Nightmare Ward

[Dahlia Breaker]

After regrouping, the adults decide to stay at the airport, sending Luigi, Rae, and Dahlia to the local hospital. However, the burning memory of her infected mother, now hunting her, leaves Dahlia fearful and overall upset.

But there's more than just her to worry about.....

[Rae Beckham]

Okay, first of all: What the fuck? Rae thought to herself as she bent down and retrieved a molotov from the ground. They'd probably need it in the near future.

They being she, Luigi (or the Green Moron, as she called him), and Daliha.

They were now on the bottom floor of an abandoned hospital while the adults were still at the airport. Apparently, they had thought it wise to send two teenagers - scratch that, a teenager and an idiot - and a nine year old kid there alone. Gotta love the f-ing older generation, huh? Note the sarcasm.

Rae pinched the bridge of her nose and turned to her 'companions'.

"Okay," she said. "The adults have basically ditched us, so it's just us three. So. We need a plan. Fast."

[Luigi Martin]

Nearby Luigi’s bright blue eyes were brimming with memories, not seeming to notice the pile of dead bodies, overturned beds and gurneys, and the blood that splattered the ground and walls. Despite this a happy smile overtook his features and he walked a little ahead from Rea and Dahlia. This is just like Mercy Hospital! he thought in excitement.

While he was wrapped in his memories he swore he could still hear the helicopter pilot’s words ring in his ears: “To anyone who can hear this, proceed to Mercy Hospital for evacuation. Repeat: Proceed to Mercy Hospital for evacuation.”

Suddenly a crazy thought popped into his head. What if Bill, Francis, Louis, or Zoey were here?! What if one of them had been in the same camp with him, but he hadn’t realized when it got overrun?

“I’ve got it!” Luigi snapped his finger and turned to Rae and Dahlia. “How about, you two can go off and leave me alone ‘kay?”

And with that he raced off deeper into the hospital and out of sight in hopes of finding one of his former teammates.

[Dahlia Breaker]

Dahlia hated hospitals. Not doctors, or nurses, but she just hated the hospitals. And with all the scary people, especially since Mr. Director called them sick (In fact, he had made it very, but calmly, clear), weren't hospitals the worst place to go?

However, Luigi didn't care. In fact, he looked excited. And worse yet, he ran into the hospital! Alone! The special-sick people would get him!

“How about, you two can go off and leave me alone ‘kay?”

What?

"R-rae! What is he doing!" Dahlia exclaimed, fear in the edge of her voice. "H-he might get really hurt!" She was now tugging on the older girls shirt, pointing after her brother-figure.

"We should help him, right?"

[Rae Beckham]

“How about, you two can go off and leave me alone ‘kay?”

Rae stared after the green wearing moron as he ran down the hospital hall, not even bothering to take caution. That MORON! She thought angrily.

Feeling a tug on her white shirt, she looked down at Dahlia.

"We should help him, right?"

The teenage girl blinked her gray eyes slowly. "No," she replied. "He's made his decision. If he wants to be off on his own, then fine. Let him be." She placed a hand on the little girl's shoulder softly to provide comfort. "We'll be fine without him."

Rae looked up and stared at where Luigi had ran with fury.

And don't even bother coming back.

[Dahlia Breaker]

"We'll be fine without him."

Fine without Luigi?? That was hard for the child to do. Why?

Because Luigi was like a big brother to her. Over the past few days, she had come to look up to him, ask him things she didn't understand, all the things an adoring little sister would do. He was the one that found her, saved her.

She just couldn't do that.

"Rae! I..... I can't leave him! He's like a big brother to me! He saved me......" She turned to look up at Rae in the face.

"Please?"

However, something else caught her attention. A familier form was approaching the hospital, smoke trailing in her wake.....

Eyes widening, she only whimpered "M-momma..." Before running further into the hospital, pulling Rae behind her in a fear-filled rush that only a child could possess.

[Rae Beckham]

Rae stumbled and almost lost her grip on her combat shotgun when Dahlia began pulling her in the direction of the hospital entrance.

What the-? She thought in confusion before looking over her shoulder and seeing a female smoker trailing close behind them. SHIT!

Bending down, Rae scooped Dahlia in her arms and made a dash for the hospital. She didn't know why, but something about that certain smoker made her feel uneasy and edgy, especially since only this one special infected made Dahlia react in such a way. The kid had seen many other infected while with the group, including other smokers, so why was she acting like this because of this smoker?

