Ayla's Supernatural Love Dungeon

Chapter 9

            Althea rubbed her arms nervously as she stared at the calendar. November 2^nd glared at her and made her stomach churn. In many cultures, it was the celebration of the Day of the Dead. For her though…it was an anniversary that she wished never existed.

            “Hey! What are you doing,” Nurse Vera yelled.

Althea jumped, brought back to reality. “Sorry,” she mumbled and ran to the storage closet. Althea grabbed several items and began to stock the carts. The knot in her stomach twisted more. Bile billowed up into Althea’s throat until ultimately, she vomited on the floor next to the cart. Nurse Vera, hands on her hips, shook her head exasperated.

            “Go home. We don’t need a staff member who’s sick,” Nurse Vera grumbled before walking off to let the janitor know of the mess.

Althea wiped her mouth on the sleeve of her scrubs. She sighed heavily.

            As Althea passed the nurse’s desk at the entrance of the hospital a girl stopped her.

            “Althea? You have mail in your cubby,” the girl said.

Althea stared at her confused. She never got mail at her work before. She walked to the cubby area and in fact, found a postcard in her cubby. The picture was of a purple sky with a fountain in the foreground. In the upper right corner, it read ‘Greetings from Indianapolis’ in fancy script. Althea turned it over to see the message. The writing made the knot in her stomach tighten and twist crueler than earlier.

            Happy Anniversary! It was this day that you gave me a second chance at life. See you soon. -Requiem

            Althea spun on her heels and bolted to the exit of the hospital. Once outside she crouched by a cluster of bushes and breathed heavily. The cold air filled her lungs, but couldn’t calm her growing nerves. She heaved into the bushes until nothing remained in her stomach.

            “You, okay?” a voice asked.

The pounding in her ears drowned out the voice or the footsteps of the individual as they approached her. It wasn’t until the person touched her shoulder that Althea jumped startled and a bit scared. She turned to see who touched her. It was Nekros.

            “Are you okay?” he asked again.

 Althea grabbed Nekros and clung to him. Tears spilled from her eyes and her body shook. Nekros hugged Althea in return and rubbed her back comforting her.            

“It’s okay,” he said. He repeated the phrase over and over.