by J. Armand
The door was locked, but if it meant one of the Carpathians was inside I definitely wanted in. I tried concentrating on pushing the door in, but it was heavily reinforced. I could look for a key, but finding one in the dark amongst the mess would take all night. My only other option would be to go out the window next door and fly in from there.
I went into the other room, but a metal grating I hadn’t noticed covered the window. The rest of the rooms I checked were all the same. Out the window was a courtyard below. No bodies that I could see, just plants and benches fenced in. Security floodlights lit the square space pretty well. I was about to move on when something moved by one of the bushes. Something darted out away from the light and entered the building. The infected only moved that fast when chasing someone and the Carpathians usually flew, so who could that be?
The metal grating was fastened too tight for me to pull it off using my powers. If I was able to do something as delicate as mentally lift a wallet from someone’s pocket then I should be able to loosen a few screws. I noticed there was a fingernail stuck under the first screw. Apparently I hadn’t been the only one who came up with this idea. It took a while, longer than it should have, but I was able to unscrew the window guard with my mind.
There wasn’t a ledge to stand on and the drop was a good forty feet. Unless the patient here could fly, he wouldn’t have survived that fall, but maybe he believed he could.
I moved through the air to the locked room’s window. Someone was in there, all right. Whoever it was had hanged himself with his own clothes, which made it look like he was floating in the dark. Poor guy must have witnessed what was going on outside his door and tried to spare himself from suffering.
The body began to spasm as it reanimated. I had a clear view so I didn’t need to go through the trouble of getting inside. I only needed to hold out my hand and focus until the body hung limp again.
Sounds of more movement came from underneath me. Another figure ran around the shadowed area of the courtyard and into the first floor. Whoever this was had to have seen me. If they were running, they were most likely not friendly.
I glided down over the fence and onto the grass of the courtyard. Like the entrance, this place was relatively untouched. The pavement past the gate was another story. Children’s drawings done with sidewalk chalk were partially covered over in blood. A few playground toys were strewn about. A female nurse’s body dressed in what had been cheerfully-colored scrubs lay on the ground.
My shoes stuck to the floor upon reentering the building. Of course it was blood, but worse was the black fluid of the parasite that had leaked out of its hosts. I wasn’t given long to inspect the other corpses around me. The power went out again and along with it came a deafening silence after listening to the siren for so long. If somebody was in here waiting for me, the squishing sound of my shoes on the tile would certainly give me away.
I guess this must be what it’s like to be six feet tall, I thought as I floated over the sticky mess, remembering the modeling agent’s criticism.
The moonlight from the courtyard windows let me see a short way in front of me. The walls were decorated in bright colors with animated characters pointing out messages on bulletin boards. Each room had smaller-scale hospital beds than the floor above and crayon drawings taped to the doors.
I floated by a common area with child-sized chairs and tables. A television knocked down in the chaos was lying at someone’s feet. It was a doctor, judging by his white lab coat. He hadn’t heard me come up behind him and was standing facing a blank wall. This was the only person I’d seen in this hall so far; maybe he’d stayed back to help others escape.
I knew he was one of the infected, but something inside me wished he wasn’t. If I was correct, he was a doctor and a hero. I gave him gentle push. He jolted to life and turned toward me. I was a bit surprised when I saw what he looked like. The doctor was skeletal, rather than mutated like the others. His gait was painfully slow and the noises coming from him now were hardly audible. Vance had said the parasite sapped the life from its victims and forced them to feed constantly. Was this doctor’s will to save others so great that he resisted the urge to consume his staff and patients, turning him into this brittle husk?
It didn’t seem right ending him with violence after his noble struggle. He was no threat to anyone like this.
“I’ll be right back,” I told him and floated down the hall in search of his office. If I placed him in there then at least he could pass away peacefully without harm to anyone.
Just beyond the nurse’s station was a door with a nameplate inscribed Dr. Frank Benoit, MD.
No. This can’t be real. How is this possible? He’s never been here before. Why am I seeing this?
I went inside and closed the door behind me. It took a second for my eyes to adjust to the lights, but everything was exactly how I remembered it. I sat at the desk a moment to relax and played with the tape that had held the chair arm together since I was in eighth grade. You’d think my dad would be able to afford a new chair on his salary.
There was an unfamiliar sound of running water from across the room. I went over by the couch and saw a small fish tank in the corner. Dad was always commenting on how he wanted one for his office, but it took him a while to get around to things like that.
The fish were odd; I was expecting something more tropical, but these were dark and alien. Looking at them reminded me of the vision I had of the Rift during Vance’s ritual. They were so much bigger then. I had felt so helpless floating among them before, but now things were different.
A clang of metal out in the hall stopped my gawking. The lights went out in the office as I carefully opened the door.
“Dad?” I yelled into the hallway and floated down to where I had left him.
“What is that?” someone shouted from the direction of the play area.
I arrived to find a lanky teenage boy holding a katana that probably weighed more than him and a girl with bright blue hair standing over my father’s decapitated body. These two must have been the ones I saw running through the courtyard.
“Oh great, they fly now too,” the boy said, and held his sword up to me.