But Rae didn't want to stick around to find out. Once she entered the hospital, she looked around frantically for a safe place to hide. Spotting a bloodied receptionist desk, she was quick to run around it and sit on the floor, back against the desk. Placing Dahlia in her lap, she covered the little girl's mouth so she couldn't make a sound.

The coughing and sputtering of the smoker was heard, and the teen knew it had just entered the building. She shut her eyes, holding Dahlia close to her protectively.

For the love of God, don't let it find us!

[Luigi Martin]

“Baby, I love you. I never want to let you go. The more I think about, the more I want to let you know…That everything you do, is super fucking cute and I can’t stand it.”

Luigi sang gleefully as he made his way down a long hallway, shooting down infected as he passed. He paused to reload his submachine gun before heading off again. The teenager kept his eyes and ears alert as he passed the various hospital rooms, occasionally poking his head inside only to be meet with the shape of zombies.

A hunter growled, sending him on high alert. He was alone now so getting pounced by a hunter possibly wasn’t the best thing to happen. For a moment, he regretted telling Rae and Dahlia to leave him alone and wished they were with him now. The boy shook his head stubbornly and narrowed his bright blue eyes as he smacked away a female infected with the butt of his gun before giving it a couple of bullets to its chest.

I’d be damned if I go crawling back to those two! Luigi growled silently in his mind. I love Dahlia like a sister, but that Rae bitch has been a pain in my ass for too long! Let a tank get the horrible witch, see if I care. Besides, I’m looking for my real teammates, not that bastard.

He continued on and reached the end of the hallway. As he stood there wondering which way to head next, something caught his attention. It was graffiti pointing to where a safe house was! An evil smirk spread across the boy’s lips as he pictured Rae wandering around helplessly in this hell-hole.

All he uttered was a shrug as if he couldn’t care less before heading off in the direction of the safe house. It wasn’t hard to find after spending nearly fifteen minutes of killing zombies and running away from a hunter, but Luigi found it and he breathed a sigh of relief. He pushed open the red door, stepped inside, closed it, and nearly had a heart attack.

A young petite-looking woman in a white shirt, reddish-pink jacket, jeans, and black Converse was leaning back against the wall resting. She gave a startled jump as he entered and he saw her aim her hunting rifle at him. Luigi felt his bright blue eyes grow wide as he instantly recognized her.

“Zoey?!”

[Dahlia Breaker]

Dahlia didn't dare utter a word when Rae clamped a hand over her mouth, although considering how terrified she was, she'd have every right to whimper. After all, it was her mother trying to get her! Of all people!

What was only a few minutes seemed like forever as she searched, the nausiating smoke smell filling the room. But their patience payed off as her mother gave an angered wheeze and finally left. But even then she didn't dare move for awhile.

But eventually, she collapsed into a fit of quiet sobbing against Rae, all of this becoming too much for her.

"I-I want my Daddy back! I hate all of this! I just wanna go home!". She sobbed, most of her other words unintelligable.

She did gather herself long enough to at least tell Rae what had just transpired.

"R-R-Rae...... That..... That was my momma!". She cried, burying herself against Rae again, clutching Mr. B against her small body. "W-why.....".

They needed to get somewhere safe, but where? Her mother would more than likely be waiting for them outside, that wouldn't work....... So where?

[Rae Beckham]

Rae may have been an uptight bitch most of the time, but she did have a heart.

She held Dahlia close to her as the little girl cried, running her slim fingers through her ginger hair to try and sooth her. Her white t-shirt and green sleeve-less jacket were beginning to become damp because of the tears, but she could have cared less about that. Dahlia needed to let it all out.

"I-I want my Daddy back! I hate all of this! I just wanna go home!"

"I know." Rae whispered as she continued running her fingers through Dahlia's hair. "We all do."

"R-R-Rae...... That..... That was my momma!W-why....."

Rae stiffened. Her mother...

The smoker from before had been Dahlia's mother. And it was around somewhere in the hospital, looking to kill them both.

"It's alright, Dahlia," Rae murmured softly. She wiped the tears from the girl's cheeks. "I was separated from my aunt, and I don't know where my uncle is right now. They're all the family I have..." She paused for a moment before raising Dahlia's chin with her finger.

