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  He nods.

  "Can you escort June Carey back to her room, make sure she goes inside and stays there, and then go and check on Cally for me? I'll be along soon, but I really need to find a couple of very important people first." I wait for him to reply. "Please, Anthony. As your boss and as a fellow human being, I need you to do this for me. I know you're an orderly, but right now, we've all got to chip in where we can."

  "Fine," he replies with a sigh, linking his arm with June and turning her around. "Come on, you old queen. Let's get you to safety. I bet I won't get overtime for all of this."

  "But Cally -"

  "You heard the doctor," he continues. "You don't want to cause a fuss, do you?"

  Turning and hurrying along the corridor, I try to work out where the hell Nurse Aubry could be. I figure she's the most reliable person around here, and she also knows at least a little about the Dominique Ribery case, so I just need to get ahold of her and then make sure she can help me in the search for Ribery's body. The problem is, Nurse Aubry damn well seems to have vanished from the ward entirely, and as I head around the next corner and spot the main door in the distance, I'm suddenly struck by a thought.

  Maybe she has vanished from the ward entirely.

  After all, I was offered a deal to get out of here, so it's not impossible that a deal might also have been offered to her. Then again, there was a specific reason why they would have wanted to get me out of here, whereas Dawn Aubry - despite all her good qualities - is only an ordinary nurse. It makes no sense to think that she might have been spirited away. Something else must have happened to her.

  "Hey!" I call out, marching over to the door. "I need to speak to someone."

  "General Kent is unavailable at this time," replies one of the heavily-armed soldiers on the other side of the glass. "He'll be here at precisely three o'clock to speak to you and -"

  "I don't give a shit about General Kent," I reply, interrupting him. "I just need to know something. Apart from Dr. Gerrold, has anyone else left or attempted to leave the ward today?"

  "I'm not sure that I follow."

  "Has anyone else left?" I ask, starting to lose my temper. "Christ, it's not a difficult question. I just need to know if anyone else, in particular one of my nurses, has been allowed out? Even if it was only for a few minutes, or if it was part of some kind of bargain, I need to know."

  "No, Sir," the soldier replies. "Our orders are to ensure that no-one gets out of the ward."

  "And how do I know that you're telling the truth?"

  "I'm a soldier in Her Majesty's armed forces, Sir," he replies. "I have no reason to lie."

  "Unless you've been ordered to keep the truth hidden."

  "No, Sir. That has not happened."

  I stare at him, trying to find some hint as to whether or not he's telling the truth.

  "Honestly, Sir," he says after a moment. "No-one has been allowed out."

  "Forgive me if I still have a few doubts," I say, turning and hurrying along the corridor toward the main nurses' station. On the way, however, I pass the door to one of the fire escapes, and I stop in my tracks as I realize that there's a faint blood smear on the handle. Glancing back over my shoulder, I check that there's no-one nearby before covering my hand with the fabric of my jacket and carefully pushing the door open. I lean through into the stairwell, but there's no sign of anyone.

  "Hello?" I call out.

  The only sound is the echo of my own voice.

  "Is there anyone in here?"

  Nothing.

  And then, suddenly, the faintest of sounds.

  Someone whimpering.

  Stepping through the door, I lean over the railing and look down. There's some kind of barrier a few floors down, where the military have sealed off this part of the hospital to keep us from getting out, but seconds later I hear the whimpering sound again. Although I know that I should probably go and get help, I figure that it probably wouldn't hurt to go and take a look, so I cautiously make my way down the steps. It's hard to believe that she could be somewhere down here, but the sound is unmistakable.

  "Hello?" I say tentatively. "Dawn? Are you down here?"

  "Help me," a voice whispers nearby.

  Running down the stairs, I suddenly spot a figure slumping in the corner. Kneeling next to her, I put a hand on her shoulder and gently roll her toward me, only to find that it's Nurse Aubry. She's clearly in a great deal of pain, clutching her belly as sweat rolls down her face. There's blood, too, on her arms, although I can't work out where it's coming from. There are no obvious wounds, yet the blood is not only on her skin but also on the concrete steps.

