Chapter 666
My nightmares were happening all over again but this time they were happening while I was awake.
But… was this a nightmare? I mean, I could taste the stale, dusty air on my lips. I could feel my cold, sweaty skin being suffocated by my dress and jacket. I could hear the sounds of footsteps dragging along the linoleum. Hell, I could hear my own heart filling me with adrenaline and dread with every beat.
My eyes… my eyes could see a doctor limply making his way toward us like a zombie. I could see blood dripping from his mouth and hands like a zombie. I could see dead eyes, white and filmy in the light of my phone's flashlight, just like a zombie.
What's in my head? In my head? Zombie… zombie….zombie.
Okay brain, now is really not the time to be playing a 90's song! Not while an actual zombie is coming right at me!
"Dr. Torres, it's me, Sarah. What happened here? Are you alright?" Dr. Richard held out her free hand, gesturing to what she saw as a colleague in need of medical attention. She didn't see the nightmare I did.
Right as I was about to smack some sense into her, I noticed something gleaming in Dr. Torres's hand. It looked like a scalpel but bigger than any I had ever seen. It was comically big, like a prop an actor would use in a haunted house to scare teens. If it wasn't being held by a dead hand, I would have died from laughter. Maybe that nightmare I had with James was just foreshadowing how I was going to die.
Choking on blood and laughter.
Dying… Shit, this wasn't a nightmare! This was real!
"Dr. Richard, I don't think Dr. Torres needs help. Unless you want to end up like him, we need to get the fuck out of here!"
My profanity breaking through her stupidity for a second, Dr. Richard turned and frowned at me. "Laura, he needs help. I-"
A sudden white noise coming from my phone made us both jump. I brought it down to my side, the flashlight now only illuminating filthy linoleum as we both just stared at the suddenly possessed electronic device. My background of an adorable picture of James and I had been replaced with a black screen. The unlock button wasn't working and jabbing my thumb at the black screen did nothing. The white noise was only getting louder and shining my light back to Dr. Zombie, I think I knew why.
Only twenty feet now separated us from a lumbering monster who didn't want to take us out to dinner. I'm pretty sure we were dinner. I took a few steps backwards and I don't know if she even realized she had too, but Dr. Richard said over her shoulder, "Okay Laura, you may be right. We need to get out of here."
Moving slowly, we backed away until I bumped into the door. Fumbling for the handle I pulled it open and we quickly entered the stairway. The noise emanating from my phone lowered until it was just an annoying buzz. At least the flashlight was still working so I shined the light as Dr. Richard locked the door and held up her wrench with both hands.
"I don't want to scare you Laura, but Dr. Torres isn't the first one I've seen. I thought perhaps he was injured by… something else."
"What the hell do you mean "the first one"? What else have you seen?"
Green eyes that had been nothing but sharp and direct since I met them were now filled with enough fear to make me unconsciously take a step up the staircase away from her.
"I… I'm not sure what I saw. Earlier today I was overwhelmed by a sudden migraine so I took some medication and waited for it to pass in my office. I must have dozed off because when I came to, everyone was gone. It was dark so I assumed the hospital had lost power and the staff simply moved patients to another floor. I went down to the basement to check the generator but… something was already down there. From what I could see it was tall… very tall… and it appeared to be dragging something behind it, like a- look out!"
Her warning coupled with the white noise from my phone suddenly becoming screeching again kicked my instincts on to maximum overdrive. I ducked and threw myself to the right just as she swung her wrench where my head had been seconds before. It made bone-crunching contact with whatever she had been aiming at and a body fell past me onto the landing. It just barely missed her and crumpled into a twisted mess. She nudged the male-looking figure clad in a white lab coat with her foot but it didn't move. Blood slowly spread from what had once been its face.
The noise from my phone was getting louder. Dr. Richard's knuckles were white when she released one hand from the wrench and grabbed my arm. Without saying a word she led me up the stairs almost two at a time. We reached the second floor landing and a quick jiggle of the handle told us it was locked from the other side. Still holding onto me with a death grip, she led us up another flight to the third floor. This time the door opened with barely a touch and after slamming it closed and locking it behind us, we caught our breath.
