Chapter 1 -- New Employees

Chapter 1-- New Employees
The long dark hallway just inside the entrance to The Company was quiet at 7:59. As the seconds ticked by the darkness prepared for the new day.
8:00 began the workday. Seconds after the clock struck 8:00 the only door opened and the light illuminated the hallway in front of it. Seconds after that the florescence lights above the hallway lit up and the day was beginning.
There were 200 employees working for The Company. Today was nothing different. Today was, though, the first day for five employees.
Derrick Adams, Eric Hoyt, Dr. Daniel Stein, Nancy Smith and Andrea Alexander walked through the dark blue door and into the nondescript hallway. They stood off to the right and against the wall away from the door. The remaining employees filed into the building and walked past to the right.
“Did you noticed noone walked to the left down this hallway?” Said Andrea Alexander, a blond woman, taller then most women. Andrea was a confident newcomer to the nursing field. This was her first job.
Nancy Smith, a 40-year-old veteran nurse and mother of three, brushed back long brunette hair from her face and answered.
“I wouldn’t call it a strange thing,” she said.
The group looked to the left and gazed into the hallway till it disappeared into darkness.
“How’s it going?” Said a voice from behind them. A small Latino man dressed in a sharp black suit and light blue shirt approached the group smiling.
“I’m Dr. Ruiz and I’ll show you around,” he said, his voice broken with a hint of Mexico.
“Before we leave,” said Andrea, “what’s down that hallway. No one walked down that way.”
Dr. Ruiz hesitated slightly but then said confidently, “There is some storage rooms and other rooms that aren’t used.”
Dr. Ruiz turned and walked toward the right.
“This is exciting,” said Derrick Adams, a 6-foot, twenty-some, IT specialist. He walked in front of Dr. Stein. Dr. Stein was the oldest of the group. He was dressed in a white hospital smock with the Kingsboro Mercy Hospital logo sewn onto the left breast.
Eric Hoyt was the last of the group. He was a large man with a square jaw and the posture of a ‘Last Action Hero’. He had a 4-year degree and a nursing certificate. He looked over his shoulder one last time before the group disappeared around a corner.
“Coming up is the Administration hall,” said Dr. Ruiz. “Human Resources, Finance, Research and Development and the Director’s office are in this hallway.”
The group passed the hallway. A thirty-year old man stood just outside a doorway watching the group passed. Derrick Adams threw up a hand and waved. The man returned the wave.
“You know him,” Hoyt asked. He was gruff. His statement was short and pointed.
“He’s my cousin. He got me the job,” Derrick Adams said with a smile.
“Up next is the patient hallways,” Dr. Ruiz said. “The patients take up the majority of the room in the building. I think its 4 maybe 5 hallways. The conference room is in the last hallway all the way to the right. Walk down there and pick a chair. I’ll meet you in a few.” Dr. Ruiz turned left and headed down one of patient halls. The group continued down the hallway and turned to the right.