Ben got off the car and slammed the door behind him. Old thing was barely functional, made him pissed off using it. He took his hat off and looked up the hill towards the small hospital, rundown old thing, made him cringe at the sight of it. Did the necessary equipment even made it to that nothing town? Was the building even suitable to house patients? Those sort of thoughts blew up in bursts as he went up the stairs. He didn’t want to be there. This job was below him, town at the back of nowhere, low pay and not much help from the university. The only job they would give him without taking away his medical license. 

 

When he finally made it to the massive door he knocked three times on the thick ebony wood. He glared at the decorative engravings on the door for a minute or two, then got impatient. He leaned backwards and looked at the windows on the side to check if there were any lights on, but nothing. Was Dr. Cole sick? Enough to not be able to open the door? He knocked again, irritated, now with the bottom of his fist. He was sure that the noise would echo through the hallways. Shouldn’t a nurse be on guard? He was gritting his teeth, growing progressively more annoyed. He was considering now punching the door when he noticed a glimmer of candlelight that got closer to the window next to the door. Suddenly a small window in the door opened and revealed the annoyed eyes of a woman looking through it, her eyes opened up, with surprise, before the small door closed again, before Ben could even muster a syllable.

 

Around a minute went by, which made Ben even more impatient, he was about to yell to open up when he heard the jingling of keys on the other side. A couple of loud locks twisted inside of the old door, and it started to sluggishly open. When it was halfway there the woman on the other side stepped out. Holding the candle in a little cup, from the candlelight, Ben could spot two green eyes and a thick messy mane of black hair. She was taller than him by a head, and he could clearly see under the lounge robe she wore that her breasts were massive. The sight of her jogged his memory a bit but he couldn’t quite tell if he knew her, but it became obvious she remembered him.

 

“You” She said

 

“What’s this? It’s only 8pm, is everyone here really asleep? Where’s Dr. Cole?”

 

“They sent you.”

 

“Yes, it’s an honor and all of that, now let me through.” He was trying not to yell (that was his idea of being nice). As he shoved the woman aside he said. “Get some lights on, for crying out loud.” 

 

The woman didn’t say anything, she just stared at him, silently. He got impatient and nabbed the candle from her hand, and started looking for a light switch on the wall. When he got to one he flipped it, but nothing happened. He tried a couple times, impatiently.

 

“There’s no power lines that come here, we use a generator in the storage room.”

 

“What? This is a hospital, how are you relying on a generator to power the building?”

 

“I have no power over that, the town hall--”

 

“Just file a complaint, you…” He bit his tongue trying not to insult her. “Forget it. Where’s Dr. Cole?” Ben started walking around the room, using the candle to inspect his new workplace.

 

“You don’t remember me?”

 

Ben stopped walking, but he didn’t have it in him to look at her while they had that conversation. He really didn’t remember.

 

“I’m sorry, no, you do seem familiar but I wouldn’t really… Is he slee--?”

 

“Yes he is. You don’t remember a classmate from seven years ago?”

 

Her name was in the tip of his tongue, yet still avoiding him. He looked at her revealing her face with the candle. She glared at him, a cold stare he noticed was full of resentment. And that expression helped find an answer, he recognized a similar look, back at the college, in the athenaeum. A student had delivered a deplorable presentation which garnered a lot of mockery from her peers. Had he said something to her? So long ago? He would never admit it, but back then he was prone to ridiculing his classmates, well, he still did even now, at a lesser rate.

 

“Oh, Richards, was it?”

 

“Rich. Amana.”

 

“Oh, right, no wonder you are in a place like this. I’ve fallen that low, huh?” Ben sneered at her. He did not care for her attitude in the sightliest. He thought that before fixing the electricity problem or going through all the case files, he’d have to fix her attitude first. He didn't know that was a far cry from what would happen the next weeks.

 

“Indeed, sexually harassing the nephew of the director from the hospital director will destroy anyone’s career.” She said; Ben’s smile broke down, until his lips formed a fine line. Her face remained unchanged all the way through her sentence. She continued.

 

“Surprised? We may be deep in the middle of nowhere, but word of a stunt like that reaches even here. I’m surprised you’re still a practicing doctor.”

 

Ben’s demeanor went back to what it was before, having nothing smart to retort, he just changed the subject.

 

“Enough, show me to my room, I'll settle in and we can start early tomorrow. Ask Dr Cole to hand over his newest findings and have them on my desk.”

 

“That will be a problem, Dr Cole hasn’t been working on the research for a couple weeks now. He has been struck with a different illness which I’ve been treating. You’ll have to pick up the research where he left it.”

 

Ben pinched the bridge of his nose, frustrated, so that’s why he had cut off communications, didn’t explain why he didn’t just tell the university that. Either way, Ben would’ve been sent there, so it made no difference.

 

“Alright, you can tell me about that tomorrow, I’m starting to grow tired. Unbelievable.”

 

As he asked, she took the candle back and guided him upstairs until they reached Ben’s room. The bed wasn’t made, and everything was covered in dust. Amana looked for a lantern in the other room for him, and left him to organize without saying anything else. He occupied himself with making the bed and setting his clothes in the closet, then he started hearing faint noises.