Maybe it was the shock, or perhaps the fear, keeping the engineer’s adrenaline pumping, but surprisingly, Rolen didn’t feel any pain just yet. It allowed Nathan to bandage his arm relatively quickly and gently, the white fabric darkening into a deep red as blood seeped from the wound.

Lexa kept her eyes on the door, the screeching and banging of the infected on the other side making her bounce one leg impatiently. Both of her hands gripped the raised rifle, ready to shoot anything that dared to enter the space.

Rolen glanced around the place they’d managed to find relief in. It appeared to be a long hallway, thick double doors lining either side, thin beams of sunlight cutting through broken windows and illuminating the destruction inside.

Hospital beds were scattered everywhere. Papers and IV stands littered the floor, and a pair of legs protruded from behind a nearby corner. A trail of dried blood smeared across the wall toward them, enough to convince the young engineer that they weren’t just decorative.

“A h-hospital…” Rolen muttered in realization, causing Nathan to look up from what he was doing and properly scan their surrounding

Yeah they were in a hospital alright.  For better or worse.

The soldier stood upright, drawing in a slow breath as his jaw tightened.

"Great" Lexa said in a hushed tone.

"Well good news pretty boy, your stitches are around the corner!" She said, sarcasm dropping off her tongue. "We just have to move through the damn walking dead origin to get it!"

"Quiet!" Nathan snapped, whipping his head around to face Lexa with a glare, shutting up her whining instantly. 

"You see that?" He raised his hand and silently pointed at the ceiling lights that were flickering slightly but still functional.   "Power. Hospitals have their own generators in case of emergencies. Someone  clearly turned it on" he whispered, and rested his hand back on his weapon.

Lexa raised an eyebrow, turning her head to look at both ways of the hallway before turning back to look at Nathan.

"Perhaps it was Nurse Kelly waiting us at the door" she said, Shrugging her shoulders. The comment earned a small, breathy laugh from Rolen.

"Wanna go say hi?" She raised her eyebrows. "Nathan, we have no reason to believe those people are still able to string a sentence together!" She hissed.

"Lexa.." Nathan breathed out through gritted teeth taking a deep breath as he tried to control himself.

"Okay that's enough." Rolen interrupted, shutting the whole argument down. "As long as that is going on outside" he added jerking his chin to the door where the infected are still making a racket. "We can't go outside, and that noise is going to attract more,  we might as well gather what we need and explore while were here."  A soft hiss escaped him as pain suddenly spiked in his arm. The wound had begun to throb in earnest.

Nathan's expression instantly softened at the obvious pain Rolen found himself in. He nodded in response and glanced back at Lexa.

The young woman rolled her eyes but didn’t argue. It wasn't a bad idea but she just didn’t want to waste another second in a damn hospital.

"Then it's settled." Nathan replied, making the dicision final.

After taking a minute to braced themselves for whatever lay ahead, Nathan was the first to move, slowly pushing the door open and letting the wood silently slide across the floor.

Rolen followed close behind, clutching his wounded arm and carefully avoiding anything that might make too much noise.

Lexa brought up the rear, periodically checking behind them while keeping an eye out for anything… unnatural..

The young goth looked nervously around them, his legs aching now that the adrenaline is slowly fading from his system. The steady throb in his arm was a constant reminder that he was, in fact, still alive.

His gaze drifted from the floor upward, settling on Nathan walking mere inches ahead of him. The man was surprisingly calm. And not in the way a soldier would be in critical situations..

They’d just run a goddamn marathon, yet the combat medic didn’t seem remotely out of breath. His muscles looked larger somehow, his shirt pulled tight across his frame, like it might rip at any moment.

The young engineer tilted his head ever so slightly, Lexa’s heavy breathing mixing with his own in a silent confirmation. He furrowed his eyebrows but didn't say anything. 

Then something moved. Just at the edge of his vision.
Rolen snapped his head toward it, alarm bells ringing in his head.

There was nothing there.
But hanging from the ceiling- just beside one of the sealed examination room doors- was a camera.
Rolen stopped walking, his gaze locked on the small metal box.

The lens shifted, zooming in on their position.
Someone was watching them.