Chapter Ten:
Fet pulled up Eph's SUV to the side of a curb. Putting an arm up on the arm rest, he turned around halfway to face Claire in the back of the vehicle. "This the place?"
She glanced out the windows, and hopelessness washed over as she muttered, "Yes... This...was it."
Claire ended up staring at the small, Italian establishment, wishing she was already zipping right inside to find her aunt and cousin there; waiting for her.
No. Not just them, her uncle too. All of them, inside, and waiting with eager and happy expressions on their faces as they would shout, "Surprise!" as soon as she was in their view. "Happy Birthday!"
... But that would never be the case now. There's no way any of them could be inside, especially her dear Uncle Ben.
That little, Italian restaurant was now all boarded up, from the windows to the doors, to prevent looters and trespassers from entering. There was a sign on the boarded doors that said 'CLOSED INDEFINITELY'.
Claire slumped back down in her seat, resting her head back as far as it would go. She closed her eyes to become lost in her thoughts.
"So...hospital then?" Fet asked.
Claire nodded solemnly, brushing some of her hair away from her face. "Yeah..." she said.
Fet backed up the vehicle and drove on to the streets once more, now heading for Wayside Hospital.
Claire sniffed, an attempt to keep down any miserable thoughts until she was in a more "stable" location to vent her frustrations and dread. Instead, she turned her attention to what was around her: the driver, being Fet, with Nora sitting in the front passenger seat. Behind them was Setrakian and Eph, sitting quietly and attentive to their surroundings. And at the very end, was Claire, sitting with all kinds of weapons and unusual contraptions around her feet and on the seat next to her. Her eyes focused on the things she easily recognized, like the backlight lamps, sharpened blades of various sizes, and even a few things that resembled guns. Seeing all this and how the group was dressed, she surmised that they've dealt with the creatures she's been encountering.
"Wh-" Claire's voice caught in her throat. Eph and Setrakian turned in her direction. She eventually found her voice again, "I...I don't even know where to begin asking, to be honest." She swallowed before continuing, "Do you guys know what's going on around here? You said you've seen them before, right? The things with the tongues? What are they? Where did they come from? And-" Her eyes casted downwards to the floor, "And what does that Eichhorst-guy have to do with all this? Is he really one of them? Why doesn't he look-?"
"There is much to explain," Setrakian interrupted wearily. Claire heard him exhale softly, as if he was tired of explaining this to people.
Hearing the weary tone in the old man's words, Claire felt a little guilty for asking all that she did. "I...I can just take a short version of everything...if that helps in any way," she said.
"We're fighting vampires," said Eph as bluntly as he could get.
Claire's lips parted in shock. "Wh-what?"
"When people hear the word 'vampire', their first thoughts are creatures with long fangs and satin cloaks; however these...paraziți that we are dealing with, are far beyond what they are perceived to be in movies and cartoons. What we are up against is nothing on par to which you've seen on television," said Setrakian. "Do not ever underestimate the power of these creatures."
Claire sat there, staring into space, as Setrakian went on with everything he knew about the creatures. It was crucial information to her, but to the rest in the vehicle, it was merely an after school brush-up to what was already said and done before.
The whole time she listened, her eyes were wide in disbelief. Her hands went to her knees and she squeezed them on occasion, reminding herself that this is real. You are not dreaming. You have been stalked by him. Your uncle is dead. They killed him.
The vampires. The strigoi, as the professor likes to call them.
Setrakian talked about the king of these creatures: The Master, as "he" or "it" prefers to be called. He told her all that he knew of the gargantuan monstrosity, and when he first laid eyes on the creature while he was held prisoner at the Treblinka extermination camp; and also, being introduced to the Nazi commandant himself, Thomas Eichhorst.
"His cruelty and perversion have well carried over in his transformation," said Setrakian, speaking from experience on Eichhorst. "He has no compassion for humanity, nor did he ever. Do not expect any mercy from him."
Claire didn't know what to say. She listened, but most of the old man's words went in one ear and out the other. Her breathing was harsh, but not to the point of hyperventilation. She couldn't bring herself to believe it. She couldn't bring herself to believe any of it!
Setrakian briefly turned his head until Claire came into his peripheral vision, seeing the trepidation across her face. "It is easier for one to witness such atrocities than-"
"-But I have seen it!" Claire blurted out. "But I just- I can't- I just can't bring myself to believe any of it!"
