Sigh, long time no see, again.
I want to get a load of these chapters up for Halloween, so I'll probably just be updating this during October [and maybe Home too if I can].
...
"Well that's certainly inspired confidence," Mohammad groaned.
"Dr Angel," Carlos sighed, "please try to remain professional."
The last thing Stelios wanted was to remain professional. Right now, all that was on his mind was curling up in a ball and sobbing. But Carlos was right; he was the doctor here. "Right, of course," Stelios laughed nervously, "look, you're in good hands everyone. I promise I'll get you out." He meant it too. He had a duty to these people and he'd be damned if he just left them to die whilst he cowered in the corner.
"Yes," he gulped, "so let's go, I mean-."
Mohammad sighed. "Okay, everyone should arm themselves, find something you can use as a weapon."
"If the films and forums are anything to go by, we should aim for the head, destroy the brain," Alin told no one in particular, "if only we had guns."
Alfonso frowned, "in what universe would a hospital keep guns?"
"We have the next best thing though," Carlos finally succeeded in prizing the meat tenderizers from the door, handing one each to Alfonso and Érzsebét before taking the meat cleaver for himself. "These will destroy a brain, right?"
"What should I use?" asked Roderich.
"Here," Érzsebét held out the smallest, daintiest knife in the kitchen, and he took it with a scowl.
"I can handle something larger," he grumbled, but his wife shook her head.
"Colour me cynical, but your combat skills are somewhat lacking."
The scowl deepened. "I'm not helpless though."
Érzsebét exhaled sharply. "Look, you just stay behind the rest of us and try not to put yourself in danger."
Roderich sighed. "You know, sometimes I can never tell if you're being protective or just plain patronizing."
"I don't want to kill anything," Elise piped up, glancing down at the cleaver she'd been handed like it was about to jump up and bite her.
"Me neither," Stelios admitted, "but I don't think we have a choice."
"I doubt there's any human left in those things anyway," Cheng spoke up, "so we wouldn't be killing people, we'd be killing the things that destroyed those people, right?"
There was silence as a handful of heads nodded in agreement.
"That is probably the best way to look at things," Yao told him.
"Okay people, follow me," Stelios took a deep breath before continuing, "Mr Radacanu, keep a hold of your brother, Mr Wang, look after your father. I want Kim-ly, Hassan and Eduard up the front with me. Just… stab anything undead and we'll try to clear a path for the others. Carlos, Alfonso, you give it a minute or so before leaving. Best of luck to you."
"And you."
"You know what to do now?" as he lead everyone back into the canteen, Stelios wondered where this confidence had come from, though he suspected it had something to do with how completely emotionally numb he was. That was working. He couldn't feel, and didn't think about what he'd just witnessed or what might happen. "Every door you pass, alert the people inside to the danger, get as many people to come with you. If you're being chased, just focus on getting away."
He glanced over to find Mohammad giving the tiniest of smiles and that alone was enough to reassure him further. He was a professional, and through level-headedness he could get them all out. Everything would be fine. He was still struggling to process what was happening though, and he still hoped this was a joke- maybe even a hidden camera show- but chances were it wasn't, and being too slow to accept that would just result in an agonizing demise, or even a fate worse than death.
Mohammad peered through the window, carefully leaning over the barricade and Stelios joined him, pressed against the wall and clutching a pair of kitchen scissors. There were only two zombies outside this door, as far as they knew.
"Who's there," he whispered, "friend or enema?" Nobody laughed but himself, and a few people even glared at him.
"Just so you know," Mohammad whispered back, "if we're ever cornered, I'm sacrificing you to save myself after that joke. The worrying thing is I probably wouldn't feel a thing too."
"Just trying to lighten the mood," Stelios mumbled, "you know, boost morale and all."
"Well try not to do that."
"Is there anyone there though?" Alin hissed, arm wrapped protectively around his brother. Andrei had no weapon of his own, and only one of his arms was fully functioning, so he was completely dependent on his brother's ability to wield a knife. Alin knew this, of course, knew it all too well.
"I can't see anyone, " Mohammad finally pulled away from the window. "Should we chance it?"
Stelios looked from his friend to the tiny group of patients and visitors, then to Carlos and Alfonso in the doorway, and gave a determined nod.
"Right, let's go."
As everyone began pulling furniture away, Alin hesitated, rubbing his face with a hand.
"Listen, Andrei," he whispered, kneeling down next to the boy, "if anything happens to me, you have to stick to the others; they'll keep you safe."
"We will," Stelios assured them.
"But what if something happens to them too?"
Alin took a deep breath, and he looked like he was forcing himself not to throw up. "Then run. Run as fast and far as you can and don't stop for anything. Run for the exit, okay? Try to find a way out. Only hide if you have no other choice; they might be able to sense you if you do."
Andrei gave a shaky nod. "Okay. I think I understand."
"Don't think, know."
"Run don't hide, run don't hide," Andrei whispered to himself, "find the door, find the door."
