God's Confectorium - Chapter 6
The five men watch as the world around them slowly changes into something entirely different, leaving only what looks to be metal framework behind. The siren stops as soon as the world has completed its transformation into this distorted and broken looking reality. The pale, foggy sun from earlier is gone, leaving only darkness behind making the guys feel like they truly are in a horror movie.
“What’s going on?” Mikey’s panicked voice squeaks out, echoing around them. “What’s happening? What is this? Where are we?”
“Shut up!” Bob hisses through the dark and Frank knows his eyes are darting through the impenetrable darkness in search for any more monsters looking to come out and attack them. “Now is not the time to draw attention to ourselves. We don’t know if the things we’ve been encountering are any worse in this world or whatever the fuck we’re in right now.”
“Why is it so fucking dark?” Frank sighs as he waves his hand in front of his face, desperate for his eyes to adjust to the lack of light. He can hear Gerard rustling around in his bag a bit before a small beam of light illuminates the immediate area around them. Frank momentarily forgets his anger at the man in his relief that Gerard had even thought to bring a flashlight.
Ray whimpers, drawing Frank’s attention back to the bleeding man next to him. His mangled arm is bleeding badly and Frank feels his stomach churn. No amount of gory horror films could have prepared him for this.
“We need to get him to a hospital,” Frank murmurs, turning back to Gerard who looks like he’s about to burst into tears. “Is there one even in this town?”
If there wasn’t, would they even be able to leave? Frank feels his stomach stir again, this time from pure dread. What if they were stuck here forever, this dark world trapping them in with nothing but disfigured monsters and a psycho religious freak to keep them company?
“Y-yeah,” Gerard chokes out, clearing his throat. He takes the map out of his pocket again, unfolding it and looking over it before glancing around the black, metallic wasteland. “There’s a hospital. It’s not too far from here.”
“Well can we get a move on then?” Ray asks, gesturing towards his injured limb. “I’d like to be able to retain this appendage, if you don’t mind.”
Frank moves to grab Ray and support him but Mikey shoves Frank aside citing that Frank was much too short to be of any real help at the moment. Frank huffs before taking his place behind Bob and Mikey as they help Ray hobble down the park, with all five of them keeping an eye out for any more creatures waiting to spring into action.
Gerard keeps the flashlight shining forward as the group makes their way back to the main part of town. With the siren having stopped, the village seems to have reverted back to silence, making its name seem even more fitting.
Frank strains his ears, hoping he can detect if another monster, or maybe even another human, is approaching them from the dark that the flashlight seems to barely penetrate.
“How much further to the hospital?” Mikey asks, staggering a little under Ray’s weight. Ray’s legs aren’t hurt but Frank knows he’s taking advantage of the fact that Bob and Mikey seem willing to carry him along.
“Um,” Gerard deliberates as he glances back over the map. “It shouldn’t be too far now. Just up ahead of us actually.”
Frank heaves a silent sigh of relief. Good. They can get Ray patched up and then get the fuck outta Dodge.
They walk a little further, nothing but the sounds of their shuffling feet breaking through the almost tangible quiet around them when Mikey breaks the silence again.
“What’s that?” He nods forward and the rest of the guys instantly know what he’s addressing.
“Oh my God,” Gerard undertones, freezing in his path. Frank swallows a scream as his eyes grow wider. This fucking - thing - is huge. And the razor sharp blade it’s holding is almost just as big. The creature’s body is normal looking, minus some of the grotesque scars decorating its bare torso, but its head is far from usual. It looks almost as if the creature had stuck its head into some sort of a triangular metal helmet and gotten it stuck.
“Gerard,” Bob murmurs as if trying to avoid drawing too much attention to them. Too late, the huge creature is already moving towards the men, its large blade dragging along the ground making an ear-piercing noise. “Come help Mikey with Ray. Run to the hospital and get him help. I’ll distract this thing.”
