Chapter Text
The thing that annoyed Maddie most about Simon, was that he was always right.
“I agree that almost every Saw sequel is terrible, but I promise that you are going to like the sixth one.”
“Xavier is kind of an asshole, you realize that right?”
“We can’t take the highway! Everyone is trying to leave that way, it’s going to be like a zombie buffet. We should just find somewhere safe and wait it out. It’s our only option.”
He’d been right every time.
So maybe she should have listened when he told her that raiding the hospital was a stupid idea. But the way Maddie saw it, they didn’t really have another option.
The light cough Nicole had developed a few weeks ago had evolved into something much more sinister. The kind of wheezing, hacking cough that sent chills down Maddie’s spine every time she heard it. And now she was running a fever as well, which disproved Nicole’s insistence that it was just her asthma flaring up. She’d barely been able to get out of bed for three days now.
Maddie knew it was something really bad, like pneumonia or some other kind of lung infection. Which combined with the aforementioned asthma sounded like a potentially lethal situation. And there was nothing they could do to help her. Nicole’s last inhaler had run out a few days ago. And all they had to show from their desperate search through a completely ravaged CVS was a tiny bottle of travel-sized Tylenol that had rolled under a checkout counter. The Tylenol might make Nicole more comfortable and help treat the fever, but Maddie knew within her bones this wasn’t something that was going to pass on its own.
Simon said they should sleep on it and search more in the morning. One of the houses nearby had to have an inhaler, or some sort of medicine. Or they could drive to another pharmacy. Or maybe they could find a more discrete urgent care that hasn’t been raided yet. She knew he was just being cautious. His caution is why they had made it this far in the first place. But Maddie couldn’t spend another night listening to Nicole’s wheezy breathing, wondering if her airway was just going to close shut in her sleep. Not when she knew with certainty there was a place where she could find inhalers. And steroids. And antibiotics. Because they all knew it was more than just asthma at this point.
It was time for the stupid ideas.
So she slipped out the backdoor of their cabin at 5 am. She didn’t take Nicole’s car. In case things went south she didn’t want to steal her friends’ only mode of transportation. She found an only slightly singed minivan about a half a mile from the cabin. After a few tries she managed to hotwire it without electrocuting herself.
“Thank you, Xavier,” she muttered.
Those were words she never thought she would say about her ex. He had shown her that trick once when they were skipping out on study hall to make out in the auto shop. At the time she had been both impressed and apprehensive, wondering why he would have taught himself to do that. Now she was just glad that he did. Maybe that relationship had been good for something after all. She glanced at the passenger seat, trying her best not to examine the questionable bloodstains in the fabric too closely. She threw her bag in the backseat instead.
The roads on the way to the hospital were almost clear. She only had to stop once to move a branch out of the way. There were no living humans out and about at this hour. And the only zombie she encountered was just a torso dragging its way through the street with a half-hearted growl. Maddie swerved the minivan slightly to the right just to put the pitiful thing out of its misery. All in all, an easy commute. By the time she pulled up to the hospital she had almost convinced herself this was a good idea.
Red Pine County Hospital looked pretty intact from the outside. There was a tarp covering one of the front entrances, but it appeared to be on purpose. Some small planned bit of construction that would never be completed. A few missing windows as well, but that was it. It was one of the only buildings nearby that hadn’t been completely ravaged by looters, or burned down entirely. It only made the place look more ominous to her. People were desperate. A few weeks ago she’d seen two men battle to the death over a Slim Jim, so she could only imagine what had stopped trespassers from looting one of the best sources of medicine around.
There were only two reasons she and Simon had been able to come up with. One: this place had been taken over by infected who killed anyone who went inside. Two: This place had been taken over by humans who killed anyone that went inside. Maddie thought she actually preferred the first option. It was less horrifying in a way. And the undead would have had no need or ability to root through the hospital pharmacy.
She could hear Simon’s arguments again from last night, desperately trying to plead with her.
