Had he managed to get out of the door before the trio of ghouls had begun attacking their victim?
No, surely not. The fact that two of the ghouls appeared to be kitchen staff suggesting that they had been here all the while. So, where was he?
She flicked her gaze back to the bloody ruin of the figure between the trio of ghouls, eyebrows rising as she suddenly thought that she had worked out the location of the vile man, then realised her mistake as one of them moved and she saw the long blonde hair sprouting from the skinless bloody skull that one of them was gnawing upon, its teeth crunching on the spinal cord as it held the decapitated head upside down.
Gagging, Lauren turned her head quickly away and suddenly saw the security guard watching her through the small round window in a door that she had not noticed until now, across the aisle where she and her companions were hiding.
His eyes widened as she raised a hand, his bearded features twisting as she mouthed the word, help us, prayer hands forming before her.
Yet instead of reacting in a positive manner, the guard took a step back from the window, his features barely visible through the thick glass.
“What is he doing?” the hushed voice of Mary appeared at her shoulder, and Lauren turned to find the elderly woman staring at the door in disbelief, her head shaking, “Is he ignoring us?”
Lauren grimaced, knowing that it was exactly what the security guard was doing but not wanting to confirm the old woman’s suspicions and steal away the brief chance of salvation.
“Maybe he didn’t see us”
“He saw us” Mary grimaced, her voice a hushed whisper, “The cunt…he’s left us out here!”
“Are we going back to the ward soon?” the voice of Brandon suddenly asked, speaking at his usual booming volume, no sense of danger in his voice, and feeling like she had been kicked in the gut by a horse, Lauren rose to her feet, and cast him a look of shock, Mary moving alongside him, her winkled left hand rising to cover his open mouth.
Not daring to breathe, her heart hammering in her chest, Lauren turned slowly, glancing back around the edge of the workstation, trying not to whimper in dread as she found all three of the ghouls on their feet, heads turned their way.
Head shaking in dread, she took a step towards her two companions, one arm slipping about Brandon as he covered his eyes with his free hand, her other grasping to the free hand of Mary as she and the old woman stared at the corner.
With a snarl, the ghoul in the nurse’s scrubs edged past the workstation, bent forwards slightly if she was suffering back problems, her white features turning back and forth as she stared at Lauren and her companions then glanced away, moving towards the counter.
Dumbstruck, the nurse let her gaze drift back to the corner, watching as the other two ghoul’s crept into view, the heads turning back and forth as if searching for something they had lost, snarling and jostling at each other as they moved.
Grimacing against the sudden smell that came with the trio, Lauren watched as the two in the kitchen overalls became suddenly embroiled in a shoving match, snarling at each other like a pair of cats fighting, one of them dislodging a large pan that had been boiling on one of the hobs.
As the pot tipped, it deposited its contents over the chest and legs of the nearest ghoul, steam rising from the clothes and hard white-skin off the figure yet it seemed unfazed by the boiling liquid, its pus filled eyes following the heavy pan as it struck the floor with a clatter and rolled towards the counter, the trio moving to follow it.
For several moments there was chaos as the three ghouls fought each other to pick it up, the nurse finally succeeding only to cast the pot aside with another snarl, leaping effortlessly up onto the counter, and then down the other side, its two brethren following it as it moved out of sight.
Time lost all meaning for Lauren as she stood there, staring at Mary in shock, the expression upon the old woman’s face showing that she was as stunned as the nurse that they were still alive.
“Come on!” she suddenly pushed herself away from where they had been standing, Brandon uncovering his eyes as Lauren led him across the kitchen, and past the remains of the unfortunate victim of the ghouls, Mary close behind them.
Gritting her teeth, Lauren reached out a hand, turning the handle on the door, and opened it a crack, her breath leaving her in a shaky sigh as she saw that the corridor beyond seemed empty.
She flinched as a snarl came from somewhere out of sight along the corridor, towards where she knew the entrance to the restaurant was, then turning her head right, she saw the elevators.