"I was like you not that long ago," Eph chimed in, although dubious about it. "Questioning and trying to rationalize everything that's happening, but I've come to the conclusion that you...can't. The fact of the matter is: you just have to accept it, and get used to it."
"Get used to it?" Claire mumbled.
"We're here," Fet announced. He barely had parked the vehicle when Claire was ready to throw open the door and jump on out. "Woah! Hold on!" Said Fet, hearing the 'click' of the door lock from Claire grasping the handle.
She eventually let go of the handle, and remained in her seat. She couldn't help herself. She was all too anxious to get out and see if the rest of her family were still at the hospital.
Eph was the one to instantly notice that something didn't seem right about the atmosphere around the hospital. "This isn't right."
"It's too...'quiet'," added Nora, just as foreboding.
Claire looked out the windows and saw all the unevenly parked vehicles and the lack of human traffic right on the outside, but she didn't think of it as odd. "Looks fine to me," she said. "Looks just as empty from when I was there this morning."
"How did it seem then?" Nora asked.
Claire shrugged uncertainly. "I don't know. There were hardly any doctors, but tons of people wanting to be seen-" she then realized the last part made her become uneasy, now understanding why they were on edge. "Come to think of it...you'd think there would be more people coming to the hospital..."
Fet got out of the SUV and walked around it to open the door for Claire. "I'll go check it out. If I'm not back in thirty minutes, come get us."
The rest of the passengers agreed on these terms. Fet moved to the trunk of the vehicle and opened it up to ready himself for whatever was inside. Seeing the much taller man stock up on weapons and other weird devices made Claire become frightened. "I...I think we'll be fine," she said with much uneasiness in her voice.
"Can't be too careful," Fet practically muttered, then he handed her a large butcher knife made of silver. "Here. Just in case we run into those bloodsuckers."
"This?" Claire chuckled mockingly to the blade in her hands. "How is this going to help me with those things that shoot out six-feet long tongues?"
Fet shut the trunk and cracked a smile to her sarcasm. "Take it or leave it," he said, and walked on ahead of her.
"No...no, I'll take it," she said somewhat sourly, stuffing it in the waist band of her jeans. Then she quickly caught back up to him. "I was just hoping for- I don't know, a gun or something."
"We only use guns in emergencies. Hard to make silver bullets."
"Oh."
When the two reached the hospital entrance and walked through it, they were greeted with a sight that did not surprise Fet in the least. In the large reception area, most of the furniture had been tossed and turned, and thrown around the room. Papers and magazines lay scattered everywhere. The most horrific sight of all though, were the bloody and beaten bodies that adorned the already messy hospital. There were only a few to account for, but it still made Claire's body tense in fright. She didn't know if she was ever going to be used to this.
"Should of figured," said Fet glumly, stepping further in to inspect the chaos that had endured.
When nearing the reception desks, both Fet and Claire could distinctly hear muffled sounds from behind the counter, like there was something "gulping" or messily "slurping" something-or-other. Claire had no idea what it could be, but Fet knew immediately and drew his weapon. It was the sound of something feeding.
Fet stuck out his other hand for Claire to stay back, and she needn't be told twice to do so. She remained several feet away, all the while, made attempts to see what Fet was doing.
Out from behind the reception desk, a couple of those strigoi sensed Fet's presence and stood right up to confront him. Clearly the creatures were agitated that their meal was interrupted. Fet immediately withdrew a luminescent UVC lamp, and the creatures coward and screeched in pain by the glow unto them. Fet used this brief interlude to hack at their heads with quick precision and expertise in this "new" line of work of his.
All Claire could do was remain rooted to the spot, paralyzed by the sight of them. She couldn't even bring herself to draw out her own weapon in case one decided to go straight for her instead; after all, she would of made for an easy target.
"The munchers hate these things," said Fet, looking over his shoulder to Claire. He held up the luma lamp in his hand, assuming that's why Claire was so dumbfounded.
"Huh?" Claire blinked her eyes back into reality and focused her attention on him. "Munchers?"
"Oh-" Suddenly Fet chuckled lightheartedly, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "It's the nickname I've given them. The Professor calls them strigoi. Me? I prefer munchers."
