Fifth Floor, Administration Office

[Laraqua]

The telephone rings.

[TheKingInYellow]

The sudden noise sends Aidan diving to the ground with an unheroic yelp of fear. Once he regains his senses and realizes that he's just commited an act of absolute cowardness he rises to his feet, trying to have the good spirit to laugh at himself, though he can only manage a forced chuckle. He picks up the telephone. "Hello?"

[Laraqua]

The line goes dead.

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

[TheKingInYellow]

Aidan nearly jumps again. "Jesus!... Yes! Yes, I'm here! Jill, is that you? Can you open the door?"

He moves to the door and tries to open it.

[Laraqua]

The door opens with a smooth click, revealing only darkness and ash that swirled about from the floor to ceiling. There is a space of warmth by the door and the sound of breathing as though someone still stood there.

[TheKingInYellow]

Aidan looks at the doorway in perplexion. Is there a fire? Wouldn't the alarm have gone off? Someone must have let me and out and run... Right?

Timidly, Aidan calls out in the reception room. "He... Hello?"

[Laraqua]

The floor is littered with dirt, clots of blood and chunks of hair and flesh. Amongst it all are pieces of charred clothing, gold teeth, metal plates, spilled handbags and dropped suitcases. The mess is moving, writhing, and he realises that there are bodies still there, twisted and melted together into the floor. The scent of blood and rot, burnt meat and hospital disinfectant mingle to irritate his nostrils.

[TheKingInYellow]

For a brief moment, Aidan's brain can't make sense of what he sees and he can't recognize anything, but quickly the grizly nature of the scene can't be denied, no matter how much it wants to.

Aidan throws up from his sitting position, too stunned to even move, letting the vomit fall in his lap and roll over his chin. He stares blankly at the mess, not even able to formally cogitate enough thought to form a real reaction to what lies in front of him.

[Laraqua]

Move to Daniel, Main Area, Fifth Floor Thread. Read the last three posts to get an idea about what is happening.

[Laraqua]

Aidan finds himself alone in the administrator's office, dark and dank, with moist walls that seem to be sweating rusty water. The book cases are covered in fungus, the books collapsed into slush upon the shelves. The computer is covered with a black fungal bloom that seems almost to be a jelly-like substance.

[TheKingInYellow]

"Alone... Again?" Aidan wonders outloud, hoping someone might contradict him.

He stands up, unsure of what to do or where to go from here, not even sure if he's in the same room anymore.

"Perhaps... I'm hallucinating? Maybe the chemical spill got me all drugged up and this is just a psychotomimetic trip?"

He ponders on the idea for a moment.

"Or perhaps I'm standing in the middle of human gore and I'm going to die...", he remarks sarcastically. Unfortunately the latter seems more likely at the moment.

"All right, Aidan. Steel yourself, you have more important priorities. Sean could very well be in danger... After all, it's your job to protect him. I need to get to the Children's Ward." It's a paper thin justification to take action and he knows it, but he needs any courage he can manage to stop himself from weeping.

Timidly, he checks the door, seeing if the brutal carnage still lays beyond it.

[Laraqua]

The ashen main area is smeared with dirt and water. There is no one out there. No gore. Just a hospital, disrepaired with peeling paint and aging doors. It seems more like an abandoned hospital, ready to be torn down, then anything else.

[TheKingInYellow]

Aidan isn't entirely sure that he's anymore comforted by the lack of corpses than he would be by their presence. If anything, he feels like he would appreciate some consistency at this point.

Nervously, he scouts out the hallway outside the door, vigilantly scanning the floors for corpses which he's sure must be somewhere, though he won't be any happier if he finds them. Pending that the way is clear, he starts towards the lift, but reconsiders.

Use stairs in case of emergency.

He turns around and heads for the stairwell.

[Laraqua]

A somewhat familiar but unknown voice comes 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."

The stairwell is extremely dark ending in complete darkness. Without a light source, he might trip and break his neck.

[TheKingInYellow]

Aidan blinks several times at the announcement. "Now surely that can't be right."

Still, a surgical mask would make him feel more comfortable and it doesn't seem likely that the backlight on his cellphone will work as a suitable flashlight. He recalls seeing the training room somewhere on this floor, that seems like a good place to start. Cautiously, moves away from the stairs to look for it.

"Strange creatures... Nonsense, right?"

[Laraqua]

The training room is lined with shelving and medical charts dimly lit from the light of the Administration Office. There is a pulpit at the very other end, along with a few machines such as overhead projectors. There are several rows of seats. Several people still sit in those rows, as though waiting for someone.

[TheKingInYellow]

Spotting the waiting individuals startles Aidan and he hides around the other side of the door threshold. He barely has time to reprimand himself for being unreasonable for being afraid of other hospital patrons before he can remind himself that all of his silly fears have mostly been validated so far.

He carefully tries to sneak back to the administration office, his small feet seeming to make more noise than they would have had he not tried to sneak.

[Laraqua]

The individuals are unmoving as he moves back into the corridor, making his way to the Administration Office.

[TheKingInYellow]

Aidan is initially relieved that nobody moves, but finds that, in reality, it's rather unsettling.

"Damnit, this is a hospital, it shouldn't be difficult to find a surgical mask, or even a flashlight, really."

Returning to the Administrative Office door, Aidan starts moving to the left to the next office, using his cellphone screen for minimal illumination to read the office names. Finding the Accounting Office next, he tries the door, though it doesn't seem like the nominal place to find anything of use.

[Laraqua]

The door opens halfway before stopping, banging against a broken computer monitor. The room is in shambles. Books and files picked up and tossed about and littered with ash. The window is broken, unleashing a large amount of ash that blows alternately in and out of the room. Gouged into the desk with a fire axe that sits still half-within the wood are the words: "Oh God, it hu"