Author's Note: Ah, yes. This chapter came out rather smoothly. I'm trying to wrap up the hospital scenario in the next couple of chapters. How am I going to do that? I have no idea (eheh…). Anyway, I'm surprised to see people are still wondering about dear old Joseph. Well, I'm not going to keep you in the dark forever. You might see him sooner than you think (wink).
What the HELL was that thing?
That was the thought that went through William's mind. It was probably the strangest and ugliest monster he had encountered so far, even worse than that creature who had been turned inside-out in the police station.
It was covered in leeches! Ugh!
He never thought himself the squeamish type, until now. He knew the monster was attracted to blood, as it lost all interest in him when it saw the blood on the locker.
Which means I got to watch myself. If I bleed that thing will probably come after me. Maybe that's why the doctor had that blood pack on his desk.
Speaking of the doctor, William still hadn't seen a trace of him. The only human he had come across was that subway employee and he hadn't seen him around either. It worried him that all these people were disappearing so quickly. He had an idea why.
And why didn't Dr. Hursh tell us about the other survivors? Why was he keeping it a secret?
Maybe the doctor was trying to keep them from putting themselves in danger to see the survivors.
But then again, he sent one of us to get that girl. So it couldn't be for that reason.
Something wasn't making sense. It reminded him of the incident where the chief of police locked away the weapons and ammunition during the riots. He hated to call it a conspiracy, but that's what it was beginning to sound like.
There were two rooms he hadn't checked yet. One was right next to him, on the door was simply written, "office". He went inside.
The room was messier than Hursh's office, much to William's surprise. The first thing he noticed was the awful smell of decaying meat. He looked down and saw a dead nurse lying at his feet. He took a step back. To his relief, she didn't move.
There was a barricade of medical equipment, boxes, tables, and a variety of other things. They were stacked high enough that even a zombie couldn't get through.
"Doc?" William asked aloud, hoping for a response. It was completely silent.
"Doctor Hursh?" he looked over the side of the barricade. A cooling machine sat near the back of the room. Next to it was a human leg, soaked in blood. The leeches wasted no time in lapping up whatever bodily fluids were left. He shuddered involuntarily.
That couldn't be the doctor…could it?
He couldn't tell, and he didn't feel like going to investigate. He glanced out the large window to his left. Below was the burning wreckage that used to be Raccoon City.
Good god! It looks like someone set the whole town on fire!
It wasn't unusual to see awful pictures like this in the news, but it had always been other cities. Not his hometown. Never in Raccoon City. His family, his friends, they were all probably dead by now.
For once that night, he wished more than anything to be able to see his family again. It was painful to think that they all died.
No, don't lose hope. Maybe they already escaped. Maybe they've left town.
On the sink, under the window was a first aid spray. The same kind James used on his arm. Supposedly, it was a painkiller and disinfectant used on serious injuries. There were rumors that it also included some kind of illegal chemical, which gave the person it was being used on a big adrenaline rush. It was never proven though.
I certainly didn't feel any rush when it was used on me.
Disappointment sunk in as he picked up the first aid spray. They had come for medical supplies, and so far this was the only reward for their efforts to stay alive in the hospital. It felt like they had done more harm to their cause than good.
How many more mistakes are we going to make before the night is through?
They had been lucky so far, with all of them being alive. But it was only a matter of time before their luck would run out, and a small mistake would lead to a terrible tragedy.
Like it did for you, William?
'No, no…don't think about it,' but he couldn't help it. He could still smell the gun powder mixed in with the scent of rotting meat. The screaming, his tense muscles, the dryness in his throat, his partner's terrified eyes-
Stop it!
'All…my…'
Thumpthumpthumpthump.
It was coming from the ceiling. Something was moving around up there. Maybe it was the leech monster again, coming back to finish William off. He stumbled back, hearing something fragile crack under his boots. He looked down and saw it was the dead nurse's hand he was stepping on. She still gave no sign of getting up. He sighed in relief, maybe she wasn't going to turn into a zombie after all.
Something glimmered out of the corner of his eye. On the sink, where he had grabbed the first aid spray was a key. The moonlight from the window was reflecting off of it. Attached to the key was a small piece of paper. He walked over and picked it up.
