Author's Note: This chapter introduces the one of the new characters I was talking about. This character is probably one of my favorites, though I was kinda disappointed with the way I introduced her. I'm hoping to go deeper into her story and true personality with the next few chapters. I hope you'll like her too. This story also has more leech-covered James. Poor James. You have to feel sorry for him. I'm going to try to pick up the pace. So thanks to those who reviewed my last chapter (and the ones who reviewed any of my chapters!), you really help fuel the story. I hope you all will like this chapter, so I'll shut up now. Enjoy!

"So, how long do you think it'll be before the cast comes off?" William asked, glancing at his arm. Dr. Hursh had placed a hard, plaster cast around it to set the bone. His arm was back in a sling again and the cast was uncomfortable, hot, and itchy. He hated it.

Hursh looked up from what he was doing, slowly realizing he had been asked a question.

"Hmm…I'd say about six weeks," Hursh answered. William groaned.

"I can't even imagine what my arm is going to look like after I get this thing off," he grumbled.

"Just be thankful it wasn't any worse. At least you still have a limb," Hursh said. He kept silent after that. The doctor had a point.

The door opened and Bethany entered with James. Their eyes fell on what was attached to him. Hursh was shocked, William was horrified.

"Oh my, bring him over here. I'll see what I can find to get those off without making the wounds worse," Hursh quickly searched through his things. Bethany led him over to an empty chair next to William and he slumped into it. The look on his face was pathetic.

William stared at him for several minutes. Then he finally spoke.

"Leeches, James?"

James looked at him, discomfort was written all over him.

"Yes."

Hursh laid some equipment beside him and bent next to him. He eyed the equipment suspiciously. The doctor didn't say anything and began removing the leeches.

"Someone needs to go to the second floor while I work on this man," Hursh said.

"I'll go," Bethany spoke up. She knew she'd have to anyway. James was out of action, and William wouldn't be able to do much with just one arm.

"Are you sure about this? It's dangerous up there," William said. He would have offered to go with her. He wanted to go with her. That was his duty as a cop. He felt angry at himself for not being able to help fight. That he had to be a burden to them instead. Some cop he was.

"Don't worry. It's not like I'm going to be spending a whole lot of time up there. I'm just getting the girl and leaving," she said.

They heard James yelp as a leech was painfully removed from his ankle. He looked at the doctor.

"Sorry, stubborn little bugger wouldn't let go," Hursh said.

James said nothing. She smiled.

"Besides, I'd rather have someone be here for poor James," she said jokingly. He glared at her, not finding the situation humorous at all.

She looked at Hursh, her face suddenly turning serious.

"What room is she in?"

"Room 203," he answered. She nodded.

"Do you have enough ammunition?" William asked.

"Of course," she said. She patted her jean pocket, "I've got a few more shells. Just in case I run out. I'll see you boys later."

"Bethany," James said, wincing slightly as another leech came off.

"Yeah?"

"Be careful."

She merely winked at him, then she walked towards the door and exited. For a few minutes, the men were silent. That is, until James spoke up.

"How many of those damn things are still left?" he asked.

"There's still a few. A couple on your back too," Hursh said. James sulked and didn't speak after that.

Bethany stood in the elevator as it rose to the second floor. The soft mechanical whirl was the only sound that accompanied her, but she didn't hear it. Instead, she indulged in her own thoughts.

That girl is dead.

She had to be, if the second floor was really that dangerous. Zombies worked surprisingly fast when they knew prey was near. They could burst down a door quicker than she could count to three. If they knew about the girl, she'd be dead within a few minutes.

Though, her optimistic side still thought that there was some slight chance she was alive. Perhaps she found a decent hiding spot, though it would make her harder to find.

The doors opened. She didn't even realize the elevator had stopped. She quickly went for her shotgun, prepared to gun down any threat.

When she stepped out of the elevator, she wasn't disappointed. There were a lot of zombies, but not as many as she imagined.

Works for me.

Three zombies came at her from her right. There were more coming from her left. She smiled to herself. It was these kinds of situations that her good old shotgun came in handy.

She waited until the three zombies were in very close range of her shotgun and fired. Two of them went down. She stepped back as the third one lunged at her, only to feel a pair of hands grab her from behind. She heard loud moans from behind her.

Damn! They caught up sooner than I expected!

Before the zombie behind her could bite her, she slammed it into the wall. It didn't let go. The other zombies were closing in on her. She reached up, grabbed the sickly hands, and jerked as hard as she could.

She managed to peel them off and free herself. The zombie stumbled, and she backed up and threw her entire weight against the creature. She knocked it directly into its comrades. As they struggled to stand, she looked behind her. There was a room 204...

Room 203! There it is!

She abandoned the zombies and ran towards room 203. Her feet skidded across the tiles as she nearly passed it. She dashed into the room and slammed the door shut.

Elizabeth Parker tilted her head under the faucet, drinking the cool water that spilled into her open mouth. The doctor or nurses hadn't come to check up on her yet, and she doubted they ever would. The last they came to see her was in the afternoon. They didn't even come when she had pressed the call button. She soon found out the reason why when she curiously left her bed and peered out the crack of the door.

Outside there had been horrible monsters that took on the form of humans. She thought at first she was having another nightmare, but the floor was too cold. Her room was too cold. It couldn't possibly be a dream.