“Come on!” she opened the door wider, leading her two companions out into the corridor, cringing as more snarls sounded from the direction of the restaurant, then cursed as a scream floated down out of the door to the stairwell situated beside the elevator doors.
Was this happening all over the hospital?
Grimacing, she hurried to the elevator, reaching out with her free hand as she punched the call button, Brandon and Mary moving alongside her, then the nurse gasped in dread as the door to a utility cupboard suddenly swung open opposite them, a pair of familiar figures rushing out.
“Wait for us!” the red-faced features of the ginger man from the restaurant earlier demanded as he reached them, one hand clutching to the handle of a mop, and Lauren grimaced at him, then turned her face to meet the weary gaze of the short-haired black woman who was with him.
For a second, they held each other’s gaze in silence and then with a soft chime, the doors to the elevator slid open beside them and Lauren turned, staring into its confines at the three woman that were inside it, one standing, one lying down and the third crouching at her side.
Chapter Fifteen
Almost before the doors had widened enough for him to enter, the ginger man was pushing his way inside, throwing a glare at the thin brown-haired woman with glasses that stood staring back at him, “Is there a problem?”
“Aye ye prick” the woman, clearly Scots gave a sneer, stepping past the ginger man as he moved to stand with his back to the rear of the elevator, her right hand reaching out to help Mary and Brandon inside, “Did ye nae hear of lasses and bairns first?”
He grimaced but stayed silent, and at the back of their small group, Lauren watched as his eyes fell to the two women on the floor near his feet, a brown-haired unconscious woman in a leather jacket, jeans and boots, and the Indian woman that was crouching down beside her, a knife held in one of her hands. For a moment, it looked like he was going to make a comment but then changed his mind, a hand gesturing towards the black woman that waited beside Lauren, “For fuck sake, Jennifer, will you get inside now!”
The woman flinched, eyes half closing and then she was stepping forwards, ignoring the look of the Scots woman as she turned to glare at her husband, her eyes locked to the elevator floor.
“Are ye coming?” the Scots woman turned to throw Lauren a questioning stare, and she blinked, suddenly realising that she was the only one still standing in the corridor, a sudden roar from the restaurant area sending her rushing forwards and inside. Instantly, the Scots woman stepped forwards, fingers reaching out to press the button for the ground floor, nodding as before her the doors began to slide together.
Suddenly there was the sound of a door crashing open, and footsteps upon the tiled floor, and then the familiar features of the bearded security guard appeared through the gap in the doors, his hands reaching through to stop them, “Wait for me!”
Grimacing in anger, well aware that he had left her, Mary and Brandon to be killed, Lauren glared at the man as he forced his way inside to stand with his back to the doors as they closed.
For a moment, their eyes met and his top lip curled amid his moustache but then he was glancing away, his eyes dropping to the figure of the woman in the leather jacket who was now sitting up, the Indian woman still crouched beside her, knife in hand. Grimacing, the guard pointed with a finger, his tone thick with anger and dread, “What’s up wit
h her!”
“She fainted” the Scots woman sent him a glare, undaunted by the large man as she held his gaze confidently, “We were attacked by something on the second floor”
“Did it bite her?” the guard made a face, edging away, “If its bit her she will become like them!”
At his words, the ginger man edged away from the two women upon the floor, dragging his wife roughly with him, and frowning in confusion, the Indian woman rose to her feet, her words lost to her own language, and the security guard made a face of disgust, “Fuck sake, what’s it saying?”
“She!” the woman in the leather jacket pushed herself to her feet, her tone angry and Lauren recognised her suddenly as the woman that the security guard had shouted at in the restaurant earlier, “She’s not an it!”
“Whatever” the bearded man turned away, his eyes drifting towards the control panel, a near sob of terror escaping him as he saw the lit numbers, “No…we cant go to the ground floor, stop the fucking elevator now!”
