“Hey, Taryn, I have a question. You’ve been to a lot of abandoned places, right?” Rachael asked when she was going over a script that Taryn had written.

“I’ve been to several over the years, is there a place you’re curious about?”

Rachael took out her phone and passed it to Taryn. Looking at it, Taryn recognized the photo instantly. “That’s a photo of a hallway from Marie Rose Memorial Hospital. It’s been closed down for years. It’s been popular for those who explore abandoned places like myself. You can even find videos about it online.”

“Is it far?”

Taryn paused at her question. “Depends on how you get there. The best way is by the subway then two bus rides. Unless you have a car.” She stopped what she was doing to look directly at Rachael. “Rachael, what is it that you want to do there? If you need references, then you can look online.”

“You’re right I can, but I’d still want to go since the script you gave me goes into detail about an abandoned hospital. I thought if I went to one, I’d get a better feel for it.”

Taryn was silent for a moment. “I don’t really recommend going to that one.”

“Is it unsafe?”

“I wouldn’t say unsafe, per se. Just…” she hesitated, then sighed. “Let me check it first. And if you still want to go, then we can make a game plan to do so.”

The sudden shift in Taryn’s tone was odd. She sounded, concerned about something there. This hospital was abandoned so anything could happen, but…

There was something else.

Something that Rachael wasn’t sure about. Something she couldn’t place. Could it have been because of the incident at the mall yesterday?

Rachael opened her mouth only to close it shut just as fast. No, she shouldn’t have to think about it too much. Taryn must have had her reasons to act this way. “Okay, that sounds good to me, thanks Taryn.”

* * *

“Out of all the abandoned hospitals, she just had to pick that one…” Taryn muttered as Isabella drove her home, glancing at her before saying.

“You could always bring her to another one you’ve been to before,” Isabella suggested, knowing that there were at least three others Taryn had been to in the Ontario province.

“I’m afraid if I do, then she’ll want to go to that one even more.” She fell silent for a long moment. “Isabella?”

“We have time before you need to head home. I’ll take some shortcuts. Let your parents know first.”

“Thanks.” Taryn pulled out her phone to let her parents know what was happening currently. All the while hoping nothing would go wrong on this upcoming excursion.

* * *

Rachael glanced at her phone for the fourth time as she made her way up an unfamiliar street. Taryn had texted her address and a message to wear things she wouldn’t mind getting dirty and good running shoes.

She was dressed in worn-out jeans, an old dark grey hoodie and a faded shirt, and her strawberry blonde hair had been pulled back into a bun to keep it from being in the way when exploring. But this whole ordeal made her nervous, the first was because they were going to an old spooky abandoned hospital, and the other was the possibility of running into Taryn’s parents. Rachael couldn’t help but be worried about how they might see her given her current attire.

By the time she reached the address, Rachael had come to a full stop when seeing Taryn’s home. To Rachael’s surprise, it looked normal. Not over the top or one of those newly built homes but one that looked to be a turn of the century. It even had a plaque making this home protected so it wouldn’t be torn down.

It had two levels, three if you counted the little window for the attic, the first and second floors made entirely of dark red brick accented by a type of dark brown wood. There was also a single-door garage attached that had a side door leading to the front patio. The garden itself looked to be well maintained as there was a garden hose attached to a sprinkler, the kind that kids would run through to play near a tall oak tree, there also looked to be a birch tree in the backyard.

Rachael made her way up the stone path to the front door. Then hesitated. She arrived rather early because of the bus and now wasn’t sure if she should knock or not.

Maybe I should have texted her.

That was until the door opened and a tall blonde woman with grey-blue eyes stood at the entrance of the home. Olivia, Taryn’s mother, looked pretty even without makeup. Dressed in jeans and a casual cream cotton blouse with selves that stopped just past the elbow her glasses rested atop her head and her blond hair was held up in a clip.

“You must be Rachael,” the woman said with a friendly smile. “It’s nice to finally meet you,” she then stepped back to allow Rachael to come inside. “Would you like something to drink? Coffee? Tea? I have a kettle going at the moment so you might have to wait a bit. Or would you like water?” the woman paused to look back to see Rachael hesitating. “What’s wrong? You’re allowed to come in, I promise I don’t bite.”

“Thank you,” Rachael said softly as she entered the house and closed the door.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“You can take off your shoes. We have guest slippers in the closet next across from the bench.” Taryn’s mother said then asked again. “Is there anything you want to drink?”

“Water’s okay, thank you.” Rachael sat down on the bench and removed her shoes, finding herself rather humbled by this woman. Given Olivia’s work, Rachael assumed that she would be rather harsh and judgemental, only to find her to be much more mellow and relaxed. “Um, Ma’am? Do you know where Taryn is?” She asked as she made her way over to the kitchen passing the living room and saw a mix of different kinds of furniture, unlike in some other homes, like Rachael’s, which had matching furniture from the same place. Several oil and watercolour paintings of some landscapes or places lining the walls by artists that Rachael recognized as some well-known Canadian painters. One was by a student from the Group of Seven, a group of famous Canadian painters. And a bunch of plants.

Rachael’s mother could only dream of keeping so many alive.

Only to pause when seeing some photos that rested atop a hutch made of oak, of Taryn when she was younger, and two other young men, one must have been her brother, while the other, possibly a friend, another photo of Olivia and what looked to be Taryn’s father when they married and another when they had Taryn. And of another man with Taryn when she was maybe three or four, maybe this man was the elusive Uncle that Rachael heard about and another man who seriously looked like an older version of Mads Mikkelsen to an almost uncanny degree. Possibly Taryn’s grandfather?

