Ghost Watchers (Book 1)

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Ghost Watchers

By: Ray Bush

“Are you rolling?” Levi asked. Noah didn’t answer. Noah was in awe of the hospital that seemed to be watching him as well.
“NOAH! Levi made sure that Noah heard him this time,  “ Are you rollin?”

“Of course,” Noah snapped back without taking his eyes off the building. Noah was scared. He was right to be scared. Everyone in this area knew at least one story about this hospital, most knew at least two or three. None of the stories were pleasant and every one ended the same. “They were not heard from again.” Of course, stories had ways to grow tall like a tree and able to grow just as many branches.

“Then why is it pointed at the ground,” Levi was a fiery ginger that had a bad habit of talking aggressively to everyone including friends. The curly red locks framed his defined face. “Are you gettin your panties in a bunch?” 

Before Noah could respond, Felix jumped in. “The pictures don’t do this place justice.” Felix spoke softly, his voice engulfed with fear. “His panties may not be in a bunch, but mine sure are.”

The three stood in silence taking in the spine chilling picturesque scene. Noah felt as if he was standing on the cover of a Stephen King Novel. Just like Sai King’s characters, Noah did not feel like this was going to go well. The building was a five story monstrosity covered in dark windows watching them like a hundred eyes of a massive white demon. A five-story rectangle jutted out from the center of the structure, which was the casing for a long back and forth staircase. The white stone looked to be glowing in the gloomy night. The reason was the bright full moon  serving as a backdrop for the hospital. Felix didn’t think that was the only reason the stone was glowing; the building seemed to have its own essence. Goosebumps covered his body from head to toe making the hair on his arms, legs, and neck stand at attention like a million soldiers. 

“You fuckers better not puss out,” Levi warned in a joking tone, yet Noah didn’t think he was fully joking. Levi loved to push buttons, especially towards Noah. Felix thought that he heard a hint of fear from his normally fearless leader in that joke. It was this kind of arrogant stubbornness that would force all of them inside this terrible place. 

“Let’s go bitches,” Levi said as he took the first step towards a world that he prepared for. The three moved towards the hospital, armed with only night vision cameras and voice recorders. “We’re gonna to be the first people to leave this place,” Levi announced, then let out a cheerful laugh. Noah and Felix followed reluctantly not understanding why they were going through with this.

The three young men walked through the empty parking lot. Noah’s heart beat harder with each step. The glass doors approached far quicker than Felix wanted them to. Stupidly, Felix hoped it would be like a slow motion walk scene like in the movies. They were not so lucky. Levi stepped on the pad and the doors folded in on themselves, as if the hospital was inviting them in. They walked into the lobby, there was no light, so Levi raised his night vision camera and looked around. It looked like it had not been touched since its abandonment. The chairs had not been flipped; it didn't appear they had even been moved. A piano sat near the far wall. Behind the piano was a large stone wall waterfall that somehow was still running. The water ran musically over the stone, it reminded Noah of camping near a small stream.

Levi walked over to the mini waterfall, his friends followed reluctantly. There had been so much death in this place that the air was thick, Noah thought the darkness to be thick because of  the lost souls that still roamed these halls. To the right were several offices separated from the lobby by, floor to ceiling, glass windows. Levi walked to the windows, the offices had not been touched either. He jumped when he saw the completely intact skeleton sitting in the chair behind the desk. He did not want to alarm his companions or they would not go one step further.

Noah and Felix closed in on him, before they had a chance to see Levi said, “There’s nothin in there. Let’s go this way.” 

Levi turned left and hurried down the hall hoping the others would follow without investigating. Luckily they did. The hall was long and intersected by three halls on the left. One was close, followed immediately by elevators with stainless steel doors, followed by the second hallway. The third was further down the hall, nearly out of sight of the night vision. Halfway between the second and third hallway was a hallway on the right. 

The three stood in stunned silence. Levi’s mind raced, he could not believe he had just seen a skeleton. He was scared but only for a moment. They were in a hospital. Once upon a time, there must have been one of those medical skeletons from science class in this place. Someone must have sat it in the chair to get a rise out of people. “Well played unknown jokester,” Levi thought and a smile touched his lips.