“It’s not worth it Maddie. There are too many unknown variables with Red Pine. We’ve already been over this. Something is off about that place. And if we get ourselves killed, how are we going to help Nicole?”
She hadn’t told him that she agreed. They shouldn’t both get themselves killed. Which is why she had already decided to go by herself. Simon had looked slightly suspicious, but also relieved when she stopped arguing about it. He probably didn’t think she would be so reckless. But she didn’t consider it recklessness. It was desperation. She couldn’t lose another person. She wouldn’t. Not when she could fix it this time.
Maddie breathed out slowly, trying to calm down her heart as she went over the plan in her mind. She had been in this hospital before. This was where her dad had died. This is where her mom had been treated when she broke her wrist after drunkenly falling down the stairs. She knew the layout of this place. Most importantly, she had picked her mom’s medications from the pharmacy. It was on the second floor. She just had to get in, go up one flight of stairs, get Nicole’s meds, and get out before anyone, undead or living, noticed her. She was smart. She was quick. She was fast. She could do this. If anything went wrong, she would get out and take Simon’s ‘I told you so’ with as much grace as she could muster. But it wasn’t going to go wrong. She was going to save Nicole. She had to believe that or she’d never go in there in the first place.
Maddie nodded to herself one final time before grabbing her backpack from the backseat. She winced as she accidentally slammed the car door shut with more force than she intended. She waited, but nothing ran out at her from the abandoned cars in the parking lot. The sun was just starting to rise as she took a few shaky breaths, small clouds of condensation forming in front of her.
Backpack hitched on her shoulder, she made her way forward as quietly as she could, examining the entrance as she went. Someone had boarded up the space where the automatic doors had been. To keep people out, or to trap zombies in? It didn’t really help to think of either option. She walked around the perimeter until she found a broken window. It was boarded up haphazardly, but there was a space small enough for her to crawl through.
She pushed her backpack through the gap. Then pulled off her winter jacket, placing it down carefully over the jagged edge of the window. She took one last deep breath of fresh, cold winter air. She thought of Nicole and how she hadn’t been able to take a deep breath without coughing in weeks. It hardened her resolve, and before she could change her mind she leaned her upper body through the window and crawled inside.
It was just as cold outside as in, she realized as she pulled her jacket back on. Even if she found this medicine, would they be able to survive the winter? The plan had always been to drive south, find somewhere warmer. Maybe see if they could track down Diego. Nicole was convinced he was still alive. Probably because he was her only family that wasn’t confirmed dead. Maddie understood. If her mom hadn’t died right in front of her, she may never have believed she was gone.
They had been hoarding as much gas as they could for a while. And supplies for the trip. Bottled water, canned food, first aid supplies. They had pretty much filled the car. They had been ready to go. And then Nicole had gotten sick. So they postponed. And then postponed again.
Even if Maddie got the medicine, would Nicole be well enough to travel? Would they get out of here before it started to snow? The temperature had been teetering at just above freezing for days, and Wisconsin winters could get brutal. Sometimes they could get feet of snow. And there would be no central heating this winter. They would be screwed if they didn’t get out in time.
Maddie shook her head as she worked her way quietly down the hallway. It was dark, the rising sun only partially lighting her way. There were blood stains everywhere. Floor, walls, even a few on the ceiling. But no bodies that she could see. She could worry about that later, right now she had to focus. She hadn’t encountered anyone living or dead yet, but the smell was starting to get steadily worse. It took everything in her not to gag. The fact that she couldn’t find the source of the odor made it worse somehow. She pulled the front of her jacket over her face.
She found the first body, or what was left of it, outside the stairwell. Her stomach turned, and the urge to turn around was stronger than ever. Part of her wished Simon was with her, but mostly she was happy that he wasn’t. Someone needed to take care of Nicole if she didn’t make it. And this was what Maddie was good at. Being quiet, in the shadows. Most of the time people didn’t notice her too much unless she wanted them to. She hoped that would hold true today.
