Realistic or Modern All That Remains

[Wordy]

(1x1 between Wordy and Ririn )

Portland, Maine

November 20th, 2018

What started as any other day was destined to end in something that no one had ever seen before. While the usual busy-bodies of the city did their day-to-day, they were all too backed up to realize just what was coming their way. A tidal wave of disaster, death, and ultimately, survival of the fittest. The day that so many conspiracy theorists had raved about, and so many clouded enthusiasts prayed for had finally arrived. It was one of those things that everyone humored, everyone discussed the 'what-if'.

It was never something that anyone expected to actually happen. It was never something that anyone was ever going to be truly prepared for, no matter how much they claimed to be. It would be the day entire cities fell. The lives people knew beforehand would quickly become distant - and strongly missed - memories. Some would be luckier than others, yes. Some would live longer. Some would get a stronger start, and in some cases that would be all some people needed to get by.

But then there's the others. The ones that aren't so lucky.

In times of chaos, there's three types of people.

The ones who cause it.

The ones who run away from it.

And finally, the ones who are left to drown in it.

...

Maine Medical Center, Portland, Maine

1:03PM

It all started around two hours ago. The ER was always a busy place - there were very rarely any exceptions to that. But today, things were exceptionally busy, and in some ways, a lot more bloody. The morning had had its usual pace, but something happened between then and now which caused an influx of men, women, and children. Obviously, the ones who were bleeding and had serious wounds were the ones who were brought through to be treated first.

Little did they know, this was a grave error.

Then there were the others, the misfortunates who had to sit there and wait while dozens more took priority over them. Some of them had fevers running sky high, others were delirious, others were practically non-stop vomiting, and there were the odd few who had suddenly lost the strength to do as much as move their legs. People like that were second priority - all of the incoming patients, with their given symptoms, were sent out all over the hospital to all different departments. All the seeds were being gradually planted, waiting patiently to explosively blossom and spread.

The ER was already getting to the point where people no longer had seats to sit on. People curled up on the floor against the wall, and the amount of people charging in just grew and grew. It was impossible to make progress; anyone who was treated and stabilized was replaced by five more people who needed the exact same treatment.

Staff who were off-duty were called in on the grounds of Red Alert. They needed all hands on deck.

By the time the afternoon hit, non-priority patients were being moved out of beds to make room for the incoming patients.

Doctor Lee Simpson was one pair of hands that was working hard to try and make sure everyone was accounted for. ER was chaos. There were no longer assigned roles - if you were available, you helped in whatever way you could. Systematics be damned.

"Doctor, we've got a woman just brought in, fever, unresponsive."
"We've got a man bleeding heavily. He was attacked and he's losing a lot of blood."
"There's a child that's just been brought in. Frequent seizures and unresponsive."

It all just felt endless. After an hour, it felt like he'd heard them all. How much worse could it get?

Everything was really put into perspective when a sobbing woman sprinted in through the doors, a young boy held in her arms. With no one else available, Lee dashed to her; the boy in question had blood pouring from his arm - or lack of, in fact. It was severed at the wrist; a rugged and violent tear, and clearly not a clean cut. The boy was unconscious, and no older than seven or eight at the most.

"Please, you have to help me." The woman begged. "Some maniac attacked my son. They attacked my son. Look what they did to my baby. Please, you have to help. Please."

Taken aback by complete shock, Lee could only nod. He held out his arms.

"Give him to me."

The woman didn't hesitate. A hand slipped around the back of the boy's neck and checked his pulse.

There was nothing. He was dead.

Even so, he couldn't say it. Not here, not now. He turned and he rushed, the distraught mother following in his footsteps.

"I need immediate trauma care now!" He busted in through a door and placed the boy down on a bed; he was immediately rushed by various other ER doctors who did all the checks necessary. They all knew there was no hope, though, and that was the worst part. Lee ducked out of the room to rush back to the people who were still waiting. When he arrived, the tone was immediately changed.

On one of the seats, a man held a girl even younger than the boy that was just rushed in. She was brought in earlier with a fever that was running high, but not critical. He saw the panicked look in the father's face as he shook the little girl's shoulders, trying to wake her.

"She's not breathing." The man yelled, barely able to breathe himself. Lee was just about to make his way to assist when he saw the young girl shoot up from where she was once lifelessly laying, and instead sinking her teeth straight into her father's throat. As soon as it happened, he ripped himself away, but it was no good. He clutched at his neck frantically and collapsed in the middle of the isle. His daughter only got up, though, and she climbed onto his back and...

Whatever happened there was out of sight from Lee, but, he heard the screams of the people surrounding them, and instead of deciding to sit around and wait, almost everyone got up and ran straight for the exit.

Only to clash with the dozens waiting to come in. It was a riot, essentially - but whatever happened to that girl? It started happening to a couple of others. That vacant and greyish look in their eyes, the pale skin, the rigid movement and twitches.

"Oh, shit." Lee gasped, and he spun back on himself and went back to the room where he took the boy. The mother was no longer in sight. "We've got a situation out here, we-".

He stopped upon opening the door. One of his staff members, a fellow doctor, laid dead on the ground, with the boy who was almost definitely dead only a few minutes beforehand knelt down on his chest, taking completely bites out of his face and chest.

Lee shut the door again, and he made one call that would haunt him for years to come.

He ran in the opposite direction of the ER, further into the hospital, unable to comprehend everything he had seen.

He abandoned his station - he had a feeling that if he didn't, it wouldn't be long before he ended up like that doctor.

 

[Ririn]

Maine Medical Center, Portland, Maine

Sunday 5:35 AM

It must have been one of her worst days at the hospital so far. Actually, it must have been one of her worst days ever.
Melinda had pulled out an all-nighter dragging herself from bed to bed in the ER trying to stay as focused as possible and be helpful to the rest of the staff and most importantly, be helpful to those checking in.
Like every Sunday night things were a big chaotic. Drunk drivers that had caused accidents, violent drinkers that had a good fight in a bar and now had broken bones, sadly but always present, some domestic violence.
That damn migraine just made everything worse but her shift was finally close to ending.
And just half an hour before she was gone the paramedics brought in three males. Very low percentage of alcohol in their blood, no trace of drugs but out of the blue one of them had attacked the other two. Now all three of them were suffering from high fever and the two that were attacked had suffer a great blood loss. It was a mess. A bloody mess.

When she left, migraine still going her mind was stuck on those three. Perfectly healthy, no sign of substance abuse, no sign they knew each other but somehow they all had ended up in the ER in a bad shape.

1:05 PM
They were calling her back. ASAP!
Melinda didn't think twice about it. She had hoped on her motorcycle and went straight back. The situation was clearly getting out of hand. Her supervisor wasn't exaggerating on that phone call she had given her in panic.
The hospital needed every hand they could get.

"How are you doing?" Richard, one of the ER doctors asked her as he tried to put stitches on a five year old boy that was crying so loud Melinda felt like her head would explode.
"Still standing. Not sure for how much more though." she managed to joke as she helped him keep the kid in place.