  "Where's the pain?" I ask, trying to get her flat on her back. "Can you hear me, Dawn? It's Dr. Page. I need you to tell me where it hurts!"

  "Here," she whispers, rubbing a hand over the right side of her abdomen. "Help me. Please. Give me something to make it stop."

  "Why didn't you tell me about this before?" I ask.

  "I didn't know," she replies. "It wasn't there."

  "When did it start?" I ask, lifting the edge of her uniform to expose her bare midriff.

  "A few hours ago," she whispers weakly. "It came on so suddenly and it just got worse and worse. I came through here because I was feeling so hot, and the stairwell's always so drafty, I thought that maybe I just needed to cool down, but it didn't help, I -" She lets out a gasp as I press my hand against her flesh. "Give me something. Morphine. Anything. Please!"

  "Hang on," I reply, pushing my fingers into her side and immediately feeling a large lump, about the size of a tennis ball. Although I don't want to jump to conclusions, I can't help but notice that it's in exactly the same spot as the tumor we found in Dominique Ribery's body. "You have a mass in here," I continue, my mind racing as I try to decide what to do next. "It has to come out," I say after a moment. "It just... I have to remove it as soon as possible."

  "It wasn't there earlier," she whispers.

  "It must have been," I reply. "There's no way a mass this size could develop so quickly. From a purely physiological standpoint, there's a limit to the amount of growth that a tumor can achieve in such a short period of time."

  "Make it stop hurting," she says again, with tears in her eyes. "Please, just make it stop!"

  "I will," I say firmly, already trying to figure out the best way to get her open and remove the tumor with the limited equipment we have on the ward. "I promise," I continue, "I'll fix this. Soon. I just need to get you back up to the ward and through to the examination room, and then..." I pause again. "Do you have any idea what happened to Dominique Ribery's body?"

  "What do you mean?" she asks, her voice filled with pain.

  "Ribery's missing," I continue. "Someone broke her free from the table and took her away." Feeling the lump under Nurse Aubry's skin again, I'm already working out what I'm going to do when I get her open. The best option will be to sever the various structures that the tumor has used to attach itself to the body... assuming that the tumor is similar to the one in Dominique Ribery's body.

  "Please," Nurse Aubry whispers through the tears. "Help me."

  "I promise," I reply, before scooping her up in my arms and, despite her agonized cries, starting to carry her back up the stairs. All I know is that I can't leave her like this, and the only solution is to get this damn thing out of her as fast as possible. It might be crude and basic, but sometimes, when all else fails, the best option is just to start cutting.

  Part Six

  Dreadnought

  Dr. Andrew Page

  "Clear the table!" I shout as I push the door open and carry Nurse Aubry into the examination room. "There isn't time to sterilize completely, but at least get that rag out of the way!"

  Pulling the stained old sheet from the table, Nurse Jacobs stumbles a little and has to reach out to steady herself against the nearby counter.

  "I need scalpels," I say, placing Nurse Aubry flat on her back as she groans with pain. "At least three, and somethi
ng to clean the skin, and something to sew her back up with when we're done."

  Nurse Jacobs stares at me.

  "Hurry!" I shout.

  "I'll see what we've got," she replies, opening a nearby cupboard. "This isn't an operating theater -"

  "I know it's not a fucking operating theater!" I shout, before realizing that I'm starting to lose my temper. "I need you to stay calm and focused," I add as I start to pull Nurse Aubry's clothes away to expose the slight swelling on the right side of her abdomen. "Just get the scalpels and the sanitizer first, and you can find the rest while I'm working on her."

  "What are you removing?" she asks, placing a set of scalpels on the nearby trolley before pouring a sanitizing solution over Nurse Aubry's belly. "What's in there?"

  "That's enough," I say, pushing her away before taking one of the scalpels and positioning it on the swollen skin. "Do we have anything to knock her out?"

  "We have pain-killers."

  As if on cue, Nurse Aubry groans a little.

