//------------------------------// // Chapter 12: Hospital of Horrors // Story: Left 4 Derpy // by Edmar Fecler //------------------------------// Left 4 Derpy Chapter 12: Hospital of Horrors It had taken almost an hour of non-stop zombie slaughter for the survivors and their truck to wade through the mass of zombies between them and the hospital, but they finally made it. The banged-up truck, which looked like it had gotten a red paint-job, pulled into the hospital’s turnabout and stopped by the main entrance. With a final, pitiful sputter, the engine died. “Alright gang,” Bill said as he got out of the driver’s seat, “We’re here. Everyone pile out.” The old veteran walked in front of the truck as everyone else got out to help Francis. The grill looked like it had been chewed up and spit back out after all the zombies it had run over. Bill gave a solemn sigh and patted the hood. “Trucks taken one hell of a beating. I doubt it’ll ever run again.” “Wouldn’t surprise me,” Zoey said as she helped Louis walk Francis to the hospital’s doors. “The thing probably has more zombie guts in it than it does gas after what we just put it through.” Bill grimaced as he removed his hand from the slimy hood. “…Right,” he said, shaking his hand to get the zombie gunk off it. With a final glance at the spent vehicle, Bill turned and followed the others inside. The thick metal door of the safe house stood open behind the lobby’s front desk, and Ditzy flew inside to make sure it was clear of any wandering common infected. “All clear!” She shouted when she found the room clear of zombies. Once the room was deemed safe, Zoey and Louis walked Francis inside and lay him down on a table. Bill was the last one in the room, making sure that no zombies had followed them before slamming the thick metal door shut behind him. “I can’t believe we finally made it,” Louis said excitedly. “We’re almost outta’ here!” “Something bad is gonna happen soon enough, I can assure you,” Francis said grimly. “Always does.” “Heh, well if you ask me I’d say something bad has already happened. …to you, Francis.” Louis smirked. “Maybe if you weren’t so negative you wouldn’t have it so bad all the time.” “Hey, that tank didn’t give a shit about ‘feelings’ Louis. And even if it did, what would you have done? Given it a hug and ask it to ‘pwetty pweese stop kicking our widdle asses?’” Louis’s expression deadpanned. “Francis, I-” “You mind having this conversation later?” Bill said gruffly, cutting Louis off. “We still have a ways to go before escaping. So here’s the plan.” He spread the map out across Francis’s chest since he was lying on the only table in the room. However, Zoey put her hand in the middle of the map to stop Bill before he could continue. “No offense Bill, but the escape plan will have to wait. Right now we need to get Francis to an operation room as soon as possible so I can deal with his injuries.” Bill looked down at the map, then to Zoey. “…Alright. What did you have in mind?” “Well, I know this hospital well enough to know that the operation rooms are on the second floor, so first we would need to get Francis settled in there. Then we would need the proper tools and sedatives for the operation.” “Wait, what?!” Francis cut in, but was ignored. “Then all I would need is for Bill and Louis to guard the door so I don’t get interrupted. I’m going to need a ton of concentration for this procedure if it’s going to work, which means no zombies barging in unannounced. Other than that, the rest is up to me. Everyone understand?” Everyone nodded except Francis, who shook his head vigorously. “Alright then, let’s move.” “Alright, I’ll take the lead,” Ditzy and Bill said in unison. “No, I’ll lead!” “Ditzy, do you even know your way around a hospital?” Louis asked as he helped Zoey lift Francis to his feet. “Well, yea…” the pegasus trailed off and looked around nervously. “I visit patients more often than I’d like…” Everyone had their own guesses as to what she meant by that, but Francis was the only one to voice his. “Shit, just how many people have you put in the hospital?!” Ditzy looked away. “It’s not my fault! I… I don’t know what went wrong, really!” “Someone please tell me she won’t be anywhere near me when Dr. Zoey cuts me open-” “The point is!” Bill shouted above the biker. “I should lead because I know my way around here.” “Yea, I can imagine,” Francis continued undeterred. “You gotta have annual check-ups on your crotchety hips and other old-man bullshit. Speaking of which, when was the last time you took your medications?” Francis blurted out laughing before a rifle butt was slammed into his forehead and he blacked out. The others looked to Bill in surprise as he gave a huff. “There, now we