Warning:

This chapter contains disturbing descriptions of violence and gore that might be uncomfortable for certain readers. Please read at your own discretion.

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“RUN!” Louis yelled as he shoved Doctor Alister away.

The groans from the infected people grew louder as they shuffled toward the boys. 

“If I die, I’ll drag you two along with me! It’s unfair if only- ack- if only- argh-” the doctor hacked out some dark liquid as he staggered and eventually collapsed to the floor. There was a mixture of fear and anger on his face as he convulsed violently on the floor.

‘How fast does rabies affect a person…?’ Jared thought as a shrilling groan drew his attention toward the far end of the reception area.

It was the woman who was attacked by the two infected teenagers from earlier. Most of the flesh from her face had been ripped off and her head drooped awkwardly in an inhuman manner. There was a huge gash at the spot her left arm was supposed to be, and most of her innards hung loosely. Worse, a bone stuck out of her right shin and continued to protrude more prominently as she attempted to shuffle across the bloodied floor. It was a gruesome sight to behold.

“She shouldn’t even be able to stand up… How-” Jared began to ask out loud before abruptly pausing.

Glancing at the other infected people and back at the doctor, Jared’s eyes widened in realization and disbelief, “Wait… It can’t be what I think, right…?”

‘What did Louis refer to these people earlier?’

Doctor Alister, who had stopped convulsing, stared up at the boys. Although his body began to turn pale and his veins began to darken, the doctor was able to mutter threatening, “I’ll… r-rip… you two… a… ack…. apart… If it’s the last… Gahhh!”

‘This can’t be real… I mean, such things only exist in video games…’

Both of the boys took a tentative step back.

“Z-zombie…” Jared stammered as he backed against a pillar.

‘What do I do now? Is this the end?’

“Come, Jared! We have to go!” Louis yelled as he shoved at Jared to run towards the fire escape.

Even though Jared was reeling from the new revelation, he complied and instantly ran full speed toward the green exit sign that glowed slightly above the doorway. As adrenaline pumped in his veins, Jared did not slow down and burst through the fire escape threshold--- nearly falling over from the momentum. Catching himself by holding onto the fire escape door, Jared staggered and leaned against the door as he regained his balance.

*Click*

Jared then turned back and gasped. Louis was only a couple of feet behind, but his friend was not alone.

Louis was struggling to fend off the doctor from biting him. At the same time, more of the zombies can be heard shuffling closer to where the boys were. It was probably a matter of seconds before the zombies turned around the corner and caught sight of the boys. By then, it will be all over.

Looking around frantically, Jared grabbed a decorative vase that was two feet in height. The vase was heavy but Jared continued to half-carry and half-drag. Once close enough to the very distracted doctor, Jared mustered all the strength he could and swung the vase as hard as he could at the doctor’s head.

There was a skull-shattering crack as the vase broke and the doctor slumped heavily onto the ground. Louis rolled out from under the doctor and wobbled to his feet.

“Thanks, Jared. Come, let’s go.”

Then suddenly from the corner of Jared’s line of sight, he saw a quick movement.

"Louis, watch out!" Jared yelled but was not fast enough with the warning as the doctor reached out for Louis again. However, this time around, Louis moved quickly and narrowly missed the doctor's grasp.

Once the boys have passed through the fire escape threshold, Jared attempted to shut the door but for some unforeseen circumstance, the door was stuck in place.

"Wha-"

"The door's retainer is engaged," Louis said as he tapped at the bottom of the door with his foot.

*Click*

Once the door’s retainer was disengaged, Jared immediately rushed to shut the door- slamming it straight at the doctor’s face. Only a groan was heard as the--- now presumably undead--- doctor began to scrape and thud repetitively against the door.

Although the door was already locked, Jared continued to hold on tightly to the door knob. Seeing a few broomsticks stacked up against a wall, Louis grabbed a couple and shoved the items in between the fire door closer.

