This isn't real.
With the loss of my lighter, and a burning torch tightly gripped in my left hand, I took a moment to pull out a cigarette from the pack I kept in my pocket and lit it with the flame. I placed it between my lips. Taking in a puff, I felt the tension within me relax. Just the simple familiarity of holding the object gave me fleeting comfort.
Mindless…dead. That's the only way to explain how I felt. Like I was no longer present…I felt detached from the world, like I was witnessing a horrible nightmare instead of living it. The strange sense of apathy towards my own well being left me with nothing but a cold emptiness. My safety was irrelevant to the task at hand, which was to ensure Leslie's well being.
So on I stumbled down the dirt path.
This can't be real.
I refused to think about him…the man that had once been my best friend. It was too painful. It brought too many emotions and memories that had been buried deep under decades of disguises and false hope.
I had to be alright because after the fire, that was what I had to be for my parents' sakes. They would have grown furious at hearing their daughter's cries for the friends she had lost in the blaze…So I stuffed it into my little "vault" as I call it, just like with every other problem I've ever faced.
My parents didn't necessarily approve of the special bond I had with Ruben. In fact, the one time I had mentioned meeting the Victoriano boy resulted in a tongue-lashing and a spanking that I would never forget. They forbid from ever seeing him again. I, however, refused to listen and never spoke of our meetings following that day – especially not to my dad.
My father had never gotten over his anger toward the Victoriano family. I remember that my mother was always the only one that could calm him down when he would get riled up about it, but even those moments were rare.
From the time that I was five until the age of nine, my dad had a drinking problem that seemed to stem from the drought that caused everyone in Elk River – not just my family – to lose money. When Ruben's father bought the one-hundred and thirty acres of land (that had previously belonged to his father – my grandfather) out from under him, that was the final straw.
He was never abusive towards me and Mom, but it did bother her a lot. I remember accidentally walking in on some pretty heated arguments between them. There were even a few screaming matches when my mother threatened to take me and leave if he didn't change his ways.
That was part of the reason I liked to get away from the farm to go play with Ruben. Somehow, he always knew how to make me smile again when I would show up at our daily meeting spot at the barn with tears in my eyes.
I sprinted into the barn, long, red pigtails bouncing behind me. Tears streamed down my chubby cheeks. The little white, long-sleeved dress I wore had become dirty from the trip, not that it mattered to me. But in the back of my mind, I knew that Mama would grow furious at seeing it in this condition after just cleaning it.
He greeted me with a small smile, which soon vanished upon seeing my distraught state.
"What's wrong, Ali?" he asked.
I plopped down on a bale of hay and explained the situation as best as a child at the age of six could through sniffles and sobs. He sat beside me, eyes fixed directly on me. I wrapped my arms around my knees and buried my head to continue my bawling.
At first he remained silent, allowing a pause hang between us. Soon, his eyes were alight with the sudden spark of an idea. He shot up and walked outside.
"Where are you going?" I croaked, but he acted as if he hadn't heard me. I continued to cry, thinking that he left me.
A few seconds later he walked back in, obviously trying to hide something behind his back. With a proud grin he presented a sunflower to me – to which I looked at him in bemused puzzlement.
"In Greek mythology," he began in his usual 'know it all' way, "there was a water nymph known as Clytie who fell in love with the sun god Apollo. Even though she loved him, he did not love her back. So for days, she sat and watched as Apollo's sun chariot moved across the sky. Eventually, the gods took pity on her and turned her into a sunflower so she could follow Apollo everyday from sunrise to sunset."
"That's a sad story," I mumbled, not wanting to hear something that would make me even more upset. With the back of my hand, I wiped the snot from my nose.
"Yes, but the flower represents how much she admired and loved Apollo. In the Victorian Era, they had their own language for flowers, and sunflowers meant admiration. This one here represents how much I admire you," he said, still grinning while he extended it towards me to take.
It took me a few seconds to process what he had said, but soon I was grinning from ear to ear at the gesture of friendship.
"That's means you like me, right?" I asked, not fully understanding the meaning of the word.
He sighed at my childishness. "Yes."
I accepted it with joy. Next thing he knew, I jumped up to wrap my small arms around his neck in a bone-crushing hug.
