“Fuck you” the ginger man sneered as he walked backwards, his steps taking him past the figure of the security guard, “Fuck all of you!”
“What about your wife?” Alice spoke up, drawing Lauren’s gaze as the woman gestured back down the corridor towards where the black woman sat.
For a moment, the ginger man stared at his wife in silence and then he gave a shake of his head, his top lip curling in disgust, “She’s been bitten, her and that Paki!”
“Prick!” Alice grimaced and the man shrugged.
“No way am I getting killed because they got too close to me and turned into one of those things!”
“It’s not a zombie bite, you cretin!” Lauren snarled, filled with a sudden overwhelming anger as she stared at the ginger man with knife of Opinder, “This isn’t a TV show, this is real!”
“I don’t fucking care!” the man shook his head, his eyes locked to her, “There’s no way you ar…”
“You can come with us” the security guard grunted, interrupting the ginger man, a finger rising to point at Geri, “But no more shit from you…do you understand…we all stick together for now…but any sign of either of the bitten getting weird and you are all on your own!”
As the ginger man stared at the security guard in shock, the bearded man stepped towards him, muttering something and the other gave a smile, head nodding as he turned to study the women.
Grimacing, Lauren turned away, heading back down towards the where their three companions waited, her head turning to find Alice was with her, the attractive features of the brown-haired woman twisting in confusion, “What’s his game?”
Lauren turned, casting a glance past the figure of Geri as she stood staring at the two smiling men, then met the gaze of Alice once more, “If we are with them and more of the ghouls attack, they can escape while we get left behind…has to be it”
“Wankers” Alice grimaced, drawing a chuckle from Lauren as they reached Brandon and Jiyaa.
“Come on Brandon” Lauren stood before him, a hand gesturing down for him to take, “We have a letter to write remember?”
“We do” he nodded, a smile creasing his features as he rose, the trauma of their escape from the elevator and the death of Mary apparently forgotten as he nodded, “I need to use the toilet”
Groaning, Lauren winced, “We are going to have to get you to hold on for a few minutes OK?”
He nodded, rising slowly to his feet, and beside him, Jiyaa did the same, smiling at both Alice and Lauren before moving to crouch beside the black woman, trying to help her rise. As Alice moved to assist Jiyaa, the black woman turned her head, her hand moving from her wound to her eyes, widening at the blood she saw on her fingers.
Lauren moved before them as they managed to help her rise on shaky legs, the right hand of the nurse holding to one of Brandon’s as she nodded at the black woman, “Jennifer isn’t it?”
“Yes” her voice was soft, her eyes filled with the promise of tears, “Where’s my husband?”
Lauren winced, wanting more than anything to remind the confused woman how her husband had abandoned her in the elevator and had just been about to leave her behind. Instead she smiled, gesturing with her free hand, “He is going on ahead to make sure we are all safe”
“Peter?” the black woman turned her head, her voice pleading, but in the distance the ginger man turned away, and Lauren felt suddenly sick.
“I don’t think he heard you”
As Jennifer turned her head to look, the two men began to walk away around the corner, and Geri turned to look back at them, gesturing with a hand, “Come on, girls”
Throwing the angry looking Scot’s woman a grim smile, Lauren began to walk on with Brandon, while Jiyaa and Alice followed behind, supporting the disorientated Jennifer between them.
Chapter Twenty
One arm wrapped about the waist of Jennifer, Alice helped steer her down the long corridor, Jiyaa upon the other side of the black woman.
It was easier now than when they had first helped her to stand, Jennifer finally managing to take steps and support herself much better than before, although she still looked like she had no idea what was going on, her eyes wide and blank.
Grimacing, Alice turned her head, glancing down at the bite mark in the woman’s shoulder beside her, trying to stop the dread that ran through her.
Her husband had seemed convinced that she was now going to turn into one of the white-skinned creatures, Lauren had said that she and her small group had taken to calling them ghouls, but if that was the case, if she was going to turn into one then so was Jiyaa. Wincing, Alice glanced past Jennifer to where the Sikh woman was helping the black woman to walk, the eyes of the embalmer fixing to the bite mark in her forearm.
