Chapter 6: The Hospital Run
Ava adjusted the strap on her rucksack, her eyes narrowing as she focused on the clinic's distant form against the ash-grey sky. The structure became damaged, with parts of its exterior falling and exposed, windows cracked, and smoke rising from the lower floors. It had once been a place of hope, but now it seemed like a monument to misery. Nonetheless, they had little choicethe clinic became their ultimate destination for items they couldn't find anyplace else.
Lucas stood behind her, his stare as keen as her own. "We get in, find everything we canantibiotics, medicines, anything that can save livesand leave. We are not considering any possibilities."
Ava nodded, making a brief cameo alongside Elena and Sarah. The two females appeared to be as nervous as she was, yet their eyes were filled with determination. They had traveled this far, and there was no turning back now.
They came closer to the entrance, the air thick with the stink of smoke and something else, metal and sharp. The silence pushed down on them, punctuated by the distant echo of footsteps and the odd groan of the building as it settled.
As they walked into the clinic foyer, Ava's stomach turned. The room was barely recognizablepartitions were split, tiles crumbled, and medical equipment lay scattered across the floor, abandoned in the effort to get away. A dark stain discolored the floor near the front table, but she tried not to think too much about what it could be.
Elena shuddered, looking around. "This feels…incorrect."
Ava nodded, her eyes moving to the stairway. "Let's start on the second floor," she said quietly, knowing that the lower floors were probably the most dangerous. They required resources, but they couldn't risk becoming stuck in the basement or floor level if another tremor struck.
They moved together, their steps soft on the aged, echoing tiles. The hush surrounding them seemed almost unnatural, thick and oppressive, as if the clinic was holding its breath.
As they approached the second story, the lighting fixtures flickered, creating unusual shadows on the walls. The emergency lighting fixtures battled to remain illuminated, vibrating softly along the otherwise silent corridor. They walked by empty patient rooms, some with doorways that had come off their hinges, others barricaded as if someone had attempted to make a last stand.
Ava paused at a delivery closet, quickly digging through the disorganized contents. She discovered a few bandages, gauze, and a bottle of rubbing alcoholsimple supplies, but invaluable in such situations.
Lucas motioned to a side room with a bent "employees simplest" sign hanging on the door. "I'll look in there for medications," he said, keeping his voice low.
Ava nodded and led Elena and Sarah down the hallway, keeping an eye on each door as they went. The deeper they went into the medical facility, the chillier it appeared to get, the air dense with a strange chill that caused the hairs on her hands to stand up.
They arrived at every other crossroads, and Ava paused, noticing a faint sounda whisper, almost like a sigh, reverberating from somewhere below. Her pulse quickened as she paused to listen.
Elena looked at her with wide eyes. "Did you listen that?"
Ava nodded urgently, pressing a finger to her lips. "Live close," she said quietly, the uncomfortable feeling growing stronger.
They continued down the corridor, passing further empty rooms and shattered glass. As they approached the medical doctor's office, they noticed a strange hum that seemed both mechanical and alive. Shadows flickered from the path of the office, moving oddly in the low light.
They approached Dr. Bennett's office, the door slightly ajar. Ava pushed it slowly open, peeking inside. In the faint light, Dr. Miles Bennett sat slumped over his table, hurriedly shredding pages from a stack of documents, his face etched with desperation. He scarcely noticed them, his attention focused entirely on the files he was erasing.
"Dr. Bennett?" Ava whispered as she approached. Her voice stunned him, and he looked up, his eyes wide and wild. He appeared to have not slept in days, with a pale complexion and a thin sheen of sweat.
"What are you doing here?" he hissed, looking around as if waiting for somethingor someoneto accompany them into the chamber.
"We're here for supplies," Ava responded, keeping her voice consistent. "people are hurt, and we want some thing we are able to get to help them continue to exist."
Dr. Bennett's attention shifted to the records he'd been shredding, a flicker of shame in his eyes. "You do not comprehend. "A few matters should be buried."
Ava frowned, staring at the half-torn papers, their edges still visible beneath his shaking fingers. "What do you imply?" she inquired, trying to keep the urgency out of her voice.
He shook his head, his face hardening. "This…all of this," he replied, referring to the commotion around them, "is not what you observed." "It's no longer just herbal."
Ava's pulse sped as her mind raced. She'd suspected something else was going on, something far darker than simple mistakes. However, hearing it from someone like Dr. Bennett made it all the more realand horrifying.
"We need to get out of here," she stated forcefully. "Come with us." Whatever you're hiding doesn't matter if you're useless."
Dr. Bennett paused, his gaze flickering between her and the ripped files. For a moment, it appeared like he may reject, but then he nodded, sagging in defeat. "high-quality. But you don't realize what you're going into."
Ava ignored the warning and motioned for him to observe. As they exited the office, she couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched. The shadows appeared to move and pulse around them, flickering in predictable patterns against the barriers.
They backed away from the hall, the anxiety increasing with each step. Dr. Bennett followed near the back, clutching a bag full of vials and medical equipment that he had collected before leaving. The hum they'd heard earlier became louder, a low, resonant sound that seemed to come from somewhere deep within the health center.
Lucas joined them at the junction, his face tense. "I have everything we want, but this area is deteriorating. We wish to depart. Now."
They made their way to the stairway, but as they descended, a strange, echoing groan filled the space, rippling through the walls. Ava's backbone relaxed as she gazed toward the dimly lighted stairway.
"what's that?" Sarah muttered, barely audible.
Ava didn't respond, her gaze locked on the blackness below. The shadows looked to move, swirling like thick smoke, and she recognized ita gigantic and formless form hiding at the bottom of the stairway. It pulsed with an unusual rhythm, as if alive but not quite there.
"Move," Ava muttered, urging Elena and Sarah forward. They didn't want to be warned twice, and moved quickly but quietly up the steps, away from anything lurking below.
They arrived at the exit, bursting into the dim morning light, and Ava's pulse raced as they took in the sight in front of them. The pavement outside the health center was almost unrecognizable, with fractures and debris, twisted metal, and toppled lampposts. But what was most frightening was the silencea profound, impenetrable silence that felt unnatural, as if the sector itself had stopped breathing.
Dr. Bennett's expression faded as he looked back at the sanatorium. "Something you suspect is going on," he mumbled, almost to himself. "It's worse than you realize."
Ava's jaw hardened, and a bleak determination washed over her. "Then inform us," she demanded. "No greater secrets."
Dr. Bennett glanced at her with sorrowful eyes. "There had been experiments. We thought we could control and harness the strength beneath the surface. But we didn't realize what we were doing."
Ava's stomach churned, and her worst fears were verified. Whatever caused this catastrophe was not herbal. And the people in charge had known, concealed behind barriers and study papers, that they were safe from the consequences.
"What do you suggest 'electricity below the surface'?" Lucas demanded, his face unsettling.
Dr. Bennett shook his head, his voice a tiny whisper. "There is something ancient about the earth that we don't fully recognize." "We awoke it."
Ava felt a cold dread descend over her, the weight of his words pressing down on her like a physical force. The vibrations, shadows, and strange sounds were all part of something much larger, something they couldn't grasp.
A deep rumble sounded from behind them, and Ava turned around, her eyes widening as the ground beneath them rocked. Cracks snaked through the pavement, twisting and spreading as if the ground itself were bursting up.
"Run!" she exclaimed, seizing Elena's arm and dragging her forward. The men broke into a run, dodging falling debris as the road fell apart in front of them.
As they rushed through the commotion, Ava's mind was filled with worry and backbone. She had no idea what was ahead, but
one thing became clear: this was only the beginning, and they were running out of time.