Caleb followed the sounds of hushed voices deeper into the hospital's bowels. His stolen scalpel felt pathetic in his hand, but it was better than nothing. The wounds across his chest had stopped bleeding, but they still burned with every movement.
The voices came from behind a door marked "PHARMACY - AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY." Caleb pressed his ear against the metal. Multiple people. At least four, maybe five. They were arguing in whispers about something.
He tested the handle and realized the door was carelessly left unlocked.
The door opened into a storage room filled with medical supplies. Shelves lined the walls, packed with medications, bandages, surgical instruments. In the center, a group of five people sat around a makeshift table made from stacked supply boxes.
They all turned when he entered, hands moving to weapons.
"Easy," said the man at the head of the table. He was tall, broad-shouldered, with short brown hair and intelligent eyes. Maybe thirty years old, wearing scrubs that had seen better days. "You're bleeding pretty bad there."
"I'll live," Caleb said, keeping the scalpel visible but non-threatening. The whispers in his head, usually a constant murmur, stayed silent, as if waiting for something worse.
"I am Marcus," the man said, extending his hand. "I've been keeping this group alive for the past six hours. You look like you could use some help."
Caleb shook the offered hand, "I am Caleb "he said. Marcus's fingers brushed his, lingering a fraction too long, cold as the linoleum floor. Caleb dismissed the chill, attributing it to the hospital's draft and his blood loss. Marcus had a firm grip, callused palms. A fighter's hands.
"Caleb. What's the situation?"
"I was unlucky enough to encounter a group of zombies and got pretty messed up, then I happened to hear your whispers."
"Ah, I see seems like we met by fate"
"Marcus pointed to the others. "This is Sarah, Level 11 Ranger. Tom, Level 9 Vanguard. Lisa, Level 10 Savant. And Maya, a Level 8 Healer."
Each nodded as they were introduced. Sarah, an Asian girl with a compact build, sharpened a scalpel with quick, nervous strokes. Tom, a broad and bearded man, muttered under his breath about "damn zombies", his eyes darting to the door. Lisa, pale and wiry, adjusted her glasses, scribbling notes on a scrap of paper with a trembling hand. Maya, petite with dark curls, gave Caleb a lingering look, her gaze tracing his tattooed biceps and muscular frame beneath the torn hospital gown. "Nice ink," she said with a half-smile, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
Caleb ignored her flirting, though her boldness stood out in the tense room. They all had the same look, tired, wary, suspicious.
Caleb said. "I am Level 14 Strider."
That got their attention. Level 14 was high it was one of the highest they've seen so far.
Caleb pulled out the bandages he'd grabbed from the medical cart earlier and started wrapping his chest wounds.
"What kind of zombies are we dealing with?" he asked.
"So far we've encountered 3 main types," Marcus said, consulting a hand-drawn map. "The nurses, they inject you with something that paralyzes you before they start cutting. Doctors are stronger, tougher, and fast. They don't really do anything special. The patients are the worst, they look normal and play dead until you get close then they go feral.
"Any idea of their average level?"
"From the ones we met the nurses are around Level 12-15. Doctors are 13-14. Patients vary, but some go up to 15."
"And the hospital layout?"
Marcus spread the map on the table. "We're here, basement level. Roof access is through the main elevator or the emergency stairwell on the east side. Problem is, both routes go through the ICU."
"What's in the ICU?"
"The Head Surgeon," Lisa said, her voice quiet, scared, her pencil snapping in her grip. "Level 20, maybe higher. Maya saw it earlier. Nearly didn't make it out."
Maya nodded, touching a bandaged wound on her neck. "It moves too fast. Scalpels for fingers. It cut through steel doors like paper."
"So we avoid the ICU," Caleb said.
"We can't," Marcus replied. "Other routes are blocked. Collapsed sections, and sealed doors. The Tower wants us to go through there."
Of course it did.
"We'll need a plan," Sarah said, setting her scalpel down with a clink. "We find a way to distract it. Draw it away while others get to the roof and find a way to clear this place.
"I volunteer," Tom said immediately, cracking his knuckles.
"No," Marcus said. "We stick together. Better chance if we coordinate our attacks."
They spent the next hour planning. Marcus knew the hospital layout perfectly, could describe every room, every hallway, every potential ambush point. He said he been exploring a lot before meeting with the others. Like Caleb he's to have decided to climb alone.
"Medical supplies," Marcus said, pointing to various locations on the map. "Stims here, here, and here. Pain killers in the nurses' station. Bandages everywhere."
"What about weapons?" Caleb asked.
"Surgical instruments mainly. Some of the security zombies carry batons, but you have to kill them first."
"Security zombies?"
"Former guards. Still wearing their uniforms. They patrol the main corridors, but they're predictable. Same routes, same timing."
Marcus had thought of everything. Too much, actually. How had he learned so much in just a few hours?
"We should move soon," Marcus continued. "The zombies get more active after dark, and the hospital's lighting starts failing."
"How do you know that?" Caleb asked.
"It makes sense this place is quite throughout ," Marcus said smoothly. "I have been watching patterns."
Something nagged at Caleb, but he couldn't place it.
They gathered supplies, medical equipment, improvised weapons, stims for emergency healing. Marcus distributed everything efficiently, making sure each person had what they needed for their role in the plan.
"Remember," he said as they prepared to leave, "stick to the route. Don't deviate. The ICU entrance is on the fifteenth floor. We go up the east stairwell, hit the ICU fast, get to the roof."
They moved out in formation. Marcus took point, being the most familiar with the layout. Caleb stayed in the middle, still recovering from his injuries. The others spread out to cover flanks and rear.
The stairwell was narrow, dimly lit, filled with the sound of their breathing and footsteps. Occasional groans echoed from other floors, but nothing immediate.
"Nurse station ahead," Marcus whispered as they reached the fifth floor. "Three nurses inside. We go around."
He led them through a service corridor that bypassed the station entirely. Perfect knowledge of an alternate route.
They climbed higher. Eighth floor. Tenth. Twelfth.
"How did you know about that service corridor?" Caleb asked quietly.
"Lucky guess," Marcus replied. "These old hospitals all have similar layouts."
"You said you'd been exploring. When did you have time to find hidden passages?"
"I scouted almost everywhere ," Marcus said.
They reached the fifteenth floor. The ICU entrance was visible at the end of the hallway. Between them and it, shadows moved.
"Three doctors," Marcus whispered. "Just like I predicted."
Caleb studied Marcus more carefully. The man's movements were confident, purposeful. There was no hesitation or uncertainty. Like he'd walked these halls a hundred times before.
"Wait," Caleb said, grabbing Marcus's arm.
Marcus turned, and for just a moment, his eyes reflected the dim light. Like an animal's. Like a predator's.
"Problem?" Marcus asked.
"How many times have you done this floor?" Caleb asked.
"This is my first time, same as everyone else."
"Then how do you know there are exactly three doctors in that hallway?"
Marcus smiled. The expression was perfectly human, perfectly reassuring.
And perfectly identical to the smile he'd given when they first met.
Exactly identical. Same angle. Same duration. Same facial muscle movements.
Like it had been programmed.
"Lucky guess," Marcus said, using the exact same tone, the exact same inflection as when he'd explained the service corridor.
Behind them, the others were still focused on the ICU entrance. They hadn't noticed anything wrong.
Marcus's smile widened, showing teeth that were just a little too sharp.
"Problem, Caleb?" he asked again, and this time his voice had a slight echo. Like two people speaking in perfect unison.
Marcus's face tilted its head, watching Caleb's reaction.
And from the direction of the ICU, something that sounded quite familiar started screaming.