As she splashed water onto her face, she faintly recalled waking up in this hospital. The nurses had been very kind to her, giving her all kinds of attention. Well, it was their job to do that, but it still felt nice. The doctor had been nice to her as well. He asked her a lot of questions, half she couldn't even answer because of being too groggy to stay awake. She remembered him gently placing a hand on her forehead, telling her she would be fine. His words were so comforting. She slept peacefully after that.

He…he was like an angel.

She wished she remembered his name.

Her stomach growled. She hadn't eaten since noon. She'd probably starve to death. That is, if the monsters didn't kill her first.

But it doesn't matter to you, does it Elizabeth? A soft voice spoke. So gentle in its tone, yet so cruel in its words. She had heard it before. Was that her voice speaking?

Or maybe it does matter. You really don't want to die, do you? What's wrong, don't you want the pain to end?

'Shut up,' she thought. The voice didn't speak after that. She looked into the mirror. Her face was pale, just like the rest of her body. She was smaller and thinner then most kids her age. She was sixteen right now, she'd be turning seventeen in a couple of months.

Not like it matters…

She lifted her hands to try to smooth out her messy, long blonde hair. As she did, she felt the tug of the IV that was hooked into her. She couldn't help but hate it, it made it such a pain to move around.

She shivered again as the cold air from her room hit her. The patient gown she was wearing didn't offer any kind of warmth. Her clothes were resting on the table near her bed. She wished she could put them on, but she was told that she couldn't until the IV was removed.

Like anyone is going to come up here and remove it.

She heard her door open and slam shut. Fear rose in her chest as she backed away from the door of the bathroom. It was a monster. One of them had finally gotten in. She nearly tripped over her IV machine and closed the bathroom door. She tried to hide herself in the shower, pulling the curtain closed to conceal her.

She heard footsteps from the other room. They sounded quicker than a zombie's, but then again, she didn't know what those monsters were capable of doing.

The door to the bathroom creaked opened. She prayed that it wouldn't find her. There was a shadow moving about on the other side of the shower curtain. She watched as the arm slowly extended to the end of the shower curtain.

Nonononononono-

The shower curtain was ripped open and she threw herself to the floor, drawing her knees close to her chest. Bracing herself for whatever was in there with her to rip her open. She closed her eyes tightly, feeling the presence of it next to her trembling body.

"Who are you?" a calm, female voice asked. Her eyes slowly opened after the thing spoke. Confusion clouded her mind as a dozen questions filled her head. She uncurled herself from her fetal position and looked up. There was a woman standing there, holding a shotgun.

"Well? Can you tell me your name?" she asked.

"I…I'm-" she stammered.

"Come on, spit it out already!" she snapped. Her harsh tone made Elizabeth shudder.

"E-Elizabeth," she squeaked. The woman's face softened. She kneeled down next to her.

"Don't be scared, I'm here to save you. My name's Bethany," Elizabeth looked at her questioningly. Bethany helped her to her feet and led her back to her room. There were no monsters around. The woman walked over to the table, scooped up her clothes, and handed them to her. Elizabeth looked at the clothes, then to Bethany.

"Um, b-but what about my IV?" Elizabeth asked. Bethany blinked.

"Oh! I forgot. I'm sorry," she took her arm to remove the IV. As she did, she noticed that there were marks all over the girl's arm. A few cuts here, a few bruises there. She wondered if there was more.

"What happened to you?" Bethany asked softly. Elizabeth looked away from her.

"I…uhm, got into a fight with some kids at school," she said. Bethany somehow felt that her story wasn't true. Elizabeth didn't seem like the type of kid who would get into a fight. She just seemed too passive.

"Really," Bethany said, carefully removing the IV from her arm. Elizabeth nodded, but she still wasn't looking Bethany in the eyes. After it was out, she turned around.

"Quickly get dressed. We have to get out of here now," Bethany said. Elizabeth hesitated, but then she started putting on her normal clothes. It was a simple, orange T-shirt with shorts. It was the way she always dressed. Nothing ever fancy or stylish.

"Okay, I'm done," she said. Bethany turned around.

"Let's go then. Just stay close to me, okay?" Elizabeth nodded. They began to walk towards the door.

Why is she saving me? Why does she bother?

Bethany readied her shotgun. The door opened, and the deafening sound of the monsters' cries filled Elizabeth's ears. Afraid, she nearly turned to flee back into her room until Bethany caught her arm. She held her close to her as she blasted through the monsters, clearing a way from her room to the elevator.

They scrambled inside with Bethany repeatedly pushing the door close button. The monsters gathered around them, fighting and pushing at one other like animals to get inside. The door was closing. Too slow, too slow, too slow-

"Take this, you damn freaks!" Bethany screamed as she fired into the crowd. She successfully knocked them back, just as the doors shut. The mechanical whirl started up as the elevator descended.

Bethany pulled some shells out of her pocket and began loading them into her shotgun.

"I hope I find more ammunition soon. It was hard enough to find just these," she mumbled. Elizabeth didn't speak, she kept watching the elevator doors.

"Hey Eliza-"

The elevator jerked violently. Elizabeth cried out and fell forward. Bethany caught her and staggered back. The lights flickered before going out completely. Bethany looked around, then walked over and pressed the open door button a couple of times.

Nothing.

She moved over to the doors and tried prying them open, but she wasn't strong enough to open them. Frustrated, she slammed her fist against the door and looked at Elizabeth.

"We're stuck."