Alone

by Prunty, Mercedes

  The walls around me had the paint peeling off, the plaster work had blown bowing the walls in strange angles and then there was the new décor of the bloodied handprints going up the walls and the lines of blood where bodies had been dragged across the floor following the strangely coloured paths that the hospital staff had used to navigate around the maze of a building. This all showed me how truly horrifying it must have been at a hospital when the acid rain had first hit the country, the poor people that would have been admitted and the even poorer doctors and nurses trying to help them only to have their own throats ripped clean out. Now this place was just an empty shell echoing nothing and everything.

  Keeping an eye and ear out for the doctor I reached the maternity ward, I peered through the window of the double doors just to check it was mostly Creature free. When deciding it was as safe as I was going to get it I ran through the ward passing all the sleeping expectant mothers, bashing through the door to his office slamming it shut behind me and this time pushing a chair up against the handle to hold him back if he did come a wondering this way, at least it would give me a chance to aim and fire at him. I turned to his CCTV equipment on the desk and checked the cameras, most were on other than the floor of the broken generator. I tried to see if I could spot him on any of the other floors but he had turned most of them to look at the vents, turning away I snatched up my rifle and my bag quickly checking all my things were still there which they were.

  I was feeling much better with the weight of the gun in my hands. As I turned to where the paperwork had been something new caught my eye, he must have come back here at some point as a metallic grey box had been placed near the vials of liquid. I opened the box to find more vials inside but these were not full of the same liquid that was in the others, it had no colour and to the untrained eye would look just the same as water but on closer inspection I could see small bubbles which shimmered a yellow when the moonlight hit it. The glass holding the mixture looked very solid and the tops had been sealed with a strange screw lock, at the bottom was a small bolt which could be unscrewed so a syringe needle could be attached to make it so the mixture could be injected into someone. There were six of these weird vials all placed in a grey spongy foam surround to keep them protected when the case was closed.

  Looking away from the strange substance I took out the map from my pocket quickly scanning it trying to place all the information I needed to memory, starting with this floor I looked following his weird drawing of the layout, there seemed to be another room or a different part to the ward which could only be reached by ladder, must be some sort of roof access or maintenance shaft to the lifts, well whatever it led to the generator was there. The next generator on the floor below looked to be in an operating theatre placed inside a storage or side room, the floor below that he had labelled his ‘invention centre’ which I didn’t like the sound of, if he had the maternity ward upstairs for his weirdness what on earth was he creating down there? Unlucky for me this generator was placed right at the other end of the ward next to a room labelled ‘Hercules’ Room’. Shivering slightly I remembered the image of the monster that had attacked us at the shopping centre, taking away Monique and wreaking havoc by tearing floors down. That creature had been stupidly strong, almost like demi god strong like…Hercules! Was this where the doctor had created the beast and kept it? If it was what other horrors would I find down there? Sighing I took a look at the next and final floor but this one looked better, he had scribbled the words food level so maybe he had lots of food stashed there whether it be for human consumption or creature consumption I had to hope it would literally be just a storage and that no nasties were waiting for me to become their food. The last floor I didn’t bother to look at as I had already taken that one out.

  As I studied the map I then had a dilemma, what floor should I start with now? If I was to take out this ward first would all the women give birth to their abominations and would they slither down the levels to attack me? Would all the male creatures wake from their slumber in their incubators, would they break free, sniff me out and come to the lower levels to kill me? Making up my mind I decided that I had to do this floor last as I couldn’t risk all those things waking up to come find me, plus if it came to it I would just have to forget this floor and just hope that if I take out the doctor that they would all just wither away and die on their own.

  I was about to leave when a word on a bit of paper I hadn’t noticed before caught my attention, my eyes widened at the words written in black and white…CURE!

  Cure? Could there really be a cure to all this mess? Could there now be a light and the end of this never ending dark tunnel? My fingers trembled as I fumbled at the papers…

  ‘So Toni thinks she is the only one who could be the brain child of a cure for this infection, well she is wrong! So very wrong indeed because I Dr Demetri have found one, not entirely by choice but by chance. Although I have to admit I’m not thinking of putting it into production for the mass market as I quite prefer the world this way. The creatures are certainly more welcoming and happy to see you, their faces light up as soon as I walk in the room, unlike the horrible humans that once roamed these halls. I know that if I decided to sell it I would become a very rich man but where does money get you now a days? There is nowhere to spend it! I have decided to keep notes and a small sample of my cure in case the day arose that I changed my mind but I know in my heart of hearts that my mind is set on creating my army of warriors that will protect me forever onwards.’

  His words were crazy, mental even, if he had been like this before the war which I considered he might have been why hadn’t he been locked in a mental asylum? He should not have been roaming around a hospital and left to be allowed to wreak havoc on the poor survivors that stumbled across this place. He so desperately wanted to rule the world with his infested creations, he wanted the humans under him so he could be what? The King of all things terrifying! Scanning on I tried to find something that would make sense to me.

