Alrighty, sorry for taking so long to update this. You know, busy week, I've got an annoying cold with a headache that won't go away, you know, pretty much every annoyance out there. Plus we're supposed to get a shitload of snow this week...dammit... Don't get me wrong, I used to like having snow since it got me out of school. But since I've graduated, it means that I'm stuck inside snowed in. Good point is that I'll be able to update I guess. Bad thing is that I'll go crazy cuz I don't like staying in the same place for too long. Especially if it's with those morons who call themselves my family.... Ugh, just give me a friggen gun and put me out of my misery. But anyway, the story is continuing and you can see that I have gone back to add which campaign the story is at to help me keep track. This chapter is a little shorter than the others, but not too bad (I hope). Well, please let me know what you think of this chapter and send me a review for a free hug!

Takuya: They don't want a hug from you!

me: Oh... *thinks a moment* I know! Everyone who reviews gets a free pass to kick Takuya's ass! Melee weapons are included :)

everyone: Yay!

Takuya: What?!

me: ^_^ Now on to the story!

Dark Sanctuary

Campaign 1: No Mercy- Part 4

Chapter 8: The Hospital

The Hunter's hood flew backward, falling off of his head. Kouji looked at the infected human and felt his heart stop momentarily. His blood felt as though it had frozen and he lost all strength as the Hunter growled menacingly. With a choked stutter, Kouji managed to say a single word.

"K-K-Kouichi?"

Kouji stared at his twin in utter shock. Unlike the rest of the Hunters, Kouichi still retained his eyes. However, his once-sapphire colored eyes were now a dark onyx color instead. There was only a thin ring of blue on the very edge of his irises.

"Kouichi! Let me go!" Kouji struggled under his brother's grip.

Kouichi simply grabbed Kouji around the throat, threatening to crush his larynx. He raised his other arm to slash Kouji across his chest, uncaring that his victim was his own brother.

"Kouji!" Takuya raised his gun, ready to shoot Kouichi.

Tommy and Zoe were taking this time to shoot the Tank down, its blood squirting over them in thick geisers.

"Takuya, d-don't!" Kouji choked out, squirming under Kouichi's weight.

"What the fuck are you talking about?!" Takuya let out an aggravated groan and blew an infected woman's head off. "Why don't you want me to shoot the fucking thing?!"

Kouichi slashed Kouji across the chest, sending a muffled scream from the pinned young man. Takuya cursed, then slammed the butt of his rifle into the back of Kouichi's head. The raven-haired Hunter screeched and leapt off of Kouji, landing on one of the walls. He scampered down the hallway almost like a spider, disappearing into the darkness.

"What the fuck, Kouji?!" Takuya dragged Kouji up by his sleeve. "He could've killed you!"

"It's my fucking brother!" Kouji shot back, still in shock over the ordeal.

Takuya gave him a strange look, as if he hadn't heard right. "Wait, that dude is your brother? I thought your brother died."

"So did I!" Kouji exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air as emphasis. "But apparently he's a friggen Hunter now!"

"Well, I don't mean to interrupt, but we shoud go," Zoe said, steadying Tommy, who was slightly swaying. "You know, before we're ambushed. I'm sure that that's not the last we'll see of Kouji's brother."

"Yeah, good plan," Takuya agreed, glancing at Kouji. "You okay?"

Kouji sighed, nodding solemnely. "Yeah, let's go."

The four of them headed down the corrider of the hospital, the lights dimly lit. To their right, there was an empty room, a first-aid kit discarded on the floor. Takuya rushed over to it and quickly checked its contents. Discovering it to be full, he slung it over his back, then made his way back out to meet the others.

As they continued through the hallway, a few of the infected charged at them, many of them wearing hospital gowns. Their gowns were soaked with blood, as were their hands.

"Great, so the lunatics of this place actually became homcidally insane by the looks of it," Kouji mused as he shot at the group.

"Yup," Takuya stated with a half-smile. "Welcome to Mercy Hospital; where the crazy become even crazier."

"This is a mental institution?" Tommy asked, surprised.

Zoe shook her head, however. "No, it's a regular hospital. But there is a psyche ward somewhere in the building, I think."

