Play@YSDC

Doctor Bernard Scott led Daniel Carter down the warm, sterilized corridor. The crisp white light flooded the corridor, seeming to kill every shadow and expose every surface. Daniel Carter's soft shoes rasped across the linoleum, nearly buried beneath the hustle and bustle of a public hospital. Patients wandered past. A pair of nurses stood by a corner, checking things off on a clipboard they both held, their heads ducked, their eyes seeming lost in their own little world.

The pain killers worked to suppress the pain he was in but every so often he'd feel a sharp spike in his belly. At least he had Bernard Scott as a doctor. He had worked at a private hospital that Daniel Carter had attended and the two had gotten on as well as a doctor and a client could. Doctor Bernard Scott was an extremely conscientious and clever man. Being in his astute care was worth suffering a public hospital. At least he had his own room.

There was a hospital bed in one of the corridors. A man writhed on the bed, his face twisted in pain, an arm hanging over the edge of the bed. Doctor Bernard Scott walked straight past him but as Daniel Carter started to go past, the man grabbed hold of his jacket sleeve. His eyes were small and black, like little marbles, the whites of his eyes were barely seen.

"Where are you going?" the man rasped. "Daddy?"

Daniel instinctively yanks his sleeve away and backs away from the man in revulsion.

He accelerates into a half jog to catch up with Doctor Scott, glancing back at the man, his forehead wrinkled in confusion at the patients outburst.

Doctor Bernard Scott turns and gives Daniel Carter a wink and a half-smile before jotting something down on his clipboard. "The man's obviously delirious." He walks backwards a few steps, then turns and throws open the door to his office. The doctor was always somewhat excitable but now he seems a little more manic then usual. He gestures to one of the smaller, less comfortable seats, then shuts the door and sits in his comfortable, black leather chair.

The room is chaos incarnate. Piles of paperwork are mounted precariously on filing cabinets and shelving. An eye chart partially covers the corkboard, obscuring several layers of notes, reminders, posters and flyers. The desk itself has coffee cups and folders teetering around the computer itself. A magazine appears to have been folded up and tucked between monitor and keyboard. Judging by what he can see of the cover, it appears to be some kind of medical journal. The heat in here is suffocating, the air stuffy, it doesn't seem to be circulating. In fact, the ventilation duct overheads appear to have been blocked with something that sticks within the grille squares.

"Not supposed to meet with patients much in here," says Doctor Scott. "However, we've known each other a long time, haven't we? So I thought I'd make an exception for you. What appears to be the problem, hmm?" Without waiting for an answer, he starts folding back pages on the clipboard and marking things off. Then he pauses, and looks at Daniel Carter. "Well, sir?"

"Its this bloody ulcer still." As if on cue Daniel is wrenched by a stabbing pain in his gut, curling him over and twisting his face in agony. "How am I supposed to work like this? I'm in the middle of the Monroe deal, I cant afford to be away like this. Isn't there anything more you can do? Those tablets do fuck all, to be frank."

Doctor Bernard Scott merely steeples his hands on the desk and smiles, then reaches down and pulls open the large, bottom drawer. Several large bottles of glue fill the drawer. He looks at them in confusion, then nudges the drawer shut. "I must remember to speak to the janitorial staff... My desk is not a place for their refuse." Then he turns his attention back to Daniel. "I'm so sorry about this. We've been rushed off of our feet all week. The Monroe deal, hmm? What did we talk about when it came to stress management? Often that can be just as good as medication. Have you been to that cognitive therapist I told you about?"

"There's no time for that," says Doctor Bernard Scott sadly, shaking his head.

"No time? I don't get it. What do you mean no time? Make the goddamn time" Daniel liked Doctor Scott but this conversation was getting him agitated. He started to continue but another stab from the ulcer cut him short.

"Attention emergency personnel," says an unfamiliar voice over the intercom. "An emergency situation has developed. Will everyone who is not otherwise occupied, please go down to Accident and Emergency. I repeat, an emergency situation has developed. Will everyone who is not otherwise occupied, please go down to Accident and Emergency."

"You might want to stay here," says Doctor Bernard Scott. "You wouldn't want to leave now. Not with your pain as it is. Why don't you spend the night?"

