Arriving at the hospital, immediately, Matt used his CSS to bypass the nurses and rushed with Johnnie towards the generator. With his Sonic Screwdriver, whatever problems it had, it ceased, and the men exhaled sharply.
The two splints off into opposite sides and started spraying doorways with the aerosol cans. Nurses and doctors didn't take kindly to the men spraying an unknown substance in the hospital, but Matt's CSS fooled them easily into thinking that they're doing a new regime handed down by the administration.
Delicately, Matt sprayed around the doors of the hospital rooms and hurried to spray everywhere he could think of that the Drekker would've used.
He's aware that he and Johnnie looked crazed especially on camera, but this is the only way to deter the Drekker from trying to get into the rooms. With the fixed generator, it should ward them off, and hopefully, the night goes on relatively quiet.
As he sprayed, Matt stopped when he noticed the lights dimming and sputtering, before darkness shrouded the hallway. He hurried back to the generator to fix it again, but no matter how much he tried, the generator wasn't working, and he heard footsteps running towards the room with Johnnie flashing him with his torchlight.
Confused, Matt told him that he'd fixed the generator, and Johnnie acknowledged that he did, but something's wrong, and the hospital lost power completely.
Just before the power went out, the head of the hospital got a phone call that involved him shouting at someone over the receiver before going quiet, and hung up.
Johnnie talked to a couple of nurses and they told him that after the phone call, the head of the hospital left his office and disappeared down the hall.
It already painted a bad picture for Matt and Johnnie telling him that he was sure it wasn't Cassandra didn't help in the matter.
Johnnie went over his head and began working with the nurses and doctors on relocating the patients. He didn't know where the head of the hospital went, but at this point, his call, the generator, it's all too coincidental.
"They're already working to move some of the patients to other hospitals," Johnnie told him.
Nodding, Matt sighed as he hoped that they did enough to at least ward off the Drekker.
It's impossible to tell since the hallways became crowded with people and resulted in them trapped multiple times, and judging from the aerosol cans, they didn't have a whole lot left in their last cans. The empty ones, they discarded.
"I say we go find him and see what's he up to," Johnnie suggested he and Matt find the head of the hospital, he's still there, overseeing the chaos, and if he's just as guilty as Cassandra it'll be easier to get him to confess.
Matt wondered what reason he'd have to allow Drekker to roam the hospital and Johnnie reminded him what Ripley told them.
It's likely he knew about the Drekker as his profession oversaw dozens of sick people and with the Drekker's penchant for hunting them, no doubt he got his first introduction to them.
Walking with Matt, Johnnie looked around for the elusive Dr. Albert Wash.
They found his office and he wasn't in, so Johnnie and Matt investigated.
More damming evidence that Dr. Wash's in on this surfaced when they found he'd shredded documents, burnt some, and destroyed the hard drive of his computer.
It dawned on Johnnie that there's something he missed and he shared it with Matt.
The nurse that talked to Cassandra about the generator, it wasn't her at all, it's Dr. Wash, he'd gotten system admin access to her email and used it to discuss terms with Cassandra.
The money was likely a bribe to keep her from telling the board about it and the goons that went to her place just for formality sake and to reinforce the bribe. Quitting the job's part of the terms and her leaving's part of it, too.
"Follow the money, right?" Johnnie looked at Matt.
Matt nodded.
Realizing that they're dealing with an even more complex network of people in the know, Johnnie estimated that if Dr. Wash knew about the Drekker, probably the people on the board.
"Why would he allow this to happen?" Matt gestured.
It goes against the oath that doctors take.
Johnnie suggested someone above him ordered him to do it and him destroying evidence suggested it's someone that has more power than the Mayor Lewis and Cassandra combined.
"Come on, he'll want to stay around to look good," Johnnie motioned with his hand.
In the wild lights that moved around as nurses used them to see in the darkness, the men continued to look for Dr. Wash, and caught him as he's about ready to leave the hospital.
"I swear this better be worth it," muttered Dr. Wash as he struggled to zip up his coat.
Johnnie spooked him by saying, "Going on a brisk walk, Dr. Wash?"
He turned around quickly to face them, a man in his 50s, a grey combover, chubby, and as Johnnie notes, an easily punchable face.
"W-Oh, it's you!" Dr. Wash recognized Johnnie and he held a face of contempt for the journalist.
He glimpsed to Matt and asked who he is and Johnnie detracted, asking what he's planning. Dr. Wash tried to act coy, but Johnnie saw through it, and warned that if he didn't start talking, he'll make sure to drag him through the mud. When Dr. Wash tried to call his bluff, Matt threatened to collaborate with Johnnie, and hinted that he'll talk to the board about Dr. Wash's trespass.
"What do you want me to say?" Dr. Wash crosses his arms as he looked between the men. Johnnie summed with easily, "Everything."