Once the group had been blasted to bits, Takuya and the others headed down to the end of the corrider. They entered through a door, coming up to yet another door to the right. There was a staircase right through the second one, but as they were about to go through, another swarm flew down the stairs, seen by the glass window in the wooden door..

"Ah, fucking great," Takuya muttered as he fired his rifle straight through the glass.

"Shit!" Zoe realized that another horde was rushing through the other door, the one they had just come through. "We've got more company!"

Kouji groaned, firing his shotgun at the zombie-like savages. "I swear, this shit is never gonna end, is it? Besides, where the fuck are we heading anyway?"

"The rooftop!" Takuya shouted, blowing a man's head cleanly off his shoulders. "It's our best bet for a helicoptor to find us."

"How long will it take?" Tommy shot a woman through her chest, causing her organs to fly out through her back. "Wow, that was cool!"

A Boomer lumbered through one of the doors, green bile leaking from his mouth.

"Fuck no!" Takuya and Kouji exclaimed in unision, shooting the bloated human directly in his head.

The Boomer was killed before he could spew his disgusting liquid, but it puddled around his corpse nonetheless. The infected scrambled through the doors, attracted by the bile.

"Just great," Zoe grumbled, taking down as many as she could. "These guys just keep on coming, huh?"

After what seemed like an eternity, the hordes of infected dwindled down to only a few. Once they had been finished off, Takuya nodded towards the stairs.

"Up there. Quickly," he told them.

The four survivors sprinted up the steps, reloading their weapons as they did so. They ran up three flights total, coming up to another floor of Mercy Hospital. This floor was much darker than the previous one, only a few dying lights to illuminate their surroundings. Takuya mumbled something under his breath, before pulling out four miniature flashlights from his pockets.

"Here you guys go," he said, handing each of them one. "A present."

Kouji stared at him with annoyance. "Flashlights? You couldn't have given these to us earlier?!"

Takuya shrugged nonchalantly. "Sorry, I forgot that I had them."

"Forgot that you had them?!" Kouji exclaimed. "Why I oughta-"

"Shut up!" Zoe shouted, coming in between them. "Let's go already!"

Tommy began to follow the blond, glancing back at the other two. "I'm with her."

"Yeah, same here," Takuya added, rushing after the pair.

Kouji reluctantly followed as well, grumbling obscenities under his breath. They walked down the short hallway and through a swinging door, coming up to yet another room. This particular area was much larger and more open than the others, and inside many of the infected were lurking around in the shadows.

A Hunter jumped out of the darkness, snarling at the group. This one was not wearing a black Hoodie, so Kouji knew right away that it was not his brother. He shot the Hunter squarely in the face, causing the corpse to crash in a sickening heap. The horde of infected hurried over, slashing out at the group with their jagged, bloody nails. As Takuya and the others fired furiously at the swarm, a Tank ambled out of a corner. The behemoth uttered a low, guttural growl, swiping its heavy arm at them. Kouji and Tommy managed to jump away at the last second, just out of the Tank's reach. However, Takuya and Zoe had been closer to the over-sized human and took the blow. The two of them flew backwards, Takuya wrapping his arm around Zoe's shoulders. He held her close as they crashed to the ground, landing side by side.

"You alright?" He asked, holding his gun up with his free arm.

Zoe nodded shakily, watching as he shot the Tank through the eye, killing the monstrous giant. The brunette then pulled her up, brushing the sleeves of her jacket off.

"You sure?" Takuya asked again.

Before she could answer, they were interrupted by Kouji. "Hey, I don't mean to stop 'Happy Hour', but Tommy and I need your friggen help!"

Takuya and Zoe blushed slightly, rushing over to the pair. They shot down several of the infected, scattering bits of bone and organs across the vast room. A single Smoker attempted to wrap its tongue around Kouji's neck, who jerked away from it.

"I don't think so, Fucker." Kouji shot its tongue out of its head, then fired again.

The Smoker shuddered, before collapsing to the floor with a thud. Once it was dead, they hurried up another stairwell at the corner of the room. The group rushed up the stairs, coming up to the next floor. Unlike the others, the staircase had led up to an open hallway, a simple rail over the edge. It was almost balcony-like, and many of the infected rushed into the room below them. Dozens of them attempted to leap onto the railing, only to be shot down miliseconds later.

