Hospital

Percy POV

The drive through central park was so peaceful. For a second, I almost forget that I was surrounded by zombies. Zombies don't infiltrate central park because there isn't much activity in the center of the city.

More activity and noise happen in the streets, so the zombies are attracted to those areas. As such, driving through central park felt like a reward.

I had rolled down the window.

The wind ruffled my hair as I sped through the park. Since the zombie apocalypse started, the world no longer runs on rules. No one can stop me from going 80 miles per hour through a nature park in New York City. The park ended too quickly. Before long, I was driving through the busy and crowded streets of the city again.

barreled into as many zombies as possible. I was driving an old mini-van. Chiron gave me a fairly large vehicle so that I bring back supplies.

He directed me to go to New York-Presbyterian Hospital.

Will Solace said that he used to do rounds in the hospital for his clinical years. He was a fourth-year medical student before the apocalypse started. He gave me instructions to the hospital even though I already knew the way. New York used to be my home, so I know my way around the city. I also know the layout of the NY-Presby hospital.

I crashed through zombies while speeding into the hospital's parking garage. It was one of the largest hospitals in the state, so it has a grand parking garage. I slowed down and drove to the top level of the parking garage. I figured that there would be fewer zombies on the upper levels, and I was right.

The parking structure was clear of zombies.

I quickly got out of the minivan and grabbed my survival bag. I had a gun and a knife in my hands as I walked through the dark parking lot.

The front of my car was splattered with blood. I did a great job of terminating the zombies in my way. Blood and guts were all over the minivan's hood.

"All right, let's keep it simple," I muttered to myself. "Go inside the hospital, find the medical dispensary, and grab the meds on my list."

I stared at the piece of paper in my hand.

Dr. Claymore and Will Solace gave me detailed instructions on the medications they want. Epinephrine was at the top of the list. I added a bunch of baby supplies to the list. I'm confident that the hospital also has diapers and baby food. I'm guessing that the pediatric ward is where I'll find all the stuff I need for baby Estelle.

With a final nod, I walked through the parking structure. I took the stairs down to the first floor before entering the hospital's lobby.

I pocketed my gun and used my knife to stab the stray zombies inside.

A big zombie, in particular, was difficult to take down. He kept growling as I drilled my blade into its eye socket. I groaned while wiping the blood streaks off my cheek. Based on the zombie's hospital gown, I realize he used to be a patient here.

I sighed before continuing deeper into the hospital.

Where would the medicine storage facilities be? Will suggested that most of the meds in bulk would be stored in the basement freezer.

That seems like a good place to start.

The electricity was completely out in most of the hospital. The elevator wasn't working, so I was forced to find the stairs. I found a hospital map next to the stairway's door. It read that the bulk medical dispensary and research labs are located in the basement. Meanwhile, the pediatric ward is on the first floor's west side.

I decided to find Stella's stuff first.

My decision has nothing to do with the fact that dark basements creep me out. I'm a brave person. Creepy, dark basements definitely don't scare me. Not at all.

Ugh. I sighed before retreating from the stairs. Instead, I walked through the quiet hospital hallways until reached the west sector. The first floor has a lot of paintings and receptionist stations to add appeal.

The hallways were dimly lit. The zombies I came across seemed to be coming out of the shadows. However, my senses were heightened enough to easily take care of them.

There weren't any large hordes of zombies, thank goodness.

The instant I reached the west side, I knew something wasn't right.

A group of zombies was scratching the double doors leading into the pediatric clinic. A dozen zombies were growling and banging against the doors. The double doors seemed to be bolted shut. Something inside was making the zombies out here go crazy.

My first instinct was to ignore the fuss.

However, I couldn't let it go.

One, there were probably humans inside the clinic. That's why the zombies were so adamantly clawing against the doors. Two, I need access to the pediatric clinic if I want to collect things for Stella. Three, I have no other option to get inside.

I rushed at the zombies and stabbed one in the back of the head.

The female zombie dropped like a stone. My actions quickly caught the attention of the other nine zombies. They all turned around and stumbled at me.

I pulled out my gun and fired.

I backed up as I fired at the zombie's heads. I maintained the distance between the zombies while terminating them quickly.

However, my pistol ran out of the bullets when there were four zombies left. I didn't have time to reload, so I launched the gun instead. It smashed into the nearest zombie's head. I didn't stop them though, but it gave me enough time to slash them with my knife.

A sword would be so much better than a knife, I thought.

Somehow, I need to find myself a sword.

I ducked under a zombie's bloody arms before jabbing it in the head. I kicked the second zombie before jumping on the third zombie's back. I drilled my knife into his eye socket before pushing its body at the second zombie again. Heavy breaths came from my chest as I reloaded my gun and ended the final zombie.

A dozen zombies were killed by myself in less than a minute.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, A NEW RECORD!

WOOHOO.

I mentally cheered for myself before shaking my head and chuckling out loud. These zombies are making me freaking crazy. I need to calm down.

The pediatric double doors were still locked. The entrance wouldn't budge as I shook the door handles with brute force.

I groaned before roughly shaking the doors again.

Suddenly, an arrow whizzed next to my head. I yelped and dived to the side as three more arrows fired at my body.

WHAT THE HELL?

I scrambled to my feet and ran behind the corner of the hallway. I turned to peek around the corner when another arrow shot at my head. I whirled back and straightened against the wall. The breath caught in my throat. It took me a few seconds to digest what just happened: someone tried to shoot me with a bow and arrow.

My ears twitched as footsteps got closer. It was only one pair of sounds.