The pain has wearied Daniel, and he sighs in resignation, his face drawn as he anticpates another stabbing pain.

"Fine, I suppose. I'll wait here. Don't leave me here all boody day though."

Doctor Bernard Scott sits and smiles at him, his fingers steepled together.

Daniel looks at Doctor Scott in confusion.

"Don't you have to run off to A&E?"

"Sorry?" asks the doctor.

"The announcement - some sort of emergency. Maybe you need to get your ears checked, Doc!"

Daniel laughs to try to break the tension he is feeling.

"Oh yes, you're quite right," says the doctor, seeming to tremble for a moment. "Er... Have you noticed the weather, though? Seems like a storm is coming in. Quite a storm front... Have you checked the television in the past fifteen minutes?"

"The weather??!? Um, Doc, emergency, A&E, ring any bells?" Daniel says, gesturing to the door. Daniel noticed he had started perspiring - a combination of the stuffy air and an increasing sense of agitation and unease.

"Did you bring any food with you?" asks the doctor.

"Food?!? No. Listen doc, you want to slack off, that's fine by me, but I'm gonna get some air. If anyone asks I'll tell them I saw you rushing down to A&E. I've got calls to make, I'll check back with you later."

Daniel heads towards the door.

"Careful, Carter, if we don't operate soon, you'll die," says the doctor. When Daniel glances back from the closed door to the doctor, he sees Doctor Scott is clutching a small gun in his hand, his long finger wrapped almost daintily around the trigger. "But then, that'll hardly matter soon anyhow. I'm so sorry, Mr. Carter. I never meant it to come to this. None of us did. But here we are. Why don't you take a look out the window? I shut the blinds but I'm sure you could easily open it."

Daniel puts his hands up, because, well, that's what you do when someone points a gun at you, then lowers them again, palms down in a reassuring gesture. The stress of the docs job has clearly gotten to him, thinks Daniel. At least some of us have the decency to get ulcers rather than guns.

"Whoa there doc, calm down, calm down."

His eyes flick towards the door, wondering if he should just make a run for it, but a rumble from his ulcer makes him quickly abandon the thought. Seeing the doctors serious face, Daniel edges carefully towards the window and twists the thingumajig which opens the blinds.

A storm seems to be coming, blocking out the evening sun before it has a chance to fall, the dark clouds seeming almost like a wall, covering about a fifth of the horizon. Down in the car park below, are a myriad of old, rusted cars and a throng of injured people milling about, interspersed with medical staff. If there is something odd out there, Carter can't see it.

Daniel nods "Big storm coming. Okay doc where do we go from here?"

A bead of sweat forms on Daniels brow and drips down into his eye. He very slowly moves his hand up to wipe it away, careful not to make any sudden movements, but again his eyes flick towards the door, and for any makeshift weapons on the doctors desk.

The closest thing to a weapon on the doctor's desk is a large paperweight. It appears to be made of a chalky substance, however, embedded with sea shell fossils, and probably will not make a good weapon. Other then that, there's a monitor, several pens and dozens of sheafs of paper. On the filing cabinet behind the doctor, though, is a six inch metal spike, similar to what is used at a fish and chip shops, where peoples orders are stabbed into it on yellow pieces of paper.

"I don't mind shooting you," says Doctor Bernard Scott. "But I will give you a choice." He places a large syringe on the desk. "Trust me enough to inject yourself with this or choose the bullet. Your choice. However, I promise to put down the gun if you use the needle."

"Would everyone please remain where they are?" asks a calm voice over the intercom. "A chemical incident in London Central has caused massive storm clouds containing high quantities of dangerous substances. Could everyone please remain inside and, where possible, find a secure place to stay until the all-clear is called? Thank you and have a good day."

Feigning obediance, Daniel picks up the syringe and holds it up in front of him, peering intently at the liquid inside. With his other hand he quickly grabs a handful of papers and throws them up in the air in Doctor Scott's face. Hoping the brief smokescreen of paper will give him enough time, he bolts for the door!

Daniel hears the doctor cackle in response but no shot goes off. His hand reaches for the handle, grasps it, yanks it, and then he's out into a far more empty corridor then it had been previously. The man on the stretched who has grabbed him before is still there, however.