Claire still remained motionless.
"Uh...you okay?"
Claire exhaled deeply, putting a hand to her head. "I'm sorry- It's just...this is all happening a little too sudden for me, you know." She sniffled, straightening herself to stop all the tears and woes that wanted to come forth so badly from her. Her body so desperately wanted to let out her anguish. All of it.
"Yeah, I get it. It wasn't easy for me either: gettin' used to it. They don't let you. But...you're forced to."
Get used to it.
"So, you know where your family is at? What floor they're on?" Fet asked, starting to move himself to one of the computer terminals at reception.
"No. My family wasn't the ones admitted to the hospital. It was this girl, Sarah...something. Can't remember her last name." Claire thought more on it before continuing, "Come to think of it, no one's told us what floor or room she was staying at. I don't think her parents even know..."
"Ah..." Fet tapped the top of a screen monitor. "Good thing we have one of these still up and running."
Claire went over to Fet, looking at the computer monitor. Luckily one of the receptionists didn't log out so others couldn't use it. "Well, I don't know how to use one of these. Do you?"
Fet scoffed and shook his head. "No, but it'll take too long to check every room. Getting darker outside, and we don't want to be here when that happens."
Claire shot him a nervous glance before turning back to the computer. As she had said: neither of them knew how to use the hospital program, but after a few minutes of clicking on various things, they finally found a list of patients in hospital care. After quickly scrolling through it, Claire found the name she was looking for. "There! Sarah...Pommel. That's definitely her."
"Just a few floors up. Beats searching every room of this place," said Fet.
With Fet taking the lead, they both left the reception area and headed for the stairwell, making their way to the room supposedly where Sarah Pommel is being kept...and hopefully her family was in that room too; otherwise, Claire didn't know what to do if she didn't find them. She was hoping that the two strigoi that they encountered would be the last.
Such was not the case, however; two vampires were found crouched together in a corner landing, perhaps trying to regain their strength for further consumption of humans. As soon as Fet neared them, they sprang up, growling and hissing their annoyance to the man. They charged at him, but Fet made sure to keep them at bay with the luma lamp.
"Shouldn't be that many up here," said Fet, killing the last strigoi. "They prefer the underground. The darker places."
"Makes sense," said Claire, clutching her chest tightly.
Continuing up the stairwell, Fet took a quick, concerning glance at Claire. "You okay there?"
Claire, bugged-eye, nodded hesitantly. "Y-yeah," she barely managed to croak out, swallowing afterwards. "Just as long as nobody else dies, you know."
Fet shrugged a shoulder nonchalantly. "Can't help ya there-"
"N-no. What I mean is, I don't want nobody else I know to die," she said. "I think I might lose it if I do."
Once they reached the third floor landing, Fet opened the door, which made a horrible squeaking sound as he did, like the hinges desperately needed to be oiled. "I always hated hospitals," he said, deciding to announce his thoughts.
"What?" Claire couldn't help but choke out a giggle to his statement.
Fet held open the door for Claire to walk in first, and then followed after. "Something about them. The smell of...death. I would throw fits whenever I broke an arm or a leg. Practically had to get five guys to drag me into the emergency room." Fet turned to Claire, who made the most peculiar face at him. Suddenly Fet got the message and chuckled himself. "Ah, probably should of mentioned that I was a kid when this happened. Hating the hospitals though? Still hate them."
Claire furrowed her brows at him. "Yeah...that...probably would of helped."
After a pause, she asked, "What made you want to say that? The hospital thing, I mean?"
Again, Fet shrugged. "Dunno. Just to change the mood. Helps with all the munchers running around. Gotta keep your chin up and not let them get to you. Otherwise, in my book, they already won."
She didn't know whether or not to agree with that, but nevertheless, she said, "Yeah, I guess you're right."
Upon exiting the stairwell to the third floor, the two were greeted with a sight just as grim as the lobby: overturned stretches lined the hallways here and there. IV bags littered the floors and were either broken or still intact in piles on each other. The backup lights didn't prove much help with the lighting itself, and only the light shone from the outside illuminated parts of the hallway. The most grisly sight to behold were the splatters of blood on the walls and floor, but no bodies to accompany the stains. This made Fet become more on edge.
