King County, Harrison Memorial Hospital.
Karina parked the car at the hospital entrance and turned off the engine.
She turned her head to glance at the back seat—Paul was lying there, his face pale, the bandage wrapped around his abdomen already soaked with blood.
"We're here."
She said, "Hang in there."
Paul was weak, unconscious, and didn't speak.
Karina got out of the car and took a folding wheelchair from the hospital entrance.
She opened the back door, carefully helped the unconscious Paul out, and sat him in the wheelchair.
Karina didn't say anything else and quickened her pace.
The hospital entrance was half-open, and it was pitch black inside.
Karina pushed Paul inside and, after adjusting for a moment, could see the scene within.
The corridor was long, and the light was dim.
But strangely, some lights were still on—not all of them, but one every few meters, emitting a faint white glow.
Some fluorescent tubes were broken, crackling and flashing with electric sparks from time to time, casting fleeting shadows on the walls.
"This place..."
Karina whispered, "Still has power?"
Karina also found it very strange.
It had been almost a month since the apocalypse, and power in most places had long been cut off.
Yet this hospital actually still had a lighting system—solar power? Backup generator?
"Hello? Is anyone here?"
She tried calling out.
The voice echoed in the empty corridor, but there was no response.
Only a humming sound came from the distance—probably some equipment still running.
Karina continued to push Paul forward.
On both sides of the corridor were patient rooms, most of the doors open, with darkness inside.
Occasionally, she could see people lying on the beds—no, corpses.
Some were already rotting and stinking, with flies buzzing everywhere.
Others were shriveled like mummies.
Karina continued to push Paul forward.
She checked the rooms one by one, looking for anything useful. Most of the rooms had been ransacked—likely by survivors who had come before.
But there were always some that had been missed.
She found a box of ethyl alcohol in the utility room.
In the pharmacy, she found half a box of antibiotics—although they were almost expired, it was better than nothing.
In the storage room, she found a few rolls of bandages and a pack of sterile cotton.
She stuffed everything into her backpack and then pushed Paul back to the patient room she had chosen earlier.
Paul was lying on the bed, unconscious; if she didn't stop the bleeding from his excessive blood loss, he was done for.
Karina unscrewed the cap and poured the alcohol directly onto the wound on Paul's abdomen.
"Ahhh—!"
Paul jolted up from the bed, his eyes wide as copper bells, his face flushed red.
He opened his mouth wide, letting out a pig-like shriek that echoed through the empty hospital.
"Oh shit, you, you—"
He gasped for air, pointing at Karina, "What did you pour?!"
Karina hurriedly held up the bottle to show him, "Ethyl alcohol!"
"OMG!"
Paul covered his face, "Karina! That's not how you use this stuff! You have to dip a cotton swab and apply it! You can't just pour it! This is alcohol! Not disinfectant!"
Karina froze for two seconds, then shoved the alcohol bottle into his hand, "Then you do it yourself!"
Paul held the bottle, gasping in pain, but still conceded, "No, no, no, I was wrong, please save this weak, pathetic patient..."
Karina rolled her eyes at him but still took back the alcohol, and following his method, used a cotton swab to apply it bit by bit to his wound.
Paul gritted his teeth in pain, but this time he didn't scream.
After changing the dressing and re-bandaging, Paul let out a long breath, "Thanks."
"You're welcome."
Karina packed up her things, "You owe me one."
Paul smiled, "I owe you."
Karina stood up, ready to continue searching for supplies.
Just as she reached the door, she suddenly stopped.
The cafeteria entrance.
A tightly closed iron door, with a chain wrapped around the handle and a rusty lock hanging on the chain.
But what caught her attention wasn't that, but the words on the door—
Written in spray paint, red, very large:
"Go to the CDC, there is a sanctuary"
Karina stared at those words for several seconds, then turned and ran back to the patient room.
"Paul!"
She said excitedly, "I found something!"
"What?"
"A sanctuary!"
Karina pointed in the direction of the corridor, "It says on the door, go to the CDC, there is a sanctuary!"
