CHAPTER FIVE

Murray could not believe how much his life had changed over the last week alone. The seven victims that had presented into his hospital last Saturday morning were all dead by that Sunday afternoon and all week long people were bombarded with news reports about mysterious animals and grizzly deaths all over the country.

In smaller detail, mounting missing persons reports were also touched upon, and wild assumptions that it was all related abounded all over the Internet. It was all a little like something right out of a horror story. I was almost too surreal to believe.

He thought back to standing in the room with one of his patients complaining of chest pain. The police officer had developed a raspy cough and Murray's first, obvious, thought was that he developed pneumonia from the encounter with the strange creature. He listened to the man's lungs with a stethoscope, strained his ears again and again, hearing sounds that he never heard before.

"You do have...harsh lung sounds... I think you may be coming down with pneumonia," he said to the man as he coughed. "I want to get a radiograph of your chest to see if there's anything visible in the lungs, then we'll more than likely start you on some antibiotics."

He smiled confidently to the officer and his wife, who was standing at her husband's side with a supportive hand on his shoulder.

The officer nodded in understanding, put his fist to his mouth continued to cough into it as Murray looked out the door of the hospital room and called to the nearest nurse.

"I want to get a chest series on Officer James here." Hearing the man cough deeply once again, he tapped the nurse on the shoulder as she turned away and raised his eyebrows. "Now."

The nurse had nodded and moved off with more haste to call the radiology department. Just then Richardson had come bolting out of another room, followed quickly by a frantic woman.

"Carlos," Richardson said as he slid to a halt in front of Murray, "the boy's having...a seizure or something."

Just as Murray and Richardson were turning to step into action, a horrified scream from the police officer's room rang out. Murray darted back into that room while Richardson and a team of nurses took off again into the seizing boy's room.

Unnoticed by either of the busy doctors, help was being paged to the five other rooms all lined on both sides of the corridor. The hospital floor suddenly just jumped into activity, but for Murray, the world was slowing down.

He reached down and tried his best to support the officer, whose head was lolling around atop his neck as though it was ready to fall off. He was spitting out blood from his mouth and nose and more blood began to seep out of his tear ducts and ear canals. His wife was sobbing hysterically and as nurses entered the room as well, Murray shouted for someone to get the petrified woman out of the room.

The man contorted his body so sharply he ripped himself loose from Murray's grip and slammed backward across the bed, gagging to death on his own blood. Murray jumped up and reached for the man, but came to a halt when he saw the white hospital gown turn blood soaked red at the man' chest.

Murray squeezed his eyes shut, dropped the pen out of his hand and pinched his eyes with a great sigh. He pushed the papers aside that he had been working, unable to concentrate on them. He could not clear his mind of that horrid day.

When the man's chest blew open and that monstrous little creature emerged, that man's wife was still in the room. Murray's mind filled up once again with the high pitched screams from the panicked woman. He could not get past what he saw that day, he also could not get past his own actions. He did nothing, he just stood there, mortified, and watched the police officer die.

Despite the reports he had been reading and hearing for the last week, he was unable to sway his guilty conscience. Part of him knew that there really was nothing he could have done to help the man. Of course hindsight was always perfect. The odd little anomaly he had found on the scans of all seven people was in fact, the growing animal.

The creature had only utilized less than twenty four hours inside their human hosts. It occurred to Murray as he sat at his desk that it was the specific purpose of the crab hatchling to impregnate the human, or animal as the news reports stated, with the embryo of whatever it was that had burst through the man's chest.

He began to wonder, if given the chance all over again if surgery might those people. It was

proven not possible to remove the face hugging creature, but perhaps it would be possible to remove the growing organism from the chests of the victims.

Murray sighed. There was no going back, there was no doing it over again. Now, he was just left the aftermath of the situation. He was being sued by the families of the victims, sued for the loss of life and sued for emotional damages. He had consulted his lawyer all throughout the week since first receiving notification of the legal action.

He strongly urged Murray to pursue the case and not settle. The situation was so unusual no court could possibly find him guilty. Murray felt that settling was the better option, but he feared that either way he would lose his position at the hospital.

Seven lawsuits would eat them all alive. No doubt many of his employees had already figured that out. He received daily updates all week from his head staff that many nurses and a few doctors simply stopped showing up for work. Murray was sure they had left to find employment in hospitals that weren't doomed by lawsuits.

