I n f i n i t u m

Chapter Seven

The steady sound of beeping from what I recognized to be a heart monitor roused me from sleep and immediately, I sat up, completely confused. I was laying on a hospital bed, in what looked to be some kind of medical unit, similar to the place I woke up in after my procedure. The privacy curtain had bloody handprints that stained the white fabric, leading all the way down to the floor, where puddles of dark blood were splattered— instantly, my stomach dropped.

What the fuck happened, I tried to rack my brain, how did I get here? But the questions I kept asking myself didn't help retrieve my memory. When I swung my legs around to hang off the side of the bed, I noticed the white piece of paper that fell from my lap. I picked it up and read:

Mr. Hua,

I'm your nurse, but I left you because of what's happening outside. I got bit. Stay quiet. Don't let them touch you. A bite, scratch, anything— it'll turn you. This is all I can do, sorry.

Goodluck

Officially freaked out, I heaved myself from the hospital bed and noticed that I was suited up in the uniform for piloting my combat craft— I must have gotten injured during my second expedition.

I reached out to pull the curtain all the way, revealing the ransacked unit on the other side. Hospitals beds were overturned, paper and miscellaneous items were strewn about, and the smell of blood lingered in the vicinity. Sickened, I wandered around for a bit, trying to look for someone— anyone at this point —and found myself completely and utterly alone. There were no nurses, no doctors, not even a single patient.

I hustled out through the doors of the unit and entered the hallway, finding the situation the same. I looked over my shoulder every now and then as I ventured further down the hallway, giving it another shot before I finally just gave up and stood in bewilderment. I was in the Hero Corps tower, that much I was sure of, but as for what happened while I was laying around like a roasted pig on a dinner platter, I could only assume the worst.

Right then, an alarm went off abruptly, and I gasped in fright when the bright lights shut down, replaced with the dimmed red ones of the emergency system. Panic bubbled up and I looked around in a wild fit.

Swiftly turning a corner, I came to a dead stop when my eyes fell on the two people at the center of the hallway. One was bent over the other and had their face burrowed against the others' stomach. They looked so out of place that I blinked a few times just to make sure I wasn't hallucinating. I took a single step to approach them and stilled when the person straightened and swiveled around to fully face me.

I would have screamed, but my voice got stuck in the process.

The person's features were ripped from his face, leaving behind a bloody heap of exposed tissue and bone. He was hunched over the other person, and by the looks of it, they had their abdomen shredded open, their innards and other clumps of dark extremities spewing out along the sides.

He was feasting on a body.

When he didn't make a move to apprehend me, I retreated as silently as possible, all too aware of the small creaks my tense limbs made. I quickly glanced back and saw the corner two steps away.

BEEP-BEEP-BEEP

Two things happened, one: I began sprinting the moment my watch went off, and two, the crazy man gave out an inhuman screech as he gave chase. My heart pumped in sync with my heavy footfalls and I rushed back into the medical unit doors seconds before the crazy man followed in close pursuit. I flung a cart filled with supplies behind me after quickly grabbing scissors. From the sounds of it, he crashed against it hard.