Crossroads by Wendy Saunders Page A

thought she was crazy when she told them she was going to medical school. With her blonde hair and blue eyes and West Coast roots, she looked every inch the surfer chick rather than potential doctor. From the moment she’d hit med school she’d had to fight twice as hard to be taken seriously but she was good at her job. She knew she was and even though Dr Linden had been hard on her Hayley knew she was capable of proving them all wrong. She was going to be a Cardiologist, in fact she was determined to be the best Cardiologist in the whole damn country then perhaps it would finally silence the California Barbie jokes once and for all. Although, she sighed, she doubted it as there was always going to be some asshole who mistook her for a beauty queen instead of a medical professional.
    She picked up her sandwich and took another bite, chewing thoughtfully. Maybe she should dye her hair. She shivered suddenly and frowned. It was cool down in the lower levels but not usually this cold. She dropped her sandwich onto the gurney next to her and unfolded her legs. The sudden and strange scent of flowers filled her nostrils. It smelled like…lilies she decided. She remembered the scent well from her grandmother’s funeral, the whole place had reeked of them.
    She looked up and glanced down the corridor, she could have sworn she’d heard something. Screwing the lid back onto her water bottle she placed in down next to her half eaten sandwich. She dropped her legs back down to the ground and stood up, moving slowly and cautiously in the direction where she’d heard the faint sound.
    ‘Hello?’ she called into the stillness, ‘is anyone there?’
    She was met with silence, a cold clammy shiver crawled slowly down her spine and she swallowed in unease. Suddenly this place didn’t seem so peaceful, maybe she should just go back up she decided. She turned around and her heart slammed into her mouth. An extremely tall man stood silently in front of her, he was dressed in a long dark heavy overcoat and wore a strangely dated wide brimmed hat.
    ‘Um,’ she cleared her throat trying to ignore her heart hammering in her chest. Forcing herself to appear more confident than she felt, she confronted him. ‘Sir, are you lost? These lower levels are off limits to visitors; you need to be four floors up.’
    He didn’t answer instead he raised his chin and slowly his face was revealed from under the brim of his hat. Her mouth fell open in a silent scream at his pale papery skin and pitch black eyes. She felt a pressure and as she looked down in horror she could see his hand plunged into her chest. As he slowly withdrew his hand she saw a bright pulsing white sphere of light, before her eyes rolled back and her body collapsed to the cold hard floor.
    The stranger watched the light pulsing and throbbing in his palm like a heartbeat. His abnormally long tapered fingers squeezed slightly and it burned brighter. He brought the strange ball of light to his face and inhaled deeply, his black eyes burning with a dreadful kind of hunger. His mouth suddenly split into a grin, revealing brown rotting teeth, a sharp contrast to his skin which was so white it was almost transparent. His other hand dipped into the folds of his long coat and pulled free a small glass bottle. Removing the stopper with his teeth he tipped the glowing ball of light into the bottle and sealed it. Cradling the bottle gently he turned and disappeared through the solid concrete wall, leaving Hayley laying grey skinned and lifeless, alone in her sanctuary of solace.
     

Chapter 7.
    Jake sat and stared at the screen with a confused frown. He flicked back to the beginning of the security footage he’d retrieved from the Bailey’s store and watched it through again.
    ‘What the hell?’
    He turned it back and watched it again.
    ‘Shit,’ he swore silently under his breath.
    Pulling the disk, he headed out of the room and towards Mac’s office.
    ‘Don’t you ever knock