"Yeah, I think we should go before we run out of ammo," Tommy speculated. "We'll be at it all night if we just stand here."

"I'll have to agree with you on that," Takuya replied, leading them down the hallway as quickly as possible.

They ran down the corrider, stopping momentarily as Kouji and Tommy stopped into a nearby room to gather a pile of ammunition. Once it had been dispersed throughout the four of them, they continued through the infested building.

"More stairs," Kouji sighed as they climbed up three more flights. "How many flights are there?"

"A shitload," Takuya told him. "Can't give you an exact number, but you get the point."

They arrived at the landing of another floor, wandering down the corrider with caution. Crazed, infected patients stumbled about, delirious and bloodthirsty. They were immediately gunned down and left to die in their own puddles of blood if they weren't already dead. A Witch stumbled out of the darkness from behind a counter, her long claw-like nails extended. With an agonized wail, she pinned Takuya to a wall, her nails just barely missing the flesh of his shoulders. With the fabric of his sleeves caught, Takuya was not able to get a clear shot of the female infected.

However, the Witch's head was blown off, her blood spraying all over the walls and ceiling. Zoe gave Takuya a smirk, pulling the dead woman's nails from his shirt. Takuya returned the half-smile, ripping the nails out as well. He managed to break off a few of the Witch's fingers carelessly, wanting to free himself quicker.

"Okay, let's go," Kouji said. "I wanna get out of here."

"Let's go this way," Tommy chimed in as he nodded to the awaiting corrider.

The others agreed, heading down the dreary hallway rapidly. They turned right, only to be attacked by several more of the infected. They killed the vicious humans with ease, making sure to avoid them at all costs.

"Really don't wanna get infected," Takuya mused as he blew them to bits.

"I'll second that," Tommy replied with a chuckle.

A large window had been broken, and several Hunters scampered in though the opening.

"Fuck!" Kouji exclaimed, shooting at them. "If you see my brother, don't shoot him!"

"Dammit, Kouji!" Takuya fired at the agile beings. "If he infects us, I'll kill you my damn self!"

The brunette grabbed a pipe bomb from his belt, throwing it at the horde.

"Fucking run!" He shouted.

As they ran, the bomb went off, causing several of the infected to blow up from the blast. It had exploded closer to them as usual, sending the four of them to be thrown forward from the force. Luckily, none of htem had been hurt, and they immediately scrambled back up. While many of the infected had been killed, a large number of them continued to run towards them.

"Oh, what the fuck...." Kouji fired at the infected, as did the others.

While they shot the horde, Zoe noticed a nearby elevator, as well as another pile of ammunition.

"Hey, get to the elevator!" She shouted, making a path for them.

The blond shot the infected that were in her way, followed by the others. Takuya joined her at the front, helping her to take down the aproaching group. Once they had reached the elevator, Zoe quickly pushed the button to open the doors. Takuya hurriedly gathered up the ammuntion, while Kouji and Tommy shot at the infected to fend them off.

"C'mon, you stupid thing," Takuya growled at the slow doors.

After what seemed like an eternity, the doors finally opened. The survivors rushed into the elevator, continuing to shoot at the approaching group as they waited for the doors to close once again.

When the elevator finally closed, everyone sank down to the floor. They warily reloaded their guns, all of them gasping for breath.

"I'm gonna pass out," Zoe panted.

"Wait until we get to the roof," Takuya told her tiredly.

"I'll try," she replied. "Can't make any promises."

Takuya watched as the numbers in the elevator went up, climbing up to the top of the buildilng. They took this time to rest and recuperate, their hearts pounding from exhaustion and anxiety.

"Alright," Takuya said, standing up. "We're getting close."

The others rose as well, staring at the floor indicator. It stopped at the number 28, halting them in the elevator. With a ding, the doors opened, leading them into the floor directly below the roof itself. The level resembled an attic almost, but there were no walls to seal the room in. Instead, several metal bars and beams attached the ceiling, with discarded items left behind to be stored on the floor. There were about two dozen of the infected lurking around, their clothes so saturated with blood that they dripped. None of them had been aware of the survivors' presence immediately. Zoe and Tommy looked at each other and sighed, feeling completely drained of energy.

"We've gotta get to the roof," Takuya whispered to them. "Either that or we find a safe room."

