Alone

by Prunty, Mercedes

  Scowling as he obviously had planned to lock me in he strolled past, pushing him forward with the barrel of my gun I quickly scanned the room, a huge metal operating table sat in the centre covered in old blood and other fluids, bags hung on drips with blood and saline, tools that had been used sat unclean on a tray. A row of cupboards lined one wall along with a huge sink with paper towels but in the corner of the room sat the incubator with poor little Ollie asleep inside, tubes had been attached to his body keeping him in his false unconscious state.

  “Get him out”, I ordered pushing again with the gun.

  “Yes miss”, the doctor said with a hint of humour. He went to a key pad and started pushing buttons, a huge smile crossed his face as I saw him slyly pull out a syringe filled with a dark fluid from the sleeve of his lab coat and stabbing it into a tube that was attached to the incubator and Ollie.

  “Stop it! Get him out now!” I demanded.

  “You stupid little girl you should of just tried yourself”, he snapped laughing, I watched in horror as the dark liquid began to enter the incubator I could see it travelling up the tube towards Ollie.

  “NOO!” I shouted taking aim at the toughened glass, the bullets chinked at the glass but it only shattered on the outside it didn’t make a bit of difference at the inside, panicking I ran to the key pad and smashed it with the gun taking my eyes off the crazy doctor who ran off out the room, the electric buzzed but it done nothing, the generator! I needed to turn it off. Speeding out the room I ran into the storage room charging full pelt at the machine I pulled the wire out and using the scalpel from earlier I cut it so he couldn’t re attach it. The thrum of the noise stopped suddenly and I was plummeted in the darkness, my heart screaming at me I ran back out into the corridor into pitch black, I felt my way along the wall to Hercules room, a red emergency light had come on in here giving me a distorted image of the incubator, the whirr of the machine had stopped and the light showed me enough to see that the incubator had stopped pumping the dark liquid up to him, just in time too as it had a few millimetres left to go. I then tapped on the glass trying to figure out how he had gotten him in but nothing no clues what so ever, the machine was sealed top to bottom and I couldn’t find a seam from the glass to show if it opened then closed to keep him in.

  Thud, thud, I jumped as the sight of Ollie’s little hands thumping of the glass to get my attention, he was pointing to his mouth as an air bubble escaped, shit turning the power off meant that the machine had stopped working to keep him asleep and that also meant the machine wasn’t breathing for him now either to keep him alive, he was going to drown. My hands shook as I tried to indicate to him if he knew how to open it but he shook his head.

  “What the hell am I going to do”, I said to myself looking around the room.

  Then an idea came to me what if I tipped it over would it smash? Maybe my bullet would have weakened it a little so the force of falling might just do it. I tried to tell him my idea but panic was eating him up as he thrashed around in the tube smacking the glass to get out for air, not waiting another second I pushed with all my strength it rocked a little but didn’t fall, again I pushed rocking it harder, not letting go I kept pushing it until the stand it was on crumbled under the pressure and it fell, CRASH!! The noise was ear splitting and nerve shattering, glass and water flooded the floor making deep puddles around the dips in the floor where the huge operating table sat, the weight of the Hercules beast must have been horrendous.

  Running to Ollie I cried out as blood too was in the water, “No”, I whispered had it crushed him to death?

  “Argh”, Ollie said coughing out water and spluttering, I pushed some glass off him and pulled him up.

  “Are you ok? Are you hurt?” I asked him looking him over.

  “I’m ok, I think I cut my hand though”, he said looking at his small palm. He had a nice neat slice, a big cut but not what I would consider life threatening, not now a days anyway.

  “Where’s Sian?” he asked me looking deep into my eyes, trying to look for comfort.

  “I don’t know”, I didn’t lie to him, he might be young but he needed to know how to handle things in this world, right? “Let’s go find her”.

  He nodded, “Ok”.

