All The Dark Places

27. The Hospital

Rosalind led the way to Athelgate. They planned to stop there to see if the Yearlings were doing all right and perhaps get some supplies. The wolf nuzzled her hand and turned its great gray head toward a copse of trees. She waited while Ivy changed shape. The disgusting ritual of it nauseated her again, but she kept her composure. She did not want to upset Ivy.

"What the actual fuck is that? Oh God... agh... that is disgusting..." Ethan covered his mouth as he watched in horror as Ivy became human again, stepping out of split open fur and misshapen form.

She was naked again, and Rosalind handed her a water canteen. Ivy poured it over her face and shoulders, enough to wash away the blood and the debris.

The town of Athelgate had once been a spa town, known for catering to well-heeled Brits who visited on weekend breaks to drink in tea parlors or visit the magnificent gardens, the race track or the mineral springs that had sprouted up several posh spa treatment centers. The average cost of a house in Athelgate was a quarter of a million... pounds, not dollars. It was a beautiful town. It was now mostly empty. A good portion of residents had left to go and seek out family and friends, smartly making communal living arrangements. Farms were highly sought after. Many of them left because they worried that any populated area would be targeted by the giant "invisible foot" that had crushed the bigger towns. Athelgate was neither big nor small. It was something in between, and she thought perhaps that had saved the place. Regardless, it was half empty now, and many of the shops had been looted, windows broken out and merchandise spilling out into the street. Cars backed up in clusters on the street, abandoned. A handful of people walked along the sidewalks, glaring at them and hurrying along faster as they approached.

"Excuse me," Ramona asked a young woman pushing a pram. "Where did everyone go?"

"Some went to find family. Some had better places than here. Family with farms and boats and the lot. I stayed. My whole family is here. You should know, if you plan on sacking this place; we've got nothing left. It's hardly worth your time."

The woman moved on nonchalantly as if nothing bothered her at all.

They moved through the streets of Athelgate and found the hospital, Hollywell Memorial.

"Do you think they're still here?" Ramona asked

"Where else would they be?" Rosalind replied.

The hospital was almost empty. Four patients remained; all moved to one small section of the hospital to be more easily cared for. A tag team of two nurses was all that remained of the staff. They were overwhelmed. Making their own survival was hard enough, but caring for a woman in chemotherapy, a diabetic, a dementia patient and a man with a broken leg was too much. The halls had been torn apart; papers and debris tossed everywhere. Clearly the place had been looted and picked clean. Doors had been knocked down and taken off of hinges.

"Stay back!" a woman warned, holding a .22 handgun. "Don't come any closer!"

They stopped in their tracks. The woman was Indian, and had very little of the accent left. She wore scrubs and a shower cap over her hair, rubber gloves on her hands.

"We mean you no harm, Miss," Ethan said, putting his hands in the air.

"You drop that gun right now!"

"All right, I'm putting it on the floor, slowly. Calm down."

"Step back, all of you!"

They obeyed, and the woman came forward, eyeing them carefully. She looked at the bird, Drago with a look of confusion.

"You cannot bring that animal in here," the woman said. "This is a hospital."

"Yes, I know. I'm sorry. I did not know where to leave him. We came to see a friend." Ramona spoke softly, her soft, raspy voice soothing.