XI - Henry
The
lights in the hospital stairway were flickering as well. Henry tried to ignore them as he forged his
way towards the third floor, the floor on which he thought he saw the shadows
of other people. He could hear his
companions behind him, but didn't look back to check on them. Once he found more people he wouldn't have
to worry about them at all. All his
beliefs would be confirmed and the nightmare would end - it had to, nothing
else made sense.
Their
footsteps echoed up the concrete concertina and then fell back down upon them
in haunting waves and dull beige walls, decorated with paint chips and
emergency procedures, closed in around them, but Henry was undaunted, it was
just a hospital after all.
The
doors to the third floor swung open noiselessly and Henry stepped out into a
corridor lined with cots and stretchers, lit by ubiquitous fluorescent lights
and devoid of any staff, just like the reception. He stood in the middle, looking left and right with a puzzled
expression. Josh stepped out to join
him.
"So
which way are they then, these people you saw?"
"I
saw them from the front of the hospital which is-" he paused, trying to
remember where he was after getting turned around in the stairwell, "-that
way!" He pointed decisively up the
corridor and Josh nodded, although Henry caught something in his expression
that seemed less than serious. He did
his best to ignore the boy and made his way along the corridor, peering into
doors as he went. The rooms all
appeared to be empty, but sheets were ruffled on ward beds and half eaten food
lay on trays beside flowers and piles of grapes. A cooling mug of coffee sat on a desk in one of the nurses'
stations. Frustrated, Henry threw open
the doors to the last ward and peered inside.
The
room was still, but not quite silent.
Although there was no sign of anyone within, the same hints of recent
occupation existed as in the other wards.
Sheets were left untidy as if someone had only just abandoned them, with
one draped across the floor in such a way that one could almost imagine the
foot it had been wrapped around. The
windows looking out onto the car park, the very ones Henry had seen his shadows
against, were slightly fogged with condensation and a drip-marred smiley face
gazed cheerfully around the room, unfazed by its emptiness. The only thing that made the room stand out
was the TV set in the corner, volume up full, static filling its screen and the
air.
"No
one here." Josh said as he gazed over Henry's shoulder. "I'm surprised, really."
The
older man whirled around to face him.
"Who do you think you are, boy, with your sarcastic remarks and
your sniggers? This is bloody
serious!"
The
teen's smile slipped away. "What,
you think I don't fucking know that? Am
I wandering around in some sort of daze, here?
I've fucking seen everything you've seen, the weirdness, the monsters;
I've even killed one of the bastards!
If anyone's been in denial here it's you, taking us on these wild goose
chases to find people who aren't fucking here!"
"And
who made you our bloody leader?"
"No
one!" Josh bunched his fingers
into fists. "No one did and yet I
have Paige and Charlie looking at me to make decisions and at least I've been
listening! For Christ's sake, this is
serious and I don't have a fucking clue what's going on. Do you think I want to be here? Do you think this is the kind of thing I
can deal with? But it's better than
denial. We need to get a grip to-"
"How
dare you talk down to me like that, boy?
You're just a kid, a bloody delinquent, what do you know about anything? Those two might look up to you but I'm not
fooled! Go back to playing with your
frie-"
The
crack of the young man's fist against Henry's jaw was audible even over the
blare of static. Henry's vision blurred
for a second and when it cleared he saw Paige and Charlie staring at him in
horror from the corridor.
"Josh!"
The
teen flicked his fist out into the air, shaking the heat out of it and wincing
at the pain. "Fuck you! Fuck the lot of you!" And then he turned and loped off towards the
stairwell.
"I-”
Henry managed before collapsing into a visitor's seat near the door.
"Are
you alright?" Paige was rushing
towards him. Charlie remained frozen in
the corridor.
"I...
I don't know..."
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