian Novak about the case tomorrow.
No one noticed when a pill bottle, inexplicably, leapt from Elena’s purse and stood on the windowsill, bouncing lightly.
Elena slept through the night, but at midnight, she suddenly woke, feeling the sharp pain of hunger. She hadn’t eaten in almost two days.
“Thomas Light?” she called softly, but no answer came. After calling again with no response, she assumed Thomas had fallen asleep in the living room and got up to check if he had a blanket.
But as soon as she moved, she realized she couldn’t move at all.
The bed was full of hands—cold, gripping hands, pinning her down.
“Thomas Light!” she screamed, struggling to break free, but it was hopeless.
“This is just a dream! Another nightmare! Wake up!” she begged herself, drenched in cold sweat. A freezing chill spread from her limbs to her chest, making her body feel paralyzed as if death were coming for her. But then, unexpectedly, warmth spread from her chest, pushing back the cold, and she was able to move.
“Thomas! Thomas! Are you there? Answer me!” Elena cried, jumping out of bed, pounding on the door, her voice hoarse, but all she heard in response was silence—and the sound of sinister, whispering laughter behind her.
She turned around in terror, and saw red liquid—blood—streaming down the window. The room was filled with five figures, sitting on her bed.
No, not people. Five demons.
One was clutching its own head, the second had a head hanging loosely from its neck, the third had no head at all, and the fourth was spinning its head around. The fifth had its head twisted 180 degrees—just like the victims from the massacre and the nurse from the water room.
They didn’t move, but their voices echoed in the room, garbled and distorted, slowly growing louder.
"One, two, three, four, five…” they counted, one after another, without stopping.
Then, from behind the bed, something crawled out.
When it stood, Elena’s blood ran cold. It was another version of herself—covered in blood, vacant-eyed, its head unsteady, swaying as it tried to hold itself upright.
It shuffled toward Elena, pointing a finger at her, its voice a whisper from hell.
"You’re the sixth."
Despite Elena’s iron will, she collapsed to the floor in a dead faint.
Who said it’s unlucky not to feel anything? In that moment, Elena was shielded in a long, unknowable darkness, unaware that the ghosts were clawing and twisting, trying to enter her body. But her chest—her warmth—kept them at bay. It wasn’t until the first rays of dawn broke through the darkness that the door crashed open.
“Elena! Elena! Are you okay? Answer me!”
It was Thomas, pulling her from the abyss.
"Oh my God! Why didn’t he answer when I was calling him last night?" Elena thought in a panic. "This guy is always missing when I need him most, only showing up at the last minute to clean up the mess. He’s like a policeman."
"Say something, don’t scare me."
"Am I still alive?"
"Completely!"
"Why didn’t you come in last night?"
"I couldn’t get in!"
"Then take me away now! I can’t stay here for another minute!"