Still clutching the syringe, his heart threatening to beat its way out of his chest, sweat dripping from his brow, Daniel charges down the stairs, heading for the main exit. As he nears the bottom, another twang from his ulcer causes him to stumble and he grabs the handrail tightly. Surveying his surroundings, he looks around for someone, anyone, to warn them about the doctor.

A woman stands on the stairs, her young face beautific, her dress embedded in her charred flesh. She smiles sweetly, and gazes at him with loving blue eyes. She is cradling a baby to her chest, its flesh charred and blackened, seeming to have partially melted into her arms, pus has drooled down the baby's chin as it makes a soft, mewling noise.

"Don't you wonder what the ash is?" she asks. "Don't you wonder what it might do? I wonder if it will get you." Then her eyes glaze and she starts moving up the stairs as though to pass him by.

"WAIT - dont go up there! Let me find you a nurse."

Fearful of what Doctor Scott might do in his clearly deranged state, Daniel tries to stop the woman heading upstairs. His hands hover though, as he struggles to find somewhere to grab her that isnt burned. He slips the syringe into his jacket pocket, and frantically searches around for a member of staff.

She continues to move regardless of his actions. There is no one else on the stairs. "They are all going to die," she murmurs. "The cloud ... the cloud is coming. Do you know what the cloud is made of? I do. I saw. It isn't ... it isn't the cloud. We are the cloud."

Daniel is too stressed from his encounter with Doctor Scott to comprehend her words. His head spins.

"Cloud?... Um, what?.. Err. just wait there, let me find a nurse"

Not used to being out of control, Daniel still perspires despite having escaped the stuffy office. Is it hot in here or what, he thinks as he moves into the hospital lobby to see if there is anyone at reception.

The first floor is still swollen with patients, families and wannabe patients but it seems deserted of medical personnel, though even their numbers are greatly reduced. Nothing like a warning to stay indoors to have most people running for the hills. There is a mob of people standing around the reception desk, hiding any nurses who might be there from view. It's hard to hear what she's saying, if there is anyone there saying anything at all, over the multitude of voices that emanate from the several dozen people who press in against the desk.

Amid the throng of people, Daniel starts to feel a little more secure. His heart rate has slowed a little, though he is still on edge.

He looks in revulsion at the injuries of those around him. Craning his neck high to get his bearings he starts to press his way through the crowd. Unsure of the consequences of venturing outside, he vaguely forms a plan to find someone with some degree of authority to report his run in with Doctor Scott. Seeing a sign to some sort of enquiry office he heads across the lobby in that general direction.

(OOC: the title of this thread is wrong now. Should I move to the first floor thread, or do we need a new one?)

The enquiry office has been left open but there's no one inside. However, the telephone within is ringing steadily. In fact, it sounds like every telephone in the hospital has just started ringing.

The ringing phone reminds Daniel that he has his mobile. Finding a quiet spot under a "No Mobile Phones" sign, he dials Gemma's number, to make sure baby Hayley is alright.

"Oh, thank God, Daniel!" says Gemma's relieved voice, sounding happier to hear from him than she had in a long while. "I've been trying to reach pretty much everyone. No one in West London's answering. Please, tell me you know what's going on."

Daniel is also more relieved than he would like to admit to hear Gemma's voice.

"You would not believe the fucking day I am having. Doctor Scott has gone nuts - pulled a fucking GUN on me. Now I'm trapped in the hospital surrounded by burns victims with some acid rain cloud or something on the way. Other than that I'm fine. How's Hayley?"

"She's fine," says Gemma. "We were having a little party when the storm hit. She's got most of her friends over. I'm in the bedroom, don't want the children to hear all of this. Jane, Gary and Christine are here, too, with their children. The rest of their kids ... I can't reach their parents. It was Christine's idea to block up all of the cracks, tape them up, when we first heard the radio... My God, before it reached the radio, they were telling us all sorts of things but then the cloud hit and there was screaming. You wouldn't believe, I mean, they'd done what we had done but we were safe, are safe, aren't we? But they aren't. The children are so terrified. They want their parents."

