An Apple for Zoe: Book One ~ The Forsaken

the hand from her mouth. Her eyes looked up to see the wild frightened stare of Ashton Summers holding her finger to her mouth, giving her the universal gesture for silence. Jessalee nodded in agreement. Summers released her grip and quickly dashed around the other side of the bed and grabbed her gun. She quickly attempted to place a round into the chamber.

'What's wrong with my gun?'

Jessalee sat up and started to speak. Summers shook her head violently in a no pattern. Just as quickly Summers returned to Jessalee's side and whispered as softly as she could.

'We have to get out of here now.'

'What's going on?'

'There is something out there in the hallway. We have to get Inspector James out of here,' she said as she popped the clip from her pistol to check it. 'Oh Jesus, it's empty.'

Confused, Jessalee wasn't sure what to think. She wasn't even awake yet.

'What do you mean there's something out there?'

'Keep your voice down or it will hear you,' insisted Summers as she pushed a wheelchair next to the bed.

'What are you doing?'

'Get Inspector James, I don't know how much time we have.'

Jessalee was becoming frustrated. She knew something was seriously wrong for a federal agent to behave in such a manner. But she didn't understand what could be.

'Ashton wait. Let me call the nurses station they can help us.'

'You can't, there's no one there. They're dead. We're all alone.'

'No that's not possible someone has to be there. Tom isn't the only patient on this ward,' said Jessalee as she reached for the call button. Summers jerked the call button from Jessalee's hand.

'The other rooms are empty. There is no one else up here.'

Jessalee grabbed the call button back from Summers and pressed the white button hard with her thumb. The buzzer blared at the nurse's station. Both women looked at one another as they listened for any signs of anyone responding. The buzzer echoed again as suddenly a loud howling scream came from the station. The scream grew louder as they heard things being smashed and turned over along with running footsteps.

'Oh my God! What the fuck?' screamed Jessalee as she and Summers quickly shoved James's door closed. Both women leaned hard against it. The fast moving footsteps rushed toward them and a sudden burst of pounding fists began slamming on the window of the door. The howling screams raged as whatever it was desperately attempted to push the door open. The noises continued as if being issued from someone who could not speak. The door slammed inches into the backs of both women as they both put all the weight of their bodies against it.

'Um gunah git yew! Yew ucken oors!'

The guttural screams from the other side of the door sent a shockwave of fear into Ashton Summers she hadn't felt since she was a little girl. Jessalee reached into her pocket and tried to retrieve her cellular phone. She quickly flipped it open only to read the tiny bold letters, 'NO SERVICE.'

Summers looked around trying to find anything that could help them.  Down at the other end of the room she could see the fire alarm.

'The fire alarm!' she exclaimed as the door pushed and pounded into their backs.

'I've got to break the glass and pull it!'

'No, Ashton I can't hold the door!' said Jessalee as she looked up at James on the bed. His face was looking at her with confusion in his eyes.

'Tom! Tom can you hear me?' called Jessalee.  James nodded his head slowly but did not speak. The pushing on the door suddenly stopped. Summers and Jessalee looked at one another.

'We need to get Tom down here on the floor. He has to take my place against the door so I can pull the fire alarm,' said Summers.

'He's too weak, we can't risk moving him.'

Suddenly there was silence. No one was pounding on the door. There was no pushing. No screaming. Just silence.

'Something's wrong, Ashton.'

'I know, but this might be our only chance,' said Summers as she looked at the fire alarm and then back to James. 'Inspector, can you crawl down here on the floor with us?'

James looked at Summers and then to Jessalee. His head was still in a deep fog. He nodded and started to move when both women saw his eyes change.

'What is it Tom? What's wrong?' asked Jessalee.

A smashing crash hit the glass of the window, causing both women to scream. Diamond shaped shards of glass sprayed everywhere. Summers looked up as saw the edge of an axe buried deep into the plate glass with cross sections of chicken wire framing broken free.

'Hurry Tom!' shouted Jessalee as she reached for him.

James tried to move but his legs were numb from the drugs that were still coursing through his system. Edging himself to the bed's end the floor seemed to be far away. The screaming began again as the axe smashed against the window a second time. James looked up into the face behind the glass. Their eyes made contact.

'Um gunna git yew!'

The face was contorted and twisted with a nose that was half missing. He began to fear he was having another nightmare. Was this all another bad dream? wondered James. The face on the other side of the glass pulled the axe out and then held up a straight razor. It then carved off the rest of its nose. Blood began spurting through the broken glass, dripping down onto both Agent Summers and Jessalee.

Nightmare or not James wasn't waiting to find out he rolled off the bed and landed hard onto the floor. Jessalee and Summers pulled him up against the door with them.

'Hurry, do it!' shouted Jessalee to Summers. Summers leapt up and ran to the fire alarm. Holding her breath she pulled the red handle down and broke the small glass cylinder. There was no sound. Summers looked back at James and Jessalee who were just as bewildered as she was.

'What happened? I don't hear anything!' said Jessalee. When a bright flashing light began to pulse in the room and hallway.

'Oh Jesus it's a silent alarm because we're in a hospital,' said Summers.

'Nuhhhh! Nuhhhh!' screamed the thing in the hallway. Whatever it was it seemed to know the alarm had been activated.

'Uckin oors!' it screamed and howled as it began slamming the axe into the door and window again in a series of wild random blows. Summers ran back to the door and, for a moment, the face on the other side of the door looked at her and smiled. Rotted teeth and yellow eyes greeted her. It then slowly backed away from the door and tore open its shirt showing her its ripped and slashed chest. Dropping down to the floor next to James and Jessalee, Ashton Summers realized that for the first time in her career as a federal agent she was terrified. She squeezed her eyes shut, but it was too late the image was already burned into her mind. Standing on the other side of the door was a man holding a blood soaked straight razor, fresh from having carved into his chest, HELTER SKELTER.

Chapter Sixteen Helter Skelter

'Hey! What the hell is going on here!' shouted a strong male voice. Jessalee, James, and Summers looked to one another.

'Come back here!' the voice shouted.

Then they could hear the clicking of heels as their attacker ran from the thud of heavy boots in pursuit. A sound of keys jangling from a hip belt reverberated through the hall back to the three. Jessalee and James knew that noise well. It was the sound of an officer running.

'Put it down! Put it down now!' commanded the strong voice.