  ‘Finding out about the cure was simply by mistake, I decided to study the premature child I created to see what its cells could tell me about why it didn’t survive and if it had what it would have been like. Taking some of its stem cells I looked at them through a microscope and I saw something strange, the cells were trying to repair themselves, even though I had originally thought the child had adapted to the infection in fact it was trying to fix the problem. Some of these cells even managed to completely push the virus out of themselves, which had an effect on all of them making the ones that did still have it being forced to one side and lying dormant, but this meant the infection was still there ready and waiting to come alive again which it did when the other cells were damaged. But and a big but I added a few chemicals to the equation which made these cells stronger wiping out the virus completely with no way it can come back even when the cells are damaged. So I decided to do a trial run I have kept quite a few creatures on one of the lower levels normally to feed my creations but there was one, a pathetic excuse of a man called David who was one of the last of my team to turn by my own hand of course, well I injected some of this mixture into him and within hours he began to look almost human again, I kept him alive for a further month to see what might become of him and he was fully cured, his mind was lost due to being turned for so long but he no longer hungered with the rage, he didn’t attack and could even do simple commands. I found him impeccably boring so fed him to Hercules who was most pleased. Of Course I cannot conclude that this cure will last forever but it seemed to work and to be honest I don’t know whether the stem cells can be used from any infant or just those of my special variety. It may even be due to the drugs I had to inject the expectant mother with to keep her body functioning even when she wasn’t, its best to knock the mother out due to the extremities of the unborn child as it can in fact kill the mother in late term as the child can pierce organs or even slice its way out so I have to harden the womb to cope with the stress. I have written b
elow all the drugs, blood works, chemicals and design work so I cannot forget what I managed to make. Funny really as Toni always told me I couldn’t play god but she is so wrong, I am god, I give life and I can take it away isn’t that what a god does? I will make her bow down before me when I rule this world and she will tend to my every need. I will make her pay for not wanting me, for not choosing me as her lover and choosing that stupid male nurse, a male nurse oh yes how manly for a woman like her, not like me a celebrated surgeon, a doctor, a life giver! What a truly stupid wench I will show her...’

  I couldn’t read anymore as it went into vivid detail on what he would do to this poor woman if he ever found her again, his words so vile and sickening, he needed disposing of and soon.

  The fact that he didn’t want it used because of his own greed to make the world his made my blood boil he was meant to be a doctor, someone of the medical profession, someone who was meant to help and save people but instead he was a living nightmare, a modern day Dr Frankenstein. Grabbing the papers I shoved them into my bag hoping one day I might find a doctor or scientist who might be willing to create the cure for all the right reasons.

  I then turned my attention to the case next to the papers taking a closer look at the vials I noticed they had been labelled ‘Stem cells, child A’. I slammed the case shut concealing the stem cells, locking the two special clips at each end I then placed that too in my bag doing it in such haste I almost didn’t hear the loud thunder like boom from outside. The whole building around me shook with the noise, the glass rattled in the frames threatening to fall out smashing on the streets below, the floor moved slightly making me lose balance and that’s when I knew how little time I had to execute my plan to stop Dr Death, this tower could collapse at any moment. Running to the window I looked out to see what had made the noise but all I could see from a small crack in a boarded up bit of glass was a plume of dust and smoke rising high in the sky, from what I couldn’t make out a building must have come down or exploded but there were no flames just dust, smoke and rubble.

  Sighing I slung my bag over my shoulder then holding my rifle which felt so right to be back in my hands I turned for the door, I felt ready for this or as ready as I ever was going to feel.

  As I raced to the door something caught my attention on one of the screens, taking a closer look I spotted Sian and Ollie charging out from a vent cover on the floor called the invention level looking disorientated and scared, running off away from the camera I looked to see if what scared them would show itself and it did, Dr Death, holding a handgun he laughed silently over the noiseless monitors before looking up at the camera winking and shooting the camera down. I jumped as the screen went blank, how did he know I was here watching? Was he only chasing the kids in the hope that I would come to their rescue? Knowing that he probably had some evil plan awaiting me at the invention level I moved quickly checking my rifle was armed and ready before opening the door and heading out to find them.

  ~

  Monique ran past another group of the creatures, she and Darren had always thought it weird that the city didn’t seem to be home to many of them yes the bombs had demolished a lot of the city but there were still hiding places all over the city but to her astonishment this was where all the creatures had hidden. They congregated like teenagers in places they shouldn’t, always in the deepest darkest corners. Thinking she would be safe in a certain room would soon be shattered by a random howl or cry from one of the twisted evil things in the shadows. Luckily she hadn’t seen big foot for a while, not knowing whether that was a good or a bad thing but she carried on regardless making her way through the damp maze like tunnels that went on for miles all underground.

  Breathing in the stale air was not much fun at first, this particular room was rotten to the core the smell of old raw sewage mixed with the smell of death and other shitty things made her want to gag but climbing deeper into the treatment works she soon found the water clearer and cleaner, splashing the fresher stuff over her boots so clean off any crap that she had trodden in. The air still tasted stale but with no hint of bodily fluids which she was thankful for. Climbing up a railing which had collapsed from the floor above she made her way up, keeping low and occasionally flashing the torch but not too much to attract the creatures if they were hiding nearby. Luckily being down here meant that her scent was masked by the power of poo and she didn’t worry too much about walking near ish them.