"Thank you, Ruben," I said, hardly able to contain my sudden burst of happiness. "I like you too."
Without even thinking, I took out two soulless corpses with my handgun (wasting several bullets to get the job done) and burned a third with the torch I had been toting. This sent him scrambling aimlessly and squealing in anguish as the flames consumed him until he finally dropped to the ground. From this information, I gathered that fire was the key to my survival. I grabbed the few bullets that I found on the bodies and continued my mission.
A bright light in the distance on the other side of the bay caught my attention – a lighthouse. It almost pulled me towards it, drawing me closer. I felt as if I couldn't look away. My feet began moving in its direction. But soon I stopped and forced myself to keep going, wondering why on earth I felt so drawn to the light.
After what felt like hours of nonstop walking, and the last two cigarettes in my pack later, I noticed a figure in a white lab coat running and calling in desperation for an unknown person. As I got close enough, I recognized the older man before me. Upon the dose of slight familiarity, I woke from my dream-like state.
But I instantly remembered the words of warning from my former friend prior to arriving here…"I created this world, therefore I will keep you here if I choose. The others, however, will not remain. I suggest that you do not seek them out."
In the end, against my better judgement, I decided to approach him. After all, he was a somewhat familiar face in this chaos.
"Dr. Jimenez," I called out to him, which seemed to prompt a reaction.
He turned around to locate the source of the voice that called his name and soon spotted me. Recognition seemed to fill his eyes. "Oh,…yes...," he answered, though he seemed quite unsure.
I was a little miffed that my employer had forgotten who I was.
"I'm Alice Carroll. I'm a nurse at the hospital."
"Oh, yes,…Alice...right."
"I saw Leslie earlier, but then he ran off on his own. Have you seen him?" I asked.
"He ran though that gate up ahead." He then looked angrily back towards the direction of the gate.
"Great," I quietly grumbled.
Suddenly, the uproar of the undead throughout the area commenced and the doctor's eyes widened. Another spike covered gate shut just a few feet from where we stood, blocking our escape.
"We should hide. In here," he whispered urgently while running inside one of the houses. I followed behind.
We hid upstairs in a walkway that connected two of the houses, right above where the spiked gate had lowered, and shut the door behind us. Suddenly, gunshots fired and a set of fast-paced, heavy footsteps thundered from behind the door. As I listened closely, I could tell that they were headed in our direction.
The door flew open and the first thing I saw was a gun pointed at the both of us. With a fluttering heart, I recognized the handsome, scowling face behind it.
"Who's there?" he barked.
"No! Don't shoot!" Jimenez cried. "I'm not one of "them." I'm a doctor, Marcelo Jimenez."
"And I'm a nurse, Alice Carroll," I added.
The detective lowered his gun. "You were both in the ambulance before it crashed." I chewed my lip at the awkward memory of sitting in his lap and burying my face in his shoulder. My eyes refused to even look at him. But when I finally chanced a glance, he appeared rather serious and collected as if he didn't recall it at all.
"Yes, we're lucky to be alive," Jimenez replied.
"Have you seen anyone else?" the gun-wielding man asked.
"My patient, Leslie. I saw him running up ahead, but…"
"But…?" the detective prompted.
"Come this way. Quietly, mind you…"
He took him to the edge of the railing to look beyond our secluded area.
"Have a look for yourself…" the doctor said as he handed him a pair of binoculars. I followed their example and moved to stand on the other side of the investigator.
"Those…things…chased me all the way into the village."
"Me too," the detective added. "They're all over the place."
"Leslie went through the gate over there," I explained.
"There are too many to shoot our way through," the detective stated displeasedly.
"So what do we do now?" I asked timidly.
"One of us could try to lure them away while the other two get the gate open. You two are the ones with guns…," the doctor not so subtly implied as he ran down below.
"If you say so…," the detective replied dubiously as he moved to turn the crank to raise the gate below us. After some back and forth from the two men, Jimenez passed though waving a torch around and shouting to distract the creatures.
"That old guy is gonna get himself killed," the detective sighed.
I bit my lip in thought, not speaking a word but silently agreeing with him.
