He was still thinking of his family when he heard a faint rattle at the door. He jolted upright, digging his fingers against Sally's. He exchanged a glance with his wife again, but this time he didn't want to think about what that glance meant.
Chapter Fourteen
"What was that?" Silas asked, creeping around from the back of Tom.
Tom heard it, too. As the elevator car mounted the third floor, commotion reached their ears from outside the elevator. Screams segued into shrieks; bangs and crashes filled the air. The pit in Tom's stomach grew. He'd hoped the third floor would provide a refuge from the madness.
By the sounds of it, things were even worse up there.
He had the fleeting thought that he should stop the elevator, mash the red emergency button and wait the whole thing out. But he couldn't leave Abraham, Sally, and Katherine. He pictured the nurses—Kelsey, Tabatha, and Sigrid—corralling scared patients and keeping them safe. No one had enforced the nurses' responsibility. And yet, they'd put themselves in danger to help others.
Their bravery was inspiring.
Silas clung to Tom's hospital gown as the elevator car swayed ominously. Tom stared at the door, axe in hand. He envisioned the path he'd need to take to get to Abraham and Sally's room.
Take a left, run down the hall. Turn into the adjacent wing.
Were they still there? He hoped so.
One thing was for certain. He couldn't take Silas with him. It'd be too dangerous.
"Silas, I'm going to need you to do something for me," he started. He bent down and looked in the boy's eyes, trying to inspire bravery. "As soon as I get off the elevator, I need you to shut the doors and press the second floor button. Right before the elevator stops, hit this emergency button. That will stop the elevator car. Don't do anything else, no matter what happens. Do you understand me?"
"But I—"
"I need you to listen to me. There's no time to argue, Silas. You need to do what I say."
"My sister…Katherine…" he managed through a sniffle.
"I'll get her and bring her back. I'll bring back Abraham and Sally. We're going to get through this together, Silas."
Silas nodded, wiping nervous tears from his eyes. Tom patted the boy's shoulders, giving him a last, reassuring squeeze.
Having finished his instructions, Tom turned to face the elevator doors. He raised his axe, preparing for whatever might be on the other side—whatever he'd need to defend himself against. He imagined a slew of beasts, listening to the elevator rise from the opposite side. The elevator slowed to a stop. The doors opened.
What he didn't expect was a barrage of people.
"Watch out!" Tom screamed at Silas.
Tom and Silas were suddenly mobbed by ten screaming, frantic individuals, some covered in blood, most dressed in hospital gowns. Panic had gripped the survivors. They screamed and twisted, their bodies and voices tumbling over one another as they tried to get inside the elevator. Elbows dug into Tom's side. He lifted Silas in the air, protecting him from the pushing people. He heard bits and pieces of conversation around him.
"Here it comes!"
"Around the corner!"
"Hurry, hit the button!"
Tom stared out into the hallway but saw no sign of Abraham and Sally. No sign of Katherine. Where were they? He leaned outside the elevator car. Instinct screamed at him to get back in, to follow the people and strive for safety.
But what if Abraham, Sally, and Katherine were still up here?
Before he could reach a decision, someone kicked him.
"Get out! You're blocking the doors!"
Hands shoved him, and suddenly Tom was falling out of the car. He held onto Silas, cushioning the boy's fall. The axe clattered to the ground beside them. And then the elevator doors closed, the shouts of the screaming mob silenced by the whoosh of the doors.
The elevator beeped. The car descended.
The floor went unnaturally quiet.
Tom and Silas were alone.
Tom examined his surroundings. The barricade at the east exit was broken down. Bodies lay everywhere—left in a condition he could barely recognize. He looked for evidence of the people he knew—Abraham, Sally, Katherine, and the nurses—but didn't recognize any of the outfits. He reached for Silas and pulled him close. The floor remained silent.
"Where are they…?" Silas whimpered.
Tom hushed him. In the distance, he heard something approaching.
"Come on!"
