Chapter 6 - MALPRACTICE
“Drop it!” the officer commanded once more.
Abla looked at Nikolai, silently pleading with him to do as they said.
“How will I know you won’t kill us once I do?” asked Nikolai, still holding on to the cleaver.
The older man narrowed his eyes and his gaze felt like a barrage of daggers. His irises were a pale blue, almost gray and his well styled hair and manicured beard were a stark white. His skin was tanned and wrinkled, probably after many years out on the sea. Despite his age the officer looked like he could easily crush a man’s skull with his bare hand, so large and muscular was he.
While the soldiers wore the typical uniform of the imperial infantry, dark blue coat with golden details and dark gray pants with knee high leather boots, the officer wore a much more elaborate uniform. His coat, although the same color as the soldiers, had its front lined with two rows of golden buttons and his shoulders were draped with ornate pads that seemed to denote a rank but neither Alba nor Nikolai were familiar with what it might be.
“If we wanted to kill you we would’ve done so already. Now put the weapon down so that we can tend to your wounds.”
The two of them were confused at first, as their wounds had mostly scabbed and closed at this point. But then they realized they were both absolutely covered in blood.
Alba gently grabbed his wrist and pleaded silently with her eyes once more.
Nikolai looked at her and then at the officer and his heavily armed soldiers.
“Alright.” he said as he slowly placed the cleaver on the floor along with the bag containing the bloodshot and vials.
Once he was upright again the soldiers wasted no time. One moved in to remove the cleaver and bag while the others quickly stepped forward to lead the two of them somewhere else.
“Wait! Where are you taking us?!” Nikolai exclaimed as he watched in terror as the front door, which had been so tantalizingly close, moved further and further away.
While the main hall of the North Wing had been retrofitted as a make-shift barracks, with soldiers maintaining barricades and issuing ammo and rifles to their comrades, the offices they were led into had been refitted into an infirmary.
Everywhere they looked were wounded soldiers, patients and staff, each of them wrapped poorly with gauze and bandages while they writhed and moaned in pain. At a quick glance the two of them spotted only about three doctors tending to the patients as they were led through this slaughterhouse. A few patients had simply been left lying on the floor, unattended and bleeding out slowly.
The two of them were quickly brought into a room that had once served as someone’s office but had now been cleared of all furniture save for a bookcase and four chairs. The soldiers ushered them in then forced them to sit down on the chairs.
“Stay here.” said one of them as they quickly began departing the room.
“Wait, are we just supposed to sit here while…” said Nikolai as he got up from the chair.
The soldiers stopped and one of them raised his weapon, aiming it at Nikolai’s head.
“Sit…down…I won’t tell you again.”
The barrel of his rifle trembled and their eyes kept darting between the two of them. They were afraid of them.
Alba reached over and pulled Nikolai back, making him sit back down once more.
“Stay there and don’t move.” said the soldier as they backed up out of the room.
They left the door open but also stationed one of theirs as a guard in front of it.
As the two observed the horrid conditions of the survivors outside their rooms they could see how the handful remaining doctors barely spent any effort bandaging their wounds and even left them to bleed out. The floors and walls were stained with blood and filth and the stench of death seemed to permeate this entire wing.
“We need to get out of here.” whispered Nikolai as he leaned over to Alba.
Alba’s eyes were fixed on one orderly who looked vaguely family. He was tall and lanky with a receding hairline and pasty skin. But his familiarity wasn’t what affixed her eyes. It was the fact that he kept stealing glances at her. There was something incredibly uncomfortable about it.
“Why? Do you think they know what we are?” she replied.
“Probably. But it’s the smell that worries me more. It’s gonna draw more of those things to us.”
It was now that Alba paid attention to the overwhelming smell of death and viscera. She locked eyes with him for a moment, both silently agreeing that they needed to find some way of escaping.
But then, suddenly, the older officer entered the room with a soldier and a doctor.
“Dr Klein if you’d please.” said the officer.
The doctor, a short man with a round, bespeckled face, skittered in almost like some vermin who wanted nothing more than to avoid being seen. His glasses made his eyes look huge and his thick curly hair hinted at the intense upkeep it required.
