The Immortal Coil

by J. Armand

  “What the hell?” I jumped back as the glass shattered. Vivi came out not a second later, with Lyle following.

  “Oh, sorry. Hope I didn’t interrupt anything.” Noah’s smirk returned.

  “I was erasing evidence.” Vivi glared and walked up to the limo. She was now wearing a short red dress.

  “Evidence of what?” he teased.

  “Shall I assume you discussed with Dorian what to expect should he run into the Carpathians again?” she asked.

  “What more needs to be said besides that they’re ugly and need to die?” He handed her the katana.

  “You know by now that the Carpathians’ bite causes incapacitating pain. You won’t be able to move or concentrate to use your powers should they get their fangs in you, so watch each other’s backs. It isn’t as much of a concern for you, but their blood is poisonous, meaning we can’t drink from it. Lastly, they have the ability to consume flesh and bone to heal themselves. Ancients like the Blighted One have been known to do this just by coming into contact with someone.”

  “Sounds great,” I exclaimed sarcastically. “Glad I have something of an advantage, being able to push them away.”

  “You’re going to need to do a lot more than push, even with the infected,” Noah said. He disappeared for a second, returning with an empty soda can. “Remember crushing the glass at my place? Do it again.”

  I crumpled the aluminum can easily and dumped it back on the ground. “Good. I hope you’ve been practicing,” he said.

  “Not since that night.”

  Noah shook his head. “Target your enemy’s head like it’s the can and crush it,” he instructed.

  “I’ve been trying to do that by pushing them against the wall, but I’m not strong enough.”

  “Yeah, you are.” Noah opened the car door for Vivi and then left for his objective without another word.

  “What happens if we run into the big boss?” Lyle asked as we got in the limo with her.

  “Focus on clearing out the infected. Anything with the parasite needs to die, whether or not it has turned yet. We can’t risk a breach in containment. Don’t engage the Carpathians if you can help it. Noah and I will come to you to confront them together.”

  “We should still be going in groups of two at least,” Lyle argued and took her by the hand as we drove off. “Let Dorian and I go with you.”

  “It isn’t up for debate, chéri, but your chivalry is appreciated as always.”

  I would have felt more comfortable going as a group too, but, for whatever reason, Vivi was firm in her decision. We arrived at the hospital in a few short minutes thanks to the empty roads and Vivi’s police clearance.

  “Once you’re inside, head down to the maintenance area to turn the power back on. You’ll draw attention, but at least you won’t be in the dark,” she advised Lyle and I as we got out on to the sidewalk. “Bonne chance!”

  Chapter Nineteen

  I hated hospitals. I mean I really hated hospitals. No amount of strategically cheerful wallpaper or watercolor paintings of flowers could ever mask what goes on within those walls. Every day people came in sick and dying and every day loved ones left heartbroken.

  “Are you coming?” Lyle was already past the reception desk, waiting for me.

  “It smells the same. I used to visit my dad at work and I always hated how it smelled.”

  “Are you gonna be all right?” he asked. “You heard what Vivi said. We need to watch each other’s backs, and if you’re distracted …”

  “I’m fine,” I answered, snapping back to reality.

  A visitor’s map adjacent to the desk showed us a layout of the building. This facility was much smaller than a standard hospital, probably used as an off-site lab or for additional rooms during a crisis. We only had two floors above us and the basement, making this seem much more feasible than it had at first. With the power out, none of the elevators or security doors were working, and the emergency backup had to have run out days ago. There wasn’t any sign of trouble so far in the main foyer. A few chairs were knocked over and papers scattered, but nothing panic-worthy.

  “Good news. We got a working flashlight.” Lyle held up his treasure from behind the desk.

  “We should just burn the place down,” I suggested as we made our way down the stairs to maintenance.

  “Jesus man, what’s gotten into you lately? If we burn it down the city is losing a hospital that it badly needs. The fire would spread to the rest of the quarantined buildings and then out of the area, putting everyone in danger all over again. Why not just bomb the city by that point?”

