The sudden inhuman bellowing that pierced the otherwise orderly emergency room continued. This set off a chain reaction where one screech turned into two, then three, until the entire floor echoed with monsterous noises that none could comprehend.

  Two men, a doctor and his resident, dive behind a curtain to bed eight to assess and treat whatever was happening to their patient. In less than the time it took for Caelin to take a deep breath in and out, those same men were skewered by blades of bone that stabbed through the curtain and pinned their writhing bodies to the wall. The calcified blades retracted behind the curtain slowly, taking the body of the resident with it. This was followed by meaty squelching of teeth meeting skin and bones being broken like fragile twigs. A faint violet glow could be seen through the heavy bloody cloth that it hid behind and through all the noise Caelin thought he heard sobbing in between bites. Then suddenly the chewing and sobbing stopped. A hand, stripped of flesh and ended with gnarled claws that stabbed through leftover bits of skin and traumatized muscle, moved the curtain back slowly.

  A nurse stared horrified into the exam room at the creature that met her petrified gaze. It smiled wide with its split face and needle-like teeth before throwing its entire body through the curtain at her. “H—elppp….” it groaned as It tore through her flesh in a sickening spray of visceral carnage.

  From across the room, patients experiencing the same violet growths on their bodies began to change into different variations of the same creature that had just brutally slaughtered three people. Their bodies broke from the Violet tumors growing more aggressively across their bodies until they too were transformed into bloodthirsty abominations. Soon the room was filled with these creatures that stumbled out of their beds with their eyes fixed on anyone not transformed or were not in the middle of having their bodies destroyed by the tumors.

  Caelin’s entire body shook with terror. No virus or illness he’s ever encountered has ever had such horrific symptoms as this. His mind clouded with conflicting thoughts, “What the hell are these things? Are they even human anymore? They can’t be. Not with their bodies like this. But what if…?”

  His thoughts were interrupted by the nurse next to him that shivered violently in place, her eyes locked on the killing floor in front of her. Then she felt a breath graze her neck and Caelin felt a heavy weight sit on his shoulders, like something’s malice had aimed itself at him and now hung heavy like a cloak over his entire body. Behind him, a familiar voice whimpered, “Caelin…..hun—-gr—yyyy.”

  Caelin noticed Betty’s voice, and the undertones of something sinister. He turned around to be face to face with a transformed creature that was once Betty, the nurse that has been by his side ever since he started working at Seraph’s grace. Her body was covered in violet tumorous growths accompanied with many new growths of extra small arms all ended with razor sharp blades extending from her spine. Her face split down the middle revealing rows of teeth dripped a black liquid.

  She repeated, “H—un—gryyyyy” before swinging at Caelin with one of her many bladed appendages.

  Caelin jumped back but caught the tip of the bladed end that grazed his cheek and cleaved through the curtain, leaving a bleeding scratch on the left side of his face to ooze blood. After narrowly escaping getting his head removed, He tripped over some spilled supplies and fell to the ground. The creature that used to be Betty used that opportunity to leap on top of him to deliver the killing blow. Caelin held one of the blades back from stabbing into his eye while it fought with all its strength to drive that same blade directly into his skull. The hand that wasn’t keeping Caelin’s eye from being gouged was frantically feeling for something to use to break free. His hand fell on top of the handle of a bloody scalpel.

  He gripped the scalpel as hard as he could and mournfully exclaimed, “Forgive me Betty.” Before stabbing her right in the eye. She fell backwards as Caelin kicked her in the stomach and sent her thrashing into a mess of surgical tables and cabinets that had gathered against a nearby wall.

  Caelin stood up outta breath along with other survivors, a small handful of doctors and nurses, that had all ended up in the side of the room he was in. The steadily growing number of infected and victims in the room were rising. Those that were already changing finished their transformations and were now looking for something to kill.

