Better off dead

Chapter 02: Days gone by pt 2

Rick sees Shane in the hospital "Hey, bud... We're still here. We're still hanging in. Look, I'm sorry, man. I mean you're watching the same crap every time I come in here. Everybody pitched in on these. They uh... They wanted me to bring them down, they send their love and they just... They hope you come back real soon. Linda and Diane from dispatch, they picked these out. You probably could tell, hmm? I'll just set this on your side table, ok?" Shane sits them on the drawer next to the bed.

When he goes out of sight, Rick blinks then lets out a raspy laugh "That vase has something special. Fess up. Did you steal it from your Grandma Gene's house? I hope you left her that spoon collection. Shane? Shane, you in the john?" He looks over on the table and sees that the flowers are dead and dried out. He pulls one off and it falls apart in his hands. Over on the wall, the clock has stopped at 2:16. Rick is confused and he decides to get out of the bed. He is very weak from not having any food or water as well as his injury. He falls out of the bed and onto the floor.

"Nurse, help! Nurse! Help!" Rick calls for the nurse, but nobody answers. Rick gets up on his own and heads into the bathroom. He gets the water running and takes a long drink. Rick leaves his room and finds that the lights are flickering in the hallways. There are several overturned beds and papers laying everywhere. Rick shuffles down the hallways. He starts checking out the rooms and comes across one where a blonde haired girl about 17 years old is laying unconscious.

Rick walks over and gently tries to wake her up. Her eyes flickered before finally opening revealing golden hazel eyes. She's sees Rick and starts panicking and scrambles off the bed "W-who are you? Where am I?" The girl's voice is raspy from dehydration and lack of use. Rick holds his hands up and says "Hey, it's okay, I'm a police officer, my name is Rick" the girl slowly calms down and looks a Rick warily "We're inside a hospital. Can you tell me your name? Do you know how you got here?" He asks.

The girl looks at the ground in concentration "I-I don't remember anything..." Rick frowns and asks "What about your name?" She starts rapidly shaking her head "No, no, nothing....why can't I remember?!" Rick limps over to the other side of the bed and kneels down next to her "Hey, it's okay we'll figure all of this out, but we need to take baby steps, alright?"

The girl looks up at Rick and makes eye contact with him. Her mind imprinting on this man and telling her that she can trust him. She slowly nods and Rick smiles "Atta girl! C'mon let's go" Rick and the girl walk out. The girl mostly staying close to Rick as they walk down the hall.

They come to a desk and picks up the phone, but he is unable to get a dial tone. He continues to walk down the dark hallway and looks through a door. On the other side on the floor is a dead woman that is missing her abdomen and her entrails are hanging out of her stomach. Disgusted and horrified, Rick continues down turns away. Meanwhile the girl looks in one of the bins, on the desk and finds a pack of matches. She picks it up and lights one to make sure it works. She turns around and says "I found some matches...what's wrong?"

Rick forces a smile and says "Nothing! Good job, let's find an exit" he walks over and pulls her away from the door. The girl looks back and thinks 'Why does this hospital reek of death and decay?'

They see bullet holes and blood stains on the walls and walks toward a door that says, Don't open, Dead Inside When they approach it, the door starts to push open but the lock and board that was placed on it prevents it from opening. Hands that look pale and dirty reach out to try to get at Rick and the girl, but Rick runs away from it dragging the stunned girl with him. He tries to get inside the elevator, but it isn't working. He runs into the stairwell, but it is dark inside. He takes the matches from the girl, and lights several matches and walks down.