don’t have to waste time looking for anesthesia.” “…Assuming he stays under that long,” Zoey said as she regained her composure. “In any case, can we go now?” “Sure thing,” Bill concluded as he kicked open the safe house’s exit. - After discovering that the controls that called the elevator to their floor had been smashed, they had no choice but to drag Francis’s unconscious body up the stairs. More bad news had come their way when they found the second floor to be crawling with common infected. After they had laid Francis on a rolling hospital bed, the four of them were able to fight off the small horde of infected doctors, nurses, and patients. After they cleared the floor, as far as they could tell, Bill was able to find an operating room. It took all four of them to lift Francis carefully from the hospital bed to the operating table, but they succeeded without incident. With Francis taken care of, Zoey went around the room gathering what she needed to operate. “Ok, we got the tools, plenty anesthesia, and all the gauze I could ever need. Bill, Louis, you guys watch the hallway. Don’t let anyone or anything in. Ditzy, you stay in here in case of any unwanted surprises. Everyone clear?” “Crystal.” “Affirmative.” “Yeperdoodle!” Bill and Louis closed the door behind them as they left the room. Zoey sighed and looked to Ditzy, who was flying in place on the other side of Francis. “Ditzy, I think you need to see something.” Ditzy gave her a quizzical look as she began cutting the wrapping that encased Francis’s entire right arm. Once it had been cut down the length of his arm, Zoey pulled the wrapping off. Ditzy gasped at the sight of Francis’s arm, which now had an almost solid layer of grey fur covering it. “Ditzy, I need to know. From what I can gather and from what Francis has told me, this… whatever it is, originated from where you bit him.” Ditzy gasped again. “I… but…” “Ditzy,” Zoey asked in a serious tone.” I need to know. Are you sick? Do you have some kind of disease from where you came from, one that might not exist here? One that has unexpected results to humans,” she continued, motioning to Francis’s arm. She could see shock in Ditzy’s eyes. “I… N-no, I’m not sick! I had a checkup two days ago and Dr. Doctor cleared me as fit as a fiddle!” Tears began to gather in her big yellow eyes. “He… he isn’t going to die, is he?” “When it comes to whatever this is with the fur, I honestly have no idea. But the broken rib, I can handle. …hopefully. The point is, we need to figure out what this is and what we can do about it, before it’s too late.” Zoey’s expression softened when she noticed Ditzy rubbing tears from her eyes. “…But that can wait. At least for a while. Right now, we have something more important to deal with. I just thought you should know about this.” Ditzy sniffed. “R-right,” she said as she looked up into Zoey’s eyes. “Look, don’t tell the others. At least not yet, ok? The last thing we need right now is for anybody to panic.” Ditzy finished wiping away her tears and nodded. Zoey tried to give a comforting smile. “Alright, so would you mind helping me take off this vest? Francis would kill us if we got blood on it,” she said, trying to lighten the mood. “S-sure.” The two of them pulled off the leather vest, then the thin, white undershirt beneath it and set the clothes on an unoccupied chair by the wall. Zoey froze when she saw Francis’s chest, and not because she was seeing his pecks for the first time. Aside from the multiple dark blue bruises, several red splotches of various sizes were scattered across his entire upper body. The ones closer to his right shoulder had grey fur beginning to grow from them. “…Damn,” Zoey said, half unbelieving what she was seeing. Ditzy felt tears begin to well on her eyes again and hovered away. Zoey saw how the splotches grew bigger and hairier the closer they were to Francis’s right arm. “It’s spreading. …and fast, too.” She heard Ditzy sniff from where she sat by the wall. “I-it’s my fault…” “Don’t worry Ditzy,” Zoey said reassuringly. “We’ve gone over this. It’s not your fault you bit Francis. It was in self defense at the time.” Ditzy sniffed again, trying desperately not to crying. “…Don’t worry about the rash right now. If anything, you should be worried about how I have to surgically remove a broken rib.” Zoey said, trying to get Ditzy’s mind off of the rashes. She couldn’t stand to see the pony cry. “…R-right, ok,” Ditzy said quietly. Feeling she had done all she could do for the pony, given the circumstances, Zoey began to concentrate at the task at hand. She filled a syringe with a small amount of anesthesia before injecting it into Francis’s bloodstream. Assured that he wouldn’t be waking up any time