by Lowry, C. L.
Dalton lifted one of the mugs and blew on the mint tea before taking a sip. “Can I tell you a secret?”
Dr. Lee gave Dalton a suspicious look before answering, “Of course, you can.”
Dalton looked around before leaning in and whispering in Dr. Lee’s ear, “We’re leaving this place.”
Dr. Lee almost spit out her tea. Her eyes widened when she heard the words that Dalton muttered. “What do you mean you’re leaving?” she whispered back.
He smiled. “A group of us are going back to the hospital. We’re taking it over.”
“Are you serious?” she asked. A part of her was concerned, but she was more so intrigued. Dr. Lee was in disbelief. As Maverick mentioned, she did not spend much time outside their safe zone, so she really did not understand how dangerous Dalton’s mission was going to be. “I can’t believe it. Does Maverick know about this?”
“Hell no, and I hope you don’t go running to him.”
“I won’t, but don’t you think it’s important that you let him know that you are expanding? That way, he can plan the expansion properly. That’s a lot of miles to cover between here and the hospital.”
Dalton laughed. “Doc, you’re funny. This isn’t an expansion mission. I’m taking a group, and we’re going to be doing our own thing. The hospital will belong to us, not The Saviors. But the good news is my offer still stands. If you want to join us, you’ll get a whole floor to yourself. You’ll have complete control over your work. You’ll be able to do whatever you want.”
Dr. Lee took a minute to process what she was hearing. The thought of operating in a hospital seemed like a dream. She imagined the technology and supplies they would have access to, assisting her with research, but also the level of medical care they could provide to people. She thought about the women who had to deliver babies who would have the opportunity to give birth in an actual maternity ward rather than a room in the urgent care facility. “How many of us would be going?”
“Right now, it’s about twenty of us. Our plan is to take over the hospital, and then we’ll come back to get others. We’ll extend an invitation to anyone willing to join us. To live a freer life rather than being confined to the rules of The Saviors.”
“The rules aren’t bad here, though.”
“Are you kidding? They tell us how much food we can eat, what we can drink, and what missions we can go on.”
“That’s true, but it’s only to ensure that we have enough rations to last us,” Dr. Lee replied. She hesitated to tell Dalton that the rules he was referring to were her recommendations for the group. She instructed Maverick to have the food rationed. The group was able to begin planting and growing foods and herbs, but Dr. Lee was a planner. She did not want to ever get to a point where they ran out of food, so even though they were maintaining, she planned for the worst-case scenario.
“I don’t want to be told what to do. I’m not a child, and there’s no way I’m going to sit here and let another man tell me how much food I can eat. I’ll eat as much as my belly can hold if I want,” he announced.
Dr. Lee smiled. “That’s understandable. I think you should really wait to make the decision to leave here. If you want changes to be made, why don’t you just tell Maverick? I’m sure he can accommodate any of your needs.”
“I don’t want to be accommodated. I also don’t want to have to ask for anything. I shouldn’t have to. When we get to the hospital, there will be no rules. You’ll do what you want. This is still the land of the free, so we’ll live like it.”
Dr. Lee’s smile masked her true thoughts. She wanted to tell Dalton the truth about the rules that The Saviors had in place, but she felt that she would look like a hypocrite. In one conversation with Maverick, Dr. Lee could get everyone’s rations increased, but she knew that would not be enough to convince Dalton not to leave. However, it was still worth a try. She knew that Dalton could not be the only member of the group who felt this way. She was going to put some things in place to make life with The Saviors easier for everyone. “So, when’s the big day?”
“Tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow? That’s not too soon?”
“Nope. The sooner, the better. I want to get to that hospital before someone else has the opportunity to take it over.”
“But no one has taken it over in all this time. Isn’t that weird?”
“Not to me. The way I see it, it’s a bunch of scary motherfuckers like Maverick out here, so they probably didn’t understand the value of being in that place. But that’s fine because I see it. We’ll be heading out around midnight. We can meet here if you plan to join us.”
“Okay,” Dr. Lee reluctantly replied.
“Trust me—you won’t regret this.”
CHAPTER 24
Lori stepped back, doing her best to stay still. She watched as a mutation crawled around the room. Lori’s mouth dropped to the floor. The mutation was part of Jin’s most recent batch of serums. Black blood dripped from the mouth of the mutated man. Lori had never seen a mutation like this. She was used to the creatures being large and furry with sharp claws and fangs.
The creature in the room with her had a completely opposite look. It was completely bald. Its skin appeared to be tight and calloused. The creature still had sharp claws and fangs. It varied from being on all fours to standing. Deep scratch marks covered the floor.
Lori felt like her heart was beating out of her chest. Fear covered her, and it seemed as if the creature could sense it. It began inching forward in Lori’s direction. She crawled backward, trying to get out of the path of the beast. It stood on its back legs and let out a loud shriek. Lori covered her ears, but the shriek was causing a painful ring that traveled from her eardrums to her head. She could not help but scream in anguish.