Frank moves to volunteer to help Bob but stops when he sees Bob already shaking his head.
“You need to help Gerard and Mikey. Now when I say three, fucking run and don’t stop till you get to the hospital and are safe. Gerard says it’s a straight shot, so don’t try to take any detours.”
The four men nod and Bob turns back to face the monster as Gerard takes his place at Ray’s side.
“One,” Bob mutters, stepping away from the others toward the giant creature. “Two…”
Frank takes the flashlight from Gerard and braces himself to run as Gerard and Mikey work to lift Ray between the two of them. It’d probably be better if Ray rode on one of their backs, but Frank doubts either of them would be strong enough to run under that kind of added weight.
Bob’s final count of three catches Frank off-guard and he stumbles a little before running full speed behind Gerard, Mikey, and Ray. He hears Bob cry out behind him, followed by a loud metallic scraping sound but can’t bring himself to look back. Bob would be fine. He’s already taken on the other monsters they’ve encountered, he’s gotta be able to take this one on too.
The beam from the flashlight bounces around on the ground in front of them as they push forward through the dark desperate to find the hospital.
“Up there!” Gerard wheezes out, nodding at the building looming out of the dark in front of them. The guys push forward, exhausting the last of their energy as they sprint through the front entrance, skidding to a stop in what looks to be an abandoned lobby.
“Holy shit,” Mikey gasps as him and Gerard lower Ray to the ground before both collapsing in a small heap. “What the fuck is wrong with this place?”
Frank slumps down against the tarp-covered wall and shuts his eyes. Maybe if he closes them long enough and opens them he’ll be back in Jersey in the studio with the band throwing out ideas for the new album. He opens his eyes, the small glimmer of hope fading as he realizes he’s still in this God forsaken place.
Before he can stop himself, tears are spilling over and he’s choking out a sob, drawing the attention of the other three guys to him.
“Frankie?” Gerard asks, his voice thick with worry as he jumps up, rushing to kneel next to Frank. “Frankie are you okay?”
The sobs shaking Frank have rendered him speechless so all he can do is shake his head as more tears pour down his face. Gerard leans forward and wraps his arms tight around Frank’s small, shaking frame and rubs his back softly.
“Shhh, Frank… It’s going to be okay,” Gerard soothes, his voice soft and close to Frank’s ear. Frank knows his words are empty though, that Gerard is only trying to comfort him. For all they know, Bob is dead and they’re not likely going to last much longer.
“No,” Frank sniffs, the sobs finally calming down a bit. “It’s not going to be ‘okay’, Gerard. Bob is probably dead. Ray’s hurt and could die if we don’t get him help. And even if we do get him fixed, we are all still fucking stuck in this shithole.”
Frank is seething by the time he’s done with his mini rant and the tears pouring from his eyes are more out of anger than of fear now. Gerard really was being a fucking idiot. How could he think everything was going to be okay? Typical Gerard, always thinking everything is just going to be peachy and perfect. He needs to stop being an optimist and start being a realist.
“No,” Gerard argues, shaking his head so fast that Frank knows he’s probably making himself dizzy. “That’s not true, Frankie. We’ll get out of here. We’re going to be okay. All of us. Even Bob.”
Frank looks up at the dark tarps that line the walls and ceiling and releases a deep breath, “Whatever you say, Gerard.”
Gerard must not pick up on the fact that Frank is only agreeing to shut him up because he smiles at him and squeezes his knee softly before turning back to the other two men who are collapsed against the other wall.
“We should probably get you some help,” he says, his eyes surveying Ray’s wounds that are still leaking out large sums of blood.
“Gerard, do you really think there’s anyone even here capable of helping him?” Frank deadpans, gesturing around the abandoned lobby. It looks like no one has been here in years. Gerard swallows loudly and Frank raises an eyebrow at him. He’s right. Gerard has no idea what to do now that he’s gotten them all into this mess.
