"Everyone remember the plan?" Tom asked. A group of nervous headshakes followed his question. "Kelsey and Tabatha will unlock the supply room and get supplies. The rest of us provide cover. Silas and Katherine will stay between us. When we have what we need, we'll head to the east entrance."
Everyone murmured in agreement. It was time to go. Grabbing the door handle, Tom eased it open and aimed his rifle into the hallway. The hallway was clear in either direction.
Looking back at his companions, he hissed, "Let's go!"
The group filed out of the hospital room, a bundle of fear and nerves. Suddenly they were out in the open and moving. Adrenaline gushed through Tom's body as he glanced down either end of the hall. He stared at the open door behind him, a place of relative safety. He hoped they weren't making a mistake in leaving it.
He knew the calm wouldn't last for long. They had to abandon the room.
He'd only taken a few steps when someone cried a warning. A beast loped down the corridor. Before Tom could take aim, Rosemary stepped in front of him, assessing the incoming beast.
"What are you doing?" Tom cried.
"Making sure it's not Jason or Jeffery!"
Before Tom could retort, Rosemary took a firing stance, aimed, and pulled the trigger. The bullet caught the creature in the head, and it collapsed to the ground in a mound of fur.
"How'd you know it wasn't them?" Tom asked.
"They're a lot smaller!"
"Come on!" Tom yelled to the group, reclaiming the lead.
Kelsey ran beside him as they headed to the corridor's end. They entered another hallway, passing a nurse's station with a patient slumped over the desk, a few broken-down doorways, and another puddle of slicked blood. The hallway was long, terrifying. In a nearby hospital room, the wind pummeled snow against the window. They'd be out in that bitter cold soon.
Tom swallowed, glancing over his shoulder to confirm that Rosemary was covering the back of the group. The others kept to the middle.
They continued running, the group's nervous breathing a reminder of the lives at stake. The metallic scent of blood in the hallway was worse than it had been before. Tom cringed at the smell, which mingled with the musk of the creatures. Bodies lined the floor around them, people who were so mauled it was impossible to tell who they'd once been.
"Come on!" he urged.
They'd covered half the hallway when a slurping noise drew Tom's attention. Tom looked over to find a beast on the floor in a nearby room, ravenously consuming the remains of a dead body. He stared at the thing as they passed, praying they wouldn't draw its attention, but the patter of footsteps might as well have been the ringing of alarms. The thing looked up from its meal and charged.
Tom fell back, ushering the others behind him. He raised his rifle. The beast slid through blood as it barreled out of the room. Tom fired a shot, but the thing lost some of its height as it skidded into the hallway.
The bullet struck the wall.
He squeezed off another shot. The thing roared as the bullet struck its arm, sending it reeling back.
"I got it!" Rosemary cried.
She fired her pistol, striking it in the head, finishing it off. Tom gave her a quick, thankful glance. The encounter had cost them too much ammunition, considering the distance they had left to travel. Tom appraised the others. Katherine and Silas looked even smaller behind the blankets they were carrying; Abraham and Sally clutched their handheld weapons with fear.
"Where are we headed, Kelsey?" Tom cried.
"The supply room is just around the corner!" Kelsey answered.
They kept running, revealing an opposing hallway, and Tom braced himself for an onslaught of beasts. To his relief, the hallway was clear. Most of the doors were closed. He convinced himself the beasts weren't lurking in the rooms with the doors shut, which meant safety on either side. Shadows dappled the floor. This corridor was darker than the others, and Tom thought back to when he'd first thought the hospital was a place of safety, rather than a place of danger.
The beasts had robbed them of that security, of that peace. His anger morphed to determination. The supply room was just ahead. They'd make it. They'd get to the east entrance and up the stairs.
He held that thought as they ground to a halt at the supply room door.
Kelsey looked left and right, then entered a numbered code on a small box attached to the door. The door clicked and Kelsey pulled the handle.
A black room greeted them. Kelsey found the light switch, illuminating shelves full of neatly placed supplies. Rows of plastic bins lined the walls: items labeled and sterilized in plastic bags. Everything was perfectly placed. The organization was a direct contrast to the chaos outside the room. In the back of the room were the oxygen canisters Kelsey had told Tom about.
