[rework] Minglings - chapter 7: Horrible hospital

Jake cursed under his breath as he moved up the tunnel slope. With each step, he scraped his foot across the ground to remove the disgusting shit caked on the bottom. When the last of it finally came off, leaving only a brown stripe behind him, he looked up, inspecting the tunnel exit.

A jumbled shape was partially blocking the moonlit sky, the gleam of metal, and the reflection of broken glass. As he moved closer, he saw it was a traffic light that had fallen across the entrance. The top part with grey metal boxes containing the actual light bulbs was a mess of twisted metal and broken glass, while glass splinters covered the ground. Part of the entrance was blocked, leaving just enough room for Mason, who was a few steps in front of him, to squeeze his muscular frame through.

Jake took one more look back, not interested in being snuck up again. The water behind at the bottom was like a dark shiny mirror, and relieved, he moved to the entrance. Mason stood a few steps away, looking outside.

Not wanting to be left behind, Jake quickly moved passed the metallic mess, but almost outside, he felt what remained of his jacket catch onto something sharp. A ripping sound came as his momentum carried him forward.

Damnit, he thought, raising his arm. There was a long tear in it, but the sharp metal had missed his skin.

"Ah man, things keep getting better and better..." he mumbled as he remembered getting it from his now-impoverished father. With a sad sigh, he moved up to Mason.

In front of them was their goal, the St. Agatha state hospital. White and tall, it sprawled across a large area close to what, till yesterday, had been downtown. It had always been one of the prettiest buildings miles around. Now, without lights and the entire south wing collapsed into a ruin of stone and woodwork, a dark and brooding atmosphere hung over the place.

Separating them from the entrance was a large and almost empty parking lot, with few lonely cars and some scattered debris lying around at the edges.

"That's one wide open space… Not a lot in the way of the cover. If any of those cats are around and looking, they will spot us right away," Jake said, shivering when he remembered the dangerous feline they had just left dead in the tunnel.

Mason didn't respond but silently examined the surrounding buildings before pointing.

"If we run to the entrance in a straight line, we should be ok. All of the debris cluttering the streets around us makes it hard to see the parking lot from the ground. Also, the only buildings from which anything could see us are pretty far away."

Mason rolled his shoulders as he turned to Jake, his yellow eyes glowing slightly in the dark. The word inhuman bubbled up in Jake's mind together with an odd feeling in his gut. Then it faded as quickly as it had come.

"You saw the speed at which that cat moved. Although they are faster than we are, they can't teleport. We should have plenty of time to reach the door," Mason said.

Jake cringed. "Why did you have to go and say that? I bet we will find teleporting cats now," he said.

Mason didn't respond to his attempt to lighten the mood, and Jake shrugged. He turned and tried to determine the distance between the surrounding buildings and the hospital. After a moment, he agreed with Mason. The taller boy always did have an intuitive understanding of spatial dimensions and distances beyond his peers.

"You are right," Jake said.

"I know, and this time I think we should move together. If something spots us, we should be able to make it to the hospital, and there are better hiding spots there," Mason said.

Without waiting for a response, Mason walked toward the hospital, his head swiveling around as he tried to keep an eye out for any incoming trouble. Emma's head was gently bobbing up and down on his bare arm.

Jake frowned as he followed Mason. He usually wasn't this short, but he had noticed his friend had turned silent and brooding throughout the night. He knew Mason was probably heading down one of his darker moods again, which wasn't a good thing for them right now. He quickly ran after him, hoping the hospital would give them the safety they needed. That might alleviate some of Mason's growing temper.

As he caught up, he fell in line with his friend and examined him for a moment. He noticed how worn Mason's clothing had become. Small rips and holes dotted his pants and sweater, and brown and green stains covered most of his back. Taking a peek at his own jeans, Jake realized they both looked like wandering hoboes. Mason turned his head toward him, raising an eyebrow. Jake faked a grin, shook his head, and started scanning the surroundings. This wasn't the time for more jokes.

Halfway across the parking lot, they stepped into the shadow of the hospital, and Jake let out a sigh of relief. There had been no signs of-

"I saw something move," Mason whispered, causing Jake to almost jumped out of his scaly skin.

He turned in the direction Mason was pointing to, but the only thing he saw was the remains of the Borrowdale bank, which his mom had worked at when she was young. Until yesterday, it had been the tallest building in this part of town, jet black with only the bank logo on the front. Now it seemed to have exploded, parts of it stuck in the surrounding buildings. And the top part with the logo gone. The only thing left standing was part of the elevator shaft.

"Where? I don't see anything," Jake whispered as he increased his pace.