"Please give this key to Dr. Hamilton. He'll know what to do with it. Please keep this out of sight from the other doctors. Thank you."
He looked at the key. Engraved on it was "B2".
This was under the first aid spray? Not exactly a good hiding spot for a key…
He tried to exit the room, but something grabbed a hold of his leg before he could. The sound from the ceiling grew louder as he saw the nurse dragging herself closer to him with her free hand. Before she could sink her teeth into his leg, he whipped out his gun and shot her through the skull. She collapsed, her face just inches away from his ankle.
He jerked his leg free, looked up and saw the leech man on the other side of the barricade.
How long had it been there?! He hadn't even heard it enter the room. It struggled to get over the barricade, and William felt some relief that the barricade was slowing it down. He yelped as the leech man's arm stretched forward to attack him. He fell to the floor as the arm crashed into the cabinet, tiny glass shards falling on him like rain. As the monster withdrew its hand, he quickly stood and dashed out the door. Before he could go anywhere, his feet slid out from under him. He fought to regain balance, and somehow managed to keep himself upright. He looked down to see what caused him to slip and saw himself standing in leeches.
So, Leechy here brought more friends, huh? They were slowly moving toward the room that the leech monster was in. Some of them were beginning to gather around his boots. Disgusted, he wasted no time in disposing of them. He continued running down the hallway.
Bodies that were lying out in the hallway were beginning to rise at the sound of his footsteps. The leech man threw open the door behind him. He stopped under the shutter, glancing at a metal box with a round, red light in the center. The light was off.
He felt around the box and found the switch. He flicked it on, and the shutter quivered as it slowly came down. William stepped out of the way, and watched as the leech man and the zombies came toward him. The shudder was descending too slowly and the monsters were moving too quickly-
BAM!
He jumped back in surprise as the leech man smashed into the shutter. It stumbled away, as if confused, then tried ramming it again. The zombies extended their arms through the shutter, furiously trying to claw at him.
BAM!
The shutters shook violently, but didn't budge. The monsters couldn't get out. He was safe for now.
'For now, but it probably won't be long before they break free,' he thought. He ran back down the stairs.
--
"James?! JAMES!" Bethany screamed. As loud as she shrieked, she knew he couldn't hear her. She was crouched near the shaft. Her fingers dangled over the edge, dipping themselves into the blackness that covered the shaft like a thick fog.
Oh god…what if he's dead?
Could the elevator have stopped before it hit the ground? She couldn't tell, it was too dark.
What if he wasn't dead? What if he was badly injured and needed help? She needed to get down there to him, but she didn't even know where he ended up.
Elizabeth didn't speak a word. She watched as a shaken Bethany paced back and forth, calling out the man's name who had saved them.
Did he really die?
She didn't know why, but the thought of his death didn't bother her as much as it should have. It might have been because she barely knew him, but she felt like she was supposed to feel at least something.
"Bethany!" a voice cried out. Elizabeth turned around and saw a policeman coming towards them. His arm was hurt, and his uniform was stained in blood. Bethany glanced up from the elevator.
"William!" she cried, relieved to see a familiar face. She got up and ran to him.
"Are you two alright? Where's Jame-"
"The elevator fell! He was inside it when it fell! William, I can't see him anywhere! You have to help me find him he could be dead-"
"Hey! Calm down! We-"
"Calm down?! Don't tell me to calm down! James could be dying down there! You have to help me find him!" she made no attempt to hide the fear and panic in her voice.
"You know, we still haven't found Joseph. Are you sure about this? I think we should go back and check…"
He hesitated to speak. He failed to help Joseph. He wasn't going to fail to help James. If he really did need his help, then it was his job to help him.
Besides, I'd be dead if it wasn't for him.
"Right. We'll go down and look for him. We have to work quickly though. There's more to worry about here than just the zombies," finally he was starting to feel like an actual police officer. He glanced down at the girl standing next to him.
"That's Elizabeth. The girl that was in the elevator with me," Bethany said, "now come on, we have to find James!" He nodded.
"Alright then. Let's move."
