"It's 9.30 pm right now. I think we should get prepared to leave," Matthew alerted the group as he checked his watch. "Almost everyone's sleeping now, except for Gregory and a few others."
Megan and Daniel nodded, trying not to make any unnecessary noise that would wake the others. They all knew that Mr. Palmer had warned them not to inform anyone else about their escape, as everyone would panic and fight for a spot on the helicopter.
The three got up carefully, making sure that their clothes didn't emit any noises and that they didn't speak while moving. Matthew led them to Gregory, who was sitting near the stairway while staying silent. They assumed that he couldn't sleep, which was actually good news for them, as they didn't need to spend time and effort to wake him up.
"Gregory," Matthew whispered. "Come with us. We're going somewhere," he said plainly without hinting to him where they were precisely heading. It was part of their plan not to inform him beforehand so that he wouldn't alert the others about it.
Daniel reached out his hand to Gregory to grab onto it and get up more quickly. And he did so. Gregory dusted his shirt a little and sniffled as some dust flew around the air.
"Where are you guys bringing me to?" he questioned them.
Matthew clicked his tongue. "We'll tell you later when we get there," he answered, putting off Gregory's question for later.
The four walked through the hallway silently but briskly. They couldn't risk letting the others notice that they were heading somewhere. Of course, there were still some others that were awake, but they were way too tired to pay attention and were trying to get some sleep.
Gregory quickly realised they were trying to be discreet, and he knew the detectives were up to something. He was thoroughly confused by their actions and wanted to know what they were trying to do and achieve.
"Who are you guys, actually?" he asked them.
"That I can answer now," Matthew said. "We're NYPD officers. All three of us," he answered directly.
"NYPD?" Gregory clarified again, wondering why they were in Edison. "What business do you guys have here?"
"You probably know mine," Matthew reckoned. "You know... my mother was in surgery and all and didn't make it..." he trailed off. He just couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by negative emotions when he thought of his mother, which eventually led him to think of his brother's untimely death too.
"I accompanied him to the hospital," Daniel added.
"And um..." Megan stammered, not knowing how to explain her story to him. It was a long one, after all. "Let's just say I was discharged yesterday, and I met them coincidentally," she summarised simply.
Matthew stopped the group as soon as they arrived at the elevator lobby of the hospital tower. He reached over and punched the call button for the elevators. One of the elevators then began descending to their floor.
While waiting, the group stayed stationary, not moving or saying anything. With Gregory around, things became rather awkward as they barely knew him, excluding the fact that his brother was killed in the SPD rescue operation that they were late to oversee.
Finally, the elevator arrived, and the doors slid open. The four walked into the carriage before Matthew pressed the button to the fifteenth floor. As soon as the doors shut, the elevator began ascending once again.
"What's on the fifteenth that you guys are determined not to tell but show me?" Gregory asked, hoping the detectives would finally break the silence and tell him where they were taking him.
"Not the fifteenth. The roof," Matthew corrected, although he didn't answer his question after that.
It actually wasn't unreasonable to tell him, as they were already gone from the presence of the other refugees. There was no way that Gregory could spread the news to them and cause pandemonium anymore. However, Matthew decided it would still be more straightforward for Gregory to see it for himself.
In a few moments, the elevator doors slid open. The four walked out of the elevator, with Gregory moving out of it last. He assumed the detectives would have been more familiar with the area than him, although they were as new to the place as he was.
Matthew noticed a door in front of him. He looked more closely and realised it was the door to the stairway leading to the roof. He pointed to it, directing the group so that they knew where they were heading to.
He grasped the doorknob and turned it before pushing the door open. Immediately, he could hear helicopter noises. It wasn't on the helipad, as the noises were a little too faint. However, he knew that it was approaching.
It felt great finally to get out of the hellhole of a hospital.
Matthew gestured to the group to follow behind him as he began trudging up the metal stairway. After much climbing, he reached the top of the stairway. He covered his eyes with his hand, shielding himself from the blinding lights of the approaching helicopter. His hair was blown all over, but he didn't mind it. He just focused on the thought of rescue.
Daniel, Megan, and Gregory then stepped out of the stairway one by one. Their reactions to the helicopter were similar too—their eyes were irritated by the light, and their hair was flying upwards, but they didn't mind it, as long as they were being rescued.
Very soon, the helicopter descended onto the helipad smoothly, and the blades began to turn more slowly as the aircraft halted to a stop. The door of the helicopter slipped open to reveal a familiar face.
"Mr. Palmer!" Daniel waved enthusiastically, happy to see him doing well.
Mr. Palmer's reaction was very different from Daniel's, however. The neutral look displayed on his face didn't turn into a positive one. Daniel expected to see Mr. Palmer beaming, but he wasn't. Instead, his cheeks sagged, and his eyebags fell.
"I'm sorry," he said out loud.
Instead of Mr. Palmer, someone else stepped out of the helicopter. He wore a black cloak, which attached to it was a black hoodie. His entire pants were black, and so were his shoes. Everything that covered his body was black. As the figure stepped forward and approached the group, he pulled down his hoodie.
Her hoodie.
"Oh, dear God!" Megan cried out as soon as she recognised the figure's face. "Run!"
The four turned around and ran back to the roof stairway without hesitating. They dashed as fast as they could and avoided walking in a straight line in case the figure had a firearm.
And as expected, the woman brought up a gun, ready to shoot. As such, she did. Bullets were fired everywhere, swivelling through the air rapidly. They were all just inches apart, so it was nearly impossible to dodge them. Fortunately for them, they all missed and shaved past them.
Until the group reached the stairway.
