A Forum for Patients of Fourth Hospital

Chapter 99: Alone

Translator: InkyDragon (https://puukkiss.wixsite.com/inkydragon)

The wheelchair-bound doctor greeted Yu Xiao with a faint smile as he observed the elderly couple beside her sprawled on the floor. “Well, hello there, missy,” he said, his tone cheerful but didn’t match his pale face. “You’re the first to venture out of the ward, aren’t you?”

“Am I?” Yu Xiao mustered a smile, hoping to conceal the beads of sweat on her forehead. “And what should I address you as?”

“Qing Shi (青石: “a green stone” or “a young rock”),” he replied, his demeanor as serene as his name implied. “Just Qing Shi.”

“Uh-huh, I see. And the others?” Yu Xiao scanned the corridor,

Qing Shi paused, trying to regain his composure. He had lost track of his speech.

“You were the first to escape,” he said coldly. “The others were still trapped…”

“Wait a minute…” The patient cut him off, his mind racing. “I’m the first, really? Who was it earlier than on the phone?”

Qing Shi remained silent, his eyes gleaming.

**

Yu Xiao’s heart raced as she scoured every inch of the hospital, her anxiety mounting with each passing moment. Where could Misty and Precious be? Surely, the doctor wouldn’t lie about their whereabouts. She had to find them and get them out of this hellhole.

A sudden idea sparked in her mind. Rushing to a nearby door, she tapped on it.

“I have two friends in the hospital. How can I help them get out safely?” she asked, her voice sweet and innocent.

The door remained silent, almost dismissive. Just when she was about to resign herself to failure, a slip of paper emerged from beneath the door.

Grasping it eagerly, she read the brief message.

“Want Heart and Brain.”

“Easy peasy!” Yu Xiao chirped, unzipping her bag and retrieving the necessary items. A devious grin crossed her lips as she continued, “My pals are both girls. One goes by Zhao Lan, and the other answers to Zhou Xiao Zhen. Their forum nicknames are…”

**

Zhao Lan couldn’t do it. She couldn’t bring herself to chop off her own fingers. Gazing at the door, she knew what lay beyond held the key to escape, yet the notion of harming herself turned her stomach.

Sure, she had her stash of healing talismans, but they weren’t miracles. They couldn’t regrow her fingers like a lizard’s tail. And how many more doors would she have to confront in this labyrinth of horror? A hundred? A thousand? Must she endure this gruesome ritual each time?

Perhaps a more direct approach, à la Smiley, was in order. With a quick inventory of her talismans, she confirmed she had more than enough to face any ghost adversary. She could storm in, brandish a talisman, and demand answers.

Zhao Lan wasn’t one to dally. Once her mind was set, she acted. Grasping the door handle, she steeled herself and pushed it ajar.

In an instant, she felt a chilling sensation wash over her, as if a blast of cold air had punched her. She felt something wet on her feet and looked down to find blood. There was a lot of it. It had soaked through her shoes and socks, but she had no idea how long it had been there.

It reminded her of her initial foray into St. Elizabeth Hospital, cowering in a utility room as the Dean passed by. But this was far worse, for she stood at the threshold.

Fear seized her, fingers tightening on the handle.

“Bang—!”

The door resisted closure, halted by an unseen force.

Zhao Lan glimpsed a hand—decayed, rotten—emerging from within, clinging to the frame, thwarting her attempts. Recoiling, she readied her talismans. Was this the end?

Panic constricted her, gasping for air.

The door widened, revealing more of the ghastly appendage. Pus, maggots, an unbearable stench assaulted her senses.

But then, the hand stopped. As if something was yanking it back, the door began to close. Yet, the hand refused to surrender. It frantically clawed at the door, producing a horrendous screeching noise.

Finally, the hand was dragged within, replaced by a cacophony of sounds. Screams, thuds, sobs—a symphony of terror. She pressed her palms to her ears, wishing she could block out the horror.

Silence followed, save for a faint crunching, akin to someone munching on popcorn.

What the hell was happening in there? Zhao Lan felt her legs give out, and she slid down the wall, clutching her chest.

She was about to make a run for it when the door flew open with a loud bang. A pale, bony hand reached out and slammed it shut again.

“…”

Was this some kind of sick joke?

Zhao Lan scrambled upright, poised for flight. Yet, another noise—a soft rustle—drew her gaze to the door, where a slip of paper awaited.

Another note? Did they want more body parts?

Zhao Lan hesitated, wondering if she should ignore it. But curiosity got the better of her, and she picked up the note. It had two words on it.

“Right six.”

**

While Zhao Lan had debated whether to open the door or not, Zhou Xiao Zhen made the decision in three minutes flat.

Minutes later, Zhou Xiao Zhen wished she hadn’t acted so hastily. A putrid, oozing creature emerged, a grotesque amalgamation of decay and horror. She knew she stood no chance against such monstrosity.

So she did what any rational person would do—she ran, flinging doors open in her wake.

Three doors, three monsters. That was the result of her frantic escape attempt. Zhou Xiao Zhen cursed herself for being so unlucky. Why did she have to end up in this nightmare hospital alone, where every room was a trap and every corridor was a maze?

She fled down stairs, desperate for an exit. But fate led her in circles, back to where she started, pursued by grotesque entities.

Tears streamed down her face as she whimpered, “Smiley sis, where are you? I need you… Wuu wuu wuu wuu…”

Zhou Xiao Zhen realised she had no way out. She was cornered by the monsters, who were closing in on her. She decided to go down fighting. She reached into her backpack and pulled out her mahjong set.

Summoning courage, she brandished her mahjong set. “Come on, you freaks! Let’s play a game! If I win, you let me go. If I lose, well, I’ll die anyway!”

The monsters stopped in their tracks. They felt a strange force pulling them towards the mahjong set. They looked at each other, then at the tiles. They couldn’t resist the urge to play. They sat down on the floor, forming a circle with Zhou Xiao Zhen. They took turns picking up the tiles with their rotten hands, arranging them, and discarding them. They played mahjong with Zhou Xiao Zhen, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

Clutching the tiles, Zhou Xiao Zhen dared to hope. Maybe she could survive by playing the game.

They looked like human-shaped piles of rot, with flesh falling off their bones and clothes melded to their skin. The smell was enough to make anyone gag.

She forced herself to focus on the tiles, ignoring the grotesque players. “Please, leave me alone. You don’t want me. I’m the Dean of St. Elizabeth Hospital, you know. I can get you anything you want. A hand, a foot, a kidney, anything. Just name it. Wuu wuu wuu… I’m not even savoury, just skin and bones…”

Her words fell on deaf ears. The only sound was the clicking of the tiles as they played them. She wiped the tears from her eyes and laid down a tile, “Fortune.”

Unseen by her, a shadow lurked at the door, an observer biding time.

**

Humming a merry tune, Yu Xiao descended the stairs.

Pausing at a door, she rapped gently. A note slid forth.

“One pair of eyes.”

Without hesitation, she produced the requested item from her bag.