The door at the bottom

“Move! Everybody move!”

Amelia hooked her arms under Tessa’s shoulders and dragged her toward the staff room. The girl’s body hung limp against her, her head falling back as Amelia struggled to keep her upright. Her skin was burning and damp through her scrubs.

Ethen was already halfway down the ward. He glanced over his shoulder, his face pale with fear. “Leave her, Amelia! She nearly bit you! You saw what happened to the others. She’s one of them now.”

“Shut up, Ethen!” Amelia kept moving. “She’s still breathing, and I’m not leaving her here to die. Run if you want, but don’t expect me to follow.”

Nooh hurried to her side and placed a hand on her shoulder. “You can’t carry her alone, Dr. Carter. Let me take her. You find the door and keep our path clear.”

Amelia wanted to argue, but her arms were trembling. Tessa’s face had turned a sickly grey, and she could barely feel the girl’s weight anymore. With a reluctant nod, she let go.

“Be careful. Her breathing is shallow. Don’t let her head hit anything.”

“I’ve got her. I won’t leave her.” Nooh lifted Tessa across his shoulders in one smooth movement. “Now get us out before those doors give way.”

Behind them, the double doors shook under another heavy blow. A crack spread across the glass.

The blue panel appeared before Amelia’s eyes.

EXIT ROUTE: STAFF ROOM. SERVICE STAIRS. MISSION 1: SIX MINUTES REMAINING.

She knew the stairs were behind the staff room, but knowing the way didn’t mean they would reach it alive.

“Stay close!” she shouted to Chloe. “Don’t stop for anything unless I say so.”

They rushed past dark monitors and empty trolleys. At bed four, an old woman lay beneath her mask, her chest barely rising. Amelia forced herself to keep moving until a weak voice called from behind her.

“Doctor… please don’t go.”

She stopped. An old man at bed five gripped the rail, his thin fingers shaking as he tried to lift himself. Chloe nearly collided with Amelia.

“What are you doing?” Chloe asked, glancing toward the doors.

The old man looked at Amelia with frightened eyes. “My legs won’t work anymore. My wife is waiting in the car park. She thinks I’m here for a check-up. She doesn’t know any of this.” He gave a faint smile that quickly faded. “She gets angry when I make her wait, then brings me tea and pretends she isn’t worried. I was supposed to take her home today.”

Amelia’s heart sank. “What’s your name, sir?”

“Walter.”

“I’ll come back for you, Walter. I’ll find a way to get you to your wife.”

Walter studied her face. “You remind me of my daughter. She always tried to save everyone, too.”

“Did she?” Amelia asked softly.

“No.” He squeezed her hand. “But she never stopped trying.”

His tired smile reminded Amelia of her father, the same gentle look he gave her whenever he knew she was scared. Walter’s fingers were dry as paper, and his grip was weak.

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, love,” he said. “I’m eighty-one. I know what goodbye sounds like.”

“Walter…”

“You’ve got people depending on you. Don’t let them die because you feel sorry for an old man.”

Chloe grabbed Amelia’s arm. “Amelia, please. The doors won’t hold much longer.”

Amelia couldn’t let go of his hand. Walter squeezed her fingers one last time. “Go on, sweetheart. Your father would be proud of you.”

For a moment, Amelia couldn’t see the ward or the cracked doors. She only saw her father’s face. Then another crash shook the hallway.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

Walter gave her a small nod. “Just keep going.”

Amelia turned away before she could change her mind. She didn’t look back.

They burst into the staff room, and Chloe slammed the door shut. After locking it, she leaned against the wood with her forehead pressed to it.

“We left them,” she whispered, her shoulders shaking. “Walter and the woman in bed four. You promised him, Amelia. How are you supposed to live with that?”

Amelia pressed her fist to her mouth. “I know what I promised. Do you think I’ve forgotten his face already?”

“Then why did we leave?”