And then came the real screams. Looking behind her back Melinda saw patients running around the room, pushing each other in an attempt to get as far away as possible from... From what really?
Then the little boy started spasming under their hands. The doctor immediately stop stitching him, calling for someone to come help them but nobody seem to hear him over the screams, coming from behind them,that had only grew louder by now.

"We lost him..." Richard said, confused.
That couldn't be right. The boy had cut his hand pretty bad but he had no other problems. Melinda tried to look for a pulse and found none so she immediately moved to the boy's chest starting CPR.
And that was when the boy's eyes shot open, his body stiffening under her hands as he turned his little body around jumping on top of Richard, going straight for the soft spot on his neck. Richard screamed in pain trying to get the boy off him to no avail. Before her terrified eyed, the man fell on his knees bleeding heavily, the boy still clinging on him sucking and bitting. She started backing away only to see much worse in the ER waiting room. What the hell was that? What was happening?

Melinda run, first towards the doors and then, as she saw the violent scenes that were taking place, she turned around running deeper into the hospital. She wasn't trained for all this blood,for all this violence, for kids dying from a cut and then coming back to life and attacking full grown men bringing them to their knees. Nobody was.

As she run, she realised her migraine had stopped. What a relief uh?

 

[Wordy]

Radiology. This was a safe enough place, right?

Right. Yeah. This would be fine. You could only imagine the looks on the faces of the radiologists when an ER doctor barreled into their ward, completely covered in blood and looking as though he himself was ready to drop dead. It was nothing short of utmost confusion, to say the least. One of the doctors made the effort to back away as far from Lee as he could without seeming rude; he peered over the top of his glasses, sending him what was a rather cold glare.

"Doctor? Can we help you?" He asked.

"Do you have anyone from the ER up here? From the past few hours?"

"We've had plenty." The man let out a light but confused chuckle. "With all due respect, doctor..." He leaned in and looked at his nametag. "Doctor Lee Simpson... Aren't things busy downstairs? We have everything under control here."

"No, no... No no. You don't." Lee ran his trembling hands through his hair. "What patients do you have up here? Please. For Christ's sakes, something is happening down there and we don't know what it is. People are dead. And not in the usual way, either - I mean... Things are violent. I guess the- I guess the people coming in are... I guess they're sick, or something, I don't know." He paced back and forth. "You need to tell me who you have up here."

The other radiologist, a younger woman than the man she worked with, stepped forward and touched his arm.

"Doctor Simpson... Be calm. What's going on? The only patient we have here from the ER right now is someone who was sent in. A woman having seizures, she's been sent here for a CT scan." She said.

"Oh, shit..." Lee shut his eyes. "You need to get her out of here right now."

"We can't just cancel a scan, doctor." The man said.

"The hell you can't. You don't understand. I need to see her, right now. I need to confirm that she's not like the others."

"The others...?" The woman asked.

Before he could answer, they heard a shriek of pain from down the hallway. All of them snapped to look over at what was nothing more than a closed doorway at this point - a red light was lit above it, signalling that a scan was in progress. However, Lee knew that a scan was the last thing that was going on in there right now. He backed away a little, shaking his head.

"I tried to warn you." He gulped, "I tried, I really did."

And then, pounding on the same door.

"That's Jane in there." The male doctor said, "And contrary to whatever it is you're rambling on about, Doctor Simpson, I'm not going to walk away with my tail between my legs when one of my team is potentially in trouble. Now, if you'll excuse me."

The woman seemed to be on Lee's side, though, "Geoff, I think we should call security before we..." She trailed off as Geoff made his way forward to the door. He pulled it open, and stood in the doorway were two people. One was the woman who had been in the scan, the sides of her head quite literally peeled away from where she was clamped in place in the machine - she forced herself out of it, clearly.

And the doctor they worked with, in her work uniform, and half of her face quite literally missing. Both were covered in blood - Geoff couldn't even mutter a word before Jane pounced and wrapped herself around him, biting directly into the top of his head, but also ripping off an ear and taking chunks out of anything she could get her mouth around. Geoff tried to scream, but he screamed no sooner than the other woman was able to tackle the trio to the ground and quite literally rip the doctor open.

"We need to go." Lee looked at the doctor's nametag. Maya Normandy. "Maya. Now." He urged.

She just nodded, engulfed by shock. She let Lee take her by her arm and lead her out of the room.

Next stop? The kitchen on this floor. Lee decided one thing - if they ran into anyone like that again, they were going to need at least the basics to fight back, should worst come to worst.

Funnily enough, the kitchen was the one place in this now-hellhole that was actually empty. Not a soul in sight.

Maya sat down in the corner, still shellshocked, while glanced around in search of anything he could use as a weapon, his first choice being a... Sadly dull kitchen knife, but, it was better than going empty-handed.

He turned on the faucet after, splashing water on his face.

He just needed to get the blood off. It was too much of a brutal reminder.

 

[Ririn]

"Come Lin, come with me." Her late grandmother's voice. Soothing. Calm. Soft like silk. "Here, sit with me." The white haired woman had led the little girl she used to be in the kitchen and then helped her get on a chair before opening the fridge, grabbing a handful of foods and slowly preparing a sandwich. "Do you know why our family always eats in the kitchen instead of the dining room? Because a kitchen is a sacred place. Food Lin, is sacred. That's why nobody will harm you in a kitchen." The old woman was trying to calm her down. The child had had yet another difficult night of nightmares. It was difficult for her to make out if her granddaughter could hear her but still she talked, slicing tomatoes. "Remember that ok? Kitchens are a safe place. And you know why? Back in the old days, we didn't really have living rooms. It was just one big room where the family would gather up, share their news, their troubles and worries. And eat. Always eat when you are not feeling well Lin. Eat and have a hot cup of tea." And with that she put the kettle on the stove.

Now as Melinda run through the hospital that crazy late night talk echoed in her mind. The kitchen! Find the kitchen!

Passing by the Radiology Melinda heard cries of pain and agony. For a second she slowed down, wanting to go inside the department, help anyone that she could but the moment her hand touched the door, the woman saw a figure covered in blood running in the hallway behind it. It used to be a woman, judging from what was left of her long hair and what she could make out of the blood that covered her body but now... Well now she was something else.

"When someone's tells you you should pray Lin it's probably because they are scared themselves and can't do nothing about it. But women in our family don't pray. They act!" Her grandmother's voice spoke in her head. Gosh, she really was scared. When was the last time she had felt that powerless? Melinda didn't want to think about it. Instead she kept on running.

And finally, the kitchen doors were right there. Just a few meters away. She extended her hand, as if that would help her reach them faster. And then someone pushed her from behind, sending her face first to meet the floor. Melinda screamed and for a split second her eyes went black. Then her mind focused again. Melinda used all her weight to push whoever was on top of her to the side and actually managed it.

"HELP!" she screamed in the empty hallway trying to get back up but the young girl behind her, grabbed her by the ankle, making her loose her balance again. Melinda started kicking blindly as she screamed her lungs out.

Damn it, she didn't know any prayers... It sure felt like a good time to pray.