“She’s in the basement with Isabella, going over some things for your excursion to Marie’s Hospital today. Honestly, it’d be better if it was torn down but legalities and all that keep it in perpetual limbo.”

Rachael paused from looking at the photos to glance at Taryn’s mother, the woman almost sounded disappointed.

“You sound like you’ve been there,” Rachael said as she joined the woman in the open kitchen where she took a seat on a stool by the kitchen’s island as Olivia offered a glass of water with some ice.

“I have, but that was years ago when it was still a functioning hospital. It was discovered that something was happening behind the scenes, and because of it, it was closed down. Several groups and organizations tried to revive the building for different uses over the years, but it never got off the ground and was left to rot.”

Rachael had done some research on the hospital. Marie Rose Memorial Hospital closed due to overwhelming malpractices along with the suicide of a doctor brought about its inevitable closure. Out of curiosity, Rachael asked. “Where you there for work?”

“No,” Olivia fell silent as if contemplating what to say next. “My daughter was hurt due to the negligence of my sister; she was brought to that hospital because it was the closest one at the time. Some mirrors broke and Taryn was hurt because of it. It was there that I noticed something was off about the hospital, so I looked into it. Which brought about an investigation that inevitably caused it to close its doors. But since then, some people, like my daughter, often go exploring there. I have never seen the appeal of it, but it’s something my daughter enjoys and my husband will sometimes go with her. On occasions, she’ll find something like a ring or a necklace or something else and then we try to track down a living relative who might want it.”

Hearing that surprised her. “I’m surprised that you let her do it at all, given what you and your husband do for a living.” Rachael then quickly closed her mouth realizing she might have said something rude. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.”

“It’s fine,” Olivia said as she went to the stove where a kettle whistled, and went to make a mug of tea. “You wouldn’t be the first to question it given our jobs. But, regardless of what we do, we’ll raise our children in what we think is best.” She then turned and leaned along the edge of a counter near the stove. “Besides, children are not carbon copies of their parents. I see why she enjoys exploring abandoned places, with the history or what others might have left behind. When she’s posted videos of said places, I’ve always enjoyed seeing where she goes.”

“You’ve never gone with her?”

“My cases tend to keep me locked in my office, be it in my work building or here. My husband used to get more time until his promotion to Chief of Police. But she’d never go alone.”

“Because of her bodyguards?”

“No,” Olivia corrected her. “Because of the building itself. It might not be structurally sound. My daughter has had a rather different outlook on life, given at a young age she’s had to deal with things other kids haven’t. And when wandering through old abandoned places she finds that being with another person is best, because when you’re alone anything could happen.”

Rachael was silent, she wasn’t sure if it was because of what Taryn’s parents did. But it made sense because Taryn did seem different from most people their age. She was very down to earth and rarely seemed to swear, but that might have been due to how Taryn was raised by her parents, but then there were times that she would have a type of look like she had seen something that regular people don’t. What could the reason be for that?

“Speaking of which,” Olivia turned and made the short distance over to a set of stairs that led down to a basement. Cupped a hand over her mouth and called out. “Taryn, your friend is here!” soon followed by something quickly coming up the stairs, where Taryn looked wide-eyed and confused at her Mom.

She was dressed in dark blue jeans and a black baseball T-shirt that had the Harley Davidson logo with skulls and roses, while her hair was tied back in a ponytail, something that made her thin, almost delicate facial features all more apparent.

Her gaze then went to Rachael before looking to the clock that was above the stove and then back to Rachael. “Why didn’t you text me that you were early?”

“Sorry…” she was about to when she arrived but had been slightly thrown off when Olivia answered the door.

Taryn cast an unamused glance at her mother. “You could have told me sooner Mom.”

Her mother smiled and shrugged. “I could have, but there was still plenty of time before her arrival, and I needed the excuse to take a break. Are you and Isabella ready to head out?”

“We are,” Taryn said as Isabella came up from the basement next, lavender eyes looking at Olivia. Clear in seeing what the other young woman knew of Taryn, and what to keep silent. “You ready?”

“Yeah,”

“Okay, let’s go then.”

“Be careful when you’re out there,” Olivia said as she kissed Taryn on the cheek.

“I will, we should be back at six at the latest,” Taryn said with a smile that looked childlike as she looked at her mother with love before the two parted.

“You be careful too,” Olivia said to Rachael as Taryn headed out with Isabella to a waiting car. “And one more thing,” her tone suddenly grave as Rachael looked at her with slight confusion. “If my daughter tells you something, listen, no matter what it is.”

Rachael paused when putting on her shoes to briefly look at Taryn’s mother, she couldn’t glean anything from the woman’s expression, but then Oliva smiled gently.

“I’m sure you’ll get some inspiration for your comic; I wish you the best out there.”

“Thank you, Ms. Fortier.” Rachael wished to add more but a sudden phone call drew the older woman’s attention. So, Rachael chose to leave it at that and head back out to where Taryn was with Isabella.

As she sat in the backseat of the car while Taryn sat in the back next to her.

“Something wrong?” Taryn asked.

“Your Mom’s really nice.” When Rachael looked at Taryn, she saw her smile happily. “She doesn’t seem like your typical lawyer.”

Taryn laughed softly. “You’re not the first to react that way when they meet her outside of work. If you want to come by again, I’m sure you’ll get used to it.”

“Is your Dad the same?”

“Yeah, My Mom, my Dad, my Brother, my Uncle, my Grandfather, and even me, obviously. That’s just who we are.”