soon, Zoey cleaned the area she would be cutting and picked up a scalpel. “Well, here goes nothing…” - As Zoey began the operation, time seemed to slow with concentration and suspense as the heart monitor beeped rhythmically. Making the proper surgical incisions had been the easier part, but now she had to remove the rib without damaging the lung or surrounding tissue. Upon closer examination she discovered that the bone, while obviously broken, was still attached, making it impossible to simply remove it. “Shit…” She was going to have to cut through the entire bone to be able to remove it. After looking through her tray of tools, Zoey found what looked like a tiny saw blade. A high-pitched buzz radiated through the room as she clicked the tiny saw on to see if it still worked. After confirming that the device was functional, she turned the blade off and set it down before spreading the opening in Francis’s chest. There needed to be enough room for the cutting tool so that it would not cut into any vital areas. Zoey wiped a bead of sweat from her brow and picked the blade back up before flicking it on. The heart monitor’s volume seemed to increase in intensity as she slowly brought the blade to the bone. Suspense and anxiety blurred her mind. What if she slipped up? What if the saw jolted the bone, making it puncture Francis’s lung? What if- The heart monitor flat-lined. Zoey shut the blade off and spun around. “Ditzy, would you please stop playing with that heart monitor? It’s making me paranoid!” The pegasus’s expression drooped a bit as she flicked the machine off. “…Sorry.” Zoey sighed. “Sorry for snapping. It’s just that I can’t afford to be distracted right now, ok?” “Yea, ok.” “Thank you.” Zoey finished, kindly. She turned back around and turned the cutter back on, turning her focus back to cutting the bone. - The rest of the surgery went undaunted after the brief interruption of Ditzy and the heart monitor. Zoey was able to remove the broken rib and buff out any sharp edges on the remaining segment of bone to avoid any internal cuts. She concluded by double checking the opening in Francis’s chest to make sure no bits of bone were left before sewing the hole up. After washing the blood off her hands in the sink built into the wall (she had not been able to find any surgical gloves), she picked up a syringe and injected it into Francis’s good arm. Ditzy tilted her head in curiosity as she watched. “What’s that gonna do?” Zoey smiled at Ditzy as she removed the needle. “It’s what’s used to wake you up from anesthesia.” She paused. “…In fact you might want to take a step back. He’s going to feel all of what I’ve done in a moment.” “Huh? I thought anniestega was supposed to get rid of the pain.” “Anes-thes-ia,” Zoey corrected, “And no, it doesn’t. It only puts them to sleep so they don’t cause any trouble during the operation.” Ditzy looked to Zoey, then to Francis. She took a cautionary step back from the unconscious biker. After a few minutes Francis began to shift and turn, followed by some mumbling. “Mmm… Mmmuh… urrrg. uuuaaaaaaaAAAAHHHHHHH!!!” His eyes shot open and shot up, clutching his chest as a wave of pain washed over his mind. “WHAT THE FUCK CHARLES?!” “Sorry, but the anesthesia only works when you’re under,” Zoey said calmly. “And it’s not like you could take any painkillers when you were unconscious. But now that you’re awake…” She tossed him a bottle of pills. He caught the bottle in mid air and nearly ripped the lid off before shaking a whole handful of the white pills down his gullet. After swallowing the bottle’s contents, which wasn’t even very full to begin with, Francis tossed the bottle over his shoulder. Ditzy let out a sharp yelp as the empty bottle nailed her in-between her eyes. Francis, ignoring the fact that he had just dinged Ditzy in the forehead, slung his legs off the operating table and breathed heavily. Francis looked up as Zoey placed the empty syringe on the tray she was using “Hey, take it easy with the breathing. Wouldn’t want you to make things worse, would you?” Zoey asked, sounding genuinely concerned. After some of the pain had gone away, courtesy of the pills, Francis was able to speak in a calmer fashion. “…Damn… You got it, right?” “Yep. It was a bit more difficult than I imagined, but I was able to cut around the bush, so to speak,” She said as she picked up the tiny blade and flicked it on for a split second. Francis audibly gulped. “So uh… e-everything is alright?” “Yep. Oh, I have the rib right here if you want to have a keepsake.” She set the blade back down before picking up a jar and handing it to Francis. Inside it was the rinsed, broken segment of rib that showed that the operation had been a success. A