Tom collected Silas, pulling him into the nearest dark hospital room. A beast chuffed as it made its way down the hall. Looking around, Tom saw the outline of a bed and a nurse's cart. He pushed Silas and ordered him to get behind the bed. "Stay quiet."
Silas scurried into the darkness, blending with the shadows. Tom watched him go and spun to face the hallway.
The creature's stench filled the corridor: a vile, horrific odor that reminded Tom of dead, rotten things.
He held the axe tightly by handle, visualizing the approaching beast. How close was it? Did it smell them? His hope was that the beast was so preoccupied with chasing the survivors that it hadn't noticed him and Silas.
Maybe it'd keep going.
Tom gritted his teeth. After all the running and fighting, his body screamed at him for reprieve. His wounded leg felt like it was bleeding again. But he wouldn't find consolation yet. Not until the beast outside was gone.
Animal footsteps slapped the floor, getting closer. The beast passed the doorway. Tom waited for the creature's head to turn, for claws to seek him out, but the creature kept going. He released the breath he'd been holding.
He needed to take care of it. Even if it had passed them, it'd be back.
Tom felt a surge of anger well up inside him, picturing the police officers outside, the woman in the laundry bin. Lorena.
Blinking hard, he padded out after the creature, his heart beating a frantic rhythm in his chest. He crept on the tips of his boots. The creature had slowed to sniff out the elevator. Its massive, fur-covered back arched as it bent to capture the details of the scene. Its arms dangled. From somewhere below him, Tom heard the ding of an elevator car, and then a chorus of frantic, screaming voices.
The people hadn't gotten away. They were being attacked.
Tom hoisted the axe. The creature cocked its head as it analyzed the elevator, then took a step backward. Before it could turn, Tom swung the blade deep into the thing's neck. The axe went halfway through and stuck. The beast roared and spun. Tom fell backwards. Suddenly, the creature was turning in circles, pawing at the axe in its neck.
Its strangled cries filled the hallway.
Tom scooted across the floor, trying to gain distance from the rampaging beast. Without the axe, he was weaponless. He glanced frantically at the room Silas was hiding in. Thankfully he'd thought to conceal the boy.
The beast's eyes widened as it spun in all directions, unable to reach the weapon. After a few seconds of panicked movement, it locked eyes with Tom. It advanced in a deathly rage. Tom struggled to his feet. He compensated for the beast's staggering steps with several of his own, but didn't dare turn his back on the thing.
He skimmed the floor for something—anything—that might help him. All he saw were mangled remains, evidence of people who'd tried to run or fight and failed. And then he located something. Lying next to a man's stiff hand was a scalpel. Tom reached down to scoop it up, eyes locked on the advancing beast. His hands slipped through slick blood. He lost hold of it. His fingers scrabbled, searching desperately.
He grabbed hold of the scalpel, but not before the creature was above him, raising its claws. The beast howled. Tom swung the scalpel, but the surgical instrument might as well have been a pencil. It nicked the creature's skin harmlessly, doing little damage. The creature opened its maw, hot breath filling the space between them.
Tom steeled himself for the end. He tried convincing himself that he'd survived longer than the others. That he'd saved Silas. Even if th
e little boy were found, Tom had sheltered him longer than he would have survived on his own. That thought led to another bout of determination.
Tom swung the scalpel viciously, as if the fervor of his attack might drive the thing away. Saving Silas wasn't good enough. He wanted the beast dead.
"Get back, you son of a bitch!"
The beast descended, drowning him in fur and teeth.
And then the creature spun in the other direction, howling madly. It took Tom a second to notice why. A screwdriver protruded from its back.
Kelsey stood behind the beast, her face drained of color.
"Run, Tom!" she shrieked.
But Tom wasn't leaving. He leapt to his feet, reaching for the axe. He grabbed hold of the handle, pulled it free from the beast's neck, and swung before the beast could turn around. This time, the axe did its job. The beast's head separated from its body and rolled. Its body collapsed in a useless heap. Kelsey stepped backward, staring.
"Holy shit," Tom whispered, struggling for breath.