 

[Wordy]

The moment of peace was all disrupted when he heard a woman screaming. Screaming for help. Why? Why now? What if this was some sort of fucked up trick? He stopped washing his face and moved his hand back to the handle of the blade, clutching it tightly. He wasn't sure what to do. He really wasn't. It was him or them, right? And he had Maya who was still so incredibly traumatized that she wouldn't be any help at all. She wasn't even paying attention to the screaming.

He had no choice, though. He was a doctor. Helping people and saving lives was what he studied for so long to do. It was his job. His calling.

He had to help, no matter what. There weren't many people left who would miss him if it all went wrong, so, maybe this was his time to make up for leaving his staff and patients behind only minutes ago.

He held the knife firmly and left the kitchen, only to see a younger woman on the floor, a firm hand wrapped around her ankle in a deathly grip. Now or never.

He couldn't find the strength to speak. Or even move at first, but he knew he had to.

He ran up and grabbed her attacker by the shoulders, mustering all his strength into whipping him up. He sunk the knife into his chest without even thinking, and that alone made him lightheaded. It all came rushing back to him when he realized the attacker in question just simply growled and acted as if the knife hadn't even touched him.

Panicked, Lee shoved him as hard as he could, sending him toppling over himself.

No room for any discussion, he reached down and grabbed the woman by her arm, yanking her up to her feet. Without warning, he rushed her into the kitchen and let the door close shut behind them, but as soon as they were inside, he stepped back and held the knife up close to his chest.

He was wide-eyed and scared, like a dog trapped in a corner.

"Are you like them?!" He questioned, "Are you- Are you sick? Or whatever the hell they are?" He asked. "I need to know. I've seen what they can do and I can't take chances."

 

[Ririn]

She was thinking about the white stray cat that usually hang around her apartment building. Who would feed the cat now? Who would put fresh water in her bowl? Isn't it funny, what people think when they experience a big shock? At least for her, it was always silly thoughts that came forward in times like this one. At her mother's funeral she was thinking about all the dresses her mother wouldn't make her now and when they called her for her father her first thought was, who would take her brother and her to the sea now? And when her grandmother passed... What was her first thought then? Was there anything in her mind or was it as blank as she remembered it to be?
All this run through her mind in seconds. And just as she felt the attacker crawling closer to her, someone rushed by her setting her ankle free from the deadly grasp.

Melinda turned around immediately, still on the floor looking at a doctor, judging from his uniform, stabbing a former patient of his in the chest. To her surprise, the man didn't even seem to notice he had just been stabbed. He growled like an animal and charged against the doctor. At that moment Melinda found out she had no strength to scream anymore. All she could do was sit on the floor, trembling, covered in blood and look at something that went against anything she ever knew. The very laws of life, were crumbling like a card tower before her eyes.

Thankfully, the doctor hadn't froze as much as she had. He pushed the man hard enough for him to lose his balance as the doctor turned around, grabbing her by the hand forcing her on her legs, almost literally pushing her through the doors, into the safety of the kitchen. Melinda heard the doors lock behind them.

It took her a moment to realise what he was asking her. So, he had risked his life for her without even being sure if she would turn around and bite him. God, they were right about their profession. They were all a bit crazy.

Slowly she raised her hands, palms towards him. "I am not sick. This..." She looked at her hands, down at her self. "This is not my blood. I-I work here ok?" She pulled the name label and handed it out to him. "I work here." She repeated as if that ment anything.

The door rattled behind her and she screamed, name tag falling on the ground as she turned around. The man was trying to get in but had seemingly forgotten how a door knob function. Instead he tried to open the door using his own weight. Somewhere in the kitchen Melinda heard another woman screaming. Turning to look at the man who had saved her life she realised she knew him. She wasn't sure of his name, they almost never worked together but he was down in the ER, like her.

"We need to get out of here." She stated.
"Kitchen is a sacred place Lin." Her grandmother whispered from the grave. Today it certainly was.

 

[Wordy]

He looked at the nametag.

"I've seen you around." He gulped and nodded, "I've seen you, yeah. You were, um... You were out one night in the city with a bunch of us. The big summer thing they did in the, uh... The summer." He said. It was clear everything that had happened had left him a little high-strung, a little on edge and out of it. "You work here. Yeah." He said.

When there was a slamming against the door, Lee's breath hitched. Think.

He was in no shape to move. He just stabbed a man. In the chest. That man shrugged it all off and continued on his merry way of trying to kill the two of them. Lee felt weak at the knees, and Maya? Maya was still sat there, rocking herself against the wall, wide-eyed and emotionless. She needed time to settle, time to adapt.

Lee shifted all of his weight against the side of the industrial fridge - it didn't work like the movies. Even with two of them they weren't able to knock it over, but, it was at least possible to slide it in front of the doorway. He went ahead and did this without a second thought.

"We can't leave yet." He said, breathlessly, as he slid down the front of the fridge and sat on the floor. "That's Maya, from radiology. She just saw her team get ripped to pieces." He said, "She's in no place to go anywhere, and... The ER. Jesus fucking Christ." He whispered, covering his face with his hands. "It's chaos. It's just... Blood and death. We're... We should wait here, at least for a while. I don't know how long but at least until we're ready. We should..." He looked around. "Get weapons, we should get weapons and try and figure out exactly where we're gonna' go. There's a fire map on the wall in here. It's..." He set his head back against the fridge, shutting his eyes.

"We don't have a choice." He said, shakily. "We just have to wait for it all to be over until we get out of here. We just... We have to lock this door and keep us safe." He said. "All the others, I don't know what to do. I don't know if anyone else got away from it all. The ER turned to absolute chaos."

 

[Ririn]

He was right! They had shared a couple of beers, back in summer. Doctors, nurses a few paramedics. It was a celebration. It had happened, a few months ago but right now it seemed like ages had passed.

Melinda stood there, silently listening to him speak. He was clearly in shock and he wasn't to be blamed. You don't come in a hospital expecting to stab a man instead of saving his life. This wasn't what their job their life was about. She couldn't blame Maya either. She didn't personally know the girl but knowing she saw her team get murdered so brutally was more than enough for her to feel sympathetic towards her. She would tend to the girl but first things first.

"Come on, let's push this fridge infront of the door." She offered her hand to him, motivating him to stand up and help her.
"A kid... A kid died in my hands and woke up a minute later attacking Richard. Richard Felson?" He would know him since Richard worked in the ER aswell. "People, They.. They were trying to get out but they got trapped. I tried to leave aswell " she admitted as shame washed over her like a cold wave. What had happened to the oath she once took? To the oath they all had taken? What could they do before this chaos?


"Come on. First the fridge, then we see what we can find here to defend ourselves." She said again and this time, Melinda managed to smile a bit.

 

[Wordy]

"Sounds like a plan." He rose to his feet and nodded, maybe managing to crack even the faintest of smiles for just a second. Before too long, without Maya helping them, they had the fridge moved into place. The sound it make as it dragged along the floor made Lee cringe. It was probably loud enough to hear from several hallways down, but there was too much chaos and screaming going on for anyone to pay attention to this.

He brushed himself down once it was moved.

