Author's Note: Ah, yes. I think the hospital scenario is ending. I'm going to try to end it in the next chapter, if I can. Then I can move on with the one scenario I've been talking about. I can't wait! So, enRAGed, you've noticed my pattern, eh? There's still one more person to introduce (though it's getting so late in the story, I don't know if I should bother…bleh). Thanks for reviewing the last chapter, AnimaSola and Himeko! LadyFrost1, I'm glad you liked the last chapter. I'm still looking forward to your stories. Lost Survivor, I can't say when you're character will pop up. I'm still deciding over that. He'll definitely be mentioned along with Demon Heart's final character (if I ever get around to introducing him. Rar). And thanks for your input BenJammin', I'll work on that. So enjoy, everyone!
I can't stand that sound!
James was beginning to lose his mind. He couldn't take the screaming and pounding that seemed to come from all around him.
Where is it coming from?! Who's doing the screaming?!
He felt like the elevator had dropped him into hell itself. He feared that he was going to go crazy if he didn't escape soon, but he still couldn't find the stairs. There were a lot of hallways that split and led in different directions. Often times he would find the places he wanted to go in blocked off with signs prohibiting anyone to enter.
He felt like a rat in a maze, with the maze guiding him in all the wrong directions. His frustration dissolved when he stumbled across the corpse of a doctor. At first he thought it was a zombie, waiting for James to get close enough to attack him. A lot of blood formed around the doctor's head, smearing all over the steel flooring. That was because of the bullet hole through his forehead.
What the…who did this to him…
Then he noticed the gun in the doctor's hand. It dawned on him that he probably committed suicide.
For what reason? Was he afraid he'd turn into a zombie too?
He saw a piece of folded paper in the man's pocket. He pulled it out and unfolded it. It was hard to read due to the blood splotches and the doctor's messy handwriting, but he could still make it out.
If you are reading this, then I'm probably already dead.
James glanced at the body, muttering a calm, "no shit."
I've been trapped down here for a few days now. No food or water other than what I've been able to scavenge. It's sealed off down here, none of the hospital staff would dare come down here. Not even to save me. They're all too afraid.
They wanted me to fetch something down here. A tape, I think. I was supposed to dispose of it and come back up, but when I tried to leave it was locked. It was very risky to come down here in the first place, as this is where they began storing the dangerous patients. Some of the doctors have kept weapons around to protect themselves, myself included. It's against hospital policy, but what are we supposed to do?
I can't take it anymore. The screaming. It's all I can hear now. I'm so hungry, tired, and afraid. I can't sleep, the pounding keeps jarring me awake. No one will come to rescue me, so I've been given two choices: kill myself or starve.
Well, you can guess which one I chose. Starvation is just too painful, I can't-
The rest was illegible, the stains made it impossible to read. James couldn't believe they left one of the staff down here to die.
So, this has to be the place where they were going to kill the diseased patients.
He remembered something and looked over the note again. "It's sealed off down here…."
He tried to stay calm, but he couldn't keep down the rising panic. Now being lost was the least of his worries, because he might not be getting out at all. The pounding became louder than ever. He had to cover his ears to block out the noise.
It sounds like it's coming from around the corner!
He started walking towards the noise, anxious to see what was causing the ruckus. He turned the corner and reached an iron door. There was a small, thick window in the center of it. He leaned closer and peered inside.
"Oh…my…god…"
They were all zombies. Men, women, even small children were inside that room trying to get out. They looked like they had all been crammed in there, as there was no room for them to lay down or even sit.
Those sick bastards! How could they do this to innocent people?!
The monsters inside looked far worse than any zombie he'd seen so far. Some of them had missing limbs or were completely soaked in blood. James wondered if these were the same living conditions that the patients had to suffer in before they turned into zombies.
Screaming came from further down the hall.
'How many more rooms did they use to keep in sick patients?' he thought. For all he knew, there could be thousands of zombies down here.