He turned his head to meet my doe-eyed gaze, evaluating me from head to toe. I could feel the intense heat flood my cheeks as I began to feel like a deer caught in the headlights. From his unsure expression, I assumed that he knew I wouldn't be much help. With my 5'6 stature, weak muscles, and slender build, I hardly looked the part of a trained zombie killer. His mouth formed a thin line.
"You should go with him. I've got this under control," he ordered.
I cocked my head to the side and narrowed my eyes in confusion at the mere suggestion. "What?"
"You're an untrained civilian who isn't ready to face what's out there head on. Stay with the doctor and hide," he replied.
I glared back at him. "Look, okay I get it. You're an officer who's more trained for this type of situation than I am. And yes, okay, I haven't shot a gun since I was a teenager – or my early twenties – whatever, it doesn't matter." I raised my hands in defeat at my failed memory. "The point is that you're not invincible. I can help you, and I will whether you like it or not." I crossed my arms in an attempt to emphasize my point. "And things will go much quicker if we work together."
With this, a brief moment of silence passed between us as he thought it over. Obviously not liking the idea due to his doubtful expression. He let out a deep sigh. "Fine, but follow me and do as I do. If something happens, you run," he instructed while reloading his handgun.
I nodded in response and followed his example. "Your leg's better, I see."
He looked down at the appendage and stared as if he were seeing it for the first time. "Yeah…I guess so."
Uncomfortably, I looked around. "So, what's your name?"
He looked up, slightly puzzled. "Sebastian Castellanos. Alice, right?"
I nodded and smiled sheepishly at hearing him say my name.
The entire area, save the barn, was cleared fairly quickly although I squandered several bullets because of my inability to aim straight.
Sebastian lit a match and burned the last body. I gazed into the flickering flames before me in utter wonder as they consumed the last of the haunted, licking away every last inch until it was completely gone. Due to the adrenaline, a sudden giddy feeling built inside at the thought that I had survived countless numbers of the haunted that wielded weapons like knives, hand guns, shot guns, and even their own claw like fingers that would rip flesh from bone. I chose not to remind myself that they were once human beings like me…It was too hard to process.
I was pulled from my trance by the sound of footsteps walking away towards the gate.
"C'mon," Sebastian commanded.
Thunderous growls and the clinking of chains echoed from inside the barn to our left, and I knew from the look in his eyes that Sebastian didn't want to find out what was in there unless it was absolutely necessary. I wholeheartedly agreed with him.
We reached the gate, but soon we were met with yet another obstacle in out path: getting it open. There was no lever or button anywhere to be found.
"The only way to get the gate open is to cut through this chain."
"So, we need to find something to cut it with. But what?" I asked.
"A saw?" Sebastian suggested. "So, that leaves us with only one place to check."
I inwardly groaned. Obviously, whatever was lurking inside the barn was big enough for it to be necessary to be caged and bound by chains, which meant that it was more dangerous than the haunted we had previously faced. I checked my ammo and discovered that I only had one bullet left, much to my chagrin. I quickly relayed this to the detective.
With his newly acquired shot gun in hand, he gave me a few bullets and I loaded them into the gun.
"Stay here and hide," I was told.
I peered up at him with a raised brow. Sure, he had saved me numerous occasions that night and had to finish the job for me many times, but I still could have been of use to him. I crossed my arms indignantly.
"No, I can help–"
"-Let me take care of this one. You're not that good of a shot. If I do need you, I'll call for you. Until then, stay here until I come and get you," he replied indifferently to my reaction.
"Fine…whatever." I reluctantly caved in and walked toward one of the old houses, whispering a silent prayer that he would make it out alive.
Waiting for what felt like an eternity, I listened to the sound of my heavy breathing to try and soothe my nerves. My eyes dashed back and forth in an attempt to make out where Sebastian was from the crack in the wall. My heart pounded and raced inside of my chest, filling my ears with the erratic beat. Beads of sweat mixed from the time spent running and the sickening trepidation rolled down my forehead onto my uniform.
"Where are you?" I whispered.
Without warning, the roar of a chainsaw came to life and I witnessed Sebastian high-tail it out of the barn. He turned on a dime and blasted at the chainsaw-wielding maniac with his shot gun. It did no good, and consequently, seemed to only anger it more as the beastly creature continued to barrel towards him. Sebastian raced like a scared rabbit and flew into the house nearest to him.