"At least we're in one of the only places where a fire can start... So that's in our control." He said. "Weapons... There's not much more than a few knives and a meat mallet or two in here. But it should be enough to at least fight back if we need to." He said. "And, um..." He sighed. "I saw a couple of kids today, too." He nodded. "A woman brought in a little boy. He'd had his hand ripped clean off, you know," He pinched the bridge of his nose. "He'd bled out. I checked his pulse, he was dead and gone... Then a few minutes later, I check back and he's jumped up off the bed and he's tearing my buddy to pieces. How does a kid no older than seven come back to life and kill a grown man?" He asked, more rhetorically than anything else.

"None of this makes sense, really." He said, "But... What if everyone in the ER today was... Sick, or crazy, or whatever?" He untied his tie from around his neck and placed it down on one of the worktops, unbuttoning the top button of his shirt. He was sweating too much to be dressed formally. "There were hundreds. You saw it. Hundreds of people. If they were all sick, then we're literally stuck here. In a building filled with... Whatever it is they turn into." He said. "Melinda, this hospital, it has around 6,000 staff members. Everyone was called in today." He gulped, and maybe even went slightly paler than he was already.

He tipped over a knife block and revealed everything from flimsy fish knives to larger carving knives. At least some of them would be useful.

"My car's out back. It's just... And I hate to say it, it's just a matter of getting out of here alive." He whispered.

The silence he induced was broken as Maya leaned over from where she was and vomited into a mop bucket.

At least she was somewhat coming around. Somewhat.

 

[Ririn]

By the time they had moved the fridge infornt of the door she was out of breath. She stayed there leaning against it, eyes closed as she tried to gather herself up.

"Lin. Call me Lin." She said as if it mattered at all what he called her.
"I have my bike out in the parking lot aswell, in case we find someone else that could use a ride. Problem is," she said opening up her eyes letting them wonder over the knives scattered on the floor "not only do we need to get out of here alive but getting to the locker room aswell. Don't know about you, but thats where I keep my keys." She let out a sigh and finally moved away from the door, reaching for water from a smaller fridge. She tossed a bottle towards Lee before kneeling next to Maya.

"Here you go honey, drink a little." She encouraged the girl, opening the water for her and bringing it up to her lips. "It's ok. We are going to be ok." Melinda tried to comfort her doubting she was able to convince her. She was still so scared herself that if she stopped to think of the questions Lee was asking she would crack again. How many people were inside the hospital this very moment? Certainly some were healthy and hiding like they were but she couldn't hope for a big number. They were down in the ER. They had seen it start and had time. What about the rest of the clinics? Did they had any time before they realised what was coming from her? Melinda felt her eyes getting watery and blinked to stop the tears from falling.

 

[Wordy]

"Don't think I've ever met a Melinda who goes by Lin instead of Mel." He said, smiling once more. Normality was nice, even if it was the smallest of things. They'd only stew and suffer if they focused completely on the negatives - which was hard not to do in a time like this one.

She had a hell of a good point about the locker room, though.

"I might have forgotten about that. Yeah." He rubbed his forehead. "Shit. Alright, well... That's one hallway down from here. Whether or not we can just walk out the front or back doors of this place is a different story. Worst case scenario is we get up to the roof and make our way down the fire ladders and everything... Though thinking of it, I can't deny that in this weather that sounds absolutely terrifying." He said.

Ice, metal stairways, and ladders? Not a fun combo.

Maya sipped the water indeed. She was only a young girl, recently started working here. She certainly hadn't been to any of the socials with the others, that was for sure. She looked as though she was fresh out of college; all of her makeup had ran and her hair was all over the place. Compared to how she looked only ten minutes ago? She was in rough shape.

Despite sipping water, her manic sobbing continued.

"We're all going to die in here." She whimpered, "We're trapped. And my team. My team, the woman- the woman we x-rayed wasn't even... She was okay, I swear. There was nothing wrong with her. Nothing like that anyway, but then she- she just killed Jane. Jane didn't even have a face and... God... Geoff. Geoff was an asshole but he didn't deserve that. He just... They killed him. They just ripped him to pieces. They tore him apart right there in front of us and I just ran. I ran... I ran." She buried her face in her knees and the crying continued. "I'm never going to see my family again, am I? What if it's like this outside the hospital? What if it's all over the city already?"

Lee ran his hands through his hair and slowly paced around the kitchen, thinking.

"I don't know." He whispered, shaking his head.

 

[Ririn]

"Tell the good doctor why they call you Lin." the familiar voice in her head rang and Melinda smiled seemingly for Lee's remark.

"We definitely need to reach the locker room. Not only our keys are there but in that weather?" She said titling her head towards one of the windows as she rubbed Maya's back to calm her down "If anything goes wrong we need warmer clothes than what we have one." She didn't need to explain how fast their bodies would fall into hypothermia in late November.

Then Maya started talking, which would be a positive sign for the girl if it wasn't for her frenzy as she spoke. But could they blame her? Certainly not. Melinda hadn't even thought about what went on outside the hospital. What if all of Portland was like that? What was happening out in the streets? And what about her brother?

Jack... That really shook her to the point she felt dizzy and had to close her eyes for a moment. Jack, her little brother was the only family she had left. What if he wasn't safe?

Kitchen is a sacred place.

Melinda looked up.
"First things first Maya ok? We need to stay safe and get out of here for now. " With that Melinda was back on her feet.

"Hey Lee? Come check this out." She said pointing at the fire map he had mentioned earlier. "If I'm reading this correctly there is a second door here that leads in the pantry and from there another door that leads to the room they distribute food from. That must lead to the next hallway right? Getting us closer to the lockers. What do you think?" She asked turning to look at him.

 

[Wordy]

"This winter has been exceptionally bad." Lee agreed, "It's been snowing all of last night and today, and there were reports of storms on the way, too." He said. "I've got warmer stuff in my locker, obviously. Assuming we can get to my car, we should be okay." He said. "If, and I mean if this has somehow reached the streets? A car's probably our safest bet." He said.

He hoped, at least.

He also hoped that it was just in this hospital and soon enough the military would swoop in and save them, but, that was a longshot. Surely they'd be here by now if that was the case, wouldn't they? He wasn't so sure what the case was anymore.

Maya simply nodded a few times to what Lin said. For now, it would have to do. They had to get out.

Lee walked over to Lin when addressed, and his eyes scanned the map.

"Yeah, it all leads through to the service area. They've got a dumbwaiter and all that there, too." He said. "Assuming we can get through there safely... Yeah." He nodded. "Yeah, that'll work. We can reach the locker room and get our stuff together. Hopefully the locker room's quiet enough for us to lie low for a few more minutes and plan our next move." He said. "Because... You've got fire exits here, here, and... Here." He pointed at them one by one. "All on this floor, all lead out onto the street. Ideally, we'd wanna' use the one that goes straight to the parking lot. Those are the three closest ones." He said.

He picked up one of the knives and let out a long sigh, then took in a deep breath.

"If we do this, we need to be quick. We... Don't exactly know how bad it's going to be out there. Not until we see it." He said. "If anything goes down, we might have to scrap the lockers and just make a break for it. That's the worst case, though." He said.

