"Oh, uh... yeah," the younger man said quickly. "You actual y can't smoke in here. Sorry. I should have told you earlier."
"You a doctor?" Corvo asked, lighting his cigarette and inhaling a deep drag.
"Um, no. Not yet. I'm a resident," the student stammered nervously.
"That like a nurse?"
"Not exactly. It means I'm studying to be a doctor... Ooo, Mr Overbeck, that cigarette..."
Corvo turned his head to face the 'resident'. "Kid? Go practice somewhere else."
" ...I'm going to count down from ten, okay Corvo...?"
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Corvo startled awake when he felt a hand grabbing him by the shoulder. His eyes shot open, and his
right hand grabbed the offending arm at the wrist. His left hand was holding a knife to the attacker's
throat a second later.
"Whoa, whoa! Wait! It's me!" came Roger's voice from above him.
Corvo released him after a moment. "Sorry..." he mumbled sheepishly. "You startled me, is al ."
The shaken doctor made a mental note not to wake the old man physical y again. "I had a look over
Markus, and I have good news. While the injuries looked pretty bad, it turns out that they were just
some nasty flesh wounds. The biggest danger was from him losing too much blood, but the
bandages that you put on kept it minimal."
"He's going to be okay?"
Roger nodded. "I put twelve stitches in. He's resting now."
The wrinkles on Corvo's face grew more pronounced as he broke into a smile. "I cannot thank you enough, Doctor."
The other man smiled in response. "That's the reason I stayed behind. As long as I manage to
help someone in this whole mess..."
The elder man stood up and clapped him on the back. "Putting your own safety in jeopardy to stay
behind and help other survivors? You're a good man, Roger. Unlike someone in my group..." There
was a thoughtful silence. "Tel you what, we'll leave him behind, and you can feel free to join us."
They both chuckled at that.
"How bad is it out there?" Roger suddenly asked somberly.
Corvo sighed heavily. "I fought in Vietnam, and lemme tel you, even bein' in a war doesn't prepare you for this." He waved his hand through the air in a wide gesture. "They come at you and come at you, and they never goddamn stop!"
Samantha emerged from the shower shivering. Joe had been right, the water was ice-cold. But she
was just glad to be clean again. However, she froze literally when she found that her clothes were
gone; only one of those ugly green, knee-length hospital gowns had been left for her.
She felt shocked, confused, and then angry. Was this some kind of a practical joke? Get the only
woman in the building into a gown which showed her ass through the back? There was going to be
hel to pay.
She threw the hospital gown on furiously, jammed her feet into her black and white sneakers and
then stormed out of the bathroom, finding Joe standing guard nearby.
"Hey," he said. "How are – "
"Where are my clothes?" Samantha snapped.
Joe balked at the intense anger radiating out from her. "The old guy in your group came by and took
al your clothes away to be washed, intensely. There are some tumble dryers here too, so they'll be
ready for you to wear again pretty soon."
The former col ege student immediately calmed down, and flashed him an apologetic smile. "Oh...
okay then. Sorry for being such a bitch just then."
"It's alright. How are you feeling?"
"Much better. And now that I know that my clothes are going to clean again, I'm pretty ecstatic." She came over to stand next to him as he kept his gun trained on the stairwel door. "Have the Infected
tried to get in here?"
"A few times. Fortunately, there's only one staircase to cover."
"Stairs aren't the only way they can come in. They'd be more than happy to climb in through the windows."
Joe sighed. "Persistent little buggers, aren't they?"
Samantha raised her hands behind her head and started pul ing her long brown hair back into a
ponytail. "I can't get over how fast they al are – it's not even fair. I... I'm cal ing zombie bullshit on that, you know?" She giggled awkwardly. "I mean, zombies aren't supposed to be this fast. Sheesh!
They're practical y Olympic runners, for Christ's sake!" She glanced at Joe to see him looking her
over with an amused expression on his face. "Oh... I wasn't rambling, was I?"
"No, just pointing out some very important foul play," Joe replied jokingly. "I'l alert the referees."
They both laughed at that.
"So, what's your story?" she asked him.
"The same as everyone else's. Just trying to survive," he said simply. "What about you? Do you have your family out there somewhere?"
Samantha looked away uncomfortably for a moment. Joe noticed this, and quickly changed the
subject.
"I was passing through here on a road-trip with my best buddy. We drove al the way over from LA,
and were making our way up to Canada."
"That would have been a nice way to spend the last few days of normality," the young woman
replied, a hint of envy creeping into her voice.
"Yeah. Unfortunately, my friend got jumped at a gas station. One thing led to another, and now, here
I am."
"I'm sorry," she murmured. "Maybe there's a bright side to all of this."
Joe looked up. "I did get to meet you."
Samantha smiled at him. They both made their way back to the help desk "command centre", where
the ex-student had to stifle a laugh at the sight of Jacob, big tough-guy Jacob, with his ass visible in
the back of a flowing hospital gown.
"Nice attire there, Jacob," she teased, choosing to ignore the fact that she was wearing an identical gown.