I swore and ran out from behind the door to chase after him, no plan in mind whatsoever.
I scampered up the steps and stood in the entryway looking for the sadist and the detective and found them beneath the set of stairs that led to the second floor. Sebastian, in his haste, fell to the ground and the monster stalked up to him like a tiger to its prey.
I whipped out my hand gun and began to fire every last bullet I had at the back of its head. It turned around to identify the source of the shots and its beady, dead looking eyes landed on me. Sebastian took advantage of the situation and dashed up the stairs just enough to be out of reach; he continued to fire at the creature with his shotgun. It looked from me to the detective, debating which one to go after first, then chose me. It strode closer, chainsaw roaring, a growl escaping its lips behind the half-mask covering its face.
Not even thinking, I pulled the lever mounted on the wall parallel to me and watched as large metal spikes rose from the wooden floor, impaling the sadist where he stood. When the spikes retracted, the sadist fell limp to the ground, chainsaw still running.
In utter disbelief and shock, I collapsed against the wall behind me and gently slid down to the floor, running a hand through my once tied up red locks. I listened as Sebastian's heavy footsteps began to make their way towards me, stopping in front of me.
Before our eyes, the corpse of the sadist transformed into red, bead-like droplets of blood vapor, fluidly synchronized as they floated through the air as though pulled by an unseen force. My eyes followed the movement of the vaporous conglomeration as it flowed around the corner, passed right by me, and turned out the door. I stood up and chased after it.
Once I was down the steps, I saw what attracted the mass. There stood the man I formerly knew as Ruben Victoriano, drawing the droplets in like a magnet as they were absorbed into his marred body. My heart took a sudden leap inside of my chest. I anxiously observed the disapproving scowl etched into his pale face as he turned to vanish through the gate.
He knew.
Of course.
I let out the shaky breath I didn't know I had been holding and stared blankly at the spot where he stood.
"Let's see if this works," Sebastian suddenly spoke, startling me from my daze.
He held the chainsaw in his hands and moved towards the obstruction with determination. He started it up and firmly pressed the blade against the giant silver chain. White sparks jumped and flew in all directions as the saw made an ear-piercing, grating whine caused by the intense pressure. Finally, the gigantic chain snapped and the blockade opened.
"You know, I just realized something." I stared in wonder at the village behind me. A small smile formed at my lips as I looked around.
"What's that?" Sebastian replied, obviously not really paying attention.
"This is Elk River…This is where I grew up." My smile fell at the realization of how corrupted this place had become. Believe it or not, the area had once been much nicer looking than it was then – well, as nice as a group of old farm houses could get. It was never the best looking place, not like Krimson with all the bright lights of the cityscape, but it was a cozy community of houses. A friend of my father's lived there, and I vaguely recall the visits we made to that particular area with only a small amount of fondness.
Sebastian remained silent.
"Wait…! Over here!"
We turned around and waited as the doctor ran out from the house where we had just been and joined us at the entrance.
"Wait, uh, officer. You must take me with you," Jimenez begged.
""Detective:" Castellanos," Sebastian informed.
"Leslie should be just ahead. It is imperative that we find him."
The detective nodded in acceptance.
The formerly opened gate slammed shut behind us, causing the three of us to jump.
"Ah, the hospice," Dr. Jimenez began as he led us forward."Yes…Leslie was being treated here years ago. He'd come here thing it was familiar and safe."
"You know where we are?" Sebastian questioned.
"Just ahead is the hospice my brother runs. He'll take us in."
"That didn't answer my question."
"I honestly don't know. For all I know I'm losing my mind and you're just a delusion. But I'd like to think I still have a shred of dignity and an obligation to protect my patient. As an officer of the law, you should too," Jimenez slighted.
"Hope his brother's not a jerk too…," Sebastian growled under his breath.
I eyed the man doubtfully as questions formed in my mind.
"Why was Leslie being treated at a hospice?" I asked the doctor suspiciously.
The doctor pretended to not hear my question and continued walking on without acknowledgement.