He sat quietly at his desk, head resting on his hand and shut his eyes, trying hard to find something good to think about when a knock came on his door.

Richardson opened the door, looking solemn and tired. "There's something...you really might want to see."

Frowning, Murray stood up, glad for the distraction but still wary that this would be something awful. "What's going on?"

Richardson opened his mouth to speak, but shut it again. "It's probably just easier to see. Follow me."

The two men walked down the hallway, into the elevator and down to the lowest level of the hospital. There wasn't much on the very bottom floor, just some storage rooms, the morgue, a few diagnostic labs and mostly janitorial supplies. Murray thought about questioning Richardson again, but he remained silent.

The elevator doors opened and the two men stepped out. They walked down the brightly lit blue gray corridor, past the large stainless door that led into the morgue and around a corner. There they joined with a large group of people all piled outside one of the janitorial rooms. Murray and Richardson pushed their way through into the room, which was so packed with people they could barely move.

"What the hell?" Murray said as his eyes set upon a very large hole in the back wall of the room.

He walked closer to it as many of the employees, noticing that Murray had entered the room now, backed off. The room fell quiet.

"Be careful," someone said from the crowd.

Murray gave Richardson a questioning look and Richardson shook his head.

"Apparently somebody sent a janitor down here to get some supplies. He never came back."

The men turned again to the hole in the wall.

"Why the hell did he punch a hole in the wall?" Murray questioned.

Richardson shook his head, "I have no idea. Who heard the banging?" He asked again out into the crowd. Another employee reluctantly raised his hand.

"I did. I heard this loud crash. I sounded like... like a car drove through the building or something. I think he fell through the wall or something. Opened the door and saw all that." The man explained.

"And where is he now?" Murray asked, figuring on what the answer was going to be, but hoping that perhaps the man just ran out of the building instead.

The man just shook his head slowly from side to side. 'Don't know, just saw the blood all over the floor and ran for help."

Murray didn't even notice. His eyes had been too fixed on the hole in the wall the entire time. His shoes were directly in a small puddle of blood just at the mouth of the hole. He exchanged a glance with Richardson and stuck his head through the hole.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a tiny pen light. It barely lit the darkness, but Murray could feel cool air. He felt like he looking into the mouth of a deep dark cave.

"Here," Richardson said.

Murray looked back and grabbed the flashlight he was being offered. "Thanks."

The bright light made visibility a little easier. Richardson soon joined in with another flashlight. As both men shined the lights through the large opening, they realized quickly that there was something like a shaft that dropped straight down below their feet.

"It must go down forty feet. Must lead to the subway...or something, you think?" Richardson whispered.

Murray peered up and side to side before looking back down. "I don't know, but..." he hesitated.

"What?" Richardson prompted quickly.

"Well, if the janitor...let's just say he fell down there for some reason...maybe he fell into the wall and it gave way, there's blood here," he glanced at the pool he had stepped out of. "There's pieces of the wall in the room…"

"What are you saying?"

"The wall is pushed into the room." Murray repeated. "That means something came through from this side." He indicated to the dark space with the hand that held the flashlight.

"So, what, like someone broke through the wall...and...what? Dragged him off?" Richardson said trying work the puzzle out in his mind.

Murray raised his eyebrows, "Well...I guess it's possible. I'm calling the police. At the very least we definitely have a break in."

As Murray walked away to get better cell phone reception, Richardson and several others crept over to the gaping hole in the wall and examined it closely. Richardson shined the bright flashlight throughout the space.

He looked up again, and followed some large metal tubing which looked like duct work. He traced it back to the point that it disappeared over the ceiling of the very room his was in. Looking back and above his head he noticed a grate in the ceiling. Following the duct back out of the room, he let his eyes settle back to looking into the darkness and noticed that duct work above his head followed a ninety degree turn straight up.

It was at that juncture that he shined his light and realized that the ducts were broken clean apart.

His first thought was that the building had perhaps shifted and that was what caused the two ducts to pull apart, and quite possibly the wall to fall too. Several other people now noticed where Richardson's eyes had followed to.

"What the hell?" Said someone next to him, stealing the exact words out of Richardson's mouth.

"Is..." Richardson started in a questioning tone, but an odd glimmer in the flashlight's ray caught the corner of his and he turned his attention back again to the ducts. There was shiny spot on the piping, something about it had a terribly familiar feel.

