THE HOSPITAL

Danny had fled the house a short while later, got into his car and made away. Ellie knew he was going home to wash the blood off his clothes and hands, but she had not wanted to go home. There was no home anymore. All she had left was an idea. An idea to find the man who had killed her, and then to drive that knife through his heart. She wanted it, relished in the thought of his blood upon her hands, but it was impossible. She couldn't even walk through doors or walls. She was a ghost, a spirit, a phantom, whatever it was people would call her. Not like anyone is going to know I'm a spirit, Ellie thought to herself as she walked down the quiet road, her hands in her pockets and her head bent in a depressed manner. She knew where she was headed, and she wanted to head there desperately.

She needed to see if they were ok. Ellie hurried her pace, her shoes slapping against the concrete yet no sound rising from the impact. She walked for another hour, or at least what felt like an hour, the silence of the dark world both consoling and terrifying. She didn't even realise she was there until she bounced off the glass doors. The glass held as though she were but a feather, not even making the door shake. She reached for the doorhandle, and then stopped herself, remembering she couldn't interact with it. She waited, the night air sending a chill down her spine, which she thought should have been impossible. She peered through the glass curiously, and her heart leapt. There they were. The Family. They were the largest group in the waiting room, some hugging each other while others sitting in silence. All of them looked both tired and depressed, all their eyes puffy from possible hours of sobbing.

She tapped on the glass, but no sound came from her fingers as they rapped against the smoothness. She wanted to smash against it as hard as she could, to shatter the glass just to step inside and get closer to the people she had known almost her entire life. A wave of panic and realisation washed over her. She wouldn't be able to see them again…wouldn't be able to hold them or touch them…she would watch them die from age. Panicked, she beat her fists uselessly on the glass, desperate to get in, desperate to talk to them. A sniffling sound caught her attention, and Ellie slowly turned, eyes trying to lock onto the source of the sound. She couldn't see anything, but yet the sound came again, louder than before. It sounded like…crying? She hurried her steps and came to a sudden stop. There was a child crouched against the wall around the corner she turned.

Ellie stepped forward gently. The child looked to be male, a few years younger than Ellie was with brown hair and blue eyes, curled into a ball and sobbing. Ellie felt a strong sense of sympathy run through her, so she crouched and reached to touch the child's shoulder, expecting her hand to pass through him like it did everyone else. It didn't. She touched his shoulder, felt the cloth of his shirt against her fingers, and shrank back. The child stopped crying and looked up, his eyes finding her and then widening. "You're dead too?" Ellie whispered, and the child slowly nodded, wiping his face and standing to stare at her. "Who are you?" he asked, his voice full of panic and fear. "My name's Ellie…I woke up today," she whispered, and the boy slowly nodded. "I did too," he whispered, "I was murdered last night."

Ellie stared at the boy, a feeling of unease circling through her body. "I was as well," she whispered back. Just then, the door to the hospital opened, and someone hurried out. Ellie grabbed the boy by the shoulder and dragged him in, letting it shut behind them. "Sorry, I assumed you were waiting to be let in," Ellie whispered when she noticed the boy's surprised expression, and he nodded. "So, what's your name?" Ellie asked as she eyes the Family. "Thomas," the boy replied uncertainly, and Ellie nodded. "Well, Thomas, why don't we stick together?" Ellie whispered, not telling him her suspicions, and Thomas nodded. A nurse in her late twenties came out into the waiting area, looked down at her notepad, looked up and called out the names. "Jacob, Sienna, Darcy, Luke, Vivian, Vironica, Luke, Chloe, Nicola and Mikayla." As one, the Family stood.

"Sorry, you can't all come in at once, she needs to rest. Only four at a time," the nurse instructed, yet Jacob stepped forwards, a fierceness in his eyes that scared even Ellie. "We are going in…all of us," he growled defiantly, and the nurse raised her eyebrows. "Sir, we could have the police and security escort you all out," the nurse said in a clipped tone, and Jacob snarled. "It would be a shame to need beds for all of your security," he hissed, and then a hand grabbed his shoulder. He turned, expecting a fight, but it was Mikayla. "Leave it. We'll decide who to go first. Three trips," she whispered, and Jacob slowly bowed his head, nodded and took a step away from the nurse. They turned to the others. "I'm the last person she will want to see. Darcy, Mikayla, Luke and Vivian. You guys go," Jacob instructed.

Everyone looked like they were about to object, but one glare from Jacob made them shut up and move off, following the nurse. Jacob sat down, and Ellie sat in the seat next to him. Only Vironica, Chloe and Sienna remained with Jacob, who brooded in silence. Chloe looked like she was about to sit next to Jacob and Ellie, not wanting to intervene even if she wouldn't be sat on, stood and moved away. Chloe did sit down next to Jacob, turned and then embraced him tightly. Jacob let out a sound of surprise but sat up so that he could return the tight hug, tears dripping down his face. 'You ok?" she whispered as they both pulled away, and Jacob shook his head, the movement looked forced and unnatural. Ellie had never known Jacob to shake his head, or even say no for that matter.

"We've lost someone…now is our time to mourn them," Chloe said softly, but to everyone's surprise, he shook his head. "No…now is our time to catch this bastard," he whispered, and Chloe sighed. "Jacob, we've discussed this. We have no information on who he is, and even if we did, what are you going to do? Kill him with your bare hands?" Jacob looked up; his eyes fuelled with rage. "The thought is on my mind." Chloe opened her mouth to respond, but then the others came back to the waiting room. "Before anyone else goes in…Rachael needs to see Jacob," Darcy announced, and Jacob shook his head. "She asked for you specifically," Mikayla said, and slowly Jacob rose from where he sat. "We'll talk later," he whispered as he passed Chloe and followed Darcy down the hallway. Ellie followed, Thomas behind her, although he looked confused as to where they were going.

