The Seventh Patient

Night shift nurse Nina Alves knows every locked door in St. Mary's Hospital. But she's never been given the key to Room 7.

Until tonight.

Behind the door, under layers of bandages, lies a patient who never leaves. A patient with no name, no visitors, and a file that stretches back forty-two years. Every seven years, the nurse assigned to Room 7 resigns without notice. Every seven years, someone forgets who they are.

Nina only wanted to check the medication log. Now she's forgetting her own address. Her phone passcode doesn't work. And the face in the mirror is smiling at the wrong time.

The thing in Room 7 isn't waiting for a cure. It's waiting for a replacement.

And tonight, the seventh patient is checking in.