The wound was grim, two bloody sets of teeth marks around a small island of flesh, and Alice imagined what would have happened had the young woman’s enraged brother been able to complete the bite and tear that piece away.
Was she a danger? Was Jennifer?
How long had passed since the chapel attack?
It seemed like hours ago but couldn’t be more than thirty minutes at the most could it?
Thirty minutes and Jiyaa was still normal.
That had to mean something, after all, from Opinder first showing signs that something was wrong he had changed to the new ghoul form in less than five minutes. Surely if bites carried whatever virus it was that was changing people, Jiyaa would already be a slavering insane beast.
Alice forced a smile as she caught Lauren glancing back at her from where the young nurse was walking ahead, and despite the dire situation the embalmer felt the flush of attraction course through her, only for guilt to replace it as she recalled her reason for being there in Thames.
Sarah was dead. Dead and gone.
She frowned at the thought, realising what a strange turn of events it had been to have put her in this hospital at the very moment that this new outbreak of whatever it was occurred, her stomach tightening as she suddenly wondered if it was happening elsewhere across the country.
The first virus had been bad enough, the second wave even worse, but despite the fact that it had killed over eight million people in England alone, the disease had just turned people into frail figures, coughing and gasping for breath.
Not like this, not transforming them into violent murderers. She grimaced as she recalled how Opinder had thrown her and his sister around in the chapel as if they had weighed nothing, and how strong the ghoul in the elevator had been.
What sort of virus was this? What was going on?
She blinked as she suddenly realised that they had reached the corner, and followed it, watching as ahead of them, Lauren and the young man Brandon walked together, the Scots woman several paces in front of them, while in the distance the security guard and the ginger man, Peter, were walking cautiously, glancing about.
Suddenly nervous, Alice turned her head, glancing back at the corner that they had just rounded, her ears straining for any sound.
What if somehow the ghoul managed to open the door to the elevator? It would come for them without question, and there would be deaths.
Like that poor old woman who had sacrificed herself to save Brandon. Shaking her head, Alice grimaced, turning to Jennifer, “Are you OK to walk by yourself now?”
“What?” the black woman met her gaze, blinking slowly and then nodded, “Of course, yes”
Wincing, Alice glanced at Jiyaa, a hand pointing to herself and then over to where Lauren and Brandon were walking, and the Sikh woman nodded, smiling weakly, surprising the embalmer as she spoke in broken English, “Please…to do so”
“I will be straight back” Alice nodded, not sure if the young woman understood her words, then she turned, walking quickly to catch up with the nurse and the Scots woman, “Hey”
“Hey” Lauren nodded back, turning to glance at Jiyaa and Jennifer, “Is everything OK?”
“Yeah, yeah” Alice nodded then made a face
and shrugged, “Well, considering…”
Lauren nodded, letting out a sigh, “I get that”
For a moment, they walked side by side, Brandon on the nurse’s far side and then Alice gestured back to the two women that she had just been walking with, “I think we need to get them out of the corridor and somewhere safe, they have both been bit…their wounds need treating”
“I agree” Lauren nodded at once, “Definitely”
“And so do you” Alice pointed with a finger, studying the blood on the younger woman’s features, “That one back in the elevator…I thought it had broken your nose!”
The nurse gave a soft chuckle, “It’s stopped bleeding…I’m just glad it didn’t break my glasses”
Alice nodded, about to open her mouth when there came a curse from further down the corridor, the hairs rising upon her neck as she suddenly saw the two men backing from a door to their left, Geri taking a step backwards as well.
“Oh God, no” Alice stopped walking, while Lauren shook her head, stepping protectively in front of Brandon, and letting out a shaky sigh of dread.
“What is it?” the voice of Jennifer was loud as she and Jiyaa reached where the two women waited with Brandon, sudden awareness seeming to come over her as she saw her husband ahead.