Dr. Wash sheepishly tried to tell them that he didn't know and they called him out on it. Johnie asked about the emails to Cassandra and Dr. Wash tried to explain it away, but Matt recalled the destroyed hard drive and the shredded documents.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Johnnie stared down Dr. Wash. He demanded answers from him, asking what was he thinking when he decided to allow dangerous creatures, he didn't understand to enter his hospital.
"You have no idea, okay," Dr. Wash held out his hands in defense. "I'm just doing what I'm told."
Dr. Wash swore that he's only following orders and when he's asked about Cassandra, he scoffed, saying that he's just passing along the messages.
"You're letting these things into the hospital, you have vulnerable people here, and you're just going to stand aside and do nothing to help them?" Matt fumed as Dr. Wash tried to plea his case.
Dr. Wash meekly said they never bother the healthy ones and Johnnie warned that they won't like it when they start shouting and defending themselves.
"Well, they're moving the patients," Dr. Wash tried to tell them that it won't work anyway, with the patients relocating elsewhere.
Johnnie brought up that the hospital's not done with relocating all the patients and there's still some that nurses haven't wheeled out of their rooms, yet.
"So, what's the plan, you're just gonna walk out of here while they're killing those patients, and your friends are going to explain away what happened?" Matt asked Dr. Wash about his plans.
He saw Dr. Wash turning bright red as he grew flustered and sputtered. Agonizingly, Dr. Wash told him that he was only following orders and that they told him that this is how it's supposed to be. He can't stop it because if he did, they'll go after him.
"You have no idea," Dr. Wash told them. "I can't stop this."
Matt argued that he took the oath and he's not following it by allowing the Drekker to attack and consume the sick patients. He asked if it's worth the deaths of his patients, whatever they're bribing Dr. Wash with, and if he'll remember their names and faces when he's basking in the sun on islands far away.
"Who put you up to this?" Johnnie asked Dr. Wash the name of the person who forced him to organize this. Of course, Dr. Wash wouldn't reveal who ordered him. He'd only make vague statements, but when Matt, leaning heavily on Ripley's tactics, threatened to give him a good thrashing for allowing this, he changed his tune quick.
"You gotta believe me, I didn't want this as much as you, and Cassandra, hell, she's just doing this for political points," Dr. Wash tried to assert his shacking innocence.
Johnnie barked at him to tell them the name of his employer. Dr. Wash's voice dropped as he told Johnnie, "It's a senator."
He leaned forward and whispered the name to Johnnie.
Matt couldn't hear and only saw Johnnie's face as he's a mix of angry and shock.
Pulling back, Dr. Wash affirmed that it was the one who ordered him to tamper with the generator.
Matt brought up that he'd fixed the generator and Dr. Wash laughed as he said that the generator's too old that a simple fix wouldn't do it, and he said that it wasn't hard to break it.
"Do you think they'd let you go just because you did what you're told?" Johnnie hissed at Dr. Wash.
Even if he did everything he's told, at one point, they'll turn on him and use him as a fall guy for their schemes. No matter what he says or does, they'll stamp it out and make him even more guilty than he already is.
Dr. Wash wasn't green, he knew that going in, and he told Johnnie as much. However, he didn't have a choice in the matter, because if he didn't do what he's told, they'll just use him as means to an end.
Caught in a place he can't escape, he's forced to make a choice, and even though the choice he made wasn't anything good, it's better than the alternative.
"You can work with Johnnie, get back at them," Matt spoke up as he turned his head towards Dr. Wash. He tried to appeal to Dr. Wash and said he could work with Johnnie to oust this senator and everyone who worked for them that knew about the Drekker.
"You think one journalist's going to change anything?" Dr. Wash asked a piercing question to Matt. "As noble as he is, you're going up against people who'd sell out their own mothers rather than tell the truth. Even if I sung, they'd just get another one to bully around."
Dr. Wash checked the time and told them that he needed to go and told them in passing that Johnnie's better off selling tabloids than doing his job.
Watching him flee from the hospital in the crowd, Johnnie and Matt shared a look with each other.
"Well, I know one thing, once this is over, they're going to have a helluva time with the court," Johnnie speculated that once Cassandra and Dr. Wash gets their day in court, the judge's going to throw more than just a book at them.
Reckless endangerment, malicious intent, indifference, you name it, the court's going to have fun with charging them.
Of course, like Ripley told him, there's plenty of people up top who know about the Drekker, too, and won't let Cassandra and Dr. Wash blow the whistle on their existence. If anything, they'll rig the court and have them languish in solitary confinement until they're forgotten by time.
Entering the next hallway, the men saw nurses struggling to wheel patients out of their rooms. Already, they taken care of the patients in ICU and the maternity ward, now they're on the others.
