Chapter 5

The Revenge is Calling

    The wailing of someone growled from the side of Doctor Aun’s bed. The young man rolled his eyes around since they were the only organ that he could move. He tried to look for the source of the sound. Then Doctor Aun's eyes grew wide, and he wished to open his mouth to scream. How could he not be shocked when the doctor saw the decapitated Nurse Pia standing beside his bed? On the other hand, there was a young ghost named Petch standing beside her. While Petch’s face was bloodless, her eyes were scarlet red, filled with hatred waiting for the revenge day.

    Doctor Aun tried to get hold of himself before he carefully spoke to the ghost, like in a novel he had read. He needed to give it a try… There was nothing to lose.

    “What do you want from me?”

    Unbelievable... A voice from the ghost of that young woman rang in Doctor Aun's ears!

    “I want you to help expose the evil people who killed me.”

    “And… who killed you?”

    “The one who killed me… is the one who will die soon!” she simply said before slowly vanishing into the air, as the spirit of Nurse Pia groaned in pain.

    There was a soft voice calling his name... It seemed to be from far away before gradually getting louder until it thundered in his ears. Eventually awakening, he gasped for air and sweated all over his back. His eyes widened as they looked around the room in shock. So, was it a dream or reality?

    “Aun, what’s wrong? You kept talking to yourself out of nowhere.”

    “Uh… well… I guess I had a nightmare,” said Doctor Aun, wiping away the sweat that had crept upon his forehead. His best friend, sitting next to him, lightly touched Doctor Aun's shoulder out of sympathy.

    “I feel you, Aun. Anyone will be shocked to see such a thing right before their eyes, but you're a doctor. You have many lives waiting for your care. If you remain like this, it will ruin your job. Did you forget… that the most important rule of being a doctor is to save the lives of your fellow human beings as much as possible.”

    Doctor Aun agreed with everything Doctor Golf said. He could no longer be a coward because every problem needed to be addressed. The doctor had to save many more lives. He needed to let go of what had happened.

    But did helping fellow human beings... include assisting non-human things too?

    Doctor Aun asked himself repeatedly while lying down and entering his sleep without any more dreams.

    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

    Nurse Ae had just returned from Nurse Pia's funeral this evening. It was such an abrupt departure... It was too much for her to accept in such a short period. The nurse could do nothing but try to let go. Nothing was certain. Who would have thought that the friend who just had a lunch break with her would die before dinner and never return?

    A young woman went home for a shower and got dressed for the late-night shift in the OB/GYN ward with Nurse Nam. As soon as she arrived... Nurse Koi, who was on her shift early in the evening, immediately asked about the funeral of their fellow in the same ward.

    “How was Pia’s funeral, Ae?”

    “It was all right, but Pia's mother fainted several times, even though she hadn't seen her daughter’s body yet. Hmm... having said it and I felt sorry for her. And you? Aren’t you going to her funeral?" Nurse Ae asked as she put her handbag behind the OB/GYN ward counter.

    “Of course, I will go but today was already midnight by the time I finished my shift. I'd better go tomorrow. Oh...Nam called and said that she has to run some errands so she might be late. You can clock the card for her. I will get going now," said Nurse Koi before grabbing her bag and descending from the ward.

    When one person left…the other immediately felt tingling in her spine!

    Although Nurse Ae had been in this profession for five years, she had never breathed freely when she had a night shift. It felt like many people were still living in this place, even though they were dead. She frequently heard the sound of a child crying, although there were no children in the ward. Or she sometimes heard a cry from the delivery room despite that there was no patient in. Many believed that the souls of the deceased still lingered in the last place they were… and that was the hospital.

    Along the stretched-out corridors, her blood ran cold despite the brightness of all the lights. She couldn’t even look or stare straight because she was afraid of encountering something that she should not have seen at night. Just as she was thinking about it... the phone at the counter rang, making the nurse startled. She put her hand over her chest and let out a long breath.

