Page 29 of The Asylum
My fork hit the table as I gazed at a gurney being pushed down the corridor with nobody there.
“Connor!” I growled out, and he smiled.
“They could be shy,” he suggested and took one more bite of the casserole that Harry had cooked.
Impatiently, I tapped my foot until Connor placed his utensils down and stared at me.
“Bunny, those spirits didn’t show themselves until we were gone. We might get back and spend another four hours wasted there. These things require patience and calmness. We also need to build up our reserves. It’s very easy to meet something bad that drains your energy. If you haven’t eaten and drunk enough, that can be dangerous. You could pass out. Trust me, I know how eager you are. I am too, but I’ve got the experience to be aware to stock my strength,” he chided.
Ouch, that hurt a little.
“Sorry.”
“Don’t apologise, be clever. Now eat your dinner and make sure you feel refreshed. Because if shit goes tits up, which it often can, you’re going to need that energy to run!”
“Okay,” I agreed. Connor’s words made me think of the past, of how drained Magic and Sunny had been when they’d been attacked. Connor wasn’t wrong. I was just excited.
???
When we headed back, everything was quiet again, but Connor had brought a large ball with him. After an hour, he rolled it away, and we waited to see if it moved.
I gaped when it was slowly shoved to the side.
“Injury. Fall.”The words came from the spirit box we grasped. It was a slightly larger version of the Ovilus, which we’d used before. Connor mentioned that this one held more vocabulary in its database.
“Sorry, I didn’t think of that. Are you a nurse?” Connor called out.
My eyes widened as the ball moved and was struck.
“Bad. Accident. Stop,”the spirit box chided, and a happy snicker was the reply.
Stunned, I sat up straight and exchanged a glance with Connor. That chuckle had been audible.
The ball was adjusted to one side again, and it was promptly kicked a second time.
“Two spirits and they’re arguing,” Connor said with a smile.
“Stop. Bad. Fall. Trip.”The words spilt from the spirit box, and I nodded.
“Someone is telling the other spirit not to play with the ball.”
In the shadows, something moved, and Freddie pointed. “There. Look, is that a child?”
I squinted but couldn’t distinguish anything.
“It’s gone,” Freddie said.
“Are you the nurse who haunts here?” Connor asked.
“Are. You. Hurt?”
“No, I’m okay, thank you for asking,” Connor answered.
“Shoo. Work.”
“Were we just dismissed due to her job?” I giggled.
“Yeah, we did. Sorry for bothering you, we’ll leave you to work,” Connor offered.
