Corridor

Short Story - Corridor

The hospital stood as a grim testament to the chaos that had swept the city. Abandoned gurneys lined the corridors, and the once-busy reception area now lay in shambles. The flickering fluorescent lights cast eerie shadows that danced on the cracked walls. Outside, the streets were desolate, a silent graveyard of abandoned cars and discarded belongings.

Dr. Caramel Steele had been working tirelessly for days, trying to stem the tide of the mysterious infection that had turned the city into a living nightmare. The hospital was her last bastion of hope, a place where the uninfected sought refuge from the horrors outside. But even here, danger lurked in every corner. As the sun dipped below the horizon, casting a blood-red hue across the sky, Caramel's pager buzzed. She glanced at the message: "Code Blue, Level 4." Her heart sank; Level 4 meant an infected patient. Taking a deep breath, she grabbed her flashlight and a syringe filled with a potent antidote. The corridor was dimly lit, the silence broken only by the distant groans of the infected. 

Caramel's footsteps echoed as she made her way to the isolation ward. The heavy metal door creaked open, revealing a scene of utter despair. A lone figure lay on a hospital bed, writhing and moaning. Caramel's flashlight revealed the telltale signs: bloodshot eyes, pallid skin, and a grotesque contortion of limbs. The patient was on the verge of transformation. She approached cautiously, her heart pounding in her chest. The infected patient's gaze fixed on her, eyes filled with a maddening hunger. 

Caramel knew she had little time. With steady hands, she administered the antidote, praying that it would take effect before it was too late. Minutes passed like hours as Caramel watched for any signs of improvement. The patient's convulsions began to subside, and the color slowly returned to their face. Caramel let out a sigh of relief; she had saved another life. But her respite was short-lived. 

A guttural growl echoed from the corridor behind her. Caramel spun around, flashlight beam cutting through the darkness. Two pairs of bloodshot eyes glinted in the light, and a pair of emaciated arms reached out, fingers curling like claws. The infected had breached the isolation ward. Heart racing, Caramel backed away, her mind racing for a way out. She glanced at the patient she had just saved, now struggling to sit up. The antidote had worked, but it seemed to have only delayed the inevitable. Caramel's hands trembled as she fumbled for her radio. 

"Code Red! All available personnel to Level 4, isolation ward!" she shouted into the radio. Static crackled in response, and Caramel knew she was on her own. The infected were closing in, their moans growing louder, more frenzied. She sprinted down the corridor, her flashlight beam darting from side to side. The hospital seemed like a labyrinth of death, each corner hiding a potential threat. Her breath came in ragged gasps as she burst into the emergency stairwell. The door slammed shut behind her, and for a moment, she felt a flicker of safety.

Caramel climbed flight after flight of stairs, each step bringing her closer to the roof. As she burst onto the rooftop, she was met with a chilling sight. The infected were everywhere, their numbers too great to comprehend. They swarmed the rooftop, their vacant eyes fixed on her. Desperation took hold as Caramel backed away, her heart pounding. There was nowhere left to run. With a defiant scream, she raised her flashlight high and swung it at the nearest infected. The impact was enough to knock it off balance, and it tumbled off the rooftop, a final, pitiful wail escaping its lips. 

But there were too many. They closed in on her, their hands reaching out, teeth gnashing. Caramel fought with every ounce of strength she had left, but it was futile. As their grasp tightened around her, she knew that her struggle was in vain. The last thing Caramel saw was the blood-red moon overhead, a silent witness to the horrors that had befallen the city. The infected had claimed another victim, and the hospital, once a sanctuary of healing, had become a tomb of the damned. And so, the darkness swallowed Caramel whole, leaving only the haunting echoes of her final screams to linger in the night. 

The end.