"Dr. Jimenez," I called to get his attention, but this too went "unheard." Finally, I gave up and allowed the silence to be my answer, however this only raised my suspicions.
We arrived in an area that was just as run-down as the one before. Old wooden shacks were distributed in a semi-circle with a bonfire in the center. Detective Castellanos and I searched each one, loading up on all of the ammunition we could find hiding in various places and killing each of the haunted we came across. Dr. Jimenez provided comments about our shooting, mostly productive. As we approached one of the shacks, a ghostly, fire engulfed woman burst through the closed door. The three of us jumped as she ran shrieking before falling to the ground, vanishing from sight.
Finally, we climbed a wooden set of stairs to reach an aged, brick house that sat among the wooden cabins.
"Expose everything," a male voice inside whispered.
We followed the sound from the door down to the first floor of the house where there appeared to be some kind of makeshift doctor's office.
"Hush, hush. Don't you fret," the voice said behind a white curtain.
Jimenez casually strolled toward it without question.
"Doc, no, don't…" Sebastian ordered.
"Valerio, it's me!" the doctor called.
"The good doctor is here…"
"This is my brother, Valerio. Leslie's original doc-" He stopped mid sentence.
Valerio, an older, hefty man with graying hair, was hunched over a decaying corpse laying on an operating table peeling away skin and ripping out organs with various tools.
"Peel away…"
Globs of flesh plopped onto the wooden, dirt covered floor, oozing blood and other bodily fluids. A metal clamp joined them on the ground as they fell from the doctor's hand.
"Expose everything…"
"Hey, what are you doing?" Sebastian interrogated.
With a brief pause, Valerio turned his head revealing a large gaping wound that exposed rotting brain matter and white, glowing eyes beneath cracked glasses. I squeaked as he completely twisted to raise his large, butcher knife at Sebastian with a disturbing growl. The detective raised his shotgun in defense but before he could fire, the room shook and an ear-splitting ring permeated the area. Each of us covered our ears in an attempt to block the noise but to no avail; it seemed to seep into our minds, tearing away until it caused a pain unlike any headache we had ever experienced before. Like a raging fire, it enveloped every inch of the brain, scratching and licking away at what little sanity we had left. I wanted to scream, but couldn't even open my mouth to do so.
"So...itchy...," the former doctor cried in agony while clawing away at his own skin as if it were a deadly disease. Blood poured down from his mutilated scalp.
"It itches…So itchy… It itches!" he yelled in the purest form of torture before fading away into a blue, misty haze.
At first, no one spoke a word. Finally, Jimenez whispered with a quivering voice,"How could he have done that to Valerio…?...Impossible…couldn't be Ruvik…"
I perked up at the unfamiliar name, but chose not to ask.
Sebastian slowly walked over to the desk on the other side of the operating table to look for some sort of clue as to what to do. I watched in a perplexed bemusement as he picked up an x-ray picture and studied it with a grimace, then walked over and gripped the knife that he kept in his back pocket. I nearly gagged as he plunged the knife into the belly of the corpse, re-opening the poorly stitched wound that stretched from the chest to the lower abdomen. He slowly dug his hand inside, feeling for an unknown item. Each movement of his hand creating a revolting squish that didn't ease my nausea. The sickening smell of rotting death dispersed through the room even stronger than before.
Suddenly, the corpse sat up and let out an alarming squawk before falling back down dead, causing Sebastian to tumble backwards on to the ground with a yell. In his right hand, he held a bloody set of keys. He cautiously stood back up on his feet, a small groan escaping his lips.
A scream erupted from somewhere beyond our location.
"That came from outside," Sebastian announced while moving toward the door.
Jimenez and I followed closely behind as he ran to find the source of the shriek. As we passed by a few out of place looking pigs, I couldn't help but wonder why any farm animals would be at a hospice.
Curiouser and curiouser.
"Help! Help!" Leslie screamed from afar.
"What's wrong with this kid?" Castellanos muttered.
We reached our destination quite quickly: another brick house, only this one had no windows. The front porch light was lit as if to welcome us inside. Sebastian carefully pushed the red, chipped-painted door open to reveal an empty room, save for a dining table, a few chairs, and a lit fireplace. Upon further exploration, we found more ammo in the next room and continued toward the set of stairs that led downward.