“The door is locked now. Not even an uninfected person will be able to open the door unless they have the right tools. I don’t think that anybody will be able to walk past the horde outside… Also, I don’t think that zombies are capable of opening doors,” Louis said as he placed an assuring hand on Jared’s whitening knuckles, “You can let go now.”

“Ah… Yes…”

There was a moment of dreaded silence as the boys stared warily at the locked door. However, aside from the shuffling and groans that sounded from the other side of the door, there was no rattling at the doorknob nor was there any thumping against the door anymore.

‘So, looks like once a person has completely turned into a zombie, they lose their ability to think…’ Jared thought as he exhale a sigh of relief he did not know he was even holding.

“Let’s go,” Jared said to Louis who nodded.

In a matter of a few more minutes, the doors on every floor were locked. Upon securing the stairway of the fire escape, the boys then circled back to the third floor. However, as they reached for the door of the third floor, there were distant screams and shouts. 

The boys shared a solemn look before Louis reached out for the door and opened it. However, they were met with an unnerving silence. The boys immediately crouched as they surveyed their immediate surroundings but there was not a single person in sight. Jared was about to take a step into the hallway when Louis raised up his arm to block Jared.

“Wait…” Louis warned quietly.

Not long after Louis’ warning, another distant scream was heard from the other end of the hallway.

"Is that coming from the recreational area?" Jared whispered.

"Yes. Whatever happens, be ready to flee, okay?" Louis whispered back.

"...Do you think that Samantha is in there?"

“I don’t know, but no matter what happens, only look after yourself, okay?”

Jared hesitantly and very slightly nodded.

Louis’ eyebrows furrowed and he suppressed a growl, “Promise me, Jared. Don’t endanger yourself for anyone. Not even for me or Samantha…”

“I…” Jared sighed resignedly, “I promise…”

“Hey! You’re both here!”

The boys jumped in surprise at a familiar voice. Jared half-yelped while Louis narrowed his eyes.

“Samantha,” Louis said grumpily.

“Shhh… They’ll hear you,” Samatha said as she turned around to ensure they were alone.

“They? Are there zombies over there?” Jared asked as he pointed toward the recreational area.

“No… It’s just a few patients, but it’s utter chaos in there. I think a couple of them saw the zombies outside attacking people… So, you know… The patients started acting out the scene they saw and there was no stopping them. Things just escalated from there and they’re hurting each other now. We need to sedate them before it becomes a bloodbath and someone gets fatally injured…”

“Why were the other patients up and about? Isn’t it about 2am now? Shouldn’t they’ve been locked in their respective rooms?” Louis asked in an interrogative manner.

“I could ask you the same question,” Samatha retorted.

However, Louis crossed his arms and silently stared at Samantha with an eyebrow lifted. It was not long before Samantha relented.

“Hah… Yes, that is true. I actually have no idea how they’d managed to leave their rooms. Usually, the orderlies will unlock the doors for the ‘more behaved’ patients around 7am. I’ve no idea who had done it… And once the doors were unlocked, I guess that the patients were awoken to the chaos and ruckus that was taking place outside the facility…”

“Strange... We’ll have to look into this later on. For now, do you have the sedative drugs on you?” 

“Yes.”

“Good. One more thing before we go. Did you manage to seal off all of the exits on the East Wing?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, let’s go sedate some patients,” Louis said as he strode towards the recreational area--- no longer prudent in his movement as he passed the rooms that lined up along the hallway.

Samantha just sighed and shook her head before following suit. 

***

To say the least, sedating the patients was equally maddening and chaotic. It took the trio approximately more than an hour before peace was finally restored. After that, it took another half an hour to drag the five unconscious patients to their respective rooms before locking them in.

“Phew… Thanks, guys… I couldn’t have done it without the help,” Samantha said.

“You’re welcome. By the way, did you come across any other orderlies?”

“No, how about you? I haven’t seen Doctor Alister, and the entire sixth floor seemed empty.”

“He…” Jared hesitated.

“Yes? What is it?” Samatha prompted, but the words seemed stuck in Jared’s throat.

“He was bitten. He’s a zombie now,” Louis answered in a very matter-of-fact manner.