Two nurses looked panic as they checked every room as other nurses exited, looking for something, they spotted Matt and Johnnie and hurried towards them.
"Have you seen a little girl?" Nurse Jackie asked Matt and Johnnie.
When they replied they didn't, Nurse Joy told them that they can't find her, and they're worried.
"We went to check on her and she's not in her room," Nurse Jackie panicked.
Her name's Alysia Holmes and she's checked into the hospital for surgery scheduled tomorrow.
"What's her diagnosis?" Matt asked.
He winced when he heard the answer.
It's cancer.
Stage one.
Alysia's getting a tumor removed before she's put under chemo.
"We've been looking everywhere," the nurses panicked.
Johnnie calmed them and Matt chewed on the bottom of his lips before he told the nurses he and Johnnie would look for Alysia.
The nurses thanked them before Johnnie motioned for them to continue to help the others in relocating the patients.
"You don't think…" Johnnie trailed as he didn't want to think of the possible answer.
Matt frowned as he responded, "…It's possible."
The men split up and searched for Alysia as they passed dozens of patients wheeling out of rooms by their nurses and doctors.
Trying to think like a kid again, Matt looked in the obvious places that a kid snuck away towards, and it paid off.
He spotted a little girl in the empty Hallway C looking up at the vending machine of crisps.
Matt went towards her and got her attention as she turned her head. She asked who he was and he told her that he's the Doctor.
"No, my doctor's Dr. Nikolai," Alysia shook her head.
Matt told her that he may not be her doctor, he's still the Doctor, and he asked her what she was doing out of bed.
"I can't eat the food they give me," she told him.
She wanted a bag of crisps and some juice that didn't taste like they just fixed it in a pitcher with powder. Something she can actually eat.
"Well, we have to go now, sweetie," Matt told her.
He told her that people are evacuating the hospital and she has to go with him to get checked by a nurse and sent off.
The little girl didn't understand what the deal is, she said that her neighborhood dealt with blackouts all the time, and Matt told her that this one's different.
"Come on, the nurses are looking everywhere for you," Matt tried to tell her.
She seemed against herself and asked about her parents. Matt didn't know what to tell her, but said that he's sure the nurses would call them after they move her to another hospital.
Trying to think like a kid, Matt asked if she wanted her crisps and her juice, and she did, but pointed out that the vending machine didn't have any power.
Matt wagged his Sonic Screwdriver with two of his fingers in his free hand and said he'll fix that.
With it, the little girl scooped out bags of crisps and some juice. She profusely thanked Matt and he smiled.
Shoving the Sonic Screwdriver back in his pocket, he led her away from the vending machine, hoping to spot the remaining nurses.
As he walked, he felt a warm breeze past them, and felt the urge to freeze in place as he held a hand over the little girl's back.
"What's wrong?" Alysia looked up to Matt.
Hairs started standing on his back and he didn't know why. He felt the urge to turn around and spotted something at the end of the hallway. He couldn't see because it's dark, but saw it moving around.
Matt calmly turned around and moved with Alysia away. While he wanted to sprint, he remembered what Ripley warned, and that sudden movements might set it off.
He just wanted to find the nurses and hand Alysia off and then figure out how to get rid of the Drekker without them attacking the patients.
Thud… thud… thud…
It's heavy enough that Matt felt the vibrations through his dress shoes and he ended up stopping again.
Turning his head slightly, Matt saw in the corner of his eye something standing near the vending machine, now, and it's standing in place. He started hearing clicking noises, low, and it sounded like, "Dre… ke… ke …ke… ke…errrrrrrrr."
Matt went with Alysia into another wing and found themselves and the room lit up in iridescent blue light coming from the solar powered lights in the pool.
Pushing Alysia to the front of him, Matt walked with her as he kept turning his head to look at the wide doors as he thought of a way to hide with her.
Since she has cancer, it'll want her, and Matt won't let that happen. An idea popped and he asked her if she's allergic to rosemary. When she replied she wasn't, he told her that he needed to spray her with the stuff in the aerosol can.
Not something one'd say to a child, but this was a dangerous time, and Matt knew that if she smelled like rosemary, it should keep the Drekker away.
"Why?" Alysia wanted to know why he wanted her to smell like rosemary.
She turned her head when she heard something rub against the wide doors and squeaked when she saw them jingle.
Dropping her food, she clung to Matt and he told her that the rosemary will keep her safe. Shaking it, Matt knew that after this, he'll have nothing for himself, but Alysia needed it more than him.
He told her to close her eyes and sprayed her top to bottom in rosemary extracts, enough to keep the Drekker at bay.
Opening her eyes, Alysia caught sight of a black arm with spiny claws pushing the wide doors open as Matt grabbed her arm and ran with her.