Clear Expectations — Terri Reid

Mandy, a novice nurse at Freeport hospital, took the elevator down to get supplies for her area. It only took a moment to go from four down to three. The elevator doors opened to a dimly lit floor. She walked out and glanced to her right. The empty nurses station was just down the hall before the double doors that she assumed led to the now empty rooms. There were a few boxes on the counter that surrounded the station, but other than those, the station was empty. She turned to the left and saw the closed door with the word “Supplies” stenciled on it. Hurrying over to the doors, she pulled out the key and inserted it into the lock. A light switch was conveniently located right inside the door and Mandy switched it on. Bright light flooded the interior of the supply room. Metal shelves lined up in narrow aisles throughout the room. She easily located the sheets and also found a plastic tub she could use to carry them upstairs. She piled the sheets into the tub, carried them out of the room, then turned off the light and then locked the door.Hefting the tub back into her arms, she turned around and was surprised to see a little girl standing next to the empty nurses station. Mandy guessed the little girl was about eight years old. She had a hospital gown on and her hair was styled in two braids that hung on either side of her head. She must have wandered away from the Pediatric Ward on the second floor. “Hey sweetheart,” she said. “I'm Mandy. Are you lost?”The girl stared at the nurse for a long moment, but didn't answer.“Come on, I can bring you back to your room,” Mandy coaxed, not wanting to frighten the child. The child didn't respond. Mandy put the tub down, looked back up and the child was gone. Shaking her head in surprise, Mandy slowly stepped forward, her heart thumping in her chest. The little girl must have dashed behind the counter, that had to be where she was. “Little girl,” she called. “Where are you?”She peeked behind the nurses station expecting to find the child hiding, but no one was there. All of the cabinets and desks that used to be behind the counter were gone, so just the shell of the counter stood around her. There was nowhere to hide. Nowhere to go.A chill ran up Mandy's spine.She backed away from the station, her mouth dry and her heart pounding. She grabbed the tub of sheets and dashed to the elevator, beating on the button in desperation. Not daring to look over her shoulder at the wing behind her. Finally, the elevator doors opened, and she nearly tripped getting in, she was so eager to leave the floor. She pressed the fourth-floor button and gasped with relief when the doors opened into the bright floor.Mary and Bradley help solve the mystery that is keeping the ghosts of thirteen children stranded in an unused section of the hospital. And, with Mikey arrival imminent, they prepare for other changes in the Alden household.