The duct work looked burned. The long downward streak etched in to the side of the tubing looked very similar to the acid burns that punctured the floor in the surgery room when he and Murray attempted to slice the parasitic animal loose from its host.

Murray returned clearly stating, "The police are on their way. Folks, let's..let's just all get back to your duties now, alright then?"

There was some bustling about as the people piled into the room and the hallway outside all snapped back into action, leaving only Murray and Richardson to await the police's arrival.

"Look at that," Richardson said, shining the light clearly on the acid burn in the tubing above.

"Is that...is that from...?" Murray stuttered. His eyes cast up, trying to trace back to the surgery room.

"I think it is. I think that acid burnt all the way through... what is that? Four floors?" Richardson said with an impressed gasp in his voice.

Murray raised his eyebrows, "I've never seen anything like it. How could acid for blood be that strong? You know how many layers of concrete and steel that burned through?"

"This is unreal. What are these creatures?!" Richardson said aloud. He turned to Murray and started. "You know... I've been thinking about..."

His words drifted off when his attention was caught by another sound echoing through the open hole behind the two men. They both turned and shined their flashlights through the dark space, allowing their ears to pinpoint the direction from which the sound was arising. Both flashlights quickly pointed straight down.

"What is that?" Murray said in a whisper.

"Sounds like...hissing... or something..."

Murray listened for a moment more then decided, "It sounds like metal screeching against metal. And lots of it too."

"Maybe it's the brakes of a subway train." Richardson theorized. "Subway's gotta run right down there."

Murray gathered up the courage to peek over the edge a little further. He could not see anything except the gleam of his flashlight fade into the darkness.

"Who's down there!" He shouted authoritatively.

The only answer he received was an increase in the terrible screeching sound. Both men squinted their eyes and pulled their heads back away form the hole. Murray started off across the room.

"Where are you going?" Richardson asked.

"To see if the police got here yet. The police'll be able to figure out what tunnel that is. I don't think it's in use."

Richardson shrugged and flicked off his flashlight. Suddenly he tensed up in pain and fear, unable to move. Murray glanced back at him as he walked out the door,

"You come..." he started by his eyes flickered down and his face went pale. Richardson whimpered softly and gasped for a breath.

Both men looked down. Something black and shiny had clamped onto Richardson ankle. Blood was pouring down the man's foot, soaking his shoe and running onto the floor.

"Jesus!" Murray said as he started forward to help his friend.

Just then something rose up from the shadows behind the frightened man. A terrible shriek, just like metal scraping metal, rose up from the lingering black monster that had taken form behind Richardson. The thing towered over the frozen still man and Murray fell backwards in shock.

The creature turned its elongated head towards Murray and curled its lips back as it hissed out a cry of death and pain. Suddenly the thing wrapped its tail around Richardson and slammed him hard to the ground before pulling him backwards into the darkness of the hole in the wall.

Murray felt his heart stop beating. He took a deep breath and forced himself to stand, crawl, whatever it took, just to get away as another monstrous black creature on the other side of the room turned its body towards him. He could hear Richardson screaming for dear life as the voice drifted off with the distance of the plummet beyond the hole.

"Jesus, oh dear Lord!" Murray said in a panicked whisper to himself.

Shaking wildly he thrust himself off the ground and out the door as quickly as he could. Over the deep sounds of his own frightened breathing he could hear a distinct thumping and clicking. He knew without a second guess that this was the sound of the pursuing monster's feet and taloned claws striking the tile floor as it darted after him.

Murray started screaming with all his might as he ran down the corridor towards the elevator.

"Oh God! NO! NO!"

Someone in the morgue opened the door to see what the commotion was about. He barely had time to scream for himself when the horrible black monster leaped onto him and subdued him. Murray frantically slapped the button on the elevator. The doors seemed to take an eternity to open while screams and deathly shrieks filled the air.

As he stepped in he glanced back down the corridor and saw the nearly eight foot tall shiny black dragon dragging the unconscious man out of the morgue.

Murray could not tell if he was alive. The horrid black monster did not appear to notice Murray sliding into the elevator and slamming on the close door button, but Murray did notice another creature poke its evil head out of the last room on the right.

Shaking, dripping with sweat and nearly hyperventilating Murray was deposited two floors up onto the main level of the hospital. He found the elevator corridor abandoned.

