THE WARD

By Todd Guilmette

Larry always checked the doors on the left every night, and if he had kept his routine this night, he would have lived longer.

He was munching on a bag of Corn Nuts, leaning up against the snack machine. He had the key to the machine, and therefore the stock inside was all for his taking, but he, Larry The Honest Security Man, was not tempted. Well, not really.

Larry finished the small package, and inserted an extra fifty cents for a Snickers bar. To help him get through the day. Or, the night.

He looked at his watch and decided arbitrarily that it was time to make his rounds. He proceeded down the hall, and after pondering for a second, decided to start on the right side first. Just for variety.

He unhooked his keychain from his belt and took some time finding the correct one for the B ward. That done, he opened the door with a practiced turn of the wrist. A strong cleansing odor, not unlike the generic restroom smell that seems to inhabit any cheap restaraunt's john, entered his nose with a small rush of air. He opened the door fully and switched on his titanium-steel flashlight. He walked into the ward, and the door shut behind him exactly when it should have.

Strange people on this ward, he thought. Never hear a peep out of them during the night, though.

He checked every window and every knob on every door. He made as much sound as he needed, for the patients were all sedated. At least, that's what the nurse had told him when he first transferred to this wing of the hospital. He was very careful, taking as much time as he needed. It was all very routine.

Finally, Larry felt that this ward was secure, and he entered the main hallway, locking the door again. The mechanism clicked home exactly when it should have. He walked down the hall, checked the maintainence room door, and then dug out his key chain once again. He took as much time as he needed, and then he opened the door. The same pine-ish smell entered his nose again. He walked into the C ward, and the door shut behind him with a loud and deliberate click.

Larry was always a little bit warier of this ward. The patients were not sedated here, but they were strapped to their beds as a precaution. The nurse had told him that these patients were less likely to harm anyone even if they escaped, and that they all were capable of sleeping through the night on their own, unlike the patients in ward B.

He checked every window and every knob on every-

-and he fell in, not expecting the door to actually be unlocked. His weight carried him inside and to the floor.

He reached for his flashlight, and found that the trusty titanium was not to be found. He panicked a little, until he realized that there was someone else moving in the room with him, and then he panicked a lot.

He made a move for the door, and the shape jumped up with seemingly-inhuman speed and pinned him to the wall next to the door. He struggled until he felt something thin and cold on his neck, and he stopped moving.

The light was bright from the moon outside the vertical window, and he could see enough to make out a white shirt and bald head: standard hospital practicum.

The man spoke in a heavy whisper, shoving hostile breath into Larry's face.

"Don't you know that bad boys don't get any dessert?" the man said.

Larry let a rush of air out-

"Why didn't you check the other side first?" the man said.

-and managed to whisper:

"You're crazy."

The man smiled and shook his head slowly, as if to scold an ignorant child. "I'm not crazy," he said.

Larry took another breath.

"I'm just psychotic."

The man slid the scalpel easily through Larry's windpipe, and waited for him to die. Then, he lowered the night watchman to the floor, removing his keys. The man moved very carefully, taking as much time as he needed.

The man walked out of C ward, and the door closed behind him exactly as it should have. He paused at the snack machine and opened it with the key from Larry's ring. He removed a package of Corn Nuts, and then, after a moments' pause, took a few Snickers bars as well. To help get him through the day. Or, the night.

The man walked down the hall, leaving the sweet smell of Snickers trailing behind him until he opened an outside door, and then it was lost in the wind.

Copyright 1993 by Todd Guilmette