  “All right, it was a bad idea. I was trying to be creative.”

  Lyle led the way through the basement, light in one hand, gun in the other. Everything was completely normal down here, to the point of being suspicious. Still no trace of the infected anywhere.

  “Stand back.” Lyle kicked in the locked door to the electrical room.

  The only other room in the basement was a storage room with medical supplies and extra beds and wheelchairs. No monsters under the bed here either.

  “I know we say this a lot, but what the hell is going on?”

  “We got played, that’s what,” Lyle said, opening the circuit breaker. “There’s nothing here and Vivi knew it. We’re on a fool’s errand to keep us away from the real action.”

  “I’m used to it. Your new girlfriend is a complicated woman.” I had hoped referring to her as his girlfriend would make him smile and ease his anxiety a bit.

  “It’s no good.” Lyle got half the switches back on and stopped. “There’s probably a short somewhere or the circuits are overloaded from all the machines coming on at once. Let’s just get out of here.”

  I could see how distracted Lyle was by Vivi’s scheme to keep us out of harm’s way. I understood his frustration, but as much as I didn’t like to admit it, I agreed with her reasons. Caring about people added a whole level of risk in this life. I debated bringing up that at least he was important enough for her to protect, but figured it would probably hurt his pride.

  Emergency lighting was on upstairs, as well as the obnoxious blaring of the security system. If anything was festering in or around here, it would be on the lookout for us now.

  “Where are you going?” I shouted over the alarm. Lyle was marching out of the vestibule.

  “Seriously, man? What did we just talk about?”

  “Lyle, we didn’t even check the rest of the building. We need to finish what we came here to do.”

  “Weren’t you the one who asked me about following orders or doing what I feel is right? If there’s anything here we can come back for it.”

  “The Carpathians are looking for me to return. I’d rather be somewhere Noah and Vivi can find us. What if they come here and we’re running around the streets?”

  “Fine,” Lyle begrudgingly agreed and walked right by me into the hospital.

  “Do you know where you’re going?” I asked and ran after him.

  “Security office. If the alarms are working then the cameras probably are too. We can use them to scope out the other floors so there’s no surprises.”

  The hall to reach security wasn’t much of a change in ambience from the entrance. The lack of bodies told me they were already roaming elsewhere. The dim lighting from the emergency backup was almost worse than no light at all. Shadows moved about, playing tricks on our minds as we passed. No longer could I tell myself there wasn’t anything to be afraid of or rationalize the unnatural like I had back in my apartment. The need for fear was very real.

  Paranoia kept getting the best of me. I peeked in every room, hoping I’d see something before it saw me. The security alarm was impairing any ability we had to hear danger coming.

  I fell behind from checking rooms and had to jog to catch up with Lyle. I called out for him to wait up, but over the alarm it was no use. My foot slipped on a wet patch of blood. I caught myself with my powers, but Lyle was so set on reaching
the office he didn’t notice. It was strange how this was the only area in the hallway with blood like this, like it had just dropped straight down.

  I soon wished I hadn’t thought of that. My first reaction was to look up and I knew I wouldn’t like what I’d find. Several of the ceiling tiles were missing, creating an entry for the perfect hiding place.

  I caught sight of a face watching from under a desk in the room next to me. I shouted and raced to get Lyle. Of course he didn’t hear me until I was on top of him. I grabbed his arm to get his attention. He responded by shoving his gun in my face.

  “Don’t sneak up on me like that!” he exclaimed. “I almost shot you!”

  “They’re in the ceiling.” I pointed to where I had fallen. “And there’s somebody in that room.”

  We waited to see if anyone would come chasing us, but nothing happened. “It was probably a dead body,” Lyle said.

  “I’m telling you, someone is in there. They were watching me.”