Before I could let the horror of what I had just witnessed sink in, I shook off her hand and took out the map. As I studied it the white noise faded then finally stopped completely. The silence was way worse and knowing I was about to have a panic attack, I glanced at Dr. Richard and nodded left down the hallway.
"Let's check this floor, Nurse Rachel might be hiding like you were. If we can't find her then we'll take the other staircase by the day room and then check the second floor. I don't think she was on the first floor but then again I was being distracted by a… by a… ."
Too late. Panic crashed this party and he wanted everyone to know he had arrived. My hands holding the map and phone started shaking so bad I dropped them. A hand clamped down around my heart as that maniacal Panic strangled my breath. His red hot fingers were tightening around my throat when Dr. Richard stuck her wrench into her oversized lab coat pocket, bent down to grab the map and phone, and then pulled me to the nearest room. It was locked and after dragging me down the hallway while guiding us with my phone, trying door after door on our left, one finally opened. When she saw it was empty, she rushed me inside and sat me down on the dingy bed. Going back to the door, she closed it and stuck the wrench through the handle, just like she did in the exam room. When she was done she came back to sit by me and laid the phone on the bed so the light was shining straight up.
"You're having a panic attack, Laura. You can still breathe, just put your head between your knees. That's it. Keep breathing. Your heart is still beating, it's not stopped though it may feel like it. Just keep breathing. You're okay. You're okay, Laura."
After God-knows how long I spent gulping air into my tightening lungs with my body bent forward and my hair hanging between my legs, the hand on my heart suddenly released. I gasped, over and over, sucking in oxygen. Dr. Richard kept talking, her low voice somehow incredibly soothing. Shaking, I sat up, my chest heaving a little less and less. Finally, my pulse slowed and my lungs were inflating like the damned flesh balloons they were supposed to be.
Dr. Richard brushed my hair out of my face and took my phone to shine the flashlight into my eyes. She nodded and took my wrist in her hand, her eyes closing briefly as she counted. Nodding again, she placed my hand in my lap and then she did something insane, something more shocking than beating Dr. Zombie back to death in front of me.
She hugged me.
She actually wrapped her arms around me and held me like a little child. And like a little child, I pressed my face against her and cried. I don't even think toddlers bawled like I did. My shoulders bobbed up and down as Panic's hold on me finally loosened. Dr. Richard's arms tightened around me and she started murmuring nonsense, sweet words meant to distract me from my pain. Minutes, hours, nights, however long, passed when my crying just sort of stopped. I just didn't have any more tears left in me. I was as empty as this hospital, as this town. Empty as my life. Empty as James's bedroom. Empty as my future….
"Shh, shh it's okay. It's okay. Laura, listen to me. That wasn't Dr. Torres and that wasn't a doctor in the stairwell. I don't know what's happening here but it's not safe. I know you want to find Rachel but I doubt she's still here. Wherever she is, she's safe. But we're not." Dr. Richard released me and gently took my chin in her hand. Her eyes pierced through my party with Panic and made me feel more grounded. "We need to leave this hospital. We can go to my apartment, it's just a few streets away. I need you to stay calm and follow me. Can you do that for me?"
I took a deep breath, the biggest damn breath I've taken since I stepped out of that taxi, and nodded. I didn't even care that she was treating me like a kid. I took my phone from her hand and listened. Silence. For once that was a good thing. Clicking the home button did nothing and the screen remained black.
"I think… I think it only goes off when a… when something's nearby. As long as it's quiet, there's nothing around to get us. We'll still have a flashlight but I don't know how much battery is left. Hopefully it lasts long enough until we get the hell away from here." My voice hitched, for just a second. Ashamed, I dropped my gaze from hers. "I just… thank you, Dr. Richard. I'm sorry I was such a baby."
She released my chin and smiled, its warmth just as comforting as her touch had been. "No need to apologize, you've suffered a lot of trauma in a very short amount of time. It's completely natural to feel this way. But Laura…." Her smile faded as her brow furrowed. "I don't know what else is in this hospital or even outside in the town that can "get" us, but I think we need to be better prepared. There's a supply closet by the Day Room, maybe we can find a weapon of some sort for you. Then we should leave."
We both glanced up at the wrench stuck in the door handle, the blood glistening in the light of my phone. God damn it, she was right, again. One measly wrench wasn't gonna be enough to protect the both of us, especially if that bear… thing was still out there, waiting to tear me apart with those gigantic teeth.