“Great, we’re all going to die,” Mikey moans melodramatically as he slides further down the wall, crinkling some of the papers that litter the floor.
“Shut up, Mikey,” Gerard snaps, obviously annoyed that everyone has already accepted death as their fate. “We’re not going to die. Now someone help me fucking find a map or something of this place so we can figure out where a nurses’ station might be.”
Frank sighs, pulling himself to his feet and making his way across the trashed lobby to what was once probably a receptionist desk. He sifts through the countless stacks of papers that cover the table top in search of anything that may help them figure out where the hell to go in this creepy building. Mikey sits by Ray, tying a piece of cloth Frank had tossed to him in a sort of makeshift tourniquet.
“Hey!” Gerard shouts making Frank jump as he grabs a stapler, brandishing it as a weapon in defense. Frank realizes nothing is wrong as Gerard’s just holding a piece of paper in front of him and shoots a glare at him.
“Sorry,” Gerard mutters realizing the heart attack he must have given Frank. “I found a map of the entire hospital though!”
Frank shuffles over to where Gerard is standing and glances at the floor map. His eyes dart around, finally focusing on the nurses’ station. He points it out to Gerard, not sure if he’s already noticed it or not, “There, on the second floor.”
They both glance back at where Ray is slouched against the wall and Frank knows they’re both wondering if he can make it up to the next floor with how much blood he’s lost already.
“Maybe we should go ahead and get help…?” Gerard suggests, scratching the back of his head.
“Um, no,” Mikey snaps, jumping up onto his feet much more agilely than someone as lanky as him should be capable of. “Fuck that, you’re not leaving us behind to get fucking eaten by whatever the fuck wants to come out from behind these tarps.”
“Okay, okay,” Gerard contends, raising his hands in surrender. “It was just a suggestion. We can all go together.”
Mikey grips onto Ray’s good arm and pulls him to his feet, helping to keep him somewhat steady while Frank watches Gerard glance through the mess of papers for anything else useful but comes up empty. He folds the map up, tucking it into the back of his pocket and leads the way down the hall towards where the map had indicated a staircase.
They pass through the halls, the pale glow from the flashlight flickering along the dark walls, and Frank makes sure to pay attention to the twists and turns in case they have to run back and don’t have time to check the map.
“Are you sure this is the right way?” Mikey asks as they reach the top of the staircase and turn down the hall in search of the nurses’ station.
“Of course it’s the right way,” Gerard snaps, reaching into his pocket to extract the map. He fumbles a little and comes to a halt causing Frank to smack into him. “Shit.”
“What?” Frank asks, his voice cracking as he peers around Gerard’s shoulder, preparing himself to see some monster approaching them out of the dark but nothing’s there. Gerard turns around, his teeth digging into his lip.
“I, uh, lost the map,” he says sheepishly, glancing down at the dirty floor. Frank sighs and lets his eyes fall shut. Of course he lost the map. Why wouldn’t he lose the map?
“It’s alright,” Frank huffs out, opening his eyes and glancing down the hall. It couldn’t be that far to the nurses’ station, right?
He steps forward, kicking aside a box in front of him when suddenly a human torso that looks like it is made of human skin jumps up from the ground. The torso stands on two legs but on top instead of arms or a head, two shorter legs reside. The creature rubs its top legs together, making a loud clicking sound and moves towards Frank.
The monster swings its legs - arms - towards Frank’s head, but he ducks before they can make contact.
“What the fuck?!” Gerard yells, backing up against one of the walls, the plastic tarp crinkling as his body presses into it.
Frank jumps up as the leg creature stumbles back to go at him again and he smashes into the spot between its top legs with the flashlight. Blood spurts out, splattering over his jacket and shirt, but he doesn’t pay attention. He slams the flashlight into the monster again, hard enough this time that the creature falls to the ground.