He looked over at Maya. She was still frightened, but at least aware.

He looked at Lin.

Then, for good measure, he scanned himself over, too.

"So... You want to do this now?"

 

[Ririn]

A car is not our safest bet. Melinda wanted to say. If the streets look anything like the ER looked today the car won't get us too far. Despite the cold it's the bike that will get us further. But it only has room for two. Melinda thought of all that but said nothing. They will deal with everything one problem at a time.

She followed Lee's finger over the map taking in as many details as possible. Once they left the kitchen nobody could guarantee they would have time to look at another fire map.
She picked up a knife swirling it in her hand. She knew nothing of weapons but she did know some things around knives. This wasn't ment to harm humans let alone kill them, if these people out there could be killed, but it would grant them some safety.

"I see no point in waiting any longer locked in here." She agreed looking over at Maya. "Come on honey, time to move." The girl finally seemed to be in sync with reality as she stood on her feet though she was still crying.

Melinda headed to the left, where the map showed the door would be and indeed they pantry door was there. She opened it with ease, finding themselves in a space with multiple racks full of food supplies but as expected no people. It was the next rooms that concerned her and the short distance between the distribution room and the locker room. Short but who could tell how dangerous?

"Come on" , she whispered going in the pantry and immediately spotting the next door.

 

[Wordy]

Maya shakily got up, like a newborn fawn, but her posture straightened out eventually. She muttered words of encouragement to herself, and she hesitantly followed her newest companions out of the room. She armed herself with a meat mallet - knives would only get so far, in her eyes. They certainly wouldn't crack any skulls. A mallet would be enough to put someone on the ground even with a light blow to the head, so that's what she was going with.

The pantry was clear, but Lee's eyes checked every corner. Not taking any chances.

"I'll go first." He offered, and he stepped up to the connecting door and creaked it open just a tiny bit. He poked his head through and glanced around - they could still hear screams and chaos erupting not far from here. Yelling and panicked voices even passed by in the nearest hallway, but, he could only hope that they were far enough in to avoid most of it. Were there more staff members held up somewhere? Somewhere nearby?

He hoped so. 6,000 people running around in the... Sick and crazy state wouldn't be an easy factor to deal with.

Nevertheless, it was clear.

"We're good for now." He whispered, and he lead them through that room, and onto the most threatening door of the bunch. The hallway. This was where things did indeed get interesting again - he opened the door ever so slightly, and at first they saw people running by, followed by bloodied and gored individuals shambling along after them, grunting and groaning as they did so. It took a few minutes, but as soon as they were clear, he opened the door and stepped out.

Down the hall, it didn't take long to see that threat was near. There were half a dozen or so people making aggressive and frankly horrifying noises, all while swinging themselves around displaying frequently jittery body movement.

"Let's move." He nodded.

Just one corner to take before the locker room came up. Just one corner.

The moment they took it, the next scarring thing of the afternoon took place. Under a now-flickering light, they saw something small and monkey-like scurry off with a shriek, disappearing through an open door.

"Holy shit." Lee gasped, jumping back and holding the knife up. "What the fuck was that?" He whispered. Inside the room the thing had vanished into, they heard glass breaking and various items being knocked over, with the same horrific gargles and screeching coming from within. Further down the hallway, they heard only more screaming - screaming that was getting closer by the second. Lee didn't want to waste any more time. "Locker room. Now. Let's get in and out. This is getting worse than I thought." He gulped.

 

[Ririn]

Melinda felt her heart stop, as the fear paralysed her muscles, locking her where she stood. A slight whimpering sound had escaped her mouth but unlike Lee, she was incapable of forming any words. What on earth was that? A child maybe? It would explain it's small size but not it's posture. Though terrified her mind still tried to find a logical explanation behind what they had just saw. Because if it wasn't a child... What was it?

Lee's motivating words for the trio to move woke her up. Moving fast they reached the locker room that was awfully silent compared to the constant noise outside. Melinda realised she was holding her breath for so long her lungs ached. Slowly she let the air go, inhaling sharply through her nostrils.

"Gather your things and let's get the fuck out of here." She whispered, leaving the knife she held on a bench opening her locker in a frenzy. With the corner of her eye she saw Maya doing the same. Thank God!

Melinda would love to get rid of her blood soaked uniform but they didn't have the time. She put her black sweater over her uniform, moving to changing her comfy crocks for her boots.
"What car do you drive?" She asked Lee, still keeping her voice low as she put on her motor jacket. They had been extremely lucky so far and she wished to keep it that way. If it came to running they couldn't afford losing each other in the parking lot.
Lastly she took her backpack and her helmet. Her plan was to take her bike and follow Lee's car for as long as possible. In her mind a car wasn't all that safe still.

 

[Wordy]

Lee was shoving everything out his locker that he knew he needed to bring. Backpack, winter clothes, and keys for the most part. That was what he needed the most. The rest of it was all personal stuff that he could maybe come back for later - the only thing he did grab was his watch, which he quickly put on. Looking at it, it was weird to see how little but how much time had actually gone by since this morning, and how little time it took for it all to go wrong. It was quite the unsettling thing. He could still hear screams, yelling, and in some areas of the hospital? Loud bangs that could have easily been gunfire, for all he knew.

He didn't want to stick around to find out.

He was still slightly rattled from whatever they'd seen out in the hallway. A little... Spidermonkey-like thing that was almost definitely just a small child beforehand. Is that really what it did to people? Turned them into a complete freakshow that just went around attacking others? The things he saw today would haunt his dreams for years to come, he was sure.

"Ford Focus." He said, "I've got winter tires, too. It'll handle itself well enough." He said, then shook his head. "I'm not sure what the best bet is right now, Lin. I'm sorry." He said. "If this has spread to the streets, it could be a case where people have just left their cars in the street. If that's what's going on, then I'm lost on options." He leaned over and whispered to her. "We'll have a bike with two seats, but three people." He said.

If it came down to them only having the bike?

Someone was going to have to get left behind. Again. Just like all of the others.

He threw his backpack over his shoulder and picked up the knife again, nodding to himself. Was the worst really yet to come? Maybe.

They would find out soon enough.

"If this really has hit the streets, Lin..." He looked back towards the door as they heard groaning and hollering passing by, slowly. He fell to silence until it had distanced itself enough. "If it's gotten to that point, then we should probably... I don't know. If it's anything like it is in here? We'll want to get out of the city." He said. "You have any family?" He asked. "Because if we can get the car out of here, we'll... Have a little extra room, at least."


**


Still repping. Still wearing colors. It was a normal day for Chase Mitchell, too. Portland's local one-of-many renegades. Not so much a troublemaker, no, but at least someone who wasn't afraid of a good bar fight from time to time. Portland wasn't even his primary choice, either - Portland was maybe temporary. Maybe. He had a kid here, though, so that made things considerably tougher to leave behind. Not because of the kid, but because of the person he chose to make a mother all those years ago. She'd salt the earth to find him and drag him back, kicking and screaming, if he one day took off without saying a word and never returned.

Rocky relationships, cheap whiskey, and the open road. Such was life.