He turned quickly down the hallway toward the triage area, tripping over his feet as went, barely capable of separating himself from the panic he felt, the creature's evil shrieks still ringing in his ears and the sight of Richardson disappearing into darkness playing on his mind.

He burst through the emergency room triage area's doors with such a bang it startled many of the unaware people in the room. Two nurses quickly rushed over to Murray to assist him as he nearly fell over coming through the doors.

"Doctor Murray! What happened!" One of the nurses shouted.

Dr. Myrk came running over as well, "Jeez Carlos what the hell is wrong!"

Murray found himself completely unable to put words onto what had just transpired. He suddenly had the horrible feeling that staff members, that he once thought had quit and moved on to more secure jobs, had actually been pulled into the dark recesses below the hospital as Richardson had just been.

The hospital had to be evacuated. Maybe even the whole block, or the whole city of Philadelphia.

Murray felt on the brink of passing out. He struggled to control his breathing as someone tied an oxygen mask to his face and also started telling him to calm down. The nurses worked quickly trying to get the panicked doctor to calm down and explain what had gotten him so frightened.

"Get him a shot of valium," Myrk said quickly to one of the nurses who nodded and promptly headed off for the drug.

Myrk put his face close to Murray's.

"Carlos, what is wrong." He asked loudly and clearly. "What is wrong?"

Murray swallowed hard, trying to pull himself together. He couldn't get the monstrous creature out of his mind. He couldn't find the words to explain what had happened, there wasn't enough time to explain it. He just forced himself to whisper the only thing he could come up with to say.

"Get...out...of...here..." He gasped.

Myrk gave him a perplexing look. "What," he shook his head. "What do you mean, Carlos.?"

"The hospital...get out of the hospital..." Murray was able to say more firmly.

Just then two police officers entered the triage area looking for Dr .Murray.

"This is Doctor Murray," the nurse said as she headed over to him with a syringe in her hand

The police came around the curtain and seemed utterly confused.

"Dr. Murray, did you call us about a break in?" The officer said slowly, frowning deeply, obviously unsure of what was going on.

"Break in?" Myrk repeated. "I'm sorry, I'm Dr. Steven Myrk, what break in?"

"NO!" Murray shouted jumping up, away from the nurses that were attempting to give him a

syringe of medication to make him relax.

He did not want to relax at the moment, he owed at least that must to Richardson and the other man who the creatures took away. As Murray thought about it quickly, he realized he did not even know that man's name and he felt guilty for it.

He was sucked into the blackness with the horrible monsters he had just witness and to Murray, he was just a nameless frightened face.

"No drugs," he said, swallowing deeply. "No drugs. We need to evacuate! We must evacuate the hospital!"

Murray did not even stop to realize what a frantic sight he must have been, yelling at the top of his lungs to get out of the hospital and bringing the whole emergency department to a standstill.

The police stared at him wide eyed, the staff stopped and gaped at the head doctor's behavior.

"Okay, Sir, compose yourself and please, tell us what is going on?" An officer prompted.

Murray took a deep breath. "Monsters! We must evacuate!" He said in a half-raving mad tone.

He couldn't find the words to tell them and he knew he would be sending them to their deaths if they went down to the sub-basement. So, he told them just that. They all shot him a quizzical look.

"For God's sake, Carlos. What is really going on? What is this about a break in and now monsters? No one is evacuating!" Myrk commanded.

Murray just shook his head and did not answer.

One nurse entered the triage area from another door way and stopped in her tracks when she saw the look on Murray's face.

Myrk repeated, "Where is there a break in Carlos?"

"Break in?" The nurse repeated, all eyes turned to her. "Dr. Murray, what happened. Where's Dr. Richardson?"

"Do you know what's going on?" Myrk asked turning on the nurse.

She gave a confused and terrified look.

"Something's happened on B-2, the last janitor room on the right. We were all down there about an hour ago. There's a huge hole in the wall."

The police moved over to her, "Can you take us there please, miss?"

Without a word she nodded and led the officers off. Myrk started to take off with them, turned back at Murray, who was shaking his head slowly, eyes wide and locked in place.

"Don't do it, don't go down there." He whispered.

"Keep him here," Myrk said to the nurses around the room.

Murray shut his eyes hard trying to put what had just transpired out his mind. Still, he knew that those people were walking into their deaths.