However, the big biker was hunched over the wooden counter, too absorbed in a game of Texas
hold'em poker with Trev to answer. Andy was watching them, a smirk etched across his face. Trev
had a rather impressive pile of various supplies sitting on the counter in front of him, and Jacob'
smal pile of his remaining ammunition looked rather pitiful by comparison.
He took in the two cards in his hand, and then moved a smal blind of 3 shotgun cartridges to the
middle of the counter, while Trev slid a big blind of two pistol clips across the counter to join the pot.
He looked across at his opponent.
"Do you call the big blind?"
Jacob hesitated for a moment, before reaching into his backpack and pul ing out a can of baked
beans. "I nearly had my bal s ripped off by a raving, blood-covered bitch when I snagged this from a
grocery store," he said, as he slid the can across the counter to join the pile in the middle. "That's worth at least another M1911 clip."
The large black man sat in contemplation for a moment, before matching. "I see your raise."
He nodded at Andy, who proceeded to place three cards face-up on the counter. Queen of Hearts,
Two of Spades and Three of Clubs.
"Raise a pistol clip," Trev said.
His opponent added three more shotgun shel s to the pot to cal . Another card was turned over. Six
of Clubs. Another raise later, the fifth and last card was placed on the counter. The Queen of
Diamonds.
Jacob grinned triumphantly. "I raise ten shotgun shel s. Your move, Bob Marley."
"Three M1911 clips to see the raise, Trev," Andy said warningly.
The man in question smiled confidently as he added three pistol clips to the pot.
Jacob was taken aback. Surely he doesn't have a Queen too?"
"Show cards," Andy demanded.
Jacob placed his hand face-up in front of him. "Three Queens."
Trev placed his hand down. Four of Spades and Five of Diamonds. "Straight."
"Shit!" Jacob swore as Trev pul ed the pot toward him, grinning smugly.
"You wanna go again?" he asked.
Before Jacob could answer, Samantha stepped forward. "I'd rather you didn't gamble away the last of our supplies, Jacob," she snapped. "I'l take it from here."
Her compatriot shot her a look in disdain. " Please. You don't know how to play poker."
Samantha put her hands on her hips indignantly. "Nevertheless, Corvo tasked me with getting us
more ammo. Now move aside."
Everyone watched silently as Samantha and Trev were each dealt two cards. As big blind,
Samantha was forced to place two of her pistol clips into the pot before the round had even begun.
She felt slightly anxious to know that if she lost this hand, she only had one clip left for her M1911.
She looked at the cards she had been dealt. Ten of Hearts and Seven of Clubs. Not much worth
writing home about. Andy flipped over three cards, revealing the Seven of Diamonds among them.
Sweet, got a pair already! Samantha thought to herself.
"I raise an M-16 magazine," Trev said suddenly, cutting into her thoughts.
"I cal ," she replied, adding her last pistol clip to the pot.
Andy turned over the next card. Ten of Spades.
Two pairs, Samantha thought to herself. Sweet Jesus, I could get a Ful House here!
Three of a Kind, Trev thought to himself in satisfaction. "I raise two pistol clips and an M-16
magazine," he said, adding the ammunition in question to the pot. He looked over at Samantha,
challenging her to see his bet.
She blanched. That was a big raise.
"Wel ?" he piped up.
He ful y expected his opponent to fold. However, he was shocked when she grabbed her group's
first-aid pack and placed it on the table.
"Raise has been called," Andy said, placing the last card down on the table. Eight of Hearts.
Shit! Samantha yel ed in her head. No Ful House!
"I raise another magazine," Trev said, a little more cautiously this time.
Samantha's mind was screaming in frustration, but she kept a calm and composed facade. If he
reads me, I'm done. She calmly picked up her pistol and placed it on the counter. "I believe that's worth another five M-16 magazines."
Her opponent was visibly taken aback.
"You realise you've pretty much just gone all in?" Jacob commented disapprovingly. Amateur.
However, Trev threw down his cards in disgust. "I fold."
"Nice one, Samantha!" Joe said encouragingly.
"Hey, whose side are you on here?" his party member snapped.
The former student looked over at Jacob to see that his jaw had hit the ground. "What? My campus
room-mates were al card junkies."
"Nice play," her opponent said evenly. "What did you have?"
"I don't remember," she replied casual y, burying her cards in with the others and erasing al
evidence of her bluff.
"I raise a magazine."
"Cal ."
Several rounds later, a pot of impressive size was building in the middle of the desk. It was at that
moment that Roger and Corvo entered the room, each holding a pile of freshly-laundered clothes.
"Samantha!" he exclaimed. "What are you doing?"
"Securing us more ammo, like you asked," she replied without looking up from her cards.
Finally, Andy placed the last card down on the table. "Show cards."
"Two pairs," Trev said slowly, revealing his hand.
Samantha smiled and showed her cards. Like the opposition, she had identical two pairs. However...
"My highest card is higher than yours," she pointed out.
"Are you kidding me?" he cried incredulously. "Beaten by a high card? "
Samantha smiled sweetly. "Pleasure doing with business with you."
Trev looked shell-shocked for a moment. Suddenly, a wide smile broke out on his face, and he
erupted in a roar of laughter.