  Standing up I quickly checked him over as best as I could in the dim red safety light, I made a small tourniquet with a shred of material from my top around the wound on his palm to try and stem the bleeding then taking his hand we then headed out into the dark corridor, looking as hard as I could in the darkness I tried to see if anything was moving but nothing jumped out to me. Walking slowly holding his hand in one of mine and my rifle in the other we edged slowly down the tiled walkway, I tried to remember the way I had come before hopefully turning at just the right point back towards the lifts, that had been the way Sian had run so hopefully she was lying low until she saw us. Keeping my gun aimed I tried to check the dark rooms but it was useless, if Dr Death was waiting for us he would definitely have the upper hand over us now. Reaching the lift and stair lobby I could see the darkened lift only open by the table, the stairs too were dark but I knew the two floors above were lit up and the one below. Edging towards the stairs I heard something move inside the lift.

  “Sian?” I whispered desperately hoping it was her and not the doctor or any of his mates.

  “Stacie I’m in the lift, I saw the doctor go upstairs”, she replied.

  “Ok, you can come out we need to find a way out of here”, I said, knowing I couldn’t keep them here to execute my plan, we needed to go to save our own lives, to save theirs. We could maybe use the lifts to go down but then the doctor might expect that plus he could possibly cut whatever power he had to them midway down the shaft locking us in. I decided it might be better to go back in the vents and travel down the floors to near the exit and run like hell!

  “I can’t”, she replied.

  “What do you mean?” I asked her concerned.

  “I’m stuck, when I climbed in it went dark and I tripped then something fell on me, I can’t get out”, she said but she didn’t hold fear in her voice she still sounded strong.

  “Ok I’m coming in to get you ok”, I turned to Ollie whose eyes were wide with fear as the red light gleamed off them, “I need you to keep a look out ok, if he comes you run and hide again”.

  He nodded, “Don’t leave me though”.

  “I won’t leave you, we’re in this together”, I said to him ruffling his hair.

  The lift was so dark I couldn’t make out any of her movements, I could hear her voice when she spoke to me so I used that as a guide as I climbed in, the lift groaned with the new movement and I didn’t like the sound of it. Feeling my way in I tried to feel for her, “Speak Sian I can’t see you”.

  “Over here”, she said.

  Turning in her direction again I nearly fell over her, “You ok?”

  “Yeah my leg is caught under something”, she said taking my hand and leading it to the thing that held her in place.

  “Right I’m going to try and lift it, when I say move you go”, I said.

  “Sure”, she replied.

  Counting to five I slowly lifted the heavy metal object that was on her, “Go”, I said straining to hold it.

  I heard her move and gasp, “It hurts”. I could hear her move forward away from where she had been trapped but it wasn’t far.

  Dropping the metal thing down I tried to turn to her, “What your leg?” I asked.

  “Yeah think my ankle is twisted”, she said.

  “Right I’ll lift you up and you climb out I’ll be right behind you”, I said.

  She didn’t speak but just made a uh-huh noise.

  She limped and hissed as we made our way to the trolley type table thing that held the door open I tried lifting her up over it, she cried out, “I can’t I think my ankle is broken, you go first and pull me up”.

  I nodded even though she couldn’t see but I started to climb anyway, my mind whirred with how I
was going to get her out of this hell hole, with her hurt she was not going to be able to run from the doctor or any creatures but she could go back through the air vents back down the levels to the exit, somehow. Leaning on top of the table I put my arm down to grab her, “Sian grab a hold”.

  I felt her small hand grab mine, as I began to pull her up a strange noise echoed from above us, it sounded like a small explosion.

  “Quiet”, I hissed as we listened, then we heard it the lift next to us groaned and moved, a metal on metal grinding noise screeched in the separate shaft before starting to fall from where it sat, the cables that once held it up smacked the metal inside the lift shaft before a huge crash exploded from the floors below, time seemed to freeze as the noise rocketed up through the other floors. My mouth ran dry and I knew we had to get her out now! “Sian quickly get up now!” I knew she understood the urgency in my voice, the panic, her hand slipped from mine making me dive down to grab it again, “Grab my hand Sian, grab my hand”. I needed her to pull on my arm so I could pull her up too but she kept slipping as her palm was sweating, reaching my other arm down which I had been using to stabilise myself I grabbed her and pulled her up more, then we heard it the explosion above us, tugging at her arm quicker I tried to pull her up, “No come on, come on!” I heard the whizzing of the cables and the lift groaned.

  “Let go!” she cried out.

