Winds Of The Apocalypse

by Novak, Karina

  "Morgan!" Casey forgot the idiotic nurse as she rushed to Morgan's side, kneeling beside him and wrapping her arms around his body, helping him up from the floor and holding him steady against her.

  "Morgan!" Casey looked at her pale brother who slowly opened his eyes, shuddering in Casey's grasp. "What the hell happened?! Are you all right?!"

  "I…" Morgan shook his head, flinching at the movement.

  "I felt…Weakness…Like I wasn't here for a second…I think that my heart stopped." Morgan heaved out, looking at his now slightly transparent hands that were slowly returning to normal.

  "Sorry! Sorry!" Colin's erratic voice came from behind the head board. "That was probably me! I kind of unplugged you for a second...But it's fine now! I attached the machine to the generator! It works great!" He smiled brightly and Casey roared in anger.

  "Hello moron!! What are we here for?! We are trying to prevent this kind of shit from happening! We are not here to kill him ourselves!" Casey declared as she glared at her apologetic looking friend.

  "I said I was sorry!” Colin tried to overcome Casey's loud shouting. “I…"

  "Stop! Stop fighting!" Morgan pushed himself away from Casey as he closed his eyes momentarily, placing a hand on his forehead and breathing in hard.

  “Morgan...C'mon...” Morgan let Casey support him as he felt a rush of warmth go through his body. It felt like he was getting heavier, like he was again bound by his human body, the connection grew stronger the longer he stayed next to it to support it, maybe it wasn't such a bad thing.

  "God….Remind me again why do I trust my life to the hands of a bunch of kids?"

  Morgan asked, laying his right hand on his throbbing forehead.

  "Because you don’t have a choice." Casey reminded him, rubbing his back gently, smiling at her big brother.

  "Oh, right, I thought it was something like that." Morgan smiled back at her; he was actually quiet shocked in a good way that his friend and siblings were handling the situation as well as they did.

  ”Ok, I’m done.” Colin declared as he had just finished setting the generator, connecting it to the machine they were going to bring with them.

  “Casey, can you help me out for a moment?” Casey looked at Morgan who nodded and then Casey let him go and went over to Colin, helping her friend to pick up the big black box from the floor and carefully set it on the bed where Morgan’s body was lying covered.

  "We need to get going." Colin said to the three siblings, making sure that the generator was set firmly against the covers and that it was not going to fall off.

  ”Wait.” Jon said as he looked at the nurse who was still standing by the doorway, staring at them blankly with fear evident in her eyes.

  "I'm sorry." He said to her, drawing her attention. "But we can't risk you following us and stopping us before we are out of here safely,”

  The nurse took a shallow breath; Jon was almost satisfied by the power of his words on her. “So,” He continued. “We don’t have a choice but to lock you in here."

  He reached his hands toward her, making her flinch. "Give me your keys please.”

  He asked politely but with a sense of no bargaining in his tone of voice.

  The nurse, looking at the others and seeing how determined they were with no way to escape them at the moment reluctantly reached into her pocket and handed the keys to Jon who nodded in gratitude and turned to Colin to help him role Morgan's hospital bed to the wooden door.

  Jon slowly opened the door and peeped outside.

  "The coast is clear." He said, opening the door as wide as it had allowed him. "Ok, let's go!" He ordered as they rolled the bed into the empty hallway with Casey and Morgan walking out after them.

  "Thank you." Casey said to the nurse before she had closed the door and locked her in the bedroom, relieved that she didn't start immediately to call for help.

  Casey didn't know it but the moment she closed the door the nurse smiled devilishly.

  She shed her human appearance and the apocalypse vanished, leaving the room empty as it was before Morgan's little gang ever came there.

  "C'mon! C'mon!" Morgan rushed his friends as they made their way to the elevator.

  "You can help, you know!" Casey snapped at him as she joined Colin and Jon in rolling the bed down the shiny linoleum.

  ”I am badly injured and my head hurts.” Morgan said dramatically making Casey roll her eyes in annoyance and Jon to laugh.