    “Damn it,” she cursed to herself and lifted the phone to answer. “Hello, this is the OB/GYN ward.”

    “Ahh… it hurts, it hurts….” The voice on the other end of the line called out pitifully. Nurse Ae heard this and wasn't shocked at all. The cases where mothers experienced labor pains in the middle of the night often occurred to the point that they were used to it. The matter was who would be the doctor on the shift. They would be the one she needed to pluck up her courage to call for baby delivery. It was the duty that she was sick of.

    “Calm down, Ma’am. Is there anyone with you? Ask them to take you to the nearest hospital. Or would you like us to send you an ambulance?”

    “Ahh...it hurts, it hurts, I can't take it anymore...I can't take it anymore. Aaaah!" The caller's shriek roared out until Nurse Ae had to put the phone away from her ear before she became deaf.

    A cool breeze blew past the young nurse's back...

    She quickly turned around to look and only found a document shelf standing up to the wall. Next to it was a glass window that was left open. It was pitch black outside; the black shadow of the nightfall embraced the sound of the wind that blew on the leaves clattering.

    “Hello, are you still here?”

    Beep...beep...beep

    Nurse Ae frowned as the other end of the line hung up… She put down the phone before walking to the window. As she was about to close it, she saw something on the branch of a vast tree… It was a white object fluttering in the gust of wind. Upon her careful observation, the young nurse was taken aback and stepped backward. Because what she saw was the figure of a pregnant woman standing on the tree branch. Those eyes stared straight at her as if she was in awful vengeance.

    No way...Impossible. Who...who would stand on a tree in the middle of the night like this!

    Another gust of wind blew... The figure of the woman over there slowly vanished away with the breeze. Only darkness and silence took her place. Nurse Ae slammed the window and pulled the curtain close. It was not true... She was mistaken. It was not a person. It was probably a bird or a bedsheet of a patient that the janitor had hung and blown away.

    She consoled herself... even though she knew in her heart what it was!

    She turned back and sat at the front counter. Trying to calm herself down, she thought ghosts and hospitals were typically a perfect pair. Let's just say that people and spirits stayed in different dimensions. Therefore, please mind one’s own business.

    The bell from the emergency button in front of the counter rang out. Nurse Ae glanced over, seeing it coming from room 505. She strode towards the room located on the far left of the corridor. It was a VIP room too... If she was too sluggish, she might get reported.

    She knocked softly on the door to announce her presence and opened the door with no delay. The patient was lying with her back facing the door. The room was relatively dark, with warm light from the bedside lamp as the only source of brightness.

    "Excuse me, Ma’am, how can I help you?" The nurse asked politely. The woman was still lying motionless, so Nurse Ae stepped towards the patient's bed at a slack pace. The sound of her high heels hitting the floor of the room rang knock... knock... knock…, creeping her out.

    “Ma’am, is there anything I can help you with?”

    Silence...no answer.

    "Ma’am?"

    “No!” The patient suddenly shouted, so Nurse Ae was taken aback. The nurse walked backward in shock.

    “Alright, I won't bother you then.” After that was said, the nurse burst out of the room. She internally cursed the patient that there was no need to raise her voice if she didn’t need any assistance. Why did the patient play with the bell? It was a sin to interrupt the nurse's nap in the middle of the night!

    Being back at the front counter, the fear of the ghost was replaced by the frustration of being yelled at by the patient. So, the young nurse alleviated her boredom by reading a new Korean novel borrowed from a friend to kill time. Her gaze also periodically glanced at the entrance to the ward as she was also waiting for Nurse Nam who would be on the same shift.

    All of a sudden, the bell rang again. She took her eyes off the book and directed her gaze to the source of the doorbell. It was ringing from room 505 again!

    What on earth? Did the patient want to play a mind game with the nurse? Being a VIP didn’t mean the nurse was obligated to please her. This time, she would scold the patient’s ears off. Why in the world did she have to play with the bell? Couldn’t she read that it was to use when there was an emergency? Idiot!

