--Phase 2 “The Outbreak”--
“Hye! There you are!”
“Me?”
The doctor's tone was quite irritating as he inquired, “Who else was there?”
The young janitor did not respond to the question. He glanced down at his feet, aware that arguing with medical staff, especially doctors, would only make his stay in the hospital more difficult.
“Come here. I want to see this is taken care of,” The doctor flashed a grin as he pointed to the overflowing wastebasket. The young janitor Dominique smiled and nodded in response. Secretly, he was groaning and berating the doctor in the depths of his mind.
‘Just wait and see, you moron! I'll kick your ass and take your post once I graduate!’ Dominique cussed and swore to himself silently while telling himself to persevere through the uncomfortable situation.
In his university, Dominique was a medical student in his final year. Because of the super brilliant mind he was blessed with, he was able to breeze through his education two years earlier than anybody else, despite the fact that he was quite young.
Another doctor, an oncologist called Allen, stepped in and said, “Doctor Lee, since he's only a regular janitor, you should ask your nurse to pick up the medical garbage.” Dominique took a few steps back to give space to Allen. “What if he makes a mistake? This is something that should only be dealt with by trained medical professionals.”
The oncologist had a body that was slightly shorter than Dominique's. His raven black hair and large, gorgeous eyes gave him a rather feminine appearance. But that did not make him a weak or very soft individual.
“Oh, sure, I'll do that.” Doctor Lee managed an uneasy smile as Dominique excused himself.
Dominique expressed his gratitude to Doctor Allen by just nodding his head as the oncologist winked at him. Since he first started working there, the doctor was the only person who had been nice to him. As a result, he had developed a strong bias against that doctor.
Not to mention the fact that the food that Allen prepared was the best possible meal on the face of the earth he could hope for. It was well known that Doctor Allen would bring his own food from home, and his food was renowned for being exceptionally delicious, particularly for the stomach of Dominique. He was fortunate because Allen occasionally invited him to join him for meals.
After taking a glance at his watch, Dominique saw that it was already time for lunch. He hurried to the cafeteria to take advantage of the free meal voucher he had received as an employee. Working there had its perks, one of which was that he was provided with free meals. It was really beneficial to him as a student and helped him save a lot of pocket money.
“Ouch!” The shorter man winced in discomfort.
As a result of Dominique's quick reflexes, he was able to catch both of their trays, and all of their food remained intact. He quickly whispered an apology to the nurse-looking man. “I’m sorry.”
Another doctor stepped in, took the nurse's tray, and yelled at Dominique. “Watch where you're going seriously, you frickin' janitor!” The two of them then went and took their seats. Dominique was feeling somewhat irritated at the janitor remark. A lot of doctors did not appreciate janitors as much as they should have, with the exception of one oncologist named Allen. He shook away the thought and walked over to the corner. He sat down there so that he could listen in on the conversation between the two persons he had just met.
“Nathan, are you sure you're not hurt?” In contrast to their earlier exchange, the doctor was so in a manner that his tone was noticeably gentler than how he had spoken to Dominique earlier. Dominique concluded that they must either be really close or in a relationship because the voice sounded genuinely concerned. For this reason, he took a seat next to them, where he could more easily listen in.
“I'm alright, thanks for asking,” the nurse said. His voice lacked sufficient conviction. “Benji, the janitor must go through a lot of stress every day. You have no right to blame him. I am partially at blame because I was unable to keep track of where I was heading.”
As he continued to savour his meal, Dominique nodded his head in agreement. At least the nurse was not all that terrible. He made the decision, out of respect for the nurse, that he was no longer interested in hearing what they had to say. As was his custom, he wolfed down his meals in a hurry and was done with them in no time. He stood up, took his tray to the dirty dishes area, and was ready to leave. The door was pushed from the opposite side just before he pulled it. When Dominique looked up, he swore that his eyes were on the verge of falling out of their sockets.
The figure that was standing on the other side appeared to have been severely beaten. Some dried blood had emerged on the skin. His eyes were lifeless, but the harsh screams coming from his throat were terrifying. While Dominique retreated in an increasingly horrified state, the figure continued to take hefty steps. Never in his entire life, not even in his practise class, has he ever witnessed anything even remotely similar to this.
Dominique, who was unable to hold it in any longer, ran back to the nearest trash can and proceeded to throw up his entire lunch. He turned around and saw that the figure was no longer there. Everyone was staring at him as if he were some kind of freak because the door had been shut. He could make out the words ‘what the heck’ being muttered by a few of them.
Dominique was certain of what he saw and could not have been mistaken. He paid little attention to the curious looks that he received from the medical staff in the cafeteria. He moved cautiously up to the door and peered outside, but the figure was nowhere to be seen. A few people who were passing by the hallway turned to look at Dominique with worried expressions on their faces because he was sweating profusely and part of his vomit was caught in his janitor's shirt.
“Are you okay?” Dominique was completely taken aback when he suddenly heard Benji's voice that he let out a loud scream. Benji, too, was taken aback and yelled in shock with Dominique. He was standing close to Nathan, who had a frightened expression on his face. The doctor took a step back while trying to shelter Nathan with his right hand.
“I'm ok! Thanks!” Dominique sprinted out of the cafeteria as quickly as he could and made his way as quickly as possible to the janitor's room, where he slipped into his locker and hid. For reasons that no one could possibly fathom, he was petrified beyond human comprehension. He was unable to keep track of time and was unsure of how long he had spent inside.
‘Have I lost my mind, or what?’ he thought. There was no way that he could have lost his mind, despite the fact that one of his friends had prophesied as much due to the brilliant level of his mind. He shook his head, trying to tell himself that perhaps he had simply been thinking too much. After witnessing so many deaths and seriously ill patients, he was possibly experiencing abnormal vision. He took a few quiet, deep breaths before gently emerging from his locker. He adjusted his shirt, combed his hair, and inhaled deeply. He nodded to himself as he said, “Everything is ok.”
He was about to leave the room when all of a sudden, he heard the horse shrieking once more. He turned around and glanced behind him but saw no monster. Since he could not recall ever having seen something quite like it, he made the decision to refer to it as a monster.
He took a sneak glance outside and was shocked by what he saw.
While swearing that he was experiencing a nightmare, Dominique firmly shut and locked the door behind him. He had hit himself and it stung like hell. He had not been dreaming at all. Everything he just witnessed was sharp and clear to him. The corridor was packed with those monsters that perfectly resembled the figure that was standing in front of him in the cafeteria. But this time they were all dressed in nurse and doctor uniforms, and some of them were even wearing patients' garb. He peered through the jalousie, but the view was not any different than before. Oh no! It certainly was not a dream!
The only difference was that he was by himself in the room this time.