The creature dropped on all fours and lunged toward Lori. She dove out of the way, causing the creature to crash into a metal shelf. It bounced right up and let out another shriek. The creature lunged at her again. Lori rolled out of the way. The creature crashed into the door. A metal piece of the shelf was under Lori’s hand. She gripped the long metal piece and sized up the creature. “Back up!” she yelled.
The creature stood on its back legs again. Lori swung at the it, striking the creature in the side. The creature jumped up on the ceiling. “Stay back.” The creature crawled around the ceiling, circling Lori like a vulture. Lori clenched the metal, ready to strike the creature again. Another loud shriek caused her to drop the metal and place her hands over her ears. The shriek traveled through the entire building.
“What was that?” Jin asked.
“I don’t know,” Brody replied, trying to figure out where the noise was coming from.
Jin looked around the field. “Brody, check the building! We’ll keep checking out here. They couldn’t have gotten far.”
“Copy.”
Brody headed back into the building. Another loud shriek echoed through the building. Brody sprinted through the building with his gun out. Members of The Association exited their rooms, also trying to determine the source of the shriek. Brody did not know where the shriek was coming from, but he was certain that it had to be coming from a mutation.
As Brody passed the rooms, he spotted members standing at the hall that led to Jin’s experimental wing. “If you are looking for the noise, it came from down there,” one of them said.
Brody advanced into the wing. He anticipated finding a large mutation at the end of the wing, but there was nothing. At the time, there was just silence. He put his ear up to each door as he worked his way down the hall. There was still nothing. Suddenly, a woman’s scream grabbed his attention. Brody ran directly to the room it came from and kicked in the door.
Lori busted out the room and ran into Brody. She was stuck between two enemies. With no weapon in hand, she had no idea how she was going defend herself against The Association or the creature. Brody grabbed Lori and pushed her into one of the empty rooms he passed. Lori pushed and kicked Brody, hoping
to get him off her. Brody was strong. Her strikes did not faze him. Brody pinned Lori to the ground. “Stop fighting me,” he whispered.
Lori’s eyes cut to the hallway and widened. The creature from the room was creeping in the hallway. Brody saw the expression on her face and slowly turned to see what had her spooked. He spotted the new mutation slowly crawling on the ceiling. Brody’s heart began thumping. He took shallow breaths. The door to the room they were in was wide open, and there was nothing stopping the creature from seeing them. They did not want to make any noise that would give away their location.
The creature paused on the ceiling and began sniffing loudly, picking up a scent. What the fuck is that? Brody could not explain what he was looking at. The grey, calloused skin that covered the creature’s body, black eyes, and sharp claws was enough to send a chill up anyone’s spine. It was not so much the appearance of the creature that concerned Brody but the way it moved. In a way, it was stealthy, besides the loud sniffing and ear wrenching shrieks.
In the distance, screams were heard followed up by gunshots. One of the guards from The Association was coming to assist Brody when he spotted the creature in the hallway. He ripped off two more shots before the creature let out a loud shriek and began charging at him. The creature jumped down from the ceiling to the floor, then back up to the ceiling, making it difficult for the guard to get a steady shot. Another guard turned the corner and began sending shots toward the creature. The 9mm rounds struck the creature’s calloused skin but did not slow down its stride. It dove toward the first guard, knocking him to the ground. Its claw sunk into his shoulders, puncturing his skin. It then swiped at the second guard, who was still firing on the creature, with no effect. The large claws ripped through the man’s face and neck. He screamed in agony and backed up toward the wall. Blood poured down his face.
The creature focused back on its first attack. “Get the fuck off me!” the guard yelled in pain. The creature let out another shriek in the man’s face. Black blood dripped from its mouth and into the guard’s face. The creature then chomped at the man, devouring his face with bite after bite. Its sharp teeth and fangs ripped his face off, chunk by chunk. “What the fuck!” the other guard yelled as he took off. The creature wasted no time pursuing him.
Once again, it jumped from the ceiling to the wall during its pursuit. Although the members of The Association heard the screams coming from the guards, they also heard the shots. They assumed whatever was down the wing was taken care of by the guards. More guards popped up and began ordering members back in their rooms. Some followed the instructions, and others remained in the hallway, being curious.
“Run!” the injured guard yelled when he turned the corner. He was holding his face, but blood continued pouring out. It happened so fast, the creature bounced on his back and took a chunk out of the back of his head with one bite. Panic and fear spread through the building. The other guards began firing, but it was too late. The creature could not be stopped. It bounced around biting and clawing anyone who remained in the hallway. No matter where anybody was in The Association, the screams and gunshots reached their ears.
“What was that?” Brody asked.
“I should be asking you that question,” Lori responded.
Brody climbed off Lori and allowed the woman to stand to her feet. Lori immediately took up a defensive position. She was ready to fight. Jin left her in that room for dead, and she was certain that Brody was sent to finish the job. “What are you doing? We gotta get out of here,” Brody said.
“We?”
“Yes, we. We have to link up with Nick and the others.”
Lori hesitated. “So, you’re working with Abraham too?”
He laughed. “Of course, I am. Now, let’s go, slugger.”
