9 In That Hospital

Tabitha doused her face with cold water before turning off the faucet. What met her in the mirror was her pale face. An inexplicable fear arose in her. That man was a doctor… which meant that the series of suicides that led to the abandonment of the hospital had been put into motion… She held the wash basin and stared at her blood-stained cuffs. What was she to do? She didn't quite understand what role Tabitha D. played in this incident, but if she couldn't return to the "correct" timeline that she belonged to, she would likely end up dying here as one of the "suicide" cases!

The man's suicide caused quite a stir Dr. Mile did not appear even once even when the corpse was removed. A medical staff had committed suicide in such a horrifying manner in the hospital but the director, Dr. Mile didn't even show his face to calm the masses. Why?

Thoughts raced through Tabitha's mind before it finally fixated on Dr. Mile's instructions of repenting in the clean room after her rounds. She had thought of finding a way to escape the need to go to the clean room. After all, she knew nothing about that room. But now, time was tight on her. She had to try her best to figure out the truth or at least, she needed to return to where her teammates were.

Teammates… Tabitha was reminded of Fay. She wondered if the girl had awakened or not. And Aaron… She felt upset at having to leave him alone in the hall to face the monsters while she and Alfred escaped. She hoped that he was still alive…

"Why are you here on the second floor's washroom?" She felt her two taps on her shoulder. She looked up and saw Hedy, the young nurse who was standing behind her, in the mirror. Hedy said with a look of pity, "If Ruby had not informed me, I wouldn't even know that you are here! Hey, you are so unlucky, Tabitha! You wanted to have a break but ended up seeing something so horrible. Anyway, I have done the routine checkups and released Mr. Brown's blood already. Remember to treat me to something sumptuous tonight, like fish! Only so would I not mind doing it for you next time!"

Tabitha turned and attempted to will her facial muscles to look more natural. Hedy gave her an understanding look and patted her again. She treated as though Tabitha was still reeling in the horror of seeing somebody kill himself in front of her.

"Later… later at night… I have to go to the clean room..." Tabitha's voice was hoarse. She clasped her clothes before lowering her hands. She knew no one in the hospital. The only one who could provide her with intelligence was Hedy. Although Hedy was unwilling to talk about the clean room while back in the ward, Tabitha wished that she would engage in gossip since someone had been killed.

Hedy did not appear willing to talk about it but she couldn't bear to see her friend spend her night in a panic-stricken state; especially when she was so close to the death. She checked her surroundings before pulling Tabitha into a compartment. With a sigh, the girl said, "Oh, you came a few months later than I did and you have not made any mistakes before, so you don't know about the clean room…" whispered Hedy into Tabitha's ear.

"The clean room was used to contain mental patients. As you know, our hospital is a private hospital. Rich people with problems are sent here by their wealthy families. It's private and confidential. But that was what happened years ago. You should have also noticed that we do not have any mental patients now. The number of patients has decreased, but the wards are still there. Therefore, Dr. Mile changed it into a clean room. I have never entered but I learned something from Lu, the one who resigned last month. She had cleaned it once. I heard there were many weird instruments and many mirrors in there! Somehow, she kept having nightmares after she seeing those things. In those nightmares, she would keep seeing a different her in the mirrors. That's why she eventually quit…"

Tabitha had an ominous feeling. Was it possible that the clean room was Dr. Mile's lab? But if he was using the medical staff that had committed mistakes for experiments, why was there a time limitation?

Hedy gave her a stumped look and rubbed her hair. "Oh, it's just rumors. You don't have to be afraid. There have been more than twenty people in this hospital who have been to that room and they seem fine. Although Dr. Mile seems foul inside, I believe he's a good doctor. He won't do anything to you."

Tabitha knew Hedy was trying to comfort her, so she did not press further. Besides, the young nurse did not seem to know anything else. She nodded and walked out of the compartment deep in worry. She washed her face again and returned to Ward 6 with Hedy.

Time flew and soon, it was dark outside, accentuating the glowing lights in the hallway. Tabitha looked at the door in front of her and felt wave after wave of fear strike her heart. At that moment, she hoped that she was just drunk and dreaming, that she was not in a weird hospital or in the Rubik World. Perhaps having her teammates beside her would ease her nerves even if she was in the Rubik World.

The corridor was quiet and eerie, with only the sounds of a pendulum clock that sounded rhythmic but hypnotic. She took a deep breath, clenched her fists, and knocked on the door. Nothing happened on the other side of the room. She placed her hand on the handle.

"Click."

The wooden door opened but she saw nothing but darkness.

Tabitha tried to find the light switch but found nothing on the wall. She walked into the room in darkness. After a while, her eyes adapted to the darkness, allowing her to see the outlines of the objects in the room. There were no so-called instruments or mirrors. There was only one stool in the room. She licked her lips, touched the stool and sat down cautiously. She held her breath, afraid that something would suddenly grab her the moment she sat down.

Tabitha sat nervously on the stool for a while before finally relaxing a little after some time. What was going on? Was this clean room really just used by people to reflect on their mistakes? Nothing else?

After a moment of silence, she stood up. She was here to seek the truth. She would get nothing out of it by sitting there for half an hour. The young girl hung close to the wall as she first tried to listen for anything. She then groped around the room. Despite exploring every spot, she found nothing. The room was likely completely made of cement, and the walls felt as smooth as new.

She sat back on the stool and swept the tip of her toes on the floor in frustration. Without even resting for five minutes, she crouched down and groped the floor. It felt like the clean room was regularly cleaned. She didn't get too much dust on her fingers despite touching the entire area.

Half an hour quickly passed. Tabitha played with the pocket watch that hung on her chest. Once the time was up, she walked out without hesitation. When her eyes met the lights again, she suddenly felt a little dizzy. She suddenly noticed that there was something on her finger. On a closer look, it was a kind of ginger-yellowish powder. She rubbed her two fingers together and the flitted to the ground. What was this? She sniffed her fingers. Other than it smelling like rotten eggs, she could not tell what it was.

Biting her lips, she thought about entering the room once again. However, she saw two nurses walking toward her from the other end of the corridor. She twisted her fingers and eventually gave up the thought of returning to the room. She looked at the powder on her fingertips. Instinctively, she knew that the powder has something to do with the hospital's secrets.