Frank moves forward quickly and kicks the monster repeatedly, splattering more blood onto himself and the immediate area surrounding him. The monster lets out one last pitiful squeal before finally stilling on the ground as the rest of its blood pools out around it, soaking into Frank’s sneakers.
“Holy shit,” Frank pants, leaning forward to rest his hands on his knees. His breath is coming in short bursts, causing a slight pain every time he inhales but he ignores it. They need to get back to finding the nurses’ station before another fucking creature tries to ambush them. He takes a deep breath and stands up, instantly freezing as his eyes focus on a man standing in front of him.
“You’re… human,” The guy sputters out, his brown eyes wide as they scan over the four men. “Oh god, maybe you can help us! We haven’t seen any other humans since we left the church and oh god Spencer needs help…. My name’s Jon and I -”
“Us?” Gerard asks cutting the man off, and Frank looks back to see him cocking his head a little to the side in his usual confused manner. “There are more of you?”
“Well, just me and my husband, Spencer,” Jon says, hastily waving his hands as if the matter is of no importance. “It doesn’t matter; you just have to help us. Spencer’s hurt and I just…”
He turns and starts pacing down the hall, leaving the four other men to glance amongst each other in confusion before quickly following down the dark corridor. They follow the man into a room just before the hall splits into another intersection. They come to a stop just inside the door, taking in the man that must be Spencer lying on the floor in front of them.
The brown haired man looks to be in incredible pain and his leg looks almost like it’s bent out of its normal shape, like it must be broken. From the way Jon had reacted to seeing them, Frank had expected Spencer to be nearly bled out and dying. Ray is in worse shape than this guy is.
“Uh,” Gerard says, kneeling down near Spencer and poking at the crooked leg making him wince slightly. “Have you tried splinting it?”
“Yeah,” Jon nods enthusiastically. “But when we do, he can’t walk on it. I mean, he can’t walk on it like this either, but this is better than with a splint.”
“Have you gone to the nurses’ station yet?” Frank asks, dreading that maybe there wasn’t even a nurses’ station. That it was just as abandoned as the rest of this creepy hospital.
“No,” Jon mumbles, running a hand through his short brown hair. “I just dragged him in here because I wanted to get him away from that leg thing out in the hallway. I didn’t have anything to kill it with.”
“Alright,” Gerard says standing up and wiping the dust off his pants. “Well, we’re on our way to the nurses’ station anyway, so why don’t you come along? Mikey, you stay here with Ray and Spencer. Move some of these boxes in front of the door when we leave so nothing can get in. We’ll knock five times when we come back so you know it’s us, okay?”
Mikey nods, despite the fact that Frank can tell by the way that his jaw is set that he is not happy at all with this plan. But they all know they have no choice. Dragging Spencer and Ray with them would only slow them down. And they can’t very well leave them alone to fend for themselves….
Frank, Gerard, and Jon all file out of the room and snap the door shut, immediately hearing the sound of Mikey scraping boxes across the grimy floor to pile against it. Frank shines the rapidly dimming flashlight down the corridor.
“What’s that?” Jon says, slowing to a stop and gesturing in front of them as the beam of light ghosts over something. Frank squints through the darkness and takes several steps forward trying to make out what the hell it is. He thinks it might be the outline of a person and is about to say so when he trips over a box and tumbles to the ground, smashing the crate in the process. The flashlight rolls out of his hand and hits the ground, but stays lit as it illuminates the three men.
“Frank!” Gerard cries, rushing towards him. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” Frank mumbles, rubbing the now sore spot on his lower back. “Yeah, I’m fine. Stupid crate….”
“Wait!” Jon whispers, waving his hands at the boys to quiet them down. “What’s that sound?”
All three turn their heads at the same time towards where the outline of the person had been and Frank lets out a scream but Gerard clamps his hand over his mouth, stifling the sound. About 20 nurses are making their way towards them. But they aren’t normal nurses.