"Good, now you just remember that."
"Hey you seem to have some knowledge on the subject," Eduard spoke up.
Alin shrugged. "Indeed I do. Not sure how much of it's actually true though. Never really been given a chance to sort the fact from myth, given that I've been lead to believe zombies don't exist."
"Well, have any idea which part of the brain you're supposed to destroy?"
"Different sources say different things, but I guess the brainstem is a good place to start."
Stelios nodded. "Sounds pretty logical."
"Anyone who doesn't know where that is, like me," joked Eduard, "just stab anything that smells."
"Like Alin's socks?" asked Andrei, face deadly serious.
"Quiet now," Stelios hushed, carefully lifting away the last chair. There was silence outside now; had the monsters found another target? The awful thing was, he didn't feel too bad for them or particularly care that they might be being ripped apart, only relieved Dr Davies and Dr Kirkland weren't after him any more. It brought comfort that he was being spared, if only for now.
Stelios tried to swallow sick as his stomach churned and spun. This was it. Do or die. All those years working towards a PHD, and he was to be killed within less than a year of starting his actual job. On the other hand, chances were if he ended up being turned into a zombie the government would still declare him 'fit to work'. It might be fun though, being a zombie doctor looking after zombie patients.
No, no more people would die here, or be turned. He'd get them all out or he'd never leave the hospital again.
"Everyone ready?" he asked, and the sorry group of survivors gave the least enthusiastic collection of nods he'd seen.
"Let's fucking do this," Alin clapped his hands together before gripping Andrei's arm.
…
The place was overrun with the things!
It took all of Stelios' willpower not to crash to his knees screaming as he buried his scissors into the surprisingly soft skull of Dr Kirkland, but the ex-man kept coming, trying with all his might to overpower Stelios as he snapped and scratched. He was only kept at bay by Stelios' hand on his throat, though his hand slipped against the black blood oozing from the veins in his torn neck.
Another stab, and the monster's jaw finally stopped snapping, those crazed neon eyes dimming like old Christmas lights. Stelios shoved it away and Arthur's shell fell to the floor, only for Hunapo to replace him before he'd had a chance to process what he'd done.
The husk of Dr Davies hobbled over their colleague's corpse to lunge for Stelios, and he fell back towards the rest of the group. Eduard, Kim-ly and Mohammad were shielding the others from more monsters that had joined them, most now dead thanks to Kim-ly and her kitchen mallet.
He held the zombie away by its upper arms as it snapped like a crocodile, thankfully unable to reach any part of his skin with it's claws. Stelios didn't like the sharp, gnarled fingers and how the creature seemed determined to sink them into him.
Dr Davies was going to overpower him. He tried not to panic, but he could feel his hands slipping. They were getting closer, teeth only inches from his nose as he was sprayed with spit and blood. There was no way to fight the thing off, no way of stabbing it without letting go. He honestly didn't want to risk finding out who could pounce quicker.
The zombie slowly opened its mouth, blasting him with the stench of death before it stopped, unmoving and almost surprised.
"Look out!" Even as Dr Davies drew back, Stelios was shoved to the floor as Mohammad took his place, bringing his knife into the top of Dr Davies' neck and pushing them back. As the monster stumbled, he leapt forward and buried the knife in its skull. Only then did the shell become motionless.
As Mohammad finally killed the zombie, Kim-ly brought down the last of the others, and the small group took a moment to recover.
They'd barely reached the end of the corridor when the things had pounced, raining down on them and it was a miracle they were still alive after that. This thing seemed to be spreading fast; the place was overrun by zombies and Stelios couldn't help but wonder if there was anyone left alive. Angie? Mei? Arjun? Niran? Had they already succumbed to this hell?
Stelios took a deep breath in a desperate attempt to clear his head; he couldn't think about the others now. Charging blindly into the maze of corridors, clinging to the desperate hope that they were alive would only result in he and everyone else dying. The only hope his friends had- if they were still alive- is to escape themselves; maybe he'd meet them in reception and everything would be fine!
But looking for them? No. He knew he couldn't put his patients in danger like that. He needed to keep them calm, get them out and get some outside help. Stelios was powerless to stop this, to destroy the zombies completely, but there were things he could do, actions he could take, and he had to focus on those instead of playing the hero like an idiot.
That didn't meant it didn't kill him that he couldn't help his friends though, and he could only hope he saw them again. Preferably in this world and lifetime.
"Come on," he panted, bringing himself to his full height, "we have to get out of here."
"It's not a game, is it?" Andrei spoke up, squeezing Alin's hand. "I thought it might be. To cheer me up about my arm. But those things were trying to eat us!"
"I'm afraid it's all real," Alin sighed.
"We'll get out though," Stelios assured them all, "every last one of us."
"Don't say that," Mohammad pushed past him, knife at the ready. "You can't really promise us that."