  Caelin yelled, “To the door! Now!” Prompting everyone still alive to rush to the double doors at the end of the room with the infected hot on their heels. Once the last of them had made it to the door, Carlin and another doctor held the door closed with their backs against the metal to keep the horde on the other side. The force of the infected slamming themselves full force against the door was starting to break the hinges keeping the door attached to its frame. Caelin and the other man fought to keep the doors shut and attached while the rest of them grabbed any heavy objects they could find in the narrow hallway. Crash carts, filing cabinets, abandoned gurnees, whatever was in this small vestibule that could be used as a barricade.

  The makeshift barricade held shakily. Caelin and the other man backed away from the door slowly while the banging continued.

  “The barricade will hold, but not for long. we needed to keep moving.” One of the Doctors informed them all.

  Caelin turned and asked, “Is anyone hurt?”

  They all nodded their heads no, too exasperated to speak. Some had some scrapes and bruises while others were sporting some cuts like what Caelin currently had across his face.

  Caelin caught his breath and instructed, “The end of the hallway leads up from the lower floor to the lobby of the hospital, from there we would be able to escape there.” Screams much like the ones still echoing from behind the barricade descended from up above where they needed to go, a telling enough sign that the floor they’re on was not the only place in Seraph’s Grace currently dealing with this problem.

  One of the surviving nurses began muttering, “This virus will kill us all. We thought it was just some kind of cancer, then they changed. Dear God, this can’t be real. What if those things are all over Molina?”

  The doctor that helped Caelin hold the door closed dropped to one knee and told her, “This is true, but we won’t survive staying here. Disease or not, it doesn’t change what we just saw.”

  Caelin agreed, “Let’s face whatever reality we’re in now after we get out of this building.”

  His grip on the bloody and black gunk covered scalpel did not break. Images of the infected and Betty flashes in his mind constantly like he was reliving the same scene over and over again. All he could ask himself was, “Are these things human? If any of us kill one to defend ourselves, is that murder?” Caelin has never taken a life. In his mind, he’s a doctor. Doctor’s save lives not end them. But this was not the time to weigh the scale of his morality. Not with the lives of those in front of him and possibly many more on the line. He looked around to the terrified crowd in front of him then said, “Gather whatever supplies you can. We can get a better idea of what’s happening after we escape.”

  One of the terrified doctor’s sniffled, “What if things aren’t any better out there? What if my mom and my kids became one of those things? Then what’s the point?”

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  He addressed the man’s concern saying, “We don’t know what will happen. But if we want to see our families again and make sure they’re okay, then we gotta go. We can’t help anyone from here.”

  Some of them perked up a bit while others shuffled up and down the hall still trying to wrap their heads around what’s happening. Their blood stained clothes were a constant reminder to them of what they just had to go through. But dying here was not an option, that much everyone can agree on.

  They gathered as much medical supplies as they could, mostly supplies for first aid or on scene surgical and emergency services. Each of them loaded leather bags with the hospital’s logos on them full of as much as they could comfortably carry. Some armed themselves with surgical tools so that they had something to fight back with.

  Caelin’s hand that held the bloodied scalpel still quaked. He turned the metal tool in his hands, causing the shaking to get worse until he gripped it hard. The hard grip against cold steel steadied his hand just enough to soothe the shaking slightly. He wiped the blood off the scalpel using his black and gold vest. Drenched in blood and ichor, there was no need to keep it on. He slid the thing off and removed his golden tie, letting it all hit the ground until all he had on was a black button up shirt tucked into smooth, black straight leg pants with a golden chain connected from the left pocket to his belt buckle, and some rather expensive leather shoes that had now been covered in blood. He slung the bag of supplies on his back and led the group up the stairs to where he hoped would be a chance at freedom. The pocket watch attached to the gold chain on his pants, a momento from his grandfather, ticked subtly with each moment as if it was mirroring the anxious heart beats of the survivors.