“Which way boss?” Felix asked hoping, but was not sure, if he was able to hide the fear that he felt. 

“Let’s just go straight and see what’s down these halls,” Levi did not seem to feel the terror that filled Noah’s heart. Levi took a few steps. When the two did not follow, Levi stopped and turned to look back at them, “What the hell are you waiting for?”

Felix nudged Noah with his elbow,” Are you ready for this?”

“Fuck no,” Noah, answered, “But we are already here so let’s do this shit.”

As they walked they scanned the walls, floors, and in front of them with the night vision camcorder. “This place has been closed down for seventeen years,” Felix said, “There’s no graffiti, no broken windows. There’s not even any paint coming off the wall, it doesn’t even look like it’s faded.” He gently rubbed his palm against the wall. There was a sensation of the wall matching his pressure. “There’s not even any dust on the floor. How’s that possible?” He wondered aloud. “It feels freshly waxed.”

Before his friends could answer, the lights turned on dimly, like a lamp covered by a shade then covered by a thin sheet. They stopped immediately and looked around slowly. Nothing else changed in their surroundings. Levi smiled, “Well hello Shirley. That’s what I’m talking about.”

Noah’s stomached tightened as he gazed at his distorted reflection in the elevator doors. He closed his eyes tight to fight back the tears he could feel forming. When he opened them again there was a large black shadow man standing behind him. He tried to scream but his lungs failed him. Green eyes pierced Noah to into the depths of his mind and soul. His momentary paralysis was broken when the voice whispered in his head, “It’s too late Noah, It's too late.”

  “What the fuck?” He spun quickly but there was nothing there. “Did you guys hear that?” Noah stumbled back into the elevator doors. They opened quickly causing Noah to stumble inside. They closed just as quickly, separating him from his friends then rose rapidly giving him butterflies in his stomach. The elevator stopped between the second and third floor. His friends banged on the door and shouted below him, they might as well have been in another world. The elevator had mirrored walls and a mirrored ceiling, Noah wished that it didn’t. 

Eye shaped glowing green lights looked back at him. Noah was sitting on his ass with his back against the wall in stunned horror. He turned his head to the left. the eyes were there. He looked to the right. The eyes were now there. Before the elevator dropped quickly, Noah heard a soft menacing laugh, the elevator stopped back on the ground floor. The doors opened and his friends looked at him with fear and relief. 

“What the fuck just happened?” Levi asked yet he still did not seem as worried as Noah thought he should be. Felix grabbed Noah by his legs and yanked him hard out of the elevator. 

“I don’t know,” Noah, answered “but I want to get the fuck out of here.” The elevator doors shut as Felix pulled Noah to his feet. The lights darkened once more, “We need to leave now.”

“We don’t need to leave. We need to regroup. Did you hear me?” Levi asked, no longer talking to his friends. His voice echoed away like even it didn’t want to be there for what was coming. “You aren’t going to scare us that easy.” Levi’s excitement grew; this is what he had come for. “Come on guys,” Levi invited, “We’ve been in this situation before and we have never ran.”

Noah felt this place was much different than any other place they had ever been. This place was alive. The darkness seemed to be full of watching eyes and chattering voices. The words were unclear, similar to trying to hear a single voice in a crowded stadium. The air was thick like inhaling milk in a gaseous state. 

Noah’s blood chilled when he heard the same soft laugh he heard while in the elevator. “We need to get out of here,” Noah was clearly terrified. “Levi! We need to get the fuck out of here.” 

     “We aren’t going anywhere,” Levi said in his most stern voice. “They know you’re scared, that’s why they’re targeting you. These sissy bitch ass ghosts can’t hide from me all night. I will find them.” Felix didn’t think that he wanted to find them.

Levi looked and pointed his camera, the way they had come, then the way they had been going. “Do you see that?” Unfortunately Noah did. It was those terrible green eyes. Before Noah could protest, Levi darted down the hallway. 