    The girl slammed the novel on the table and took a deep breath to calm herself down. Before she could take a step out, her cell phone rang. She turned to grab the phone and looked at the caller’s name. Seeing that it was Nurse Nam, she quickly answered the call.

    “Ae, I'm in a taxi now. It's almost there. Wait a minute." The end of the line stuttered before Nurse Ae had a chance to speak.

    “Okay…hurry up. The patient in room 505 is playing a mind game with me. Why on earth did she press the emergency button but shout it was nothing when I went in?

    Now she was pressing the button again. If there's nothing else this time, I'll scold the heck out of her.” Nurse Ae fired with utter frustration.

    "What! What have you just said?"

    “I don't have time to repeat myself, Nam.”

    “Hey...Ae, there is no patient in room 505. How come there would be someone pressing the emergency button?”

    “It's not funny. I saw a pregnant woman sleeping in the room. How could you say there's no one?" Nurse Ae argued stubbornly. But the end of the line still confirmed with a firm voice.

    “I was the one who filled the patient list on the ward myself this afternoon. Why didn't I know? If you don't believe me, you can just open the patient's directory to see.” Nurse Nam challenged her friend, who had never compromised with anyone. Nurse Nam might be raving and remembering wrongly. She could see there was actually a patient in room 505. Wasting no time...Nurse Ae opened up a list of patients. Seeing that room 505 didn't have a patient listed, her heart dropped. Her eyes glanced at the door of that room. Her trembling hand could barely hold the phone.

    Sh*t... if there was no one in there, who was sleeping on the bed?!

    "Hello... Ae, are you still here? Hello?" the end of the line asked. However, Nurse Ae had already lost her mind. Her eyes widened as she saw the door of room 505 slowly open. The sound of hinges creaked and shook her to the core. The young nurse stood still as if she was under a spell. The hand holding the phone was so weak that it dropped the phone to the ground. Seeing the figure of a pregnant woman strolling out of the room, the nurse’s mouth wished to scream for help, but it couldn't. At this time, she could only stare at the sight of that nameless woman heading toward her at a slow pace. The ghost’s black hair that covered her face was drenched in blood. Every time she walked; her blood-stained footsteps left a long trail behind.

    Then the figure of the pregnant ghost who stood with her head down reached the counter where Nurse Ae stood frozen. The ghost girl slowly looked up. Its blood-red eyes filled with vengeance caused Nurse Ae to widen her eyes.

    She remembered... She remembered who this ghost girl was.

    "That’s nice you can remember me because it's time for you to pay for what you've done to me!" It was like a ghost could read Nurse Ae's mind. Her laughter echoed throughout the ward as if she had been waiting for this moment for a long time. Time to take revenge for herself and her child!

    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

    A green-yellow taxi pulled over in front of the obstetrics and gynecological building. Nurse Nam hurriedly paid for the cab and headed straight into the building. She had been having a bad feeling since Ae abruptly ended the call. Although Nurse Nam tried to reach her again, Nurse Ae didn't answer. Or it might be the case that Nurse Ae left to fight her head off with that patient.

    The nurse strode straight to the front of the elevator, pressing the door open and stepping in. As soon as the elevator door opened in front of the OB/GYN ward, Nurse Nam immediately knew something was wrong because the television sound at the counter in the front was blaring with no one around. She whisked in to turn it off and swept her eyes for her colleague. However, Nurse Ae was nowhere to be found.

    Nurse Ae’s bag, mobile phone, and shoes were placed in front of the counter, but where did she go?

    “Ae, I'm here, where are you?” The nurse called softly for fear of disturbing the patients.

    There was no response from her colleague but only a soft creaking sound of room 505’s door that was ajar at the end of the corridor. The nurse was slightly stunned and found her heart pounding for no reason.

