“Are you okay?” whispered Jude, kneeling down next to me. “Have you hurt yourself?”
“I’m all right,” I said, looking at what I’d fallen over. It was a drip. An empty bag still hung from it. Turning it over in my hands, I could just make out VA10 written across the front of it.
“What is this stuff?” I asked. “Surely the people overseeing these trials must have known that it wasn’t safe. Why let Cruor Pharma carry on with human testing?”
“Hey, look at this,” whispered Raven, holding up a clear plastic bag.
It was full of large brown envelopes. There must have been at least twenty. Some of the contents had fallen out. Passports and mobiles lay at the bottom of the plastic bag. She pulled an envelope out.
“Those must be ours,” said Max, grabbing the plastic bag from Raven.
“Robert O’Brien: VA10,” Jude said, pulling an envelope out and reading the name on the front.
“Let me see.” Max snatched it away from Jude.
“This one says, Sylvia Green: VA10,” whispered Raven, tearing it open. She pulled out an iPod and a mobile. “We could call the police, tell them what’s happened and where we are.”
Jude grabbed the mobile from her hands. He pressed the button on the top and we held our breaths. Would it still have any life in it? How long had it been shut away on Ward 1?
“It’s dead,” he sighed. “It’s been gathering dust for too long.”
“Check the other envelopes. There must be more with phones in them. If mine’s in there, it will work. I had plenty of battery life left,” I said, grabbing the bag.
I tipped out the contents. Envelopes lay scattered around our feet. Max rummaged through them – reading out every name. When he’d got to the last one, he threw it down on the floor and kicked at the pile. Ours wasn’t there. Every mobile was dead.
I sat down. My mind drifted back to Ward 2. Images of Howard crawling up my body – touching my skin, abruptly filled my head. His teeth biting my stomach, a bloody grin stretched across his face. I screwed my eyes shut. I could feel his hands slide over my chest – fingers tearing at my hair. His innards hot and wet – dragging over my skin. I shuddered.
“Stop it,” I hissed to myself, brushing my gown down like I was knocking dust from an old rug.
“Hey, it’s okay,” soothed Jude, trying to hold my arms down by my side.
“I’m all right,” I said, pulling my arms free. “I can still feel Howard touching me. I can smell him.”
“He’s gone”, Jude whispered. “He’s not touching you anymore. He’s dead.”
Jude put his arm around my shoulder. I felt my body calm as I took deep breaths.
“Kassidy, you’ll be okay,” he said, stroking the side of my face. “We’ll get out of here and everything will be fine. I promise.”
“I’m sorry,” I said, “I can’t believe what I’ve seen here tonight – this just can’t be real. Normal people turning into zombie-things and crawling along walls – what the fuck is going on?”
“I don’t know,” said Max, crouching down beside me. “But it’s happened here before and we need to get out of this place.”
“We’ll probably end up twisted like Raven after this,” whispered Jude.
“I’m not twisted,” hissed Raven. “I just sense things.”
The ward lit up again. Raven was standing in front of me. Her black makeup smeared around her face and her gown was speckled with blood. The crook of her arm was bruised. The veins running under her skin were swollen black. I looked down at my arm. It looked like Raven’s. Was I going turn into one of those zombie things? Was she? I ran my finger over my vein. I cringed as I traced the lumps clotted up my arm. It felt tender.
“My arm looks like that,” said Max, holding it out for me to see.
“Mine doesn’t,” said Jude. “It’s just bruised where the needle went in.”
“How come?” asked Raven. “Why hasn’t it done the same to you?”
“How should I know?” he shrugged. “I’m not a doctor.”
“Maybe you didn’t get the VA20,” said Max. “They do that sometimes in drug trials. What’s it called? A placebo. I don’t think May or Carly had it either, they seemed okay – no black veins up their arms.”
“But why haven’t we changed into those zombie-things?” I said. “I don’t get it.”