One individual was walking closer to me. I could feel the tension in the air as my hands clenched into fists. I returned my knife to its sachel. The person had to be alive if he was shooting arrows. I refuse to kill a living and breathing human being.

Zombies are different. Humans are still alive.

The footsteps echoed through the dim hallway. I held my breath and waited. The person got closer and closer.

When his foot landed next to me, I whirled around. My right fist hit the guy's arm and effectively him drop his bow. I kicked it to the side before slashing my arm at the guy. He caught my wrist and shoved me hard. He was physically bigger than I was.

But, I was faster.

My back hit the wall, but I dodged his fist. I ducked under a second punch.

He cursed while shaking his bruised hand that had smashed into the wall. I kicked the back of his leg, which made him crumble to one knee. I unsheathed my knife and held it to his neck. Because of the darkness and the angle of our bodies, I couldn't see his face.

"Stop fighting me," I demanded. "I didn't come to the hospital to have an arrow in my face. What the hell?"

The big guy froze before tilting his head to the side. His black hair covered about half of his forehead, but I could still see his eyes. His facial features were clean and tight. Just like his body, even his face gave off a strong personality.

The Asian guy frowned before lowering his hands to his side.

"I thought you were a zombie," he replied.

"Yeah because zombies and humans are so alike," I retorted. "Also, did you just insult me by saying I look like a zombie?"

"Well, you're covered in zombie blood," he said calmly.

His throat gulped in nervousness. My gut told me that he seemed kind. I retracted my knife before helping him up. He faced me directly.

"I was fighting a large group of zombies because they were trying to get into the pediatric clinic. I figured that someone was in danger," I explained. "Now, your turn."

"My name is Frank Zhang. I have been living at the hospital for the past few months with my crew. I received word from a group member that they got stuck in the pediatric clinic. They were disarmed and zombies were pounding against the door," Frank expressed. To prove his point, he pulled out a black walkie-talkie.

"Fair enough. I'm Percy," I murmured while relaxing slightly.

"Nice to meet you," he said before shaking my hand.

Then, Frank rushed to the pediatric double doors. He knocked on the door using a specific pattern. Then, he called to the person inside. "Hazel, you can come out. It's safe."

"Frank?" a voice asked quietly.

"Yeah, it's me. The zombies are taken care of, and I have a new friend to introduce you to."

The door clicked softly before swinging open to reveal a short African American girl. Her hair was in a curly heap around her face and shoulders. She stared at the arrows sticking into the door before dashing into Frank's arms. He tightly hugged her, and the hug seemed to last forever.

"AHEM," I cleared my throat loudly.

They both blushed before releasing each other. For the first time, Hazel looked at me. She was a few years younger than me, but she gave off a nurturing personality. She seemed familiar, but I couldn't quite place her face.

"You have Percy to thank for clearing the zombies," Frank credited.

"Thank you," Hazel said gratefully while smiling. I nodded in response.

"I don't know how I got trapped. There were a lot of zombies, and one of them knocked my blades away. I needed to enclose myself somewhere. It's a good thing that I had a walkie with me today."

"I told you not to separate from the group," Frank assured.

"I know, but I thought that I could help you guys. You know the people downstairs are starving. We ran out of our food supply a few days ago," Hazel told me.

Frank and Hazel started walking into the pediatric clinic. I followed them inside to realize that the place was ransacked. Actually, that makes sense. If a crew was living here, they probably cleaned the place out already.

I probably wouldn't find Stella any delicious baby food.

"Why don't you guys get food from outside?" I asked. I carefully analyzed the patient rooms in the pediatric ward. Kids' paintings and drawings were still on the walls.

"We do go out. However, we cleared every building within a two-block radius. It takes careful planning to go out beyond that," Frank said.

"Why?"

"We're a small group of about 20. Most of them aren't fighters," Hazel explained. "They're too scared to go out. And-"

"If you have a debilitating fear, you'll die out there," I finished.

Frank and Hazel nodded before leading me out of the pediatric department. They gestured for me to follow them. They led me through a few hallways before coming to a staircase. Frank used a key to open the stairway door. Hazel locked the door behind us. It wasn't until we were inside the stairwell chamber that Frank relaxed with his bow.

I also resheathed my knife. Frank smiled before turning to me.

"We fortified this staircase. It's how we move through the hospital. However, we set up a small camp in the basement. There are no zombies down there, and it's where everyone stays. We even powered a generator to the basement level."

I could feel the cool breeze of air conditioning coming from below. The three of us ventured into the basement level before opening a door.

A bright hallway welcomed us. It wasn't that bright. Compared to the dark hallways above, it was more than enough light to see everything. Frank and Hazel set their weapons on a table next to the doors. Other weapons include knives, wooden spears, and guns.

A woman of average height and a wider stature was sitting at the table. She was middle-aged with early spurts of gray hair peeking through.

"Hello. We seem to have a new member. I'm Martha," she greeted. I shook her hand before self-cautiously looking around.

"I'm Percy," I said back.

"You need to set your weapons here. It's how we ensure that no one uses their weapons on each other by accident," Martha commented. I froze while clutching my gun and knife with both hands. "You can find them here at any time."

I hesitantly placed my weapons on the table. However, I kept the knife that was hidden under my shirt and holstered inside the lining of my pants.

Then, I followed Frank and Hazel to a larger room.

As they walked in, my eyes wandered to all the people. Just as I was analyzing them, they were analyzing me. It was a small yet diverse group of people. 22 total individuals.

23, if you count me.

Guess what time it is... It's time for introductions.