Walking through the almost silent ward he went to check on his first patient Mary-Ann, he had given her that name as he thought it suited her well, she looked like an ex-girlfriend of his and that had been her name so it was completely suited to her. Her rounded swollen belly had been all his doing, a marvel of medicine a medical miracle all by his hands and well a few IVF injections. Leaning over to a small table with a screen and a small wand like device he moved it nearer to her, he then placed some jelly like fluid onto her belly and placed the wand onto it and searched on the monitor. Scanning her womb he could see how well her child, well his child was doing, he moved the wand in all directions until the picture on the screen showed him the heartbeat, he felt so elated that this miracle was happening it was truly breath taking. The real father would be so proud that his little swimmers and her egg had created this bundle of cells which had grown into something amazing but the real father was in no way coherent enough to understand what was going on, even if he was only in the next room. Yes Demetri’s own hands had helped create this miracle but the father, the donor was one of the main reasons this worked without him there would be no child. Although the father was in no fit state to see the mother he was still alive and thriving, his home was one of the large glass tube incubators which kept him asleep so Demetri could try and work his magic and make him even better so the child would have a father to be proud of not some snivelling nitwit that couldn’t protect it but he still had a few weeks till the child was due so he had plenty of time to fix him up. Turning the wand he tried to look for the brain on the screen finding it he smiled to himself, perfect! The brain was just perfect even the slight shadowing in the frontal lobes from where the infection sat was marvellous, he knew this had to be it the key to making the superhuman he so wished for. This must mean that the child had managed to adapt with the infection and now hopefully he could use it to its full advantage, he wanted very much to control the infection, to use the rage and the anger for his own personal agenda but he wouldn’t know if it had completely worked until the miracle was born.
He felt a rush of accomplishment flow through his veins, he knew that no one that was alive and stupidly normal would ever truly understand what it was he had just achieved, the few doctors and nurses that had originally survived with him in the early days had called him crazy, that the people he helped were abominations that he couldn’t play god with human life like he was doing but he knew that one day he would rule this world with his incredible army of super humans and the funny thing was where were all those doctors and nurses now? In his test tubes, on the maternity beds and hanging in the freezers as extra meat for his experiments, who was laughing now? He was and he knew that they had become his great first patients, he had heard the young girl and boy that travelled with his new patient call them Screechers so he knew that they had their own name now, they had been past experiments no longer on the production line but what he made now was better, stronger, faster and more elite but they were his firsts and he would always treasure them.
Turning off the machine and wiping the jelly solution from Mary-Ann’s bump he left her in peace to rest, he quickly looked over the other beds making sure they were all comfortable before he decided to check in on the men’s ward. Upon entering he felt like nothing could dampen his day, tapping on the keypad monitoring all the men’s stats he looked over them with a watchful eye, he was very pleased with his old colleagues progress in the incubator he was really starting to turn a corner with his infection, he looked like any other human not like the others where their skin was peeling off and their jaws crumbling away no this man was still human looking, yet again another miracle by his hands. Snickering to himself he turned away when something caught his eye and did put a damper on his day, the air vent in the corner of the room was hanging open which it hadn’t been earlier, he had made sure up here all the vents were closed and locked, this meant that the little red haired rats had gotten out and were trying to steal from him again. Thinking about it he shook his head why hadn’t he thought of it before, the little brats had obviously been sent by Toni and her team back in London, he knew they wouldn’t risk coming here themselves they were too important trying to create the cure but they could send brats, brats that would try to look innocent and infiltrate his home to steal the answers that Toni so desperately needed to make her cure.
“Don’t you think you can steal it from me and get away with it, you can report back to Toni that I am the better surgeon, that I am the better doctor and that I, Doctor Demetri Hercules Matthias is the better scientist and that she is the failure in this world. I will find you brats and I will turn you both into something rancid and horrid and post you back to her so you can devour her in front of everyone!” He screamed into the air knowing the red haired rats would be near enough to hear it.
As expected no noise echoed back to him but then Toni would have trained them good, she would have trained them well enough not to talk, not to make a noise unless to lure him into a trap, she would have made sure they wouldn’t get caught but she was the stupid one to underestimate him. He headed towards his office which was at the end of the maternity ward, swishing through the door he lunged at his computer to check the CCTV, using the controls he searched the monitors for any sign of movement. A blur of movement caught his attention down at A n E, damn they moved fast. Sighing he decided to leave them for now he couldn’t miss his chance at getting the new patient before she moved on too far out of his zone. They would be nearing the shopping centre anytime soon and he needed to make sure that he got the right friend to greet them when they searched the place, then he would make his move and take her and maybe if he felt like it dispose of her two companions as they would probably only get in the way and try to harm her later on.
~
The rain was soon subsiding as we reached the blown up entrance to the shopping centre, a crooked sign let me just about see that this place had once been called ‘Churchill Square’. Darren signalled for me to keep watch as him and Monique lifted a large plank of wood off a hole that hid a small gloomy staircase, I noticed that a blue star had been sprayed on the wood as if to signal something.