Paul frowned, "Is it trustworthy? What if it's a trap? In this world, there are all kinds of people—maybe it's a snare set by bad guys to lure people there..."
Karina thought for a moment and said, "We can go nearby and observe secretly first. If it's the military, or good people like us, we'll join. If something seems wrong, we'll run."
"We are weak and alone..."
She added, "It's really hard to survive on our own."
Paul was silent for a moment, then nodded, "You're right, let's go take a look."
The two packed their things and pushed the wheelchair out of the hospital.
The car drove along the highway in the direction of the CDC.
After driving for about twenty minutes, the fuel gauge needle on the dashboard suddenly began to shake violently.
"Damn it."
Karina looked at the needle, "We're running out of gas."
Paul sighed, "Hang in there, see how far we can drive."
They drove for another five minutes.
The car let out a cough-like roar, then completely died.
Karina slapped the steering wheel and cursed.
The two got out of the car.
Karina took the folding wheelchair out of the trunk and helped Paul onto it.
Then she pushed the wheelchair and continued walking along the highway.
"How much further?"
Paul asked.
Karina looked at the road sign on the side of the road, "About... ten kilometers?"
Paul was silent.
Behind them, a rustling sound came.
Both of them turned their heads at the same time.
At the corner of the road, several staggering figures were moving toward them.
Grayish-white skin, tattered clothes, open mouths—Walkers.
"Move fast."
Paul lowered his voice.
Karina gritted her teeth and desperately pushed the wheelchair forward.
The wheels rolled over the road, making a creaking sound.
Those things behind them were getting closer and closer—
Karina pushed the wheelchair with one hand and reached for the glock at her waist with the other.
"Don't shoot."
Paul said, "Just let them follow. As long as we don't stop, they can't catch up, and the gunshot will attract more."
Karina took a deep breath, put the gun away, and continued pushing.
One meter.
Two meters.
Five meters.
Ten meters.
Those Walkers followed behind, always keeping a distance of a dozen meters or so.
Neither fast nor slow, they just followed, like a pack of tireless hounds.
Cold sweat broke out on Karina's forehead, and her arms began to ache.
But she didn't dare to stop or slow down; she could only grit her teeth and continue pushing.
She didn't know how long they had been walking when an engine sound suddenly came from ahead.
A black humvee drove out from the corner and headed toward them.
Karina's eyes lit up instantly. She raised her hands and waved desperately.
"Hey—! Hey—!"
The humvee slowed down and stopped in front of them.
The car door opened, and a group of fully armed Soldiers jumped down.
Black combat uniforms, bulletproof vests, M4 rifles—exactly the same as the people who went to the mine that day.
A female Soldier in the lead raised her gun, aiming at the Walkers behind Karina.
Bang, bang, bang—
The silencer muffled the sound, and those few Walkers fell to the ground, their heads blossoming.
The female Soldier put away her gun, walked over, and sized them up.
"What's the situation?"
She asked, her gaze landing on the bandage on Paul's abdomen, "Were you bitten?"
Karina quickly shook her head, "No! It was a cut from car glass! He almost died from blood loss!"
The female Soldier—Sandra—squatted down and checked Paul's wound.
There was no bite mark; it was indeed just a cut.
She stood up and pointed ahead, "There's a sanctuary not far ahead, the CDC. There are doctors there who can treat him."
Karina asked in surprise, "Are you from the CDC?"
Sandra nodded, "Yes, but I'm leading a team on a search and rescue mission and don't have time to take you. You're almost there anyway, just walk yourselves! As long as you don't do anything stupid like screaming like monkeys, you should be able to arrive safely."
She turned and got into the car, closing the door.
The humvee started, drove past them, kicked up a cloud of dust, and soon disappeared at the end of the road.
Karina stared blankly as the car drove away, then turned to Paul and said, "Did you see that? The military! A fully armed military! That sanctuary is real! It's very safe!"
Paul also let out a sigh of relief and nodded, "It seems so."
Karina took a deep breath and gripped the wheelchair handles again.
"Let's go."
She said, "The final stretch."
She pushed Paul and continued walking forward.