Warning:

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

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"Is that man... I mean... Look at his injuries... He can't be alive, right?" Samatha asked. 

"This is not normal..." Jared mumbled in disbelief as he backed away from the window. 

"He is the undead," Louis replied solemnly. 

Feeling a wall behind him, Jared leaned against it and slide down onto the cold, tiled floor. 

"You mean a zombie? That's a joke, right?" Samatha asked. 

"Unfortunately, that's the reality of our situation. That's a zombie and the apocalypse is upon us."

“I… Hah…” Samantha looked outside the window toward the zombie-- who was now joined by a couple of others that were of similar conditions-- before turning back to face Louis, “What were you doing here anyway? You were supposed to be asleep.”

“Hm. That will be my little secret~” 

Despite Louis’ teasing tone, he held a serious expression. Even so, Samantha was unaware of the change in behavior in Louis.

“You know what, I don’t even care. You’re such a-”

'This can't be happening...' Jared's breath began to turn ragged.

Samantha and Louis began to yell at each other, but Jared was unable to discern the words. There was a persistent ringing in his ears as he continued to contemplate his situation.

'What happens if I die here? Will I return to my world or will I permanently cease to exist?'

Samantha and Louis cast a worried glance toward Jared. Louis gestured for Samantha to head toward the end of the hallway on the left. Samantha only hesitated a second before leaving the boys by themselves.

"Jared," Louis called out as he kneeled in front of Jared who was still lost in his own thoughts.

'But if dying works, I should have been back in my own world weeks ago when Doctor Heine unintentionally caused my heart to stop beating for a few minutes... So, does that mean that this world is a new reality that I’ll have to live in? ...or do I have to stay dead permanently in order to return to my world?'

"Jared!" Louis lightly tapped at Jared's cheek repeatedly, "Jared! Pull yourself together! There isn't much time, and we need to seal up every door and window!"

'Whatever it is, this is my reality now. I need to survive to find a way back home- whether or not I actually need to die... or simply accomplish some hidden mission...'

"Jared-"

"Yes, I'm with you. Sorry for being in a daze," Jared replied hastily.

"That's okay. I totally get it. Now-" Louis said as he pulled Jared up to stand, "You're coming with me. Samantha has already left to seal off all the doors that can access the fire escape on the East Wing. I had the elevators jammed before I came to see both of you... We just need to seal the facility’s entrance on the first floor."

The boys began to run towards the fire escape on the West Wing located at the other end of the hallway.

"Oh. One more thing, Jared."

"Yes?"

"Brace yourself. Things may get very ugly. Stay alert, and don't be a hero."

***

It took the boys longer than expected despite only descending two flights of stairs. Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs and just inches away from the door that exited the fire escape, Louis gestured for Jared to stop.

Taking note of the worried expression on Louis’ usually calm face, Jared did not attempt to question his friend’s abruptness.

“Jared-” Louis began before muffled screams were heard.

Instinctively, Jared began to back away from the door. However, before Jared could get any further, Louis grabbed his arm and held him firmly on the spot.

“I know that you’re frightened, but I need to know that you have my back if things were to go awry. This is the reception area and anyone- or anything, in this case- will be able to enter the facility. I need to ensure that the collapsible barricade gate has fully descended and check if it can be manually removed from its hinges. It won’t be ideal if more infected people were to break in and cause a future incident.”

“Yes, I have your back…”

“Good…” Louis trailed off when he noticed a couple of mopsticks propped up in a pail against a corner at the bottom of the stairs. Louis then grabbed one mopstick for himself and passed the other to Jared.

‘Just pretend that this is still a VR game… though I’m no longer certain of that…’ Jared thought as he gripped tightly at the mopstick to the point that his knuckles were turning white. Although the ringing from earlier had quietened down quite a bit, his heart beat frantically. The muffled shouts and screams did not help the situation at all.

Louis placed an assuring hand on Jared’s shoulder.

“This may sound selfish, but your life is the most important. I’ll do my best to protect you, but you must be ready to flee at a moment’s notice. If I ask you to run, you run- no questions asked. Do not get bitten by anyone or you’ll get infected. If you see a person covered in blood, do not approach or attempt to help- no matter how much they may scream or beg. Do you understand?”

“...Yes.”

“Okay, get ready. We’ll go in 3, 2, 1!”

The moment the fire escape door was forcefully pushed wide open, Jared gasped at the scene that played in front of him.

It was utter chaos.

People were screaming and fleeing for their lives. Some were brutally attacking others. It was just constant movement and blood everywhere. There was no way of knowing which of these people were infected without moving closer to the potential victims. 

“Oh God! Someone, please help me!” a woman screamed as she fend off a teenager who was struggling to bite at her face.

Like a deer caught in the headlights, Jared felt rooted to the floor, unable to ignore the woman’s pitiful pleas nor give her assistance. However, before Jared could decide, two others jumped onto the woman and began ripping her apart. Her arms flailed helplessly as she fought for her life. It was not long before her screams gurgled and eventually ceased. 

“T-They killed her…” Jared stammered in disbelief.

The woman was only one amongst the many. There was no distinction between the young and old, the healthy or the sick. Even the orderlies who initially attempted to stop the visitors and patients from attacking each other have inadvertently gotten injured or even killed. 

It felt like time had stopped as Jared watched the chaos that unfold in front of him.

“Jared! Come here!” Louis yelled as he dragged Jared towards the entrance, just missing a person who lunged at him.

“Pull the lever on the right side, and I’ll do the one on the left. The barricade wasn’t completely engaged by the system and we’ll have to do it manually,” Louis instructed and a loud clang was heard, indicating that the barricade was fully in place.

“Is it done?” Jared asked.

“Yes, that should hold and-”

A pair of hands pulled Jared towards the floor. It was a man dressed in a white coat. The little hair he had was disheveled and there was fear in his eyes, “Y-Young man, please help me. Take me with you. Don’t leave me h-”

Louis held on to Jared and kicked the man away.

“Jared, I told you to only care for your own safety. Come, we have to go!” Louis yelled.

“Please, I beg you! I… They didn’t get to me! Look!” the man frantically showed the boys his unscathed hands and neck, “There’s no scratch on me. So I’m not infected. Please help me.”

Louis continued to ignore the man as he half-ran and half-dragged Jared to the out-of-sight fire escape door.

“Oh yeah… How did I forget the stairs being located here?” the man mumbled softly.

Realizing that the man would only be attracting attention to the boys’ location, Louis abruptly stopped and turned around to face the man.

“Hah… I really don’t want to kill you but don’t force my hand,” Louis growled.

“K-Kill me? But why-”

“I saw the girl over there biting your leg,” Louis replied as he pointed to the man’s bloodied pants.

“N-No, you must have imagined it. I assure you, I’m completely fine!”

“Then show me your leg. It should be just above your ankle.”

The man suddenly quietened down.

“I’m still waiting, Doctor Alister,” Louis said in an irritated tone but silently pushed Jared behind, closer to the fire escape. Sensing that something was amiss with the man, Jared reluctantly complied.

“Ah… You’ve always been a smart boy. Oh, how I’ve loved and hated you. But why should you survive while I don’t?” 

The man then inhaled deeply before yelling as loud as possible. 

“There’s fresh meat here! If we use this staircase, there will be more than enough people to feast on!”

Dozen of groans and shuffling of feet was heard, as the infected approached where the boys’ were. Although the boys have not been sighted by the other infected, they knew that it was going to change in a matter of seconds. 

Pushing the doctor back with a mopstick, Louis turned towards Jared.

“RUN!”