"But you know what? That...thing wasn't your mother. It's only a shell of what she use to be. Your mom is all around us right now, watching over you and your father. She's never going to hurt you, because that thing isn't her. And she's gonna help guide us to your dad and get us out of here."

[Dahlia Breaker]

Rae's words were what Dahlia needed. Gentle speaking, hands running through her hair, soothing........ And she soon found herself calming. But her final statement was what brought the child back to hope.

"But you know what? That...thing wasn't your mother. It's only a shell of what she use to be. Your mom is all around us right now, watching over you and your father. She's never going to hurt you, because that thing isn't her. And she's gonna help guide us to your dad and get us out of here."

And Dahlia knew she was right. That thing was no longer her mother. It was a monster using her. Her real mother was watching her. And her daddy was still searching for her. He wouldn't give up. And neither would she. And this all reminded her of the last thing her mommy told her.....

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She was sitting in her room, playing with Mr. B, humming to herself. Daddy was out, but Mommy wasn't telling her where.... Just that he was out to learn how to protect them. Dahlia didn't know why, wasn't it the police's job?

She was in the middle of a dance with Mr. B when her mommy entered her room, but for some reason, she looked..... Worried?

"What's wrong mommy?"

"Nothing sweetie.... Come her, I want to talk to you about something..."

"Is it about boys?"

This elicted a laugh from her, which made Dahlia feel a lot less uneasy.

"No no, nothing like that sweetie. I...." Her face fell to worry again. "You've heard about the bad things going on right?"

"Yeah?"

"Well...... If your daddy and I...... Go to heaven becuase of all this......."

A small gasp from Dahlia prompted her mommy to hush her.

"If we go to heaven, and you're all alone......."

"We'll come and take you up with us, where you won't have to be scared and won't get hurt."

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"Rae....."

The nine-year old looked up at her sister figure, hopeful again. She wiped her eyes a few times, still sniffeling a bit.

"Thank you....... But.......We should get somewhere safe, right? I don't think she'll let us leave through the front doors....."

Peeking over the table, she looked around the room. Obviously enough, it was empty, no doubt thanks to Luigi. And since there were no more gunshots, either Luigi was in one of those... What were they called? Safe rooms?

Or he was in deep trouble. Dahlia liked to stay optimistic, so she decided to say that he was in a 'safe room'. And she figured, if Luigi found a way there, then it would be smooth sailing for them, right?

Beaming, she sprung to her feet held Mr. B above her head.

"Let's go Rae! Angels don't wait for slowpokes!"

With that said, she happily skipped over to the hallway, humming to herself.

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However, deeper in the hospital, there was a quiet wailing, a kind of sobbing that chilled you to the bone, yet also filled you with a strange sense of pity.

But if you knew what caused that sobbing, you'd just be chilled.

Unless you were like it.

The Witch was in the middle of the hallway, not to far from where Luigi and Zoey were holed up. No infected were nearby, none would dare. Except for one.

She stood not to far from the........... Pathetic thing. It was a disgrace, really. All it did was pity itself, crying out for console. And whenever anyone got near it, it tore them to shreds. Dangerous, but would just be so much more useful of they would actually do something aside from sit there.

And She had no use for them. The wretch was just in her way.

The Witch could only manage a shreik as the tounges found their way around her neck and arms. Helpless, just how She liked it. The squirming, the pained whining...... It was so....... satisfying.

As the Witch was brought up to Her face, She could see the surprise, the fury, the fear, in it's eyes. And with a loud *Snap!*, those eyes dimmed. A small trail of blood dribbled out of it's mouth, it's last breath escaping it.

Her mouth twisting into what might have been a smile, She set about doing something that other Smokers didn't really do.

Display their kill.

And as She moved into the Hospital, the Witch was left to hang by a severed tounge.

[Rae Beckham]

"What, Dahlia!" Rae cried. She scrambled to her feet, making sure to grab her combat shotgun, and sprinted after the skipping girl.

Reaching the younger girl, she grabbed her hand to slow her pace to a walk.

"Don't go running off like that. You don't want one of those sick people to get ya, do ya?" Rae told her. "Stay by me."

An infected in a hospital gown staggered into view. It's back was to them and the gown's strings were untied, causing them to see...