“What did you do?” I asked, looking down at the body in anger.
“You can talk?” The girl sounded shocked.
I glared at them, feeling the same rage as when the Carpathians ambushed us. Their bodies flew backward down the corridor and smashed into a wall at the end. I dashed after them, keeping them pinned. I couldn’t let them leave, not after they had seen me and not after what they had done.
“We’re not getting paid enough for this,” the boy said to his friend, who promptly shushed him.
“Paid?” I asked, noticing the boy’s fangs. “What are you getting paid for?” Were these the ones sent by the Carpathians to infect my parents?
“Killing your stupid mutant pets for easy money, that’s what.” The boy was wearing black skinny jeans and a hoodie with a skeleton design on it. He had long black hair covering his eyes and a lip ring like I’d seen emo and punk kids wear.
“Are you kidding? I didn’t do this.”
“You sure look like one of them and you called that one ‘dad.’ What the hell are you, anyway?”
That question caught me off guard. I was a person, what else would I be? A flying, telekinetic person with black and gray eyes, covered in blood.
“Don’t worry about it,” I said. “Who’s paying you to kill? Are you Outsiders?” Picturing these two kids as contract killers was a stretch.
“We take offense to that,” the girl spoke. “We’re mercenaries. Fangs for hire.”
“If these mutants aren’t yours then you better not be here to move in on our contract. That money is ours!” the boy complained.
“I’m not here for money and you’re not really in any position to make threats.”
“Oh yeah? Well, we killed your dad!” The boy jeered and bared his fangs, trying to act tough.
I thought about it for a moment. Had I really called that infected doctor back there dad? Lyle was right; I was losing my mind. These visions weren’t like Rozalin’s illusions. They were memories and emotions I had been holding in.
“No you didn’t,” I said. “I made a mistake.”
“How do you mistake something like that?” he asked.
There was a sharp pain in my shoulder and I felt blood trickle down my arm. Another boy ran out from behind me to his two friends, leaving a knife in me. I winced in pain as I pulled it out.
“Should we kill him?” the girl asked. The attack had caused me to lose my hold on her and the boy. The stab wound sealed up immediately after I took the knife out.
“Fuck that! He’s a whole different kind of weirdo that we’re not being paid to deal with,” the first boy said, watching me regenerate.
I was still stunned from the pain and finding it hard to concentrate. “Where were you?” I heard the girl ask as they ran away.
“Recon,” the new boy replied. “I may have accidentally stumbled on one of those Carpathian uglies upstairs, so it might be coming for us.”
I collected myself in enough time to stop the three of them from getting any further. Grabbing their legs from down the hall, I dragged them back. Meeting them halfway, I passed the office I had been in. It didn’t look anything like it had before. I let the Outsiders go as I looked inside the office in bewilderment.
There was a desk and chair, a completely different style than what I had seen, but other than that nothing was the same. No fish tank or bookshelves, no couch or coat rack. It looked more like a meeting room with chairs set up in a circle by the desk. Had I imagined all of that? There wasn’t even a name on the door, just the number 103.
I felt lost and confused, but didn’t have time to deal with it. I heard the trio scramble down the hall, screaming at what I thought was me. A much larger Carpathian was flying through the corridor. I sidestepped into the meeting room right as it passed. The aggression I had had this whole time was gone now and replaced with a feeling of sadness. Still, I knew I would have to fight my way out of here.
The Carpathian was coming back my way. It seemed like there was a tradeoff between my conscious human emotions and the more detached, savage side. I just couldn’t muster the same violence necessary to defend myself when my head was swirling with fear and doubt.
Claws out, the flying bloodsucker attempted to tackle me head-on. I placed my hands out in front of me to throw it back, but the best I got was enough force to send it off balance.
This was frustrating. I knew I could do better. Even if I could only tap into half of the monstrous side that scared Lyle off, I’d be good to go. The Carpathian walked toward me, scraping its claws against the wall and causing a horrible screech. I tried knocking it back again, but barely shoved it off its feet. It was dangerously close now and swiped at me, grazing my cheek as I leaped back.
The claws on its hands grew longer and spikes jutted out of the skin covering each arm. The Carpathian rushed after me like a bull and caught me before I could dodge again. I tumbled a few yards until a radiator stopped me. Were Noah and Vivi ever going to get here?
If I had known my powers were going to fail I would have taken that kid’s katana. When it came close enough to try and grab me, I crawled under the its legs. The knife the other guy had stabbed me with should still be where I left it. I made a break for it, but couldn’t outrun the monster. A sharp claw cut my arm to the bone. I screamed and rolled on the floor in agony. The Carpathian picked me up by the waist in one hand, curiously observing the gash seal itself.
The knife was on the floor close to us. I reached out, summoned it to my hand, and plunged it down into the monster’s skull. It hissed and grabbed my arm, breaking it in half. The pain was too much. I thought I’d pass out, but my recoil triggered a glimmer of the power I wanted and sent us both flying into opposite walls.
