Past the Storm

Chapter Four

"Run!" Taylor screamed, "follow me!"
It was hard to see her black hoodie in the dark hallway. I ran after her and realized we weren't going where the entrance I usually took was located but I followed her anyways.
Without thinking I turned around. A bright red human chased after us, blood dripped from his mouth and skin was stuck under his jagged finger nails. His eyes were a sickly yellowish color. I backed away, barely being able to think, but somehow something stuck in my mind and I ran.
I ran up to Taylor, finally matching her speed. I heard footsteps behind us, getting faster and faster. I felt parts of my shirt being clawed off my back and I knew in a second that I would be dead.
I felt a swish of wind in front of me and hands pulling me up. Taylor grasped around my arms, pulling as hard as she could. The creature scratched at me, desperately searching for skin and at last it's jagged nails cut through my pants, dragging their way through my skin. I winced in pain but I was up in the ceiling, away from that thing.
"Are you okay?" Taylor asked and I saw her eyes reach my leg. My hands hugged around my calf, blood seeping through my fingers. "Oh crap," she said, standing up,"oh crap! Jason!" She screamed, "Get over here! Room 20 floor 2!"
After she said that an older man, probably around Sam's age but maybe a little younger swooped in from above us. He had a short brown beard fixed with brown hair. Worry filled his gaze and I sensed he wasn't as daring as Taylor during this time.
"Whose this?" He asked, kneeling down to see my leg.
"Uh-"
"-Reed" I cut Taylor off. I was barely able to speak, pain distracted everything from my mind.
"I'm Jason Voyer. I was in medical school when this happened so I can help you." He grabbed my leg and ripped away the cloth around the scratch.
A chunk of my leg was missing along with a layer of skin, probably as wide as my hand.
"It didn't bite you, right?" Jason asked, looking at me for signs of symptoms.
I shook my head.
He pulled out a bottle and started pouring its contents on my leg. I pulled back, my leg felt as if it was being burnt off.
"What did you do?" I yelled.
"Chill, I'm just cleaning it." He grabbed my leg and began dabbing at it with a towel. Shortly after that he wrapped it up.
All while Jason was fixing my leg Taylor was nailing a board to the floor we had just climbed through. "Gotta keep this place safe," she said, pounding a hammer onto the golden brown wood.
"Follow me, Reed." Jason said as he worked his way through the broken air vents and tunnels. As we crawled through the tunnel there was almost no light. I felt a sense of fear drag onto me until we reached an opening. Jason flicked a light on and I looked around.
The room was about the size of a small bedroom. Boards were nailed all over the sides and maps and papers littered the floor. A pile of blankets was on each side of the room and a small pile of canned food sat in the far corner.
"Welcome home," Jason said. "You'll be here for a while now."