‘An Emergency Medical Rescue’ by Rafia Sajjad

Everyone was running around, minds blank. Our rescue team was in a hustle and bustle. Even though I was just a newbie, they put me in the team. The call came at eight in the evening and that was when my mind turned paper white.

“Dr. Robert! You are supposed to be here. Why are you standing there?!” I paced towards the bus, bewildered as to what to do. Nobody knew me and I was oblivious of where the equipments were kept. But I kept calm and collected, not showing any signs of dread.

“…and the murderer tried to stab the girl with a knife. The neighbors heard screams and went over to check. They found her lying in the kitchen. Probably, she has a brain hemorrhage but we will figure it out.” It took us twenty minutes to reach the girl’s home.

The police was already at her doorstep. “Hey! Excuse me, I require some identity before I let you enter,” the policeman said as we moved in the direction of the spooky house. “Sure!” answered Connor, leader of the rescue team.

As soon as identities were proven, we barged through the creaky door, lights out. Police tapes surrounded the area in the kitchen.

The minute I caught a glimpse of the body, I gagged. A pool of blood surrounded the body. Think. Red. Blood! The girl’s heart appeared to be beating but she seemed to be brain dead. Detective Fletcher informed us about the girl and the whole scene but I did not appear to hear a thing as I was buried in a clouded mind full of bizarre thoughts.

“We have to take her back right now,” I said. Without any opposition, they carefully put the unconscious, ghostly mass on the stretcher and carried her to the ambulance.

We injected different tubes in her body. There was a deep gash on the side of her stomach. I could not look at it because parts of her ribs were visible and bloody flesh surrounded her porcelain skin. They appointed me to clean off her disgusting wound. Without being able to look at it, I dabbed the cotton which was dipped into antiseptic over the surface of her injury and bandaged her.

The insides were much clearer. “I expect you to be braver than that,” teased one of my colleagues. All I managed to do was give him a cold glance, reminding him that it was not a time to crack a joke.

When we reached the hospital, everyone rushed outside pulling the stretcher out. We all, together, picked the body up, and put her onto the gurney, being as vigilant as possible. As soon as we transferred her to a room, I stood next to her, waiting for everyone to leave.

Her heart beat was normal. I stayed there for a while, doleful for the young lady. Connor sneaked up behind me and patted me on the back, saying, “Do not worry, my friend. You will get used to seeing such stuff. Let’s go buddy!” I nodded in agreement. As we were about to turn in order to leave, her eyes flashed open, sweat beading from her forehead, and she jerked upwards. It was crystal clear that fear confined her face. The girl did not seem to feel any throbbing but she trembled due to the tremors of the incident.

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‘The Midnight Visitor’ by Rafia Sajjad

Marlene went for a sleepover at her friend’s, Kylie, at the end of the week. Two of her other comrades, Sasha and Lily, were there as well. They had a whole plan set out for the weekend. For the first time, Marlene got a chance to loosen up, forgetting about the pressures of her job. She felt as if she deserved a break after all.

Sasha came over to pick her as Marlene did not have a car of her own yet. The assiduous damsel and they sat for a little while, talking about past memories, flashbacks clouding their thoughts. In the evening, they got dressed for dinner, arranged by Lily and departed.

As they reached the restaurant, they found their friends. Once finished with the lip smacking chow, they did some shopping, devoured homemade Turkish ice cream then set off for home.

The next thing on their agenda was to watch a movie. Kylie had picked out the best ones she had and they all ended up opting for “The Conjuring”. They made popcorns, took out chilled fizzy drinks from the refrigerator, multifarious chocolate bars and other snacks. Lily, the electronic expert, set up the theatre and they all sat in comfortable, soft sofas. As the movie began, nothing seemed scary but as the second half was reached, eye popping scenes that gave the jump scares began to screen.

It was about twelve o’clock, when the bell rang and the sharp, edgy “dinging” sound filled the room. That was when Marlene realized that she was the only one awake as she had been too engrossed in the film. Her face turned hard because of the tension and worry, and at that moment she regretted watching the horrendous silver screen.

She decided not to wake up her companions and started towards the door with vigilant, light footsteps. She carefully peeked through the eyehole first but did not see anyone!

Marlene reluctantly opened the door, hands shaking convulsively, and as soon as she did, she heard knocking on the kitchen window. Shivers crawling up her spine, the poor girl finally decided to arouse Kylie from her deep sleep. However when she spun around to stride to call her friends, a bulky man who was sheathed in black cloth, stood inside the house.

Marlene’s skin became as white as snow and her whole body as stiff as cardboard after the mysterious sight. She heard the words “I had been living in the basement……” before fear caught up to her and she blacked out.