"Tabatha, come on!" Kelsey beckoned.
Tabatha made her way through the group and joined Kelsey, while Tom and Rosemary guarded the door. As planned, Abraham and Sally shuffled forward, ready to receive the flammable containers. The kids hugged the wall. Tom watched the hallway, fighting the creeping feeling of dread that accompanied every waking moment. He traded a glance with Rosemary, who was on the other side of the group. Her face was tense.
Kelsey and Tabatha reappeared at the doorway, passing a canister each to Abraham and Sally. Out of the corner of his eye, Tom saw them filling their pockets with bandages and draping blankets over their shoulders. Then they grabbed their own canisters. A chorus of footfalls erupted from somewhere in the distance.
More beasts were coming.
"We have to go!" he yelled over his shoulder.
"We're all set!" Kelsey replied. "Come on!"
Kelsey and Tabatha rejoined the others, heaving to breathe as they started back down the hallway. No one bothered closing the supply room door as they skirted in the direction of the east exit.
Chapter Twenty
Tom visualized the entrance they were striving for, a beacon of hope in an overrun building. Kelsey led them down several short corridors. As they ran, Tom caught sight of a large pool of blood in the middle of the floor. In its center was a chewed, severed arm. One of the children cried out at the sight of it. Tom's boots squished as he fought for traction, veering around the viscous puddle.
He was so distracted that he didn't see the beast that ran out and grabbed Tabatha until she was screaming. One moment, she was on the fringe of their pack, appraising the floor. The next, a beast had run from a nearby room and snatched her.
Tabatha shrieked in pain as the thing hurtled her against the wall.
"No!" Kelsey screamed.
Tabatha dropped her canister of oxygen. It clattered to the floor. The group stopped running, trapped in an uncertain moment of panic. Tabatha, deprived of air, crumpled against the wall. She forced herself to her feet, but fell on a wounded ankle. The beast hovered over her, claws slicing her open. Blood darkened her nurse's pants as she screamed and shrieked.
Tom swiveled and aimed his rifle, but Kelsey was in the way. With an enraged cry, she ran toward the beast, swinging her canister of oxygen. The canister clanged against the beast's back, eliciting a howl of pain. Kelsey lost hold of the canister and it rolled. The creature spun. Kelsey scooted back as the beast swung its arms in rage.
"Kelsey, look out!" Tom yelled.
Tom grabbed Kelsey and threw her behind him, putting her out of harm's way. He squeezed off a shot, but missed. With everyone panicking and dispersing, the hallway was too crowded to shoot again.
"Get out of there, Tabatha!" he screamed.
The distraught, injured woman remained on the ground, screaming. Tom finally managed another shot, but the bullet went wide, grazing the thing's arm. The creature spun and advanced on Tom.
To Tom's relief, Rosemary had managed to get on the other side of the fallen woman. While the beast was distracted with Tom, she darted in to grab hold of Tabatha. Tabatha cried out as Rosemary propped her to her feet. It looked like her ankle was sprained or broken. Her
leg was torn open and bleeding. She continued screaming as Rosemary pulled her away.
"That's right, keep coming, you son of a bitch!" Tom cried at the approaching beast, taking a few steps backward.
He squeezed off another shot, but the beast swatted at the tip of the rifle, knocking it away as it discharged. Tom cried out as he was stripped of his weapon. Tabatha screamed again.
The beast turned on her and Rosemary, distracted by easier prey.
"We have to move, Tabatha!" Rosemary tried desperately, aiming her pistol while pulling away Tabatha. Tabatha's eyes were wide and disbelieving; her fingers slid along the wall. Rosemary fired a shot at the creature, but missed. Tabatha's screams turned to whimpers as the beast closed the gap. Tom sprang for his rifle. The beast speared Tabatha's stomach, yanking her from Rosemary's grasp.
It hurled the woman to the floor, buried its snout in her belly, and dug.