"After this, I think I may hate hospitals even more," said Fet sardonically. He looked towards whatever windows were nearby. "We're already losin' some light..."
"Then let's just get my family and go," said an urgent Claire, getting herself closer to Fet for protection.
All Claire wanted was to reunite with her family, get the hell out of New York, and back to Massachusetts; home. Such a simple plan, yet, seems so complicated to execute. As long as they could make it home, at least they'll be in surroundings familial to them. Their home was always a safe haven from the outside world. From work or school, or from wherever, as long as they were all home in the company of each other. Everything would be fine then.
"This should be the room," said Fet, standing in front of a closed door. He turned the knob, expecting it to just open instantly, but it didn't. It threw him off guard a tad. "Locked."
"What?!" Claire gasped.
He tried it more aggressively, but it still wasn't budging. With a heavy breath, he took a few steps back, standing at the ready. "Stand back, I'm going to break it down-"
Then, they heard a voice from the other side, "Who are you?"
Claire's heart nearly jumped out of her chest at the familiar sound. "Chris?!"
"Claire?" The door was thrown open, and standing there was a frantic looking Chris Wright. His eyes went past the two and searched either sides of them, completely ignoring the new stranger in front of him. "What the hell's going on out there? Where's mom? Where's dad? Did you see them?"
Claire shook her head solemnly. "N-no, but, where is your mom? Shouldn't she be here with you? And-" She peered past Chris into the room and realized there was no one else besides him there. "Where is everyone else?"
Chris stepped to the side to let Fet and Claire walk by. "Mom and I got separated. She told me to stay in here and she'll get help." He crossed his arms, his whole body in constant movement from aggravation. "What the hell is going on, Claire?! What are those 'things' running around out there? And where's dad?-"
"Look," said Fet, stepping in between them. "I'm glad you guys found each other, but we need to move. It's getting dark-"
Suddenly, the sounds of more vampire creatures rang in the air. Fet turned to see three of them running down the hall towards him.
"Stay in the room! Close the door! I'll just be a sec," he told them.
Claire immediately shut the door, just as the creatures reached the room. She pressed her ear to it, attempting to hear what was going on. She could hear screeches and struggling, and eventually, they started to drift further away.
"It's been more than a 'sec' now," said Chris dryly. He half expected Claire to turn to him with a scowl in response, but she remained against the door.
After a minute she turned to Chris. "So what exactly happened with everyone? Where is your mom?"
"I already told you!" Chris said testily. "Those fuckers suddenly came out of nowhere. Idiot people here separated us, but she did yell that I stay in this room and lock the door. She said she would get help and come back to get me...and that was it." He shrugged with uncertainty afterwards.
The coarse language that he used left a frown on her face, but there were more dire matters to worry about than a mid-teen using foul words.
With a heavy sigh, Chris asked again, "So...did you see dad at all at the hotel?"
That question made Claire tense up, leaving air trapped in her lungs. She couldn't breathe. She didn't want to breathe for that second.
"... Claire?"
She let out a heavy, faltering breath, and turned her gaze to the floor. "I did." She said quietly, swallowing.
Chris suddenly became anxious, looking all around Claire as if Uncle Ben had just popped out of thin air somewhere. "So...where is he? Is he still at the hotel?"
She didn't want to lie. What was the point on holding it back? He would find out the truth eventually. To keep up the facade that Uncle Ben was okay would be much too difficult. What if Aunt Trish came back? What would Claire tell her? The same thing? Claire didn't want to pretend he was fine, knowing in her heart that he was far from that.
"Chris..." Claire began.
Chris blinked and stared back puzzled. "Claire...where's my dad?"
Claire turned to him with tears welling in her eyes. "Chris... He..."
"Where's my dad?" Chris pressed, his tone becoming uneasy. Claire could only sniffle in response at this point.
He had some idea that something terrible happened to his dad, but he had to hear it for himself- hell, part of him felt he would need to see his dad's body in order to confirm said suspicions. But right at this moment...he needed Claire to say it.
"Claire-"
A loud, urgent rapping had occurred at the door, causing the two to gasp from being startled. "Hello? Chris? You in there?"
Both Claire and Chris gave each other quizzical looks before Chris slowly approached the door to see who it was. "Um...yeah...who are you?"