“Peter!” she took a step forwards, her voice raising in volume as she waved a hand, “Peter!”
Near the end of the corridor, the ginger man turned to stare back at them in a mixture of shock and terror, while the guard stood with his back against the wall, his eyes locked to the door.
“Peter?” the black woman began to move down the corridor, her steps suddenly quick, and as Jiyaa reached out to help, Jennifer shrugged her hands away, her eyes locked to the ginger man.
“Shut up!” his hissed voice was nearly as loud as that of his wife, the irony of his words and his volume not lost on Alice as she gave a grim smile.
“Peter!” Jennifer cried out again, her steps taking her past Geri as the Scots woman backed towards where Alice, Lauren, Jiyaa and Brandon waited, watching the scene in shock, “Help me!”
“Shut it up!” the security guard snapped his head towards the women as he took a step back in their direction, a hand gesturing towards the door, “There’s something in there…somebody shut her the fuck up befo…”
The door suddenly crashed open, countless objects falling from within and the security guard gave a scream of terror, his feet catching upon each other as he turned to flee, his bulky form crashing down onto the corridor floor, while cursing and ducking, the ginger man rushed forwards, and grasped his wife, spinning her around as he stood behind her, one arm about her waist, the knife pointing out before him at the threat as he used his wife as a human shield.
Standing back down the corridor, Alice stared on in disbelief as she saw the figure that had fallen from what had clearly been a cupboard push itself to its hands and knees, its shoulder length brown hair hanging about its features as it rose.
“Don’t kill me!” the woman gave a cry that was half-snort, half sob, a hand brushing her hair back to reveal a face that seemed pinched together, the cheeks pale and doughy, eyes that were blank and set too far apart as they sat either side of a turned up nose. For a moment, the woman continued to whimper and sob, and then it suddenly seemed to notice the rising figure of the security guard, “Nick…is that you?”
“Tina?” the bearded guard straightened, brow furrowing as he stepped towards the woman.
“Oh thank fuck” the voice of the woman was coarse as she threw herself at the guard, arms wrapping about his back for a moment before she broke the embrace, her piggy eyes imploring him as she looked up, “Get me out of here Nick, I’ll do whatever you like…name it…you know me, I’ll make it worth your while!”
Despite the language barrier, Jiyaa muttered under her breath, understanding the woman’s intentions, and Alice nodded in agreement.
With a curse, the ginger man suddenly released his hold on his wife, pushing the back of her neck so that she stumbled forwards away from him, a sneer creasing his features as he moved to stand behind the security guard and the woman, his eyes flicking to the small group of women that were watching, “You can have that back”
As Jennifer dropped to her knees, her head shaking in shock as she stared back at her husband, Geri moved to crouch beside her, a hand gently rubbing at the centre of her back.
As if woken from a dream, the woman, Tina, glanced behind them at the ginger man and then suddenly seemed to realise that there were other people in the corridor with them, her eyes widening as she studied the woman, “Who the fuck are they, Nick?”
He turned his head, his gaze drifting over the group that stood watching them, a strange look in his eyes as he studied Alice and Lauren, and then he shook his head, “Nobodies, Tina, just a bunch of nobodies”
The woman gave an almost porcine snort and chuckle, sneering as she looped an arm through one of his, “You only need me, doll”
The guard, apparently called Nick, nodded then grimaced as Geri rose and took a step towards the pair of them, “What did ye just call us?”
“Nobodies” he grimaced, nodding as he spoke.
“You heard him luv” Tina took a step away from Nick, a smirk on her features, “Go on, fuck off”
“Let me stop ye right there” the Scots woman gave a humourless chuckle, her head turning to glance at the woman, “If ye talk to me like tha again, ah’m gonna kick ye fucking cunt in!”
