Nurse Kelly checked her watch. It was 11:45 PM. The corridors of St. Clair Retirement Home were completely dark, save for the flickering fluorescent lights of the nurse’s station. As she began her nightly rounds, she noticed a door slightly ajar. Room 114.
The man inside was a total enigma. Found wandering an Oregon highway five years ago with no ID, no wallet, and no memory, the state had placed him here under the name “John Doe.” The staff simply called him John. He had gone completely mute from the day he arrived, a ghost in a hospital gown who never uttered a word to a soul.
But tonight, his bed was empty. Panic spiking, Kelly hurried to the heavy glass exit doors leading to the courtyard. She pushed them open, stepping out into the freezing night air. That’s when she heard it. A low, raspy sound cutting through the pitch black. “Don’t leave… I brought you something.”