The screams caused a reaction for the zombies in the room. They all lunged at the door, causing him to fall back. The door shook so violently that he was sure it was going to break open.
Thumpthumpthumpthump.
Through the loud commotion, he could hear something in the ceiling. It sounded a lot like someone was walking across it. His mind urged him to get going before whatever was up there decided to come down and greet him. He tried to avoid looking over his shoulder at the people-
No, monsters.
-that were still in that room. He hurried down the hall, which started to feel less like a maze with its confusing twists and turns. He ran under a vent and heard the lid clatter to the ground. Then came a squirming noise, just like in the first-floor basement. He stopped and nearly turned around-
No! No, you idiot! Run!
For once, he listened and took off again. His legs felt like they were going to come off at how fast he was going. He focused only on what was in front of him, not daring to turn his head. Behind him he could hear faint footsteps.
At the end of the long stretch of hallway was a door. Above it, a green exit sign flickered.
Finally!
He tried to push it open, only to find it wouldn't budge. He looked through the small window into the passage on the other side. On one side of the wall was the word "stairs" with an arrow underneath it. He smashed his fist against the window out of aggravation.
He jogged a few feet away from the door, and when he had enough distance between him and it, he ran full speed towards it.
BAM!
"Argh!" he fell backwards clutching his arm in pain. He shot an angry look at the door, which hadn't moved at all. He got back up and pressed his whole body against it. He struggled for several seconds trying to open the door. It still remained fixed in place.
Am I really stuck down here?
He slumped to the ground. Out of frustration, he hit the back of his head against the door. The noises started up again and he wondered if he was going to end up like the doctor. A bullet through his head.
William, Bethany, and that girl Elizabeth…what'll happen to them? What'll happen to me? Maybe they think I'm dead and left. Or what if they don't think I'm dead? What if they come looking for me and get themselves killed?
"Dammit!" he said loudly. He buried his head in his hands. They were soaked from all the sweat.
I sure could use a hot shower right now. And a comfortable, clean bed…
Those footsteps were getting closer. He rose from his spot, trying to make as little noise as possible. He was tempted to try banging on the door. If one of the survivors were nearby, then maybe he could get their attention.
But I'd also attract the attention of whatever's walking around.
He pressed his back against the door as the footsteps got louder. It was worth a try, after all, that thing was going to find him no matter what.
He turned and started pounding wildly on the door.
--
"Elizabeth, you stay here and wait for us," said William.
She nodded, her fear apparent. He smiled gently at her and reached to pat her comfortingly on the shoulder, but she flinched under his touch.
"I-I'm fine," she stuttered. He frowned and looked at Bethany, who gave him a shrug.
"Okay, we'll be back soon," he said. Then he turned and followed Bethany downstairs.
The darkness swallowed them the further down they went. Neither of them spoke. Bethany was more focused on getting downstairs, but his mind was elsewhere. He was busy thinking about Elizabeth. There was something odd about that girl. He had seen children like her before, and most of them were abus-
"Hey, watch it. You're bumping into me," Bethany said irritably. "I'm starting to think you have a crush on me."
"Oh, uh, sorry," he apologized, his face a little red. He was glad she couldn't see him.
It took a while for the two survivors' eyes to adjust to the dark. They had to be very careful of the steps they took. One misstep could send them tumbling down the stairs.
"I think we're reaching the first-floor basement. Should we check that out first?" Bethany asked.
"Is that where the elevator went?" he asked.
"I don't know. Damn! Maybe we should start from the lowest level-" she was cut off as her foot missed the next step. Before she could fall, William grabbed her arm. He gripped the railing next to them for balance, and let go of her when she finally steadied herself.
"Whew! That would've been a nasty fall. You've got pretty good reflexes there. I guess most cops need them, huh?," she said.
"Most of them," he hesitated before speaking again, "are we going to first-floor basement or are we going further on down?"