Gregory suddenly cried out in pain as he tumbled onto the stairway. The rest of the group rushed over and helped him up. Luckily, the bullet didn't hit any of his vital organs and went below his left shoulder.
Just as they were heading down the stairway, bullet holes began forming as bullets passed through the thin metal door. Hence, the group picked up their pace and went down the stairway briskly but carefully.
Matthew spammed the call button for the elevator. Fortunately for them, the elevator was already on the floor, and the door slid open for them. Other than the mishap regarding Gregory, their luck was quite good.
Although it wouldn't last too long.
The four ran into the elevator just as the sound of the door to the roof opening was heard. Matthew spammed the close-doors button. As a result, the doors shut just before the assailant chasing after them could get to them.
The elevator began to descend as they headed back to the third floor. This time, they had to warn everyone of the dangers they were going to encounter. For a fact, the assailant shot Gregory without a second thought, even though he wasn't the one that she was after.
Who knew how far she would go just to capture the detectives?
The elevator doors slid open as they ran out of the carriage. Just as Matthew was about to continue running with the rest of them, he ceased dead in his tracks. "Stop!" he shouted over to his friends. As so, they halted too.
Matthew glanced over at the floor directory. It was rather dark, so it was a tad difficult to see. However, it was still readable. He inspected it more closely and noticed some words at the bottom. "Basement three to four – Edison Palmer Station," he read aloud. "There's a train station under the hospital!" he exclaimed, delighted to have an alternative escape route.
"Well, we still have to hurry back to get something to clean up his wound," Megan warned Matthew not to celebrate too early. "This man is going to bleed to death if we don't get him to a hospital soon. A hospital that isn't this one."
And so, carrying Gregory, the three ran back towards the corridor where all the refugees were. Finally, the group returned to the corridor, their loud footsteps waking most of the refugees.
Many were shocked to see Gregory injured with a prominent gunshot wound, while others were confused by what was going on. Various noises began to fill the room as people started discussing what was going on. Eventually, the noise became so overwhelming that the detectives could barely hear anything—not even themselves.
However, Matthew knew that he had to make an announcement and tell everyone of the dangers that were imminent. This time, everyone would get saved, not just the NYPD trio and Gregory.
"I still have the painkillers, but the towel is soaked with... never mind," Matthew whispered to Megan and Daniel before correcting the phrasing of his sentence. "Ask around for towels while I make an announcement to everyone."
The two nodded before following Matthew's instructions and asking around for towels to clean Gregory's blood and stop the bleeding. Meanwhile, Matthew popped out some painkillers—with the correct dose, of course—and placed them on Gregory's hand.
"Take these. They'll help to minimise the pain," Matthew said. "I'll be back after I make an announcement."
Afterwards, Matthew cleared his throat loudly and got everyone's attention. "Excuse me!" he bellowed. "Please stay silent. At least for now. I need to inform you all of something."
Complying with his command, the crowd quietened down. Eventually, only whispers were heard going around, and the atmosphere felt more relaxed and calmer now.
"We've found a potential escape route. We will be leaving the hospital by the Edison Metro," he announced. "Now, this might sound like a controversial move, but if you're looking to get out of this crappy place, then you'll want to follow me."
He was actually only less than halfway through his announcement, but people already began packing their bags, ready to leave. However, that wasn't exactly what he wanted, as he still had more to say to them.
"I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you guys to stay put for a moment and stay silent once again," he requested. Luckily for him, they followed as instructed, remaining compliant, and didn't protest just as he had thought they would.
"As you can see, my two friends and I are NYPD officers. And there is a criminal pursuing us, trying to capture us, interfering with our investigations," he began. "And they'd do anything to get their goal. I won't disclose who they are for now, but this is what they did to this innocent man who wasn't even involved." He then pointed at wounded Gregory, who was sitting down, but completely conscious.
"To make sure that they aren't aware of our presence, all of us must play a part in moving as silently as possible," Matthew pleaded. "In addition, you wouldn't want to risk having the creatures hear you, would you?"
The refugees shook in fear, thinking about how they could be killed by either a creature's bite or a criminal's gunshot. Thus, they didn't make a sound afterwards.
"That's the end of my announcement," Matthew ended as he went back to check on Gregory. Megan and Daniel had been busy trying to stop the bleeding. The wound wasn't bleeding as much anymore; however, he still needed medical attention.
"How are you feeling?" Matthew asked as he looked at Gregory, who seemed pale.
"Quite lightheaded, to be frank," he answered, not concealing the truth because it would pretty much hinder the detective's knowledge of his condition.
"You lost quite a fair bit of blood," Matthew explained. "We'll get you to another hospital as soon as possible."
And so, the four followed the rest of the refugees in their exodus. They all rushed through the corridor, heading towards the east wing, where the entrance to the metro station was most direct.
While fleeing, Matthew could hear loud shrieking sounds again. He breathed more heavily at the thought of the creatures. The shrieks were so loud that they overwhelmed the collective noises of a hundred pairs of footsteps.
"Pick up the pace! They're coming!" Matthew warned, raising his voice and breaking the silence. Soon, everyone began panicking so much so that they found no need to stay silent anymore.
By the time the four had arrived at the entrance to the metro station, people had been attacked already. The number of creatures was just overwhelming—at least a dozen were present. Pandemonium followed as screams and pleas for help filled the pitch-black atmosphere.
And that wasn't the worst part.
Matthew moved forward to the end of the corridor. He stared at the entrance to the metro station. His jaws began to tremble, and he started shaking his head unstoppably. Perspiration trickled down his forehead like a violent waterfall. "No... no... no!" he cried as he stared at what might lead to their demise.
The entrance to the station was boarded up.