Outsiders

Chapter 14

Nash's POV

We were held up in a hospital room, its air heavy with the smell of antiseptic and the clutter of medical supplies strewn across the floor. The cabinets lining the walls were stocked with an array of medications, their labels faded with age. Elisabeth lay motionless on the bed, her breathing shallow and labored, while Josh rifled through the cabinets in search of anything that could help her. I stood sentinel at the doorway, my senses on high alert amidst the eerie silence punctuated only by the occasional creak of the old building.

"What was that?" Josh's voice trembled with unease, breaking the tense quiet.

"I don't know. Keep looking for something to help her," I replied, my gaze fixed on the dimly lit corridor beyond the door. Anxiety gnawed at me, but I forced myself to focus on guarding Elisabeth.

Suddenly, a force knocked me off balance, and searing pain shot through my arm as something sank its teeth into me-a wolf, its eyes wild with hunger. I cried out in pain and struggled to fend it off, fear gripping me as its jaws tightened. Just as panic threatened to overwhelm me, Josh sprang into action, roaring fiercely and driving the animal away with a ferocity that surprised even me. Gasping for breath, he reverted to his human form, his chest heaving with exertion.

I managed a weak smile of gratitude, though the pain in my arm throbbed relentlessly. "Thanks, buddy," I managed to say through gritted teeth.

Josh's expression darkened as he noticed the blood staining my sleeve. "Nash, your arm- we can't ignore this," he insisted urgently, his voice betraying his concern.

"No, focus on finding something for Elisabeth first. My arm can wait," I urged, trying to suppress the throbbing ache as I gestured toward Elisabeth's unconscious form. Reluctantly, Josh nodded and returned to his frantic search through the cabinets, his movements frantic and desperate.

"Nash..." A voice, distant yet hauntingly familiar, echoed down the hallway, sending a shiver down my spine.

"Did you hear that?" I asked Josh, turning to him with wide eyes. He shook his head distractedly, his attention consumed by the task at hand.

"No? What did you hear?" His brow furrowed in confusion, his hands sifting through vials and bandages.

"I thought I heard someone calling my name," I admitted hesitantly, my senses on high alert as the voice called out again, more insistent this time.

"Nash!" Unable to ignore it any longer, I glanced at Josh, who remained oblivious to the unsettling echoes reverberating through the hospital's stale corridors. Determined to investigate, I cautiously stepped into the murky hallway, its walls adorned with peeling paint and tangled webs.

After about twenty agonizing minutes of wandering through the labyrinthine corridors of the hospital, unsure of my exact location, "Josh?! If you can hear me, yell back!" My voice echoed through the dimly lit passages, the flickering lights casting eerie shadows that seemed to dance and sway with every step.

The silence that followed was oppressive, broken only by the distant hum of failing machinery and the occasional drip of water somewhere in the distance. Sighing heavily, I continued my solitary journey through the stale, antiseptic-scented air that hung heavy around me. The abandoned stretchers and overturned chairs littered the hallway, remnants of chaos left unchecked.

Just as I began to feel the weight of isolation settle upon my shoulders like a heavy shroud, a soft, spectral voice whispered my name from the shadows.

"Nash..."

My heart skipped a beat, freezing me in place. The voice was unmistakably not Josh's. "Hello?" I called out tentatively, my voice trembling with a mix of fear and uncertainty, my eyes straining to pierce the darkness.