  When they reached the top of the stairs and exited the stairwell leading to the lobby, they were met with puddles of blood all over the floors and even dripping from the floors above. Crowds of people had gathered by the front doors to escape where soldiers and security guards were attempting to guide the traffic. The noise inevitably summoned any nearby infected that descended in the dozens down from the other floors to attack the crowds of people attempting to flee.

  One of the nurses yelled, “The parking garage! We can escape from there!”

  The group of them ran opposite of the front door as the armed soldiers and civilians became overwhelmed by the wave of the diseased that consumed them.

  Crossing through the lobby they climbed up another set of stairs to a sky bridge that connected the admission hall to the visitor’s garage. Through the large windows looking out and down to the streets of the city, they could see the same madness happening in the hospital was happening all over.

  Caelin rested a hand on the window and asked, “What the hell is happening?” He looked up to see a military class warship fly overhead covered in the violet broken bodies of the infected as they broke into the pilot's cockpit. The propellers stalled and blew smoke until the two man craft started to destabilize and whine. The pilot and his passenger lost control and sent the craft crashing down through the ceiling window of the hospital lobby, erupting in a ball of fire that engulfed the entire floor. The heat from the flames rose up to the window as its flames lit up the sky to the setting sun.

  With no way back, they crossed the bridge into the parking garage. There was an ominous silence and lights flickered sporadically, creating dark spots where brilliant light once was. Some stayed on while others looked like they had been broken or crashed into and were spewing sparks.

  One of the doctors put a finger to his lips to all of them then asked, “Do you all hear that?” Caelin listened carefully, that’s when he heard the wheezing and groaning along with the sound of grating, like something sharp was being dragged along the ground.

  Caelin whispered, “Everyone get down.” they all ducked for cover behind anything big enough to keep them out of sight.

  The grating grew closer until a large, disease ridden hand the size of a small car rested near a hiding spot where a doctor and nurse had chosen to hide. Its two heads followed suit as it dragged a deformed arm that ended in a heavy blade made of sharpened bone. It had been using the ground to keep its weapon of choice homed for killing. From its sides and chest it had three extra sets of hands, two of those hands carried the half eaten dead bodies of unlucky hospital patrons that it had caught. Its large, mutated body was almost big enough to fill the space as it had to bow its head slightly to keep from scraping its head along the ceiling. Its other large arms not attached to its core pulled it along as they moved obstacles out the way looking for survivors.

  Both heads craned their necks to the sky and began to sniff the air while it shambled around its hunting ground on multiple pairs of legs. It used its large hands to steady itself as it walked on but not before both heads stopped sniffing and looked back to the hiding spots everyone was taking refuge in. With speed that did not match its bulky frame, It closed the gap between it and a row of parked cars and stopped where its two heads were face to face with one of the doctors that Caelin was escaping with.

  The man whimpered and backed away slowly attempting to plead for his life. Both faces of the creature contorted into a vicious smile before its many hands grabbed the man and began tearing him apart, piece by piece. The thing delighted in inflicting pain as it cackled among the sporadically blinking lights and shrill cries of the man it tore apart.

  None of them dared move as the dying screams stopped and the squelching of teeth rending meat began. Caelin slowly raised his hand to the rest of the survivors and pointed toward the downward ramp that would lead them out and to the streets. The ramp itself was dimly lit as most of the lights had been damaged and were no longer functioning, likely from the monster in front of them bumping into them during its roam of the parking garage.

  They inched their way out of their hiding spots while the monster was distracted by its meal and had its back turned to them, until one of the nurses rested a hand on a parked car trying to catch her breath. From above her, a dead body fell from one of the upper layers of the garage and landed right on the car she was resting on. The force of the body crashing through the car’s roof immediately set the car alarm off. It’s blaring horn sounded non stop and echoed all through the garage.

  The group looked up in horror as the creature they thought they were sneakily escaping had dropped its meal and now had both sets of violet tinged and bleeding eyes looking directly at them.

  It roared and stood itself back up with its bladed appendage raised, then it began swinging with reckless abandon leaving gashes on the walls and anything that it came in contact with.