"At the bottom, next to the elevator shaft. I don't know what it was, but it seemed small," Mason said as he increased his pace.

Jake saw him looking down at the unmoving shape in his arms. From what he could see, Emma was breathing more comfortably since the glowing lights had touched her, and the faster movement didn't seem to bother her either. Mason seemed to have come to the same conclusion as he started running towards the hospital entrance.

Jake followed, his heart pounding as he kept looking across his shoulder, trying to suppress the slowly building panic. Just as he caught movement between the debris, his foot landed on a loose rock, and he stumbled. He flailed with his arms and tail to keep his balance, failed, and crashed into the ground. With clenched teeth, he scrambled back up and looked at the remnants of the old bank building again.

From the shadows, small, fast-moving shapes darted through the debris, heading their way. He instinctively tried to count them, and his eyes almost popped out of their sockets when he saw dozens of beady red eyes stare at him.

"Fuck!!" he hissed as he turned and dashed after Mason.

His friend was already moving up the slope leading to the entrance ahead of him. Jake caught up within moments.

"We're in deep shit! There are huge rats incoming! Hundreds," he hissed.

Mason's eyes narrowed, and his speed increased marginally. "Get that door open," he hissed.

Jake sped up and towards the door, quickly arriving in front of the large glass swivel doors. The glass seemed to be intact, which would have surprised him had he the time to think about it. Instead,  he was just happy that it wouldn't let the rats in, and he pushed against the frame.

The door didn't budge.

"Are you bloody kidding me?" Jake hissed.

He plated his sharp-nailed hands against the metal frame and pushed as hard as possible. Muscles bulged up below his scaly skin as the talons on his feet dug into the concrete with a horrible, screeching noise. As powerful muscles that he had never had before swelled across his back and legs, he felt the door begin to bend inward slightly.

Mason slammed into the door to his side, his body angled to keep Emma from any harm. The entire construction shook, then vibrated like a tuning fork, and the doorframe and the glass bent inward even more.

Then, a sudden movement from behind the glass startled them.

"Please stop! If you break it, the rats will get in. I'll open it. I'll open it," a dull, fear-filled voice shouted.

A grey humanoid figure, wearing a well-fitting white lab coat, appeared on the other side of the glass. Shadows obscured his face, and only a gleam showed where his eyes were. The figure moved to the side entrance and opened a pane on the wall, uncovering an assortment of buttons and levers. Jake saw the figure glance at him and Mason before two slender grey hands gripped a white handle and pulled it down.

The doors shuddered but didn't move, and Jake immediately resumed pushing. Then, with a click, the doors started rotating, their speed only marginally increased by Jake and Mason's pushing.

As soon as he was inside the cylindrical cabin, the doors moving agonizingly slow, Jake looked across his shoulder, and his eyes widened. Behind Mason was a vast horde of rats swarming up the slope that led to the entrance. Calling them rats, however, was an insult to rats. Although having the general shape of rats, they as big as dogs, and their skin was a hairless black and grey. They had disgusting pulsating yellow growths on their backs, and their eyes were milky white and without a pupil. Where normal rats had flat rodent teeth, these things had pointy teeth like those of a bat.

Jake turned his attention back to the door and pushed as hard as possible. With a soft groan, the door turned slower, and moments later, he jumped on the blue tiles covering the inside of the hospital hallway. Mason followed a moment later, and Jake turned toward their savior.

"Lock it!" he shouted.

His warning wasn't needed as the figure was already pushing with his full weight against the lever, forcing it to click back into place. Moments later, loud thumps came from the door and the glass as rats slammed into the thin layer, separating them, scratching, clawing, and biting at the glass and the door handle.

"The glass won't hold, will it?" Mason hissed as he backed up, his breathing fast and slightly labored.

The grey figure sighed, then walked toward them, his fear seemingly abated.

"Don't worry, that's not just any kind of glass. They've tried to enter before, but they are unable to break through. See? They are giving up."

Jake kept his gaze on the rats, but he did notice something about the one who spoke. His voice was oily and slick, like some phone operator trying to sell something both parties knew you didn't need or want.

He was right, though. The rats began backing up, glaring at them as if daring them to come out. Then, with a few last indignant squeaks, the entire group turned and rushed back towards the city's ruins.

Jake put his back against the wall and took a deep breath before turning towards their savior. As he focused on the face above the lab coat, his breath caught in his throat, and he jumped beside Mason.

"Scary is it? Perhaps I would have thought the same before the change," the grey man said. Although his voice was still oily and slick, there was also a weary and sad undertone. There was also soft whistling as the air moved between pointy fangs, barely noticeable against the grey-white lips.

