“Are you sure…?” Claire laid her hand on Nora’s shoulder, gently rubbing it. “Is it just like before…?”

“Yes, I’m sure… I can hear her voice again… It’s very distant, faint. I can’t even make out what she’s trying to tell me. But it’s definitely there…! And I can feel it going away already…! I don’t know what’s happening…” said Nora, with her face contorted by pain.

William had already guessed what was happening before he even stepped into the room.

Nora hadn’t even left her bed yet. She had sent Claire, who was sleeping in the same room with her, to gather everyone. Her headache had come back for a moment, along with Lilian’s presence within her mind, only to start fading away shortly after.

When it first happened, it came as a surprise. A confusing surprise. Could they trust such a fleeting lead? Her “ability” to sense Lilian was already weird enough, and having it pop up from nowhere only to disappear after a short while raised more questions than it answered. It might have been nothing but an unpredictable consequence of stress. Everyone, including Marcus, was skeptical.

However, three times in a row? At regular intervals? Always pointing in the direction of Saint Marie Hospital? Way too suspicious to be a coincidence.

Additionally, Stella’s people kept a close watch over the hospital surroundings. The shambler crowd was gone. The building was no longer unreachable.

“So… Are we gonna do something, then? She might actually be in the hospital, right?” asked William. “Marcus?”

“Yes… Yes, there’s a high chance she’s there. Although something is going on with her, that’s for sure. This… intermittence… It’s unnatural.” Marcus’s words were slow and carefully measured.

Like many other times before, he looked like he knew more than he was letting on. Something was different about him ever since they encountered the crashed van and lost track of Lilian. He was more careful. More nervous than usual.

“If… If she’s there, then… Does that mean Julien and his men also made it to the hospital…?” Claire’s face paled as she spoke. “And didn’t Stella say the place was pretty much Jacobs’ hideout by now? Oh god… We have to do something…! Who knows what—!”

Marcus raised his right hand, requesting a moment of silence. It didn’t go unnoticed for anyone. They looked at him, and waited for a bit.

…

“I think I’ll talk with Stella about what’s going on. I’ll let her know. About Lilian, about her captors, about everything.”

“Really? I didn’t expect you to be the one who suggested revealing secrets to other people.” said William.

“The hospital is a fortress. Even if we have superior firepower, they have overwhelming strategic advantage, they outnumber us, and they have a crucial hostage. A hostage which, for all we know, might be under unknown, unpredictable circumstances. Do I have to remind you all about what happened at the subway? By this point, I think everyone should have realized that Lilian can influence the behavior of shamblers around her. A single misstep, and it could be over.” he sighed. “Let’s face it, we need help.”

“Hmm… And you think she’ll help? She was pretty damn mad at all of us when we found her. And I don’t think she’s gotten too fond of us over these last days.”

“Stella is a good-hearted person. Her apparent hostility is simply a defense mechanism. She honestly wants to help those around her, just like she’d help her own family. I’m guessing she had no choice but to toughen up, for their sake. But I promise, she’s not the kind of person who would turn a blind eye to something like this. It’s not about saving a few people. Lilian could save everyone. I know she’ll listen.”

William looked at Nora. She had her left arm over her forehead, trying to ease her pain. She looked back at him, and nodded. Claire gave him a nod as well.

“Okay… We’ll have to leave this to you, then.” said William, giving Marcus his approval.

“I’ll be back in a while.”

######

The rain was merciless, and William wouldn’t want it any other way. They were about to make some noise, and the constant hammering of the water would be the perfect cover.

Claire followed him across the street, over a fence, down some stairs, and around several small buildings in the back perimeter of the hospital. A minute later, they arrived at the particular location they were looking for, a big structure connected directly to the back of the main hospital building. It had a single door, which was welded shut. Only one of its sides had windows, very small and narrow near the ceiling, and protected by thick metal bars bolted to the wall. Very secure overall, and very sturdy. But it had an important weak spot.

[When you arrive there, look carefully around the eastern wall.]

It didn’t take him long to spot them. One at the bottom, and another one at the top of wall. Ventilation grates. The bottom one was too thin, but the one at the top looked big enough to allow an adult human to pass through.

William reached underneath his raincoat, and retrieved the long, heavy crowbar he had strapped to his belt. He shoved the flat end into the grate, near one of the corners, and pressed on the opposite end with all his strength.

“Keep your eyes on the hospital windows. We can’t get caught here.” he said.

“Right…!” Claire shifted her attention towards the imposing building, watching for any signs of movement.

