The group of five was silent. They did not know what to do. After standing there awkwardly for 2 minutes, Cara broke the silence. She said, “Pranav if you just stand there and do nothing, I’ll take charge. Regine will go with Cayden to look for medications, such as pain patches, etc., Cayden and I will look for more luggage to put new equipment in, and finally, Pranav, I want you to search the entire hospital for anything that might be of use.”
After the instructions were given, the group split up and started searching for the items. Pranav was the only one left in the lobby. He sat down next to Dr. Harris.
“I know you are infected. But if there’s one thing I know, it's that no one deserves to be alone. Especially not in their last moments. We have to keep a safe distance, but I can’t find my way around this empty building on my own, do you understand? Would you help me?”
Dr. Harris nodded. He was interested. The two of them made their way through Level 1. As they walked through Level 1. They run into Regine and Cayden. Not only had they collected all the equipment. They were holding each other's hands. Pranav looked in disbelief HE turned his head to Cayden and whispered, “You pulled her??”
Cayden simply shushed him. It was a long story and he had no time to explain it while searching for the medicines. But Cayden and Regine were both worried that Pranav was walking so close to Dr Harris. Knowing that first, he played a part in causing all of this, and secondly, Dr Harris was infected. However, Pranav was unbothered about this.
Dr Harris and Pranav continued walking down the long eerie corridor. Pranav had seen one too many horror movies to freak him out like a house of cards, teetering on the edge of collapse. The hallway stretched out endlessly, a narrow corridor cloaked in darkness. The walls were a deep, unyielding black, swallowing any hint of light that dared to enter. The air was thick with an oppressive silence, broken only by the faint echo of footsteps that seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere at once. Shadows clung to the corners, creating the illusion of movement where there was none. The floor, covered in worn, creaky boards, added to the eerie ambiance with each reluctant step. Faint, indistinguishable shapes loomed at the edges of vision, adding to the sense of disorientation. The darkness was so profound it felt almost tangible, pressing in from all sides, making the end of the hallway feel like an unreachable mystery.
Dr Harris eyed Pranav’s expression, he was clearly in distress. Realising it was due to the hallway he pulled out the torchlight in his pocket and handed it over to Pranav. Following with the words, “You’ll need it more than I do.”
One by one the duo looked through each room. Nothing. Each room was empty just like the vacuum of space. Realizing that the hospital staff had taken every important item and equipment, they made their way back to Dr Harris’s office. Pranav said his final goodbye, but before Dr Harris closed the door. He proceeded to remove an interesting object that was showcased on the wall.
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“At the age of 18, it is a must that you should enroll into Eldervale’s army for basic training. Unlike the other young adults in my batch, I exceeded the expectations. Because of this, I was awarded this sword for setting multiple records that have never been broken previously. But I think you should take this. It’ll help you on your journey. The two said their final goodbyes and Dr Harris proceeded to lock the door.
Pranav made his way to the hospital lobby, everyone had already gathered there. The others were gazing upon the sword.
“WHOA WHO GAVE YOU THAT?” Cara asked.
Pranav said,” Well Dr Harris gave me this before locking himself into his room. He told me one last thing though. He told me the day I felt like I was not fit to wield this anymore, I had to give it up. No point wielding something important if you’re not worthy, am I right? But never mind this, Cayden Gan! Got a new girlfriend huh?’ The group went from looking at Pranav’s sword to giving Cayden a dead stare. Keith shattered the silence with, “Stop acting like you all are so surprised we all knew that this was going to happen. Now let’s get moving. It’s almost nighttime. I think we can find a camper van extension on a car somewhere here. I saw one at the carpark when leaving with Cara to see get all our stuff back. We only found some pads so Cara and Regine make sure to split them among yourselves. You guys wait here while me and Pranav go and clip the camper van onto the Porsche.”
The two made their way to the carpark and started clipping everything together. They used some ropes they found under the trunk and clipped it onto a rail on a rail in the front of the camper van. After that, they parked their vehicle at the front of the carpark and everyone moved into the vehicle. They placed their main luggage in the cabinets of the camper van. Pranav made a makeshift sheath using his belt and the 5 went to bed.
Pranav woke up. The stress of that day left him startled. He got down from the bunk bed and scanned his surroundings. Keith was asleep, Regine was asleep but still was moving here and there, and Cayden, who was sleeping under Pranav was snoring. The boy was exhausted. But he turned his head to the couch. Cara was not there. Panicking he knocked on the bathroom door. There was no response. His heart started palpitating. But soon he noticed a silhouette inside Porsche. Pranav grabbed the keys and made his way onto the Macan. Cara was just looking out the window. Admiring the dark sky above. The stars were scattered across it like tiny distant sparkling gems. It was beautiful. Cara looked at Pranav before turning back and looking at the sky. She appreciated the company. Pranav looked at the eerie hospital. The power to the place had been cut. There was no longer any white light blinding them. But there was something at the entrance of the hospital. This thing was wearing glasses. The bright full moon was reflected off of them. The pearl-white teeth of this organism were shining. Whatever this “thing” was, was looking at them. It knew where they were. But it strangely didn’t move. It was just standing there. Grinning at Pranav. Wait no, not Pranav. It was looking at the person next to Pranav. Cara. Within a blink of an eye the “thing” was gone.
The fear was looming over Pranav like a dark shadow. Sensing that staying in a car with no space to hide was dangerous. Pranav urged Cara to enter the camper van. Upon entering Pranav locked the door behind him and asked Cara to switch spots with him.
Cara sensed something was wrong. Thinking that Pranav was probably pranking her, she replied with your loss and switched places with her. Whatever had happened that whole day was just the tip of the iceberg. Whatever was coming next was a huge danger to them.