by Max Lockwood
The cellar door slammed behind him when he left, causing the stairs to rattle. Melissa ran over to the men, quickly untying the knots that bound their hands and feet.
“I’m so sorry,” she kept repeating over and over again as she worked to free them.
“What for?” Alec asked.
“I don’t know. I didn’t realize you were going to go out while I was on the date. I could have helped you somehow.”
When she removed the rope from Bobby Dean’s hands, he pulled her in for a tight embrace.
“That’s why we didn’t tell you,” he said, squeezing her. “I’m sure you did a great job. Now, did he hurt you? Try any funny business?”
She shook her head.
“Good,” he replied as he released her. “I still want to kill him, but now I’m not obligated to make it as painful as possible.”
“Come on,” Melissa said softly. She didn’t want anyone to be violent on her behalf. Also, she was in disbelief that anyone would want to seek revenge on her behalf.
“Actually, I wouldn’t be opposed to it either,” Alec said darkly. “I saw what happened to Thomas. I’d like to scoop out his brain, too.”
Melissa crumpled to the floor, the image of Thomas missing his humanity stuck in her head. She felt warm hands on her shoulders as she cried.
“Don’t worry,” Bobby Dean said, rubbing her back. “We’ll get justice for Thomas and all the others. Then, we’ll get to New York and get the real cure out there. We can’t let this happen to anyone else. I’ll be damned if Callum’s mayor for another day.”
22
Using a hair pin, Bethany poked around the lock, trying to free herself. She swore under her breath every time she heard a tumbler shift but the lock didn’t open. She worked at it until the tips of her fingers started to blister from gripping the small metal object between her fingertips.
“Would you like to try, or do you plan on sitting there forever?” she asked Will, feeling frustrated.
“I don’t think you can pick a lock like that,” he replied.
“Why not?” she scowled, annoyed with his lack of help and poor attitude. “Are you just saying that because it might give you a little hope to keep trying?”
“No,” he said, taken aback by her reaction. “Even if you manage to pick that lock, there’s still a hefty deadbolt above it. That’s not something you can open with a hairpin. You’re better off using that thing to tunnel below the ground.”
“Oh,” she said, tossing the bent pin to the ground. “That was my only idea. Let me know if you come up with anything better.”
Bethany sat on the ground and sulked for a while, mad at Will for being so unhelpful. Every idea she kicked around got stomped on before she even had a chance to create a concrete plan. With every suggestion, there was a reason it would never work. Finally, she stopped telling Will her plans, but that didn’t seem to quiet his disapproval. Eventually, she got so fed up of sitting in silence that she found her hair pin and started scratching at the walls. It would never be enough to actually escape, but it felt good to be doing something.
“I was kidding when I said that,” Will exclaimed, the scratching sound grating on his nerves. “Face it, you’re not going to pick a lock or break your way out of here. It doesn’t work like that.”
The window in the cell slid open and a hand reached in with a bottle of water. Will greedily took the container and guzzled the lukewarm liquid. He handed it to Bethany, who sipped her half.
“Listen, Mark,” she said once her thirst was quenched. “I’m going to need to use the bathroom here pretty soon. Are you going to figure out a way we can do that?”
Mark scratched his face. “Actually, I came here because I wanted to ask you something.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Bethany saw Will sit up a little straighter.
“What do you want to ask me? How do I live, knowing that my brother is perfectly fine with my incarceration for a crime I didn’t commit? Oh, I don’t know—somehow, I manage.”
“It’s about your meeting with Dr. Vincent,” he said tentatively. “What was it about? What did you tell him?”
Bethany frowned. “Don’t you have files on all of this stuff?” she asked. “I’m pretty sure he was writing notes when we were talking.”
“Well, sometimes, he took notes. He wasn’t very consistent with his record-keeping. In fact, no one can find any notes he took about you.”
“Why does it matter if he’s dead?” she asked. “He doesn’t need the information.”
“I was curious because I saw a list of all the women on base.”
