I woke up the next morning feeling a little better, I was starting to breathe a little easier, my throat was so sore and I felt my fever starting to retreat. Breakfast was soon served to me, it was a homey breakfast of boiled turkey bacon, scrambled eggs, without salt and pepper of course. Toast without butter, and a small bottle of chocolate milk. Out of hunger I ate every morsel and left not a scrap of egg or a speck of crust on my plate. I was then ushered into the bathroom and given a hot shower, my long blonde hair was washed and conditioned and then blown dried out and given the classic one hundred strokes with the brush.

It was then pulled back into two cute pigtails. And each pigtail was tied at the base with a cord of pink ribbon. And at last but not least I was changed into a fresh hospital gown, a matching pink hospital gown to go with the pink ribbons in my hair. I was then informed by Dawn who had just clocked in and it seemed her first order of business was to go check in on me with a steady stream of visitors waiting to see me.

And she was right, word of me being in the hospital had spread quicker than a Californian wildfire in the small township of Benton. And it seemed like the whole whole town had queued up right outside the door of my room. Okay maybe not the whole town, but most of my friends and of course the Benton Academy Cheerleader's whom I was a proud member of. By mid-afternoon the tiny beside stand that sat near my bed was overflowing with highly get-well cards, stuffed animals and candies. Then in the doorway appeared my best friend, a tall girl with flowing brunette hair and the prettiest set of blue eyes I've ever laid eyes on.

“Hey little sister.” She said strolled into the room. With causal ease she flopped down in a chair. Behind her soon followed brunette this one had bright pink eyes, and another girl. I knew them both, the second one was a tomboy by the name of Susan Elizabeth Mari Bell, one of my cousins and by whom both Madeline and I were both in a way cousins, though distant. I'm not one to climb the family tree, much less play Tarzan.

And behind Susan appeared another girl, her name was Linda Bell, formerly Linda Perry but it seemed she had been adopted by Susan's mother Isabella Bell, who's mother and father had visited me in the hospital once. I still held a bit of a grudge against Linda for attacking me once, but it seemed she had really turned over a new leaf if you will. So right now we were both working hard to put the past firmly behind us and leaning toward a bright future. I had even accepted after much hesitation accepted a friend request from her on FaceBook.

“Hey Jamie.” Both girls said as they took a seat on the fold out sofa that was pushed to the far side of the room.

I smiled and waved to them from my bed.

“So.” Madeline said after a few moments of silence. “I've been thinking since we're all here, and we're all cousins in a way, why don't we have a pizza party. I'm sure Jamie would like something beside hospital food. Plus it would give us chance to catch up.” Madeline said, smiling sweetly. “We don't really get a chance to see much of each other. I mean minus Easter, Christmas, and Thanksgiving we really don't see much of each other.”

“Sounds good to me, I'm kind of getting tired of hospital food and pizza sounds wonderful!” I said, smiling broadly.

“Sure pizza sounds good to me!” Susan said, smiling.

“I have twenty dollars I can chip in.” Linda said, smiling softly as she pulled her purse around and reached into the confines and pulled out her wallet.

“I can chip in twenty too.” Susan said, smiling as she did the same.

“I have ten or so dollars I'd been saving.” I said blushing a little.

Madeline though just shook her head. “Don't worry about it girls. I got you all covered,” She said, smiling softly as she reached into her skirt pocket and pulled out her phone. A moment later she was dialing the nearest pizza place, a Papa John's if I recall correctly.

“Yes, good afternoon this is Madeline Brewer at room one eighteen in the pediatric wing of Mississippi Medical Center.” Madeline said to the person on the other end of the phone. “Right. I'd like to place an order. Delivery please ma'am. Okay I'll like one large pepperoni pizza and one large triple meat pizza.” Madeline nodded her head and smiled again. “Madeline Brewer, I'll be using my Visa card.” Madeline then told the person on the other end of the line all the information she needed to know. “Great thanks, yes room one eighteen, just look for the room with four lovely ladies in it.” She added.

At that, Linda, Susan and I all flushed a dark red, Madeline just laughed though. And with that she hung the phone up and slid it back into the pocket of her skirt.

“Pizza should be here in about an hour.” Madeline said as she settled back into her seat.

“So Jamie.” Susan said, smiling. “Have you seen her yet?” She asked as she leaned in.

“Seen who?” I said, settling back into my pillow.

“You know 'The Phantom Nurse' you said to yourself that one of the nurses threatened you with a visit from here last time you were here. And we've all encountered her, Linda, Madeline and myself.” Susan said as she shifted her eyes around the room.

“I encountered her evil twin.” Linda said with a sigh, “According to what Grace told me, there are two phantom nurses, one a good nurse who just tends to spank and scold you if you misbehave, the other is a more meaner and a lot more cruel. According to the stories, the good one is called 'Nurse Mindy' and the evil one is called 'Nurse Spooky' or so the stories say.”