  “Well, will you at least get the elevator, you wounded war hero?” Casey asked, pushing the bed forward and Morgan, sighing, did as his sister asked him to, hurrying down the hall and pressing the silver button, almost jumping back at the sound of the annoying dong that followed as the elevators doors opened.

  "The elevator is waiting!” He called out to his friends who were meters from him.

  “Hurry up! C’mon!” He rushed them, holding the open door with his foot.

  “Shut up or your head won’t be the only thing that hurts you annoying thing you!”

  Casey threatened.

  They were almost at the doors of the lift ,ready to roll Morgan’s bed in when suddenly they heard a shout ,a male voice screaming at them from somewhere down the hallway.

  "Hey kids! What the fuck are you doing?!"

  Casey turned to see the gorilla like guard that was earlier at the entrance to the hospital stumbled against his own feet in his attempt to get to them.

  "Hurry!" Morgan screamed as he jumped away from the elevator door to help his friend push the bed with his body into the elevator. "Press the button Colin!" Morgan ordered his friend who was the first to go in and now the closest to the keyboard.

  Colin hit the ‘Exit’ button and the elevator doors slowly began closing as they all held their breath at the sight of the balky guard hurrying his pace to catch up to them.

  The doors almost closed completely when the guard finally managed to cross the hallway, his sweaty hands grabbed at the metal as he tried to pry the doors open.

  "You won't get away!" He grinded his teeth, scratching at the doors that were pulling to each other, he already saw that it was quiet hopeless to try and keep them apart.

  ”Aaggh!!” The guard shoved his fingers inside, frantically trying to grab at one of the kids clothing. 'Do we really get caught now when we are so damn close to succeeding?!'

  Casey thought to herself, her face contorted.

  ”No way!” She decided loudly, and before anyone could stop her she launched herself onto the guard's hand, sinking her teeth in his palm, biting down hard enough to almost hear the satisfying snapping, she could already feel the disgusting rusted taste of the blood in her mouth.

  The guard screamed in shock and sharply tagged his hand out of Casey’s mouth.

  "You little!!!" His outraged voice was muffled as he let go of the doors and unwillingly let them descend downstairs.

  “Casey!” Morgan stared at her astonished as Casey wiped the blood from her moth, seemingly resembling a deranged kitten.

  “Not now!” Casey growled as the elevators doors opened.

  "NOW! Go! Go! GO!"

  Casey rushed them all out of the lift and out of the lighted lobby, wheeling the bed into the darkened street and up the road that led to the truck they left waiting.

  “Start the engine!” Casey commanded Colin as she and others opened the tracks back and lifted the bed onto it with Morgan lifting the generator on his own to prevent it from falling.

  ”Careful with the pump!” He growled as Casey lifted the glass tube and handed it to him. “We know, now move!” Casey and Jon climbed into the back and then Casey bent to shut the rump.

  "We are in!" She yelled, banging on the back window to get Colin to start driving.

  "Hey!!! Kids! I order you to get back here!" The guard that they had encountered in the upstairs hall had somehow made it to the lobby and was now running up the road to catch up to them.

  "Step on it!" Casey howled as Colin hit the gas and the car
roared past the astonished guard and onto the freeway.

  The teens laughed as they saw the guard sweating and cursing, trying to run after them, but he was too fat and too slow, probably from all those cigarettes he was inhaling earlier, whatever the cause was, it was too late to catch them anyway, even if he was in a better shape.

  The sound of laughter filled the air as the teens made their way back to the mansion.

  They did it; Casey looked at her brother who was sitting beside her, his right hand on the white arm of his own unconscious body.

  They really did it, Morgan was now out of danger, nothing will be able to get him in that old ethic, or at least, that was what Casey hoped.

  The sun had almost risen when the gang had finally made it back to the school grounds. They didn't expect the police to get to the hospital as quickly as they did and they were almost caught coming out from the path that leads to the hospital, it was a good thing that Colin had spotted that movie style dark alley to hide them.