"Okay. Okay, you're right Dr. Richard. I don't think anyone's here anymore and wherever Rachel is, she's probably in a way better position than we are. Let's get out of here and head to your place." I clapped my hands on my legs and stood up, the good doctor getting up with me. We went to the door and I held up my phone as she gripped the wrench handle. Turning to me, she asked, "Ready?"
I nodded. "Yeah, I'm ready. Panic can go screw himself." She raised her eyebrow at me and I quickly shook my head. "Never mind, let's go."
She slid the wrench out and pulled on the handle. I followed her out into the hallway and held my phone up as high as I could first to the left, then to the right. No zombie Doctors were waiting for us and no static came from my phone. Water was dripping from a pipe somewhere but other than that, blessed and cursed silence surrounded us. Dr. Richard turned right and I followed slowly behind her. There were two doors on our right with a restroom a little further back and two doors on our left.
Nodding to her left, Dr. Richard whispered, "Here, this way." She pushed on a large door and it slid open, the noise echoing down the hallway. We slipped through and I held my phone up and out. Nothing. Thank God. We turned right and walked past the second staircase and then a door down a short hallway. I saw Dr. Richard glance uneasily to her left and I tapped her shoulder, whispering, "What? Do you see something?"
She shook her head quickly and kept walking. Within a few strides we were at the supply closet and Dr. Richard was reaching out to turn the knob. It didn't move when she tried to turn it.
"Damn it. I'm going to have to break it. The noise might attract… something, so keep an eye out, okay Laura?"
"Just make it quick, Dr. Richard."
She nodded then took a step back, raising the wrench high. With one fast motion, she brought it down on the door knob and broke it clean off. The metallic clang was loud enough to make me jump slightly but I dropped to my knees and caught the knob before it could hit the ground. I set it down gently then straightened. Dr. Richard hooked a finger into the hole where the knob had been and pulled open the door. She waved me inside and held it open while I looked around. There were several boxes of cleaning supplies, a bucket, and a mop leaning against the far wall. I scanned the metal shelving unit and let out a small cry of triumph.
Dr. Richard asked quietly but sharply, "What is it?"
I twirled toward her, gripping a metal pipe about two feet long in front of me. "Will this do, doctor?"
"Very nice Laura," she said dryly. "Now let's go before-"
A light suddenly came on down the hallway, practically bathing Dr. Richard in its fluorescent glow. We yanked our gazes from the light to my phone but it remained silent. I left the supply closet and stood next to Dr. Richard. Without turning her head, she whispered, "It's the elevator. The doors must be open."
I glanced down at the phone then back up to the empty hallway. "There's no static so…. So it's gotta be safe… right?"
She didn't answer and instead took a few steps forward, lifting her wrench. I turned off my phone's flashlight and stuck it in my pocket. Then I raised my pipe with both hands and followed Dr. Richard and after a few short steps, we were standing in front of an empty elevator. I looked behind us but there was nothing except some chairs stacked against the wall opposite a big set of doors. I turned back and lowered my pipe as Dr. Richard lowered her wrench.
"That's… odd. Very few lights or electronics have worked since I woke up in my office. And certainly none of the elevators."
I couldn't help it, but I sniggered really loudly. "You think this is odd? Out of everything you and I have seen so far, this is what's odd? Yeah, okay. That makes total sense. I mean, I'm not a big fan of elevators myself, but this is not the oddest thing I've seen today."
She frowned at me. "Well I did have my phone earlier but I dropped it when I was in the basement. I couldn't find it but I didn't want to stay there any longer, not while… not while it was down there."
I turned to face her, my hands gripping my pipe just a little tighter. "What the hell did you see down there, doc? Was it worse than… than those things downstairs?"
She glanced away, her frown deepening. Now I almost felt bad for teasing her. "As I said before, it was very tall and moving slowly. It almost looked like a man, but again, it was much too tall. It seemed as if it was in pain because it had a metal-"
Static erupted from my phone. Now I really did jump and almost dropped my pipe. I started shaking uncontrollably again but after releasing my sweaty right hand from the pipe, I somehow managed to dig my phone out of my pocket. Without me having turned it back on, the screen was brightly lit, James and me just smiling up at us, one picture-perfect little family. Dr. Richard raised her wrench again and looked all around us and even walked down the hallway towards the Day Room. She lowered her wrench and shrugged as she walked back into the halo of the elevator's light.
