Lola heads to the nurse’s desk at the beginning of the hall, her head pounding as a painful reminder that she just made a huge mistake. The nurse examines her in the middle of the lobby as passing staff go to do random inspections and bed checks.
Lenny sits down next to her and grabs some tissues holding it to his mouth. Lacerations, puncture wounds, broken bones, staff or client nothing was new to the nurse Penny Hallbrook. She’s seen it all over the years, this was nothing she couldn’t handle.
“Sit down I need to get some gloves” Penny says. She rolls her chair towards a drawer and sifts through a large key ring.
Lola looks around the messy desk and searches for any kind of paper she can use. She quietly pulls a sheet from a stack and flips it over. Grabbing a pen with no top she begins to draw quickly and quiet, three outlines of figures spill onto the paper before drawing shade in. The pen stops releasing ink as she shakes it next to her leg in frustration.
Lenny leans back in his chair, the tissues begin to weigh down on his mouth as they turn into soppy sheets. He sighs heavily and leans forwards pulling the tissues off tossing them into a overflowing trash can. He gazes over and sees Lola moving her arm while bent sideways over her seat.
“The hell you think you’re doing?” Lenny asks.
Lola puts the pen to the paper and starts to scribble until the ink flows once more, she rushes to finish the drawing.
Trampling pass the woods, three demons rip through dead trees and branches creating a path of destruction. Delkatov at the front leads on all fours, skidding left to right jumping over rocks and twisted vines. His stomach tied in knots, he can almost taste the tender muscle and flesh.
Lenny stands up with a raised voice. “Drop it Lola!”
“Please I’m almost done just let me do this!”
The building comes into view as the demons begin to run faster. The double doors just meters away now.
Lenny grabs her arm as Nurse Penny pulls the drawer open digging through first aid kits and supplies. She wasn’t concerned of what was happening behind her.
“Give me the pen damn it!” His hand clenches in-between her oily hair and pulls back. Lola scribbles the names across the top of the paper, the top of her forehead feeling like scorpion stings digging into her hairline.
She gets pulled back holding onto the paper and falls out of her chair onto the dirty floor.
“Here take it!” She yells turning to her side throwing the pen at Lenny. She slides her hands underneath her chest raising herself up. A bloody gob atop the trash can catches her eye. She grabs it with her right hand while pulling her left knee forward. The sketch lying on the floor next to her, she swiftly grabs it mashing the bottom with her bloody fingers.
Racing up the steps the demons jump towards the doors and burst into blazes of ash. Wind carries their remains out into a cool breeze removing any trace of their existence.
Lenny pulls Lola up as she slides the paper under the desk, just out of his view.
“Next time you give me the pen or I’ll gouge your eye out with it.” Lenny sneers spreading his cut open slightly. A drizzle of blood paints his teeth a pink hue.
He pushes her back into the chair as Penny, now with a fresh cigarette hanging from her lips, pulls her hair aside to disinfect the wound.
Lola gets up rubbing her head as Lenny scoots close to Penny.
“Needle and threads all I got hon. Give ya’ some pain killers afterwards.” Penny threads the needle and sets it down on the desk. She pulls her drawer open and grabs a bottle of cheap vodka to pour on the needle.
Before she can twist the top back on, Lenny snatches the bottle from her hand and takes a swig. After wiping his mouth with his sleeve he nods his head.
His fist clenches as the pin pierces his upper lip accidentally scraping against his gum. Lola smiles at him and waves while walking back to her room. To hear him groan in pain, to know that would leave a scar made her feel like she earned a victory that day. Wandering into her room she closes the door and sits down with her mind beginning to spin.
Not only was earlier a very close call, the words Lenny spoke made her feel sick. A nauseating feeling begins to crawl around her stomach, Lenny didn’t make threats. He made promises.
That night around three am, Lenny kept his promise. Her nails broke his skin as she tried to fight him off, her shrill screams were silenced with his rough fist. Yes he kept his promise, but before Lola blacked out she muttered with her last bit of energy fueled by anger, “I swear to God I’ll kill you Lenny…”. Lenny c***s his head smiling. His knuckles were the last thing she remembered that night.