    She ambled to room 505, taking a deep breath to reassure herself. The nurse swung the door open and went into the room lit only by the warm light lamp on the head side table. Seeing someone's figure lying still on the bed. Nurse Nam was so astounded that she furrowed her brows... Was there a new patient here? Then what Ae said was true.

    "I apologize I didn't know someone was staying in this room. Excuse me," said Nurse Nam politely. Before she could turn around to leave, she ceased her movement when a hoarse voice called her.

    “Nam… help… me… please…."

    “Ae… is that you?” Nurse Nam turned to look at the person on the bed and reached her hand out to turn on the light. As soon as the room was blasted by the light, the nurse was taken aback when she saw Nurse Ae lying on the bed covered by a blanket. Seeing her friend’s body was completely drenched in scarlet blood, she was flabbergasted. The blood-drenched and gushed all over the patient's bed. Nurse Nam hurriedly approached her friend and asked with a trembling mouth. “What happened… what did you do?”

    “Help… me… please…." Nurse Ae gusted out before choking and vomiting her blood onto Nurse Nam’s body. Nurse Nam cried out in stupefaction. Standing stunned, she looked at her friend, who twitched two more times and then lay still before her eyes.

    “What… what is this?” The nurse cried. Her heart and mind were shattered. Stepping bit by bit to the end of her friend's bed, she made up her mind and yanked open the blood-soaked blanket.

    The nurse's eyes widened. Her knees fell to the floor, screaming like a madman.

    “Aaaaah!”

    How could she not be shocked when she found herself in front of Nurse Ae's body, only the upper half of her body was left? It seemed like her stomach was cut by the sharpest knife to the point that her spine was severed. The intestines that were dragged out of bed were hung along the exit to the front porch. The lower half was placed in a sitting position on the balcony railing. What a horrendous sight to behold!

    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

    Doctor Aun felt that he got a good rest for the first time in the past week. So, he woke up to shower early this morning to offer food to monks in front of the hospital and dedicated the merit to Nurse Pia. If he didn't have to be on the shift tonight, he would wish to attend her funeral and to pay his respect to the ward colleague…

    "Golf, wake up, or else we won’t make it to offer the food." Doctor Aun called his friend while combing his hair in front of the mirror. Doctor Golf grumbled in laziness but got up to shower as it was his promise yesterday evening.

    The morning atmosphere in the hospital was fresh, with a cool breeze blowing gently when Doctor Aun and Doctor Golf left the medical student dormitory.

    “Are you getting better, Aun?” asked Doctor Golf, yawning in exhaustion.

    “Yeah… I’m much better now. Maybe it was due to the good sleep.”

    “Good, then you will be able to work in your best condition. If it’s not worth remembering, don’t take it to heart.” Though his friend beat around the bush, he got it anyway. The ‘not worth remembering’ story that Doctor Golf said was certainly about Nurse Pia.

    "Sh*t! I forgot my phone, wait a minute. I will go back to our room real quick."

    “Hey… be fast, Golf. Or we can’t make it in time."

    “I know…” The friend replied and ran straight back to the dorm, which was not too far from there. Doctor Aun went to sit and waited for his friend on the marble bench under the big tree. Sweeping his gaze around, he found some elderly people practicing Tai Chi (1) in the cement courtyard on the side of the hospital. After he had been lost in thought while watching their moves, he came to his senses when someone had already stood beside him.

    “You’re back, Golf.” But when Doctor Aun turned to look, he was startled. Because the person he saw was not his friend but Nurse Ae, who was standing there with her bloodless face. Her countenance was so indifferent that she looked hostile… It was probably due to her late-night shift, together with her sleep deprivation. "Hey...Nurse Ae. Is your shift over?"

    She didn't reply... but nodded.

    "Then go back to rest. Yeah, did you go to Nurse Pia's funeral last night?"

    Once again, she refused to answer... but nodded in affirmation with a calm face.