  “No I can’t leave you come on”, I cried back trying to pull her up but it felt like she was caught on something.

  “Stacie look after my brother”, she whispered before calling to her brother, “Ollie I love you”, her voice sounded heartbroken but I couldn’t let go so I kept hold of her then before I could react she bit my hand so hard I automatically reflexed and dropped her then before I knew it she had shoved the trolley I was on out of the way of the door making them slam shut. The screech of metal on metal made my teeth hurt as the lift grinded its way down, I could hear the metal cables snap and buckle hitting the sides of the lift shaft as it soared to the bottom of the building before too it exploded at the bottom.

  “NOOO!” I screamed, “SIAN!” Falling off the trolley I ran to the doors but it was too late, she was gone.

  My chest hurt suddenly as I felt it, the pain that riddled my body once before, the pain of losing someone I loved, but it wasn’t because I had loved her it was because I knew her brother did and that his heart would be breaking, I had promised myself I would save them and now… now she was gone, she was gone so she could save me as she knew I wouldn’t let go.

  “She did it so you could save me”, a small voice said behind me.

  “Ollie”, I whispered looking at him, “I’m so sorry”. I felt the tears come out and I couldn’t stop them, how could I be like this, Sian would never have allowed herself to breakdown in front of him and me I was meant to be the older one and I was crying when I should have been staying strong for him.

  “She…did….it…so…you…could…save…me!” he sobbed.

  “I will I promise I will get you out of here”, I said to him.

  He shook his head, “No she died thinking she needed to save me all the time but it was her that needed saving. I don’t need you I need her!” he cried turning and running into the darkness of the invention centre.

  “Ollie wait”, I said charging after him but after the first few steps I knew I would never find him, he seemed to know these floors a lot better than me. Trying to peer in the dark I couldn’t make out a thing I knew he was hiding but I couldn’t see where, “Meet me at the bottom near the exit in two hours Ollie I’m going to make sure the doctor hurts no one else, I’m going to get justice for Sian. If I’m not there by then go, run away.” I shouted to him hoping he would hear me.

  Clutching my gun tight I headed to the stairs ready to make the next two hours count in bringing the mad doctor down to his knees.

  ~

  Monique coughed back to life as an explosion in the distance woke her from her unconsciousness, sitting up she looked around at the pipe that had expelled her from the water works and into the sea, luckily the tide was out and she had landed on some rubbish that had collected there making it a soft ish landing.

  BOOM! Another explosion in the distance made her snap out of her daze, feeling fuzzy she felt lucky to be alive. Looking behind her in the pipe there was nothing but water coming out, was that creature finally dead? Hoping so she got up and scrambled to a side bank pulling herself up, she wasn’t too far from the pier near the marina, up above her were some steps that led up to a road and from the road it led up to the main dual carriageway back into the city. Clambering up to the first road she looked down towards the pier, huge columns lined a walkway which was actually a parking place, cars had been abandoned, some bodies which had crumbled to dust too lay next to the vehicles they had tried to flee in. There was a half smashed large Ferris wheel type thing that had given people fantastic views over the city it now loomed in ruins over the pier which looked smoky in the distance, shivering Monique charged up the steps to the main road, looking around she could see what had made the explosions, through the broken buildings she could see the hospital, flames licked at the top of the building where something had exploded, then at the bottom a dust cloud had plumed where something had exploded there too.

  “Darren, Stacie?” she whispered, “Could that be you?” Not waiting around for another second she set off at a run towards the now burning hospital.

  ~

  My breath was raspy with rage as I headed up from the lower food floor, it had been labelled that on the map but was not what I had expected at all, food maybe but not for human consumption, bits of raw meat, flesh, skin, heads, bones, organs all cased up, put in jars like pickled onions keeping them in a preserve to stop them going off, a huge refrigerator was at the back of one wall all filled with human bodies. Obviously not food for normal humans but food for his creations, his monstrosities, well I had just taken care of the generator down there so that would sour his creatures food supplies. With three levels now in total darkness it was now just the last two upper levels and my mission would be complete and if I survived I would try to find Ollie, get out of here and hopefully get some answers for Tanya’s where bouts.

  Reaching the second to last floor I walked straight in like I had no worries, like I owned the damn place. I had to make out I was strong, that I could take this bastard of a doctor on and that he needed to fear me not the other way round.