Their faces are bandaged and their movements are jerky. Most of them are wielding different weapons and knives. As they move, their joints make creaking noises and Frank wants to throw up. Coming to the hospital was a mistake. Why would there have been any sort of hope for help here? It’s just like the rest of this town.
“What’s going on?” Mikey’s panicked voice squeaks out, echoing around them. “What’s happening? What is this? Where are we?”
“Shut up!” Bob hisses through the dark and Frank knows his eyes are darting through the impenetrable darkness in search for any more monsters looking to come out and attack them. “Now is not the time to draw attention to ourselves. We don’t know if the things we’ve been encountering are any worse in this world or whatever the fuck we’re in right now.”
“Why is it so fucking dark?” Frank sighs as he waves his hand in front of his face, desperate for his eyes to adjust to the lack of light. He can hear Gerard rustling around in his bag a bit before a small beam of light illuminates the immediate area around them. Frank momentarily forgets his anger at the man in his relief that Gerard had even thought to bring a flashlight.
Ray whimpers, drawing Frank’s attention back to the bleeding man next to him. His mangled arm is bleeding badly and Frank feels his stomach churn. No amount of gory horror films could have prepared him for this.
“We need to get him to a hospital,” Frank murmurs, turning back to Gerard who looks like he’s about to burst into tears. “Is there one even in this town?”
If there wasn’t, would they even be able to leave? Frank feels his stomach stir again, this time from pure dread. What if they were stuck here forever, this dark world trapping them in with nothing but disfigured monsters and a psycho religious freak to keep them company?
“Y-yeah,” Gerard chokes out, clearing his throat. He takes the map out of his pocket again, unfolding it and looking over it before glancing around the black, metallic wasteland. “There’s a hospital. It’s not too far from here.”
“Well can we get a move on then?” Ray asks, gesturing towards his injured limb. “I’d like to be able to retain this appendage, if you don’t mind.”
Frank moves to grab Ray and support him but Mikey shoves Frank aside citing that Frank was much too short to be of any real help at the moment. Frank huffs before taking his place behind Bob and Mikey as they help Ray hobble down the park, with all five of them keeping an eye out for any more creatures waiting to spring into action.
Gerard keeps the flashlight shining forward as the group makes their way back to the main part of town. With the siren having stopped, the village seems to have reverted back to silence, making its name seem even more fitting.
Frank strains his ears, hoping he can detect if another monster, or maybe even another human, is approaching them from the dark that the flashlight seems to barely penetrate.
“How much further to the hospital?” Mikey asks, staggering a little under Ray’s weight. Ray’s legs aren’t hurt but Frank knows he’s taking advantage of the fact that Bob and Mikey seem willing to carry him along.
“Um,” Gerard deliberates as he glances back over the map. “It shouldn’t be too far now. Just up ahead of us actually.”
Frank heaves a silent sigh of relief. Good. They can get Ray patched up and then get the fuck outta Dodge.
They walk a little further, nothing but the sounds of their shuffling feet breaking through the almost tangible quiet around them when Mikey breaks the silence again.
“What’s that?” He nods forward and the rest of the guys instantly know what he’s addressing.
“Oh my God,” Gerard undertones, freezing in his path. Frank swallows a scream as his eyes grow wider. This fucking - thing - is huge. And the razor sharp blade it’s holding is almost just as big. The creature’s body is normal looking, minus some of the grotesque scars decorating its bare torso, but its head is far from usual. It looks almost as if the creature had stuck its head into some sort of a triangular metal helmet and gotten it stuck.
“Gerard,” Bob murmurs as if trying to avoid drawing too much attention to them. Too late, the huge creature is already moving towards the men, its large blade dragging along the ground making an ear-piercing noise. “Come help Mikey with Ray. Run to the hospital and get him help. I’ll distract this thing.”
Frank moves to volunteer to help Bob but stops when he sees Bob already shaking his head.
“You need to help Gerard and Mikey. Now when I say three, fucking run and don’t stop till you get to the hospital and are safe. Gerard says it’s a straight shot, so don’t try to take any detours.”