  "What's wrong with her?" Nurse Jacobs asks.

  "Give her morphine," I tell her.

  "Help me," Nurse Aubry whispers, her voice filled with pain and fear.

  "It's killing you," I reply, staring at the smooth skin and the slight bulge beneath. "I can't wait for the morphine to -"

  "Just do it," she whispers. "I can feel it all through my body. Get it out..."

  Taking a deep breath, I press the tip of the scalpel against her flesh until, finally, it slices through. A tide of blood immediately emerges from the wound, and then more follows as I cut a long incision down past the side of the swelling. Although I quickly wipe some blood away, I know that my best option is just to work as quickly as possible and hope that she doesn't lose too much. Using the scalpel to make another cut, I'm finally able to peel a flap of skin away. I reach in with my fingers, but at first I can't find the tumor; after a moment, however, I spot the side of something dark and shiny, nestled just above her pelvic bone.

  "Here's the morphine," Nurse Jacobs says, injecting it directly into her arm.

  "I don't know how to do this," I whisper, staring at the glistening tumor. "I don't know what I'm supposed to do."

  "What is it?" Nurse Jacobs asks, leaning over to look into the wound.

  "It's some kind of tumor," I reply, "or at least that's what I thought it was. These things seem to grow so fast."

  Realizing that I don't have time to waste, I push a finger around the side of the tumor, trying to get it loose. The surface deforms, almost as if the damn thing is filled with fluid, but I finally manage to dislodge it slightly and expose the anterior side, where a thick white cord leads out of the main mass and deep into Nurse Aubry's body. I can't get the tumor out unless I cut that cord, but at the same time, I have no idea what the cord does or whether it might cause damage. As blood continues to flow from the wound, however, I realize that I've got no choice: if I don't do this, she'll die; at least if I remove the tumor, there's a chance she might survive.

  "Okay," I whisper, grabbing a fresh scalpel and placing the blade next to the white cord. I pause for a moment before starting to cut, but I quickly find that the cord is too tough to be easily severed. There's a cartilage-like covering, as if to protect whatever's inside, and all that happens as I try to cut is that Nurse Aubry's lets out a fevered, agonized groan.

  "Should I give her more morphine?" Nurse Jacobs asks.

  "Get me a pair of scissors," I reply. Seconds later, she passes them to me, and I open the blades and place them around the cord. I try to cut, but the cord is too tough. As Nurse Aubry cries out in pain, she shifts position a little, trying to roll away from me.

  "Hold her down!" I shout.

  Nurse Jacobs leans over and pushes Nurse Aubry's hands onto the table.

  I move the scissors so that the white cord is right at the base of the blades. Taking a deep breath, I try to cut again, and this time I manage to create an incision in the side of the cord; with a couple more attempts, I'm able to sever it completely, exposing what appears to be a bundle of nerves in the core, almost like a kind of crude spinal column. Clear yellow liquid flows out from the severed end, and for a moment I'm too shocked to do anything. Finally, I turn the tumor around and find the thick blood vessels that are growing out from the other side. Using the scissors, I cut the vessels one by one until the tumor is ready to be removed.

  "Get a pan!" I shout to Nurse Jacobs. "Something to -"

  Before I can finish, however, I spot a rupture opening spontaneously in the side of the tumor, spilling an oily black liquid over my hands and into Nurse Aubry's body. I immediately feel a burning sensation, and I'm forced to drop the tumor before running over to the sink and trying desperately to get as much of the damn stuff off my hands. It's as if I can feel my skin being burned away.

  "Use gloves!" I shout back at Nurse Jacobs. "Get that thing out of her!"

  I continue to run cold water over my hands, but it's clear that whatever that liquid was, it's left me with significant burns, mainly on the tips of my fingers. The pain is strong and intense, but finally I realize that I have to get on with the operation. Stopping the water, I hurry back over to the table just in time to see Nurse Jacobs lifting the tumor and placing it on a small dish. A large volume of the black liquid is already seeping through Nurse Aubry's open wound, and the tumor itself has only around half it's original size.

