Distinctly weak.
The being knew that this appearance would need to be improved. It grabbed at the skin on its head and began pulling, peeling at the flesh and attached hair follicles, pulling it away to reveal the bone beneath.
It enjoyed the pain.
Then it brought its hands to its lips.
45
Adrian ran with Jack, Seymour and Doctor Reid in tow. Behind them, something—he dared not look back to see what—scampered at their heels, screeching as it gave chase. Though danger was rapidly closing in, it seemed the way ahead was clear.
Giving everything he had, Adrian broke through the first ruined door into the small, linking corridor, and then on through to the large Main Hall.
He had hoped this space would be empty.
But he was disappointed.
Two creatures prowled the area. One was a tall, humanoid figure whose skull had split open at the head, revealing a writhing, moving brain beneath that blinked with small white eyes. Its tongue was long, wriggling down to its navel as its mouth hung open like a panting dog. It was accompanied by a small, dwarfish thing, with long arms that touched the floor. Its head had melted into its torso, and it had a wide stomach with a gaping mouth and sharp teeth cut into it. Out of the two, it looked less threatening, but no less horrifying.
Adrian had noticed the two creatures the second he burst into the Main Hall but, as they turned to face him, he saw something else too, hanging above the door to Ward B—a pulsating sack with multiple black eyes, fused to the wall at the junction between the wall and the ceiling. It had no human shape to it at all, only a mass of flesh with large, blank eyes. Tendrils hung down beneath it, ready to snare unsuspecting prey.
Adrian and his group did not break stride as the thing behind them gave chase, and with the creatures ahead of them, they were in danger of being surrounded.
But he had an idea.
Adrian remembered what had happened to Jones in this room when the man was turned, and what he had been carrying when he had been overwhelmed.
So Adrian took a sharp right and continued his sprint, well aware the abominations in the room had noticed him and would soon be upon him. He saw the weapon lying discarded on the floor and prayed it still worked. The small blue flame at the end of the nozzle still burned, and he hoped that was a good sign.
He heard the others—Jack, Seymour, and Reid—all keeping pace with him, wheezing and panting as they ran for their lives. But he also heard the approaching creatures, roaring and shrieking.
Gaining ground.
It would be close.
Adrian hurled himself forward, feet first, and slid along the tiled floor on his rear. As he moved across the ground, he grabbed the nozzle—the end still hot in his hand—adjusted the weapon, and swivelled his body, aiming the dangerous end away from him.
He had just enough time to see the others in his group run to either side of him, leaving his aim clear, and a half-man half-spider horror leaping in for the kill.
Adrian squeezed the trigger.
A jet of scalding flame erupted from the nozzle and, as it did, he could actually feel the heat from the blast emanating back towards him. The leaping monster was engulfed in flames, and Adrian only just managed to roll to the side as its blazing body crashed to the floor.
Adrian quickly got to his feet and took aim at the other two monsters that were bearing down and pressed the trigger again. This time, however, he cast his aim lower, towards their feet, arcing the thrower left and right to make sure he caught them both in its stream.
Like the creature before them—who was now getting back to its feet as it writhed and burned—these two monsters went up as well, a burning mass of macabre flesh. He hit them again, and they collapsed to the floor, then he turned back to the first beast, which was trying to crawl away as the flames that engulfed it seared away at its skin. Adrian slowly stalked the thing, dragging the tank of the weapon along the floor behind him, and hit it one last time in a prolonged attack.
Eventually, it, too, stopped moving, and just continued to burn like its friends.
After taking a couple of panicked breaths, and feeling his knees grow weak, Adrian dropped to his rear. He felt a large hand land on his shoulder and jumped, but looking up saw the smiling face of Jack. The large man gave him a thumbs up.
Adrian laughed. ‘Thanks, Jack. Didn’t know I had it in me.’
‘I did,’ Seymour uttered quietly, but still loud enough for everyone to hear above the crackling of the burning creatures.
Adrian didn’t react to the comment. ‘It isn’t safe here,’ he said to them all.
