Too Far Gone

Chapter Three

As the eerie sounds steadily crescendoed, the haunting memories flooded back, as they always seemed to. Eric's hair stood on end, and goosebumps rapidly formed upon his forearms. The figure seemed to be walking towards him, but its stride was clumsy, uneven. It seemed as if the person were completely and utterly drunk, in all honesty. Then, he observed another head rise over the horizon. This was followed by another, then another, then another, until what seemed like dozens of silhouettes were staggering slowly in his direction. While one figure was unsettling to Eric, this many sent intense shivers down his spine. Paralyzed with indecision over whether to stay or run, Eric watched as they inched ever closer, the minute amount of remaining sunlight finally shining upon the figures. They were men, women, and children, many of them wearing red-stained hospital gowns or even doctor's scrubs.
     That sight was enough to convince Eric to flee, and he immediately turned tail and broke off into a sprint, his heart pounding rapidly in his chest. His first instinct was to go home and lock the door, but then he realized that his home was behind him, through the crowd. Cursing in frustration under his breath, he reached into his pocket and withdrew his cell phone, which he fumbled with as he desperately attempted to call 911. Putting the phone to his ear, Eric maintained his sprint as the phone rang.
     "911, what is the state of your emergency?" An older male voice replied, monotone and obviously bored.
     "My name is Eric McKay, and I found a group of people, most of whom seem to have been in the hospital. They're wearing hospital gowns, and they're covered in blood." He wheezed, not the most physically fit person in the world.
     "And are you at the hospital, sir?" The man asked, laced with sarcasm. Who did they have working there, anyways? As much as Eric wanted to snap back, he knew that it wouldn't do any good. Instead, he took a deep, labored breath and continued to relay information.
     "No, I'm about five blocks away from the hospital. They've been roaming around in my neighborhood, it seems." He responded, doing his best to keep calm.
     "Alright, sir, and what are they doing right now?" The operator asked, now seemingly interested in the situation. Turning around for a brief moment, he saw that the group was still following him in a tight cluster.
     "I think that they're... following me..." Eric mourned, his voice breaking slightly.
     "Okay, sir. The police are on their way. Now, I need you to find somewhere safe to wait this out, alright? Get out of sight, and stay there until the police arrive." The man's voice was far from comforting, and instead came across as demanding. Unprofessional. Eric thought to himself before replying.
     "A-Alright, sure." He murmured, his eyes scanning his surroundings for a place to hide. At first, nothing seemed to stand out, but then he noticed a tall, solid fence around the next corner. If he hid behind that, they might pass by. Rushing around the bend and dropping into a crouch, he quickly made his way behind the fence, which concealed him from view. As he waited, struggling to breathe quietly, he pressed the phone's speaker into the grass to muffle any voices that might emanate from it. The sound of heavy footsteps came from though the wooden planks, and he had to resist the urge to let out a sigh of relief as most of them passed by without stopping. After they seemed to have reached a safe distance, Eric relaxed a little. Putting the phone to his ear once again, he prepared to tell the operator that he had made it somewhere safe. However, before he could, the operator spoke.
     "Sir?" He said, his voice weak.
     "Yes?" Eric asked, worried.
     "The police won't be coming." Before Eric could ask for clarification, a cold, pale hand grasped his shoulder tightly, tugging him out from behind the fence..