Author's Note: Mpfh…I didn't like this chapter so much. It's a little shorter than usual. I can't help but feel like I've left a couple potential plotholes. Anyway, this is my attempt at picking up the pace of the story. I hope you like it. There's a Resident Evil: Outbreak character cameo in this. It's very brief though. Maybe there will be more cameos? I dunno, we'll see. Thanks to the folks that reviewed. I hope you're enjoying my story, enRAGEd! James was trained in the Air Force, but your questioning it did give me an idea for what's going to happen later on. So thanks!
They were in there for what felt like hours. Bethany was yelling, pounding on the door, trying to make as much noise as possible. Maybe somehow James and William would hear them, but it didn't seem like it was working.
Finally, she gave up and slumped to the floor.
The darkness was suffocating them.
Elizabeth was afraid of dark, enclosed spaces like these. She huddled far away from the door, trying to fight off the panic. She just had to hold on a bit longer. They were coming for them.
Right?
"Elizabeth? Are you okay?" Bethany asked.
No, no! Get me out of here! I can't take it! I can't take it! Help me!
"I'm fine," her voice cracked. Despite the darkness, she could make out the concerned look on Bethany's face. She started to edge over to her when something banged against the door, scaring them both.
"Is anyone in there?" William's voice said from the other side. Bethany had never been so happy to hear his voice. She moved closer to the doors.
"William! It's me!" she said.
"Bethany?"
"Yes, who else would it be?!" she retorted, "listen, we're stuck. The doors won't open. You have to find a way to get us out of here."
"Wait, are you okay? Do you have the girl with you?" he asked.
"I'm fine, and I have the girl. She's unharmed," she responded.
"Okay. I'm going to go find something to pry the doors open. Just hang in there a bit longer," he said.
The elevator groaned.
"W-William, you better hurry your ass up," Bethany said, her voice hinting at her fear. Footsteps echoed from the other side of the elevator. They quickly faded, leaving the two girls alone.
"Well, I hope you're not too afraid of the dark," Bethany said.
Elizabeth smiled weakly.
"That should be the last of them," Hursh said, deposing of the last leech.
"Thank god," James said. He looked down at his legs, they were covered in bandages. Next to him he had deposited his backpack. It was getting to be more of a burden than an actual help.
"Those little bastards made me bleed," he complained, "say, how many leeches were brought into this hospital?"
"Around fifty, the last time anyone checked," Hursh answered. James recalled the incident in the basement.
God, there had to be way more than fifty. They practically covered the floors and walls…
Something wasn't adding up. Before he could ask anymore questions, the lights flickered. Some of them died out, leaving the room poorly lit.
"That's just great. Now the power's going out," James mumbled, then he remembered the elevator, "shit!"
"What's the matter?" Hursh asked.
"The elevator! Bethany's still up there!"
"James!"
William ran inside with a panic-stricken look on his face. He told them that he was going to look for medical supplies, but by the looks of it, he was empty-handed.
Which means there was a monster, or-
"Bethany and the girl are stuck in the elevator! I need help getting them out!"
James' fear had been confirmed. He stood up, ready to take charge of the situation.
"Lead me to 'em. Doc, I think I'm going to need your help for this," he said.
Hursh simply nodded and followed the men out.
The three of them surrounded the elevator.
"Bethany, you in there?" James asked. There was a moment of hesitation. Finally, a female voice spoke up.
"James? James, is that you? Open the door!" Bethany said.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"I won't be okay if you don't open this damn door!" she snarled. James took that as a hint she was unharmed. He gripped one side of the elevator door, while William and Hursh grabbed the other. They struggled to pull the doors apart. A small crack appeared, which became big enough that Bethany could get her hand through.
Unfortunately, it didn't get bigger than that. The doors refused to budge after that.
"Ugh! I think this is as far as they'll go. We need something to force them open," William said.
"What do you mean this is as far as they'll go?!" Bethany exclaimed from inside.
"Is there anything we can use to pry the doors open? A crowbar, maybe?" he asked out loud. The question was really directed towards the doctor.
"I don't know. During the riots, a lot of stuff became disorganized. I don't even know if there's a crowbar here. We might have to compromise," said Hursh.
"Fine, we'll just have to look for something, anything we can use," James said.
"This is bullshit!" came the loud complaint from inside.