Noah and Felix looked at each other through night vision worry masking both of their faces. “We can’t just leave him,” Felix sounded almost pleading. “Please, I don't want to go alone man, do it for me.” Felix didn’t wait for Noah to respond. He turned and jogged into the darkness after Levi. Noah had not been able to see the owner of those piercing green eyes, and he did not want to. Noah followed. Despite the overwhelming fear, Noah strolled at a leisurely pace.

Noah caught up to his friends and quickly realized that it was a singular friend. The green eyes disappeared long before Noah caught up to his companion. “Where the hell is Felix,” Noah asked. He was instantly worried.  

“What the hell are you talkin about?” Levi asked “I thought he was with you. I thought you guys ran away like the little bitches you are.” 

“Fuck you dude,” Noah said, he was far to horrified to deal with this asshole. “This isn’t a joke dude. We have to go find him.”

“I am not going anywhere and neither are you,” Levi sounded forceful, like a dad disciplining his son. Noah would not be bullied this time he was going to find Felix. 

Noah turned back the way they had come. He hit a wall before he made the one eighty rotation. He stepped back and finished his turn. That is where they had come from. How could there be a wall there now? He looked around to see they now stood at an intersecting T. This had not been the configuration when the dim lights had been on. “You really fucked us this time,” Noah was furious. “Felix is gone we’re fucking lost. What the fuck did you get us into?”

“Then why the hell are you here,” Levi snapped back, as angry as his friend. Levi had no patience for this at the moment, the hospital had him flustered enough without Noah’s sniveling. “Stop your whining. We’re here now, there is nothing we can do about that. It’s no different than any other location we have been to.” 

“You know it is,” Noah was not going to let that slide a second time. He did not want to yell, but that was out of his control. His voice echoed away. “You fuckin know that it’s not,” Noah was glad for the darkness, his friend would not be able to see the tears welling in his eyes then streaming down his cheeks. 

“Look,” Levi said with a gentleness that Noah had not thought was possible, Levi was always aggressive. “I agree this place feels a little darker than anywhere we’ve been. But they are still just ghosts, they can’t hurt us.” His confidence was genuine yet it did nothing to calm Noah. 

Just then, all of the lights in the hall turned on. Noah didn’t know if the lights were so bright because of the time they’d been in darkness. They stayed on for only seconds, the vision stars flashed for at least a minute. Then blackness reclaimed everything. 

“Stop your little tricks,” Levi called out. His voice was both startled and amazed. You could say a lot of things about Levi, but nobody ever doubted the size of his balls. “Come out and face me, stop hiding in the shadows you buncha pussies.”

Noah stood in stunned silence until he heard the last of the echoes from Levi’s challenge. “Are you kidding me,” Noah was absolutely fuming. “Did you really just fuckin do that?” 

“Don’t be a pussy,” Levi advised, “There is nothing scary in this place.” Somewhere in the distance, a piano began to play a haunting tune. “This place is full of pansy asses.” He said this much louder.

“I’m outta here,” Noah said then took off down the hall to the left, as he did the lights turned on again. The soft light, like the lamp with a sheet over the shade. 

“You fuckin pussy,” Levi called after him, Noah didn’t even notice. That would be the last time he would see his childhood friend, or at least the last time he would see most of him. Noah’s shoes slapped the linoleum floor. He was out of sight in the dim light in mere seconds. Then the sound of the shoes came to a stop, but it was much sooner than Levi would have thought. Levi stood alone in the dim light. The screams that followed chilled Levi to the core of his existence. 

Noah screamed first in horror, then in excruciating pain. His screams stopped for seconds but Levi could hear Noah gasping. Something was squeezing the life out of him. His screams returned louder than before. It was the scream of someone suffering more than any man before him. Just then, the anguish became more intense as Levi heard a loud tearing sound, like someone ripping a potato sack. It was quickly followed by a splash like someone poured a bucket of water on the floor. Last was a dull thump and back to silence. 