Several hours later, Jacob stood guard at the stairwel and Andy walked through the ward on a
patrol, while the others slept. Samantha pointing out the windows to Joe as possible points of entry
had severely spooked him. Andy was now being sure to check every room for Infected.
CRASH! His head snapped up with the sound of shattering glass nearby. He ran to the door and
opened it, the cone of light from his flashlight revealing that the window in the room behind the door
had been broken. A dark hooded figure was crouched on al fours on the floor in front of the
shattered window, creeping forward slowly.
"Oh, shit..."
Suddenly, Andy heard growling behind him. He looked over his shoulder to see another hooded
figure crouched in the hallway.
"RRRRAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIUUUU UUGGGGGGGGHHHHHH!"
With a terrifying scream, the predator pounced, knocking Andy to the floor with tremendous force. It
raised its claws to strike.
"NO!" Andy screamed.
But it was too late.
Chapter 14
Everyone awoke with a start to the sound of screaming coming from somewhere inside the hospital
ward. The darkness felt horribly alive around them. They fumbled for their weapons, and flashlights
came on moments later.
"What's going on?" Roger asked fearfully.
"That's Andy!" Trev said, immediately running down the hal way. "We've gotta help him!"
"Trev, wait!" Joe started, but it was too late. He had already disappeared.
Andy's terrible screams continued for a few more moments, before a horrible silence fel over the
hospital.
"Jacob is stil out there," Samantha whispered.
Corvo nodded solemnly. "He's supposed to be guarding the stairwel ." He loaded one of Samantha's
prize magazines into his assault rifle. "I'm going to find him."
Samantha stood up, wielding a pump-action shotgun she had picked up from Trev. "I'l go with you."
"No, it's too dangerous – " Corvo started to say, but she cut him off with a wave of her hand.
"I don't care. I'm not letting you go off by yourself. We have to make sure that Jacob, Andy and Trev
are al okay."
The war veteran sighed in resignation. "Fine, but you stay with me at all times. "
"I'm coming too," Joe said, standing up.
"No, you're not," Corvo snapped. "Roger's not much of a fighter, and someone needs to look after Markus. You're staying with them."
Joe opened his mouth to argue, but Samantha looked at him.
"Please, look after Roger and Markus," she asked softly.
After a moment of hesitation, he finally nodded.
Corvo turned to Roger. "Barricade yourselves inside Markus' room. Watch the windows, too. Shoot
anything that tries to get inside."
With that, he and Samantha hurried off into the darkness.
Shards of glass crunched under Jacob' boots as he surveyed the broken window before him by his shotgun light. The curtains in front of the window Corvoowed in the wind. He swept the light along
the floor and discovered a large, dark puddle of blood on the floor outside the room. He shone his
flashlight down the hal way to see a dark trail of blood along the floor, leading away from the puddle
and around a corner.
His ears perked up – he had just heard a footstep nearby. He quickly moved into the room, crouched
down and readied his shotgun. The curtains continued to Corvoow softly. Jacob listened careful y,
and heard another sound. It was closer than the last. He sJaguared off the light and trained his
shotgun on the door, waiting for whatever was out there to pass by. The sound of glass crunching
underfoot sounded, right outside the door.
The biker wasted no more time. He yel ed, raised his shotgun and fired, blasting a hole through the
plaster wal .
"Jesus Christ, it's me!" came Trev's voice from out in the hal way.
Jacob sJaguared on his flashlight and went up to the door to see the large black man standing there,
looking none too pleased.
"You nearly shot me!" he growled.
"My bad," Jacob replied sheepishly.
Meanwhile, his compatriot was taking in the scene in front of him. He paused when he saw the large
puddle of blood on the floor. "Oh, God. Andy..."
Jacob was at a loss for what to say. "...Sorry for your loss," he final y offered.
Trev shot him a scathing look. "He could still be alive."
With that, he moved off down the hallway, fol owing the trail of blood. Jacob sighed and fol owed him.
Samantha trailed Corvo through the hal way, stopping against the wall whenever he held up his
palm. Whenever they stopped, they listened in vain for any sounds, before moving on. They walked
down the hallway without incident and soon reached the stairwel door to find it wide open. Jacob
was nowhere to be seen.
"They've gotten inside," Corvo murmured.
With no warning whatsoever, a loud screech echoed throughout the hallways. Samantha jumped
with fright, while Corvo gripped the stock of his rifle tightly. The sound was al too familiar...
"The Leapers!" Samantha suddenly realised. "They're in here!"
"Damn it!" the old man swore. "Those bastards are gonna keep on finding us, aren't they?"
Samantha gripped her shotgun and looked around nervously, as though she expected a Leaper to
leap out of the darkness at her at any moment.
"What are we going to do?" she whispered.
"We have to take them out," Corvo said solemnly. "There are two Leapers out there. That's more than enough to pick us off one-by-one."
Trev moved down the hal way, the light from his M-16 illuminating the trail of blood along the floor.
His friend's blood. He fervently hoped that Andy was stil alive, but his hopes were rapidly waning.
Damned Are We Page 8