The voice on the other side scoffed in response. "It's me, Amber! Open the door now!" She demanded curtly.
And so Chris did, barely opening it ajar when Amber pratically pushed herself in, clearly overwrought with desperation. "Is it safe in here?" She wondered frenetically.
"I don't think we'd be in here if it wasn't," Chris replied with the same level of rudeness as Amber.
Amber breathed a small sigh of relief. "Oh...oh my God! Do you know what the fuck is going on around here?!" She questioned harshly, pushing away some hair on her face. Before Claire and Chris had a chance to even open their mouths, Amber kept talking, "Those things are fucking everywhere! How...how are we going to get out of here?"
"Well..." Claire tried to look past Amber and into the hallway. "Did you see anyone on your way here? A big man? Maybe fighting some of them?"
Amber suddenly looked at her as if she had lost her mind. "What? No." She then spun around and appeared to grab something from just outside the room; out of sight from the others. "So...I don't know where my parents are. So many freaks running around here...but...I managed to find Sarah..."
Then Amber brought in her younger sister, Sarah, holding the younger girl by her arm, helping her walk steadily into the room. Claire and Chris immediately backed themselves up to the horrifying sight of Sarah: the girl that they remembered was so full of life and energy, with an attitude to accompany it; now, on the other hand... Sarah scarcely resembled what she once was. Her skin had taken on a paler gray, translucent color. Her hair was filthy and falling out, balding. Her eyes though...were now completely black saucers with a little ring of red around it. Claire's lips parted in horror to Sarah's appearance, knowing now what was really in front of her.
No one could tell where Sarah's gaze was. She seemed to be staring into space; appearing not in thought, but somehow still keenly aware of her surroundings. She didn't even acknowledge Claire and Chris' presence in the room.
"Woah..." Chris took another step back from Sarah, not able to take his eyes off her. "What's wrong with her?"
"I don't know..." Amber replied worriedly, cocking herself to try and gaze at her sister's face. "She's just getting sicker and sicker..." She then shot a heated look to Claire. "No thanks to you," she grumbled.
Chris looked to Claire for some sort of clarity on that comment, but Claire just shook her head and rolled her eyes, gesturing that she really wasn't quite sure what Amber was talking about.
When Amber walked further in with Sarah, Claire took another step back and shook her head at Amber. "You can't bring her in here," she said brazenly. "Look at her. She's one of them!"
Amber's eyes grew wide at the statement. "What are you talking about? She's just sick! Can't you see she needs help."
"The only help she needs is being put out of her misery," Claire said just as sharply. "Get her out of here before she tries to kill us!"
Amber became flabbergasted. "Are you crazy or something? She is sick! She's not going to hurt anyone!" She argued with all her might. "And we can't go back out there! You can't make us go back out there!-"
Claire interjected, "I didn't say you have to go-" she pointed to Sarah. "I said she has to go!"
Amber wrapped her arms around her sister protectively. "We are not going back out there!" She declared, putting greater emphasis on the 'we' part.
"Will somebody do something?!" Chris yelled over them. "We can't leave the door open here!"
Claire grunted frustratingly and took out the sharpened weapon Fet had given to her and pointed it straight at Sarah threateningly. Chris became taken aback by the fact that he didn't realize that Claire had such a dangerous weapon on her. "She needs to leave now!" Claire threatened sternly.
Sarah became rattled when she sensed the silver of Claire's blade. She regained her vampiric senses, and her attention went immediately over to Amber. With a high-pitched growl, her mouth opened wide and that revolting stinger shot out and latched itself into the back of Amber's neck.
Both Claire and Chris screamed in unison, and if taken out of context, anyone would of found their sounds to be quite comical. They watched Amber frozen with agony and terror. Her eyes bulging out of her sockets, staring straight at the two in front of her, as if silently screaming for help.
Claire's instincts kicked in: flight or fight. Without much thought or hesitation, she went around to the side of them, positioning herself in front of the attaching appendage that is Sarah's stinger. She lifted her blade, and using all her weight in her arm, brought it down as hard and as swift as she could on to the stinger.
Like a reflex, Claire jumped back as Sarah's appendage sliced in half, and the creature that was once human reared back and screeched in horrific pain. Amber instantly collapsed to the floor once released.
