The Abandoned Hospital

I looked up at the enormous dark, empty building. It had crumbled in some places and many of the filthy windows were smashed or cracked.
The big double doors were closed but one looked like it had fallen off and been pushed back into place.
Aaron was standing a few metres ahead of me, looking at it with a satisfied look, it had been his idea to come here, thinking it would be adventurous and fun. I wasn’t keen and Jess had just shrugged her shoulders, not really caring.
But somehow he had got us both out there late at night…why did it have to be at night?
The hospital had been abandoned since before the 1950s, no one had knocked it down or done it up, so it had just sat there at the edge of town.
“Well girls” Aaron said with a grin, his blonde hair looking even paler in the moonlight “Ready to go in?”
“Why don’t we just leave it?” Jess asked “Maybe come back when it’s light?”
“Nah, what’s the fun in that?” Aaron replied.
Jess shrugged and pushed her t-shirt strap back up into place. She looked as beautiful as ever, with her curly black hair falling loosely out of a ponytail and her chestnut coloured skin glowing healthily.
I rolled my eyes at Aaron and we all slowly approached the doors, pointing our touches up at the dark building.
Aaron and I dragged the loose door to the side. It made a horrible loud noise as it moved along the concrete step.
Inside was very dark and run down, we all hesitated then stepped in.
We had come into a reception room, there were still waiting chairs lined up on one side, whilst on the other side there was a big counter.
The flowery wallpaper was peeling off and everything was coated in dust.
“Woah…” Aaron breathed “This place needs a clean!”
I nodded.
There were two doors, one on the left side of the room next to the counter and one at the far side. Also a set of stairs that went up into darkness.
“Wanna split up, see what we can find?” Aaron asked.
Jess shook her head “Let’s stay together…”
“Yeah… we don’t want to get lost in this creepy place…” I said.
Aaron sighed “ We won’t go far…and if you’re both scared, go together…I’ll go alone….”
Jess shrugged, still unhappy but glad she was going with someone else.
Jess and I went through the side door and Aaron went through the one at the far end.​
I turned the door handle and we entered a waiting room, it was smaller than the other room but had more chairs and a little table with old newspapers on it. The wall paper was also peeling and everything in here seemed to be even dustier.
There was another door at the far end.
We were about to approach it when we heard Aaron scream, but it didn’t seem like just a scared scream…it seemed full of agonising pain.
Jess quickly glanced at me with worry filled eyes and we ran out into the reception room, up to the far door and into the room we had seen Aaron go into.
It was another waiting room and it was empty, but covered in blood. Pools of it mixed with the dust on the floor,  it had been splashed up the walls and over the chairs…Aaron wasn’t there.
Jess screamed, turning pale and I just stood there shocked.
The only other door out was closed but a trail of blood lead out through that doorway, into whatever was on the other side.
I edged around the blood puddles towards the door, Jess reluctantly followed, I put my ear to the door and listened….silence.
I slowly opened the door and gasped, it wasn’t old like the other rooms. It looked clean and well looked after.
There was a desk and a few chairs, some selves and a few cabinets. Behind the desk sat an old man, he wore reading glasses and a brightly coloured shirt. He looked up at me “Hello, how can I help you, young lady?”
I screamed and turned to see Jess’ reaction, she was just looking at me like I was crazy. I turned back to just another dark, run down room. But set out the same way I had seen it before…but no old man.
“I…I saw…Someone was here…” I stuttered.
“Shut the fuck up Lea!” Jess said “I’m scared enough as it is!”
I nodded, still confused.
The blood trail went on round to another door, it was a crack open. Jess stepped passed me “Aaron?!” She called quietly “This isn’t funny…”
She went up to the door and opened it, stepping forward she peeked in. Before I could warn her, the door swung shut, pushing her in.
She started to scream at first with fear and then the same way Aaron had done…with pain.
I tried to open the door but it was locked. I pulled and pushed as Jess screamed on and on.
Then suddenly it stopped and there was silence once more, the door seemed to unlock and I pulled it open.
It was a small storeroom...empty, apart from blood which was everywhere, like in the other room…no doors out…just blood.
I screamed…I needed help…I ran out through the room where I had seen the man, through the other blood covered room and into the reception room.
I was about to charge out the door when I heard “Lea?” my heart leaped, that was Aaron!
