Extinction

Chapter Seven: Claire

I woke up. Something wasn't right though. I was still in the hospital, I was still in the room I was in, but Claire wasn't with me and neither the doctor nor the nurse was nowhere to be found. Also, it was pitch black in the room, save for a flickering lingering in the corner. My stomach sank. I had to get out of the room and try to find Claire.

I hopped off the bed and opened the door, only to find that the entire hospital was darkened except for a few lights that were flickering here and there. Making my way throughout a hospital I didn't really know, in the dark, was going to be fucking great.

I slowly walked through the hospital, looking around to see if I could find Claire, my doctor or nurse or anyone. But nothing. Nobody was around. It was as if the entire hospital was abandoned. And it wouldn't surprise me if it was. I mean, the whole area I was I'm was completely dark. Who knows about the rest of the hospital.

I eventually made my way to what seemed to be the cafeteria, still not seeing anybody. It was strange. At this point I should have seen someone. Anyone. But no. Nothing. Nobody. It was depressing. I left the cafeteria in search of another place. I came across a chapel. I sat in one of the pews and I started to pray.

I wasn't really religious, but I felt the need to pray at this point.

"To anyone who may be listening. I'm afraid. I'm really afraid. I don't know where Claire is, I don't know where my doctor is or my nurse. I don't know where anyone is. and I don't know what to do. Can someone give me a sign, please? I'm begging you. I need to see someone, preferably Claire, to know I'm not alone. To know I'm not crazy."

I waited. But nothing happened. I sighed and I stood from the pew. I left the chapel and made my way through the hospital, wishing that somebody would show up soon. I turned a corner and saw a flash of red go around around another corner.

'Claire's hair!' I thought with an inward cheer. I ran after her.

I turned the corner that she had just went around and slid to a halt. What was now in front of me wasn't my best friend. No, it was something pretending to be her. A wolf in sheep's clothing, per say.

The zombie slowly turned to face me and the Clair look-a-like raised a rotten hand at me, pointing one of its decaying fingers towards me. It opened its mouth and began to speak, which I didn't know zombies could do. Its speech was slow and garbled, but I could understand it. "This.... Is.... All.... Your.... Fault.... Quinn...."

"What... Are you talking about?" I whispered, stepping away from the Claire look-a-like, but I was beginning to think that this was her.

"If.... It.... Wasn't.... For.... You.... I.... Wouldn't.... Be.... A.... Zombie...."

"What are you talking about?!"

"I... Always... Followed.... You.... Around.... And.... Now.... Because.... Of.... You.... I'm.... This.... Monster...."

This.... Was Claire. "I'm so sorry, Claire...."

"Sorry.... Doesn't.... Cut.... It!" She ran at me, her arms outstretched.

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I woke up with a start. My surgery was over and I had an IV drip in my arm to make sure I didn't dehydrate I guess.

"You okay, Quinn?"

I looked over at Claire, my eyes wide. She was her normal Claire self, not the zombie in my nightmare, that I didn't even realize was a nightmare. "Oh, thank god." I whispered.

She rose an eyebrow at me. "Are you okay?"

"I.... I will be. I just had a horrible nightmare when I was out...."

"What happened in it for you to be this freaked out, Quinn?"

I explained to Claire about what happened. About her being a zombie and her blaming me for it.

"That would never happen," she reassured me, "Even if I did get turned into a zombie, I would never blame you for it."

That made me feel a bit better, but I still felt guilty. The way nightmare Claire made me feel was just something I wouldn't be able to shake so easily.

Thankfully, before the conversation could continue, my doctor came in. "Oh, you're awake, Quinn."

"Yeah, I just woke up," I told him. It was a bit of a lie, but he didn't need to know that.

"How do you feel?"

I shrugged a bit. "Kinda worn out."

Doctor Bartoli nodded. "Yes, that will happen after a procedure like yours. You should go home and get some rest. Do you need a doctor's note for school?"

I nodded and said, "I would appreciate that."

The doctor left the room and the nurse popped in shortly thereafter. "Oh, I'm so glad you're awake. Do you get to go home now?"

"I believe so." I said with a nod, "He's getting me a doctor's note for school to excuse me for today."

"Do you want me to see if you can leave? And if so, if I can take out your IV?"

"That would be great," I smiled at her.

She smiled back at me and left the room only to come back a few minutes later, an even bigger smile on her face. "I get to take your IV out and once you get your doctor's note, you get to go home."

I had noticed she had some gauze and white cloth tape in her hand. She did her business and went about taking out my IV, quickly throwing it and the saline solution bag away after she put a small piece of gauze over the small wound, telling me to hold it there. After she did that, she put a piece of the tape over the gauze.

The doctor came in then and he handed me the note. "Give this to your principal and you'll be excused for today and any other days that you need to take off. I'm also going to give you some antibiotics so your hand doesn't get infected. You're to take them twice a day, once in the morning and once at night."

After some more instructions, he gave me my antibiotics and we finally got to leave the hospital.