All eyes turned toward Linda.

“You guys want to hear that story?” Linda said, sighing as she noticed the sudden amount of attention she was getting.

To that we all nodded our heads in agreement. You see Madeline and I were part of a society of story tellers. One that gathered each Saturday night in the woods behind our houses, the woods behind our houses were the right kind of woods to tell ghost stories in. And of course Susan was a budding paranormal investigator.

“Mind if I write the story down? I'm still collecting stories for my next book 'More Ghost Stories and Urban Legends of Benton' . I might change that title to 'More Ghost Stories and Urban Legends of Benton and Beyond' since I'm starting to cover the area that surrounds Benton.” Madeline asked as she leaned in a little. “Man I wish I had something to write on, like a notepad and a pen.” She added with a sigh.

“Sure,” Linda said, sighing again. “I'll give you guys the abridged version of the story and I'll tell Madeline the unabridged version. So you guys just gotta buy her new book to get the full story.” Linda said with a little smirk.

“I'm going to give you guys free copies of the book anyway.” Madeline said giggling a little, “I'm even going to sign them, because after all you guys are family.”

“Anyway you Please Linda, go on with your story.” I said.

“Okay.” Linda said blushing as she looked down, “You guys.. after I kind of flipped out, okay I was a mess, I was totally out of control.. I was hearing voices, my inner darkness had taken full control of me, I was processing a lot of emotional pain.. Anyway, after I'd attacked Jamie. Mom and dad brought me to the 'Behavioral Health Ward' here that just another name for the Psych ward.” Linda said, sighing. “Anyway, they took everything I'd had, even took my shoestrings and stuff, and put me in this thin hospital gown, it took them a while to get everything sorted out. Like a day or two and it was cold, like cold in the tiny room they put me in.” Linda's voice started to shake a little.

“Anyway, they fed me and told me to go to bed. I don't remember what they fed me, but it was like a kind of thin soup with crackers or something. Anyway... that night a nurse came in, she was dressed differently from the other nurses, like instead of wearing white she wore this black dress.. and she had plastic gloves on, she also had this knife in her hand..” Linda's knee was bumping up and down. “And she threatened.. She threatened to cut my breast off..” Linda said paling.

All of our faces paled a little. And Madeline just blinked.

“Shit.” She said looking down. “You sure you were not just high as a kite or something?” She said looking down at the floor. “Cause like you said, you were pretty messed up at the time. Sure your mind was not just conjuring up images or something?” She asked.

Linda shook her head and then much to my amazement, the girl started to unbutton her blouse, she then removed her blouse, and then she unhooked her bra and then much to my horror, I saw she had a faint scar under her left breast. Susan looked on in amazement, and Madeline shivered as if somebody had just thrown a bucket of ice cold water on her.
No, on the second night I was there she returned again, this time she removed my hospital gown, and reached over and grabbed my left breast. Once she had it in her hand, she placed it under the blade of the knife. I could feel the sharpness of the knife cutting across the skin. I screamed, and she vanished, but not before the bitch had nicked me.” At this point, Linda seemed to be on the verge of tears. She quickly hooked her bra back and put on her blouse. None of us were bothered by what we saw, I mean Linda’s bare chest that is, after all, were all girls, but the three inch scar… that sent shivers down our spine. 

“Jesus girl.” Madeline. “I never knew ghosts could hurt you. I thought the worst they could do was scare you.”

“Demon.” Linda gently corrected. “That was a demon, not a ghost.”
“Might need to get Cerridwen to look at that.” I added. “She is our token pagan at Benton Academy. And the green witch of the party. She is good at reading stuff.” Madeline then added. “That or Lauren, she is our token pagan down at Benton High School. Not as skilled or knowable as Cerridwen but she is pretty good with charms and stuff.”

“I'll keep that in mind next time I visit.” Linda said as she dryly. “But yes, that was my encounter with Nurse Spooky.”

At that moment the pizza delivery man arrived. The smell of melted cheese, garlic, and rich tomato sauce teased my nose and made my mouth water. And much to my embarrassment my belly started to growl a little. Thankfully nobody seemed to notice it, and if they did, they were polite enough not to comment on it. Anyway, once the pizza arrived, Linda volunteered to step into the hallway and fetch us some drinks from the vending machine, she returned with eight cans of coke-cola. And with that we dug in.

“Okay, I guess I should tell you guys my story.” Madeline said after she finished her first slice of pizza and was about to start on her second. “I mean, mine is nothing compared to Linda's, but in a way, I kind of owe Nurse Mindy big time. She is the one that gave me the courage to take those first few uneasy steps into discovering my true self and she is the reason I chose the name 'Madeline' I guess without her.. I'll choose something else.”

“No offense,” Susan said as she finished her second slice of pizza and started on her third. “But 'Madeline' just seems to suit you.” Susan said, winking as she bit into her third slice of pizza.

“Thanks.” Madeline said as she bit into her second slice.

