Read Online The Pure: Book Three of the Oz Chronicles by R.W. Ridley - Free Book Online
Authors: R.W. Ridley
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only way out of here, ain’t that right, boss man?”
The question is directed to Chester, but I know he’s talking to me.
“Ain’t no way out of here, thin man,”
Chester says as he passes Bones. He stops a few feet from me. “Back, up, down,
east, west, anyway you go all leads to one place, you understand me?” Chester
asks.
I don’t answer.
“Here,” he says. “There is no other
place in your life except here. You ain’t near as crazy as the others in this
place. You want to hold on to what you have left of your mind you remember that
one thing. Here is all there is.” He steps past me. “Your room, now.”
***
As I drift off to a restless sleep, the
dead gather at the foot of my bed. Their eyes are inert and penetrating at the
same time. A woman, her head flopping on a broken neck, reaches for me and
touches my foot over the blanket. I jerk my foot back, but it is a reflex. I am
not afraid of her. I don’t know if it’s because they’ve visited so many times
that I’ve grown used to them, or if it’s because they look different. They no
longer look angry to me. They look sad. They look like they need my help.
I throw back the covers and stand. The
dead follow my every move. I take a step toward them. A hand reaches out from under
the bed and grabs my ankle. I am back to being scared. I jump back and shuffle
across the room, ramming into the door. A loud click echoes through the room
and the door opens. The dead smile.
I wait for someone to enter, Nurse Kline
or Chester. They surely were close by. The door does not just open on its own.
They are monitoring my every move. But seconds turn into minutes, and no one
comes. The dead are inching their way closer to me. They want me to leave. I
don’t want to. If I’m caught out in the hall, I will be... I don’t know what
will happen to me, but I can’t imagine it will be good.
The dead creature that had grabbed my
ankle begins to crawl out from under my bed. He or she or it is not like the
others. It is big and... not human. It’s a huge hulking beast that is covered
in hair and slime. It’s a Taker, and the anger that was absent in the other
dead is frighteningly apparent in his tooth-filled snarl.
Suddenly, being caught in the hallway is
the least of my worries. I pull the door open and run out into the corridor.
The brightness of the flickering fluorescent lights nearly blinds me. I squint
against the glare and wait for someone to come running, to be busted for
escaping my prison, but no one comes. I am alone in the hallway.
I look back at my room. The Taker snaps
its jaws in the doorway. Going back is not an option. I run fully expecting to
be stopped by someone on the hospital staff at any moment.
I do not pay attention to the corridors
I turn down. I just run. When I started, I was following the yellow line, but
the line beneath my feet is now blue. I am not authorized to mingle with the
blue line people. I am in real trouble now.
I run until I can’t catch my breath. I
stop and pant and grunt and wallow in general misery. I don’t know how far I’ve
gone. A sharp pain throbs from underneath my rib cage. My throat is dry. I hear
a crash from behind me and decide to walk quickly to the next series of
hallways just ahead.
The lines end here. No blue, no yellow,
no red or green. Nothing. I have an option to go left or right, but both hallways
are dark, almost black. Another crash from behind me convinces me going back is
not a viable choice, and a scream from the hallway to my left makes my decision
somewhat easier. The pitch-black hallway to my right is the least of the three
evils. I slowly make my way down the hall.
A whisper floats through the dark air,
“Oz.”
I exhale through pursed lips. I am
walking into something, an ambush, a slaughter, an end to my rather confused
existence.
“Oz,” the whispering voice repeats. But
I realize its not traveling through the air. It is in my head. I hear a series
of heavy clicks.
The question is directed to Chester, but I know he’s talking to me.
“Ain’t no way out of here, thin man,”
Chester says as he passes Bones. He stops a few feet from me. “Back, up, down,
east, west, anyway you go all leads to one place, you understand me?” Chester
asks.
I don’t answer.
“Here,” he says. “There is no other
place in your life except here. You ain’t near as crazy as the others in this
place. You want to hold on to what you have left of your mind you remember that
one thing. Here is all there is.” He steps past me. “Your room, now.”
***
As I drift off to a restless sleep, the
dead gather at the foot of my bed. Their eyes are inert and penetrating at the
same time. A woman, her head flopping on a broken neck, reaches for me and
touches my foot over the blanket. I jerk my foot back, but it is a reflex. I am
not afraid of her. I don’t know if it’s because they’ve visited so many times
that I’ve grown used to them, or if it’s because they look different. They no
longer look angry to me. They look sad. They look like they need my help.
I throw back the covers and stand. The
dead follow my every move. I take a step toward them. A hand reaches out from under
the bed and grabs my ankle. I am back to being scared. I jump back and shuffle
across the room, ramming into the door. A loud click echoes through the room
and the door opens. The dead smile.
I wait for someone to enter, Nurse Kline
or Chester. They surely were close by. The door does not just open on its own.
They are monitoring my every move. But seconds turn into minutes, and no one
comes. The dead are inching their way closer to me. They want me to leave. I
don’t want to. If I’m caught out in the hall, I will be... I don’t know what
will happen to me, but I can’t imagine it will be good.
The dead creature that had grabbed my
ankle begins to crawl out from under my bed. He or she or it is not like the
others. It is big and... not human. It’s a huge hulking beast that is covered
in hair and slime. It’s a Taker, and the anger that was absent in the other
dead is frighteningly apparent in his tooth-filled snarl.
Suddenly, being caught in the hallway is
the least of my worries. I pull the door open and run out into the corridor.
The brightness of the flickering fluorescent lights nearly blinds me. I squint
against the glare and wait for someone to come running, to be busted for
escaping my prison, but no one comes. I am alone in the hallway.
I look back at my room. The Taker snaps
its jaws in the doorway. Going back is not an option. I run fully expecting to
be stopped by someone on the hospital staff at any moment.
I do not pay attention to the corridors
I turn down. I just run. When I started, I was following the yellow line, but
the line beneath my feet is now blue. I am not authorized to mingle with the
blue line people. I am in real trouble now.
I run until I can’t catch my breath. I
stop and pant and grunt and wallow in general misery. I don’t know how far I’ve
gone. A sharp pain throbs from underneath my rib cage. My throat is dry. I hear
a crash from behind me and decide to walk quickly to the next series of
hallways just ahead.
The lines end here. No blue, no yellow,
no red or green. Nothing. I have an option to go left or right, but both hallways
are dark, almost black. Another crash from behind me convinces me going back is
not a viable choice, and a scream from the hallway to my left makes my decision
somewhat easier. The pitch-black hallway to my right is the least of the three
evils. I slowly make my way down the hall.
A whisper floats through the dark air,
“Oz.”
I exhale through pursed lips. I am
walking into something, an ambush, a slaughter, an end to my rather confused
existence.
“Oz,” the whispering voice repeats. But
I realize its not traveling through the air. It is in my head. I hear a series
of heavy clicks.
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