The Other World
an excerpt

Anna stood in the corner of the crowed elevator and stared up at the ceiling. One of the lights was broken and it distracted her. She so badly wanted to reach up there and fix it. The doors opened to the third floor and before she smashed the distracting light bulb, Anna got off of the elevator. The hospital smelled of old woman’s perfume and cough syrup. Her sneakers squeaked on the newly waxed linoleum as she walked up to the check in desk. The receptionist sitting there was busily filing her nails and chewing gum. Anna cleared her throat. The receptionist looked up at Anna over her half-moon spectacles and crinkled up her nose.
“Can I help you, doll?” She said in an unusually gruff voice for a woman.
“I certainly hope so. See, my friend was brought in here a couple of days ago.” Anna watched as the receptionist chewed her gum much like a cow would graze on grass.
“Name?”
“Andrew VonHensing.”
“Room 212. It’s down the hallway and to the left.” The receptionist pointed down the hallway with her nail file. Her charm bracelet jingled.
“Thank you, ma’am.” Anna said graciously, trying hard to break her gaze from the receptionist’s wide open trap.
“Uh huh. Oh, by the way, doll. Your little friend is not exactly in the world’s greatest condition. Try not to scare him.” She went back to filing her nails.
Anna raised one eyebrow in concern. “Thanks for the advice.” She said skeptically. She walked down the barren hallway in the direction that the receptionist had pointed. She passed rooms with sick and injured people lying helplessly in their hospital beds. Hospitals made her uncomfortable. All of those people lying in their beds made her shudder to think about Andrew’s condition. She turned to the left down the hallway and found Andrew’s room. The door was wide open and yet something stopped her from going in.
She heard shoes clicking across the linoleum and a middle-aged nurse came walking toward her.
“Hello there.” She looked around the hallway and then looked back at Anna. "Do you need something?"
Anna looked at the nurse’s badge. “Kate. Actually, I believe that my friend is staying in this room. He was brought here a couple of days ago.”
“Ah, Mr. Andrew? It is good to see somebody so concerned about him. Today is the day that he is scheduled to get his bandages off. The doctor said that the wounds should be healed enough now that they will not get all infected. Were you coming in, or going out?” She asked sweetly.
“Coming in, but if he is not up to visitors …” Anna stuttered.
“Nonsense, he will be glad to see you.” The nurse grabbed Anna’s shoulder and practically flung her into the stark white room. She felt a little bit out of place in her blue jeans and black t-shirt. Her gaze rested upon the familiar figure of her best friend.
Anna walked slowly up to the figure. His face was completely wrapped up in gauze. She sat down on the edge of the bed and took Andrew’s limp hand in hers. “Andrew? It is me, Anna.”
A muffled sound, almost like a moan, came from the figure lying next to her. His grasp tightened around her hand.
“Andrew.” Anna smiled. “I am so glad that you are alright. I was so worried.”
“Excuse me, miss. I am going to need that side of the bed. I can not squeeze the cart between the wall and the bed.” Anna moved and the nurse wheeled the cart over to the exact spot where Anna was just sitting. Anna walked over to the other side of the bed and watched as the nurse started clipping the gauze away.
The nurse snipped at the gauze and began to unwind the final layer of bandages. Anna cringed. She had seen Andrew get attacked and had seen his face and body covered in blood. Anna did not know exactly what to expect, but she had a strong feeling that it was not going to be good. Anna watched as the nurse started to take the gauze off to reveal Andrew’s face. She shut her eyes. She was afraid of what she was going to see.
Anna took a deep breath and opened her eyes. A hot tear rolled down her face.