  Reaching the solid cement from the railing she looked around searching in the gloom for anything dangerous but nothing jumped out, scanning quickly with the torch she saw something on the wall, a poster, approaching it she realised it was a site map, someone had circled you are here, her eyes peeled at the map trying to find an exit then she spotted one which should land her at the beach not too far from the pier but it looked like a small trek from her current position. She dug her nails behind the paper on the wall and pulled it away from the slimy brickwork, folding it away in her pocket she started for the exit, then froze as she heard a groan along with some footsteps which vibrated the floor around her, great big foot was back.

  Turning off the torch, Monique tiptoed to the edge of the railing looking down to see the huge bulking monster crash through a wall that stood in its way, the creature cried out in fury throwing concrete around the large room just missing where Monique stood. She didn’t have time to think as the creature sniffed the air turning its head in her direction, it threw up its arms in a rage, howling a blood curdling cry before charging at the walls below where she stood. The vibrations knocked her off balance but she jumped up quickly launching herself forward and taking off at a sprint into the unknown that was ahead of her, she so desperately needed to come up with an idea to get rid of this monster for good, it seemed to know where she was even when she hadn’t seen the beast for a while, it just sort of sensed her.

  Her feet pounded heavily on the damp concrete flooring, dodging fallen bricks, rails and even the odd body which blocked her path. She took to the flight like a powerful bird of prey locking onto something in the distance aiming for it and taking her body to its limit to reach it before locking onto the next object, ploughing on Monique cascaded broken walls like a wall jumper, jumping to the one the other side of the room just as the huge creature dug its claws into the cement beneath her feet and tearing it apart like a knife to butter. Her breath coming in ragged gasps she tried to keep going but she desperately needed to take a break, vanishing into the silence of a shadowed corner not bothering to check whether there were creatures there but luckily there was nothing she stopped catching her breath. The Creature howled in dismay as it failed to find her, it was stuck on the lower level and she was just out of reach…for the moment.

  Taking a look around she spotted a room which was just visible through a door which had been thrown off its hinges she saw something that might help her, a gas canister! And by the looks of the labelling on it, it was flammable. Whisking herself through the broken doorway into the new room she noticed the strange layout, down the bottom was what looked like a pool of water that calmly swished around, untouched the smell was a little off as the water had turned stagnant after sitting for so long but it didn’t hold any nasties or crap. The next layer up was a platform leading to…an EXIT! Her heart skipped a beat as the exit was so close to her it didn’t look that close on the map but then maybe it was another one an emergency exit, a ladder was situated above the platform ready and waiting for her to climb down to the escape she wanted. Getting to the platform though was not going to be an easy feat, the ladder from where she stood now had snapped away and the drop down to the platform she needed was too far, she would end up breaking her neck. Her eyes darting over the grey coloured walls falling on another door at the end of where she stood, next to it was a cloudy window which she couldn’t see into. Looking over the other side she saw another door leading out to the platform opposite which had an intact ladder if she could get over there she might be able to climb down it and smash
the ladder off so she could use it to climb across to the exit. Deciding that was her only choice she ran forward grabbing the small tank of gas and carrying it with her.

  Trying the door and cursing as it was locked she took to kicking it down and smashing her way through which wasn’t hard as she thought due to the door turning brittle, the room beyond the door was like a control centre, large machine controls operated something that she hadn’t seen or noticed yet, looking over some of the stickers that had been placed by the buttons she spotted that it controlled the water, a blue button read ‘OPEN’ a green one read ‘CLOSE’ and a red one read ‘ALARM’ disregarding them instantly she ventured to the other door which opened with ease. Running out she dropped down the gas canister as she needed her hands free for this. Taking to the ladder she climbed down reaching the platform opposite the one with the exit, she was so close she could taste the salty sea air at the back of her throat calling to her. Turning she grasped the ladder and began to pull at it trying to break it from its brackets so she could place it over the gap but it wouldn’t budge not an inch, frustration leaped from her throat in a strangled cry of pity for herself and anger at this whole situation, she didn’t blame Stacie but if she hadn’t come along she wouldn’t be down here trying to save her own ass but she couldn’t blame her for wanting to find her sister, she had done the same for him, for Tyrone but…Shaking the thought away as it was too painful she glanced down below her into the pool of water. There she noticed a dead body of what looked like a worker to this place, something twinkling made her double take though, leaning over the railing she peered down squinting her eyes trying to make out the shape of the silvery sparkle, a key, looking over to the exit she noticed a padlock tied to a chain connected to the wall, the worker may have been trying to escape but fell to his death, her theory looked correct when she noticed the ladder rusting away next to him and a few of the rungs stabbed through his skeleton, it looked as if the ladder had collapsed taking him with it. Monique knew she had to get down there to retrieve the key but how? And before big foot arrived would that even be possible?