“Maybe we will,” whispered Max. “I think we should all be honest with each other. If any of us starts feeling strange then we should say so. To protect each other.”
“Agreed,” said Jude, helping me up from the floor.
“Come on, let’s see if there’s a way out of Ward 1,” suggested Max. “It’s not gonna be long before Middleton and Wright come looking for us.”
I picked up a passport and flicked through the pages. A photo of a girl – probably my age, stared out from the page. Her name was Sylvia Green. A consent form from Cruor Pharma was folded in the back. Was she dead? Did she change? Did someone kill her? Were any of these volunteers still alive? I took the passport and form with me.
We reached the end of the ward. A curtain was pulled across the back wall. I took a step forward and stood on something cold. I bent down, curling my fingers around an iPod. How did this get all the way down the end of the ward? Why wasn’t it sealed in an envelope like all the other items had been? I tried to turn it on but, just like the mobiles, it was dead. I tucked it inside the passport. If I was gonna get out of here then at least I’d have something to show the police.
“There’s a door behind the curtain,” said Max, reaching for the handle.
“Wait, we can’t just go strolling out,” I whispered. “We need to check what’s out there.”
“I’ll look,” said Jude, taking hold of the door handle.
He pulled it open – just a fraction. We listened.
Silence.
He pushed his face to the gap – one eye peering out.
“What can you see?” I asked.
CHAPTER NINE
“It leads out into another corridor,” whispered Jude. “I can’t see much, it’s too dark.”
“Well we can’t stay in here and we can’t go back, so we may as well see where it takes us,” I said, pulling the wet, clingy gown away from my skin. I was beginning to shiver – my skin damp with blood.
“Let’s just get out of this ward, eyes are watching us,” whispered Raven, looking over her shoulder at Ward 1.
“Of course there are, Raven,” said Jude, rolling his eyes. “Are you sure you didn’t pop some pills before you turned up here – Acid or something?”
“I’m not a drug user,” spat Raven. “The dead are here, I can feel them! All those passports in there belong to the dead.”
“So you’re saying that everyone who has taken part in these fucked-up drug trials is dead?” said Max. His eyes had clouded over like a storm brewing in the sky.
“Yes,” nodded Raven. “They’re all dead.”
“I refuse to believe that any company or person could get away with murder on such a large scale. When people go missing, relatives start asking questions – they go to the police,” hissed Max, thumping his fist against the wall. “Some of those people must have escaped – they can’t all be dead.”
“Then why hasn’t this place been shut down? Surely Doctor Middleton would be locked up by now,” I whispered. “You only have to trace your steps back a short time. Ward 2 – remember?
“But we got out,” said Max. “Those things didn’t kill us – we’re standing here now – alive.”
“For how much longer? Yes, we escaped Ward 2 but we haven’t escaped the building. We’ve got this far because Doctor Fletcher let us go,” I said. “It won’t be much longer before they realise they’re a few bodies too short.”
“I think we need to move on instead of standing here analysing,” said Jude. “Let’s just get the hell out and then we can think about what we are gonna do.”
“There’s no way we’re going to get p
ast the security guards dressed like this,” I said. “There’s loads of them outside.”
“Don’t worry about that now, let’s just keep moving,” whispered Jude, taking a step out into the corridor.
Raven followed close behind Jude – eager to be out of Ward 1. I stepped out next – Max trailed behind me. He seemed reluctant to leave the ward. Maybe fear was setting in? The unthinkable playing out in his head. That bag of passports and mobiles a frightening reminder that the other volunteers probably didn’t make it out alive, making our chance of escape seem slim.
It was cold. Stone brickwork lined the walls. A barred window at the end of the corridor flashed with lightning, allowing us to see that whatever had gone on in Ward 1 had continued out in this corridor. Bloody handprints sprawled over the grey brickwork. I shuddered – footprints! The image of Simon scurrying along the walls in Ward 2 crept into my head. I looked up at the ceiling. Red footprints scattered along it. What the hell were those things? Once human but now…?