“Because if we stayed, we’d all be dead.” Amelia’s voice broke. “I know that. I just wish it didn’t have to be that way.”

Nooh laid Tessa gently on the sofa.

A woman sitting at the table let out a small laugh. “Well, that was touching. Does anyone need a tissue?”

Amelia turned toward her. Two strangers sat in the room. The woman was in her thirties, with bright red lipstick and a phone pointed at them. Beside her stood a huge man in a dusty jacket, carrying a backpack so full that its zip was almost coming apart.

“Vanessa?” Chloe stared at her. “Vanessa Reed, from billing? Why are you filming us?”

Vanessa smiled at her phone. “People need to know what’s happening. We’re live from the hospital, so share this with everyone.” She lowered her chin and looked at the others. “And I’ve worked here for nine years. If anyone leads us out, it should be me.”

“There’s no signal,” Nooh said, without looking at her.

Amelia stared at Vanessa. “People are dying out there, and you’re making a video?”

“Somebody has to show the world what’s going on.” Vanessa’s smile slipped. “It’s a public service.”

Ethen pointed at the man’s backpack. “What have you got in there? Enough food for a whole ward?”

The man pulled the bag onto his shoulders. “Blake Turner. I came in with the bread this morning. And yes, I’ve got food. I’m not stupid enough to walk into an apocalypse with empty hands.”

“Where are you going?” Chloe asked.

“There’s another stair door at the back. I’m leaving, and I’m not staying here to listen to you argue about who saves who.”

Chloe blocked his way. “You know the way out? Then help us. We can’t leave everyone behind.”

Blake’s face hardened. “I saw those things eating people. I’m not risking my life for someone who’s already gone.”

“You don’t know that everyone is beyond saving.”

“And you don’t know that they aren’t.” He pushed past her. “Play hero if you like, but I’m not dying here because you can’t accept that some people won’t make it.”

A heavy thud struck the staff room door, shaking dust from the ceiling. Another hit followed, then several more, faster and louder.

Vanessa lowered her phone. Ethen stumbled backward against the wall. “They’ve broken through!”

“Not yet,” Nooh said, his eyes fixed on the door. “But there are many now.”

Chloe grabbed Ethen by the collar. “Then stop standing there! Get to the back door. Blake, you’re coming, and you’re showing us the way.”

Blake scowled and adjusted his pack. “I’ll take you as far as the stairs. After that, you’re on your own.”

Amelia hadn’t moved.

The blue panel flashed before her eyes.

MISSION 1: TWO MINUTES REMAINING. HOST HEART RATE: 171. WARNING: BLOOD LOSS, LEFT FOREARM. MINOR.

She looked down. Her sleeve was soaked red from wrist to elbow, and a thin line of blood ran down her fingers onto the floor.

The sight made her stomach twist. Her breath caught, and her knees gave way.

“Amelia!” Chloe caught her before she hit the ground. “Hey, look at me. Not your arm. Look at me.”

“I can’t…” Amelia’s voice came out in broken breaths.

“Amelia, stay with me. What’s wrong?”

“I keep seeing her.” Amelia stared at the blood on her fingers. “My mum.”

The red blurred before her eyes. For a moment, she was back in that room years ago. Her mother’s blood stained the sheets, and Amelia stood beside the bed, frozen, unable to move. She remembered her mother reaching for her hand.

Amelia… don’t be afraid.

But she had been afraid. She was still afraid.

“What if I leave someone behind and never get the chance to go back?” Amelia whispered. “What if I do the same thing I did with her?”

Chloe’s face softened. She understood that this was more than a cut or the sight of blood. “You didn’t do that to your mum, Amelia. You were scared. You were a child.”

Amelia’s eyes filled with tears. “I should have saved her.”

“You think I’m not scared?” Chloe whispered. “I saw those things tear people apart. I wanted to run, too. But you were still trying to save everyone, and I couldn’t let you do it alone.”