The four men nod and Bob turns back to face the monster as Gerard takes his place at Ray’s side.
“One,” Bob mutters, stepping away from the others toward the giant creature. “Two…”
Frank takes the flashlight from Gerard and braces himself to run as Gerard and Mikey work to lift Ray between the two of them. It’d probably be better if Ray rode on one of their backs, but Frank doubts either of them would be strong enough to run under that kind of added weight.
Bob’s final count of three catches Frank off-guard and he stumbles a little before running full speed behind Gerard, Mikey, and Ray. He hears Bob cry out behind him, followed by a loud metallic scraping sound but can’t bring himself to look back. Bob would be fine. He’s already taken on the other monsters they’ve encountered, he’s gotta be able to take this one on too.
The beam from the flashlight bounces around on the ground in front of them as they push forward through the dark desperate to find the hospital.
“Up there!” Gerard wheezes out, nodding at the building looming out of the dark in front of them. The guys push forward, exhausting the last of their energy as they sprint through the front entrance, skidding to a stop in what looks to be an abandoned lobby.
“Holy shit,” Mikey gasps as him and Gerard lower Ray to the ground before both collapsing in a small heap. “What the fuck is wrong with this place?”
Frank slumps down against the tarp-covered wall and shuts his eyes. Maybe if he closes them long enough and opens them he’ll be back in Jersey in the studio with the band throwing out ideas for the new album. He opens his eyes, the small glimmer of hope fading as he realizes he’s still in this God forsaken place.
Before he can stop himself, tears are spilling over and he’s choking out a sob, drawing the attention of the other three guys to him.
“Frankie?” Gerard asks, his voice thick with worry as he jumps up, rushing to kneel next to Frank. “Frankie are you okay?”
The sobs shaking Frank have rendered him speechless so all he can do is shake his head as more tears pour down his face. Gerard leans forward and wraps his arms tight around Frank’s small, shaking frame and rubs his back softly.
“Shhh, Frank… It’s going to be okay,” Gerard soothes, his voice soft and close to Frank’s ear. Frank knows his words are empty though, that Gerard is only trying to comfort him. For all they know, Bob is dead and they’re not likely going to last much longer.
“No,” Frank sniffs, the sobs finally calming down a bit. “It’s not going to be ‘okay’, Gerard. Bob is probably dead. Ray’s hurt and could die if we don’t get him help. And even if we do get him fixed, we are all still fucking stuck in this shithole.”
Frank is seething by the time he’s done with his mini rant and the tears pouring from his eyes are more out of anger than of fear now. Gerard really was being a fucking idiot. How could he think everything was going to be okay? Typical Gerard, always thinking everything is just going to be peachy and perfect. He needs to stop being an optimist and start being a realist.
“No,” Gerard argues, shaking his head so fast that Frank knows he’s probably making himself dizzy. “That’s not true, Frankie. We’ll get out of here. We’re going to be okay. All of us. Even Bob.”
Frank looks up at the dark tarps that line the walls and ceiling and releases a deep breath, “Whatever you say, Gerard.”
Gerard must not pick up on the fact that Frank is only agreeing to shut him up because he smiles at him and squeezes his knee softly before turning back to the other two men who are collapsed against the other wall.
“We should probably get you some help,” he says, his eyes surveying Ray’s wounds that are still leaking out large sums of blood.
“Gerard, do you really think there’s anyone even here capable of helping him?” Frank deadpans, gesturing around the abandoned lobby. It looks like no one has been here in years. Gerard swallows loudly and Frank raises an eyebrow at him. He’s right. Gerard has no idea what to do now that he’s gotten them all into this mess.
“Great, we’re all going to die,” Mikey moans melodramatically as he slides further down the wall, crinkling some of the papers that litter the floor.