More screams echoed from below.
"He's down there," I spoke, instantly taking off to find Leslie.
The stairs led to a hallway lined with stone. The room to our left was filled with various cages, and down the hall was a door and a window which revealed an ominous, red glow from the room on the other side. I pushed the door open and peeked around the corner before stepping inside. A few couches and chairs lay in the center of the area, with an entire wall dedicated to pictures across from it. Behind them, were a set of shelves with a seemingly never-ending supply of glass bottles.
"A red room?" I questioned to no one in particular.
Behind the white curtains parallel to the sitting area stood a whimpering Leslie, hunched over in his usual, timid fashion. His little voice squeaked, "Help me..help me..," in an attempt to soothe himself. At the discovery, Doctor Jimenez ran to him immediately.
"Leslie! Oh, thank heavens."
I dared to make my way over to the boy, but was instantly stopped by Jimenez's shove to push me out of the way. Upon seeing the doctor, Leslie attempted to struggle to break free from his grip. He stared into my eyes begging me for the help that I could not give.
"Doctor Jimenez is here. Settle down…" he assured with a tone of frustration while struggling to hold him in place.
"Wait, doc. I think something's coming," Sebastian said while pulling out his gun.
Sure enough, the previously closed door was kicked open, but the assailant was unseen. All that could be heard was the faint patting of bare feet on the stone floor before the monster revealed himself. What was once a man, dressed in an unbound straight jacket, dove toward the detective. In the place where facial features should have been were rows of wriggling tentacles that extended to grab onto Sebastian's face. Luckily, the detective was able to knock the creature away in time before any damage was done. I whipped out my hand gun and aimed to fire at the monster before it could vanish yet again and shot it in the stomach. The detective then took the opportunity to kill it with a headshot.
"This place is a death trap," Sebastian announced, "Is there anywhere safe at all?"
"I think that's unlikely," Jimenez responded with a sigh.
Sebastian gave a grunt of displeasure.
The doctor led Leslie out of the room and down the hallway, while Detective Castellanos and I followed behind.
"I don't trust him," I confided to the detective in a whisper.
He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye while we continued out the door. "I don't either."
I glanced back at him uneasily. "None of this makes sense. Why was Leslie in a hospice? His medical records never indicated a history of an illness that would cause a mortality. There's not even a mention of him being here at all."
"Can't get out…can't get out…," Leslie whimpered from up ahead.
"It's not right," I whispered, to which Sebastian grunted in agreement.
As we exited the room, the doctor and Leslie stood at the end of the hall; Jimenez's hand was pressed against the stone where there were once stairs. He backed away, eyes wide with incredulity. "The stairs are gone…"
"We must be collectively losing our minds…," the detective replied as we stepped toward the pair. I instinctively walked toward Leslie to stand by him.
"…Losing our minds! Losing our minds! Losing our minds!" Leslie repeatedly yelled.
"Leslie?" I asked before the ringing began again, only softer and much less painful.
"Oh god…no…," Jimenez uttered.
I took my eyes off of panicking Leslie and blanched at the sight of what had provoked this response. Yet again, there he stood so close and thankfully so far away. His pale, glowing eyes filled with disdain towards Jimenez as he gave him a cold glare. Next, they shifted towards mine and lingered, burrowing deeper into my soul. An uneasiness settled over me. I was lost in the illuminated sea of silver as his expression morphed into something fiercer than the look he had given the doctor. Betrayal.
Anger at my disobedience.
"Ruvik…It is you…," Jimenez whispered.
Leslie dropped to the ground and screamed while clutching his head, but I could pay him no mind. My feet instantaneously moved towards the hooded man all of their own accord. Ruvik turned and walked through the doorway behind him, as if daring and commanding me to follow. The voices of the men I accompanied called to me, but I couldn't even make out what they were saying - like white noise in the background. He turned around one last time to look in my direction with that same intense anger before disappearing completely.
After he had vanished, I turned to run back to my companions, but it was already too late. The scenery of the hall morphed and faded in and out of existence. With one last fleeting glance at the faces of Sebastian and Leslie, I was gone.