After a bit of struggle, the grate started bending and deforming. Eventually, the corner became warped enough to allow him to slip the crowbar underneath, right where the screw was. He pushed.

*Clang!!*

With a loud bang, the grate gave way as the screw broke apart. The rain did a great job at hiding the noise. It didn’t take long for the rest of the grate to fail. Some more loud noises, and the way was clear.

“Phew… Alright… Can you climb inside?” asked William.

“I’ll give it a try.”

Claire took off her backpack and handed it to William. She jumped and grabbed onto the edge of the ventilation hole. Her shoes slipped a bit on the wet wall, but she managed to get a grip and pull herself inside.

“All good…!?”

“A-Ah…! Yeah, no problem…! It’s just… so dark…!” her stuttering voice echoed through the hole.

“Okay. Watch out, I’m throwing the backpacks inside.”

William threw both of their backpacks into the opening, then climbed it himself. It was tight, perhaps a bit too tight for him, but he managed to squeeze through nonetheless. His boots made more noise than he would’ve liked once they hit the ground again.

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He turned around and pulled out his flashlight, an action Claire imitated a moment later. As they waved them around, the light revealed a big room full of enormous cylindrical machines.

[You should find yourselves inside the boiler room of the hospital. It’s in the basement. Nobody goes down there, it’s completely sealed off. Even the stairs are blocked.]

The forest of machinery and piping obscured the view and cast shadows over the walls, giving the room a feeling of oppressive claustrophobia. Even William felt uncomfortable in that place. Claire had crept closer to him, and kept her eyes on the shadows with a concerned expression on her face.

“Hey, I know you don’t like darkness and cramped spaces… But it’s only going to get worse. We need to deal with it and move on, okay?” he said. He wasn’t really trying to comfort her, but rather encourage her to steel herself.

“I know, I know… I’ll be okay.”

“Good. Alright, before we keep going, let’s see if we can find something we can prop underneath that opening so we can easily reach it if we have to leave. We don’t want to get in trouble without a quick way out…”

******

The empty, concrete corridors of the basement were devoid of threats. Ominous sounds in the distant darkness, the faint humming of silence, and playful shadows were the only inhabitants of that place. Claire clenched her hand around the flashlight, supressing her unnerving thoughts. It reminded her of the subway nest. However, this time it wasn’t the presence of shamblers that worried her, but the potential threat of something much worse.

She dragged her feet after William, turning corners and wandering into the depths of the building, following the signs on the walls. Their target was a very specific room.

As they advanced, Claire recognized some of the facilities they came across. She was by no mean an expert, but she had a vague idea of where they were. A small power plant connected to the boiler room, a water treatment facility, storage units… They had entered through the management facilities of the hospital, which probably spanned through most of the underground area of the building.

Several corners later, their destination came into view, just as Stella said.

[You’ll make it to an area loaded with the remains of the hospital’s delivery robots. You’ll know when you see it.]

There was a wide opening in the wall of the corridor, leading into a peculiar room. In disarray among shelves and electrical devices, strange machines littered the place. Looking like big Roombas, many of them had been carved open and taken apart for their components and batteries, leaving their empty chassis behind.

‘They had all these batteries available to them… And if I’m not mistaken, this hospital has its own set of solar panels on the rooftop. They weren’t kidding, this place really has everything it needs to sustain a large community of people, huh…?’

One of the walls of the room had an elevator. Unlike most elevators in a hospital, wide and spacious enough to fit a stretcher along with several people, that one was very small, almost as if it was designed for a single person at most.

“Alright, you’ll probably have to help me here.” said William, as he wedged the crowbar in between the elevator doors.

“Sure.”

They were considerably stuck in place from months of disuse. William pulled at the crowbar from one side, Claire pushed at it from the opposite side.

“Hhnnnggh…!”

With an annoying creaking noise, the doors slid open. They didn’t open all the way, but it was enough to slip into the elevator itself, which was sitting immobile at the bottom of the shaft in front of them.

They shined their flashlights up towards the ceiling, and spotted an emergency trapdoor, which was already open.

“Alright, step on top of my shoulders and get up there.”

She was easily able to reach the opening and climb on top of the elevator. She gave William a hand and helped him climb up after her.

‘Ugh…! Heavy…!’

She took a moment to catch her breath, then looked to her right, towards the side of the elevator shaft.

[Once you’re inside the elevator shaft, you should see a ladder. This is the only elevator that has one.]

Embedded into an alcove that went all the way to the top of the building, was a very convenient metal ladder, protected by a cage of safety bars.

“So far so good. I seriously hope we didn’t alert anyone yet. The sound of the rain outside should’ve been loud enough… Come on, it’s a long way up.”