There's a sound of her moving, pacing, then the sound of weight landing on something soft. Perhaps she's sitting down now?

"What am I going to do? I have seven children here and I don't know what to tell them."

(OOC: Hayley is a girl!)

"Just sit tight I'll see what I can find out, presuming I dont get shot. Whats this cloud business all about anyway? All I know is there are a whole lot of unhappy people here at the hospital. Its a madhouse. Just keep Hayley inside and I'll see if I cant find out whats going on."

Daniel looks around for a television. Surely there must be something on the News about this.

The only television set in the lobby displays pre-recorded messages that is currently showing the gentle exercises pregnant women are meant to do with giant, rubber balls.

Gemma sounds panicked, even as she lowers her voice. "Cloud? I don't know! Gas, something, it stripped the paint away. It's so dark outside, I can barely see. The lights were still on in here but we switched them off when we saw... I don't know what we saw. Outside, though, things, in the cloud. I think the dust or whatever I saw... I don't know. It's like it's night out there. We're using candles and torches. We've covered up all of the windows with curtains. Please, Daniel, don't go out there. It'll kill you."

"I won't. Listen, I'm gonna hang up before the batteries on the phone konk out. I'll call you again later. Just stay indoors and keep everyone together."

With that, Daniel decides to check the situation at the reception desk again, and try to push his way to the front.

"Would everyone please remain where they are?" asks a calm male voice over the intercom. "A chemical incident in London Central has caused massive storm clouds containing high quantities of dangerous substances. Could everyone please remain inside and, where possible, find a secure place to stay until the all-clear is called? Thank you and have a good day."

Some of the crowd begin to leave, others join the crowd, pressing forward, demanding answers. A few more leave. Daniel manages to sidestep and push forward, getting closer to the front.

"Look, I don't know what's going on," says the male nurse heading reception. "But there's no need to panic. We're in the safest place we can be right now. Just sit tight and everything will be fine."

Daniel grinds his teeth in frustration. How long was he going to be stick in this place? What was he supposed to do about Doctor Scott? The Monroe deal was in a very delicate position, he needed to get back to the office to make sure things were progressing.

Deciding to leave the stressed nurse to fend off the crowds, Daniel goes off in search of some food which wont set off his ulcer. It was going to be a long day.

As he sets off, he flips open his phone again and presses the speed dial to his secretary.

He gets the engaged signal. Unfortunately for Daniel, the cafe area they had been trying to build just outside the main hospital was being renovated so the only source of food other than hospital food was from the various vending machines. Salty chips and blocks of chocolate seemed the only recourse. Bottles of water were easily found, though.

Daniel buys a chocloate bar, but his ulcer complains at the mere thought. Grimacing through the pain, he is left standing aimless, dishevelled and irritated in the hospital lobby. Goddamn he hated being out of control.

The crowd begins to panic. Several individuals splinter off and head for the doors. Some head for the stairs, pushing past people coming down the stairs. The hospital appears to be in flux as the chemical crysis finally sinks into people's heads. A few patients carrying IV tubes amble past, heading for the hotel car park. The chaos begins just as Daniel decides not to buy eat any confectionary from the vending machine. The flow of patients and staff force him up against the wall. A terrible humming sound can be heard in the distance.

Daniel ducks to the side of the vending machine to avoid the crush. What the fuck is going on? Determined to remain calm, he scans the crowds for people who look to be in control of themselves.

Everyone seems to be on the verge of panic, though they control themselves enough to not hurt anyone. He can overhear them talking amongst themselves.

"My children! I've got to get home."

"Gotta get out of London."

"Stay? I refuse!"

"What's the cloud coming, mummy?"

"We gotta get away."

"Get outta my way!"

"Gotta get out of here" Daniel thinks, and pushes through the sea of panicked faces towards the stairs. Hoping to avoid the crazy Doctor, he bounds up the stairs, aiming for the higher floors so he can see whats going on in the streets.

The stairs are filled with panicked people rushing down to the first floor so that they can get out. The ramp, on the other hand, is far more quiet. He can see that the second floor is fairly empty although the third floor is a bit more bustling with confused patients. It seems even quiet upstairs.

What floor does he get out on?