  This level was quiet and quite clean which surprised me as most of the places he touched were dirty and covered in blood. The corridor led through to two operating theatres, the whole cleanliness thing up here had me confused as by the looks in ‘Hercules’ room on the other floor the doctor didn’t like to clean up after himself. Maybe he didn’t really use this floor very much? The theatres sat opposite each other and up ahead was a door labelled x-ray which lead through to an intensive care unit for after surgeries. Taking a nose in the first theatre I found it was completely empty no operating table, no cabinets, it looked as if it was going through a refurbishment which it could of well been back in the day when people did that sort of thing, or maybe the weird doctor had taken the table from this room and placed it in Hercules lair just reinforced it a little to take the weight of the hulking menace that roamed the shopping centre and now maybe the streets. Walking out I saw a blur of movement which made me freeze on the spot, it rushed into the next room. Walking to it I then looked in the other theatre but it had no creeps in it. I now saw that my speculation of the doctor was right, he was in no way a clean or tidy person as this one was complete with equipment but the dirt, grime and blood stains lining the floor told me that he worked in here often. Scattered around the room were bloody instruments which had dried on to give it a rust covered coating, even a human hand had been left on the side which was rotting stinking and pulsating with maggots, making me gag I turned and exited the room whatever I thought I had seen out the corner of my eye wasn’t there now.

&n
bsp; Reeling from the stench of death that had become that room I panted as I stood in the cool clear corridor, taking deep breaths I tried to settle my stomach which was threatening to spill even though by now it must be so empty as I hadn’t eaten for what felt like an age.

  A noise startled me from where the intensive care unit was, the double doors were swinging on their hinges creaking with anticipation, they were calling to me, just willing me to go in and investigate and maybe get myself killed in the process but I had to know what was up here, I had to know if I was being followed and if I was in any danger. I didn’t want to be turning off the lights and running head first into a snarling and well-hidden creature. Taking a few muted footsteps I held my breath as I reached out my trembling hands, pushing gently on the doors I snuck into the intensive care unit. Looking around my heart stopped in my throat, a chill ran up my spine and threatened to spill into a scream but I held myself like I had to keep doing. Sat there in front of me must have been twenty or so beds filled with people but not just normal people, these were the doctor’s people, they were Screechers.

  Taking a step back I knew I didn’t want to venture further into this part of the ward, as I peered in and tried to inspect what was happening I noticed they were all hooked up to machines that were bleeping and beeping letting the doctor know what their vitals were. All I cared about was whether they would wake up if I turned the generator off?

  Then I saw it the blurred movement rush off round the corner, rushing after it I passed the sleeping Screechers. Reaching the corner I slowly peered round and came to a dead end, there was nothing here other than a window and an old nurse’s station. I sighed it could be that with the lack of food and water over the past day was taking its toll on me making me see things and I was tired. I hurried back through the ward not wanting to make too much noise and wake the gruesome things up, then I heard it the noise which told me I wasn’t alone here, a shuffling of footsteps clearly coming in my general direction, lifting the rifle I aimed to where the noise came from, holding it steady in case the doctor came tearing out to surprise me but what I saw shocked me to my core making my heart break just a little. Darren’s twisted creature like body turned the corner his head tilting as he sniffed the air just catching my scent. Knowing he had come the right way as my smell engulfed his senses, he snarled happily for what I imagine as his first proper meal as a monster. His eyes gleamed the off white yellow colour as the jaundice had set in, his skin now washed out and so pale, his hair was sopping wet probably from the weird incubator but it had fallen drab and dull round him. So now the doctor was playing games he wanted me dead but didn’t want to do it himself, would rather make me suffer by making someone I failed, someone I came close to being friends with, someone who risked their life even though they weren’t completely happy with me to help me find my sister. Darren unlike most of the other creatures did actually look quite human, he didn’t have chunks missing where someone had bitten and chomped into him making him get the virus, he didn’t have the acid rain scars which on so many of the creatures looked melted and had been torn to shreds by it, in fact if it wasn’t for the bone chilling howl that left his lips as his eyes locked onto mine I might have almost mistaken him for human…almost!