"You're a Fiend…" Mason hissed, at the same time turning his shoulder towards the figure in an attempt to hide Emma.

Jake instinctively lowered his stance, raised his hands, and readied himself to slash open the Fiend with his razor-sharp claws. His tail began swishing left and right.

"Now, now. Is that a way to thank somebody for letting you in?" the Fiend said in a smooth but chocked voice as he stepped back.

"Don't try and be smart. You only did it to save your skin. The rats might not be able to break that glass, but we could have, and then they would have eaten you too," Mason snapped back.

The Fiend didn't immediately answer, switching his gaze between Jake and Mason. When he looked at Mason again, his eyes fell on Emma's hand that lolled around lifelessly, close to Mason's chest.

"You have someone with you? Are you carrying her because she needs help?" His voice became hopeful, slightly heightening in pitch. "I am a doctor! Let me help her?"

The guys looked at each other, sharing a look of reluctance and distrust.

"Why should we trust you? Fiends are supposed to be evil. What person would choose to turn into that if not someone evil?" Jake said, a growl accompanying his words as he remained ready to fight.

"That is what the government said, but they also said we should all become Goblins. You didn't trust them on that, so why do you believe the rest?" the Fiend said, his voice soft.

Jake was quiet, somewhat taken aback, and wondering if what the Fiend said could be true. Mason took a careful step forward, glaring at the Fiend.

"What they told us so far was true. And that broadcast never said anything about why we should become goblins! It could have just been terrible advice," he said.

The Fiend shrugged as he inched another step closer. "I can't make you believe me. So what do we do? Are you going back out?"

Jake and Mason shared a quick look, and finally, Mason shrugged, his eyes flashing to Emma before going back to Jake. Someone else might have done it off as just a gesture, but Jake recognized the glance and the intensity. Although it surprised him how well he could still read his friend's intention, he agreed. If they fought now, Emma might get hurt, and so far, the Fiend wasn't showing any aggression. With a sigh, he straightened as he scrutinized the Fiend.

"We don't trust you, but we will stay here for now. Our friend lost a lot of blood and might have internal injuries. If you don't mean us harm and have good intentions, prove it. Help our friend," he said.

The Fiend examined him and Mason before a nervous smile crossed his lips.

"I guess your wariness is understandable. Follow me to the infirmary," he said. He took one final look at the doors before turning around and walking away through the hallway, beckoning with his hand.

Jake and Mason shared another look, then reluctantly followed him, leaving some distance between them and the Fiend while carefully scanning the surroundings as they went.

"My name is David," the Fiend said as they walked through the pitch-black hallways of the hospital.

Jake was about to come up with some fake names when he realized it wouldn't matter.

"I am Jake, and that's Mason. Our friend is called Emma," Jake said.

"So, David. Where are the other people who were in this hospital?" Mason asked, his voice echoing through the empty hallway.

"You have trust issues," David responded. A sorrowful sigh quickly replaced a tiny trace of mirth in his voice, and he continued. "They left after the news came. I wonder if the government realized what would happen to all the sick and wounded. It would have been nice if they had warned us," David said before letting out another weary sigh.

Jake heard the pain and anger in his voice, and David sounded almost human for a moment.

"Everybody left after they woke up. There were no more patients left, you know. Everybody that woke up did so fully healed. I even saw someone who had been blind for years, staring at a photo of his children," David said.

David stopped talking as they walked out of the long hallways and into what seemed like the canteen. Tables and chairs lay scattered, while most of the remaining food was rotting away on the shelves.

As they passed the fruit rack, David snatched up an apple and took a bite. Turning around, he waved at the food. "Take what you want. It will just rot otherwise."

Jake looked at the food stacked away, noticing that most of it was vegetables and fruit, with some bread and grain sticks mixed in. He moved forward, searching around, and he found some bags with cured meat tugged away on a bottom shelf. He gathered what he saw, then ripped one open, walked to Mason, and handed him the bag. Mason nodded, keeping an eye on David.

"Not much for fruit, I guess. Is it due to the change? Those teeth don't look like they are meant for greens..." David asked, biting large chunks from the apple.

Mason and Jake didn't reply, slowly munching on the meat. David seemed to get the hint and began walking again. The canteen had three entrances. They exited through one marked with a plaquette that said: 'authorized personnel only.'

"David. Before, you said that everybody that woke up was healed. Do you mean that some people didn't wake up?" Jake asked, nonchalantly ripping open another bag.