Daniel goes as high as he can get (without going into staff only areas) to get the best view of the city he can manage.

The fifth floor balconies are accessible through one of the wards and he does so, passing the sleeping woman on the hospital bed. Directly in front of him he can see the curve of a black fog arching out until it fills half the horizon. Looking left, he sees that the cloud is not particularly far away at all. It has already reached part of the rear carpark.

The adrenalin of the run in with Doctor Scott starts to wear off. Combined with the despair of the current situation, Daniel falls to his knees. Slumped against the wall, he buries his face in his hands.

His attention is caught by the screams. At first of the panic but then they twist and contort, becoming agonist, terrified, desperate. He can hear them coming mainly from downstairs. Looking up instinctively, he sees that the floor he is on has largely been vacated. Only a few others remain and even they are quickly heading down the stairs. The screaming seems to be coming closer. He can see through the large window, the venetian blinds before it having been left open by others, that the dark cloud has covered the distance, though it appears to end shortly beneath this floor.

Daniel is overcome by a need for human contact. He wanders the fifth floor aimlesssly for someone who looks more in control of themselves than he feels.

There seems to be no one here. However, a few of the doors are locked. Perhaps there is someone inside one of those?

Daniel knocks loudly on one of the locked doors. "HELLO? ANYONE IN THERE?"

A male voice can be heard from the other side of the door. "Jesus!... Yes! Yes, I'm here! Jill, is that you? Can you open the door?"

"Umm.. no.. here, wait, stand back from the door"... Daniel takes a step back and pauses before charging at the door with his shoulder. He'd seen it done in the movies a hundred times... how hard could it be?

The door withstands the blow, bruising his upper arm. Then as he regains his composure, the door knob turns and it glides open. The floor grows substantially darker and colder, motes of ash floating on the nonexistent breeze, smears of grime forming gory patterns across the linoleum. The overhead lights flicker and go out as corroded metal blooms into rusting flowers across the edges of flueorescent lights, steel door handles and vending machines. The paint peels, the colours fade, and he feels a sudden bout of nauseas hit him, causing him to nearly double over. The world splits in two, each perspective spinning rapidly out of control.

A little girl who is also an old woman and a young maiden and a pregnant man stands before him on the twisted remains of hundreds of nurses, dressed in differently coloured and made uniforms. She flickers, her arm raising, his finger pointing, the pain in Daniel's belly intensifying.

And then he is on the floor in a puddle that tastes of rust, staring at the faded walls, but without the corpses littering his sight. The windows, the venetian blinds popped open, reveal only darkness outside unbroken by any light source. The fluorescent bulbs overhead remain on.

Daniel gasps for breath. He skitters and slides in the puddle as he staggers to his feet. His mind full of fear he runs wild haired towards the door.

The door opens into a clean, well-lit office. A man stands at the threshold, regarding the terrible scene before him.

Aidan blinks several times, finally starting to get some sense of the situation. He braces himself against the wall with his hand, his knees shakey from the shock. He can't even look at the carnage outside of the office, let alone the man standing amongst it, he looks somewhere, anywhere in the office, wiping the vomit from his face with the sleeve of his jacket.

"This is really happening, isn't it?" He asks in a weak, powerless voice.

Daniel leaps towards the man, grabs him by the lapels and shouts "WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON HERE?!?!". Then, overcome, he collapses to the floor clasping at his stomach.

Aidan shuts the door behind the distraught man. He covers his eyes with his hands and leans his forehead against the closed door so he can sob pitifully.

How could something like this happen?

Daniel sees that the administrator's office was cramped and unappealing. It seemed that space was a necessity in this hospital so much so that even the high-ranking staff couldn't have any room to breathe. The office was decorated lushly, however, as though to make up for the space restraints. The large, unweildy desk was made of mahogany, the computer and printer appeared powerful.

The bookcases and filing cabinets all seem to be state-of-the-art. Even the telephone seems pricey. Unfortunately, the effect of all the classy and expensive furniture was merely to make the place feel smaller. The venetian blinds are drawn, a book case before them, but even so, it is easy to tell that it is dark outside.