She opened the door to the stairwell, wincing as it creaked. She thought she heard some shuffling nearby, but when she turned her head she saw nothing. Once the door was open just enough, she slipped through it and closed it quietly behind her.
The stairwell was clear as well. Maddie knew the lack of bodies was a bad sign. The infection had spread quickly. Most people didn’t have much warning. This place would have been full of patients and staff when it reached Split River. And if there were no bodies, that meant they had gotten up and walked away. So where were they all?
Simon had a theory that the undead may hibernate in the cold, almost turn off. Maddie thought he was probably right, as per usual. There had been less and less of them near the cabin as the days grew colder. But the three of them hadn’t planned on staying in Wisconsin long enough to find out for sure.
Maybe that was what had happened here. All the zombies on standby, just waiting for someone to wander by. In that case maybe she could actually make it, as long as she didn’t wake anything up on the way.
She reached the second landing and slipped through the door. It was only one more hallway to the pharmacy. There was another body a few feet from door, an entirely intact one this time. It was an older man, an ID badge clipped to the front of his scrub shirt. She didn’t look at the name, worrying she’d recognize him as a relative of one of her classmates. Maddie wondered how he had died. Probably a heart attack with the horror happening around him. Zombies tended to ignore corpses. They preferred the living. But the fact that he was here, and the smell he was emanating, made her pretty sure she was the only living person in this hospital. Anyone with a working nose would have disposed of him long ago.
She took a few more steps, almost surprised to find herself standing in front of the pharmacy already. There was a desk in front with a glass window where the pharmacist had handed Maddie her mom’s medication. She thought she might be able to break the window and squeeze her way through, but it would be loud. There was also a door with a sensor to swipe an ID card, and Maddie stupidly thought about grabbing the ID off the corpse behind her before remembering that there was no electricity. Here or anywhere else at this point. She tried the door and it simply opened beneath her hand.
She furrowed her brow. It all felt too simple. Like some kind of trick. Or maybe this was the universe’s way of apologizing to her for how shitty her life had been so far. Sorry your dad died and your mom was a drunk and then on top of that the world ended. Here, as a consolation prize you can have some medicine so your friend won’t die too.
Unease tingled its way down Maddie’s spine, but she ignored it. She had a job to do. She pulled the list of medications out of her pocket. Nicole had made it for her before their first failed pharmacy run. She unfolded it quietly, grateful for Nicole’s neat handwriting.
Maddie moved through the shelves as silently as she could. The albuterol inhalers were easy to find, she took as many as she could fit in her backpack. She found the steroid inhalers and grabbed a few of those as well. It took her a lot longer to find antibiotics, which had not been included on Nicole’s list. The medications all had such complicated names, but with some searching she found the type of antibiotics that had been prescribed to her mom when she broke her wrist. She grabbed a few of the other ones nearby with similar sounding names as well. Not for the first time she missed Google. It would be so easy to figure out what antibiotic was best for pneumonia. Or what medications were antibiotics in the first place.
Soon she had everything she needed. And though she knew it was time to get the hell out of there, she spent a quick moment staring with longing at the rest of the shelves. With a little more time, she could probably find an encyclopedia or guide in here with medication names. Who knows how helpful some of these drugs could be down the line if she just understood what they did. But she couldn’t risk it, not when she knew she had the meds Nicole needed right now. Zipping her bag as quietly as she could, she began to make her way back to the door.
And that’s when it all went wrong.
Maddie saw movement out of the corner of her eye, a figure slowly trudging past the glass window. She couldn’t help the instinctual step back she took. She didn’t even see it happen, her stupidly expanded backpack lightly nudging a pencil holder. But she certainly heard it. She turned her head as the pencils and pens started rolling across the linoleum, the tiny crashes they made sounded deafening as they broke the silence. She heard the lumbering gait of the figure outside pause, and then it was banging against the door.
“Fuck. Shit. Fuck,” she muttered to herself.
