"I'm sorry…I care, too?" he said with a half-smile.
She tried to return it, but couldn't. Her emotions were too frayed at the moment so she surprised them both and gave him a gentle kiss. When she pulled away, a pang of guilt hit her, but she knew deep down Marcus would want her to be happy for however long she had left.
"Well, if I'd known all it took was risking life and limb to get a kiss, I would have done it ages ago. In fact, I should go get the syringe to show you."
"Don't push it, mister."
Daniel grabbed her arm before Kevin could respond.
Chapter Fourteen
"What the hell is going on? I thought you said I could trust you."
Ally shook off Daniel's hand. "What are you talking about? Victor is going along with your plan, so be happy. Second, you can trust me. I haven't said anything."
Daniel stared into her eyes, stern. "This morning, those goons over there came into our 'quarters' and took all our weapons, informing us we were under investigation for murder."
Ally laughed. "I'm under investigation, too. Victor probably did Joseph in for some reason that makes sense to him, because I have no idea what sane person would want to be in charge of all this. As for the weapons, how many times did I warn you that we were unarmed? You should have known Victor would find a reason to take your weapons."
Daniel gaped at her for a moment. "So you're saying this is my fault? Screw this, we are getting the hell out of here."
"About that, you need Victor's permission. His men are guarding the exit. My advice is to act like everything is fine. Play nice with him and you might be able to get out of this mess. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to find a few hundred missing people and a doctor who's lost his mind."
Ally moved to the side and walked out of the room. Her first stop: the doctor's lab. As she approached, she caught a glimpse of Kevin and Daniel arguing with one another. She raised an eyebrow and held a finger to her lips. Peering around the corner, she spotted one of Victor's men guarding the door.
Ally turned without warning and punched Daniel. His head shot back and bit into the cement wall with a sickening squish. Kevin watched in horror as the man fell to the ground.
"Ally, what are you–"
"Help me lift him, and keep your mouth shut."
She and Kevin each grabbed an arm and dragged the unconscious man toward the guard. He spun on them, weapon raised.
"Careful there. Mike, right?"
The man nodded.
"This guy went crazy in the hallway. He started following me, rambling about a gun…I clocked him one, but he's definitely a case for Doc. He in?"
Mike glanced up and down the hallway. Ally recognized him as the man who'd given her an uneasy look the night before.
"I'm not supposed to let anyone in. Doc's doing something for Victor."
Ally smiled. "I get it. I'll just leave him here and you can…do whatever."
"No, I can't let you do that."
The arm Ally held tensed as Daniel came to. She loosened her grip and felt Kevin do the same. "We have a problem then, Mike, because I can't drag him around with me all day." Ally let go the arm she was holding. "God, he's a lot heavier than he looks."
Mike leaned his weapon on the wall then reached down to help Kevin. A fist rose from below, crunching into his face. Daniel rolled out of the way as the guard fell. Ally grabbed the weapon.
"Nice right hand you got."
"I could say the same about you. A little warning next time?" Daniel said.
Ally tried the handle, and the door opened. Inside, Dr. Miller sat with a pile of papers and a bloodied lab coat on the counter next to him. She entered slowly, trying to determine what he was doing. On the cot, a young man writhed, but didn't make any noise because of the gag in his mouth.
"Hey, Doc. Everything okay?"
Kevin followed her in with Daniel, the both of them dragging the guard. The doctor saw them, but said nothing. He looked at Ally, his face dull and lifeless. She was close enough to see the man on the cot was already a zombie or about to turn. The doctor was halfway through removing the teeth.
"Are you kidding me? How is this guy still alive?" Daniel said, dropping the guard to the floor.
Ally spied the bite mark on the doctor's arm and her stomach dropped. "Doctor Miller, please tell me what's going on. What have you been doing?"
His eyes lit up and he grabbed her arm, and she waved off Kevin and Daniel when they moved forward.
"The most wonderful thing has happened. The bacteria, I found a way to cure the problem. It was right in front of my face the whole time, but I didn't realize it until all those people got sick a couple of months ago."
Ally looked at the zombie on the cot. "What was right in front of your face?"
"The bacteria, what else?"
"And what did you do with the bacteria?" Ally thought she knew the answer, but wanted to be wrong. No way could someone do something so horrible.
"I cured them all. Don't you see? The zombie is the next step in evolution. They don't get sick. They're stronger and smarter. I just...helped move things along. Soon, everyone will be part of the next generation."
"You don't really believe that. You wouldn't remove the teeth if you did."
"No, I do that because I like to." His eyes took on a thoughtful glow.
"Shit," Ally said. She turned away from the doctor. "We have to warn the others. There's going to be a few hundred zombies, nice and fresh, and very hungry." She turned back, grabbing the doctor by the shoulders. "Where are they?"
"Around. Here, there, and everywhere."
She squeezed his shoulders and shoved him against the counter. "I'm not playing with you. Tell me where they are."
He smiled at her. "I told you. They're everywhere."
She drove her elbow into the nose of the uncooperative man. "Last time, Doc, where are they?"
He didn't lift his hands to his face, blood pouring down his chin and neck. "You don't listen."
