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You're visiting a friend or family member in the hospital and while walking down the hall, the fluorescent lights flicker, long enough for you to notice an eerie figure standing at the end of the empty hallway. Another flicker and the shadow grows closer - it's a deranged looking person, hair unkempt and eyes sunken into their sockets. A third flicker and the being is only yards away from you now, more grotesque in appearance than ever. A fourth flicker and…the lights return to normal, the hallway just as empty as it was when you originally turned to walk down it. Was it all an illusion? Maybe you're a little extra exhausted? Whatever the case may be, walking down the hallway you can't help but notice a putrid smell stinging your nostrils until you manage to turn the corner…
It wasn't unusual for Dr. Mjoli to make calls to the hospital as required, especially when her patients found themselves there for one reason or another. It was, unfortunately, mostly for bad reasons, and Shikora's heart felt heavy as she left the room of the latest person she was visiting. Suicide attempts always ate at her soul, made her heart ache, made her want to cry, but for her patients, she would be strong and stay by their side and try to coach them through it.
She sighed, walking down the hall.
The young boy seemed hopeful when she left, thankful that his attempt didn't work. She hoped she could keep that hope in him, keep it growing. She hoped she would never see him here again. He didn't belong in the hospital. Not for this--
What was that?
The lights flickering caught her attention, but what caught her attention more was the figure standing at the end of the hallway. What were they doing there? Did they need something? She was not a doctor of the hospital, but she was familiar with a lot of them, and she could probably beckon one of them over if they were needed. She lifted a hand to tell the other to hang on, looking around for someone else in the hallway. Why couldn't she see anyone? Why did she seem to be the only one here? There were usually people buzzing around everywhere in--
The lights flickered again, and when Dr. Mjoli blinked to adjust to the light, she gasped as the woman was closer. Their hair seemed to be floating in the air, unkempt, untamed. Their eyes showed signs of sleepiness and something more than sleepiness, a deep tiredness which left their eyes sunken in almost like black holes.
"Hang on, ma'am, hang on!" called Dr. Mjoli, looking around more emphatically for someone. She turned around, running down the hall, calling out for, "A doctor! Is there a doctor in the hall?"
The lights flickered again, and now, she felt breathing on her neck.
Shikora whipped around and stumbled backwards when she saw what was in front of her. She didn't look human. It wasn't human. It looked more like a monster, perhaps like a monster from the Negaverse. Their face seemed to be melting, leaving bone exposed. The holes where their eyes should have been looked like they were providing a view straight into her skull, its skull, and she could tell there should have been a brain there, somewhere, but she saw nothing but a black hole. Their mouth was open to reveal teeth that rotted, a smell wafting from her that reminded Shikora of a smell she was unfortunately all-too-familiar with.
She gasped.
And the lights flickered again.
And it was gone.
"I--"
Where did it go? Just there, in front of her, she had seen a ghoul. It couldn't have been a patient. That was too inhuman, too supernatural, too alien, too freakish.
However, there was still a smell.
Had it just evaporated?
Had she really just seen a ghoul?
Shikora couldn't help the scream that spilled from her lips, as she turned and ran towards another exit.