Rosemary fired at the beast, striking it in the torso, and it fell backward, but not before tearing another chunk from Tabatha. Having recovered his rifle, Tom finished it off with a shot to the head. He watched the thing collapse to the floor.
"Jesus, no!" Kelsey yelled, running over to her injured friend.
Tabatha kicked, her body filled with spasms. Blood gurgled from her opened mouth. Whether she understood Kelsey's words was doubtful. After a few seconds, she stopped moving and her head sagged to the side. Kelsey shook her friend, pounding the floor with grief.
"No! No! Tabatha! Stay with me! We need to stop the bleeding! We need to do CPR!"
Katherine and Silas sobbed. Sally muttered a continuous chorus of "Oh, no's," as if the phrase might bring the dead woman back to life. A pang of despair hit Tom's gut. They had to keep moving.
A crash indicated more beasts were behind them.
"We have to leave her!" he yelled, swallowing the awful feelings that accompanied that statement. He beckoned to Rosemary so they could quickly reload.
Kelsey stared up at him. For a minute, he was certain she'd remain fruitlessly at her friend's side. And then she was on her feet and retrieving the oxygen canister, smearing tears from her eyes. Rosemary fell in line, ushering the group from the rear.
They continued down the hallway, leaving the dead woman behind.
They kept running, slowing only when they had to accommodate the short legs of the children, or to check on each other. The guilt of losing someone was a loud voice, screaming in Tom's ear. That guilt was only quieted by his pounding fear.
He knew they'd tried their best. But that didn't make Tabatha's loss any more palatable.
They reached the final hallway, weaving through spilled medical equipment and overturned nurses' carts. Tom recognized the hallway as the one he'd been staying in. They passed the elevator, then the maintenance room.
The need for stealth had been replaced by urgency. Tom felt like a runner on the last leg of a marathon, sprinting through the remaining markers.
Stairwell. Roof. Fire truck.
Simple tasks were now perilous. He prayed help was a reality, that the fire truck—and the men inside—were really waiting. He had no choice but to believe Rosemary had called them. Tabatha's end had to have been for a reason.
They reached the east entrance without further issue, staring at the ruined barricade: nurses' carts and beds were upended; debris was ridden over the floor. The door had been thrown inward as if it were a piece of cardboard. The open doorway added to Tom's nagging fears: they'd never had a chance. Not here. Not at the Knights of Columbus. Not at the machine shop.
Stop, he told himself.
They'd survived the previous night. They'd survive this one.
Rosemary's words echoed in his brain:
"They've been around as long as we have, Tom."
He couldn't believe it to be true. How could such vile beings have existed all this time, and without detection? Living among them, he wasn't sure how he'd ever feel safe again.
But he couldn't think about that now. He studied the gaping doorway of the east entrance, shuddering at the red light spilling out from the stairwell, as if it were an entrance to hell, rather than a means to escape. The others slowed. A few looked behind them. Tom took a few determined steps forward, covering the exit. His visibility was limited to a few vacant stairs up and down both sides, and the landing. Aside from that, the stairwell was a mystery. A springing beast could emerge from the shadows in no time.
He fought the feeling that he was leading his group to die.
Turning to the others, Tom said, "I'll wave you in once it's clear!"
Their faces glowed red as they nodded. He glanced at Rosemary, who held her pistol and gave him a knowing look. And then he was crossing the threshold, training his rifle on the lower stairwell. Snarls and howls floated from the depths of the building. Whether the noises were from an open doorway or further downstairs, he couldn't tell. The creatures had taken over the building as quickly as they'd taken the town, destroying the survivors' last refuge as fast as they could rebuild it.
He switched focus to the upper stairwell, ready for a beast to descend, but saw nothing save the eerie, amber glow of the lights.
Confirming it was safe, he called, "Okay, come on in!"
The group shuffled through the threshold, and then they were in the stairwell, a chorus of heavy breathing.
"I'll cover the front, you cover the rear!" he told Rosemary, mirroring the tactic they'd kept in the hallways.