  Right after the kids had left the property the police cars swarmed in so the teens had to get off the main road and hide in the nearby forest that the alley had lead them too to avoid the police cars as they howled through the night, racing to get to the hospital, racing to stop them although they were already out of their reach.

  ”We can hide here until they leave to look somewhere else.” Colin said as he silenced the engine and joined the siblings in the back part of the big truck, watching with them from the little hill they had parked on as the police cars cut off the hospitals area and entered the building in search of some none existent clues.

  For four hours the teens did nothing but just sat and watched as the cops searched for them in the streets and in the blacker then black alley ways, interrogating the fat guard that was now leaned against the hospitals building wall, huffing but they didn't see the nurse that they had most certainly freed from Morgan’s locked bedroom.

  Casey was a little surprised when the cops didn't go straight for the summer school. It seemed that the nurse they had locked in Morgan's room hadn't gave them away for some reason or told anyone of the cops about their identity although she had clearly known it and for that Casey was grateful.

  she figured it was because the nurse will sound crazy saying two almost identical boys had kidnapped a body, one of them, the spirit of the missing child but none the less Casey had made a mental note in her head to thank the nurse for all her help after their little adventure was over…If they make it alive, that is, that was too not completely certain with the monsters and all.

  "Morgan…” Casey looked at her brother who was now leaned against the covers of the hospital bed.

  “Morgan, are you ok?" Casey asked, concerned seeing as Morgan was a lot quieter than usual with his hazel eyes half open and unfocused and his breath is as shallow as it could get.

  ”Morgan?” Casey reached her arms to pull her twin back and against her, looking at the tired expression spread on her brother’s features and then as she watched him further Casey realized that Morgan’s soul was not as clear as it used to be.

  Even in the dim light of the forest Casey could see that Morgan’s physical form became more transparent and was now slowly fading, like it did in the hospital when he was accidentally unplugged. That couldn't be a good sign.

  “Morgan?”

  "I'm fine…" Morgan mumbled, letting his head slide to the side, onto Casey’s shoulder. “I’m fine Casey…Don’t worry.” He whizzed, clearly not.

  "You are not fine Morgan!” Casey growled. “Stop trying to convince me! What's going on with you?” She demanded.

  “It’s nothing…”

  “Morgan…”

  “Morgan! Just tell us." Jon looked at his older brother, he too realizing what Casey had already saw.

  Morgan sighed and opens his eyes, moving a bit to make himself lean away from his baby sister although he was practically weightless.

  "I don’t know what it is…I just feel…kind of tired…Somehow not so forceful…”

  He looked at Casey. “I just feel like I am really drained."

  ”What…? Why?” Casey looked at Colin who was sitting next to the generator.

  “What’s going on?” She asked, pointing at the black square box.

  “Is that thing working all right?”

  “Err…Hold on…” Colin said as he cheeked the battery. “Shit…”

  “Colin…” Casey breathed in. “That was really not what I wanted to hear right now.”

  "The damn generator is not strong enough…” Colin huffed.

  “We don’t have a lot of time until it gives out."

  "What do you mean, gives out?!" Casey nearly jumped with Morgan still leaned against her. "Are you saying that it just might stop working?!" She asked, outraged.

  Colin nodded. "No, I am telling you that it will stop working and pretty damn soon too if we won't plug it to another power source.”

  “Well, how long do we have?” Casey asked in near panic. Colin bit his lip. “Colin!” “About an hour.” Colin admitted, his face distorted.

  “WHAT?!” Casey screamed, almost deafening everyone. “What?! Why didn't you tell us that sooner?!” “You didn't ask!” "Then we have to get back to the school!" Casey looked at Colin that stared back at her.

  "NOW!" She squeaked when no one seemed to grasp the seriousness of the matter.

  “But we might get caught." Colin tried to warn her.

  Casey huffed, glancing at Morgan who had just closed his eyes again, his body becoming way too relaxed to Casey’s liking. "Then it’s a risk I am willing to take." Casey declared firmly.

