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day 8: hospital

sam stayed curled up on the floor of the triage room for what felt like hours, but really only about thirty minutes had passed. she could hear her mother moving out in the hallway, her hand grasping on the floor or blood gargling in her throat. slowly the sounds began to wane, and sam watched as her mother's movements became fewer and fewer, until her body was completely motionless. sam crawled towards the glass and watched her mother. her chest was still. there was no breathing. no nothing.

"mom?"

sam stayed frozen in the room, afraid to leave. but finally, she grabbed the wall and pulled herself up. she tried to steady herself, and slowly she began remembering how to walk.

she crept out of the room and stepped over her mother's lifeless body. still dazed, she stumbled through the hospital, unable to focus on where the exit was.

she reached a bathroom and went inside. collapsing in front of the toilet, her stomach heaved and emptied itself. she flushed it and unsteadily stood back up. she leaned against the sink and ran the water, splashing it onto her face and rinsing the acidic taste out of her mouth. she patted her face dry with a paper towel and looked at her reflection in the mirror. she looked as bad as she felt.

her skin was pale and she had dark circles under her eyes. sam looked just like her parents did the day before. she stumbled back from the sink and walked back into the hallway.

"mom? dad?"

there was no one left to help her.

she looked at the bodies scattered in the hallway. she didn't want to end up like them. she didn't want to end up like her mother.

"daddy?"

her feet kept moving her forward through the hallways. she felt tired, like she could just lie down and fall asleep right there. but she didn't want to do that.

a doctor's body was sprawled across the floor in the hallway. sam just stared at him. he was riddled with bullet holes, his chest like swiss cheese. she looked at the body leaning against the wall next to the doctor. it was a man, covered in blood, a pistol gripped in his lifeless hand.

sam moved without even thinking. she bent over and picked the gun up. taking a few steps backward, she hit the wall and fell to the floor. she sat there, looking at the gun, looking at her surroundings, looking at everything and seeing nothing. loud noises in the distance shook the hospital and brought her back from wherever her mind had gone.

she tried to remember the lord's prayer, but she'd never really been religious. instead, as she brought the gun up to her mouth, she said the last thought clinging in her head.

"daddy, please help me."

there was a moment of silence before the deafening sound of the gunshot filled the hospital. as suddenly as the sound had pierced the air, it disappeared, and the emptiness consumed all.

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