David didn't immediately respond but continued up to the entrance before stopping. "No. Not everybody woke up. Those who were either close to death or had certain afflictions stayed human and never woke up. We will see a few of them in a minute."

Jake frowned as he thought about the implications of that while following David into a small service hall. It had only a single exit and an elevator door with a notice reading 'out of service'.

"What determines if they wake up or not?" he asked, looking at David's back.

"We couldn't figure that out, and many didn't care enough to stay and research it. After the change, most only cared about finding their friends and family. After they left, I did some research, but there was little that made sense. Some patients with terminal stage cancer woke up just fine, completely healed. Others, who, with treatment, could have lived for tens of years, died."

They exited the small pathway and entered a waiting area with many rows of chairs. Tens of doors and hallways led out of the room, and David moved to a large double door. He pushed them open, stepping into a large operating room with windows covering one wall, through which the moon bathed the place in its soft light.

As Jake and Mason followed him, they saw David walk towards a set of surgeon's garments that hung on a small hook on the wall. He waved his hand towards one of the three operating tables. "Put your friend down over there, and I will see what I can do."

Jake saw that was Mason was still standing in the door opening. The raggedly clothed golden-red scaled Kobold seemed to be struggling with himself for a moment, looked at Jake, then finally entered the room and inched toward the table. He had his eyes fixed on the Fiend, and everything about him showed that he was ready for anything. Jake moved closer to David, making sure he would be able to grab the Fiend if he tried anything.

David turned around and looked at the two young kobolds with a rueful look and took a step back, raising his hands, palms down, as if he were trying to demonstrate his submissiveness.

"I won't hurt her. Listen, even if I was evil, what good would it do me? The two of you look like you can easily overpower me!"

When neither Jake nor Mason responded, David carefully walked towards the operating table and began examining Emma.

Jake kept his eyes on the Fiend, watching how he carefully placed his gloved hands on her wounded abdomen. As he moved the cloth away, he bent forward, scanning her wound. Jake saw the deep back eyes widen, then a look of surprise and excitement appeared on David's face. He started prodding her, taking her blood pressure and measuring her heartbeat.

"Remarkable. Her entire physical and biological structure changed. Her heart isn't in the same spot and is beating much stronger than any regular human heart could do without exploding. And these scales! They might be stronger than the kevlar body armor the police use," David said.

Jake frowned as he looked at Mason. If so many had been here when the change happened, how had he not seen a Kobold before? It seemed unlikely that in such a large place, nobody had picked the race. He saw a wary glance in Mason's golden eyes.

As David continued to examine Emma, he slowly became engrossed in what he was doing, mumbling, and talking to himself.

Standing behind him and noticing the obvious knowledge he was showcasing, Jake and Mason calmed down slightly.

"Do you think this guy knows what he is doing?" Jake whispered.

"I think so, but I ain't no bloody doctor. Also, he hasn't helped her yet. Just prodded and poked her," Mason replied.

Mason coughed as he stepped beside David.

"It's all nice and well that you have found something to examine, but are you going to help her before she dies?"

David started, almost dropping a needle he was holding. "Dies? Why would she die? She would be fine, even if you hadn't brought her here."

"What do you mean, fine! She was coughing up bowls of blood before!" Mason snapped.

David placed down his tools and gloves and turned his full attention to them.

"I don't know what she had before you brought her here, but her lungs and chest are fine now. Although her anatomy is different, I see some signs of internal bruising, but that will heal over time. She has no broken bones that I can find. Her ribs are ok, and if she was coughing up blood, and it was serious, those would have likely been fractured," he said.

Jake stared at him in disbelief. He had heard the wet coughs, seen the blood. Was David lying?

David coughed a few times, a contrived sound that made Jake frown at him. It turned to a glare when David rubbed his chin as if he was trying to come up with a way to explain things to people too stupid to understand.

"Alright, listen. When you say Emma coughed up blood, I believe you, but she is fine now. Had it been before the change, it could have been many things. But now? It has to have happened after the change. The only thing I can think of is blunt force trauma, and she has the bruises to prove that. Did she get beaten?"

Moving to the other side of the table, Jake nodded. "Yes. A group of fucking goblins worked her over."

Mason glared at him, hissing so soft it was hard to understand, and he frowned. Had he said something he shouldn't have?

"That is probably the cause then. And why things seem fine now? I can't be sure. Most likely, it has something to do with accelerated healing."

Mason snorted. "What? Like that old comic guy with the claws?"

Tapping against his chin again, David nodded. "Something like that, I guess."

David walked away from the table and meticulously placed the tools back in the spot where they had been before.