  ”Casey…”

  "I am not losing him now! Not after all this! Now get going Colin! Drive us back!”

  Colin shrugged helplessly but ultimately nodded. He climbed back into the front sit and started the engine, putting his two hands on the dark wheel and with minor reluctance drove them out of the forest and back up to the main road.

  He wasn't going to argue with Casey, not about saving the life of his best friend, not when the loss of his friend was still fresh in his stomach; he just hoped that they would get there in time, that all of this wasn't for nothing.

  They arrived at the school just as the first lights of the new day were beginning to stretch over the horizon.

  The place was still surprisingly quiet, the air was moist and no disturbance was visible on the surface.

  Casey half expected the cops to get there before them but surprisingly enough the police hadn't figured out that the culprits were children so the gang wasn't disturbed by anyone as they carefully lowered the hospital bed onto the ground and then, with more than a slight difficulty began ascending it up the stairs to the main entrance, with three story worth of stairs still ahead of them.

  Casey huffed; this wasn't going to be fun or easy to do.

  “Oh my god…” Casey complained for the fifth time as they finally managed to get the big metal bed and the radiator up to the third floor. “Oh god…My back.” She muttered.

  “Aghh, stop it Casey, we are almost there.” Colin growled, pushing the bed up the ramp that lead to the ethic.

  “My god, why couldn't we wake Toby for this?” Jon sighed, he too, feeling a bit drained from the effort.

  “Cuss he wouldn't have been much help, he is still injured.” Colin reminded him, looking at Morgan who walked after them, his eyes half open and his movement heavy like he was in some kind of a trance.

  “And why couldn't they have installed an elevator in this place?” Casey continued her whining.

  “It’s an old place.” Jon groaned, pushing the bed up to the heavy looking dark door in front of them.

  “And there are no handicaps among the students.” Morgan chipped in.

  "Wait a second." Colin whispered when they had finally got to the locked ethnic.

  He took out a little key from his back pocket and unlocked the heavy door that blocked their path to the musty room.

 
“Where did you get that?” Casey raised her eyebrow.

  “Din was keeping copies of all the keys to this place, stole them from the genitor I think.” Colin answered.

  “Huh, Din…” Casey smiled. “Helping us get into trouble even when he is not here.” “C’mon…” Colin pushed the bed in fallowed by Casey who was now supporting Morgan and Jon that carried the generator behind them.

  “Oh my god!” Casey gasped as her lungs met the suffocating dust filled air that lingered in the space of the ethnic.

  “Oh fuck…” Colin gasped, putting his hand on his mouth to block the smell that seemed to be rising from everywhere. “God, it’s like a tomb in here, Toby told me it was bad but…Fuck.”

  He looked at Jon who set the generator down. “You look completely at ease Jon, don’t you fucking smell that?” He asked, astonished.

  "Nope,” Jon smiled. “You know, the perks of being almost dead and all."

  “At least that.” Colin agreed. “At least you don’t have to deal with the smell.”

  "Oh god…." Casey choked, coughing loudly. “I don’t get it.” She whizzed.

  “Did something actually fucking die up here?!"

  "I hope not.” Colin crossed his arms over his chest. “Cuss if they find Morgan and the dead thing in the process the police would probably blame us for that too.”

  “Not funny.” Casey rubbed her head.

  ”Oh don’t worry,” Colin reassured her. “I think we can get used to this, you probably won't even notice the smell after a few days here."

  "That’s reassuring." Casey gasped again; she wanted to gag so badly.

  “Yes, as reassuring as the fact that my body will be soaked in this god damn smell, that way the cops will defiantly think that you killed me.” Morgan pointed out casually with a quiet chuckle

  “Angh, don’t even say that!” Casey pushed him as Colin went past them, rolling the bed up to the electricity plugs in the wall and replacing the generator with the fresh electricity plugging it into the outlet at the nearby wall.

  "Mmm…" Morgan made a sound of relieve as soon as the cable was in. It was a very quick change from his tired and overly transparent complexion. His solid form had returned and he felt practically regenerated.