A faint noise came from underneath them. A progression of what sounded like screams that gradually grew louder. The sound of flesh against metal. Over and over.
Then it stopped.
Hursh's eyes grew wide..
"N-no! Not yet! It was supposed to hold longer!" he cried. The other survivors turned their attention to him. Realizing he was in the spotlight but no longer caring, he tried desperately to calm his fear. It failed. He stepped away from their suspicious stares.
"I…I have to warn them! I have to go!" he cried.
"Them? Who's them? There's more survivors?!" James asked. Why didn't he tell us?
But Hursh was already running further down the hall, his cries were loud enough for them to hear perfectly.
"They weren't supposed to be out yet! They weren't supposed to come out!"
James looked at William.
"William, I need you to go follow him," he said.
William silently nodded. He pursued the doctor, leaving James with Bethany and the girl.
"What the hell was that all about?" Bethany asked.
"I don't know. I've got a bad feeling about all this though," he said, "I'm going to go find something to get the doors open. I'll be back soon."
"Okay, just don't take too long," she sighed, "I think something's wrong with the kid. She's shaking pretty bad. I think she's scared."
"I'll make it quick. I promise," he said. He dashed away from the elevator, trying to think where he should go first. The noise from underneath him started up again.
Just what the hell is down there? James hoped he wouldn't have to find out.
William had lost track of the doctor. The last he saw of him was when he entered the door leading to the third floor. Along the way, he saw why the second floor was inaccessible. He turned his head away in disgust at the sight of it.
When he reached the third floor, Hursh was nowhere in sight. He tried calling for him, but there wasn't any answer. He walked around, distracted by the disaster area that surrounded him. There were corpses littering the floor, wheelchairs were overturned in pools of blood, and hospital equipment was strewn all over the place.
He ventured through the hall and was forced to take a left, where he was led to a patient's room. He decided to enter, hoping there would be something he could use to defend himself with.
He shivered the moment he came in. The window was ajar, allowing cold air to fill the room. A locker was near the window. Leaning next to it was a crutch. He picked it up.
'This actually wouldn't be a bad weapon,' he thought, 'though I'd need two hands to actually swing it.'
How much he had taken the use of both his limbs for granted.
He moved over to the locker, hoping to find something useful inside. As it slid open, he found a loaded gun lying at the bottom.
Jackpot!
He scooped the item up and aimed it at an imaginary target. He wouldn't need two hands to use it, reloading however…
Don't worry about it right now. At least you have something.
Suddenly, the lid of the ceiling vent violently flew off, clattering to the ground. Something was coming out of the vent. It looked like…like…
Leeches?!
The thing dropped out from the vent. It was huge. It was somewhat shaped like a human, the way it stood on both legs and the way held its arms out. The only thing that ruined its human appearance was that the entire creature was made out of leeches. The same ones the doctor had pulled off James.
The door opened, and William's head snapped around. He thought that maybe it was Hursh, or James, or…
The man that stepped through the door was a young, black man. His hair was blonde and curly, hidden under a blue hat. He was wearing a white outfit and a blue jacket with red stripes down the sleeves. William recognized him as a subway employee.
When the man caught sight of the monster, he gasped and staggered away from it. Fear and panic traced his facial features.
William opened his mouth to speak, but the man beat him to it.
"Look out!" he screamed. William had seconds to get out of the way of the giant leech arm that was quickly stretching toward him. He hit the ground as the arm smashed into the wall, leaving a large dent.
"Oh shit! Oh shit! I'm getting out of here!" came the man's terrified voice.
"Wait!" William screamed, but it was too late. The door went shut. He was left alone with the monster. He eyed the bed he was lying next to, and before the monster had a chance to strike, he rolled under it.
He watched the feet of the monster move sluggishly around the bed. It was looking for him. A leech dropped off the beast and made its way towards William. Before it could attach itself to him, he picked it up and threw it as far away as he could. It slapped against the locker, leaving a splatter of blood where it landed. The monster immediately abandoned its search and walked over to the locker. He heard a strange, slurping noise coming from it.
Is it licking up the leftover blood?
William crawled closer to see. Sure enough, the monster was lapping up the blood that was left on the locker.
Using this distraction to his advantage, he crawled out from under the bed. The monster wasn't paying attention to him anymore. He backed away from it, holding his newly accquired gun and preparing to fire if it did decide to attack him.
Then he turned and ran for the door.