…

Occupied in its entirety by countless air conditioning units, the top floor of the hospital lacked windows, and therefore, it was just as dark as the basement they had climbed out of. However, through the gaps of the machinery, Claire spotted some form of light coming from a distant corner, most likely a door.

“Alright…” whispered William. “We’re in dangerous territory now. Keep your eyes open, and don’t make a noise. We need to figure out what’s going on in this place…”

Claire nodded. According to Stella, nobody used the top floor, since it lacked any natural light. They shouldn’t encounter anyone up there. However, she couldn’t ignore the feeling of dread eating at her subconscious. Those thugs could be nearby. Jacobs could be nearby. Julien and Logan could be nearby. Lilian could be nearby.

She gulped, and started walking after William, zig-zagging around the machinery and down the corridors, in the direction of the light.

…

Claire’s heart skipped a beat. She froze. William also stopped moving, probably as surprised as she was.

The figure standing on the doorframe seemed to freeze in place with them. With their back against the light, it was impossible to make out their features. They were, however, remarkably short.

William snapped out of it and sprung into action. In the blink of an eye, he grabbed the mysterious person, pulled them past the doorframe and into the shadows, and held them against the wall. From underneath his raincoat, he had swiftly pulled out a combat knife, which he pressed against the abdomen of the stranger. His other arm blocked their mouth, preventing them from screaming or calling for help. A panicked, muffled yelp could be heard for a moment, but it shut up as soon as they felt the pressure of the steel blade.

“Don’t make a single noise. I’ll gut you alive.” said William. He kept his voice down, but the threat was loud and clear.

“Mmmhh…! Hhhhmpf….!!” the stranger mumbled something unintelligible.

“W-Wait…! William, wait…! This person is just…!” Claire got closer to them, and aimed her flashlight directly at the stranger’s face. The light revealed a teenager, wearing a black cap. His eyes were teary, and he was clearly terrified by the situation. “It’s just a kid…!”

The boy was tightly holding a can of food, but his hands trembled so much it looked like he might end up dropping it at any moment. He avoided looking directly at their eyes, as if afraid of the consequences.

“Do you understand your situation? I swear, if you raise your voice, it’s not going to be pretty for you.” threatened William.

“Hey… We don’t want to hurt you, I promise!” Claire attempted to calm him down. His fearful eyes met with hers. “We just want to ask some questions.”

He nodded. William stopped pressing his arm against the kid’s face, and slowly stepped back. The boy gasped, and breathed frantically for several seconds.

“…w-who…!?” he muttered. He didn’t sound like he was able to form a full sentence.

“Stella sent us.” replied William.

“…e-eh…?” the boy watched him in confusion, and tilted his head. “I d-don’t know who you’re talking about, sir…”

Claire and William shared a concerned look. They had feared something strange might be going on at the hospital. Over the previous days, Stella’s people reported several groups of people headed for the hospital for some reason.

‘Perhaps this kid is one of those newcomers…?’

“Hey, what’s your name?” asked Claire.

“Um… Ethan.”

“Alright, Ethan… Can you tell us what’s been going on around here lately?”

“Uh… Well…”

…

“Okay, this is completely different to what Stella told us. Something isn’t right.” William paced in circles as he rambled. “An abundance of food and drink? Are you telling me that lunatic’s gang suddenly became good samaritans, just like that? No fucking way. I’m not buying that crap.”

“Perhaps someone else took command…?” suggested Claire. “Ethan, do you know who’s in charge now?”

“I dunno. I don’t care too much about people, I just know they give us all the stuff we need…”

‘This whole situation… It’s giving me really bad vibes. I… I’ve seen this before…!’

Claire immediately thought about Julien. He had used fake goodwill and overflowing charisma to gain people’s favour before. What was stopping him from doing it again, as long as he had the necessary resources? It was a possibility they needed to consider. He’d have Lilian, he’d have his own personal fortress to protect her, and he’d have his own army to keep it secured.

She shuddered. Was she overthinking…?

“I’m going back with the rest. They need to know about this. We’ll think about how to proceed.” said William. “You, pipsqueak. Is this floor safe? Does anyone else come up here?”

“N-No, sir… I have never seen anyone else walking up those stairs…”

“Alright… Claire, you’ll stay here and make sure he doesn’t do anything funny. Do not take your eyes off him. And if you can figure out more about what’s going on, do so. But… for god’s sake, don’t take unnecessary risks, and don’t let anyone see you. Got it!?”

“S-Sure…!”

“Good… I’ll be back soon.”