Dr Klein timidly approached the two of them to do a closer inspection of them. He only looked at Alba for a fraction of a second before nodding.
“Oh yeah, she’s one of Dr Brimwall’s patients.”
He then turned to Nikolai and peered his eyes as he inspected the boy, not like a person, but the way one inspects property. He opened his mouth and inspected his teeth and then took a close look at his eyes.
“He’s also one of the successful warlings. He’s got the signature red in his eyes. Don’t know who’s he is though.”
The officer nodded and stepped aside. The doctor hesitantly evacuated the room. The officer observed the two warlings, while towering over them.
“My name is General Stockton.” he proclaimed. “And you will tell me what staff, if any, you’ve encountered, if they’re alive and where to find them.”
Alba looked confused. “What about the other patients?”
Stockton turned his piercing gaze towards her.
“I am not here to secure the safety of patients. Those important to the project will be saved, if we are able, but our priority is to ensure the staff is secured and extracted.”
“But we’re people too!” Alba proclaimed defiantly.
Nikolai grabbed her hand, as if to silence her. But just when he did, Stockton swung one meaty arm and smacked Alba in the face. The force felt so great she was sure he had knocked a tooth loose or possibly even cracked her skull. The pain was immense, the shame was worse, but worst of all was the anger that filled her heart.
“The nobility come first.” General Stockton continued. “Patients are expendable. Tainted patients, like you warlings, will only be spared should they be important to the project. So I’ll ask again; what staff have you encountered, what is their status and where can we find them?”
Alba was still frozen in disbelief after being slapped so Nikolai chimed in.
“We found a doctor on the third floor of the East Wing. Ingmar…something. He was dead.”
Stockton furrowed his heavy brow. “That wasn’t so difficult, now was it? Things always go smoothly when you and your kind know your place. Anyone else?”
The anger within Alba felt like a firestorm begging to be released. It pulsed through her synapses, urging her to once again feast on blood, his blood specifically.
“Mama Brutus…” said Alba, not looking at Stockton. “We met Mama Brutus. But she’s gone insane. She’s become a monster, just like the rest.”
Stockton sighed in frustration. “I warned them about this. This is what filth like you do. You corrupt all around you. But have no fear. The Holy Trinity will purge you of your sins soon.”
Both Alba and Nikolai knew what that meant. It meant General Stockton was a member of the church and most likely highly connected to Fellhaven’s elite. But it also meant he was a fanatic and that frightened them much, much more. The anger Alba felt rapidly subsided, replaced almost entirely by fear. Most of the street kids had heard horrific rumors about members of the church either sacrificing urchins like them to their strange gods or leveraging their power to even further disadvantage people like them.
Neither of them offered any rebuttal.
General Stockton tilted his head to stretch neck, as if to prepare himself to issue another beating.
“What of Dr Brimwall? Have either of you seen him?”
The two warlings, avoiding his gaze, simply shook their heads in unison.
Stockton scoffed. “Some use you are.”
He then spun around and left the room.
As he exited another soldier ran up to report to the aged officer.
“Sir, we’ve lost two more soldiers trying to retake the courtyard.”
“What?!”
Both Alba and Nikolai flinched at his anger.
“How hard is it to retake it from a handful of deranged patients?” Stockton spat out.
“But, sir, our guns don’t do anything but slow them down. We keep unloading bullets into them and they just keep getting up.”
Stockton grunted, although it sounded more like a growl, before slowly turning to the two of them.
“Perhaps we’ll put the warlings to work. Make them clean up their own mess.”
The general grinned before walking out of view. The soldier guarding their room slowly relaxed after his commanding officer was no longer there.
Alba leaned over to whisper to her companion. “These things can’t be killed?”
“They can. At least with a carrion weapon.” Nikolai replied.
“What’s the matter with these people?” Alba hissed in quiet panic. “How can they treat us like this?”
“Because we’re not humans, we’re not people. Not to them.”
“We need to get out of here.”
Nikolai nodded but there was worry in his eyes.
“We can make it.” she continued. “We’re gonna get out of here alive.”