The portrait of a smiling man against a backdrop of dark and shadowy figures seems to mock him from its position on the right hand wall. The figure is obviously a few decades old and that just seems to add to his condescending attitude. It seems there's no hiding from Dr. Dullard's ostentatious desires...

The door buckles as something rushes into it.

Aidan drops to the floor, expecting the door to come crashing in. He covers his head and cowers on the ground, hoping that whatever's happening now it's going to be better than anything else that's happened so far.

The crash at the door brings Daniel to his senses. "Quick, grab the other end" he urges the other man as he starts to lug the heavy desk across the room to barricade the door.

Aidan does as he's told. This man's been out there, he probably knows the situation better. Clumsily he gets up and tries to push the door with what little might he can manage. As he's doing so, a thought occurs to him.

Could it be the nurse?

"Jill!" He calls out. "Jill! Is that you?"

A bizarre wail is his only response. The voice starts off sounding human but continues to rise in pitch until it is just below the upper limit of what humans are capable of hearing.

Aidan doesn't need any more of a reply. He puts all his strength into pushing the desk, wanting to make damn sure that whatever's making that noise can't get in.

http://www.fileden.com/files/2007/3/30/ ... 0Ghost.mp3

The wood splinters again, revealing sharpened steel and the rough sound of masculine laughter.

Looks like your link got cut off, I can't download the file.

"Jesus!" Exclaims Aidan, doing all in his ability to barricade the door.

What's going on? Riots? A terrorist attack?

"Who are they?" He begs to know. He thinks about the carnage outside the door and wonders if this might be the work of the attackers, if he will be next?

Desperately pushing the desk as hard as he can against the door, Daniel attempts to put into words his experiences of the day so far. What spews out of his mouth is less than coherant though "Place has gone mad ... doctor tried to kill me if I didnt inject myself ... maybe he injected me? ... is this real... might be a hallucination... some dark cloud over the city - might be a chemical spill or something..." - he is clearly trying to rationalise what has happened to him and coming up short.

"um.. Daniel.. just um here with a stomach ulcer" he adds weakly, realising the man in the room is probably petrified by his behaviour.

The light goes out. The hammering at the door stops. It is immensely cold and a strong wind blows.

Aidan collapses unto the floor, the sweat of exertion pouring down his forehead and the sweat of terror most everywhere else. Panting heavily, he assumes the danger is over and finally manages to address the other man's introduction.

"Aidan... *Pant* ... Child Protective Services... So *pant* what the hell is going on? Is all this... 'cause of the chemical spill?"

He opens up his cellphone, trying to use the screen backlighting as a flashlight to get an idea of what happened to the light.

Aidan, return to your old thread.

Daniel hears a voice come over the intercom: "Attention everyone! The water supply is contaminated. Do not drink or even touch tap water, or any standing water you come across. Use only water in bottles or other sealed containers. Do not go outside under any circumstances, and avoid all exits or places that are otherwise exposed to the outside. It is extremely dangerous out there, and there are small parasitical organisms that attack people and burrow into their flesh. Once that happens, they are transformed into something no longer human. These creatures are alive and have a pulse, and their mouths are full of fleshy fungal material. They will attempt to seize their victims and lock their mouths over the victims' mouths. If they succeed, the victim is rendered paralysed and helpless, and they will then try to force the fungus down the victims' throats. Keep your distance from them at all costs, and keep your mouths covered at all times! A surgical mask will work, but the fungus will eventually rip through it. Two masks will last longer. Towels could also be used. Do not go anywhere alone if at all possible. If you fall prey to one of these creatures, you will need someone else to get it off of you.

She takes a deep breath and then continues: "There are other strange creatures and phenomena as well. The dark cloud that has covered the hospital is raining down a strange black ash. Its effects are unknown, but you should minimize your exposure to it. It can be wiped off with moist towelettes, but again make sure that you do not use tap water. Metal objects have rusted due to the arrival of this cloud, and have apparently aged decades in rather short order. You may notice that your sense of time is distorted, and people may seem to vanish. You may also see apparitions or hear voices of people you know. On the second floor there was an unknown creature that produced a whistling sound. If it approaches you, run. It is possible to outrun and escape from it. This is Nurse Sarah Carpenter. Stay safe, everyone."