"Sabia mea cântă de argint!"
Claire and Chris' attention went back to the door, as Abraham Setrakian came into view and unsheathed a sword from his antique cane. With his blade, he quickly dispatched of the vampire by slicing off the head.
Both the terrified Claire and Chris watched as Sarah's head toppled and rolled off to the side, and even as it hit a wall, they still couldn't take their eyes off of it; as if transfixed to witnessing the gruesome act of a young girl.
"Where is Mr. Fet?" Setrakian questioned as he put his weapon back into the cane. He waltzed right into the room, followed by Eph and Nora close behind.
Claire's mouth hung open. She tried to form words, but still couldn't managed to produce anything. "H-h-he...he..."
Before Setrakian could question further, Fet came running back to the inpatient room, his feet almost skidding against the marbled floor. "You guys okay? I heard screaming, and- oh!" He then took notice of Setrakian, Eph, and Nora now with the others.
"You have taken much too long, Mr. Fet," said Setrakian, giving the floor a good tap with his cane. "We must leave before more strigoi infest this place."
Hearing those words brought Chris back to reality. He looked to Setrakian worriedly, saying, "But my mom told me to wait here for her. She said she was going to get help."
"It's too dangerous to stay here," said Fet. "You can stay with us 'till we find your mom."
Chris scoffed at the idea. He didn't like it, but what choice did he have? He knew Fet was right, after all.
Claire didn't hear. She seemed to be in her own world, staring at the unconscious Amber on the floor. On the back of Amber's neck was a small gash where blood slowly began to trickle out from it. "Amber..." Claire barely whispered. "I'm so sorry..."
Setrakian took a few steps over to Amber, looking down on her solemnly. "Did you...know this young woman?" He asked Claire.
Claire didn't answer. She couldn't take her eyes off Amber; more specifically, the little pool of blood that formed by her head. Claire opened her mouth to speak, but yet again, no words came out.
Get used to it. Get used to it.
"Yeah, she came with us on our trip here," Chris finally answered. "She, and..." he gestured to the decapitated Sarah. "Her sister."
"Mm." Setrakian made a sound of acknowledgement, and withdrew that silver sword from his cane once again, knowing what had to be done.
Seeing that blade got Claire to perk back up, her body trembling. "W-wait! Can't we save her? Isn't there anything we can do?" She pleaded.
"There is nothing that can be done," said Setrakian. "Once you are struck, it is already too late." He then took his blade and shoved it into Amber's skull, killing her instantly.
Claire made a loud gasp of fright, covering her mouth. Even Chris could hardly contain his horror and disgust.
"Let us leave now." said Setrakian, putting away his silver blade.
Everyone started to pile out of the room, but Claire remained staring at the two dead girls. She couldn't help but reminisce that she just saw them not too long ago. They were alive. They were just here. And now...they were dead; taken by this vampiric virus. An incurable virus. A virus that would most likely end the human race in just a matter of months, if not even that.
The thought nearly sent Claire to her knees in grief.
"Uh...hey!" Fet called to Claire, looking back at her from outside the room . "We gotta go!"
Get used to it. Get used to it. Get used to it.
She couldn't hold it back. "Chris..." Claire gazed across the room to Chris, whom looked back at her perplexed by her odd behavior. "Your dad is dead."
Get used to it. Get used to it. Get used to it. Get used to it. Get used to it. Get used to Get used to it. Get used to it. Get used to it. it. Get used to it. Get used to it. Get used to it. Get used to it. Get used to it. Get used to it. Get used to it. Get used to it. Get used to it. Get used to it.
AN: As you can see in this chapter, Eichhorst wasn't featured here, and I'm really sorry about that. So why was this chapter so late? Again, it's hard to get motivated when a featured villain isn't featured in a chapter. And secondly: real-life stuff gets in the way, and thus, I lose even more motivation. So this chapter was typed up in bits here and there, and finally...this the result.
Please don't be discouraged though. Eichhorst will return in the next chapter, and onwards. And because of that, I PROMISE, the next chapter will be done much sooner. The good stuff is on its way, slowly but surely. Even though I know 'The Strain' has ended, I hope you guys continue reading this. Your reviews really help keep this story alive and brighten up my day. I really do thank you all, my wonderful readers and reviewers, for making it this far!