"My God…Tom…" Kelsey said, her mouth open in disbelief.
Tom looked around the hallway, as if other beasts might spring from nearby shadows, but none lurked nearby. He lowered the axe. Blood dripped from the weapon. He frowned, looking at Kelsey.
"Are you all right?"
Recovering from her shock and fright, Kelsey said, "Yes. We were hiding in the maintenance room. Tabatha and I." She pointed to the door down the hall, where Tabatha peeked from the entrance.
"What happened to Sigrid?"
"We lost her." Kelsey hung her head. "We were with the others, but they insisted on coming out to take the elevator. We tried to stop them…"
Tabatha gasped at the bleeding, headless body of the creature. Tom peered into the room into which he'd ushered Silas, looking for the boy.
"Silas!" he hissed.
Silas emerged, and Kelsey's face lit up at the sight of him. She skirted around the body of the dead beast, running to embrace him.
"Silas! Oh, my God…" she said, her eyes wet with tears.
Tabatha crept out of the maintenance room. As she did, the sounds from the elevator shaft increased in volume. It sounded like the people down there were being mutilated. A barrage of snarls intermingled with cries of pain.
"Jesus!" Tabatha cried, clamping her hand over her mouth.
"We have to help them!" Tom took a step toward the elevator, but Kelsey grabbed his arm.
"You can't go down there!" she said.
"But I can't leave them…"
Tom struggled against Kelsey's grasp, refusing to believe she was right. They listened to the cries for several, agonizing seconds. The elevator, a means to safety, had become a carriage to hell, delivering the fleeing survivors into the mouths of the beasts.
All at once, the noises ceased.
The sandwiched survivors had never had a chance.
They'd never had a goddamn chance.
Gritting his teeth, Tom could barely control his fury. Monsters, that's what these things are. He'd destroy all of them. He'd find them and he'd—
"Where's Katherine?" Silas asked.
The question ripped him from his thoughts. He turned to Kelsey, awaiting the answer, searching the hall.
Kelsey pointed to the end of the corridor. "I haven't seen them in a while. Last I knew, they were still shut in their room. The survivors we were with were all from this corridor. The beasts got here first."
"Do you think they're still alive?" Tom asked.
"I'm not sure…" Kelsey said, her eyes full of panic.
Without another word, Tom led the others down the hallway, praying he wasn't too late. They waded through the carnage, making their way toward Abraham's room. Tom flashed back to when he'd woken up and searched for his friends. At the time, he'd known he'd find them.
He wasn't so certain now.
Each prone body in the hallway only reinforced the nagging fear that Abraham, Sally, and Katherine were dead. Kelsey and Tabatha checked the flayed bodies on the floor. As expected, they were beyond help. The mangled bodies were as horrific as they were disheartening.
Tom held tight to Silas's hand, wishing he could spare the boy from the grisly scene. Soon they'd reached the end of the hallway. Tom felt his nerves bunch in his stomach as they rounded the corner. Abraham's room was in sight.
A gutted carcass lay at the doorway.
His heart sank. Only twenty feet separated him from the room. Twenty feet that Silas would remember forever, depending on what they found. He couldn't let the boy see it. He couldn't. Glancing back at Kelsey and Tabatha, he handed Silas off and walked forward on his own.
Tom held his axe high, taking the remaining steps toward the door. He looked down at the body, scanning through the gore. To his relief, he didn't recognize the person, but that didn't make him feel any better. Stepping over the carcass, he swallowed. He placed his hand on the door handle. The room on the other side was silent, betraying nothing about the room's interior.
He tried the door, but it was locked.
Tom wiggled the handle. He called out for his friends.
"Abraham? Sally?"
Silence greeted him. And then he heard something—a faint response on the other side. Tom's heart soared.
Chapter Fifteen
Tom breathed a sigh of relief as Abraham opened the door. Sally and Katherine were huddled by the heating vents, clutching each other in terror. Despite what they'd been through, they were all alive. They were uninjured.
The survivors reunited with tears in their eyes, clinging to each other with relief. Abraham filled Tom in on what had happened.
