cted grew louder, their heavy bodies pres
ht in the eye, given his cold speech, an
trembling hands slowly tightening into hard fists.
y dread in her chest. Her terror evapora
ess victim. She was a doctor. She fought to keep people alive e
ight beam. The pale light revealed shelves packed with surgical trays,
slightly under a heavying across the shelves. 'I need a weapon
stainless-steel rod from a portab
lding the razor-sharp blade against the top end of the steel rod, she wrapped it tightly with
er hand. It wasn't pretty,
A small spiderweb crack split the
ceiling, a square metal ventilation grate sat embedded in the wa
en supply crate beneath
she jammed the blade into the edge of the gr
ped one by one. The grate popped ic crunch. Cold air and the horrific smell of decay rushedabbed the metal lip of the opening, and pulled herself up into the n
smash into a nose, and wriggled frantg cold. Rachel crawled on her stomach, her elbowsking shallow breaths of stale air unt
ut of the opening and crashi
oming in ragged gasps. She quickly grabbed her spear and b
the hospital. Long, rusted pipes ran along the lo
old, stagnant moisture, and
, her shoe crunched on
reds of paper files were scattered across the wet con
b reports were dumped everywhere, many o
icked up a thick manil
ge bore the offic
read in her head, her brow furrow
nine mo
through a few more pa
Deceased. Date of
eceased. Date of D
who had supposedly died and been moved
e pile. Paperclipped to the inner c
her blood r
nged to a middle-aged woman wit
the emergency lobby earlier, the one with the pitch-bla
her heart racing uncontrollably. 'How was she walki
d from the shadows behind a r
her head, a massive weight s
her hand and skittering away across the concrete, it
oulder. A horrible, raspy hiss blew hot, de
e survival instinct, she swung her elbow backward with all her streng
its grip loosening for
cally to the side, s
ker. It was another infected patient, its body twisted and
in, its arms outspread
verything she had. The surgical scalpel bit deep into the
sound that vibrated through the un
the shaft, smashing its heavy
backward into a heavy
t the stone. Pain exploded behind her eyes, white-hot and blind
g uselessly at her side, entirely numb, and a deep gash ac
pear shaft still embedded in its chest. Its black, holl
refused to answer. Her strength was draining
s her vision, slowly cr
her chin dropping toward her chest as her head
ss. The creature raised its pale, bloo
ark tunnel arou
's jagged claws stopped just inches from Rac
into existence right before her eyes,
s the floating window, accompanied by a clear
rvival Syste
identi
fession dete
accept the Hospit
vision was blurred with blood and tears, but the
thought, her min
lickered slightly, wa
Derek's betrayal, the trapped survivors upstairs, and the horrifying trut
very last shred of her willpower
lving into a shower of brilliant light
hed through her veins, instantly p
self, displaying new, bold te
atulat
ly registered Hospi
/1/125186/coverbig.jpg?v=516491821b1049c87ab9e6f8aa647965&imageMogr2/format/webp)