“That makes sense. We were all interviewed.”
“Your name was underlined.”
Bethany froze. “What—what do you mean?”
“Exactly that. There was a list of every woman here. Your name was underlined for some reason. I was sent here to find out why. What did you two talk about?”
“Nothing,” Bethany stuttered, afraid that Dr. Vincent would screw her over one last time. Even in death, his dictatorship was causing her grief. The brainwashed soldiers would certainly inject her with some dangerous substance, all because he’d underlined her name on a paper. She would never escape it.
“It doesn’t seem like nothing, Bethany,” Mark said. “Just tell me what you talked about and it might clear things up.”
She shrugged. “He asked about my family history—medical stuff, you know. You should be able to answer all of those questions. Maybe he underlined my name because I was unsuitable for whatever he was going to test next.”
“Maybe,” he said skeptically. “I want you to think hard about what you talked about. Did he ever mention any specific strain when he was talking about his work with the women on base?”
“No, he didn’t say anything about it to me,” she said earnestly. “I have no idea, Mark. Please don’t make me go for testing. What if he was trying to note that his experiment would kill me?”
“I’ll discus this with the scientists. Are you sure you’re being completely honest?”
She nodded frantically.
“She’s lying,” Will said loudly from his seat on the floor. He said it so casually that Bethany was completely shocked to hear his voice. For someone who hated Dr. Vincent, he sounded like he was back on the evil side.
“What?” she squawked. “What do you know?”
“Will,” Mark said firmly, “if you know something, you need to tell me.”
“Bethany doesn’t want you to know our dirty little secret.” He grinned. “I don’t care anymore. We’re already locked up. There’s nothing left to lose. I’ll tell you.”
“Yes, Will, tell me,” Mark said eagerly.
“Bethany’s name was underlined because she’s right in the middle of this whole epidemic. So am I, to be honest.”
She scowled. “What are you talking about, Will? I don’t know what you’re playing at, but it’s not funny.”
Will picked up her hair pin and scratched it into the ground. “Quiet, Bethany.”
“Yeah, be quiet, Bethany. Let the man speak.”
Will stood up and leaned against the door so he could speak directly to Mark.
“Here’s the thing—your sister knows Elaina Morgan. I do too. This makes your sister the most valuable thing the New Militia has. She’s the secret weapon.”
“How so?” Mark asked, completely bemused.
“Do you remember when your dear sister crashed her car?” he said. “She crashed into the car I was in. Elaina was there, too. We didn’t know if Bethany was infected, so Elaina injected her with what she said was a cure for her virus. So, your sister has some very valuable technology in her veins. She might be the only one. As I recall, Dr. Vincent never managed to make a cure, even though it would have made him rich and wealthy beyond his wildest dreams. This whole war could be won with the cure if the right side has it.”
“Is this true, Bethany?”
She didn’t answer, not sure what to say. Sh
e wasn’t sure where Will was going with his yarn.
“She’s just afraid of being the center of attention. But this means that if she’s injected with anything else, it could taint the purity of the cure. The second you inject something into her, your power is gone.”
Mark frowned. “This can’t possibly be true.”
“No?” Will chuckled. “Can you afford not to believe me? Why else would he underline her name? He marked it so he wouldn’t test on her.”
“How do I verify this?” Mark asked. “How do I know that you’re not lying to get your jollies or whatever?”
“Whatever, don’t believe me,” Will said, sitting back down. “That’s just your golden ticket standing right in front of you. You’d be insane to let anything bad happen to her.”
“I need to talk this over with the senior officers,” Mark said. “I need to confirm whether any of this is even possible.”
“Go ahead,” Will said dryly. “You know where to find us. Just remember, she has the key to the cure and I have the connections to Elaina. Use that information as you will.”
Mark nodded and closed the window. Will smiled to himself, a look of satisfaction plastered on his face.
“What was that all about?” Bethany asked, slapping Will on the shoulder. “I couldn’t follow any of that. Honestly, I don’t get it. Are you trying to get us killed?”