Looking past his group, he could see the tentacles of that thing that hung to the ceiling above the door to Ward B snap and whip about, apparently aware of what had happened to its brethren.
And knew it could be next.
The thought did cross Adrian’s mind, but he had no idea how much fuel was left in this weapon, and had a feeling they would need every last drop.
‘So we need to get out,’ Seymour said, and he turned to Dr. Reid. ‘Don’t you have a key for the main door?’
The doctor shook his head. ‘No, I was never in possession of one. If I ever wanted to leave for any reason, it had to be arranged.’
‘Then what good are you to us?’ Seymour said. He stepped forward and shoved the man backwards, a snarl forming on his face.
‘Stop it,’ Adrian said. ‘We don’t have time for this.’
‘Stop it?’ Seymour snapped back. ‘Are you serious? He’s one of the reasons all of this happened. He’s part of it. Tell me why we’re helping him again?’
Adrian then realised that Seymour had a point, and he turned to Dr. Reid.
‘Wait,’ the doctor said, holding up his hands in supplication. ‘I was never a part of this. I was here strictly as a doctor and nothing more. I had no idea what these people were doing until recently, I swear.’
‘And why should we trust you?’ Seymour said and pushed the man again.
‘Because,’ Dr. Reid said, ‘it’s the truth. And I may not have a key, but I think I know where we can get one.’
Adrian had a feeling he knew what the man was going to say. ‘The Director's office?’
Dr. Reid nodded. ‘That’s right.’
‘Excellent,’ Seymour said. ‘Now we know where to look. Don’t need you anymore.’ He let fly with a punch, catching the startled doctor on the chin and sending him sprawling to the floor. Seymour then started to kick the fallen man, and Adrian saw a look of savage delight in the fat man’s eyes as he did.
He knew exactly what Seymour was feeling when he let loose like that.
It was a feeling he knew well.
‘Stop,’ Adrian commanded.
‘Fuck you,’ Seymour said, continuing his attack. ‘Who made you the leader?’
Adrian stepped forward and pushed Seymour back as hard as he could. Seymour backpedaled, pinwheeling his arms a little, but managed to stay on his feet.
‘I said stop! We don’t have time for this. No one appointed me the leader, but if we stay here, we’ll die. We have a plan of action, so let's go.’
‘And what about him?’ Seymour said, pointing to Dr. Reid who was still groaning on the floor.
‘He comes with us,’ Adrian said.
‘What? Are you serious?’
‘I am.’
‘Well, I ain’t going anywhere he goes.’
Adrian shrugged. ‘Fine, you can stay here.’ He then hooked his arms under the doctor's shoulders and heaved him to his feet. He looked the dazed man in the eyes. ‘This still doesn’t mean I trust you.’ Dr. Reid nodded his understanding, and Adrian asked, ‘Which way?’
The doctor then pointed to a door up from Ward B. ‘There.’
Adrian recognised the door; it was an area he had been dragged through before when he had been slung into isolation. He also saw that the door was open, hanging on its hinges.
‘Something got through,’ he said. ‘We need
to be careful.’ He then looked at the weapon on the floor, knowing they would need it. The problem was, however, that the bindings that would hold the propane tank to one's back had completely torn when Jones had transformed. That meant he would need to carry the tank and try to aim with the nozzle at the same time.
While he was figuring out a solution, Jack reached down and easily plucked up the tank. He then nodded to the connecting nozzle.
Adrian understood.
‘Thanks, Jack,’ he said, and Jack adjusted his hands to give another thumbs up.
Adrian retrieved the nozzle and checked to make sure the small blue flame was still on.
It was.
‘Let’s go,’ he said, and he, Jack, and Dr. Reid began to walk away. But Seymour did not follow.
‘I said I wasn’t going anywhere with him,’ the fat man yelled. Adrian could still hear the carnage emanate from Ward A and knew that whatever was still happening in there wouldn’t keep the creatures occupied forever. When everyone was dead, the things inside would come looking for more.