“Keep up,” whispered Jude, looking over his shoulder at me.
I hadn’t realised I’d stopped walking. Max was looking at the walls. He shook his head like he was unable to believe what he was seeing.
“What do you think happened to those things?” asked Max. “Do you think they’re still alive? They must have got out of Ward 1 – the footprints go all the way down to the end of this corridor.”
“I don’t know,” I shrugged. “But if they are alive, I just hope they’re not loose and wandering around this building.”
“Me too,” he whispered. “Come on, we need to stay close to the others.”
He placed his hand against the small of my back, guiding me toward Jude and Raven who were now at the end of the corridor.
“Which way should we go?” asked Raven, looking left then right. “There are doors down each corridor, we could check each room – see if there’s a way out or maybe we might find a phone.”
“There isn’t going to be a phone in this part of the building,” said Jude. “It’s too old – you heard what Doctor Middleton said. This half of the building is only used now for overnight drug trials.”
“We might find something else to wear other than these wet gowns,” said Max. “I think we should look.”
“We don’t have time to go window shopping,” hissed Jude. “We need to find a way out before they start looking for us.”
A sudden noise coming from Ward 1 made us freeze. Metal scraping over tiles. I swallowed. The filing cabinet we’d put against the doors. My heart kick-started into heavy beats. My blood pulsed through my body too fast – jittering through my veins like flashing lights at a rave.
“Quick, in here,” whispered Max, heading to the nearest door down the left corridor.
He grabbed the handle, twisting it to the right. It wouldn’t open.
“Try the next door,” said Jude, running past Max and taking hold of the handle.
It opened. We piled in – shoving our way through – desperate to hide from whomever it was coming through Ward 1. The room was dark with only one small window in it. A musty, mouldy smell filled the air.
“Find somewhere to hide,” whispered Max. “Under the desk, two can get under there.”
I ran round to the other side of the desk, catching a glimpse of myself in the long mirror fixed to the wall. What a mess I looked. I crawled in, still holding the passport and iPod tightly in my hand. Raven squeezed in after me. The floor was covered in filth – cobwebs stuck to my face. I could see Jude in the mirror. He opened a cupboard door – climbed in, pulling it shut. Max slipped under a bed – dragging some old blankets over the side to conceal himself. We waited. Those rave-type beats pounding in my ears – heart racing overtime.
“I’m scared,” whispered Raven, eyes wide – a tear trickled slowly down her cheek.
“Shhh.” I held my finger to my lips. “Just keep quiet. Whoever it is might not come in here.”
The sound of a door trying to be opened cut into the silence. Footsteps coming nearer. They stopped. The creak of the door handle set my skin racing in goose-bumps. Light slowly seeped through as the door pushed open. Raven took my hand squeezing it tight. Peering at the mirror on the wall, I strained to see who it was. A key turned, locking the door. Heavy panting filled the room.
“Dear God, let me get out of here alive,” murmured Nurse Jones, her ashen face appearing in the mirror. “Please don’t let them get me!”
CHAPTER TEN
I didn’t even consider if I should or could trust Nurse Jones before I climbed out from under the desk.
“Nurse Jones,” I whispered. “It’s me, Kassidy.”
She jumped at my sudden appearance – shocked to learn that she wasn’t alone.
“You’re alive, I thought you must be dead,” she said. “You need to get out of here. They’re looking for me. They’re going to kill me. I’ve seen too much.”
“You’ve done these drug tests before, you must have known what they were going to do to us,” I said. “How could you do it – you’re meant to be a nurse – someone who cares for their patients?”
“No, I didn’t know,” she cried. “I’ve never stayed all night during a drug test. I’m working overtime. I usually set up the patients and then go home – I promise.”
“What’s in VA20?” Max climbed out from under the bed. “What happened to the other volunteers who had VA10 and VA00 put in them?”