"She will heal just fine if she gets rest and food. Her new body will do the rest. Now, how about I bring you to one of the recovery rooms? There are beds there, and you can sleep. When it is daytime, we can determine what to do," David said.

"Fine, but we are bringing Emma with us," Mason grunted.

"That's fine. Moving her around won't cause any harm, or it would have happened already," David said.

He walked out of the room, leading them towards one of the broader corridors. It had many white doors, each with small frosted glass windows showing vague outlines of the things inside.

David headed towards one of the doors, then turned around. "This is my room. You can pick any other you want. Now, if you will excuse me, all of this has tired me out, and I need to rest. I will see you tomorrow," he smiled his slick smile, then entered the room and closed the door behind him with a sharp click.

"Owwwkeee… that wasn't abrupt at all," Jake muttered.

He prodded Mason, and they walked towards the far end of the corridor towards the room farthest from David.

"Let's go. We need to talk," Jake said.

Mason didn't reply but followed him quietly.

Jake opened the door and saw a spacious room with four beds evenly spaced out with small televisions mounted on the right wall. Two simple chairs stood in front of a big window in the back of the room. As he stepped inside and looked around, he saw two sinks with mirrors above them, separated by a large closet on the wall next to the door.

"Cosy… But it's better than the store, I guess," Jake said halfheartedly before feeling something push him further inside.

"Stop blocking the door, damn it. Make yourself useful and see if there's some water in the pipes," Mason said as he stepped around Jake and placed Emma on one of the beds.

Jake walked to the sinks, wondering if any water remaining would still be drinkable. A loud, scraping noise behind him made him jump and turn around, scared out of his skin. Behind him, Mason was shoving one of the beds in front of the door, blocking the entrance.

Seeing Jake's frightened look, Mason grinned. "Guilty conscious? I don't know about you, but I don't trust that guy."

"No further than I can throw him… well, much less actually, because we can probably throw his scrawny ass thirty feet," Jake said as he laughed and turned to the sink to open the faucets. A slight trickle came out but quickly stopped again.

"We need to go back to the canteen and grab some bottles," he said when the other faucet didn't even give a drop.

Mason sat down on the bed that blocked the door, closed his eyes, and yawned. "True. I'll go pick some up in a minute. Block the door while I am gone, and don't open it for that guy."

"Of course I won't! What do you take me for? Leroy? While you are there, check if you can find any food and beer, ok?" Jake replied.

He walked to the bed and, while hiding a grin, pulled it away with Mason still on it.

"Fuck!" Mason yelled, barely keeping himself from toppling off.

"Hehe, sorry about that, but I am thirsty," Jake said.

He heard Mason curse him as he opened the door and took a quick look around.

"Ok, I'll be back in five," he said, suddenly serious. He glanced at Jake, then Emma, before turning away and jogging down the hall back in the direction they had come.

The smile on Jake's face faded as he followed his friend until Mason disappeared around a corner. Then he closed the door and blocked it with the bed again.

--

Five minutes in, Jake started to get worried. After ten, he was pacing the room, getting ready to take Emma and search for Mason, when he heard footsteps. He held his breath, praying it was Mason. A soft knock came from the door, followed by a whistled song. Jake let out a relieved sigh before opening the door with a wide grin. Mason hurried inside, carrying an arm full of bags stuffed with things from the canteen.

"Took you long enough!"

Mason put the bags down, stretching and moaning contently. "What's the matter. Got worried about me? I'm a big boy and can take care of myself."

"Worried my ass," Jake lied through his teeth, "I'm thirsty. That's all."

He snatched a bottle from the bag, opened it, and pressed it to his lips. Taking long swigs, he emptied the bottle in one go before throwing the empty bottle in a corner. Right away, he dug in the bag again.

"What? No beer?"

Mason's face warped, then a grin burst out that he had been holding in. He turned around and laughed. He was holding a small bag with his tail, and he opened it, showing Jake a six-pack.

"Haha. You rock bro! I so needed this," Jake said, his eyes gleaming as he looked at the beer.

Mason tossed him a can before sitting down on the bed with one for himself.

"I didn't even have to show my ID card to get them," he said.

They raised their cans at each other before taking a careful sip. Slowly, a wide grin surfaced on their faces.

"Damn, I was afraid this would taste like piss," Mason said happily, causing a disgusted groan from Jake.

"Something like that. Now, better only drink one. We have no idea what this will do with our new bodies," Jake said as he took another sip while trying hard not to think of what Mason had said.

Mason just nodded, eyes closed, head against the wall and taking small sips as he visibly relaxed.

I hope this isn't the last moment of calm, Jake thought as he stared at his beer can.