Which meant Adrian and his group needed to be free of this place before then.
‘Stay here on your own, then,’ Adrian said. They reached the door Dr. Reid had directed them towards, and Adrian turned back to Seymour, giving him another chance. ‘Are you coming?’
Seymour looked furious, but was also clearly considering Adrian’s words. Eventually, he started to jog towards them, his mind made up.
46
Thankfully, the journey to the office Dr. Reid and the group now searched had been a clear one with no further incident. But that didn’t mean they could take their time and rest easy. They’d had to kick in the door to the director’s office upon arrival—courtesy of the large patient, Jack—but as much as they searched, they could not find the key to unlock the main entrance.
Reid was worried, as the lack of progress would undoubtedly infuriate Seymour, the one who seemed most volatile, and that could lead to another confrontation. And Reid wasn’t confident Adrian James would save him this time. So he continued to search, throwing books from the shelves in desperation, but noticed that Mr. James was entirely focused on something else.
‘It isn’t here,’ the fat man yelled, almost predictably. Seymour held up a small, open case that he’d retrieved from one of the shelves he was searching. Inside was a foam base, with the impression of a large key, but no key to go along with it. ‘Shouldn’t it be in here? If so, it's gone.’
‘I don’t know,’ Reid replied. ‘Keep looking.’
Adrian, however, was currently focused on the folder in his hand, engrossed in what he was reading. Reid kept his head down and continued looking.
Upon entering the room, Reid’s first place to look was in those drawers that Templeton kept locked, but it had turned up nothing. However, after grabbing the key from its location beneath the carpet, the others had noticed the director’s folders and notes, and it was one of these folders that now so intrigued Mr. James.
‘Would you just drop that and help?’ Seymour shouted.
But Adrian ignored him, keeping his focus on the file. He eventually looked up at Reid.
‘Is this true? What I’m reading here?’
Reid hesitated. ‘Depends on what you read.’
‘Don’t play coy. There are reports here saying the medicine that you forced on us is… blood. How can that be?’
‘Let’s just find that damn key,’ Reid said, but Adrian stepped forward.
‘No,’ he replied. ‘Answer me. What kind of blood turns people into those things out there?’
‘How should I know?’ Reid snapped back.
‘Because you’re part of it.’
‘I’m not. I swear on my life, I’m not. What I said before was true. This was all going on without my knowledge. I was being used, just like the rest of you.’
‘No,’ Adrian said, shaking his head. ‘Not like the rest of us. You weren’t locked up and fed that filth. You weren’t turned into one of those things like my friends were.’
The man was growing angrier the more he spoke, and Seymour and Jack stepped closer as well, causing Reid to back up.
‘That’s true,’ he said. ‘But I was only trying to make people better, I swear. I didn’t want any of this. I told Templeton that, repeatedly, but he said I could either go along with what they were doing here, or I would die.’
‘Go along with what, exactly?’ Adrian asked.
Reid sighed, realising he had no way to divert the subject any longer. If they were going to press on and find that damn key, then he needed to get them all searching again.
And now it seemed there was only one way to do that.
‘I don’t know everything,’ Reid said, ‘but they did take me down below this place. There is an underground ward where more of those creatures were being held. And… there was something else down there as well.’
‘What?’ Adrian asked.
‘The body of a man, only I don’t think it is a man anymore. And I know this will be hard to believe but there is something… possessing it. Some kind of entity. Templeton and the others who work here, they are all part of some cult that worship this thing like a god. They extracted its blood and fed it to the patients here.’
A silence hung over them all, eventually broken by Seymour.
‘You expect us to believe that rubbish?’
‘I don’t know if you’ll believe it,’ Reid said, shrugging, ‘but it’s the truth. I swear on my life. I didn’t believe it either, but I’ve… seen things. I’ve seen it talk, and I’ve tasted its blood as well. When I dreamt, I saw a place, the place that thing comes from.’
‘I’ve seen it too,’ Adrian said. ‘It’s hell.’
Reid nodded. ‘Worse. Because, as much as I hate to admit it, this place actually exists.’