  Caelin yelled, “Run!” They all broke for a dead sprint down the ramp with the monster hot on their trail. It snapped and swung non stop until the group reached the end and jumped or climbed over the guard rail that was keeping the parking garage closed off.

  That did not stop the creature from using its weight and size to break through and stand in their way.

  Its mouths wheezed viciously as it advanced on them again. Caelin looked back at the terrified doctors and nurses behind him then raised his bloodied scalpel and said, “You all get out of here, i’ll get its attention and lead it away from us.”

  One of the nurses yelled back, “But Caelin you’ll die!”

  Caelin looked back and gave her a light hearted smile that hid his fear, “Don’t worry, the big man here is a teddy bear. I’ll catch up. Just find some soldiers and be careful.”

  Reluctantly, they ran in the opposite direction away from the hospital. Leaving Caelin to face a true abomination.

  It swung its blade with a downward slash that broke the ground where Caelin was standing. He managed to dodge the strike and roll to the side. It swung again and again, kicking up dust and obscuring its vision. This gave Caelin the chance to find cover behind some rubble that had broken off from the hospital when the explosion happened.

  It stalked the street hunting him, wheezing heavily as it walked. Caelin looked around the corner then lost sight of it. He turned back around to be face to face with the abomination itself. Its body hovering over Caelin and the fingers in its many arms twitching with glee.

  Their multitude of fingers wrapped around Caelin’s body and lifted him up. He drove his scalpel into the wrist of one of the hands and twisted it. It screamed in pain as Caelin began prying its fingers off of him and attempted to free himself. It lifted him high in the air then tried to stuff his body in its awaiting jaws but Caelin used his legs to keep its head and mouth from biting him. As hard as it tried to move its head closer for a bite, Caelin used his leg muscles to keep it at bay. The two of them were in a deadlock without a winner or loser.

  Caelin screamed, “I didn’t just pay my rent yesterday to die today!”

  He let up a bit so the head could get closer then drove his scalpel into one of its eyes. Blood and a mysterious Black fluid gushed from the wound as its grip tightened on Caelin trying to squeeze the life out of him. it fell to one knee in pain nursing its injury while the rest of its eyes glared at Caelin in fury.

  Caelin fought to break its many grips but its anger had given it extra strength. He could feel his vision blurring and his consciousness slipping away from him in its death grip of his body.

  Then the grip loosened as a bullet went flying into another one of its eyes, leaving its left head completely blind. In its stumbling, It dropped Caelin and thrashed into a nearby store front then fell, leaving it laying in a pile of rubble.

  Caelin slowly sat up to catch his breath as a pale, auburn brown haired woman came running to him and dropped down to his level. Her voice was sweet and calming but also urgent as she asked, “Are you hurt anywhere?”

  Caelin responded, “Oh yeah, I’m okay. Nothing a nap and a hot bath won’t fix. Thanks for the save.”

  The woman smiled, “You're welcome. Now what the hell were you thinking fighting that thing?”

  Caelin shurgged, “Figured I’d figure it out. All I knew was people needed help and that was the best way I could help them. If those doctors and nurses live, they can help the injured and that’ll save more lives.”

  The woman cocked her head to the side as she stared at him curiously like she was intrigued at his way of thinking. Finally she introduced herself, “My name is Karina Sizmarik, I’m a virologist for Zamundi University. And what about you, Doctor?”

  Caelin responded, “Caelin Frost. I was a doctor until all….this.”

  Their lovely chat is cut short however as the abomination stirs under the rubble it was trapped under. Caelin and Karina looked at one another knowing they need to run, fast. She helped him to his feet and the two of them ran past the writhing mass of violet tumors and bones on their way to the center of Molina. The creature freed itself and bellowed, then set its remaining eyes flared with hatred at the two that hurt it. In its own way, it vowed its revenge, burning the images of their faces in its mind while it watched them turn the corner and were gone to find their way amidst this crisis.