Her fool proof plan of get in, get out felt painfully thin now. She didn’t even have a way to defend herself. They had a shotgun at the cabin, but she hadn’t been about to take that with her. She had only shot it a few times, and her aim was terrible. Plus, this mission had been about stealth. That was what she was good at. And now a fucking pencil holder had blown that all to hell. She could try to hide in here and hope the infected got bored, but she had a feeling he had friends. And while they may not have heard the pencils falling, they would definitely hear the racket the zombie was making now. She would have to rely on the only other strength she had in this apocalypse. Running like hell.
Dropping the backpack would be the smart thing, but she had come this far, and she wasn’t about to give up on Nicole now. Maddie steeled herself, taking a deep breath as she grabbed the door handle. She waited as the figure reared back. Just as it collided with the wood again, she pushed against the door with all her might. The zombie was thrown to the ground, growling angrily.
Maddie didn’t give it a second glance at she sprinted back to the staircase. She was through the door with her foot on the first step when she heard a deafening bang. It only took her a moment to recognize the sound of multiple bodies being thrown against the first-floor door with all their might. Zombies weren’t exactly dexterous. The door below opened outward, and there was no way they could figure that out. But they could break through the door, and she could already hear the hinges groaning. Not to mention her only known exit was blocked. She jumped as the zombie she’d pushed to the ground a few moments ago collided with the door behind her. There was only had one option, up.
Maddie sprinted up the stairs, pausing briefly at the entrance to the third floor before hearing an unmistakable thump behind that door as well. She didn’t know where the zombies had been hiding before, but she knew where they were all going now. She ran up another two flights of stairs, breathing heavily. Her only option was to run across the hospital to another stairwell and get out of the building before the zombies caught up to her.
There was a deafening crash below, and she didn’t need to look down to know the zombies had made it through the first door. She turned and ran through the door to the fifth floor, not even checking to see if there were any zombies behind it. By some miracle the hallway was clear. She began to sprint to the other side, past a defunct nursing station. She could only hope there was a stairwell on the other side of the hallway as well. She pushed through a set of double doors, then almost cried in relief as she saw an emergency exit at the end of the hall in front of her.
She raced to the exit sign as if it was the finish line of a marathon, her backpack bouncing with every step. She barely even slowed as she pushed open the door, then stopped so suddenly when she saw what was waiting for her below that the change in momentum almost gave her whiplash. At least three more zombies were running up the stairwell towards her, and it sounded like there were more following behind.
Maddie backed up and slammed the door closed. At the end of the hallway the first of the horde that had been following her began to burst through the double doors. Surrounded, she did the only thing she could, and pulled open the closest door. Clammy hands reached towards her as she slammed the door shut, ignoring the crunch as a stray zombie finger or toe got caught in the crossfire. There was a deadbolt on this door. She locked it quickly, then jumped back at the vibration as the undead started to throw their bodies against the wood. Maddie had no idea how long she had until they got through it, maybe a few minutes if she was lucky.
Hyperventilating, she turned in a quick circle, assessing her surroundings. She was in some kind of office. Maybe for a manager or hospital administrator. There was a large window, almost ceiling to floor. She could see the parking lot. She could see her stolen minivan amongst the other abandoned cars, silhouetted by the sunrise. There was nothing here she could use to defend herself. Just a swivel chair, a desk, some office supplies, and a bookshelf. With a grunt she pushed the book shelf over and in front of the door, that should give her a few extra seconds.
Maddie heard laughter, then realized it was coming from her. What a fucking idiot she was. How many horror movies had she seen, and this was the choice she’d made? Simon always told her she was the final girl, but it looked like he was wrong about at least one thing. She was actually the idiot that separated from her friends and ran off by herself.
Her hysterical laughter turned to tears which she furiously wiped from her cheeks. She ripped off the backpack, not realizing how heavy it had been until it was off her back. All of this for nothing. She wanted to scream. She did scream. She screamed until her voice was hoarse. The zombies groaned back at her from behind the door.
With a shuddering cry Maddie collapsed into the chair, leaning her forehead against the window. The cool glass felt nice. She could see the entrance of the hospital below her. The blue of the tarp covering that unknown construction. An idea suddenly came to her, she stood up so quickly the chair fell behind her.
