Wither With Me

CHAPTER 39 - VOLATILITY

Above her head, William and Claire were leading the ascent. The gunshots from above were gone, replaced by a tumultuous rumble of human voices, muffled as they traveled down the elevator shaft. Some kind of big argument was happening up there. And Lilian was in the middle of it.

Nora could only imagine what her sister could be going through. Alone, surrounded by people she didn't know or felt comfortable with. Roaring firearms, violent screams... It was a world of hostility, one where she didn't belong.

Perhaps her mind wasn't even able to process any of it. The voice Nora was hearing inside her head kept fading in and out, incoherent and dizzy.

She steeled her resolve, and kept climbing up, one rung at a time. Some seconds later, her forehead bumped against something. Claire had stopped climbing.

"Ow!"

"W-What's that sound...?" asked Claire, looking towards the elevator doors by her side.

"I hear it too." said William, further up.

Nora noticed what they were talking about. Banging, coming from the deep darkness of the hospital, along with lethargic, sorrowful wails.

"It's the nest!" Marcus' voice came from somewhere near the bottom of the shaft.

"N-Nest...?" asked Nora, confused. "What is he talking about?"

"Keep climbing up, hurry! The basement won't be safe for long!"

"I fucking new it!" William's voice sounded angry. "I knew this would happen!"

They resumed climbing, at an accelerated pace. A nest? There was a nest inside the hospital? Nora hadn't heard about such a thing, and for some reason, it felt like she was the only one who didn't. She felt her heart sinking with dread, beating faster and faster with every rung she climbed.

However, she wasn't willing to sit down and cower. Not anymore. She had reached a conclusion, she had a goal in mind. It was too late to turn around.

'Sis, I'm here...! I'm coming. Don't listen to the noise. Listen to me instead. Focus on my voice. I'm coming. It's gonna be okay.'

...

As the group reached the top floors, the ongoing argument became louder and clearer. They followed the source of the voices through the hallways, until they approached one of the hospital's many waiting rooms.

William lifted his hand, prompting the group to stop just before reaching the doorframe. Nora watched as he pulled out his pocket mirror and used it to take a peek inside. Meanwhile, the altercation continued.

"Would you please lower your weapons already!?"

"Like hell I will!! Keep getting in the way and you'll get a bullet too!!"

"Enough!! This infighting will get us nowhere!"

"Matthew's head is in fucking pieces out there!!! And these retards want to stay still!?"

"I'm telling you, this has to be a misunderstanding!!!" Nora recognized Stella's voice among the bickering.

"T-The truck...!! One of the military trucks is headed right towards us!!!" another voice, which sounded more distant than the others. "They're coming!!"

Panicked screaming filled the room, followed by more gunshots.

"Aim for the tires!! Don't let them get closer!!"

William withdrew the mirror and turned around towards the rest of the group, concerned.

"I could describe the scene to you, but I think you get the idea already..." he whispered. The sound of the firearms masked his voice. "What do we do now?"