"I don't know what's causing the static, there's nothing here."
"Maybe there's something in the Day Room? Should we-ah!"
I yelped as the default ringtone started playing and when I held it up, an Unknown number was calling. Without thinking, I slid the answer button and held the phone up to my ear.
"H-hello?" Nobody answered. "Hello?! Is anybody there? Can you hear me? We need help! Hello?!" Nothing but silence on the other end. Frustrated, I lowered the phone and was about to hang up when a voice said, "Laura?"
Stunned, I just stared at the screen. Dr. Richard snapped, "Laura, there's someone asking for you. Answer!"
"I…" I brought the phone back up to my ear. "Yeah, this is Laura. Detective Holland, is that you?"
"Laura… I just wanted… not safe. I'm sorry for… that happened… wasn't… I never meant…"
The voice kept cutting in and out. It seemed familiar, but I still had no idea who it was. I stepped away from the elevator but that just seemed to make the connection worse and fill with static. I stepped back toward the elevator and the static receded a little.
"Detective Holland, if that's you, repeat everything you just said, I can't hear you. Detective Holland?!"
"You need to… as far away… Laura. This place… whole town is…. feeds…." I stepped closer to the elevator and the voice became a little louder. I closed my eyes for a second and hopped over the threshold. The static almost completely cleared and it was enough for me to ignore my hatred of cursed cable cars, at least long enough to try and hear what the hell this guy was trying to tell me.
"Okay, okay I can hear you better now. Detective Holland, are you still there?"
"I'm here, Laura. And so is Mary. You need to leave. Goodbye, Laura."
"Wait, what?! What kind of sick-?!" The line went dead. I finally figured out why the voice was familiar. Lowering my phone, I saw that it turned itself off. Maybe the battery finally gave up and it was dead.
Just like the man on the other end.
"Laura? What's wrong? Was that Detective Holland?"
I looked up at Dr. Richard, not knowing what to say. "It was… my dad."
She narrowed her eyes at me, like I was a little kid caught in a lie. "Laura, you and I both know that's not possible. It was most likely Detective Holland, you just didn't recognize—"
"It wasn't Detective Holland Goddamn it, it was my dad! I think I would recognize my own dad's voice!"
"I know that Laura, but your father is dead. It's simply not— Laura!"
Her bright, annoyed eyes suddenly widened in surprise as the doors began to shut in front of me. I jumped towards Dr. Richard but it was too late. I put my phone back in my pocket and pressed the Open Door button repeatedly but nothing happened.
"Laura, press the Open Door button."
"What do you think I'm doing?! It's not working!"
"Are any of the buttons working?"
I hit each button. Nothing. I started hitting them harder, my hatred of elevators quickly morphing into fear. "Nothing's happening! What do I do Dr. Richard?!"
"Stay calm, Laura. I'm going to try and pry the doors open. Move back."
I plastered myself against the back of the elevator. Panic was standing beside me and I could just feel that creepy little grin on his face. A thud at the doors startled me but they remained close. A few more thuds echoed from Dr. Richard's wrench but the damned doors remained shut.
"Okay, nothing's happening Dr. Richard. I'd really like to get out now!"
"I almost have it, Laura. Just a few more—"
"Wait, hey! Dr. Richard?!"
The gears above me came alive with a grinding noise. I threw myself at the buttons and hit them all but still nothing happened. The grinding had settled into a low whirring as the elevator began to slowly descend. I hit the wall with my pipe the same moment Dr. Richard hit the doors with her wrench.
"No! Damn it, just get out when you can Laura! I'll come find you, don't leave the hospital! I'll come find you!"
"Dr. Richard?! Dr. Richard!"
Her yells faded away into nothing and I screamed. I screamed and screamed and screamed. My screams tore my throat as the elevator just kept descending. The buttons for each floor lit up as I descended past them. Then I descended past the basement. And I just kept descending. Panic wrapped his arms around me as I kept screaming into his ear. If this is what descending into hell was like, at least I wasn't alone.
I had Panic with me.
After a little while, he started screaming with me.