Everybody is dead

Fifth chapter : The Hospital

The group is finally inside the hospital, everyone forms a circle and moves cautiously towards the reception, but it's a junction with corridors to the left and right. Alan and Tommy lean in and look down the corridors hidden at the corners of the walls. There are only five zombies. Alan tells Tommy, Kassandra, Ferragus, and Kate to each kill one. They nod and approach their respective targets, positioning themselves and waiting for Alan's signal. He counts down three seconds with his fingers, and when he reaches the end, they all quickly plunge their knife into the undead's skulls.

As soon as the lifeless bodies of the zombies hit the ground, Alan sweeps the room with his flashlight and doesn't see any other zombies, but he notices that on one of the walls of the reception area is the map of the ground floor. He approaches and sees that the cafeteria is right next to it, then he turns back to the group.

Alan: Ferragus, Tommy, go to the cafeteria and take all the supplies you can. We'll stand guard.

The people involved nod and head towards the cafeteria.

Alan takes the opportunity to explore the ground floor. As he walks, he feels his foot hit some sort of fabric. He looks down and sees that it's a crumpled French flag covered in blood. With sadness and regret, he picks it up and unfolds it, noticing two small loops at the top left and top right corners. He also notices two nails on the wall next to him. He quickly realizes that this was its place, once upon a time. He decides to hang it back up. Then, he takes a towel from one of the drawers at the reception desk and starts cleaning the flag of his country.

Meanwhile, Ferragus and Tommy fill their bags with the remaining supplies in the cafeteria.

Tommy: Damn, there's almost nothing left. This sucks.

Ferragus: Tell me about it. People must have taken everything they could before fleeing.

Tommy: Yeah, but very few people seem to have had that chance. Did you see the reception area ? I've never seen so much blood in my life.

Ferragus: Same here. I wonder what could have caused all this... Hey, what's that ?

Tommy looks in the direction Ferragus is pointing and sees through the poorly-fixed ventilation grille some supplies. They quickly move forward and start unscrewing the grille. After some effort, they remove it and find a stash of food and water bottles hidden inside. Ferragus and Tommy look at each other and start silently laughing, but their euphoria is quickly replaced by a question. As Ferragus reaches for the supplies, he's stopped by Tommy.

Tommy: Wait.

Ferragus: What ?

Tommy: What if this belongs to someone, and they hid it here ?

Ferragus: Well, I think that someone would be very foolish not to have taken everything they could before leaving, and then coming back to one of the most dangerous places in the city just for a few packets and bottles. Unless that someone stayed here. In that case, they're even more foolish.

Tommy considers Ferragus's point, and after a brief moment of reflection, they both start plundering the stash.

Ferragus: Damn, there's quite a lot here, and... GODDAMN !

Tommy: What, WHAT ?

Ferragus: Whiskey, 16 years old. I take back what I said; the person who did this was very cultured and knew where the priorities lay.

Tommy: Damnit, you scared me.

They finish filling their bags and return to the group.

Meanwhile, Alan is still cleaning the flag, but he's interrupted by Tommy.