“I’m…” he started but his voice faltered. “I’m not worried about us. I’m worried about mama. She’s too sick to take care of herself…and we’ve been here for a year and a half.”
The worry in his eyes gave way to guilt and fear.
“Did she have anyone else around who could’ve taken care of her while…?” but she trailed off.
Nikolai slowly shook his head.
Alba leaned closer and put a hand on his shoulder.
“I’m sure she’s fine. We’re gonna get back to Fellhaven and find her, alright?”
Nikolai nodded.
“The front door is so close. If we can get out of here and find my things we just might make it.”
“We can’t leave yet.” said Alba defiantly.
“Why?”
“I’m not leaving Luna.”
Luna sat huddled in a room with a dead monster. She panted and breathed heavily, fresh blood still covering her face and clothes. She licked it and felt her heart beat faster as she did.
Acting on some primal instinct she ran her fingers across the floor, smearing the blood into shapes, like she was drawing something. In her frenzied state she had no logical or creative thought in her head and yet her hands moved in very specific patterns, almost like she was guided by something.
Soon she pulled her hand back and stared at the strange spiral pattern she had panted on the floor before her.
She had no inkling of why she had done this or what it was supposed to be. It just felt…right.
“She might be too far gone.” Nikolai explained.
“I don’t care. I’m not leaving without my sister.” said Abla.
Nikolai had only ever seen Alba as a timid girl, one who’d use her words before resorting to fists, if ever resorting to fists. She had been very brave when venturing to get the security keys but she’d almost died too. While Luna was someone who could clearly handle themselves in a fight, Nikolai had only ever seen Alba as someone who needed to be rescued.
But now, he saw fire and determination in her eyes. There was fear in there as well but it was subdued.
He sighed.
“Alright, fine. But we’re gonna have to find her first and that means going back to the East Wing. And even if we find her, she might not recognize us.”
“What do you mean?” asked Alba.
“You saw what happened to her. She gave into her bloodlust. She might have gone completely mad, given into the frenzy forever. If that’s the case, she might even kill you.”
Alba furrowed her tiny brows furiously. Like a rock that refused to budge she stood her ground stubbornly.
“I’ll be able to reach out to her. She won’t hurt me.”
“You sure about that?” asked Nikolai.
There was doubt in her mind, but she refused to admit it.
Nikolai shook his head.
“Maybe, if we manage to escape and get my things, we might be able to swipe some ether on our way out.”
“What’s that?”
“Some sort of drug. It can put you to sleep. We might be able to use it against her. Maybe that will put her frenzy to sleep and…”
Suddenly, they realized they weren’t alone in the room.
Turning to look at the door, they no longer saw the soldier guarding it. Instead they saw the orderly who had been eyeing Alba earlier.
“Who are you?” asked Nikolai, instinctively easing into a defensive stance as he sat on his chair.
“Where did the soldier go?”
The orderly shrugged.
“Somewhere. I paid him to take a break.” said the orderly as he slowly walked into the room.
On his nametag the two warlings could see the words ‘Mr Prim’ stenciled.
“You don’t remember me, do you?” said Mr Prim.
He didn’t regard Nikolai at all. He only stared at Alba.
“No.” said Alba while putting on a mean face. She didn’t like how he was looking at her. “Should I?”
“Maybe not, but he should.” said Mr Prim, looking at Nikolai. “Young mister Nikolai helped us root out quite a bit of troublemakers like yourself before everything went to shit.”
Alba looked at Nikolai who averted his gaze. She found this claim hard to believe at first but seeing the look of guilt on Nikolai’s face now, all but confirmed it.
“You yourself gave me quite a bit of trouble, multiple times. Had to put you in your place a few times, as Mama Brutus would say.”
Mr Prim slowly pushed the door so that it was almost closed.
“What do you want?” asked Nikolai, knowing the answer.
“Just to set things straight.” said Mr Prim, before showing them a scarred claw mark running down his arm. “You did this to me, and I can’t let you just get away with it. Patient’s can’t be allowed to get away with such infractions. They must be made examples of.”
Rain pattered outside the broken windows. Distant screams and growls through the derelict and darkened halls. And various terrors began converging on the North Wing, drawn by the scent of blood and death.