  "Keep it safe," I say, ignoring the burning sensation in my fingers. "I'll need to -"

  Suddenly Nurse Aubry's whole body begins to spasm and jerk, and she lets out a series of gasps.

  "I think she's going into cardiac arrest," Nurse Jacobs says.

  "Get the paddles!" I shout, immediately pulling the clothing clear from Nurse Aubry's body, ready to try shocking her heart. By the time I'm ready to do anything, however, the convulsions and spasms have stopped and she turns to look directly at me, her yellowing eyes filled with fear before blood starts to flow from her mouth.

  "That's not a heart attack," Nurse Jacobs says, staring in horror.

  "Get a -" I start to say, before realizing that there's nothing we can do here. It's as if Nurse Aubry's entire body is being broken down from the inside. She opens her mouth and lets out a faint gasp, but finally she falls completely still, her eyes still staring straight at me.

  I stand helplessly next to the table.

  "Is she gone?" Nurse Jacobs asks.

  I open my mouth to reply, but no words come out. "Yes," I say after a moment, "she's gone. I couldn't... She's dead."

  "You did everything you could."

  "No," I say, shaking my head. "I panicked. If I hadn't tried to cut that thing out so crudely, she'd still be alive."

  "I don't get it," Nurse Jacobs replies. "What happened?"

  I reach down and close Nurse Aubry's dead eyes, before looking over at the remains of the tumor in the dish. "It killed her," I say after a few seconds. "When it realized it was being removed, it released some kind of venom to kill its host." Looking down at my hands, I see a series of blisters starting to form on the skin that was burned by the black liquid.

  "You make it sound like it's alive."

  "I need to open it up," I reply. "I need to -"

  Before I can finish, the door swings open and Anthony runs into the room.

  "You have to -" he shouts, before stopping in his tracks as soon as he sees Nurse Aubry's body, with blood still flowing from the wound and dripping down onto the floor.

  "She's dead," I say firmly. "What do you want?"

  "You..." He pauses, clearly stunned by the sight.

  "What do you want?" I shout. "Speak, man!"

  "It's..." He pauses again. "It's Cally Briggs," he says finally, turning to me. "You have to come right now. I think Cally Briggs has gone completely crazy."

  Emma Briggs

  "Stop!" I scream, as she bites the side of my neck.

  Dr. Andrew Page

  "There's a child in there!" June Carey shouts as I reach the doo
r to Cally Briggs' room. "Emma's in there, you have to get her out!"

  I try to open the door, but something seems to be holding it shut. From inside the room, there's the sound of a young girl screaming, as well as a loud banging sound. It sounds like absolute chaos.

  "What the hell's going on in there?" I ask, taking a step back.

  "What happened to you?" June replies, staring at me.

  Looking down, I realize that I'm covered in blood from my attempt to operate on Nurse Aubry.

  "We have to get this damn thing open," I say, pushing with my shoulder against the door until finally I manage to get it to budge. I quickly realize that the bed has been pushed over against the door and seems to be caught on something, but with pure brute force I'm able to slide it away until I've got the door open part of the way. Looking into the room, I immediately spot Cally Briggs over at the far side, with her back to me as she tries to break down the door that leads into the small bathroom.

  "Cally!" I shout.

  She doesn't respond at first. Instead, she continues to pound at the door.

  "Cally!" I say again. "It's me! It's Dr. Page!"

  There's a pause, as if she knows I'm here but isn't sure what to do. She still has her back to me, but I'm worried that she might attack at any moment.

  "Help me!" Emma shouts from the bathroom, her voice filled with fear.

  "Cally," I continue, reaching a hand out toward her, "I need you to come with me."

  When she turns to look at me, I'm shocked to see that her eyes are yellow, with traces of blood, while her skin appears to have become a kind of deathly gray color. She stares at me for a moment, as if she's seeing me for the first time.

  "Cally," I say firmly, my heart racing as I try to decide what to do next. "It's me. It's Dr. Page. Can you hear me? You have to -"