The Last Alive

Chapter Eleven - Temporary Safety...back to the beginning

Chapter Eleven

Temporary Safety...back to the beginning

"What the hell do we do?" My body froze in fear.

"I have no idea. I didn't think it would have spread down here so fast," he said as loudly as he dared.

"Well, obviously its spread and fast. We need to figure something out and get out of here now!"

I didn't give him time to respond, I smacked the number two and hoped the elevator doors would close faster. I pushed myself against the back of the elevator wishing I could disappear into the steel paneling. A few of the undead heard and saw us. They stumbled toward the closing doors, but we were already heading up by time they reached us. I held my breath trying to mentally prepare for another hoard as we reached the second floor.

"Oh thank God," Nathan sighed.

"Let's not wait around for them to show up." I grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the small compartment and turned down a hallway. "Um, how about you lead the way since I have no idea where I'm at."

He chuckled lightly and took the lead. It was the first time I'd heard him laugh since this chaos started. He let go of my hand and pushed a door open just a crack. I watched as he disappeared into the vast darkness that lay on the other side. The few minutes he left my side felt like an eternity. My heart pounded against my chest as I stood out there all alone. I looked up and down the halls hoping that I would stay alone. A hand slipped out a crack in the door and grasped mine. I screamed and tried to jump back but it just pulled me into the darkness.

"Shh." Nathan wrapped his arms around me in an attempt to calm me down.

"You nearly gave me a heart attack!" I smacked his arm and walked away. "What is this place?"

"Surgeons lounge. It's where we all hang out and rest between surgeries. Or if we're on call we can catch a quick nap in the back."

"I don't plan on catching a quick nap." The silence echoed.

"We can at least hold up in here until someone can get to us," he said, shoving a broom through the door handles on the double doors.

"Is anyone coming?" I asked.

"They're going to have to if they don't want this to spread." He crossed the room and dead bolted the single door that lead to only he knew where.

"Did you just trap us in here?"

"I just blocked off anyway for one of those things to get in here and eat us."

"And trapped us in the meantime."

"Someone will come for us, Emma." He paced the dark room.

"Why can't we go out that door?"

"I don't know what's on the other side."

"Seriously?" I unlocked the door and pulled it open slightly.

A long, empty hallway greeted me. Again, nothing but silence.

"Are they out there?"

"No," I whispered.

"Okay." He looked around me and slid his slender body out of the room.

He took a few tentative steps down the hallway, his footsteps echoing off the barren walls, waiting and looking. I followed behind keeping my back pressed up against the wall of windows. My heart slammed against my chest with each door we passed. I nearly jumped out of my skin when the pounding behind me started. I screamed and fell over; staring at the smeared, bloody handprints left behind from the undead that were staggering around the small courtyard on the other side of the windows.

"How did they get out there?" I watched as they wondered around aimlessly.

"There's a door on the other side."

"Is that hall connected to our hall?"

"I don't think so." Nathan stared down the hall at nothing.

"Where does that door lead?"

"By the radiology department," he whispered.

"Why are you whispering?" I cried.

"I don't know what is on the other side of that door." He slowly pushed down on the metal bar that was across the middle of it. "Just stay back in case we are overrun. At least you may have a chance to run back to the other room."

"Let's go back. You were right; we can wait for help there. Risking it, it's not worth it."

"We can't go back. We have to get out of here." He pushed on the door.

"Why do you argue? I'm saying you were right, let's go back." Tears spilled down my cheeks. "Please."

"Come on, Emma. We have to get out of here. Do you want to wait around here for who knows how long? What happened to the brave girl that was out five minutes ago?"

"It was your idea!"

"And my idea has changed." He squeezed my hand and smiled. He was faking his optimism. There was no way anyone could be so happy and positive in the middle of the zombiepocalypse.

I held my breath as he pushed the door the rest of the way open. All was silent. Nathan grabbed my hand led me through the quiet reception area pausing near a corner. He peeked out one of the windows as a man in dark blue scrubs walked by staring at a stack of papers.

"I don't think he's one of them," I whispered watching the man walk down the hall. He didn't seem to be affected by anything going on.

"Stay here," Nathan replied.

I stood at the corner as he left the room and went after the other man. He hesitated at first before running up the guy and hugging him. I closed my eyes and let my head fall against the door. The breath I let out the breath I unknowingly held in. Relief flooded my mind. We weren't the only survivors. At least one other person survived, which meant perhaps the virus had not spread throughout the entire hospital yet.

Nathan and the other man ran back to our temporary safe haven.

"What is going on?" tall, dark, and gorgeous asked.

"Some virus is spreading like wild fire throughout the hospital," Nathan told him.

"What? How? Where?"

"Everywhere." He looked around nervously and returned to the door we'd just emerged from. "Look at this, Scott."

The man looked at Nathan incredulously, but went through the door.

"Holy shit. Is this some kind of joke?" Scott yelled as I heard his papers fall to the floor and him stumble into the wall behind him.

"No, this is all over the hospital. How have you not seen it?"

"I've been in the on call room sleeping all morning," he said. "What's going on?"

"A girl was brought in last night with flu-like symptoms. It wasn't the flu."

"What was it?"

"We don't know. I called the CDC, but I don't know if they believed me or not."

I heard glass shatter and the determined grunts of the undead trying to get to us. I sank to the floor behind the door and cried. Nathan and Scott ran back into the reception area with me and slammed the doors shut.

"How do you lock these?" Nathan yelled, throwing his weight against the metal doors as the horde pushed against them.

"I don't know. How do we get out of here?" Scott yelled back.

I had never seen two grown men freak out before.