I slowly walk through the building, my torch the only source of light. The ground beneath me groans and creaks as I walk, but I keep going. I find a map of the place, and when I scan it I find out the storage room is on the twentieth floor. And, the stairs don't go just straight up (because that would be too easy), they switch sides every other floor. So, I have to go up to the second floor on the east wing of the building, but I have to walk all the way to the west wing to get to the third floor. I'm not sure who designed this hospital, but I hate him. The cherry on top of the cake is the fact that the light from the busted windows can't reach me. So, I'm literally going to be walking through twenty floors, in the semi darkness, and be completely unaware how many zombies there are. I seriously consider turning around, but if I did the survivor would die. I need to do this. I HAVE to do this. I once again gather my courage, grip my gun, and head up to the second floor. So far so good. I take three steps, and freeze when my foot hits something. A woman is lying on the floor, her throat ripped out. I quickly search her body, but the only useful thing I find is a flashlight. I try to turn it on, but the batteries are dead. I toss the dead batteries to the side, pocket the device, and step over the corpse. At least I made it farther than that poor woman.
But now I know there are zombies in the building. I'm not sure how many, but even one zombie is dangerous. I slowly step through the darkness, swinging my torch back and forth. I see gurneys, gloves, and face masks littler every hallway. I consider checking a few rooms, but that would be a horrible idea. If there's a zombie in a room, then I'll make it aware of my presence if I go in there. And, if I check one room I'll want to check all of them. I'm only halfway across the floor when I encounter my first zombie, but not the kind I had expected. A therapy dog is sitting in the middle of the hallway wagging his tail, his deceased master right beside him. I crouch down and get closer to the dog, the pooch blinded. I'm close enough to touch him when he finally notices me. I expect him to attack, but he simply growls and stops wagging his tail. Odd, but not every zombie is the same. Then, I realize he's been gnawing on his master. I make a mental note to remember zombies are less likely to attack when fed. They might still attack, but even a small chance of not attacking is better than no chance at all. I thrust my torch near the dog, examining him. His flesh is greenish, his pelt is disgusting, and his teeth are rotten. He appears to have been a poodle in life, but now he's just another zombie. Blinded, mindless, and dangerous.
But it's a good thing I found him, now I know the virus has mutated and can take over animals. The creature is blind, so he's at least over a year old (after a year of not blinking their eyes dry out). That's useful information, and I store it away in the vault of my mind for later. Then, I move on. The beast growls as I pass him, but doesn't force me to shoot him. I don't want to kill him just for being there because the shot would alert every other zombie in the area. I smile when I'm on the third floor. Two down, eighteen to go. I once again stand and begin walking, careful not to put out my torch. The torch is just a stick with a cloth around the end of it, but it's better than stumbling around in the dark. I could relight it, but it would be hard. I'm forced to halt about a third of the way across this floor, a horde of zombies in front of me. Damn it. I memorize where all of them are, extinguish my torch, and slowly crouch down. I can relight my torch on the other side, but right now the heat would alert the zombies to my presence. I carefully work my way through the horde of the living dead, freezing when any one of them moves in the slightest. I'm almost to the other side when I run head first into a zombie's leg, the creature instantly hissing and lashing out. I flatten myself to the ground, the monster hitting one of his fellows. I quickly escape as the two begin to fight.
When I'm safe I relight my torch, then begin my ascent to the fourth floor. The entire horde behind me is fighting, so it should be easy to get out (most of them will permanently die). Suddenly, I hear footsteps coming down the stairs. Right towards me. I slink into the shadows, put out my torch, and watch the woman zoom past me. She has a flashlight in her hand, so she's easy to make out. She screams at the zombies, raises one of her hands, and a bright flash illuminates the monsters. The whip in the woman's hand is coursing with electricity, and the creatures back away in fear. The woman who's holding the whip looks ready to go to war. She has a bulletproof vest on, a helmet, thick leather gloves, and thick boots. I can't quite make out what her pants are made out of, but I'd bet leather. She's wearing clothes that zombies can't bite through. Well, they still can, just not easily. I keep to the shadows and watch her, the woman approaching the monsters. All of them turn and flee in fear, but one is slowed by his busted leg. The woman grabs him, slaps her whip across his back, and yanks him after her. So, the monsters can be afraid and apparently still feel pain. A sinking part of my mind asks me the question I've already asked a thousand times. Are these monsters still somewhat human? I push the question aside for now and focus on the woman.