Stelios had worried about the man's troubled demeanor ever since he was admitted, but now those hollow, sunken eyes evoked a whole new layer of fear. Everything about him said he was ready to kill again, and ready to die.
Again.
His frayed pyjamas and hospital wristband contrasted startlingly with his thin, tanned arms, shining with sweat and trembling as adrenaline pulsed through them. As he moved his head from side to side, Stelios caught sight of those eyes once more. Gentle and dull, but at the same time harsh, unforgiving. His face had barely changed, but Stelios knew enough to see the signs, the furrowed brows that sent shadows over the eye sockets. The soft lighting above did little to blunt the lines on his face, around his twisted mouth. And the blood. He was covered in the stuff now: black and rotten and pungent. Hassan didn't seem to care though.
Maybe the overdose had worked. Maybe the young man had truly died alone that day, deep down in his soul.
"Yeah, well," Stelios sighed. "Let's just go."
The group started up again, a silent, fearful convoy of makeshift weapons and eyes darting over every possible place a zombie could jump from.
At the back, Mr Wang winced and bit his tongue to stop a hiss. He stumbled, but his son kept him from falling.
"Baba…" Cheng's grip was gentle, but solid, arm held out for his father to cling to, the other keeping his hands in place.
"I'm fine," Mr Wang snapped before softening his voice. "Don't worry."
"Forgive me, but I will."
"Hush!" Stelios silenced the old man's laughter as he listened hard.
Mohammad turned around, taking a step back towards the group. "What is i-"
"Shh!"
It didn't matter, because Mohammad had heard it too.
The screaming. It came from behind them, distant but growing ever nearer. Even as he stood there, new sounds joined it: the tearing of flesh; long, drawn out cries of agony; footsteps growing quieter, then silent altogether for starting up again, solitary and irregular.
"We need to hurry," Stelios whispered, and they started walking again, faster this time and on a knife edge.
Mr Wang was limping considerably now, falling behind the others and dragging Cheng with him.
"Baba, you need to hurry." The young man glanced over his shoulder, but thankfully there was nothing behind them.
"I can't. My legs-"
"Yes, I know they hurt, but fight the pain; you have to fight the pain for me."
"I… I don't think I can. My knees-"
"Baba-"
Mr Wang yanked his arm away, coming to a halt. "Get out of here. You have to leave me. I can't go on."
Cheng wheeled round, gaping at his father in horror. Yao Wang glared back, fierce but exhausted. His shoulders sagged, and it seemed to be taking all his strength not to collapse.
"I'm too old. I can't walk fast and, let's be honest, I'm slowing you all down."
"What's going on back there?" Eduard had stopped too, the others reluctantly following suit.
"Nothing," Cheng muttered. "Look, I'll carry you. How about that?"
Mr Wang shook his head. "You need your strength. Can't defend yourself with hands full."
"Please Baba, we're so close to the exit."
A sad smile graced Mr Wang's lips before he replied. "No point in me getting you all killed then."
"I'm not leaving you," Cheng said determinedly, "if you're not getting out of this, then I'm not either."
"Don't be ridiculous!" Mr Wang poked his son in the chest, "you have your whole life ahead of you!"
"Don't care. You're my Baba."
"And as your Baba, I'm ordering you to leave me!"
A growl interrupted their argument, and everyone turned to see another monster at the end of the corridor, past Mr Wang. Small and staggering, hunched and slobbering, the thing stood up to its full height and the group found themselves staring at Monique.
"Dr Bonnefoy, not you too," Stelios covered his mouth with a hand as Cheng tried to drag his father away.
"Baba, come on!"
"No, I won't let you die because of me." He yanked his hand back, leaning against the wall. "Why don't you ever listen to me?"
Eduard groaned and grabbed Cheng by the collar, pulling him away and drowning out his shouts.
"Wait, no Baba!" The wall of dignity and composure Cheng prided himself on maintaining had disappeared completely now as he struggled and tried to scramble away from Eduard, now joined by Elise, who grabbed the young man's shirt.
"Sir, we have to go!" the girl cried, and the two dragged him away as numbness took over. All the while, the husk of Monique hobbled ever closer, licking its lips.
"Stop, please," he tried, but Eduard span him around before he could see his father being torn apart and he had no choice but to follow, to drown out the sickening sounds behind him as best he could.
"Quick!" Stelios skirted around a bend as if the fires of hell were burning at his coat and just hoping there weren't more of the bastards waiting for him. In some rare stroke of luck, the place was empty, and the monster behind them seemed more preoccupied with feasting on Mr Wang's corpse than chasing after new victims.
Another turn, another stretch of corridor. Elise stumbled and fell, almost taking Cheng and Eduard with her, and the pair stopped for a split second to pick her up, running at full pelt again within moments. They couldn't afford to stop. They'd be killed if they didn't get out. This was hell. This was war, murder, slaughter! They wouldn't last long against the undead.
"We're nearly there!" Stelios burst through the doors into reception and almost cried out in joy.
They were safe!