Amelia looked at her, barely able to breathe.

Chloe tore away the ruined sleeve and wrapped the wound tightly. Amelia winced as the knot pulled.

“Listen to me. Your mum isn’t here. I am, and I’m not leaving you.” Chloe’s voice cracked. “But I’m not letting you die in this hospital over a cut on your arm. Get up. I haven’t finished arguing with you yet.”

Amelia let out a weak, broken laugh. “You always know how to make me feel better.”

“Then I’m doing a terrible job.” Chloe wiped her cheeks. “Come on. We have to move.”

They pushed through the back door and into a narrow concrete stairwell lit by a single flickering yellow bulb. Behind them, the staff room door burst open with a crash. Screams and growls filled the hallway.

Nooh led the way with Tessa across his shoulders. Blake followed, then Vanessa, holding her phone out like a torch. Ethen came next, crying quietly, while Chloe stayed beside Amelia.

“I can’t breathe,” Ethen gasped, clutching the railing. “Are we even close?”

“Almost at the bottom,” Chloe said, pulling him forward. “You can rest after the door. Keep moving.”

At the bottom stood a heavy steel door beneath a green EXIT sign. A red bar stretched across its middle.

Blake slammed his shoulder into it, but it barely moved.

“Locked! It needs a card. Anyone got one?”

“Dr. Hayes carries the master card,” Nooh said. “He always has it on him.”

Chloe shook her head. “Hayes is gone. He’s dead or trapped, and we can’t waste time looking for him.”

Above them, the footsteps grew louder. Amelia heard something dragging its fingers along the railing.

Ethen spun toward her, his face white with fear. “Do something, Dr. Carter! You’re supposed to know what to do!”

“I’m trying to think, Ethen!”

Something rattled on the other side of the door. Everyone fell silent. Then came three slow knocks, one after another.

“Hello?” a weak voice called. “Please… I can hear you. Open the door.”

Amelia stepped closer. “Who is it?”

“It’s Dr. Hayes.”

Her heart jumped. “Dr. Hayes? Are you hurt?”

“Carter? Thank God.” His voice was breathless. “They’re right behind me. Please, just open it!”

Blake frowned. “If he’s got the master card, why can’t he swipe it himself?”

There was a pause. Then Hayes spoke again, barely above a whisper.

“Because I’m not alone, Carter. And I’m bleeding.”

Amelia pressed her ear against the door. She could hear his uneven breathing, followed by a strange, wet sound.

“Dr. Hayes?” she whispered. “What’s that noise?”

“Nothing. Just hurry.”

A faint growl came from behind his voice.

Chloe stepped back, her eyes wide. “Amelia. You heard that, didn’t you?”

The blue panel flashed.

MISSION 1: THIRTY SECONDS REMAINING. NEW MISSION AVAILABLE: SAVE DR. ANDRIAN HAYES. WARNING: SUCCESS RATE LOW.

“Carter, please.” Hayes sounded close to breaking. “I know what I said on the ward. I treated you badly, and I was wrong. Don’t leave me out here.”

Chloe seized Amelia’s wrist before she could reach for the bar. “Don’t. You don’t know what he’s bringing with him. We saw what happened to Tessa.”

“He’s still a person, Chloe. We can’t leave him to die behind a door.”

“And if he turns the second he comes inside?” Chloe’s grip tightened. “I just got you back on your feet. I’m not watching you get bitten because you feel guilty.”

Something crashed in the stairwell above them. Hayes began pounding on the steel, his voice rising into a scream.

“Please! I’m begging you! I don’t want to die out here!”

Amelia’s fingers tightened around the red bar. She looked at Chloe, whose eyes were filling with tears.

“Amelia, please. Don’t make me lose you too.”

Amelia looked at her friend, then at the door. She knew Chloe was right to be afraid, but she couldn’t bring herself to walk away.

Her hand was already on the red bar.

Above them, the footsteps reached the last landing.