Blinking, the woman glanced at the guard and then shook her head at the Scots woman, “Easy, you don’t know who you are messing wit…”
“Oh aye, ah know exactly who ye are” Geri gave a grim laugh, “Tina Williams, cleaner, the hospital bike, ye’ve had more prick than Ker’ Plunk”
As the cleaner gave a gasp of anger, a finger rising to point at Geri, Alice shook her head, and glanced at Lauren, “We haven’t got time for this”
“Come on!” the nurse glanced up at the signage above the door that they had stopped beside and opened it carefully, making sure that it was empty before gesturing for Brandon, Alice and Jiyaa to join her, closing the door behind them.
Turning, Alice flicked open the blinds on the window that ran the length of the room, sighing heavily as she stared out into the corridor to find that Tina and Geri were face to face, arguing.
“We should get back out there” the embalmer groaned, “Before they gang up on Geri”
On the other side of the room, what looked to be a changing room, Alice was standing beside another door, her hand upon the handle as she glanced back at the embalmer, “Shall I?”
Alice stepped forwards to stand beside Jiyaa and Brandon, the latter staring down at his book, and nodded at the nurse, “Do it”
As she watched, the nurse released a shaky breath, turned the handle and pulled towards her, peering through the crack that she had made for a moment before opening the door wide.
“Wait here” Alice pointed to Jiyaa and then at the floor, and the woman nodded, moving closer to where Brandon stood waiting, oblivious to the tension, and the embalmer turned to follow Lauren as she crept into the room she had found.
For a moment, the two women stood side by side, studying the small wash area that they had found themselves in, and then Alice took a step towards another door to their left, listening carefully for a moment before opening it and glancing inside.
For a moment, she stared about the operating theatre in disbelief, her throat tightening as she studied the three figures that lay upon the floor in pools of blood, a dismembered arm beside one, then she raised her gaze to the bald white-skinned figure that lay upon the operating table.
“What is it?” Lauren asked, a hand resting gently upon Alice’s right shoulder and shaking her head, the embalmer opened the door wide and entered, the nurse following, cursing under her breath.
“Fucking hell”
“Fucking hell for sure” Alice agreed, studying the figures on the floor for a mo
ment in disgust, her stomach knotting as she saw that one of them, a man by the clothes, appeared to have had his face eaten away, while a woman had died clasping her greasy looking intestines to her split abdomen.
“Look at this” the voice of Lauren had Alice turning to find the nurse standing beside the figure upon the operating table, and moving alongside her, the embalmer raised an eyebrow as she stared down, realising it had been in the process of having an operation when the change had taken it, and the doctors had been slain.
The folds of skin that had been cut and folded back to reveal the inner workings of the ghoul were, like the rest of its body covered in the same cracked white-skin as the other ghouls that they had seen, making the flesh seem like old leather, while inside the shell of its body, the organs themselves seemed to be taking on a similar transformation, their outer membrane turning a dirty white, all except for the creatures heart.
“We should kill it” Lauren muttered, and Alice met her gaze, staring deep into her eyes for a moment before wincing, and shaking her head.
“It’s asleep…it doesn’t even know this has happened to it…”
Lauren nodded, “So we better do it before it wakes and tries to kill us like the others”
Nodding, Alice watched as the nurse moved to where a tray of surgical instrument stood on the other side of the operating table, selecting a scalpel before moving back alongside Alice, “I have no idea how to do this”
“Me neither” Alice grimaced, reaching out to take the scalpel from the nurse, “But I’ll do it, I work with dead bodies and peoples insides every day”
Stepping closer to the operating table, she raised the scalpel, the point scraping over the hard skin of the ghoul with a rasping sound, and on instinct, she turned it around, gently poking at the stomach, lungs and other internal organs with the blunt end, her head spinning as it sounded as if she were tapping against sea shells.
“What the hell?” Lauren shook her head and Alice nodded, taking a deep breath as she reversed the scalpel once more and slid it in the beating heart, the blade finding no resistance whatsoever.
“At least they have one soft spot!” Lauren gave a humour chuckle, and Alice turned to nod at her.
Ghoul: The Beginning Page 11