Kouji wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead, groaning. "Whatever we find first....I just need some rest for now..."

Takuya nodded, leading them through the floor as quietly as possible. However, the infected heard their footsteps and rushed over to them with rage.

"Fuck!" Takuya shot at the approaching horde, backing up as he did so.

The others followed suit, determined to bring down the swarm. Their guns roared and their bulllets penetrated the infected, ripping chunks of flesh off in the process.

"Okay, just run!" Kouji commanded them as he noticed a dark hallway off to the side.

The four of them sprinted down the corrider, the infected in pursuit. Once they had neared the end of it, they noticed a small staircase leading up to the roof, as well as a door leading into a safe room.

"Get in the room!" Takuya shouted, glancing over his shoulder as he ran. "At this rate, we'll need to rest before we get to the roof!"

A Hunter sprang forward, lunging at the group. He snarled and slashed Tommy across his side, ripping his shirt and bloodying it. Tommy cried out, clutching at his side in pain. He almost fell, only to be supported by Kouji.

"Come on, don't fucking fall down," Kouji growled, shooting the Hunter through his head.

The Hunter fell to the ground, his brain splattered on the cement floor.

"Hurry!" Takuya told them as they approached the room. "Get inside!"

Tommy limped into the room as Kouji held onto him, Takuya and Zoe fending off the horde.

"Okay, we're in!" Kouji shouted, sitting Tommy down. "I'll shoot them so you can get in!"

As he fired his shotgun at the infected, Takuya and Zoe took the opportunity to run inside. However, Zoe's legs gave out unexpectedly and she almost fell. Takuya quickly caught her and gathered her into his arms, rushing through the door. Kouji immediately slammed the door shut, locking it securely.

"Zoe, are you okay?" Takuya asked, still holding her.

The blond nodded in response, then looked at Tommy. "But is he?"

Tommy was lying on a nearby couch, clutching his bleeding side with one hand. He was groaning in pain and blood spurted out through his fingers.

"Shit," Kouji muttered, making his way over to the young man.

Takuya carefully set Zoe down, and the two of them walked over to him as well.

"Stand back," Takuya said, pulling a first-aid kit off his back. "Tommy, do you know if it's deep?"

Tommy shook his head, his face contorted in pain. "I..don't think so.... It's...a scratch...I think...but it hurts...."

Zoe gingerly tugged his shirt up, gingerly peeling it away from his slashed side. Although it was bleeding quite heavily, Takuya let out a sigh of relief after inspecting it.

"It's only a flesh wound, so they didn't hurt you too seriously," he said to Tommy. "But either way, we're gonna have to wrap this up."

He opened a small bottle of rubbing alcohol, dabbing a guaze with the clear liquid.

"Oh, not alcohol," Tommy moaned. "That shit burns like hell."

"Sorry, Tommy," Takuya apologized. "But it's all we've got and we can't risk you getting an infection. Now hold still, this shit'll sting for a sec."

He pressed the guaze into Tommy's side, who jumped at the burning senstation. Zoe grabbed hold of his hand while Kouji held him down firmly.

"You can let go," Tommy hissed to Kouji. "I'm not gonna jump off the damn couch."

"Suit yourself," Kouji muttered as he released the younger boy.

He sat down on a chair, sighing as he did so. While Takuya and Zoe applied more gauze and bandages to Tommy, Kouji couldn't help but think about his brother.

Kouichi, he thought miserably. What happened to you?

Kouji sighed again, glancing over at the trio, before dropping his gaze to the floor. His brother was now one of them. And if it came down to it, he would have to kill him, too....

So that is the end of the chapter ^_^ Yup, I added some Takumi! And Kouichi wasn't around for very long, but you know that he'll be back at some point. Kouji's feeling all emo (but I guess he has an excuse). Chapter 9 comes out some point this week so stay tuned and again, send me a review to kick Takuya's ass! And get a hug if you want one =3

Takuya: Creep...

me: No, I would be a creep if I was a scary-looking guy in his mid-forties sitting in the back of an ice cream truck with his hand down his pants while staring at the kiddies. Which I'm not. I'm a girl (not middle-aged for that matter) sitting in a chair typing this up.... But now I want ice cream... Oh, ice cream.... *wanders away in search of ice cream*