She searched the window but found no latches, it didn’t open. Maddie picked up the chair and swung it as hard as she could, it didn’t even crack. She swung it again, nothing. She screamed in fury, dropping it to the floor with a clatter.
Calm down Maddie. Breathe. She heard the words in Simon’s voice, almost like he was right next to her. She took a shuttering breath as she looked around the room again, and then she saw it, the emergency red of the fire extinguisher that had been partially hidden by the bookshelf. She pulled open the cabinet and grabbed it, aiming the flat bottom toward the window.
She swung again, and there was nothing. A second time, and finally a small crack appeared.
Swing away, Merrill. She heard again in Simon’s voice.
She giggled somewhat hysterically, and then brought the extinguisher down again with everything she had, the force of it reverberating through her arms painfully. The crack started to spiderweb. Maddie dropped the extinguisher, and with a grunt, picked up the chair again. She aimed for the crack, letting go of the chair as she swung.
This time the window shattered gloriously, the chair falling into the abyss as shards of glass scattered around her. Some blood dripped into her eye. It took her a few seconds of confusion to realize it was from a cut on her forehead. Maddie didn’t even feel the pain with all the adrenaline, it was as if she had become a completely separate entity from her own body.
There was a harsh bang behind her as the bookcase in front of the door threated to fall. She had almost completely blocked out the sounds of the zombies in her focus, but now the grunts and moans behind the door came back in full force. Maddie wasn’t sure what would give way fist, the hinges or the wood of the door itself. The molding around the doorway was starting to crack. She had maybe a minute.
She grabbed a pen off the desk, this time not caring when she knocked a pencil holder to the ground in her haste. She scribbled a note on the first piece of paper she could find.
Simon, I should have listened to you. I’m sorry. Don’t go inside. Trust me, I’m fucked. If you’re reading this it’s over. I love you both. Stay alive.
Maddie
She only realized there were small cuts all over her hands from the glass when her blood smudged the paper. But she didn’t care, maybe that would just help the message sink in. Help Simon accept that she was gone and not follow in her idiotic footsteps. There might not be much of a body to find, and if he thought there was even a chance that she was alive, he would look for her. She unzipped the backpack partially, shoved the paper in and zipped it again. Then she turned back to the broken window.
Maddie picked up the backpack, her arms shaking from all the exertion she had put them through in the last few minutes. She aimed as best she could and threw, gasping with relief as she watched the bag bounce off the tarp to the ground below. Hoping against hope that by breaking their fall the inhalers would stay intact. Simon would find the backpack, she was sure. He was probably waking up right now, realizing where she’d gone. He'd come after her. He’d be too late. But it wasn’t too late for Nicole.
The bookshelf fell forward as the wood of the door started to splinter. She had seconds now, maybe. Maddie turned back to the window, stepping right up to the edge. The sunrise was beautiful. There was a light breeze now, blowing her hair gently around her face. She didn’t even feel the cold. She stepped onto the ledge, holding the jagged edge of the window carefully.
There weren’t many options available to her. She could wait for the door to break down, and be eaten alive, or maybe turn undead if there was enough of her left. Or she could jump. Maybe she’d hit the tarp and it would slow her fall enough that she wouldn’t immediately die. Maybe she’d just break some bones instead. And then zombies would probably break through the entrance to get to her, and most likely eat her anyway. Maybe she should try to miss the tarp, maybe that would be the kinder way to go.
But Simon was partially right, she did have the spirit of a final girl, if not the brain apparently. Despite everything, she wanted to live. No matter how minuscule the chances were.
The door behind her was falling onto the bookshelf, the zombies who had been in front fell with it, others started to scramble over them in an effort to get to her. She turned her gaze to the blue of the tarp, angling her feet in its direction. She bent her knees as she took one last look at the sunrise, well aware that it was probably the last thing she’d ever see.
Then Maddie squeezed her eyes shut, and jumped.