“What’s the artwork for?” I asked them as I lowered my gun when they dropped the wood over the top of our heads to conceal us in the gloom.
“It’s so we know where we have and haven’t looted, we have been halfway through this bit before but not all the way so there should be some decent supplies. Last time we came we took out a few creatures and a Screecher but stay alert as more might have turned up now”, he said taking out his torch and lighting the way ahead of us.
I didn’t like this place it gave me the creeps, the torch light only enhanced the creepy look of the place casting eerie shadows in corners of rooms, behind boxes and amongst broken crumbling walls. Keeping close to the other two they checked out the store room for one of the shops making sure it was safe before we ventured out into the main centre. As Monique turned to check I was still with them I tried to hide the grim look on my face that would give away that I was terrified of this place, I knew there was no way in hell when I was on my own that I would have come here looking for food or supplies, I would much rather chance it in the woodland and hunt for food and forage for berries and fruits. I had learnt from experience these places were trouble, not just from the obvious threat of the creatures but also because of the unstable building supports that could collapse at any time. But both Darren and Monique seemed rather calm about being in here, even the slight groaning from the building didn’t alert them to any possible problems or threats. After searching every crack and crevice in here they opened the door to the main shop floor, I aimed the gun out into the shop but saw nothing other than the mannequins staring at us from their modelling catwalks and I was a little happier here as the ceiling had been broken in places so natural light was pouring in, along with the cold, wet rain but it was nicer on the eye than the freaky torch light. Exploring the shop I decided to stock up on some
much needed clothes a new coat would do nicely especially now the rainy season had fallen upon us. Searching through the rails I found one that would fit the bill, it was a small lightweight anorak which was black and grey, it wasn’t the prettiest of coats but it would keep me dry and when not needed I could pack it away in my bag without bulking it out too much and making it too heavy to run. Two large pockets sat either side which would be good for storing ammo and my knife for quick attacks instead of having it all in my bag, well that was if I ever found any more ammo I was starting to run low, I just hoped this supposed gun shop we were going to after here would be stock full to the brim with ammunition. Taking my bag I folded the coat up as small as possible and placed it inside along with a clean top and some underwear, it weighed the bag down a little but not too noticeable wriggling around with it on I could feel that I would still be able to run ok. I then quickly grabbed some dry clothes as I was soaked and uncomfortable, quickly changing into them I forgot I had people with me.
“You ready yet?” Monique asked impatiently, maybe she didn’t like it here as much as she let on.
“Yeah thanks just coming”, I said pulling a dry new hooded top over my head and lifting the rifle as we all headed to the main shop front.
Darren bent down grasping the bottom of the metal gate which had slid down to shut the shop, it made a horrendous teeth shattering noise as he lifted it. Climbing underneath we ended up on a long walkway which was actually the middle floor of the shopping centre, the floor below us was full of dust, water and a few skeletons, the upper floor looked to be inaccessible due to the roof caving in and blocking off the stairs, it also had cut the place in half, I could see what they meant when they said they could only explore a small section at a time. The probably once nice looking building had been at one time painted a fresh white with benches and the occasional plant life to brighten it up but now it looked dirty, tattered and in ruins.
“Where to now?” I asked in a hushed voice.
“I think there is an old supermarket below us, don’t know how much stuff it will have as people did steal from it when the war and rations were on but might have a few odd bits. And we need to find a way down”, Monique said.
Looking around I spotted a darkened corner hidden by a shop and some rubbish, there looked to be an old exit sign which was no longer lit up, maybe there were some stairs there, “What about there”, I pointed.
“Let’s take a look but be on guard, this place is sometimes teeming with creatures and other times there might be nothing”, she said to me.
Nodding we then ventured towards the darkened corner, once there we found two lifts but they were not in any working order, next to them were some stairs but I didn’t jump for joy at the sight of them as they were dripping in blood, fresh blood. I saw the colour drain from Darren’s already pale face, waiting a few seconds to see if anything was going to jump out we then slowly made our way down, Darren at the front with his blade, me in the middle and Monique at the back with her blade, something was screaming at me to just leave that this was a mess we didn’t need to get into but I carried on regardless as we really could use some more food. Coming out by the lifts and some double doors which led to the bottom floor I noticed how the blood was even more exaggerated here due to the water making it spread out more running like a red river, the blood swirling and curving around the broken debris. The double doors were hanging off their hinges and were smothered in a thick film of the blood and other bodily fluids, I thought I could even make out a clump someone’s hair that might have been scalped off their head. Shivering I tried to peek through into the outer area but I couldn’t see what was making all this blood or what had caused it.
“Hey look guys I don’t like this I think we should go”, I said voicing my concern.
Monique who had moved in front held her fingers to her lips at me to keep quiet.
“What is it?” Darren whispered.