"So, how long's it been?" The man at his side asked as they left the store they were in and made their way for the parking lot. "Since you saw your kid, I mean."

"A few months." Chase shrugged, "It all got complicated. You know that."

"And you're seeing her when?"

"Next weekend. Need to get everything in order."

"You cleared out all the two week-old fast food from your fridge yet?" He smirked.

"Like hell."

"You gonna' need help?"

"Appreciate it, but no. I'll be alright." He said, "Plus, you spend so much time around me the neighbors and the rest of the guys are probably gonna' start asking questions before too long. Last thing I need is them thinking that me and you are sat hunkered down in some closet together. I don't roll like that."

"Very funny."

Chase ripped open what he'd just bought in the store; a new bulb for his headlight. Upon reaching the parking lot, he knelt down in front of his bike. He pulled out the multitool on his keyring and got the screwdriver out. He removed all the screws that fastened the light to the bike, and with that done, switched out the bulb. His buddy held it in place for him while he screwed it back in.

"You gonna' swing around the club later tonight? Maybe bring your daughter to say hi to all of us next weekend?"

"I'll definitely give it some thought."

His friend hopped onto his own bike and started the engine. He pulled a bandana up over his mouth, gave a nod to Chase, and just like that he was away.

Chase started up his own bike, the rhythmic sound of the engine echoing softly around the parking lot. A custom build, worked on over several months. Sourcing all different parts wasn't easy, but there were ways to make things ride well. Cheap brake plates, for example, but then an engine that was ripped from a bike twice as expensive as the base model of the one he was driving. It had been modded to the point where it didn't struggle in many circumstances. Except water. No one had figured out how to drive a bike through deep water, really.

But this would do. It was his second child, to many degrees.

He sped out of the parking lot and took a sharp turn, taking off down the street. A storm would be hitting soon. A few more errands to run, and then maybe he could catch a drink somewhere.

 

[Ririn]

She hadn't told him what her thoughts were about getting his car to escape this place but it seemed like Lee had eventually reached that conclusion on his own. If Maya was right, and something inside her told her the girl was, things would be hectic out of the hospital as well. That ment traffic jam or even abandoned cars blocking the city streets. And Lee was right. They couldn't stay in Portland if it had spread.

"I have a brother." She finally said, keeping cautious of the sounds coming from outside the room. "He lives just outside Portland. I really need to get to him."
The mere thought of Jack made her eyes watery again. All she could hope for now was that he was safe and unharmed from all this madness. Jack was all she had left.

Melinda approached the door picking up her knife again before resting her ear against the solid wood. It was quite. For now...

"Come on! Let's move. To the left, towards the nearest emergency door." She encouraged them cracking the door a little and taking a pick outside. The group that had passed them before had seemingly move on. The hallway was empty, lights flickering on and off. It reminded her of those horror films, set in old hospitals that were haunted by former patients. Only this wasn't a movie or a twisted book. This was their reality and staying any longer in the locker room could prove fatal.
Melinda opened the door move and slipped outside staying close to the wall, her eyes wide open for any movement, knife held tight in her right palm, helmet ready in her left one.

 

[Wordy]

"Outside the city? Well, that works for us." Lee nodded. "Assuming you want to stick together... We should head there. I rent in the heart of Portland, so, going back to my place isn't exactly the best of ideas if everything has gone to shit out there. We'll see, but, outside the city is the safest bet right now. Two birds one stone, too. We get your brother, and with a bit of luck? We can hunker down until the military rush in and deal with whatever shitshow this is turning into." He said.

He really wanted it to be that simple.

He really wanted it to be.

"Maya, you good?" Lee looked over at the younger woman.

"I think so." She nodded. She had gathered all of her things - all of the personal things she could carry, too. She had photos taped to the inside of her locker, presumably of her family - Lee could only assume that she did that so she had a reminder of what was good in her life whenever things got too depressing during her job. Lee knew the feeling too well. Stitch up enough kids or provide trauma care to a teen who was nearly stabbed to death by their stepmother, and eventually it gets to your head.

Into the hallway, though, it wasn't much further to go. Lee followed in Lin's footsteps, and Maya followed in his. They didn't have far to go. All the noises and chaos that was still erupting within these walls would leave ringing in their ears for quite some time, but at least they were getting so close to the fresh air. They could leave this godforsaken place. Lee wasn't sure how long the hospital would be in shambles - or if it ever even stood a chance of recovery to begin with, but there were so many things in here that could potentially be useful if one of them were to get hurt.

That was the only problem. Hindsight can be a bitch.

Just when they were getting so close to the exit that they could see the natural daylight shining in from under the door, they heard a high-pitched growl behind them. Lee and Maya both froze, and gradually, Lee turned. Maya was completely frozen in place, eyes wide, the fear overpowering her means for survival.

"Maya..." Lee murmured, unsteadily.

No time to respond. There was a shriek followed by a blood-curdling scream from Maya as the same small figure they saw earlier pounced up onto her shoulders and wrapped itself around her, clawing at her head and her neck. She was screaming loud enough to alert just about anyone to their presence. She was doing her best to swing it around to try and throw it off, but, it was to no avail.

"GET IT OFF!" She screamed, frantically.

She was spinning around in circles and stumbling all over the hallway.

"Maya, you have to hold still." Lee urged, bringing the knife up above his head. "Fuck, fuck. Fuck!" He swung, but it was a swing and a miss that almost ended up grazing one of Maya's shoulders.

Eventually, Maya tripped over her own feet and slammed down onto her back, the thing (which they could now confirm was a small child), pulling aggressively at her hair and bearing tiny blood-stained teeth.


**


He hit the brakes as firmly as he could and brought the bike to the side, coming to a screeching halt in the snow. Slushy ice and dirt flew up into the air, the bike barely stopping in time to avoid colliding with the idiot who had decided to walk out in front of traffic. Chase pulled the scarf down off his face, looking at the disheveled man in completely disbelief.

"Hey, buddy!" He yelled out, "You trying to get yourself killed, you jackass?"

The man's head twitched to the side, all of his body movement jittery. He still didn't turn to face Chase, though, and that was... Annoying, to say the very least.

"Hey." He said, a little more aggressively this time.

The man's head cocked to the side again, and this time he slowly stumbled around in a circle so he was looking straight at him. The lifeless eyes. The grey skin, and...

All of the flesh torn away from his lower jaw. Okay.

Chase adjusted himself on his bike again, "Oh, shit." He said, "Okay, uhh... You should... You should sit down, I'm gonna' get you some help, I think it's-"

He stumbled towards Chase's bike, arms stretched out, his fingers curled into a claw-like shape. Chase rolled himself back, gradually, but as soon as the man started shrieking and hissing at him, his movement only getting more aggressive. Chase shook his head and simply decided to bail out of there. He hit the accereleration and did a perfect loop in the snow, doubling back on himself and speeding off down the road, coating the aggressor in a slurry of dirty snow as he moved away. Whatever the hell that was? He was having no part in it. Bath salts or something, probably, and he didn't particularly feel like getting attacked today.