She rushes past me, her zombie briefly swinging his arm in my general direction. I carefully follow her up the stairs, making sure the strange woman doesn't become aware of my presence. She goes up to the fifth floor, takes a hard right, and enters an operation room. She drags the zombie over to a table, slams him down, and ties him to the table. But I'm not focused on that, I'm focused on the monstrosities around the room. A two headed child zombie locked in a dog's cage, one zombie with ten arms is chained to the wall, and a zombie with four heads is in a fish tank. It's only as I draw closer I realize these aren't freaks of nature, their extra appendages have been sewn on. Oh dear Mara. This psychotic bitch is sewing zombies together. I quickly try to backtrack out of the room, but freeze when I see what the woman is doing. She's fixing the zombie's leg. She's using a metal rod and some stitches to fix him, and when she unties him he's able to stand. I get out of his way as he charges out of the room, but then a thought hits me. SHE'S A DOCTOR! A psychotic one who's messing with dangerous creatures, but still a doctor. The gods must love me, why else would they give me such a perfect opportunity? The woman is cleaning up the table when I manage to sneak up behind her, my gun in my hand. I smile and lunge.
She screams as I put the gun to her head, but doesn't fight back. I snarl, "Hands against the wall.". When she's ready I quickly do a pat down, and find only a small gun and the whip on her. I take her weapons, then ask her, "You a doctor?". She snorts and tells me, "No, I'm Scooby fucking Doo.". A sharp hit to her knee gets her to shut up. I quickly tell her, "You're coming with me.". She laughs and tells me, "I don't think so.". I shrug, aim the gun at her foot, and shoot it. She collapses on the ground and begins screaming, "YOU BITCH!". I kick her in the side and tell her, "Dig that bullet out of your foot, tie the wound up, and come with me.". She growls at me, but does as she's told. When the bullet is out of her foot and she's standing I tell her, "You're going to get all of your little medical supplies, gather all your tools, and come with me. Then, you're gonna fix my friend up so they can walk. But first, I have a few questions.". She rolls her eyes and sits down on the operating table, still eyeing my gun. The first thing I ask is, "Where the hell did you get medical training like that?". She scoffs and answers, "In New York.". I ask, "How many medical supplies do you have and what kind?". She looks almost proud as she answers, "The only thing I can't do is open heart surgery and brain surgery. Not because of skill, but because of sanitary reasons.".
I ask my final question, "Can you fix someone with a compound fracture?". She shrugs and says, "I can't put a metal rod in their leg, but I can make it to where all they need is time. So, I can disinfect, stitch, and clean the wound. But it'll take a few weeks before they could walk. Why? Little lover boy back at camp break his leg?". I smack her with the butt of my gun and tell her, "Get your ass up and get moving, we're going to Indian Point.". She refuses to move and snarls, "I'm not doing shit.". I point the gun at her other foot, and the woman quickly stands up. I press my gun to her back, flip her towards the exit, and tell her, "Get your stuff and get moving.". She gathers her stuff, then tells me she's ready to go. I once again place my gun to her back, forcing her to move. As we walk she tells me, "You're going to kill me once I heal your friend.". I scoff and tell her, "Only if you fuck up. I'll keep you captive until her leg is healed, then release you. Then, you can go back to your fucked up science show.". She keeps walking, but counters, "You might still kill me.". I press my gun harder into her back and tell her, "That's a chance you'll have to take. You do well and you live or you fuck up and you die. Now, shut up and walk.". The zombies cleared out when they saw her, so we're able to make it out of the hospital without a fight. We slowly walk through the woods, towards Indian Point. Towards the Survivor.