  Carefully, we approached the room. Lyle had his gun ready for whatever was about to jump out and I kept an eye on the ceiling, waiting to be ambushed.

  “Look.” Lyle tapped me and motioned under the desk.

  A pair of tiny feet was sticking out in plain view. Lyle and I entered the room cautiously with our backs to the wall as we made our way around the desk. The little feet belonged to an equally little girl. She was around kindergarten age and dressed in a dirty hospital gown for kids.

  “Hi there.” Lyle put his gun away and crouched down to her level. “What’s your name?” She didn’t respond. Her big brown eyes darted between the two of us nervously.

  “I’m Lyle and this is my friend Dorian. I’m a police officer.” He took out his badge to show her. She snatched it from his hand and inspected it. “I’ll let you hold on to that if you can tell me why you’re here.”

  She still wasn’t answering. Lyle carefully got closer and checked the hospital bracelet around her wrist.

  “Emilia?” He read out loud. “Is that your name?”

  Emilia wouldn’t open up to us at all, but I had a pretty good feeling Lyle wasn’t getting his badge back.

  “Emilia, we have to get you someplace safe,” Lyle told her and held out his hand. She scrunched herself back as far under the desk as she could. I looked around as Lyle continued trying to get Emilia to warm up to him. The room was an office very similar to my father’s at his hospital. The decor was all different, but the layout was the same. Maybe there was some generic standard hospitals used that I didn’t know about.

  From the door there was a wall with a bookcase to the right. To the left was the same kind of metal filing cabinet where my dad used to keep toys in the bottom drawer for me to play with when I was little. The couch and two chairs opposite the desk were different here. I remembered taking naps on the leather couch and coloring at his desk while he was with a patient.

  I looked at myself in the shattered glass of the door. I could almost see a young version of me sitting at the desk over my shoulder. In middle school I liked doing homework at my dad’s desk as if it was important paperwork.

  “Dorian, Emilia and I are ready to leave now.” Lyle held the little girl in his arms. She was still clutching his badge and had managed to charm his flashlight from him too.

  “Okay,” I said and moved out of the way, letting them go first. I paused to take another look at the room, imagining myself sitting at that desk.

  “Dorian? You coming?” Lyle asked impatiently.

  “Sorry, yeah,” I apologized, but could feel a smile on my face.

  A creaking from the floor above stopped me. I stood there, letting my curiosity get the best of me again as I watched the ceiling bow. I took a step back right in time for the tiles above to collapse. One of the Carpathians crashed down from the hole, smashing the desk in half under its feet.

  My focus stayed on the demolished piece of furniture. It made my heart race and my hands tremble. The smile from the happy memories it brought disappeared. Lyle was shouting something behind me, but it was drowned out by the girl’s screams and the alarm in the hallway. All the noises mixed together until it was a single piercing tone in my head.

  My attention shifted to the winged monster before me and an uncontrollable feeling of rage burst forth. I wasn’t entirely sure I was the one in control as the Carpathian floated there. The anger boiled over to such a point that I began feeling nothing at all. Its body thrashed in the air, slamming into the walls and ceiling like a helpless ragdoll as I watched.

  I couldn’t hear that piercing tone in my head anymore. There was only silence now. The Carpathian continued to tumble through the room until a wall finally gave way sending it into the next office.

  It wasn’t Noah who took my family from me, I thought. It wasn’t Rozalin or Vance. It was you. All of you.

  I must have blacked out. I was suddenly in the next room over watching the murderer’s lifeless body still being tossed against the walls, but I didn’t remember moving there. Everything was hazy like I was in a dream. The creature started turning to ash in front of me. Time lurched forward and the black outs became more frequent as the scene continued.

  You ruined everything. I hate you. All of you.

  A heavy odor of sulfur followed by my own body beginning to shake brought the piercing noise back. As I started to regain my senses I saw the Carpathian was no more. All that was left were piles of ash scattered about the room.

