* Trigger Warning - Mild gore *

A momentary look of discomfort crossed Amelia's face as she held me against the wall. No matter how many times I blinked, the blood remained smeared over the floor like a red wine stain on a beige carpet.

"Help me!" A hysterical plea cried out from down the corridor.

"Stay here," Amelia said in a suffocated whisper.

Shaking my head, I grabbed onto her wrist and silently begged her to stay.

"Somebody help me." The female voice grew panicked and desperate.

It was a no-brainer. Amelia had to intervene. She loosened my grip and disappeared, leaving me alone and vulnerable.

I had to check the situation for myself and peeped my head outside the nook in the wall. A woman was crawling on her hands and knees, pressing her palm against the side of her neck. Blood leaked through her fingers and soaked her mustard-yellow top. The woman's eyes widened at the sight of a bystander, and lost her balance, toppling onto her forearm. She exposed the puncture wounds on her neck, confirming my suspicions that this was orchestrated.

They are here for Dad. Does he know? Is that why he didn't come back?

Amelia hesitated in helping the woman and took a step backwards.

"Please, don't go," begged the woman and extended her bloodied hand towards Amelia. "Help me before it comes back."

My heart ached and radiated into my chest cavity, crushing my lungs for air. "Amelia?"

"I'm sorry." Amelia cleared her throat and walked away from the woman, dragging me along behind her. The woman's eyes dropped with despair, letting go of any trace of hope she clung to. Her arm wavered as she watched her only lifeline walk away.

I questioned this side of Amelia that I hadn't seen before; she was emotionless and withdrawn from reality. "You can't leave her there. She needs help."

Her short and blunt answers struck me like a dagger in my gut. "There isn't anything I can do. She's a lost cause."

"But you're a nurse. Isn't helping people in your job description?" I tried keeping up with her strides, and when the woman's cries echoed, she quickened her pace. "Or are we going to forget about the mark on her neck?"

She stiffened at the mention of the mark, digging her nails deeper into my arm. "It's not something I can fix, Erika."

We're supposed to try and do everything in our path to save those around us.

Dad considered the right candidate before killing the man and offered him a gift that he didn't have in this life. I still didn't agree with his decision, but he did what he thought was best and had to live with the consequences. Amelia had a similar choice where the woman's fate rested in her hands.

Is she a lost cause? Amelia can't save the woman, so she lets fate decide if she lives or dies.

Amelia halted as I stared at the carnage that laid in front of us. The stench was heavy and sickly sweet. Crimson streaks smeared on the walls like a Jackson Pollock painting, abstract and carefree. Bodies were artistically killed with limbs twisted from their sockets and necks distorted.

"We need to move quickly. Don't look at them." She ushered me in front as I weaved through the bodies without glancing at my feet.

A crack snapped from underneath my shoe as Amelia clasped onto my arm for support. "Mind your step."

A desire to bolt from the monstrous scene became inviting with each passing second. We were vulnerable with no weapons, and there was a slim chance Amelia even believed in vampires. We all saw what happened with Cassie.

"You see that door right at the end?" The shorter strands unravelled from her plait, fraying her face. "I want you to run and knock five times. Johnathan should be inside. Run as fast as you can, and don't look back." She pushed me, giving me a head start, but I could tell from her uneven breaths that she was close behind.

A shriek bellowed from within the building, followed by a strange clicking noise of the tongue. Taken by surprise, I slipped on the smeared blood, falling on my bottom. The air became thick with dread. My body tingled from the surge of adrenaline. I clambered off the floor, fighting with my limbs as if they had a mind of their own.

"Johnathan!" Amelia ran towards me, regaining her balance when she wobbled from the slick surface.

A silhouette stood at the far end of the corridor, purring with excitement. The click-clack of its tongue bounced off the walls as more voices joined in for the chorus. It was a warning signal, letting others know we were here. I had a head-splitting headache from the orchestra of uproar.

Knocking five times on the door in quick succession, I twisted the handle in a frenzy.

If Johnathan was inside, he would've opened the door by now.

My fingers slid over the knob, coating the metal handle with moisture from my clammy hands. I pounded on the door with my clenched fist, focusing on what was in front of me. Amelia's screams painted a picture of what was unfolding further down the hall.

