Y Sunday, February 22, 2009
2:54 am
The momentum behind her charge led her to the ground, face first. Surprisingly, Kate made no sound as she landed hard on the ground.Not bad, she's learning.
Her eyes watered as she got to her feet, fists clenched as if she could redirect the pain to her palms.
Ian switched on the flashlight taped to the pistol and advanced cautiously into the corridor. They had came in from a side entrance, and were making their way to the reception area, hoping to find a map of sorts.
The hospital was dark and musty, and had a foreboding gloom to it. Its faded walls were permeated not with the smell of medicine, but of decay. Years of neglect has left the place in shambles, and every step they took amplified their sense of doom.
Ian spied familiar plastic chairs up ahead, and increased his pace. Front desk must be close. Arriving at the reception, Ian scanned his surroundings with his torch.
Kate quickened her steps and not only caught Ian, but her legs as well.
This time, she was more than prepared, and used her elbows to break her fall. It was not as Kate expected, however, as she landed not with a thud, but a soft thump. Puzzled, she narrowed her eyes and examined what she fell on.
PFC Martin A Brown
She screamed.
Ian spun around, eyes widened.
Kate was tangled with what looked like a corpse, a corpse with a helmet. He lunged forward and ignored the sharp pain flaring up his side in a desperate bid to silence the distraught girl.
Ian shook his head in violent disapproval as he cupped Kate's mouth, her eye still wide in a silent scream. He held her by the shoulders and shook her, and whispered hoarsely"Calm down! What the hell do you think you're doing?!"
On hearing Kate's slowed breathing, he examined the corpse. It bore the characteristic tan uniform of the US marine corps.
"What in the world is the US Army doing here? Jesus, what the fuck is going on?" Ian wondered out aloud.
Before he could sort his thoughts, screams and shouts emanated from the distance.
It was not clear, but he could just barely make out words. Turning to Kate, he put his fingers on his lips and motioned for her to move forward slowly.
"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING, KILL HIM NOW!"
"I'm TRYING. GODDAMNIT."
The voices came more strongly as the pair advanced towards the stairs leading to the basement.
Survivors.
Ian grabbed Kate by the arm and immediately started towards the stairs. Kate stumbled along, still dazed by the grim encounter.
"Move, damn you! Come on!"
They arrived at the stairs and quickly made their way down. The pain in his right was becoming close to unbearable, but Ian did not care.
The sight that greeted him was almost as unbelievable as this whole mess itself. There was a hooded man pinning another onto the ground, clawing wildly at him while the other tried to push him off, but the combined effects of gravity and body mass proved too much.
Nearby, a man choking sounded off, but Ian had no time for that. He pulled the pistol and took aim.
Wait. Who was who?
He had to take a chance. Besides, who in the right mind would jump on another person and start clawing his face?
Lining up the iron sights, Ian squeezed the trigger. The recoil reverbrated strongly through his arm, but the figure on top would not budge. Instead, it let off a blood-curdling scream and largely ignored Ian and the hole in its back.
His target confirmed, Ian re-aligned his weapon and fired off his weapon a few more times, taking care not to hit the man pinned below.
The bullets ate into the monster's flesh like a hot knife through butter as it was thrown away by the stopping power of the gun. The undead creature rolled briefly across the floor and went limp, its head lolled to one side.
Ian exhaled and lowered the gun, the edges of his vision slowly darkening. He felt as if he was flying. The last thing he saw was Kate rushing forward, calling out to him.