Isabella glanced at the clock on the wall, noting the time with a sigh of relief. Her morning shift ends in thirty minutes, but there’s still work to be done. She adjusted her scrubs and headed into the private ward where a patient was recovering from hip surgery.“Afternoon, Madam. How are we feeling today?” Isabella asked, her tone warm and reassuring.The patient smiled weakly. “Better, thanks to you.”Isabella carefully checked the patient’s vitals, recorded them in her chart, and helped adjust her pillows. “Remember, if you need anything, just press the call button. My colleague will be here soon.’’Twenty-five minutes later, Isabella made her way to the nurse assistant's station, where she updated her patient charts. The head nurse caught her eye.“Almost done for the day, Isabella?” the head nurse asked, sorting through a stack of files. “Just wrapping up now. Do you need anything before I go?”The head nurse shook her head. “No, you’ve done more than enough. Get some rest t
Isabella held her chest. The pain had gotten worse and she felt breathless. She closed her eyes for a moment and breathed slowly.‘’What’s the matter?’’ Carlos asked, reaching out his hands to her. ‘’Are you alright?’’‘’Take your filthy hands off me,’’ Isabella growled.Carlos raised both his hands in surrender.‘’You’re lying. I know you are.’’ Isabella eyed him, as he bit her lips.‘’Science doesn’t lie, my dear Isabella,’’ Carlos replied, producing a paper from the inner pocket of his coat.‘’Here,’’ he handed it over to her. ‘’I made a copy for you.’’Isabella hesitated for a moment, then grabbed the paper from his hand. She studied it for a minute,‘’You used my work hospital?’’ Carlos nodded, smiling.‘’I’ll have to confirm this. And then run the test in another hospital.’’‘’Be my guest,’’ Carlos smiled, reaching for his pocket. ‘’You’ll need this too.’’‘’What’s that?’’ Isabella gazed at the black card in his hands.‘’It’s all the money you need for the test and more. Conside
Sector 9. Eastern Desert, Bureau of Paranormal Affairs HeadquartersAlex sat in the chair near the door, pondering over the past two days' events.Serena’s parents had been so upset with her condition, that they didn’t allow anyone, including him, close to her room.He wanted so badly to heal Serena in the hospital but he had to respect the wishes of Dr and Mrs Davis, who left strict instructions that nobody was to visit her except them.On the day she was transferred to Sector 9, Agent Q had a long discussion with her father, after which he agreed to the arrangement, signing some documents. She was flown in an air ambulance while Alex and the BPA agents followed in another helicopter.‘’What happens to her now?’’ Alex had asked Agent Q.‘’Well,’’ he replied, ‘’As I told you earlier, she’ll be attended to by our medical crew.’’‘’They’re the best.’’ Agent X added, noticing the tense look on Alex’s face.They soon landed on what seemed to be a helipad almost covered by the desert sand.
“Come in,’’ Agent Q called from the inside.A green indicator light flashed and the door opened. As Alex entered, he marvelled at what he saw.It was a huge hall with all sorts of communication gadgets and equipment. Dozens of screens adorned the walls, with computer operators manning some of the desks. There was also an indoor balcony that oversaw all operations going on across the hall below it.‘’Over here,’’ Agent Q waved from the balcony.Alex made his way upstairs and onto the balcony. From there he had a good view of the entire hall. At the centre of the room was a large table with twelve executive chairs and a large screen.‘’This is the command centre,’’ Agent Q motioned him to sit. ‘’From here, we monitor and control all that happens in the situation room below us.‘’It’s huge,’’ Alex said. ‘’So what goes on here?’’‘’Agent X,’’ Agent Q mentioned, as he sat on his chair.‘’From the situation room,’’ Agent X took over. ‘’We monitor all paranormal activities.’’ ‘’All of them
‘’Where is she?” Alex was now in a panic mode.“In the private ward,” Q replied as he turned to his office. “Stay with her. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”“I’ll come with you,” X offered. Both men moved quickly from the situation room and were soon at the door of Serena’s room. Alex could see traces of blood on the floor.As they opened the door, they saw two doctors and two other nurses who were setting up a drip line for Serena, who lay motionless on the bed.‘’What happened?” X asked as the chief doctor rose to greet him.‘’The nurse came to administer her medication when she grabbed the scissors and stabbed her,” he explained.“Scissors?” Alex asked.“Yes,” the doctor continued. “She picked it from the nurse’s tray.”Alex shook his head in surprise. “But I just spoke to her not too long ago. She appeared calm.”“We’re doing our best to ensure she recovers fully.” the doctor said, forcing a smile. “She’s been sedated and is now in deep sleep.”“Can I stay with her for a moment?”
The operator got to work, pulling out the electronic files of Tyler and Ryan, containing all their records.“I’ve transferred to your official cloud sir. You can access it using your password.”“Password?” Alex stared at her.“Check your access card, sir, it’s a barcode.”“Oh okay,” Alex replied sounding relieved.Oh there you are,” Q stepped out of the elevator, walking towards him.“Agent Q, where can I get hold of a computer?” Alex asked.“You can use the control centre up on the balcony,” Q replied. “Or my office.”“Alright,” said Alex. “I’ll be back.”Thirty minutes later, Alex reclined his chair backwards and marvelled at the information he had just obtained.‘’So that’s why they’ve been quiet,” he thought. “They’ve been planning this all along.”He saw what looked like a satellite photo, and zoomed into it. He could make out two figures whose heads were covered by their hooded shirts. He tried to access the security camera footage from Serena's house, but there was none.“I gue
“Knock, knock, knock!”Silence.Serena and Alex stared at each other.“Well, don’t just stand there,” Serena said pointing to the door. “Open it, while I clean up this mess.”Alex walked to the bathroom exit and paused suddenly.‘’But how do we explain what happened?” he replied. “I think you should get back to bed.”Serena hesitated for a moment. “You think that’s a good idea?”“We don’t know who’s at the door.”“Okay if you say so.”There was another knock and Alex proceeded to open it, while Serena quickly jumped into her bed and sat upright.As he opened, a nurse showed up at the entrance, looking puzzled. “What happened?”“Oh uhm,” Alex scratched his head. “I was in the bathroom.”The nurse froze on seeing Serena sitting up on the bed. ‘’Miss Davis?”Alex looked at her and then back to Serena who was now smiling. “Uhm,” Alex stammered. “She complained of wanting to vomit. So I took her to the bathroom and she did - ”“I felt better after that,” Serena cut in.The nurse still sto
“And what exactly do you have in mind? Tyler eyed Diego in disbelief.“Simple,” Diego said, relaxing in his chair. “Grand Theft Auto.”“What about that?” Tyler asked, looking puzzled.“Well dummy,” Diego sneered. ‘We’ll file a complaint that your car was stolen.”Silence.Ryan and Tyler nodded continuously while exchanging glances.‘Why didn’t you think of that earlier?” Ryan joked, giving Tyler a friendly jab in the arm. Tyler smiled, a relieved look on his face. But the smile quickly melted into a frown.“What now?” Ryan poked him.“What if the cops question the timing of the report?” Tyler replied.“Hmm.” Diego nodded. “I’ll get a friend of my father’s to handle it. He’s a cop on our payroll.”“I’d drink to celebrate that,” Ryan declared. “What do you have, Diego?”Diego smiled, picking up the receiver of his intercom. “Send champagne on ice. Three glasses,” he ordered.After half an hour of drinking and chatting, Diego looked at his watch. “It’s already one p.m. Let’s go bail you