“We need tae get outta here!” the Scots woman grimaced, stepping in front of the control panel as the man took a step towards it, “Are ye mad?”
“I’ve been there!” he shook his head, and Lauren felt her stomach knot as she saw the fear in his eyes, “It’s chaos…these fucking bastards are everywhere! I got called down there, but I came back up straight away…this whole place is infested with them…stop the fucking elevator!”
For the first time, the Scots woman looked unsure, her face turning to glare at the ginger man as he suddenly pointed at her, “For fuck sake woman, do what he says and stop the elevator!”
“Wha did ye call me, prick?” her features were suddenly grim, nose crinkling as she took a step towards him, “Dinnae call me fucking woman!”
“Out of my fucking way you silly bitch!” the security guard suddenly pushed at the Scots woman, sending her stumbling off balance into Lauren and Brandon, the young black man letting out a scream of denial as he dropped his book.
“Bastard!” the Scots woman snarled, spinning about to grasp at the security guard as he stood before the control panel, hammering on the buttons, a grunt escaping him as he fought to shrug her away, his voice loud as he shouted.
“Get of me you silly cunt! I am trying to save us!”
One hand banging against his head, Brandon had dropped to his knees, his free hand clasping to his book, and suddenly angry Lauren dropped to a crouch beside him, hugging the autistic man against her, watching as Mary pointed across the elevator at the guard that was still trying to disengage himself from the Scots woman, “Save us? You left us all to die, you horrible cunt!”
“Fuck off!” the bearded guard turned to snarl at her, one hand still pressing buttons on the control panel, his other trying to get the hand of his assailant from his neck, “Get off me!”
“Please will you all stop shouting!” Lauren glanced up, her head turning as she pleaded with the elevators full of strangers, one hand stroking the back of Brandon’s head as he sobbed, “You are making him worse!”
Her eyes met those of the woman in the leather jacket, and without a word, the other dropped down to crouch with her, a hand gently patting Brandon upon the back as she too began to implore the others, “Please, everyone stop!”
“I will when this prick stops trying ta stop us getting outta here!” the Scots woman snarled.
“Leave him alone!” the ginger man suddenly made to move towards her back, his words a snarl as he reached out with his hands only to stagger back against the wall of the elevator as the Indian woman turned towards him, the knife that she was holding pointing against his chest.
“Are you insane!” he demanded, his eyes wide as he glanced from the woman to the knife and then back again, and as Lauren watched, she snapped at him in her language, the words a mystery but her anger evident, and the man raised his hands either side of his face, “OK, OK, calm down!”
Without warning, the elevator suddenly rumbled and stopped, the lights fading briefly, drawing a curse of shock from several of its occupants, and then just as quickly the lights came back on.
“What have you done?” the Scots woman released the guard as if he was on fire, her head shaking as she stepped back to the wall, “Ye have gone and fucked the lift ye stupid bastard!”
“I stopped us getting killed, you dumb bitch” he gave a snarl, glaring at her as he stepped away.
“What’s happened?” the voice of the black woman, Jennifer was little more than a whisper, and as Lauren glanced up, she saw her husbands features twist into a sneer as he glared at her.
“Will you stop asking stupid fucking questions!”
Resisting the urge to intervene, knowing that her priority lay in calming her charge who was still sat sobbing gently held by both her and the woman in the leather jacket, Lauren turned her gaze among the others, her brow furrowed as she studied them each in turn. The security guard was now standing back against the doors once more, glaring angrily at the Scots woman as she stood before him, unafraid, the frail form of Mary standing nearby, watching with a grimace upon her features. To the left of Mary, the Indian woman had stepped back from the ginger man but the blade was still held ready before her, her attractive features set with a mask of anger, and as Lauren studied them, the Indian reached out with her free hand and gently touched the shoulder of the woman in the leather jacket, the pair exchanging smiles. Were they a couple?