Levi, sadly, knew that his two lifetime friends were gone, Felix lost and Noah most likely dead. A single tear rolled down his cheek, though Levi did not know if it was from sadness or fear. The realization that he had to get out of this place quickly followed. He knew that the way his friend had gone was not an option. That way stood death. Levi would never know how true that thought had been. As the thought of turning to run in the opposite direction crossed his mind, something in the air caught his eye. It did not take long for Levi to figure out that it was Noah’s arm, including the once white short sleeve of his shirt. Levi tried to step away but his feet seemed to be cemented to the floor. The arm landed on his white shoes. Blood from the shoulder spilled on the floor and pooled where the arm had once been connected. He now knew what the disgusting tearing sound had been. He needed to get out of here.

He awkwardly kicked the arm away then spun quickly to run in the opposite direction. Levi froze when he saw a small frail old man shuffling towards him. The man seemed to be glowing brighter than the dim lights, like his aura surrounding him. The momentary mind paralysis passed as Levi knew that little old man could not stop him. Levi meant to take a step, but his legs did not respond to the request from his brain. He tried again with the same result. Levi fought against the unseen force preventing his movement, but his attempts were futile.

His thigh muscles began to tighten to the point of pain. The tightness tightened to the point of painful cramps. The cramps slowly climbed down his legs, like sap slowly running down a tree, to his calves. He tried to rub his legs with his hands, only to find out that they were just as unresponsive as his legs. Now his biceps cramped then ran both ways to his shoulders and forearms. His eyes locked with the dead eyes of the withering stranger. It was his stomach’s turn next to twist itself into painful knots. Tears welled in his eyes then spilled down his cheeks then dripped on his shirt. Levi was powerless to wipe his eyes, or move his hands for that matter. Levi took a deep breath trying to fight through whatever had brought his body to a halt. The old man still inched forward, eyes looking much deeper inside Levi’s inner self that he would have thought possible. He could almost feel the old man’s boney finger fingering his brain as if it were his personal filing cabinet. 

With every step the old man took, the cramps intensified so intensely that he thought his body would cease up and shut down. Yet somehow, he remained standing. After what felt like an hour, but in reality it was mere seconds, the cramps loosened slightly. Unfortunately, now the tightness was replaced with violent tremors that took over his body, as if he had taken a handful of earthquake pills. His heart felt weak yet it was still trying to pound out of Levi’s chest. The man was now close enough to see the features, more accurately lack of features, on this old man’s face. Levi had been a fool to have thought this man was powerless, this man was evil magnified times ten. The man had no eyebrows and a bald head. His skin looked whitish gray like an over-washed t-shirt. He looked into eyes so deep they seemed to stop three levels below hell. He made one last feeble attempt to move his legs. They did not obey. He knew this was his end, and it was going to be a very painful end. 

Tears poured down his cheeks, like little salty streams. The man was standing ten feet in front of Levi, eyes containing all the hate and madness this world has ever known. Levi thought he was looking at the heart and soul of this hellish place. The tremors finally ceased but the cramps came back with a vengeance. Levi felt a wet warmth on the front of his pants then down his leg into his shoe. He did not know what this man called himself, but Levi knew that this man was the origin of evil that corrupted the earth. 

Levi’s left arm snapped towards his chest snapping the bones so hard that they tore through his skin. Then his right followed. His wrists, elbows, and shoulders were ripped from their sockets. His knees folded backwards with shotgun-like snaps. He felt like he was paper in the hands of an origami master. Levi would have not thought this level of pain would have been possible. He didn’t know how, but the pain intensified to a whole new level. Levi could feel his life force, or maybe it was his soul, being sucked from him like he was a neck and this old man was a vampire. 

The man began to change. His skin slowly gained color, as eyebrows bloomed above his eyes. His eyes changed from the black eyes of a shark to the brown eyes of a skilled politician. Black hair came in, first as tennis ball fuzz until it grew into a glorious pompadour. His skin was now olive. Levi was exhausted and he realized the end was near as he stared at this newly handsome man. This man had drained Levi to nearly nothing. His eyes closed as he collapsed into a small pool of Noah’s blood. He welcomed the darkness. Levi died alone on the floor, a shriveled husk of his former self.