Ally swung the Groza's strap over her shoulder and then pulled her machete. Hacking down, she decapitated the man on the cot. She turned to look at the doctor, and with another clean swipe, his head tumbled to the ground.
"Sorry, Doc."
Kevin's skin took on a green pallor and Daniel nodded his approval.
"Any idea how he managed to hide that many ill people? We walked around this whole place yesterday and didn't see anything, unless you're holding out on me."
Ally grabbed a med-kit and picked up as many bottles, pouches, and sealant tubes as she could fit into her oversized pockets. The two other men followed suit. She ransacked the room, knowing Daniel brought up a good point, but she might have an answer.
"Kevin, were there any signs of zombies in the tunnel you entered?"
"No…I don't think so, but I didn't stay there for long after I found the syringe."
Ally turned and walked out to the main room. The doctor would have needed a safe place to administer the medicine, somewhere no one looks, and either sound proof or noisy enough to cover up what he was doing. The tunnels were ideal. As she neared the end of the hallway, it occurred to her experimenting on this floor would be useless as well, because only a few people at a time would fit into the elevator to go up top. If that was the doctor's goal.
Stopping, she turned to Daniel. "Something isn't right."
"You're telling me. This place is messed up. I was safer topside."
Kevin hopped from one foot to the other. "Ally, we should keep moving. Maybe we can get out of here early."
She nodded, moving forward once again. A thought at the back of her head worried her, and she hoped she was wrong. When the trio entered the main room everything seemed fine. Groups of people were training in one area, others lounged in another. Ben sat in his usual chair, eyes scanning the crowd. Ally went to him, knowing he would understand and help figure out what was going on.
Ally didn't bother to hide the Groza hanging on her shoulder. Any minute, on
e of Victor's minions would find the massacre in the doctor's office.
"Ben, got some news for ya. Doc's been playing mad scientist, infecting people with the bacteria."
The large man jumped to his feet, all business. "What the hell are you talking about? Why would he do that?"
"That he was crazy is a good enough explanation for me, but the real problem is we don't know where they are. I have a suspicion. During the remodel, there was a problem with one of the sections. Noah told me it had caved in, but what if it hadn't?"
"Then it would be the perfect place to hole people up, but why?"
Ally didn't have an answer for that. Joseph might have used it as a storage unit for when supplies got low, but had he been coherent enough to do that? The doctor would have found out when his medical supplies went missing, so did he make a deal? Did everything snowball from there?
An idea shaped in her mind and she knew time was short.
"Kevin, go get Sean and stay in my room. Take this," she said handing him a Glock. "Shoot anyone who tries to get in that isn't me."
"Ally, I can–"
"It's not up for discussion. Daniel, get your men together and tell them we're going to get their weapons back. Ben, you be ready to shut these doors at the first sign of trouble."
"What are you doing?"
Ally grinned at him. "The usual, kick some ass, try not to die."
She left the room with Daniel, aware of suspicious eyes watching her. No time to worry about that, especially if she was right about what was going to happen next.
"How do you plan to get our weapons back?"
"I thought we'd ask really nice."
Daniel gave her a sidelong glance. "What's gotten into you? It's like you thrive on this…this…danger."
She didn't answer right away. Was she thriving? Thinking about the last few hours, she had to admit she'd never felt more alive, and for the first time in a long time she had purpose. Collecting supplies and watching out for Sean passed the time, but she felt like she was slowly being hollowed out. Every time she offered a false assurance that things would be okay she lost a piece of herself, but now she was doing something. Moving herself and others forward, out of danger and toward something new. She only hoped the something new was also something better.
Chapter Fifteen
Daniel's men were in the storage room turned sleeping quarters, none of them happy with Ally's news.
"Let me get this straight. Your doctor did some nasty shit to your people, and you want us to help clean up the mess? No thanks, give me my weapons and send me back into hell."
Ally eyed the young man: early twenties, a scar running from the corner of his right eye to the bottom of his ear. She understood his hesitation…to a degree. She still hadn't ruled them out as the people who'd wiped out the other groups she'd spoken to on the radio, and there was the murder of Joseph to think about.
"I don't care what you want. It stopped being that kind of world a long time ago. If you want to get out of here, you have two choices: help me, or regret it. I'll be in the hallway waiting for those of you who want to live."
She stepped out, knowing what Daniel decided would move them to action. Footsteps down the hall made her hide the Glock behind her back. Victor and two guards approached, stopping about five feet away.
"Lane, what are you doing here? I need to speak with these men."
"Go right ahead. I'm keeping an eye out in case one of them is the murderer."
Victor smiled thinly. "Why don't you save us a lot of trouble and admit to doing it? I'll go easy on you, promise."
Ally turned her head to stare at the wall across from her. Why was Victor back? And why was one of the men carrying a box of supplies? The door opened as Victor's other guard raised his hand to knock. Daniel stared at the raised fist, a look of confusion on his face.
"Mr. Paige, please accept this as a peace offering until we get things sorted out."
The box was set on the ground and the trio started to walk away. Joseph called over his shoulder. "Remember what I said, Ally."