Brody peeked out of the room. There was no sign of the creature or the other members of The Association. The two stepped into the hallway. In a such a short time, the creature had destroyed the wing. Claw marks were all over the ceiling and floor. Blood was splattered all over the walls. The body of the creature’s first kill was centered in the hallway. Brody looked back at Lori. “We got no choice but to go this way.”
Screams could still be heard coming from the residential side of the building. The two could not see the carnage, but the creature was mauling anyone it came in contact with. Bodies were dropping left and right. Rather than heading toward the carnage, Brody and Lori took the stairs. They got to the bottom floor and exited the building. Gunshots roared as soon as they walked out. The loud shriek sounded again. They both covered their ears, hoping to muffle the creature’s torturous scream.
“Let’s go,” Brody said once he spotted the guards firing on the creature. This was the perfect distraction for their escape. The two took off toward Nick’s post. Members of The Association were either actively combatting the creature or hunkered down, trying to avoid it. The wall that surrounded their territory was meant to keep mutations out, but now it was caging everyone in. With guards leaving to assist with the defense against the creature, all posts were unmanned, except Nick’s post. He sat in the blue Toyota, waiting. He heard the commotion in the distance but did not concern himself with it. He did not know what the shrieks were, so he figured the gunshots were between Brody and other guards.
A knock at the passenger window startled him. “Hello, young man. Have you seen Dr. Abraham?” Jin asked.
Nick stepped out of the Toyota. “Dr. Jin, I don’t think it’s safe for you to be out here.”
“Oh, don’t worry about me, young man. I asked you a question. Have you seen Dr. Abraham?”
“Uh, no. No, I haven’t. Is there a reason I would be seeing him?”
Jin looked up at the opening in the wall. “Yeah, I would say that there is a very good reason you would be seeing him.”
Jin walked toward Nick and rolled his sleeves up. Nick backed up slowly. His hand rested on his sidepiece. The old 9mm Ruger® was more than enough to put Jin down. Jin continued advancing. “I’m going to ask you one more time: where is Dr. Abraham?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking—”
Nick’s statement was cut short once he heard the cocking of the pistol that was shoved against the back of his head. The guard who was accompanying Jin had snuck up on Nick. The guard pushed Nick’s hand away from his Ruger and removed the gun from the holster. “It looks like you just walked yourself into a sticky situation. Get on your knees.”
“Why are you doing this? I told you I did not see where Dr. Abraham went.” The guard pressed the gun harder against the back of his head. Nick dropped to one knee.
“You know what’s funny? Almost every guard in this place left their post except for you. There’s a mutation running around our camp, and you are over here, playing it safe. And out of all places, you’re sitting at an opening in the wall. I find that very coincidental. And I don’t believe in coincidences.”
“I don’t know what to tell you. I didn’t know any of that was going on.”
“I know what you can tell me. The truth.”
“You can’t handle the truth,” a voice said from behind.
Jin turned around. “Lori. How the hell did you make it out of that room?”
“I don’t think that matters.”
“Well, I beg to differ. There is currently a mutation on the loose. At first, I thought it was our little friend that you helped escape but now that I see you, I think it’s the creature that you were locked in the room with. If that’s the case, I believe that matters a lot.”
“Not really. Do yourself a favor and let Nick go so we can leave.”
“Oh, so my suspicions were correct. He is a traitor, just like you.”
“You’re the only traitor here. Like I said, let him go.”
“Or else what?”
“Or else I’ll put a bullet in your head,” Brody chimed in while popping out from behind a tree.
“Wow,” Jin said when he laid eyes on his subordinate. “Today is just full of
surprises, isn’t it?”
“You can say that,” Brody responded.
“That’s good to know. Unfortunately, I’m going to have my comrade over here put a bullet in your friend’s head. Afterwards, I’m going to make you two my next test subjects. I’m going to enjoy watching you suffocate from the gases that I’ll force into your lungs. Your blood will boil in your veins as you scream to stop.”
“That all sounds good, but I doubt that’s going to happen,” Brody said. “Your comrade is going with us.”
Jin turned around to look at the guard. He was no longer pointing his gun at Nick but instead at Jin. “You can’t be serious. How were they able to get to you?”
“I think the question is, how didn’t you know? You pride yourself on being so smart, but somehow, your dumbass couldn’t see what was happening right under your nose.”
Jin remained silent. The gears were already turning in his head, and he already began plotting on how he was going get revenge on them all.”
Nick stood up and walked over to the wall. He began slowly pushing it open. He walked by Jin, bumping him when he passed. The guard still had his gun aimed at Jin.
“We don’t want to have to kill you, Doc. Take this opportunity to get out of here.”
“You think I’m going to just walk away and let you escape? You took my serums, and I need them back. You’re not leaving until I get—”
The loud thump from the guard’s gun hitting Jin on the side of the head made everyone cringe. The doctor never saw it coming and was knocked out cold. Gunshots were still going off, sounding like thunder in sky.
“Let’s get out of here,” Brody said. “Nick, you got the flare gun?”