They followed, and Ellie took notice how neither Jacob nor Darcy spoke, the only sound being their shoes slapping against the white tiled floor. Ellie didn't even notice where they were going until Thomas grabbed her shoulder, making her stop outside a door Darcy and Jacob just entered. She glanced at Thomas, and then led him inside, making sure to keep her distance from the two. "I'll wait with the others, man," Darcy said, patting Jacob on the shoulder before turning and marching out the room, the door shutting behind him. Ellie surveyed the scene. It did not look good. Rachael was sitting up in her bed, looking paler than usual, a large bandage wrapped around her head and IV's attached to her arm. There was also a blonde police officer in the room, a tight expression on her face and a notepad in hand. She stood when the door shut, and Ellie backed away a little.

Thomas was beside her and also staring around, although his expression was one of confusion. "Sir, my name's Sarah. I have some questions for you," the officer said, and Jacob nodded as he stood beside Rachael's bed. Rachael stared up at him warmly, a small smile on her face, although Jacob's expression was hesitant and even afraid. "What was your reaction to finding the bodies?" asked Sarah, and Jacob's knuckles instantly clenched. "Don't," he murmured, and Rachael shot Sarah a warning look. The police officer nodded, took a deep breath and started over. "Did you see him?" she asked, and slowly Jacob shook his head. Rachael looked incredibly surprised. "But we were standing next to each other! We both saw him!" she insisted, but Jacob shook his head yet again. "No, I didn't," he said forcefully before turning to the officer. "Give us a moment."

It was a command, not a request, but the officer nodded all the same and hurried out the room. Ellie watched intently as Jacob leaned forward to stroke some of Rachael's hair off her face. "I lied," he murmured, "I saw him. Clearly." Rachael let out a sound of annoyance, "Why didn't you say anything!" she demanded, her voice shrill with anger. "Because the police are shit at finding people. Missing people happen all the time. Rapists, murderers, thieves go around everywhere. They're rarely caught! You expect me to wait fifteen years for this fucker to be caught? No! I'm finding him myself, and I'm going to kill him!" Rachael's eyes were wide, and she even looked scared, Ellie noted. "Jacob…you can't," she whispered, and a look of intense fury passed over Jacob's features. "Says who? The law didn't protect Leila, Ellie or Ellie's friend. Why should it protect him?"

Rachael searched for words, and when she didn't find any she bowed her head in defeat. "We'll both look for him, but if we find him, we hand him over to the police." Jacob looked like he was about to argue, but now Rachael's icy glare hit him, and he dropped his gaze. "Fine," he agreed, a look of disappointment on his face. "Now come here and give me a hug," Rachael said, smiling, and Jacob leaned over and embraced her tightly. Rachael returned the hug. "You looked badass out there," Jacob murmured as he pulled away, and Rachael chuckled appreciatively. "It was nothing," she said modestly, and Jacob giggled a little. Ellie didn't know that was possible. How was he giggling like she had told a joke? You chased a lunatic on a motorbike with your own motorbike. If that isn't badass and brave, I don't know what is," Jacob replied, a goofy smile on his face.

"Now bring in the others, it's time I got my share of hugs from the rest," Rachael said, laughing a little, and Jacob returned her laugh before stepping out the room, leaving the door open. Ellie went to follow, but Thomas shoved an arm out and caught her around the stomach, preventing her. Ellie whirled to Thomas, an expression of mistrust illuminating her face, but Thomas was pointing over her shoulder. Ellie turned, and focused her attention on the TV that Thomas was pointing to. There was no sound, but the headline was clear: FIVE MURDERERED AT LOCAL RESTAURANT. KILLER ESCAPED. Ellie felt her blood run cold. Five? Five murdered? She glanced at Thomas, whose eyes were wide. "I remember…" he whispered, "I was there just before I died." Ellie slowly nodded but didn't say anything. Her mind was racing. Just then, someone else stepped into the room and stood in the doorframe.

Rachael's eyes went wide when she saw the girl her age, and Ellie knew exactly who this was, even if she didn't know her personally. It was Livia, Rachael's girlfriend. "Come on, we shouldn't be here for this," Ellie murmured, and Thomas nodded, following her out as Livia began speaking to Rachael in a clipped and almost forced tone. Ellie walked down the corridor with Thomas, both of them silent as the shock settled in. Murdered in the same place at the same time. The words circled Ellie's mind like a tornado, constantly twisting and reforming the sentence until it drove her mad. "Ellie…what do we do?" Thomas asked in a gentle but firm voice, and Ellie turned to him. "There were five in total," she whispered, and Thomas nodded, "And there's us two so far…I don't think it is a coincidence we're both able to be like this. I think there are three others."

"So, what are we going to do?" murmured Thomas, staring at Ellie strangely. Then it hit her. He's looking up to me. Ellie thought for a few moments, and then she nodded to herself before locking eyes with Thomas once again. "We find them…the other three," Ellie murmured, and then she looked up at the sound of footsteps coming from the corridor. Livia was walking out, a smile on her face…but the smile never reached her eyes. Ellie could see, even from here, how furious she looked. How much she wanted to punch someone…how much she wanted to kill. Ellie had never been one to read emotions, but maybe being a spirit made it easier. Because she knew who Livia was furious with, and it was not the killer. It was Rachael.