"Erika." Johnathan's voice from behind caught me off-guard as relief washed over me. He threw me the keys with one hand and used the other to steady the contraption, firing at the vampire.

A wooden stake plunged into the vampire's chest. Its eyes sparked fury, locking its gaze at Johnathan. The keys jingled in my grip as I inserted one out of the two into the lock. It didn't fit. Johnathan released another stake, hitting it in the thigh. The vampire hissed, releasing its fangs in defence.

From the commotion and the lack of concentration, I fumbled with the keys and dropped them.

"I don't mean to rush you, but I would like to get in before their idea of backup arrives," Johnathan yelled over his shoulder, adjusting the crossbow for another strike.

The harder I focused, the more my brain dissolved into mush. Everybody relied on me, and here I was, breaking out in a cold sweat.

"Let me try." Amelia swooped in and took the key, turning it in the lock. As soon as we heard the click, she nudged me inside and closed the door after Johnathan.

He delved into his pocket, pulling out grains of salt and laid out a thin trail along the inside of the door.

"Please, tell me I'm dreaming." I pinched a fold of my skin, wishing I was anywhere but here.

A brittle laugh escaped Johnathan. "Sadly, you're not." He took time and patience laying out the salt as if his life depended on it.

Amelia checked the cupboards and left the doors open, rooting for something.

It was up to me to deflate the pink elephant in the room. "There is a vampire in the hospital, and all you're doing is planting salt and rummaging through cupboards."

"It's silver nitrate powder, and it should keep us safe. Silver is lethal for vampires," Johnathan spoke with his back towards me.

"Ha. I knew it. You both believe in the supernatural, and you don't think I'm crazy," I said, gazing back and forth between them. "So, is somebody going to tell me why we haven't left the building?"

After all, we're humans in a shark tank and way beneath our depth.

Amelia squeezed past, searching in the overhead cupboard. "We needed to stock up on chemo drugs, and Johnathan fetched some of your belongings. I can't find Fludarabine."

"What?" I moved out of her way as she grabbed a rucksack and filled it with gloves, aprons, and a packet of tubes.

"It should be in the far left cupboard, top right-hand corner." He pulled out my Lonsdale duffel bag. "I packed what I could with the little time I had."

I snatched the holdall from his grasp and opened it, hunting for the one object that meant the most. When I couldn't find it under the layers of clothes, my heart sank, weighing heavily against my chest. "You didn't pack Mr Cuddles."

"Mr Cuddles?" Johnathan raised his brows.

"My bear." I sighed deeply, biting the inside of my cheek. We had been inseparable since my 7th birthday. A memory presented itself in a stuffed animal lost somewhere in the hospital.

I will not cry. Not now.

"Oh, I didn't see him in the room." His voice was thick with guilt as it weighed down his shoulders. "I'm sorry."

Amelia cleared her throat, causing a shift in the air and taking the focus off me. "Have you got the weapons?" She zipped the rucksack and slung it over her shoulder.

The vampire slammed into the door; it was a solid structure that would hold under normal circumstances, but I wasn't sure if it could sustain inhuman strength.

I flinched from the jarring movements and knocked into the unpacked boxes stacked to the side of the closed-in storage room. "I thought you said we were safe here."

"I did." He lifted the flap of his shoulder bag, drew a revolver and handed it to Amelia. I caught a glimpse of a cross, stakes and a metal frisbee-shaped weapon. "Here." Johnathan extended his hand and dropped the clear plastic bag containing the silver nitrate in my palm. "Hide it up your sleeve, but make sure you have easy access to it."

Something didn't add up. The way he changed from being a doctor to a vampire hunter in less than twenty-four hours didn't sit right with me.

"How do you know so much?" I asked, taking in his dishevelled appearance. He had ditched the jacket and tie, even popped open a few buttons.

Johnathan picked up his crossbow. "Now isn't the time for a Q and A, Erika." He readied himself both physically and mentally, positioning his weapon. "Ready?"

A/N

Word Count: 1,660

How do you think Amelia and Johnathan know about vampires and is this their first time?

Erika lost Mr Cuddles, would you feel the same way if you lost a favourite childhood toy?

Have a fangtastic day!

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