"A little while ago, one of those things tried to get in here. Then we heard screams from the next hallway. It sounded like the survivors were running."
"The people from the maintenance room," Kelsey confirmed. "They were with us in the next wing, and they ran for the elevator."
"That must've distracted the thing. It tore off after them instead of coming in to get us. That's the only reason we're alive." Abraham's eyes were still filled with terror. "We managed to evade another one. It crashed through the window." He gestured toward the broken windowpane.
Tom relayed the details of his trip to the ground floor, including his battle with the beast in the cafeteria. He described how he'd found Silas, how they'd taken the elevator, and how he'd reunited with Kelsey and Tabatha. He left out the dead woman in the laundry bin, which seemed like it would only upset the children.
"What happened to Sigrid?" Abraham asked.
Kelsey shook her head. "She didn't make it."
"I take it you didn't get ahold of the police?" Tom asked Kelsey.
He could already see the answer on her face as she dug the cell phone from her pocket. She swiped the screen uselessly.
Tom sighed. As grateful as he was to have found his companions alive, circumstances were grave. The creatures had infested the building. He might've disposed of a few, but there was no telling how many others lurked on this floor, or in the building.
Morning was a distant hope, too far away to bank on.
Kelsey and Tabatha walked over to the window, accompanied by Sally and the children. Abraham remained by Tom's side.
"Is the eastern exit broken down?" Abraham asked.
"Yes. I assume the western exit is, too. Blocking the doors won't do much."
"At least we have the axe," Abraham said, trying to sound hopeful.
Tom looked at the weapon he was holding, stained with the creatures' blood. "This won't do much good against a horde of them. If more show up, we'll be killed."
Noticing Abraham looking at his leg, Tom inspected his bandage. Blood leaked around the frayed edges. "I guess I'll need a new bandage," he said grimly.
Abraham nodded, watching Tom strangely.
"What's wrong, Abraham?"
Abraham cleared his throat. While the others were engaged in quiet, nervous conversation, he asked Tom, "Earlier, Sally and I were talking about yo
ur wound. Are you positive you weren't…?"
Tom looked down at his pale leg. He bit his lip.
"It happened in the basement of the Knights of Columbus. There were glass shards all over the floor. I was fighting the creature, and it threw me into them. I think I sliced it on a piece of glass."
Abraham expelled a long breath and put his hand on Tom's shoulder. "We were afraid you'd been bitten. We were afraid you might…turn, Tom."
Tom shook his head and smiled. "I don't think so. I would've shown symptoms by now. It's just a cut."
Kelsey and Tabatha walked across the room to join Abraham and Tom, staring nervously at the door. After the conversation with Abraham, Tom suddenly felt a tinge of suspicion toward everyone in the room. He looked around, trying to ascertain if anyone else was injured. It didn't seem like it. But then he recalled the story he'd heard about the nurses from the night before. According to the police, they'd hidden in a storage closet. And just now, they'd been the only survivors in the maintenance room. What if Kelsey and Tabatha were beasts? That might explain why they survived.
They might be waiting for the opportune moment to attack.
He studied Kelsey's emotional face, Tabatha's fear-stricken eyes. He was pretty sure they weren't afflicted. They'd had plenty of chances to turn and savage the patients, and yet they'd continued to try to help them. And Kelsey had saved his life.
She wouldn't have done that if she were planning on killing him. Would she?
Besides, Sigrid had been with them, and now she was dead.
Feeling less suspicious, Tom asked, "Do you know of anywhere else we can go, Kelsey? A more secure place to hide?" He gestured to the open window, watching snow and ice pelt the floor. A cold wind chilled the room. Katherine, Silas, and Sally were huddled by the heating vent, but the heat was no match for the encroaching elements. They should've gone to another room, but even that wouldn't save them from the beasts.
"We need to get out of here," Tom said. "What about the maintenance room, Kelsey?"
Werewolf Suspense (Book 4): Outage 4 (The Reckoning) Page 6