“Shut up, Mikey,” Gerard snaps, obviously annoyed that everyone has already accepted death as their fate. “We’re not going to die. Now someone help me fucking find a map or something of this place so we can figure out where a nurses’ station might be.”
Frank sighs, pulling himself to his feet and making his way across the trashed lobby to what was once probably a receptionist desk. He sifts through the countless stacks of papers that cover the table top in search of anything that may help them figure out where the hell to go in this creepy building. Mikey sits by Ray, tying a piece of cloth Frank had tossed to him in a sort of makeshift tourniquet.
“Hey!” Gerard shouts making Frank jump as he grabs a stapler, brandishing it as a weapon in defense. Frank realizes nothing is wrong as Gerard’s just holding a piece of paper in front of him and shoots a glare at him.
“Sorry,” Gerard mutters realizing the heart attack he must have given Frank. “I found a map of the entire hospital though!”
Frank shuffles over to where Gerard is standing and glances at the floor map. His eyes dart around, finally focusing on the nurses’ station. He points it out to Gerard, not sure if he’s already noticed it or not, “There, on the second floor.”
They both glance back at where Ray is slouched against the wall and Frank knows they’re both wondering if he can make it up to the next floor with how much blood he’s lost already.
“Maybe we should go ahead and get help…?” Gerard suggests, scratching the back of his head.
“Um, no,” Mikey snaps, jumping up onto his feet much more agilely than someone as lanky as him should be capable of. “Fuck that, you’re not leaving us behind to get fucking eaten by whatever the fuck wants to come out from behind these tarps.”
“Okay, okay,” Gerard contends, raising his hands in surrender. “It was just a suggestion. We can all go together.”
Mikey grips onto Ray’s good arm and pulls him to his feet, helping to keep him somewhat steady while Frank watches Gerard glance through the mess of papers for anything else useful but comes up empty. He folds the map up, tucking it into the back of his pocket and leads the way down the hall towards where the map had indicated a staircase.
They pass through the halls, the pale glow from the flashlight flickering along the dark walls, and Frank makes sure to pay attention to the twists and turns in case they have to run back and don’t have time to check the map.
“Are you sure this is the right way?” Mikey asks as they reach the top of the staircase and turn down the hall in search of the nurses’ station.
“Of course it’s the right way,” Gerard snaps, reaching into his pocket to extract the map. He fumbles a little and comes to a halt causing Frank to smack into him. “Shit.”
“What?” Frank asks, his voice cracking as he peers around Gerard’s shoulder, preparing himself to see some monster approaching them out of the dark but nothing’s there. Gerard turns around, his teeth digging into his lip.
“I, uh, lost the map,” he says sheepishly, glancing down at the dirty floor. Frank sighs and lets his eyes fall shut. Of course he lost the map. Why wouldn’t he lose the map?
“It’s alright,” Frank huffs out, opening his eyes and glancing down the hall. It couldn’t be that far to the nurses’ station, right?
He steps forward, kicking aside a box in front of him when suddenly a human torso that looks like it is made of human skin jumps up from the ground. The torso stands on two legs but on top instead of arms or a head, two shorter legs reside. The creature rubs its top legs together, making a loud clicking sound and moves towards Frank.
The monster swings its legs - arms - towards Frank’s head, but he ducks before they can make contact.
“What the fuck?!” Gerard yells, backing up against one of the walls, the plastic tarp crinkling as his body presses into it.
Frank jumps up as the leg creature stumbles back to go at him again and he smashes into the spot between its top legs with the flashlight. Blood spurts out, splattering over his jacket and shirt, but he doesn’t pay attention. He slams the flashlight into the monster again, hard enough this time that the creature falls to the ground.
Frank moves forward quickly and kicks the monster repeatedly, splattering more blood onto himself and the immediate area surrounding him. The monster lets out one last pitiful squeal before finally stilling on the ground as the rest of its blood pools out around it, soaking into Frank’s sneakers.