  “Dorian! Dorian!” Lyle was shoving me. “What is wrong with you?”

  His gun was out and I could smell the residue from it having just been fired.

  “It was wrecking my dad’s office, so I stopped it,” I told him and lowered myself to the ground. I couldn’t remember at what point I started flying.

  “What are you talking about? You never told me your father worked in New York.” He sounded angry, but I didn’t understand why.

  “He doesn’t. He works here in Boston.”

  “Dorian, we’re in New York. What is going on? First you go overboard killing that thing, now you think we’re in Boston? You’re losing it, man.”

  He picked up Emilia, who was crying in the doorway, and headed down the hall. I followed them, trying to remember what I had done, but the scene was already fading from my memory.

  “Uh, Lyle,” I said keeping up with him this time.

  “What?”

  “The girl is infected.”

  Emilia’s left arm, which she had been hiding under the desk, was covered in black veins. “I told you that back in the office,” he said as he stopped and turned to me. “I said she isn’t bitten so she might still have a chance.”

  “Then why didn’t my parents? It didn’t take you long to put them down.”

  “Oh no, don’t even think about putting that on me. They had already turned by the time you were in your room. I did what I had to so you wouldn’t have to.” He started walking away again with Emilia. “I’m taking her to the police.”

  “She’ll infect everyone. You heard what Vivi said.”

  “What do you want me to do, Dorian? Kill a little kid?” he yelled. “I’m taking her, so unless you’re going to kill me too just stay here in case the others show up.”

  “So you’re just leaving me here to die instead? I’ve already lost everything once and you have no idea what that feels like!” I shouted after him. “You’re going to walk away from me and all of this when it’s over, smelling like a rose, and never having to look back!”

  “It’s pretty clear you can take care of yourself. I don’t know what's gotten into you since we came here, but you’re falling apart when we need you most.”

  Lyle left me standing in the reception area and carried the child with him. He wouldn’t be coming back for me.

  A banging sound was coming from upstairs. We never got to the security office, but what did it really matter? I was used to surprises and wasn’t in the mood to be rational.

  The stairs had a trail of blood
that ended abruptly on the bottom step. People must have been trying to escape and were dragged back up before they reached the reception area.

  The path split off in three directions from the top of the stairs. According to the visitor’s map, the hospital was one big square with a hallway down the middle that had elevators.

  The nurse’s station to my right was a mess of scattered patient files, medical supplies and an overturned food cart. I still hadn’t found any bodies. It gave me hope that everyone escaped safely, but remembering what Vivi said about the Carpathians cannibalistic habits gave me doubt. There was also a chance that the patients and staff had been infected and were now wandering the streets for fresh victims.

  Plenty of patient rooms lined this hall, and all of them had their doors open. The very first one I approached was torn off its hinges. The body of a male orderly was sprawled out on the floor. I checked the ceiling for any sign of tampering, but it hadn’t been touched.

  The next room was a bit more interesting. The bodies of a nurse and two orderlies facedown in their own entrails surrounded a man in a straitjacket. The bound man’s face was contorted and set in rigor mortis. His legs looked dislocated, possibly from an encounter with the hospital staff, but most important was the black liquid staining his mouth and jacket. I did as Noah instructed, crushing the skull like the can of soda with my mind so he couldn't come back. My stomach turned and I had to turn away to keep from throwing up.

  Something was moving in a room across the hall.

  Finally. I was sick of the anticipation of waiting for someone or something to jump out at me.

  A man was fully restrained by the arms and legs to his bed. His eyes were the same as mine when I used my powers and in between deafening tones from the siren I could hear his death rattle. The infected man was fighting to break free and gnashing his teeth at the air. I ended his misery and left to find another victim.

  I was almost at the end of the corridor now, with only two rooms left. Both doors were closed and there was only a very thin window to see through one of them. Barely any light reached the inside of the room, but through the crack I could make out a floating figure.