Undead Hour Part 2 of 3

Noah snuck towards the set of cabinets and slowly opened them. Their low creaks seem deafening to him but he knew it was all in his head. He searched around but all he could find were empty prescription bottles.

“Nothing,” he muttered. “I will have to go to the next room.”

He crept to the door, pressing his ear against it. Low moans and patter of shuffling feet were the only sounds audible. He knew that once one of them saw him it would pounce and they would all then attack. But with Henry dying there was no time to stop and ponder. He turned off the flashlight and took a deep breath before opening it.

It swung open and he stepped into the unilluminated corridor, scarcely lit by window he had broken just prior. A stream of light led down the hall, exposing several undead corpses. A few of them noticed the sudden dim glow and turned towards it. Noah stepped into the darkness, but he was still able to see their horrid faces.

Their skin was shredded and peeled along with their tattered, blood stained clothing. With eyes that appeared like white pearls and stringy unwashed hair. The sight was never familiar, no matter the times witnessed. He took a deep inhale only to gag on the musk of rotten flesh. His stomach churned and he reached up to cover his mouth.

Pull yourself together! he screamed inside his head.

His feet slowly shuffled along into the next dark room. Closing the door, he switched on his light and pointed it in front. Before him stood a molding zombie, its head slowly lifted to meet his own. Noah almost let out a scream but quickly extracted his knife, stabbing the abomination in the forehead. He fell back against the door, his heart beating so loud he feared the lifeless bodies may hear it. It took him a moment to muster himself back, but once he did the search continued.

“This is it?” he mumbled to himself, holding up the only item he found, a roll of bandages. “Well, one thing to check off.”

Knowing he still needed more, he returned the corridor and entered another room. Once again he only found a single item, however, this time it was a bottle of pills. The label showed it was an antibiotic.

“Damn it, he isn’t sick he is wounded. This won’t help,” he whispered.

He put the bottle in his bag in case he would need it in the future. He continued into the hallway but only took a few steps when one of the lifeless bodies turn towards him. Its head slowly creaked to the side. In a flash Noah whipped his knife out and thrusted it through its temple. Gently, he lowered the corpse to the cold floor before entering the next room. He looked around for a moment before coming across a large cabinet, which had a padlock around the two handles.

“If it is locked no one else has gotten into it, but I don’t have any bolt cutters or anything.”

His mind raced, knowing that behind the lock awaited medicine and supplies he so desperately needed. Suddenly, his arm raised his pistol to the lock. His finger twitched against the trigger.

“No, they will hear me and attack. Damn it.”

He stood still thinking, rubbing the back of his head as he did so. He had no material to cut through the lock nor the metal of the actually cabinet. He leaned against it but before he could ease up a deafening gunshot erupted from the floor above.

“Oh shit!”

A roar of zombies muffled by the fury of gunshots echoed through the hospital. Noah knew their situation must have turned worse. Without a choice he pointed the gun and pulled the trigger, shooting the lock off. He did not read labels or even inspect the items but simply dumped everything into his bag before slinging it onto his back and returning to the hallway. Several bodies turned to him but he did not stop, just aimed and fired. When he reached the room at which he had entered he tugged on the rope, but no response came.

“Hey! Pull me up!” he shouted, no longer needing to be quiet.

After a few interminable seconds the rope began to pull him back up. When he reached the his group and climbed back through the window he could not believe the sight. Parker was backed up against the door with a pistol in hand. The door had been forced ajar and seemed to be slowly opening as the weight of the zombies pushed from the other side. Olivia stood beside Henry patting his hair, while Tom was the one who pulled Noah up. Noah ran to the door to try and force it shut.

“Give me the bag!” Tom demanded, although he did not wait and simply tore it off Noah.

Unzipping it, he dumped the contents onto the floor. Medicine, water bottles, cans, and a photo of Noah’s family scattered among the tiles. But Tom did not care, he frantically began to read the labels in search for a painkiller. Oliva dashed over and grabbed the fallen photo and began to weep.

Tom let out a soft cheer as he held a bottle in front of his face. He uncapped it and ran to his brother, shoving Olivia out of the as he did. The sight angered Noah but he knew the situation was dire. Tom held his fingers against Henry’s neck for a moment before pressing his ear against his brother’s chest.

“No, no, no, no, NO, NO!” He cried.

The rest of them realised Henry had just past. Their comrade in his hell had simply died in silence. Olivia’s tears streamed faster, Parker pounded his hand against the wall and cursed, while Noah simply stared with his mouth agape. Tom glared up at him in rage for a second before pulling out a gun and pointing it at him.

“THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!”