Rae covered Dahlia's eyes before shooting the zombie in the head. A young girl Dahlia's age did not need to see that side of a zombie...

Once they walked by the corpse, Rae uncovered the nine year old's eyes. Honestly, couldn't zombies at least have some decency and keep their clothes on right? Nobody needed to see that.

Rae's gray eyes brightened as she spotted a large red door. Finally! She thought.

"Look Dahlia, a safe house-"

She cut herself off. There was the sound of grunting and snorting close by. She knew that sound...

Shoving Dahlia ahead, Rae readied her gun. "Dahlia! Get to the safe-"

A large mass of muscle slammed into the left side of her body, causing her to meet the wall painfully. Rae slid down to the floor, the breath knocked out of her lungs. She attempted to stumble back up, but a massive arm came crashing down on her back.

"Dahlia!" she shouted. "Get to the safe room!"

Rae's body was suddenly lifted up and crushed back down into the hard floor. Pain spread throughout her being, but it was the last thing on her mind. She needed Dahlia to get to safety...

"Dahlia!" Rae yelled when she was lifted again. "Get to the safe-"

SMASH!

Her abdomen was burning like hot liquid and she coughed up a mouthful of blood. The left side of her face was throbbing, and she thought she felt a black eye already forming.

"GET INSIDE!" Rae exclaimed before she was slammed down again...

[Dahlia Breaker]

Dahlia only made a 'bleah!' sound when she briefly saw the zombie's lack of pants. Were they just too much of a dummy to just pull up the pants? Weren't the doctors and nurses supposed to-

Oh, right.

Regardless of pants, when Dahlia saw the inviting bright red door to the 'safe room', she was all smiles again. In fact, she almost didn't notice the loud snorting. But when the large man, suddenly rammed into Rae, Dahlia found herself rooted to the spot, helpless as Rae was smashed repeatedly into the ground.

It was Rae's shouting, however, that brought her to her senses, and she took off towards the door, not noticing the low growl that filled the air.

When she got to the door, she found to her frustration that she could not open it. No matter how she pulled or pushed, she made no progress.

And that's when she noticed it. The hooded man. It appeared out of the dark, noticing for a moment the young women being pounded into the ground, before decidind that this smaller prey would work just as well. With another snarl, it lowered itself, and the next second launched itself at Dahlia. Luckily, she had the good sense to get out of way, sending it colliding into the door with a *CLUNK*.

Infuriated, it quickly regained it's balance, snarling again. This time, however, it merely clawed at her.

She didn't really register it at first, but when she realized that her arm was bleeding horribly, the pain caught up to her, causing her to shreik and fall to the ground, feebly attempting to ward it away by kicking at it.

"Help!"

[Luigi Martin]

She was exhausted. Fighting for her life through hallways of infected with only a crowbar sucked. She could only thank god when she spotted the familiar red door of a safe house and sprinted inside. Once the woman was sure that she was safe, she leaned back against the wall to get her breathing under control.

That is, until the door slammed open. Startled she grabbed for the hunting rifle on a nearby table and aimed it at the figure as it stumbled inside. Turned out the figure was a teenager by the looks of him. He had brown hair that was wavy but somewhat straight with little curls sticking out here and there. Bright blue eyes grew wide as the teenager stared at her and she felt confusion wash over her.

“Zoey?!”

As the teenager said her name in shock she lowered her hunting rifle.
“How do you know my name?” she demanded, her body tensed in alert.

“It’s me!” the teenager sounded surprised, like she was supposed to recognize him or something. “Luigi!”

Luigi…The name echoed through Zoey’s mind. As she stared at ‘Luigi’ she suddenly recognized him. In the next heartbeat she was bounding across the safe room and pulling the boy into a strong embrace.

“Oh god, Luigi!” gasped Zoey. “It really is you!”

Luigi struggled against the hold. “Yeah, it’s me.” he said. “But uh, Zoey, could you let me go? I can’t breathe.”

“Oops.” Zoey giggled and released him. “Sorry. So, anyway, what are you doing here? I thought you were with the others!”

The teenager shook his head. “No, the camp they sent me too after we were evacuated was overrun by infected not even two minutes after I got there.” he explained. “I was in an airport to begin with where I met this little nine-year-old girl,” Zoey’s eyes grew wide at this, “and some other people.”

“There are other survivors here?” asked Zoey. “Do you know where they are? We need all the help we can get.”