‘And this… thing, underground, is the cause of it all?’
‘Yes,’ Reid said. ‘According to Templeton, they had measures in place that would bring this whole operation to a close, if needed.’
‘Well, those clearly failed,’ Seymour said.
‘What were those measures?’ Adrian asked.
‘To burn it,’ Reid replied. ‘He believed that if the host's body was burned, then any link that thing had to this place would be destroyed.’
‘And the rest of the creatures?’
‘He seemed to think that it would destroy them, too.’
Adrian James looked back to the file and flicked through it, seemingly lost in thought.
‘Utter horse shit!’ Seymour exclaimed.
‘Believe what you want,’ Reid said, then continued his search for the key.
‘I believe it,’ Adrian said.
‘Then you know we need to get the key and get out of here,’ Reid told him.
‘That, I can agree with,’ Seymour added.
But it appeared Mr. James had another idea in mind. ‘No. Even if we escape, then those things will be free, and if they follow us out then God knows what will happen, or where it will stop. We’ve all seen what they do, how they kill, but also how they turn people. Who knows how far it could spread? We have to stop it.’
‘Excuse me?’ Seymour asked, incredulous. ‘You’re insane, aren’t you? You deserve to be here. Think about it, you fool, if we stay here, then we die. At least if we get out, then we have a chance.’
‘Not for long,’ Adrian said. ‘I’ve seen the place this thing comes from. It is chaos, hate, violence, and death. We can’t let it infect our world.’
‘It won’t,’ Seymour argued. ‘Because it's not real.’
‘I’m not arguing with you about this, Seymour,’ Adrian said. ‘We have a chance to put an end to this whole thing, but we need to work together.’
‘And what do you have in mind?’ Seymour asked, throwing his hands up into the air in exasperation.
‘We go down to the host and use that,’ he said, then pointed to Jones’ weapon that lay on the floor. ‘Then all of this stops.’
/> ‘We don’t even know if that will work,’ Reid said. ‘Templeton couldn’t know for sure.’
‘We have to try,’ Adrian replied.
‘No,’ said Seymour. ‘I refuse.’
Adrian shrugged. ‘Then you’re on your own.’
‘Says who?’ Seymour asked, defiant, then looked up at Jack. ‘Don’t tell me you’re with him? He’s going to get you all killed.’
Jack took a step forward and stood next to Adrian, side by side, and folded his arms over his broad chest. His decision was clear.
‘You fucking idiot,’ Seymour spat. He then turned to Reid. ‘And what about you? Eager to die as well?’
The truth was, Reid was not eager to die at all. He regretted telling Adrian James so much, and he knew that going back down there to face that thing was suicide. But without that weapon of theirs for protection, he wouldn’t last long on his own. Especially if they couldn’t find the key to escape.
Reid felt like his whole world had fallen apart completely. He had leapt from one impossible choice—join a mad cult or die—to another; he could either wait around up here, unprotected, and likely die, or go down with them to try to end things… and likely die.
‘I’ll go,’ he said, hoping there was safety in numbers.
‘Idiots!’ Seymour said, laughing. ‘Fucking idiots.’
‘Stay here on your own then, coward,’ Adrian said. He picked up the nozzle of the weapon as his large friend retrieved the connected tank. ‘Or come with us and help. Either way, the rest of us are going to end this.’
‘You’ll die trying, you know,’ Seymour told them with a smile.
Adrian shrugged. ‘Maybe so. But it’s better than hiding and waiting to die. And to be honest, I’m tired of waiting for death to find me. Time to meet it head-on.’
47
Isaac Templeton was being pulled along by someone who should not exist.
‘Come,’ Robert instructed in a hoarse voice. ‘We must be quick.’
Robert had a tight hold of Templeton’s left wrist, and dragged him quickly along as Templeton scampered to keep up. Templeton kept himself low, like his guide, and his exposed, blackened flesh scraped across the harsh ground, sending searing pain through his exposed nerves. He let out a pained grunt.
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