She sighed, "I guess we should try the lowest level first. I think the elevator dropped quite a ways. How many levels do you suppose this hospital has?"
"I doubt it'd have too many. This isn't a very big hospital," he answered. They continued walking in silence. It only took them a few minutes to reach the second-floor basement, but to them it felt like hours. A door sealed off the passageway to the basement. He tried tugging at the door, but it wouldn't come open.
"It's locked? Where are we going to find a key?!" she cried. Remembering the key he found on the third floor, he dug into his pocket and pulled it out. He felt her shocked expression on him as he groped around in the dark to find the keyhole. She wrapped her hand around his and moved it to where the keyhole was. The locked clicked open as he turned the key.
"You're full of surprises. Where'd you find that?" she asked.
"Upstairs, while I was looking for the doctor," he responded as the door swung open.
"Oh? Did you ever find-"
BAM! BAM! BAM!
Bethany and William jerked their heads toward the sound. It was coming from the other side of the door at the end of the hallway. Their first instinct was to run, fearing that it was a monster trying to break loose.
"Hey! I think that's James!" Bethany said. She ran towards the door and looked into the small window. Sure enough, she saw James on the other side. He stopped beating on the door when he saw her. He looked behind him and then looked back to her. He started to say something, but she couldn't hear.
William walked towards them, but stopped at the corpse of a man wearing a green patient's outfit. He was young-looking and had messy, blonde hair. He looked like he had been shot through the abdomen, though he couldn't be sure. The patient's hand was stained red. When he got a closer look, he saw that he had written out a message in his own blood.
FREE THE DAMNED.
'What on earth?' he thought. Then he saw something in the man's other hand.
Bethany looked down at the door. It was electronically locked through a card reader.
"William, what are you doing over there?! Help me out!" she snapped. He pulled his attention away from the corpse to look at her and the door. Then he looked back to what the man was holding.
It's…a card. But why would a patient have it? Unless, they stole it.
"Stop messing with that corpse and get over here!" he tugged the card out of the patient's hand. He wasn't sure if that'd be the right cardkey to open the door, but he had to try. He walked over to where Bethany was and slid the card through.
Please…
The card reader gave a cheerful 'ding' and the door slid open. James quickly ran out to rejoin the others.
"You alright there?" Bethany asked him.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I thought I'd never get out of there," he then gave William an odd look, "where's Dr. Hursh?"
"I couldn't find him-" he was cut off by the sound of loud footsteps. None of them spoke, just listened. It was coming towards them.
"We need to get out of here," James whispered in a low voice.
"But where are we going to go?" Bethany asked, "we need a way out of this hospital."
Before anyone could answer her, a figure appeared from around the corner. William recognized it as the leech man from the third floor.
"Oh no…no…it's back…" he said quietly, fearfully. James and Bethany were still in shock, and James' phobia was quick to resurface. It was quickly moving towards them with its arms outstretched, walking in a clumsy manner. It was hard to tell who it was coming after first. The three survivors spread out.
"What the hell is that thing?!" Bethany shrieked. Her voice caught the attention of the leech man and it started going after her. She backed up against the wall as William opened fire on it. The gunshots didn't seem to slow it down. James managed to shake off his fear and he threw himself against the leech man. It was just enough to knock it off-balance, giving her a chance to escape. She crawled away from it and ran back to William.
"Go! Everyone go!" William screamed, still firing.
The leech man swung around, knocking James to the floor. He heard two loud blasts and saw leeches flying off of it. He scrambled away while Bethany fired her shotgun again.
"Run for the stairs!" he yelled at them. William's handgun ran empty, much to his disappointment. He felt Bethany tug on his sleeve, urging him to follow her. The leech man ran after them, unwilling to give up on potential prey.
Then there were several loud crashes that came from behind them. Right before William slammed the door shut, there was the unmistakable sound of marching. Hundreds of people marching. Only James knew what it truly meant.
The hospital had just became a war zone, and they were right in the middle of it.