As he rounded another corner, though, it only seemed to get worse. Cars had been crashed into buildings, blood covered the snow on the streets - some buildings had erupted in fire, windows had been broken, but more importantly? There were people literally tearing each other to pieces, with some of them ripping flesh from each others and shoving it into their mouths. Chase could only stop and wonder, what the fuck happened between now and 30 minutes ago? This was...

Unheard of. It was unlike anything he'd ever seen before. He saw someone launch themself from a second story window and land flawlessly on their feet, before releasing an ungodly howl into the air. None of the people attacking the others seemed scared, or upset, or even remorseful to any degree. They had nothing short of blood lust in their eyes. The chaos was only spreading, it seemed, as more and more people hit the ground and got torn up.

Men. Women. Children.

Children.

"Fuck." He whispered to himself, harshly, and he spun around yet again and sped off down the street he'd first came down.

If there were riots - or whatever the hell that was - happening in the heart of Portland? That meant he had to find his daughter.

Which meant he had to go and deal with his ex.

Great.

 

[Ririn]

Melinda didn't think. She just did it.
Remember Lin. When someone is in need, you aid them. her grandmother's voice again. Always present even after her passing.
So Melinda did just that. Seeing how Lee couldn't get the frantic child off her using his knife without hurting the poor girl in the process Melinda came charging with the helmet.
She swung it as hard as she could, hitting the child's head from the side, making it lose it's balance as he slid to the side bumping the other side of it's head on the wall. The small figure growled losing all interested in Maya.

"GET HER OUT OF HERE!" Melinda screamed at Lee as the child used both his legs and hands, much like an animal to jump towards her. She tried to kick it back but managed to only change it's course enough to not lend on her.

Melinda took a step back, feeling her heart's pulse loud as a war drum in her head.
The child lashed at her again but this time she was ready. Holding her body as steady as possible Melinda brought the helmet up, making half a circle before again hitting it's head. Having seen Lee previously failing with the stabbing, her only plan was to smush it's head. So as soon as the child fell down again she leaned over it and begun to hit it over and over again with the helmet. It screamed but it didn't sound like it was in pain. It screamed in anger and frustration. Melinda went on, smashing his head until the wall, the floor, the helmet and her hands were covered in thick blood, small pieces of bone and chunks of brain.

Now, where were the others?

 

[Wordy]

Surprisingly enough, they weren't far away at all. Maya had scrambled away almost immediately and made straight for the door, but Lee? Lee had stood there the whole time, watching in horror as she caved in the child's head with a bike helmet until it was completely lifeless. Holy shit. He didn't know whose blood was whose, but he definitely saw some on Maya. It was definitely hers, too, he knew that for sure. She was hurt, and if it was anything serious (as injuries around the head and neck often were), her getting the appropriate treatment could be a matter of life or death. Not fun odds, right? Even so, one person was already out, which meant there was one more to go. It was important that they all got out of here alive, and judging by the noises that were quickly approaching them? Lee could only guess that that meant bad news for them.

Lee walked up and grabbed her wrist before she could take that final swing.

"I think it's dead." He gulped.

A shriek not too far from them made Lee only more tense.

"We need to go." He said, and without hesitation, he kept hold of her arm and made an immediate dash for the door. He didn't want to see what the child looked like after they'd fought it off. Or, after Lin herself had fought it off, rather. It was just another unnecessary mental scar that he didn't need. He had room for much more, he was sure.

If they thought they were escaping the worst of it, to be completely honest, they were wrong. The moment they stepped outside the hospital and slammed that door shut behind them, they saw smoke stacks rising up into the air across the city. People roamed the streets in panic, running from whatever it was that was chasing them. There was blood and gore almost everywhere, and Maya was knelt in the snow, clutching the side of her neck with blood running down her forearm.

The parking lot, for the most part, was clear. Some had been caught trying to escape, but, it looked as though they were more or less free to find their vehicles and sneak away unseen. There was a man and a woman knelt down by a body, shoving fistfuls of flesh and intestines into their mouths. They were perfectly distracted.

The streets around the hospital were in absolute chaos, much to their displeasure. There was no way any cars were getting out - cars had been abandoned in the streets on all four sides of the building. Hell, there was barely enough room to fit a bike through there.

"Shit." Lee gulped, looking around. "This is... This is a nightmare." He let out a laugh of pure shock.


**


"Oh, shit!" The woman yelled as a hand slapped her car window. She saw Chase's face peering in at her and she immediately stepped out of the car after flicking the engine off. "What the fuck, Chase?" She snapped, "You scared the shit out of me."

"Where's Robin?" He asked, immediately.

"What? Chase, it's next week you're having her. Not this week. Even if it was you're two days late."

"Not what I asked. Look, Georgia," He held his hands up and shut his eyes. "Did you not see any of what's going on when you were driving back here? Nothing at all?" He asked.

"No, I didn't." She said, "For God's sake. Come inside. It's freezing out here." She unlocked the door to her house and stepped in, holding it open for him until he was inside, too. He glanced around.

"So where is she?"

"I just dropped her off at the mall with her friends. Chase, you're not doing this. Not again."

"You completely missed all of it, didn't you?"

"You're completely missing the point I'm trying to make." She said, "You had your chances, you fucked it up. And whatever game it is you're playing now, it's not going to work. What's your plan? Take Robin an ride off into the sunset on that... Piece of shit bike you've got out front?" She asked. "It's not happening, Chase."

"What? No. No, I came for both of you. Georgia, fuck my life, will you listen?" He asked. "There are people out there on the streets dying. Dying. Being ripped to pieces. One of them tried to attack me and there's... Holy shit." He said, "There's cars everywhere, crashed, abandoned, I saw someone jump out of a window." He said. "I came here because I'm worried about the two of you. We need to make sure this isn't something serious, like some fucked up terror attack."

"Have you been drinking?"

Chase's eyebrow twitched, and he went a little red in the face.

"Georgia, I am warning you." He growled, lowly.

"And I am warning you, buddy." She stuck a finger in his chest, "If you do anything to mess this up for Robin, or for me, I'm going to get the best damn lawyer I can find and I'm going to ruin your life. Do you understand me? You stick to your times. You don't come here making up some... Bullshit excuses. You've done this before and I will not fall for it again, and neither will she. You can go back to your scumbag friends and drink yourself half to death until it's your turn. But don't try and do what you're doing now. Don't try and just come in and out of our lives - you made your choices, you left us behind, and you know I'm-"

He couldn't take it anymore. She was fucking crazy, and she always had been.

He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her, "Why won't you just shut the fuck up?!"

But that kind of made two of them.

 

[Ririn]

Melinda jumped a bit when his hand locked around her wrist and for a second she looked at Lee as if he didn't recognise who he was. For a whole second, the girl was lost somewhere else. Then she landed back into reality, allowing Lee to drag her behind him and out of the hospital. Before the door automatically slammed behind them, Melinda turned to look at what she had done to the child. The image her eyes captured under the flickering lights would scar her for the rest of her life.