    “I think I'm going to pay my respect to her tonight. Anything in this world is all impermanent. When it’s time, people leave before they get any chance to say goodbye. I just came to this ward a few days ago. But you, who have been with Nurse Pia for many years, must be much more heartbroken than me. Anyway, keep holding on, Nurse Ae." Doctor Aun said as Nurse Ae merely nodded back again. Seeing that, he secretly scolded her in his heart and wondered whether she could speak or not. Why did she only nod her head? This was so uncomfortable.

    “I’m coming… Aun.” Doctor Golf's voice sounded as he ran gasping toward his friend. Doctor Aun took his eyes off the nurse and beckoned Doctor Golf.

    “Here you are, Golf. Well, Doctor Golf and I are going to give alms for Nurse Pia. Nurse Ae, would you like to join?” He turned around to ask her. But Nurse Ae was gone already... how could she disappear so quickly, as if she could vanish in the air? “How strange… She should have told me first before she left.”

    “What are you complaining about, Aun?”

    “Nothing, I’ve just talked to Nurse Ae, but she suddenly disappeared. Whatever I asked, she only nodded her head." Doctor Aun grumbled as soon as he had a chance while Doctor Golf frowned and spoke to his friend.

    “But I haven't seen anyone with you, Aun.”

    “You might not have noticed. Hurry up...it's late."

    Doctor Aun got up and led Doctor Golf to the side of the building leading to the hospital's front. Before reaching the destination, Doctor Golf spoke up and called Doctor Aun to hold on first when he noticed two police cars parked in front of the OB/GYN building. There was also a car with a sticker of a television channel parked next to them.

    “Wait a minute, Aun.”

    “What else? Why are you stopping me from giving alms? You are too much,” said Doctor Aun before stopping his step and looking straight to where Doctor Golf pointed out. As soon as he saw what Doctor Golf was curious about, he couldn't help but wonder too.

    What happened at the OB/GYN ward? Or the police came to inquire about the death of Nurse Pia yesterday. But he gave all his statements.

    “I think we should see what happened,” said Doctor Golf, to which Doctor Aun nodded in agreement. So, both of them headed to the front of the OB/GYN building. The building was now filled with police, journalists, patients, and even nurses from other wards. All were whispering in panic.

    "I'll ask the nurse what happened." Doctor Aun volunteered before walking straight to Nurse Nam, who was bawling her eyes out while a nurse from another ward patted her back to console her.

    “Nurse Nam…why are you crying?” asked Doctor Aun. She looked up at Doctor Aun with bloodshot eyes. Her face was chalk-white drained of color. The nurse's dress she was wearing was drenched and tainted with dried blood.

    “Ae… Ae is dead.”

    "What? Don't joke with me, Nurse Nam. I talked to Nurse Ae just now.” Doctor Aun chuckled softly in his throat, although his throat was dry and in the slightest in the mood to laugh.

    Nurse Nam turned even paler, weeping harder until she fainted, so the nurses there gave her first aid. While Doctor Aun was standing in utter bewilderment.

    He was startled again when someone's hand touched his shoulder. The young man turned to see Joke, the motorcycle rider standing there and asked.

    “What happened, Joke?”

    “It's very scary, Doctor Aun. Last night, when Nurse Nam came back from running errands. She found Nurse Ae lying in a pool of blood with her body torn apart. The upper body was in bed while the lower was arranged in a sitting position on the balcony of the room. The intestine was dragged away from her top half. It's terrifying. I ran up to see when her body was carried away. The image was still haunting me. It was more gruesome than Nurse Pia’s.”

    The doctor's face turned pale...a lot of questions arose in his mind.

    If Nurse Ae was dead... Who was the person he talked to this morning?

    Was there any connection between the death of the two nurses?

    Was it the young ghost named Petch who did this?

    What was this all about?

    Doctor Aun suddenly felt like the world was spinning... and then everything suddenly blacked out.

    “Hey… Doctor Aun fainted!”

    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

    (1) Tai Chi is a Chinese martial art that combines diaphragmatic breathing and relaxation with gentle movements together.