“I don’t know,” she said, surprised to see him. “I thought they all just went home in the morning after the trials. I never saw them again.”
“Did you see Robert O’Brien – was he one of your patients?” Max pushed. He held out a passport, the page opened on a photo of a blonde haired guy.
“I’m not… sure,” Nurse Jones stammered. “Maybe – I can’t remember.”
“That’s bullshit, she’s lying,” shouted Max, thumping his fist down on top of the desk.
“Keep your voice down, Max,” hissed Jude, stepping out from the cupboard. “She obviously doesn’t know any more than we do – do you?”
Jude turned Nurse Jones around to face him. He placed his hands on her shoulders and stared into her eyes.
“It’s okay, I believe you,” Jude said. “Max, leave the poor woman alone, she’s scared half to death already.”
“All I know about VA20 is…” she stopped. Low, moaning whispers echoed off the stone corridor outside the room. “They’re coming for me.”
“Hide,” whispered Max pushing me toward the desk. He climbed back under the bed.
“If they find you, you keep quiet about us,” said Jude, looking at Nurse Jones.
She pulled away from him, a look of fear in her eyes.
“I won’t say anything,” she whispered. “Where can I hide?”
“Get under the bed with Max,” I said to Nurse Jones. “There’s no room under the desk.”
The door handle twisted. It creaked and groaned, unable to open from being locked. I huddled next to Raven, who sat with her eyes screwed shut – maybe she thought if she couldn’t see anyone then they couldn’t see her. I watched in the mirror as the door shook. I could hear breathing – rasping from outside. A loud thump hit the door. Then it went quiet – the door remained shut. I stared in disbelief as a shadowy mass seemed to come through the door, breaking into six forms. The shadows became solid. In one – two blinks of an eye, they had taken on the form of ghostly humans. Thick, black aprons were tied about them – plastic gloves all the way up to their armpits. Their lower faces were hidden behind black surgical masks – eyes dark and murky. They didn’t speak – just rasped like their lungs were full of mucus and their leather aprons creaked when they moved. Were these the Cleaners that Doctor Fletcher had warned me about?
I held my breath – willing them to move on to another room. What would I do if they came around to this side of the desk? Could they see me in the mirror? I hugged my legs tighter to my chest, trying to be as small as possible.
&
nbsp; A sob came from under the bed. Nurse Jones. Had they heard her? If they looked under there they would find Max, and if they found him then they would surely find the rest of us. One of the Cleaners slowly drifted toward the bed. I held my breath. The door was suddenly kicked open.
Doctor Middleton appeared in the mirror. He walked in and stood alongside the six Cleaners.
“Where is she?” he asked, his eyes wandered around the room.
The cleaner nearest the bed stretched his gloved hand down under the blankets – its arm extended at an unnatural length. It pulled Nurse Jones out by her ankle. She screamed.
“Please don’t kill me, please!” she begged. “I won’t tell anyone what I saw. Just let me leave and I promise you’ll never see me again.”
“I can’t do that, Nurse Jones,” Doctor Middleton frowned. “You need to be cleaned away.”
Pulling out a chair, he sat down. “The cleaners will remove all traces of you,” Doctor Middleton glared.
“I just want to go home,” Nurse Jones screamed. “Why won’t you let me go home?”
“You’re no good to me now. If you hadn’t stuck your nose in, then maybe I could have kept you, but…”
“My son will come looking for me, he’ll go to the police and then they will come here,” she cried. “You won’t get away with it.”
Reaching out with his arm, Doctor Middleton snatched Nurse Jones around her throat. He lifted her up. Her legs dangled, swinging about like spaghetti. Nurse Jones’ eyes bulged as Doctor Middleton pressed his fingers against her throat. She gripped his hand, trying to release the pressure around her neck. A gargled gasp escaped her lips as Doctor Middleton’s fingers ruptured through her flesh. Blood surged down his arm – his fingers hidden inside her throat. His hand twisted left and right like he was turning a door handle. He dropped her.
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