What she saw around her was almost equally bad. Though most of the parking lot was empty the scenery was that of a movie. Black thick smoke could be seen all around the city which ment there were chemical fires. Probably cars or maybe stores that had chemical products. The rest of the sky was turning gray fast not only from the night approaching ever so soon in winter time but also from various other fires. As she had originally thought Lee's car wouldn't get them far. Hell, it wouldn't even get them out the lot.

Melinda saw Maya on her knees, her blood staining the snow below her. Then the two infected or changed, damn she wasn't sure what to call those two... And Melinda made a decision right there. One that went against everything she was ever tought.

"We need to leave, now! You and me. Maya for all we know now has it too. And this blood loss? You know better than me that we can't do nothing about it. Not from here, not now." Melinda spoke fast keeping her voice low trying to persuade Lee as fast as possible. It would be crazy to try and make an exit from Portland with a person so heavily injured.
"We can't make it on foot." She went on and now it was her holding his wrist. "Even if she was ok we couldn't. Please. Please don't leave me alone Lee." Melinda begged him. She didn't want to face all this alone. She couldn't.

 

[Wordy]

He stared down at the bleeding woman as Lin talked.

He heard it all in the back of his head, but for the most part it was in one ear and out of the other. The worst part about it wasn't that she was the one suggesting it, or that it was a real factor they had to consider, or that Maya was just a human, or that they had no real proof to assume that Maya would get 'sick', no. It was none of that for him. The worst part was, when he was listening to Lin's concern, and listening to her reasoning... He didn't feel bad.

Because he'd thought it, too. At this point she had very little chance of survival. He never saw her get bitten - but it was definitely a deep scratch. She was going to die, regardless. If she didn't? It would have to be a goddamned miracle.

All the blood loss would do was make it so she didn't really know it was happening. Things would get blurry, and cold, but eventually numb. He just hoped her last thoughts were decent ones, as hard as that may have been.

He just didn't want to see what was going to happen to her.

He looked at Lin again, "If we go, we go now." He gulped, but he gave her a few nods. "I'll never forgive myself for this, but I don't want to see what happens to her." He said. "Let's just... Let's just leave. We'll leave and we'll forget everything that happened in that place today. From now on, we need to make sure we don't die. Your brother's place sounds like the safest bet." He said. "Just a heads up, I've never been on a motorcycle before..." He paused. "Just tell me where to hang on, and we'll go."

 

[Ririn]

No, she didn't want to see what would happen to her either. Going against their train, against what they had been taught, against their oaths and their work and their ethics neither of them wanted to stay by the girl's side as she died or got attacked or got turned. Whatever the case, there was an amount of shit a person can take per day. Melinda was past that point for some time now.

"Come!" Still holding him by the wrist she turned around, refusing to even go near the bleeding girl. Thankfully the bike was parked on the other side of where the two were nearly done with their feast. She didn't want to think who they would feast upon next.

The bike stood there, alone, black and honestly, a little too big for a girl her size. She loved it.
"You have to hold on to me." She said as she got on top of it, almost ready to put the helmet on. A second look at it and she decided it would be best if she just wear it around her arm. There was no way she would put that bloody mess on her head right now. The knife? She had lost somewhere between killing a child and getting out of the hospital.
"Try and lean with me and the bike and not opposite it ok?" She instructed him as he got behind her. "I need the weight to balanced or we will fall."

Truth was, she knew he would be tight and that would only make driving harder, between so many obstacles and the slippery roads. But they had to manage. They just had to.

With that, Melinda turned the key and the bike's engine roared to life underneath them. She hit the acceleration and focused on slowly getting them past the teo cars that were almost completely blocking the exit.

"We will take smaller roads. Changes are, they won't be as crowded. Trust me, if we can get to my brother's house things will get better." She said, almost out of breath as she successfully pushed the bike through, getting them and the vehicle out on the road unscratched.

 

[Wordy]

"Hold onto you. Got it." He said.

And hold on he did. He didn't just go through all of that to die in an accident. He leaned forward just she asked, and for a while he'd probably cling to her rather tightly, too. Going on a bike? He didn't know how people did it. The amount of trust in the laws of gravity you must have to have was completely beyond Lee. He knew how it all worked with velocity and all that, but, that was nothing like the real thing. Even when the bike was only moving at crawler speed, it still made his stomach roll.

It felt... Exposed. That's what it felt like.

But still. He hung on tight. Everything would be fine. Trust the driver.

"That's what I'm telling myself, too." He agreed with her in regards to the brother's house. It was true. It was their safest bet that wasn't within Portland. Surely outside this city had to be okay. If it was as serious as some sort of sickness, they'd quarantine the entire city, wouldn't they? Portland, Maine would be a 'dark zone' of sorts.

If it was for the sake of containment, surely...?

He glanced around as they moved. It would take his mind off the bike, at least. He didn't like the things he saw, though. One car was violently shaking while all of the windows were painted with blood. From the inside, that is. Someone else who had been crippled in a car accident laid in the middle of the road wailing. There was a missing child frantically searching for their parent, and the icing on the cake? A baby's stroller, abandoned, with an infant howling from within.

Horrible, horrible shit. That didn't cover the half of what they'd see on the road out.

"Surely this couldn't have left the city. Surely." He said. They could hear sirens - the police were responding, at least. Hopefully they could clear this mess up... But looking around, it was going to take more than pepperspray and tasers. "Did your brother call you at all?" He called out over the sound of the engine.


**

Chase was on his phone, shakily writing out a text.

'Hi honey this is your dad. Mom gave me your number'
'omg no way??'
'Yeah way. Looking forward to seeing you. what are you up to today?'
'At the mall, gonna have lunch (:'
'where you gonna eat?'
'think we're gonna do pizza. can I call you after?'
'Yes'
''

She'd never have the time to make that call, not if Chase had anything to say about it. In a panic he ran out the house and jumped on his bike again, this time taking off more around the outside of the city. At least not the center of it, anyway. You could only fit a shopping mall in so many places, after all. That was the first place he sped to, coming to yet another aggressive stop right at the front doors. He didn't have long to act - whatever was going on... It was downtown. For now. He hoped the rioters or whatever the hell they were didn't get to hear before he could find Robin.

People gave him funny looks as he sprinted his ass all the way to the food court. At first, he didn't realize why. He'd find out soon enough, though. He found the restaurant, the pizza place he and Robin had eaten at plenty of times over the years. Pizza was always good to talk over, and he didn't have to worry about how fussy kids were. It was a win-win.

When Robin saw him barge past the head waiter, she quickly excused herself from the table.

She walked over.

".. Dad?"

Her two friends turned and looked at her, their faces going from smiles to dropped jaws immediately.

"Dad, you're... You're covered in blood, I-"

"It ain't mine. We gotta' go, kid. I can explain on the way but it isn't safe here." He said to her, quietly. "You need to tell your friends to get home, okay? Please, Robin, you gotta' believe me on this. We don't have long."

"Dad, you're scaring me." She said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"There are people dying out on the streets. I came to get you because... Because I don't want anything to happen to you, kid. That's why I'm here." He said, "But please. We need to go."

She nodded and blinked a few times. "Yeah... Yeah, okay." She sniffed.

She turned back to the table to gather her things.