“Holy shit,” Frank pants, leaning forward to rest his hands on his knees. His breath is coming in short bursts, causing a slight pain every time he inhales but he ignores it. They need to get back to finding the nurses’ station before another fucking creature tries to ambush them. He takes a deep breath and stands up, instantly freezing as his eyes focus on a man standing in front of him.
“You’re… human,” The guy sputters out, his brown eyes wide as they scan over the four men. “Oh god, maybe you can help us! We haven’t seen any other humans since we left the church and oh god Spencer needs help…. My name’s Jon and I -”
“Us?” Gerard asks cutting the man off, and Frank looks back to see him cocking his head a little to the side in his usual confused manner. “There are more of you?”
“Well, just me and my husband, Spencer,” Jon says, hastily waving his hands as if the matter is of no importance. “It doesn’t matter; you just have to help us. Spencer’s hurt and I just…”
He turns and starts pacing down the hall, leaving the four other men to glance amongst each other in confusion before quickly following down the dark corridor. They follow the man into a room just before the hall splits into another intersection. They come to a stop just inside the door, taking in the man that must be Spencer lying on the floor in front of them.
The brown haired man looks to be in incredible pain and his leg looks almost like it’s bent out of its normal shape, like it must be broken. From the way Jon had reacted to seeing them, Frank had expected Spencer to be nearly bled out and dying. Ray is in worse shape than this guy is.
“Uh,” Gerard says, kneeling down near Spencer and poking at the crooked leg making him wince slightly. “Have you tried splinting it?”
“Yeah,” Jon nods enthusiastically. “But when we do, he can’t walk on it. I mean, he can’t walk on it like this either, but this is better than with a splint.”
“Have you gone to the nurses’ station yet?” Frank asks, dreading that maybe there wasn’t even a nurses’ station. That it was just as abandoned as the rest of this creepy hospital.
“No,” Jon mumbles, running a hand through his short brown hair. “I just dragged him in here because I wanted to get him away from that leg thing out in the hallway. I didn’t have anything to kill it with.”
“Alright,” Gerard says standing up and wiping the dust off his pants. “Well, we’re on our way to the nurses’ station anyway, so why don’t you come along? Mikey, you stay here with Ray and Spencer. Move some of these boxes in front of the door when we leave so nothing can get in. We’ll knock five times when we come back so you know it’s us, okay?”
Mikey nods, despite the fact that Frank can tell by the way that his jaw is set that he is not happy at all with this plan. But they all know they have no choice. Dragging Spencer and Ray with them would only slow them down. And they can’t very well leave them alone to fend for themselves….
Frank, Gerard, and Jon all file out of the room and snap the door shut, immediately hearing the sound of Mikey scraping boxes across the grimy floor to pile against it. Frank shines the rapidly dimming flashlight down the corridor.
“What’s that?” Jon says, slowing to a stop and gesturing in front of them as the beam of light ghosts over something. Frank squints through the darkness and takes several steps forward trying to make out what the hell it is. He thinks it might be the outline of a person and is about to say so when he trips over a box and tumbles to the ground, smashing the crate in the process. The flashlight rolls out of his hand and hits the ground, but stays lit as it illuminates the three men.
“Frank!” Gerard cries, rushing towards him. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” Frank mumbles, rubbing the now sore spot on his lower back. “Yeah, I’m fine. Stupid crate….”
“Wait!” Jon whispers, waving his hands at the boys to quiet them down. “What’s that sound?”
All three turn their heads at the same time towards where the outline of the person had been and Frank lets out a scream but Gerard clamps his hand over his mouth, stifling the sound. About 20 nurses are making their way towards them. But they aren’t normal nurses.
Their faces are bandaged and their movements are jerky. Most of them are wielding different weapons and knives. As they move, their joints make creaking noises and Frank wants to throw up. Coming to the hospital was a mistake. Why would there have been any sort of hope for help here? It’s just like the rest of this town.