“Ah, here’s the thing,” Luigi scratched the back of his head. “Those survivors I met don’t know what ‘stick together and help each other’ mean.”

“So basically they’re bad teammates?” Zoey guessed. She sighed. “Looks like it’s you and I Luigi. There’s an evac station not from the hospital. I only came here to find me a decent enough weapon since I was literally killing zombies with a crowbar.” She eyed the submachine gun in his hands. “Found that at the airport, huh?”

“Sure did!” Luigi smiled. He was glad to be reunited with Zoey again. Worry crashed over him. “Do you know where Bill, Louis, and Francis are?”

Zoey shook her head sadly. “Nope. I haven’t seen them since we were rescued back in Georgia. But they’re alive somewhere, if I know them they won’t let the zombies kill them that easily.”

“I suppose so,” Luigi sighed before suddenly stiffening. There was a loud ruckus going on the other side of the safe room door. Zoey tightened her grip on her hunting rifle while Luigi switched from his submachine gun to an assault rifle. The ruckus continued, not showing any signs of stopping.

Zoey glanced at him. “What do you think that is?” she asked.

Luigi opened his mouth to reply, but was caught off as a roar sounded followed by a loud clunk against the safe room door and a desperate plea for ‘Help!’

“Someone’s still alive!” Zoey raced for the door and pulled it open. Luigi was right behind her and inwardly groaned at the sight in front of him.

Rae was getting her ass handed to her by a tank while a hunter was tearing Dahlia’s arm to pieces. Zoey acted quickly and killed the hunter with a single shot from her hunting rifle. She then proceeded to nudge the frightened child inside the safe room before turning her attention to the tank. The woman motioned for Luigi and he walked to her side.

“What is it?” he asked, eyeing the tank still kicking Rae’s ass. He almost smiled at the sight, almost.

Zoey’s brown eyes never left the tank as she talked. “I’m going to throw a molotov at it. While it focuses on me you grab that girl and get her inside the safe room, got it?”

When Luigi nodded she dug around in her pockets until she pulled out the molotov. With a yell of, ‘Fire in the hole!’ she threw it and the tank burst into flames. The ploy worked and the tank furiously turned its attention to Zoey who began retreating while opening fire at it. As the tank chased Zoey and abandoned Rae, Luigi sprinted over, picked the girl up in his arms, and raced back inside the safe house. There he dumped her beside Dahlia before racing back outside to deal with the tank.

Zoey was still shooting at it, but this time she was running while the tank chased her. Opening fire as well, Luigi raced over and stopped mere inches away from the mass of muscle. The tank grew even angrier and turned to attack him, but its head whipped around towards Zoey as she unloaded an entire clip into it. The two survivors smirked as they realized the tank wasn’t sure of who to attack and continued to fire at it, often dodging punches and rock throws before the tank fell to its knees and died.

“Nice,” Zoey chuckled as she stepped around the still-burning tank’s corpse and over to Luigi. She gave him a hard pat on the back. “Still haven’t lost your aim huh?”

“I should say the same for you!” laughed Luigi as he turned to walk back toward the safe room. Zoey followed and once they entered said room, she closed the door behind her.

[Dahlia Breaker]

The Hooded man would have torn her apart had a young woman in a hoodie not saved her. And behind her, Luigi!

Before Dahlia could even utter a thank you or anything like that, the child was ushered into the room, and the two went after the Bully and save Rae, leaving Dahlia in the room.

Remembering her arm, she began looking around the room for a band-aid, maybe some alcohol wipes.......

She eventually came across a box labeled "First aid". Exactly what she was looking for! Or, at least, she hoped!

Opening it, she spotted what she wanted; Gauze wraps. The problem? She couldn't reach it.

That was just mean.

Trying to ignore the sounds coming from outside the room, she pushed a chair next to the cabinet, then climbed onto it. Grabbing the wraps and a pair of scissors, she cut a strip and wrapped up her arms like she had seen the adults do it. Now, it wasn't a great job, and she was still bleeding, but at least it was covered now, right? She'd ask for a little help once everyone came in.

Content that she wouldn't run out of blood, she poked around the room, finally coming upon a small bunch of markers. She guessed that the people who wrote on the walls used these.

Finding a nice open spot on the wall, she sat down and began doing what a normal girl her age would do. Draw.