OUT OF (TOUCH) ... eddie munson

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THE MAN HAD BEEN AT THE DOOR STILL.

lucille had hit the jar over his head. the side not yet bandaged. she shouldered him out with dedication, not nearly as strong as him. her hands clamored to find his hips and push him with all of the dedication that she could muster.

it had been what felt like an hour that he was at the door, clobbering at it mercilessly and trying to unlock it. she stayed by it, mortified by the thought that he might unlock it the moment she left it alone. lucille strained for the phone. it was just out of reach. she panted, hair falling lamely from a pathetically-made updo and sticking to the sides of her face. she winced, arm outstretched and wiggling her fingertips as they grazed the bottom of the telephone. there was one final smack against the door, and she flinched the second the pounding stopped.

she tried to mentally prepare herself for defeat, and she fully expected him to just slam the door open now. it was quiet for a moment. she listened, looking down at the crack of the door. she heaved a sigh of relief after a few minutes of being on edge and on guard had come to pass. she moved to grab the phone. it rang a few times, "please, please please. please, please," she mumbled, looking between her brother and the door.

"run!" someone outside had said. there were urgent footsteps outside that she could hear, perking her ears up, eyes locked on the door. they ran past her room, "this way, this way!" she felt her body tense as their voices and steps distanced, and a single, slower pair moved past her door. they stopped for a second. they pivoted left, toward her brother's room. she saw the figure of a person through the nearly sheer hospital room curtains come to a halt. her heart sank as she watched it, almost entranced by how still it was.

the figure moved along again, and soon enough, the steps were gone, too.

lucille opened the curtain slightly, peeking out of it. she scrunched her eyes shut at the sight of a patient whose iv stand lie on the floor with her. her blood and the iv fluid were mixing together in a swirl as she lay there. lifeless and in a hospital gown. there was another pair of steps coming from the right of the room, where the others had come from. she caught a glimpse of the man walking now, and saw that it was the man from earlier. he walked slow, same as the person before him. he stopped, turning his head and burning a hole right through the curtains. lucille squeezed her eyes shut another time, holding back a yelp as she bit down onto her lips. by the time she had opened her eyes, he was gone.

she wiped her brow, thinking to herself. were there a group of people out there? were they killing aimlessly? was it a cult of sorts, maybe like the manson family? fuck, man... why did he say they were salvation?

she grabbed the phone, ringing for the receptionist again. nothing. again. nothing.

it had been a short while after she'd seen the bloodied man when lucille heard someone shouting and pleading for help. she became more alert, the hairs on her neck standing up as she looked back out the window. "is anyone here?!" was screamed from the hallway.

lucille moved to the door, opening it slightly as it groaned. she listened for the footsteps as they got closer to her. she saw the dead patient, and underneath the window sat a dead doctor, too. she sniffled through a deep breath as the person screaming turned down her hall. lucille's eyes grew wider as nancy grabbed a fire extinguisher from the wall, whimpering with flailing breaths. she forgot to speak, her voice was caught in her throat. she snapped out of the situational shock, wiping her face, "nancy?" she opened the door more, and when the girls locked eyes, lucille made room for nancy to come in, extending her arm and beckoning her toward. nancy puffed as she hobbled ferociously into the room, and lucille closed the door gently without a second thought.