Daniel knelt next to the box and pried the lid open. Several containers of water were inside. Ally placed a hand on his, stopping him from opening them.
"I'm not an idiot, I know these are full of poison or something as tasty," he said.
"Maybe. We need to move now."
Ally hustled down the hallway to Victor's new office. The guard outside looked as if he expected her, weapon at the ready.
"Lane. Victor told me to expect you."
"Really? That's sweet. Did he tell you to expect this?"
Her arm shot out pushing the muzzle away from her, then with her other hand she broke his nose. She caught his arm as he swung it at her, taking it with ease. She twisted it behind his back and slammed him against the wall. His rifle went to Daniel, and the Ruger came out of its holster and went to another one of his men. A quick elbow to the back of the head, and the guard left a bloody smear on the wall as he slid to the floor.
Ally pushed the door open, suspicious about the lack of guards. Why leave someone so inexperienced…unless there was nothing here. She backed out, not wasting her time searching the small room.
"Hey, I thought you said–"
"Whatever he's planning is already in motion. We need to find the storage area."
She jogged down the hallway, trying to remember where cave in had been. Noah had pointed it out to her when she'd first arrived, a lifetime ago. She continued to move, checking doors and vents, and then she heard it. Nothing major, nothing someone would stop for. Unless they were listening for it.
"Shh," she said.
Daniel signaled his men to stop, and she noted they'd all followed him. She also noticed there were three women, something she hadn't realized when she first met his crew.
"What? Voices?"
"Exactly. There's a vent above us, and to the side, but no doorways. So, where do you think those voices are coming from?
Daniel and his men set to work with Ally searching for a false panel, a hidden door, anything that would lead them to the storage area. After fifteen minutes, a short man with blond hair and brown eyes spoke up.
"I've got something."
Daniel and two others went to help him, a boy really, move a pile of old ammunition containers. They slid away as one from the wall, revealing a door.
"I'm not sure what's behind this, but assume it's bad."
She pushed down on the handle and kicked. The door almost flew off old rusty hinges, tearing away part of the frame and stopping at an odd angle. Ally flipped on the light attachment at the end of her A-19 and scanned the room.
"What the hell are you people doing down here?" one of Daniel's men said, murmurs of agreement running through the small group.
Ally didn't have an answer. The room was large, almost as big as the main room. Make-shift cages lined the wall, blood stains and other fluids no one wanted to think too much about lined the inside of them. A desk dominated the center area, a single bulb looming over it. A stained lab coat hung on the chair and empty syringes and bottles flowed over the edge of an industrial sized garbage bin. Next to it were a few bottles of murky water and meal packages.
The wall to their right was stacked with crates from ceiling to floor. Ally went toward them as the rest of the group spread out. She pried open one of the boxes, expecting to find it full of food or other necessities, and found herself disappointed when it was empty. She kicked more, and only a few didn't echo back.
No one called out any discoveries or problems. To Ally, the lack of news concerned her more than if they had discovered something. Joseph and Victor stocked this place in case of emergency, but why fill it with infected? What happened to the food? She stopped next to the desk and read a few pages from the doctor's journal.
"Oh, shit. We have to get to the others now."
Daniel raced after her as she wound her way down the corridor, the clatter of his men trailing behind them. "What the hell is it?"
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"The water and food, they contaminated it and plan to serve it at lunch. Victor must have killed Joseph to take over this place and has no desire to feed or look after the survivors. The missing people were experimented on. Victor wanted to see if they could be controlled and had the doctor mess around with a serum. Poor bastard went mad when he had to toss the living in to feed the dead, and the survivors he turned into zombies into the tunnels."
"That doesn't make sense! Why kill everyone? And why this way? That's stupid, dangerous."
"Not if you think you're creating an army that you can surround yourself with. A wall of undead flesh."
Daniel gasped for breath as his steps faltered a bit. "No, something's not right. He still needs to go out for supplies."
Ally ignored the stitch in her side, they were seconds away from the main room and she knew they would run into Victor's men. "I think the plan to kill thousands of people is a clear indicator the man isn't thinking clearly."
"We should be getting the hell out of here then," Daniel said between breaths.
"Not yet. I need to stop him if I can."
She pushed herself ahead, her stomach dropping when she saw the doors to the main room shut and four men guarding the outside.
"I'm so glad you're here! Something horrible's happened to Dr. Miller. He needs your help!"
A woman she knew as Jennifer pulled out a Ruger and fired. The shot grazed Ally's arm but didn't slow her down. The other guards stared, eyes wide.
"What the hell did you do that for?"
Jennifer turned to the man who spoke to her. "It's kill her before she kills you."
Ally launched herself at the man, the pair tumbling into the set of doors behind them. They landed in a heap with Ally straddling his chest. Her legs trapped his gun arm. She raised her A-19 and whacked the man across the face, knocking him out cold.
She glanced back, glad to see Daniel and his people had taken care of the other three guards. Many of them were happily checking the guards' weapons and strapping holsters back on. The whole ordeal took less than a minute, but it felt too long. The handle didn't move and she knew there was no way they could break down a door over a foot thick.
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