As the woman turned back from the Indian, she nodded at Lauren, and the nurse gave an awkward smile in return, her gaze drifting to study the ginger man and his black wife as they stood silently at the back of the elevator, the features of the former set with anger, and the latter standing staring down at the floor below.
Nine strangers. Trapped together in a metal box.
“What do we do now?” the voice of Mary asked suddenly, the eyes of everyone but Brandon and Jennifer turning to study the old woman and she shrugged, “Are we on the ground floor?”
“We are safe” the security guard gave an arrogant sneer, a thumb jerking towards where the Scots woman stood glaring at him, “Despite this idiot trying to get us all killed, I have saved us all…”
His words turned to a curse as with a soft chime, the elevator doors suddenly opened and he almost toppled backwards, barely managing to right himself as he spun about, a whimper escaping him. On the floor of the elevator, Lauren stared out past his legs at the scene of carnage that lay beyond in the foyer and the accident and emergency area of the hospital, her hair feeling like it had a thousand spiders in it as she saw the horde of white-skinned ghouls that were there all turn and stare at them in curiosity, then hatred.
With a curse, the Scots woman leaned to the side, pressing a number on the control panel and as the ghouls gave an almost unified roar and surged towards them, the doors began to close.
They were almost shut, barely a foot remaining open when the closest of the ghouls slid through into the elevator with them, its body clad in what looked like a tracksuit, trainers upon its feet.
As it charged in, it tripped over the woman in the leather jacket and fell heavily into the far corner, a hiss escaping it as it pushed itself fluidly to crouch cat-like, teeth baring at the nine figures around it as they fought to get away from it.
Then as the elevator began to slowly travel back up through the hospital it snarled and attacked.
Chapter Sixteen
“This is it” Bella stopped as she left the tree-line, a hand gesturing ahead of them, while she turned to meet the gaze of both Victor and Moonshine.
“You live here alone?” the shorter man asked, and beside him Victor winced as he saw the cheek muscles of the woman suddenly tense.
“I do now”
Without another word she turned, heading across the open ground towards another fence that lay ahead and casting his friend a look of disbelief, Victor began to follow her, the voice of Moonshine a whisper, “What? I only asked”
“They are dead” Victor winced, ca
sting a glance at the back of the woman as she climbed over the fence ahead of them, then met Moonshine’s eyes once more, “She said she had killed two of these white-skinned creatures…that was them”
As he began to walk once more, Moonshine hobbled after him, still using the large branch as a crutch, “How on earth do you know that?”
“I listened” Victor sighed heavily, pausing as he reached the fence where the woman was waiting, his head turning back to Moonshine, “Come on”
The shorter man nodded, wincing as he reached them, and carefully, Victor helped him negotiate his way up and onto the top bar of the fence.
“Wait here” the woman gave them a nod, clasping the shotgun with both hands as she began to move away from them, and nodding, Victor let his gaze drift over their surroundings in interest.
They were at the edge of a farmyard, several large outbuildings and a barn laying over to their left inside the wooden fence, the woman Bella, vanishing down that way, while ahead of them sat the farmhouse itself, a wide two level building constructed of what looked like magnesium limestone, a sense of sadness settling about Victors shoulders as he realised that his church had been made from the same material, the sadness replaced by anger almost immediately.
“Hey, are you alright, Dog?”
Victor blinked as Moonshine spoke, and turning, he raised his gaze to where the man sat atop the fence, one hand resting atop his broken left leg.
“How’s the leg?” Victor grimaced, ignoring his friends question as he suppressed his memories.
“Oh, it is just wavering between burning agony and raw agony” Moonshine forced a smile, and gave a shrug, “I’m trying to decide which of the two I prefer”
Victor shook his head, smiling grimly, “I am going to get you to the hospital, I promise you mate”
Moonshine nodded, smiling, then gestured to the farmhouse with a hand, “So what you reckon happened here then…you really think she had killed her grandparents?”
Victor shrugged, his voice grim, “She implied she did, I think she has, yeah”
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