I sat up, whimpering and rocking back and forth while my arm healed. The Carpathian wasn’t turning to ash. I’d have to finish it. I crawled to retrieve the knife, but the monster was conscious again. It pulled the knife from my hand and snapped it in two. That rage was starting to build. One wide-eyed glare sent the disgusting animal through the ceiling. I floated myself to avoid putting pressure on my bad arm when getting up.
The Carpathian jumped down from the hole. Its wings were cut badly by whatever caught it on the way up. I put my hand out and yanked on one of the wings until it ripped off. A terrifying roar and glower from the bloodsucker shook me to the core.
My playmate turned its back on me and retreated to the kids’ common area. There was still a piece of the knife on the ground for me to use. I couldn’t see what it was doing until I got close; it was eating the carcass of the doctor to heal itself. Wings, skull, and all recovered as if nothing was ever wrong. Before it finished eating, I shot the piece of knife into the monster’s heart, wedging it in deep. The large body of the monster collapsed.
I levitated over it, feeling the same detachment as before creeping up on me. This wretched creature deserved everything it had coming to it after what it had done to all these people. I flipped it over, preparing to watch its face as I broke it apart piece by piece, but saw my reflection in the broken TV screen next to it.
Emilia hadn’t cried because she was scared of the Carpathian. She had cried because she was scared of me. This was what caused Lyle to leave without me. Even those three Outsiders ran in spite of us all being here for the same reason. The monster in this hospital was me.
I gave the Carpathian a quick death instead of letting my hatred take over. There was nothing left to do here now. If those three mercenaries wanted this place to themselves they could have it. I had to find Lyle and apologize.
There was a pungent smell out on the sidewalk when I exited the facility.
“They finally got to you too.”
I whirled around at the voice of an old man I hadn’t noticed standing there. His body odor was worse than anything I had encountered in the hospital.
“Excuse me?” I asked, not sure if I was more surprised or nauseated.
“Don’t remember me, do you? I warned you they were after you, but nobody listens to me! Maybe that’s what keeps me safe, helps to keep my head down.”
The old man started to hobble away pushing a shopping cart full of garbage ahead of him. “Wait a minute.” I stopped him. “You were on the subway.”
“I’ve been on lots o’ subways. But you’re one of them now so I don’t got much to say to ya. They got their fangs in ya,” he laughed, wiggling his filthy long fingernails in my face. “It’s gonna take them some time to clean up that mess you left in there, but don’t you worry, not a drop of blood will be left!”
I squinted at him and watched his mouth as he talked, trying to ignore all the other vile distractions. Sure enough, they were there. “You have fangs. You’re one of them.”
He closed his lips tight, playing dumb.
“Hey, gramps.” A voice called from the alley that led to the back of the hospital. “We finished the contract. Let’s go cash in.”
It was the kid with the katana and his two friends. They froze when they saw me. “That’s okay kiddies, he won’t bite,” the unkempt man cackled.
“You know them? You knew people were after me that day on the subway and didn’t tell me?” I asked.
“Sure I did. You just didn’t listen, just like I said you wouldn’t.”
“Because you’re — you’re —” I couldn’t think of any way not to sound offensive.
“Dirty? Crazy? Scary? A monster?” He was having too much fun filling in the blanks, but he was right. He really did warn me, and just like the other passengers I ignored him because he was so different.
“How did you know people were after me?”
“These old ears hear many things. It’s easy when you’re invisible to everyone aroun
d you. The more they pretend I’m not here, the more I can listen!”
“You’re not that invisible if you’re friends with the Archios.”
“Friends?” The old hobo laughed himself into such a deep cough I was scared he’d throw up something on me. “You think someone like me would be friends with those pretty little dolls? No, old Grampy pulls his own strings, thank you very much. I can’t say I don’t like their money though!”
He lost himself in another fit of laughter and pulled out a beaten-up coffee tin packed full of hundred-dollar bills. One of the sacks in his shopping cart was full of these coffee cans.
“You better get moving if you want to catch up with your new friends. They’re over by the park west of here.”
“How do you know? Forget it. You mean Central Park?” Something in the shopping cart starting moving around. “What was that?” I tried looking in between the holes.
A face popped out and scared me half to death. It was Emilia, but if she was here, what had happened to Lyle?
“What did you do with my friend?” I shouted, ready to attack him.
“I took this little one off his hands so he could join his lady.”
“Lyle would never just hand over a child to a stranger like that,” I argued.
“He didn’t have a choice!” the man laughed again. I was ready to lunge at him, but he put his hands up. “I don’t mean like that. I simply put his mind at ease. She’s safe with me.”
“I don’t take you for the loving, fatherly type. But let me guess, looks can be deceiving?”
“And what would you have done with her? She’s got the affliction. Nothing no human could ever fix. I bet you and your Archios buddies would just kill ‘er, no?”
I couldn’t dispute that. He was right that she would have wound up dead one way or another.
“There’s no cure, but we ain’t affected like human folk.”
“I thought the infected blood was still poisonous to your kind?”
“Those Archios just don’t want to get their pretty bitty fangs dirty. We don’t get sustenance from it — doesn’t stop us from turning people. Grampy doesn’t mind a little puke if it means saving this darling’s life.”