Huff…
Puff…
Huff...
Puff...
Sara ran as fast as her legs could carry her with her black mid back length hair flying behind her.
Riiiiiiiiiing.
The bell rang loudly.
Sara felt relieved knowing it is a sign of surety for her safety as she made a run towards the hallway. People were gushing out of the classrooms as she finally reached the bustling corridor. Blending in with the crowds would be her priority so she could calmly fathom everything she saw.
She followed closely a group of students in front of her, looking back once in a while to check if anyone was tailing her. For once, her short stature came in handy albeit exposed to the sweaty smells of armpits.
As the horde of high school students thinned, she briskly walked her way to the residence hall. She quickly locked the door of her flat and sighed in relief when she felt she was out of harm's way. Instantly her legs gave way, and she flopped down on the floor.
She closed her eyes, trying to process what she had seen, but her rebellious mind wanted to do something else as it kept on thinking reasons why it happened to her instead. Could it be a coincidence that she just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time?
When she recalled back, she was only following basic instructions. There was nothing extraordinary out of it too. All she had to do was to carry the nicely packed blood bags in the insulated carrier to the blood bank.
She blamed her curious self for wanting to know more when she knew curiosity ended up killing the cat. She laughed nervously and shook her head in disbelief. She denied it as hard as she could as though it would undo what she had seen. She wished an earnest wish that it was not real.
THUD!
All of a sudden, Sara fell forward as the door entrance to her flat pushed open. She yelped and rubbed her shin to ease the pain.
"Are you alright there?" asked her flatmate, the dark brown-haired Adrianna who was trying to peer in finding the cause of hindrance.
Sara apologised and crawled away from the door to make way for her flatmates to enter their home.
The gothic Harith rolled his eyes as he lent a helping hand to lift Sara. "Sit on the floor any longer, and you'll be our official door wedge."
Sara glowered at Harith, but he pretended not to see her. She knew Harith had always enjoyed tormenting her. He used to do it sparingly, but lately, he had been doing it too often. Being an introvert and a loner, she used to hate it. She found it to be irksome. Over time, it kind of grew on her.
Perhaps this was his way of trying to bond with her. By poking fun of her, he managed to get a reaction out of her and had been doing so ever since then.
She remembered the days when she used to speak without emotions to her flatmates. Now she no longer could hide her emotions when these two were around. Sara, however, was slightly reserved in front of Adrianna. Only Harith managed to make her come out of her shell. Not the forest green-eyed Adrianna and not even her late Aunt Lily.
"What actually happened? Why were you on the floor?" Adrianna looked at her questionably, and a worried look spread across her face.
"Or are you just being you?" teased Harith.
Sara shrugged and hoped neither of them would insist on knowing. How could she explain over something she was not sure of? Thankfully, Adrianna came to her rescue when Harith began to badger Sara incessantly.
"Honestly Harith. Stop being a bully, will you? Can't you see she is not comfortable with that?" complained Adrianna.
"Why? You're just jealous she got my attention, right? Right? Right?" teased Harith as he hovered around Adrianna.
Sara could never join in their conversation even though they would welcome her with open arms. She felt like a sore thumb standing next to them. How could it not be?
Adrianna has always been the super popular girl – the cheerleader of the school, with her dark brown, tailbone length hair flowing down softly when let loose, and her rosy cheeks complemented her pale white skin whereas Harith's black ruffled hair completed his bad-boy image.
* * * * *
That night Sara woke up drenched in sweat, startled by her disturbing dreams of black figures crouching down on the floor. She cursed for participating to volunteer that afternoon. There were so many signs leading for her to cancel the volunteer that day, but she pushed it through.
She would not have any nightmare if it was not for what she had seen that day.
It all started when she was informed of her final task of volunteering - to carry the last two batches of the medium-sized insulated carrier to the medical technologist in Blood Bank I. However just before she placed the orange bags down on the black lab countertops, she was instructed to carry them to Blood Bank V instead due to insufficient space for storage.
THAT was the only one unplanned, and she would not have to be exposed to such a scary image if she did not have to go to a different room. She would have avoided it at all cost if she just knew.
But she did not.
Sara just nodded with the renewed instructions and head to the other room down the corner. Although Blood Bank V's room is on the same floor as Blood Bank I slightly further down, she just does not like the atmosphere of that area. It was just too eerie for her.
She scurried along, intending to get out of the place fast. She literally placed the bag on the countertop and left immediately after receiving approval to leave. As she scuttled down the eerie hallway towards her flat, the doorknob of the restricted blue wooden door rattled.
Startled, Sara cannot help but stare at the door, waiting to see who was responsible for scaring her little heart. She prayed endlessly that it was a person and not some ghost so she could feel at ease.
The door creaked open, allowing her to take a glance. If only she knew the cost to pay if she peered in but she could not predict the future.
What she saw in the restricted room were two black figures crouching on the floor appeared to be attending to someone.
She walked towards the door with the intention to assist when she finally understood what was actually happening.
The two black figures were biting down someone hungrily. It was too late now.
Her eyes widened, and her body trembled with fear. She tried to make a run before these figures took notice of her, but she was unable to as though she was deeply rooted to the floor.
Her hazel eyes began to wander, and she noticed there were rows of beds with people on them, connected to wires and drips. Momentarily confused about the whole situation, she thought she was in a hospital.
'Don't be silly Sara! They should be in the Kyo Health Centre instead of being in a restricted room of an educational institution,' she scolded herself.
She wondered whether these patients were alive or under some kind of observation. Her mind even went as far as assuming they were being experimented on based on what she saw. The last disturbing question invaded her head, causing chaos within her mind.
Regardless of whether she could help them or these patients even need her help to escape, she knew she could not do it alone. She had to act quickly and get some help.
The moment she felt her legs could move again, she channelled all her energy to her lower limbs. She was about to make a run for it when she accidentally made eye contact with the man on the nearest bed, causing her to cry out.
Suddenly she felt something wrapped tightly around her wrist and dragged her away. Instantly, her vision turned blurry as though she was on a moving tube, and her breathing became shallow and ragged. It happened so fast she did not know where her feet were bringing her.
The next thing she knew, she was on the staircase leading to the classroom hallway ALONE. She did not see who or what was touching her. She was too afraid, but she knew she had to keep on going.
That sudden eye contact made such an impact on her more than the fear of the two crouching figures paled in comparison. It was enough to send goosebumps and shivers down her spine. Before she realised it, her fear decided to erase that memory from her mind.