“So, Madeline. Please go on with your story.” I said leaning forward a little.

“Right, this was like a few years ago. It was early January.. And I was in the hospital. This very same hospital. I've been here for about two weeks or so. I'd been in a horrible car wreck and was all broken up. And I was dealing with a lot of baggage too. Stuff I'm really not going to go into.. but you know what I was dealing with.” Madeline paused just long enough to finish off her second slice of pizza, she then reached for her third. I was on my forth and almost as full as a tick on the back of a dog.

“Anyway, one night I left my room. I wanted to get some fresh air, after all I'd been cooped up in ICU for the last fourteen days or so and they had just moved me to a normal room. Anyway, I ended up down in the reading room, it's this small kind of room that just down the hallway. We passed it on our way to Jamie's room. Once their I started to read some books, one book was about this girl, who wore a yellow dress, a yellow straw hat and had blue eyes and brown hair like me.” Madeline paused again.

“Anyway.. I started to read that book. Next thing you know this nurse, she had blonde hair and blue eyes and wore some really pretty pink scrubs that appeared in the doorway. She kind of told me off for not being in bed. Saying I worried the other nurses, she dead named me, and I corrected her. And for the rest of the night she used my new name. And when I was discharged a few days later, she brought me a copy of that book. It's on my bookshelf at home.”

After Madeline told her story, none of them were really in the mood to tell any spooky stories. Instead we all focused on eating the last remaining slices of pizza. Once the pizza was gone the sun was starting to set and the day nurses were starting to leave and the night nurses were starting to arrive. I knew then that visiting hours were about to come to a close and I'll soon be forced to say good-bye to my friends.
But I was sure that we could squeeze in one more quick story.

“Hey Susan!” I said, smiling. “Mind telling us about your encounter with the 'The Phantom Nurse' I know you said you encountered her one Halloween.” I said leaning in. “And don't worry, you're not in the hospital right now. I doubt she'll come after you.” I added.

Susan blushed and lifted her can of coke-cola to her lips and took a nice long drink. She then sighed, crushed the can and tossed it into a nearby paper waste basket.

“Sure. Though like Linda. I'm just going to tell you guys the abridged version. Visiting hours are almost over so I'm kind of pushed for time. Is that okay with everybody?” She looked around the room, it was like she was looking for our approval or something. We all nodded our heads.

“Okay about four years ago. I was twelve at the time, I came down with pneumonia. And Halloween fell on a Saturday that year too. But anyway, being sick with pneumonia kind of ruined any kind of Halloween theme adventures I might have had planned. Plus I was stuck in the hospital. Anyway to make a long story short, I decided it would be fun to explore the morgue.” Susan said blushing as she started to play with a few strains of her hair.

“Girl,” Madeline said, sighing. “Of all things you wanted to explore the freaking morgue?!”

“What happens when you read too much 'Fear Street' ? It screws with your mind.” Linda added.

“Let her finish.” I said, sighing. “Remember girls, we're on a time limit here.”

“Right, sorry.” Linda said, sighing a little.

“Right, sorry, please keep going.”

“Anyway before I could reach the morgue. A nurse stopped me. She scolded me for being out of my bed and for roaming the hallways. And she really told me off when I told her I was on my way to the morgue.” Susan blushed. “Anyway, when I was being discharged the next day, I saw a picture of a nurse on the wall. And the picture on the wall looked just like the nurse I saw, only this picture.” Susan did not get a chance to finish her sentence. She just shut down and looked down at her hands that were folded neatly in her lap.

I was just about to open my mouth when the door to my room swung open.

“Okay ladies.” Nurse Dawn said as she walked into my room. “I'm afraid you gals gotta go, visiting hours are over and that means the pizza party is done too.” She said looking around the room. She then sighed. “Jesus girls, how many pizzas did you order and how many cokes did you drink?” She said, shaking her head again. “Come on, you lot get this mess cleaned up. I gotta get Jamie here ready, the doctor has ordered another round of shots to keep the infection at bay. And she needs to bathe again, since she got pizza sauce and pepperoni all over her new gown.”

I blushed. And the rest of the gang just stood there blinking.

“Okay ladies.” She said her voice raising her hair. “Like I said, visiting hours are over.” She said in a commanding tone of voice. “You can come see your friend tomorrow morning.” She said as she crossed her under her chest and nodded her head.

Her message was crystal clear. And one by one my friends filed out of my room. Once the last one was gone Dawn turned to me and in a warning tone of voice said.

“Ms. Potter, don't let those stories 'Inspire' You in the least. Remember this is a hospital, not a fun-land, nor a spooky land, nor is it a knock off Disney World. You are here for one reason, and one reason only to get better.” She paused. “No, you are not allowed anywhere near the morgue.” She added as she closed her eyes.

“Yes ma'am.” I said meekly. But little did Dawn know that an ideal seed had already been planted.

To be Continued.