Chapter Text
Carolina stared at the building in front of her. The walls looked unstable, yet were holding up the roof fine. The door was rotten from rain and time and the handle had long sense fallen off. It would be a great place to hide truthfully. She wouldn't doubt she'd find him her, hiding among the exam rooms waiting for her to find him. But hospitals were also dangerous. Hospitals are where this all began.
She shoved her shoulder into the door, opening it roughly and watching as it cracked and moved away from the frame. Its not surprising. Most buildings looked like this and finding one with a good door was nearly impossible. Inside the building the walls were dark and grey. There was light shining through broken windows and from the open door frame. The halls seemed to stretch endlessly with so many rooms Carolina was concerned her search would be pointless. She could call out for him but she didn't know if they were the only ones in the hospital. She really hoped they were.
Walking down the halls, Carolina found the floors were covered in broken glass. She really hoped he kept his shoes on. The seven year old barely listened to her but she would hope he had some sense to keep himself uninjured in a place like this. The amount of infections he could get, never mind the fact he wouldn't be able to run if he scratched up his feet, were something she couldn't handle. Not when there were no doctors. Its ironic, really, that the hospital would be the least safe place for a child.
Carolina steadied the gun in her hand, careful to check around corners as she entered rooms. A slight shuffle was hear in the exam from next to the one she was currently in. She'd race in there thinking it was him, but years of this sort of life reminded her that anything could be behind that door. Quietly she entered the exam room.
It was darker in this room and hard to see. It looked as though people tried to barricade themselves in the room. Desks that looked like they belonged in the office, had been move here. Blood stained them and many of them were knocked over or splintered. She sighed, seeing no signs of life though. It could have been a rat in the wall after all.
Except when she turned she caught a glimpse of two bright pink lights staring at her. She shook as she steadied her gun, aiming it directly at the lights.
"W-Wait! Don't shoot!" It was a voice of a small boy. Just a child. A blonde boy poked his head out from under a desk. Carolina didn't lower her gun. "I won't hurt you I swear!" The boy was pleading for his life and Carolina was...
Well she didn't know how to react. Not many of these things were made from children. She doubted it could be as dangerous as the adult ones.
"Raise your hands up and come out slowly." She demanded.
The boy did as he was told and now that there was a bit more light on him Carolina could see him a lot better. His hair was a honey blonde, and he looked as if to be nine or ten years old.
"Please don't shoot." The boy's bottom lip trembled and his legs were shaking with fear. She wasn't sure if this was a natural reaction of these... things. She nearly shot the wall when the boy lunged forward and hugged her legs.
"Let go or I'll shoot!"
The boy only tightened his grip and looked up at her. She wondered if this was his attempt to try and calm down the situation. If he intended to attack, he would have by now. Besides, she was pretty sure these things weren't dumb enough to attack someone who's armed and twice their size. She sighed and lowered her gun. "Please let go. I don't have time for this."
The boy nodded and let go once he was sure she wasn't going to attack. "I-I'm sorry I scared you. Delta told me to keep hidden until he came back."
That caught her attention. "There's more of you? Damn it!" Her yelling caused the boy to take a step back. "I need to get out of here."
"Theta? Who's this? Are you alright?" Carolina turned and aimed her gun at the new voice. It was a man, a foot taller than her with green glowing eyes and dark hair. He seemed much calmer than the boy did at the sight of the gun aimed at his face.
"Delta!" The boy, Theta, grinned and ran over to Delta before frowning at Carolina.
"Don't come any closer." She glared at the two. One she could handle, but two was too much, even with her gun. She couldn't be wasting her bullets in case "he" needed protection.
Delta raised his hands up in a defensive manner. "Please put the gun down. We have no reason to hurt you."
"Tell that to the corpses outside."
"We didn't do that! I promise!" Theta pouted. That look on his face nearly made her lower the gun.
"You'll have a much more difficult time if you fire that firearm. We aren't the only one's here and I assure you that help would be right around the corner if your weapon went off." Delta convinced her enough to lower the weapon and put it down on a desk.She kept her hand on the desk, making sure to be at grabbing distance of her weapon. "Now, mind explain what you are doing here? Aren't the living suppose to be moving to the next town over?"
"You know about that?" That shocked her. It definitely ruined the plans for anyone like her who was trying to get to safety.
"Its not hard to guess. There isn't many places here for anyone to hide."
She ignored the chill up her spine. "I don't need to explain why I'm here. Just let me go and there won't be any trouble."
"You're looking for something." Theta spoke up from his hiding spot behind Delta's legs. "That's what you were doing when you came in here. But you've never been here before."
Delta pieced the rest together. "You're looking for someone then. I doubt you'll find anyone here. As I've said we're not the only ones in here. Its very unlikely that your companion is still alive."
"Don't fucking say that!"
Theta flinched and Delta narrowed his eyes. There was a long silence after that out burst. Just a stare down between the woman and Delta.
Theta looked between the two before catching Carolina's gaze. "Is it someone important?"
She glared at Delta but finally sighed. "Yes. A boy, your height. Dark hair and green eyes. He's really loud so he wouldn't be hard to miss. I swear he wouldn't hurt anyone unless he had to." She was almost pleading with Delta. "I know he could still be alive here. I can't just leave him here. If there is any way you could tell the other's not to hurt him.."
"We don't keep in contact with much of the others. If we did, you would be dead by now. But there are two other's who are around here and we can warn them to keep an eye out." Delta's gaze softened a bit. "We have a better place for you to stay and we can look for the child on our way there. But we can't stay here. There's no doubt in my mind that your yelling attracted company."
Carolina was reluctant to leave, but eventually she agreed and grabbed her weapon, heading down the darkened halls of the old hospital. There was very little light besides that of the glowing eyes of her companions and the cracks in a few walls. It was hard for her to see her own hands and feet but thankfully the green and pink lights helped prevent her from tripping over debris. Eventually they reached an old surgery room. It was more bare that the other rooms, save for what couldn't be removed from the walls. This room had more light then the others.
Carolina froze at the door though as her eyes met the form of a woman glaring back at her and tall yet seemingly terrified man.
"What the hell is this, Delta? You're suppose to be looking after Theta." The woman shouted at Delta.
Theta grinned. "Its okay! She's a friend. She's just looking for someone." The trust this boy put in Carolina was too much to bear.
The woman got right in Carolina's face though. "What the hell is someone like you doing here?"
"You mean not killing you? I don't have the energy trying to purge every building your kind infested." Carolina snarled back at her.
"Tex please..." Theta tugged on the woman's hand. "She won't hurt us." It seemed to work, as Tex moved away.
"Who ever she's looking for, it'll have to wait. Simmons, watch her. I need to speak to Delta in private." Carolina really didn't like the tone of this woman.
Theta pulled Carolina over to greet the other man in the room. She assumed this was Simmons. His eyes were glowing a slight red. The glow was duller due to the lighting in the room. He was pale and freckled and looked pretty scared of the fact she was still carrying a gun on her.
"You're pretty lucky Sigma didn't find you first. You'd be dead in a heartbeat." The tall man mumbled. "Gun or not."
"Says the one hiding behind a child from it." Carolina watched the man become more nervous.
Carolina ignored the two after than and sat down on the far side of the room while Simmons and Theta whispered, probably about her. She didn't have time to wait, but with Tex and Delta right outside the door, she doubted she could get away. She had no idea if she could trust them but she had no choice on the matter.