Tom swallowed as he mounted the first stair, his companions right behind him. The stairwell was small and restrictive. No windows. Tom took the steps in rapid succession, avoiding the remains of a body. The sounds of the beasts vibrated through the stairway—grunts and chuffs from the lower floors. The group moved silently except for the occasional clap of a misplaced foot. Tom pictured the beasts on the lower floors, stalking them, and shuddered.
He stared upward, watching the two flights spiral in front of him. The distance was much shorter than what they'd already traveled, but it felt like miles. On the second stairwell, the red lights died. He'd almost reached the first landing when someone tripped. He spun to find Abraham propping up Sally, who had missed a stair. The children waited. Kelsey checked the woman with concern.
"Are you all right?" she hissed.
"I'm fine," Sally returned.
A gunshot made Tom jump.
His heart leapt at the noise. His ears rang. He stared at his rifle, as if he might've discharged it, but it was Rosemary. She ran up the stairs behind the group, shouting in panic. A large beast tumbled down the staircase behind her.
"It was sneaking up on us!" she shouted, as she reloaded. "More are coming!"
The cries from below them increased in volume, and Tom heard the inimitable pounding of feet on the stairs.
"Come on!" he whispered, leading the group faster, running over the blood-soaked landing and up the last flight of stairs. They were almost there. A red light gave them another dose of illumination. He saw the door at the top of the stairs and heard Kelsey retrieving the keys from her pocket.
He pictured a slew of creatures on the rooftop, presiding over the building like primitive guards. But that wouldn't make sense, with the door locked and closed.
His companions reshuffled as Kelsey found her way through. She set down her oxygen canister and fiddled with the keys.
The stairwell crawled with noise. Tom stared behind him, his companions little more than silhouettes. Rosemary was at the bottom, the outline of her pistol visible in the red glow.
They'd get to her first. They'd tear through her, then the others, forcing Tom to hear the screams of Abraham, Sally, Silas, and Katherine before he met his own demise. Stop it. Don't think that way.
If Kelsey can't find the key…
"Dammit, I'm not sure which one it is!" Kelsey cried.
"Do you want me to—?"
The end of Tom's sentence was cut-off by a warning from Abraham. "Rosemary! Watch out!"
Tom's attention snappe
d to the landing. Three beasts made a rabid dash for Rosemary. She fired off several rounds, knocking two back, but a third plowed through the others and grabbed hold of her. Rosemary shrieked. She kicked and squirmed, discharging her gun. The bullet ricocheted harmlessly off the ceiling. Dammit.
Tom had the horrifying thought that his vision was coming true.
He ran toward the commotion, pushing past the horrified Sally, Katherine, and Silas, and descended the stairs. But Abraham was faster.
Wielding his axe, Abraham leapt onto the landing and grabbed hold of Rosemary, pulling her out of the thing's clutches. He reared back the axe and swung. The blade struck the beast's stomach, pitching it backward. It fought for balance and slid, groping for the railing.
At the last second, it snagged onto Abraham.
Tom watched in horror as Abraham and the beast toppled down the next set of stairs. He lunged, hoping to save the falling man, but his efforts were too late. He was already tumbling end over end and onto the next level.
"No! Abraham!"
Abraham's gurgling screams filling the air as the beast landed on top of him and started to claw. Tom raised his rifle, but between the poor lighting and the tangle of movement, he was unable to decipher beast from man. Sally shrieked endlessly. The children screeched in terror. Abraham's screams fell silent under the snarls of the creature. Two other beasts appeared from the darkness, clambering over the bodies of their brethren, joining in on the feeding.
With nothing left to do for the man, Rosemary and Tom fired at the beasts. The last snarl tailed off as the remaining beasts fell down the stairs, exposing Abraham's lifeless, shredded body.
A blast of white light hit Tom's eyes. He covered his face with his hand.
Kelsey had flung open the door to the roof. Cold air and snow gusted into the stairwell, eddying over the survivors' heads.
"We have to go!" Kelsey screamed. "Come on!"
Tom stared at the pile of gore that used to be Abraham, then grabbed Rosemary's arm, yanking her up the stairs.
Werewolf Suspense (Book 4): Outage 4 (The Reckoning) Page 9