shiver ran down Francis’s spine, causing his face to scrunch and twist for an instant. “…No thanks. I think the scar will be enough of a reminder.” He handed the jar back to Zoey, who set it back on the tray. “Suit yourself. Oh, speaking of your scar…” Zoey handed a mirror to Francis. “What do you think?” Francis analyzed his stitch’s reflection silently. It looked like a big H, but with the middle part stretched out across the right side of his chest. “It’s ok…” He paused when he noticed the multiple splotches of red skin and fur spreading from his shoulder. “…But I’m more concerned about that damn rash. You figure anything out while I was under?” Neither of them noticed Ditzy as she nervously began making her way to the exit after the biker’s inquiry. “No, sorry,” Zoey answered. “I still haven’t the slightest clue. But whatever it is, it’s getting worse. For now, we need to wrap it and your stitches up. Who knows how much longer the chopper will stick around to pick up survivors.” Francis snarled at the reflection before dropping the mirror on the operation table beside him. “Fine.” He tried to relax as Zoey began wrapping his torso with fresh gauze. It only took a few minutes to wrap him up where he needed to be, after which he gladly put his undershirt and vest back on. “Wait, where’s my shotgun?” Francis asked as he started making his way to the exit. “Bill’s holding onto it. He and the others are outside the door there,” Zoey replied, keeping close behind him. Francis scowled. “…Right. I’ll go see about that,” he muttered angrily under his breath. After kicking the door down he found Louis and Bill chatting with Ditzy. However, the three of them turned to him after his over-the-top entrance. “Jeez Francis, do you really have to kick down every door you come across? They gave them knobs for a reason you know,” Louis asked, half jokingly. “It’s a matter of principle. Now…” he turned to Bill and held out his bandaged right arm. “Shotgun. Hand. Now.” Bill slung the gun off his back and put the pump in Francis’s hand. However, when Francis tried to pull it away, Bill did not release the stock. There was a brief silence as tensions between the two began to grow. “Hands off, old man.” “Francis, are you sure you’re ok?” Bill said, turning his gaze to the Francis’s bandaged arm. “’Course I’m ok. Feel just fine, thanks for asking. Not that I had someone cut my chest open a few minutes ago and saw a rib out with a tiny saw blade, only to wake up and have all that pain rape my brain. So yea, I’m just peachy. Now give me my shotgun.” Bill looked him in the eye for another second before releasing his grip. “Now, give me one good reason not to punch your face for knocking me out earlier.” Bill rolled his eyes. “Well for one, it makes us even for throwing that peanut butter jar at me.” “You’re still on about that?!” “It left a hell-of-a painful lump!” He continued, pointing to a blackish-blue rise on his forehead. “Besides, after being such an asshole all the time, you were asking for it. So there, that’s two reasons. Now drop it so we can get the hell out of here before anything else tries to screw us over.” Francis grumbled to himself as he slung his shotgun on his back. Ditzy, who had opted to stay out of the argument, thought she would try to lighten things up. “Hey, maybe we can access the elevators from this level!” She lifted herself into the air as a hopeful smile spread across her face. “Hey, yea! Just because the controls are busted on the first floor doesn’t mean they will be on the second,” Louis perked up. “Good idea Ditzy.” Bill silently agreed and took point as the group started for the elevator. After a quick trek through the body-filled hallways they had cleared out earlier, they reached the elevator. Ditzy beamed when they found the controls to be intact. “See? Now we can ride up to the roof with ease!” She flew by the door and hit the up arrow, which flickered green. She hovered back to the others as something from behind the metal doors creaked. The sound of machinery coming to life made the pony smile even more. Suddenly the machinery began to grind and wine. Metal wires began to twang and echo as they shook violently before there was a sharp snap, followed by the sound of metal scraping. The group stepped back nervously as the scraping sound grew nearer. They could hear the sound pass them before crashing into the bottom of the shaft with a tremendous crash that shook the ground beneath them. Smoke began to seep through the openings in the elevator door as they continued to stare, dumbfounded at what had happened. Ditzy’s smile dropped (along with her jaw) as she plopped to the ground. “Well…” Bill said with a sigh, “Guess we’re taking the stairs.”