“Just a creature”, she said getting her blade ready, she lowered herself into a stance and quietly moved through the double doors, she reached up behind the creature before jumping up and slamming her blade into its raw and shredded neck, it howled in frustration before falling to the floor in a pool of its own blood but something didn’t look right, that was the only blood on the creature, yes its neck looked infected and raw but the fresh blood on the floor and the doors hadn’t come from this monster, it had come from something else.
Just as I thought it I heard it, a hard rough breathing coming from the shop front nearest us, it was a Screecher and it had sniffed out Monique she turned to see it just as it opened its mouth to scream, lifting my rifle I didn’t have time to aim properly I just shot luckily blasting the abomination in the face taking its head clean off its shoulders before the scream even exited its lipless mouth. Blood and brain matter exploded all over the walls nearest and a little sprayed over Monique who looked shocked but thankful that none of us had been deafened, god knows what we would have done if all of us had been rendered useless down here. Listening we waited to see if any more blood thirsty things would be awaiting us but nothing else came out.
“Come on let’s get this done”, She tried to sound strong but there was a waiver to her voice that told me she was a little more on edge now than before.
As we hurried down past some shops I noticed how the long trail of blood seemed to be going in the same direction as us, it looked so fresh like within the past few hours fresh and how had I not noticed it from upstairs when I looked down? But then again I hadn’t really looked down that far so would I have noticed it? Looking up to where we had stood just a few minutes ago I froze as a mass of dark hair blurred out of my vision, panicking I scooped up my gun and looked through the scope to get a closer look at…nothing. Whatever it was had gone, turning to the stairs we had come from I aimed waiting but no one or nothing came down.
“What’s wrong?” Darren asked me.
“I thought I saw someone upstairs”, I replied.
He then looked up, “Maybe it was a bird or something some animals have gotten in here before”.
Nodding I felt shocked that he wasn’t more worried, we had just killed two monsters in less than two minutes and now he was thinking it might be an animal, I had a feeling it was human and that someone or something was watching us, waiting for the right moment to ambush us.
“Hey look don’t think you’re the only one that see’s things, before when I’ve been here I could have sworn I saw a doctor in a white lab coat running around, I chased after him through the halls and came to a dead end, a dead end with no possible exits. This world makes you fear things that aren’t even there, don’t worry ok”, he smiled trying to reassure me.
“Yeah thanks”, I replied but I knew something was wrong and I was going to go with my gut on this one. As we walked I kept looking back to make sure nothing was sneaking up on us, I was going to prove I wasn’t mad that something was there.
“Why do you guys come down here if you hate it so much? Plus with the added surprise dangers I would have thought it too risky”, I asked.
“We need food to survive and this place might have some”, Monique replied to my question.
“Why not just move on to somewhere safer, why not try and hunt and live off the land?” I asked them both.
“Where is safer than here?” she asked me, “You find it, you tell me and maybe even then I won’t go”.
“Plus I don’t know the first thing about hunting animals”, Darren laughed.
“You hunt the Creatures and the Screechers, what’s the difference? You hunt and you kill it’s the same”, I said pointing out the obvious to them.
“Maybe it’s the same to you but I think hunting an animal is different from a monster”, Monique snapped.
“How so?” I asked her.
“Killing a monster is in the heat of the moment it’s a kill or be killed moment with an animal it’s not, its food but not life and death”, She said.
“Isn’t it?”
I replied, “I think it is, you don’t eat you die, you don’t kill a monster you die, same thing”.
She huffed and stormed further in front of me, I didn’t understand her whole reason for not wanting to leave this City. Yes hunting an animal might seem cruel and harder than a creature due to their speed and bouncy life but it was all for survival, what was her problem with it?
We reached the old supermarket, another metal gate had fallen blocking any entry to it but once again Darren jumped to the task of opening it for us ladies, crawling under Monique then shoved an old trolley under the gate so it wouldn’t fall back down in case we needed a quick exit. Glass crunched underfoot as we made our way down the aisles searching for anything left that might be edible, the shop was so quiet and dark, a smell of rotten food flooded my nose as I passed the fresh meat section all of it was so far gone it was just mulch. The others turned on their torches to light their paths, I grabbed mine from my bag and used it to search the shelves, there was a little light coming from a broken window at the end of the store but it wasn’t enough to search in. Walking down one of the many trashed aisles I looked through, I found two packs of biscuits they might be a little stale but at least it was something, moving onto the next section I didn’t find much other than empty crisp packets and smashed up wine bottles, the next row was a little more satisfying, a bag of rice, a packet of noodles and some kids juice. When I met back up with the other two they had also found a few little things, Monique had found a couple of chocolate bars, a box of cereal and a can of fizzy pop and Darren had found a packet of pasta and sauce. Not too bad for a whole large supermarket to loot. The sight made my stomach growl but I knew we would have to go carefully with it all, we didn’t want to eat it too early on and then have nothing when we really needed it.
Alone Page 8