He sounded okay! It was coming from up the stairs.
I ran up them, two at a time and came to a corridor…I couldn’t see Aaron though…Just lines of doors, going right to the other end of the corridor.
He must be behind one of those doors! I opened the first one and stepped in, flashing my torch around.
It was a small room, with a bed and some cabinets. It was like the other rooms, dark and dusty.
By the bed was a small table with a picture frame on it, I went up to it and picked it up, wiping the dust from it to reveal a black and white family photo, with a mother, father and their son, who looked about seven and dressed very smartly, with his hair combed back and a tie on.
Despite everything I smiled at the happy family, then put it back and turned. Almost immediately my little smile evaporated as I saw the boy from the photo standing there, watching me.
“Hello” He said as if it was completely normal to be greeting people in old hospitals.
I didn’t say anything and just started to think of ways to get out of here…even if Aaron was up here, I needed to get help.
“I often get lonely here…” he said “But now your friends will keep me company and soon you will join us…”
“You’ve seen them? Where?”  I asked.
“Yes” The child said, not explaining anything about my friends’ whereabouts.
He giggled, I don’t know why…but it sounded half crazed.
That was all I could take, I dodged past the boy and out into the corridor, I ran down the stairs and then stopped as I saw that the reception room was lit up and clean, a woman sat behind the desk and looked up at me.
I screamed and the woman looked shocked “Are you okay, love?” She asked.
Then I noticed behind her was another door, one that wasn’t there in the present version of the room, but I didn’t really care…I needed to get out.
I blinked, the room was back to how it was before, old, dusty and empty. I ran towards the door only to find it shut and locked, I screamed a quiet, desperate scream. I wouldn’t fit through the windows, even if I could get one opened and then I thought about the door I had seen.
I ran to where I had seen it and after fumbling around a bit I managed to get the wallpaper off….revealing a door.
I opened the door easily, surprised it wasn’t locked and entered a corridor with lots of doors, I ran down it ignoring the them. At the far end the corridor turned and continued on.
But I suddenly felt like I was being watched, I turned to see all the doors in the corridor I had just ran through were open and at each one a pale person looked out at me silently.
My throat was too tense to scream anymore so I just ran on down the next corridor hoping for an emergency exit…instead there were some big double doors. I flung them open without a second thought and entered an office.
In the office was a big desk and some chairs, some book shelves and a small sofa in the corner. The room was lit up and clean and behind the desk sat a middle aged man who said “Oh! Hello Miss Corper…So nice to see you…”
I looked behind me, hoping he was talking to someone else, but I was the only one a part from him in the room.
“Are you here because they want to close down this hospital?” he continued a note of anger in his voice, not at me/Miss Corper but at whomever wanted to close down the hospital “They think it’s no use anymore….that it’s not needed now the new one has been built…this makes me sad….very sad…. I believe that’s why they sent you here…To tell me….am I right?” he didn't wait for me to answer the question, he stood up and slowly started walking towards me “I have worked here since my career started, like my father and his father and so on….You will tell your bosses that this hospital can’t be closed down! Undertand?!”
A woman’s voice says “I’m sorry Doctor… It's not my place to say anything…it’s my job to do what they say….”
“No!” he came threateningly close and almost seems to spit in my face “Do that and I will be ruined!”
“I’m sorry…but...” the voice said and then stopped when he brought out a knife.
I screamed and turned away then I heard some new voices…Jess’ and Aaron’s “Lea?”
My heart jumped with happiness, the crazy man with the knife disappeared and so did the room…Then instead, I found myself lying on the floor of the waiting room, looking up at my two friends, I burst into tears.
They both comforted me and then Jess said “You suddenly just collapsed on the floor and after a bit started screaming… it was creepy…Aaron was just about to go get help!”
"How long was I like that?" I asked quietly.
"Not long..." Jess replied.
“Let’s get you home…” Aaron said.
We left the building and put the door back in place.
As we walked away I looked back and thought I saw a face of a young boy looking down at me through a window…but then again… it might have been my imagination….
A few years later the building was knocked down….sometimes I think about what happened…sometimes I think I see white faces…but I never told anyone what happened... Because it confused me too much... Had I seen moments of the hospital's history? Or was it all in my head?
Why had I collapsed? So many unanswered questions that I wanted to understand.
But now the hospital was gone... How would I?