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She continued with her ensoulments until she was tired again, and then she fell into a dreamless sleep.
* * *
Sneaking aroundher workplace with somebody no one else could see in the first place was the strangest sensation. Bunny felt like she should be peering around corners and sneaking from shadow to shadow, trying to keep her intentions under wraps.
Instead, she breezed across the parking lot with Death in tow, used her swipe card to gain entry to the building through the employee side access door, nodded at the security guard sitting behind the reception desk, and led Death straight into the elevator.
Bland elevator music trickled through the tiny overhead speakers, puffing a mournful air into the tiny space. Bunny made a mental note to mention the depressing tunes to her boss Cerise. If people were going to come here to spend their last days on Earth, the least they could expect was something a little more upbeat in the way of ambient noise.
The elevator doors opened with a cheerful ping that announced their arrival onto Bunny’s shift floor. Her coworker Dana glanced up from behind the high counter at the nurses’ station, glasses poised on the end of her nose. She smiled when she saw Bunny, and her gaze slipped back to whatever she was typing up on the computer in front of her.
Once she was sure the coast was clear, Bunny tossed a warning glance over her shoulder at Death. The last thing she needed was him talking and confusing her when she was trying to get organized for the night ahead.
He pressed his lips together meekly and followed a few paces behind. Bunny moved behind the counter, slinging her work bag into the space beneath the desk.
“Hey.” She glanced at the notes Dana was typing up on the screen.
“Hey,” Dana said distractedly.
Bunny busied herself by looking through the visitor register as Dana finished, looking up when Dana swiveled her office chair around.
Bunny lifted her brows enquiringly. “How’s it going?”
“Okay for a Friday night,” Dana shrugged, before launching into the standard start-of-shift spiel.
Death had an elbow perched on the front of the counter and was leaning over it conversationally, even though it was impossible for him to really partake in the discussion. His dark eyes skipped between Bunny and Dana as the pair talked about the notes from the evening shift workers, and anything important that had happened that day.
“And we had to ship Mr. Grisham out to Stillwater General. He fell and hurt himself—suspected fractured hip.
“Oh no,” Bunny said with a concerned frown. “I hope he’ll be okay.”
“They’ll see to him,” Dana replied, the corner of her mouth dipping as if to say, ‘there’s nothing we can do.’ “He should be back here in a day or two, tops.”
Bunny nodded. Hearing the name of her old workplace—the place she had poured actual sweat and tears into since graduating from college—still made her feel a little raw. “Okay.”
“Oh, and if we get time, we’re supposed to restock the supply closet.”
Death straightened a little out of interest, his dark gaze flicking to Bunny. She could almost see his longing to try to get back into the Lobby reflected at her in the inky depths of his eyes. She blinked, looking away.
“Great,” she sighed. “We can add it to our empty to-do list.”
Dana raised a brow, glancing in Death's direction—which to her would look like empty air—and then back at Bunny. “You okay?”
Bunny felt a flash of warning run through her like lightning. She knew no one could see Death, but if she wanted to get away with stashing him in the nursing home during her shift, she was going to have to cover it better than that. “Fine. Why?”
“You just seem really… out of it. Keep looking off into the distance and stuff,” Dana replied with a shrug, but her scrutinizing gaze was anything but complacent. Bunny had no doubts that Cerise had told the rest of the staff to keep an eye on her for any strange behavior. Bunny insisting to security she could see a mysterious man in black breaking into the place at night hadn’t helped her cause any.
“I just need another coffee,” she replied with a smile, trying to brush off suspicion.
Dana looked at her for another moment before she seemed satisfied. “If you say so,” she said, glancing back at her notes before deciding she was done with her status report. “There’s nothing else you need to know. Hopefully it’ll be quieter than last night.”
“Last night wasn’t too bad,” Bunny said with a frown.
“For you,” Dana huffed without amusement. “After you signed off, things got really weird.”
Oh shit.
“Weird how?” Bunny asked, trying not to sound too interested.