“I’m trying to save your life,” he replied. “My life too, if I can swing it.”
“I don’t get it. Nothing that you told him was remotely true. Elaina was unconscious when I crashed into you. We’ve never met.”
“They don’t know that. I’m planting a few seeds of doubt in their minds. They’re so lost without Bretton that they don’t know what they’re doing. If my suspicions are correct, they’ll be too afraid to kill you, let alone inject you with something. They might try to test your blood or something, but at least you’ll get out of this cell for a little bit.”
“Yeah, until they figure out you’re full of crap and they kill me.”
Will shrugged. “Figure out a way to run before then. I didn’t say I would guarantee your freedom. You have to admit that this little lie opens up more possibilities for escape than you previously had.”
Bethany didn’t want to admit it, but he had a point. While convoluted, the incorrect information had bought her a little more time. Now, it was up to her to stretch that time and make it work for her.
“I also mentioned that I have ties to Elaina because if we can make it out together, we’ll be much more formidable. Your brother is making things difficult on us, but when it comes down to it, he’s pretty compliant when it comes to dealing with senior staff. We just have to confuse everyone enough to slip out of here.”
Bethany knew he was right. If his story confused her, then it would certainly confuse the soldiers. When she crashed the car, she was being contacted by Mark on the radio. She later told him the story about wrecking the car when she was brought in with Thomas. Will could provide details about Elaina that could easily be backed up with a little research. The more she thought about it, the more she thought it could work.
“This is crazy,” she said, adrenaline rushing through her bloodstream. “I thought you had given up.”
“I had,” he said. “But there’s something about you that reminds me of Natalia. You’re both stubborn and feisty. When I saw you lose hope, it was like seeing her down in the dumps. I couldn’t sit here while you suffer. I’ve made a lot of terrible mistakes and treated people like garbage. I know I’ll never get back to my old self again, but sometimes, I feel like it’s possible for me to make tiny amends. Do you know what I mean?”
Bethany nodded. “You’re saying that you’re still going to be an asshole, but you might be helpful once in a while.”
Will smiled. “Exactly. You’re catching on quickly.”
Bethany twiddled her thumbs. She was nervous about what was happening with Mark. She hoped he presented a good case for her. Just as Will popped out of his virus-induced trance at the sound of Natalia’s name, she hoped that deep down, Mark wanted her to be safe.
“So, suppose we find a way out of here for good,” she said. “What then?”
“New York,” Will answered immediately. “I need to find the others. I know that there’s a really good chance that most of them, if not all them, are dead by now, but I don’t think I could ever find closure if I didn’t try. I have a feeling my presence isn’t welcomed there, so it will probably be a very short visit. After that, who knows? Maybe I’ll try Canada. Maybe I’ll find a cabin and go fishing and hiking every day for the rest of my life. That might be nice.”
Bethany rolled her eyes. “You really have high hopes.”
“What would you do?”
“I don’t know,” she said before letting her mind wander. “I’d try to get across the quarantine. I’d get as far away from the militia as I could. I should have started carrying cyanide capsules inside a false tooth. That way, I would never have to go through this again.”
Will scoffed. “Are you a spy or something? Who even thinks like that?”
“Someone who’s been captured by the new army on more than one occasion.”
Will raised his hand. Bethany couldn’t help but laugh.
“Are we the only two to escape, only to be trapped again?” She groaned.
“As far as I know,” Will said wistfully. “Maybe that’s a sign that we ought to stick together.”
“Maybe.”
The more she spoke to Will, the less Bethany resented him for the world of trouble he’d gotten her in. If she were being honest with herself, it wouldn’t have been much longer before her own actions had resulted in the same fate. Plus, Will had managed to take down the originator of her troubles. That counted for something.
While Mark held a conference with the higher ups in the militia, the prisoners talked exit strategies. Many ideas were farfetched and downright dangerous, but this time, Will played along with the brainstorming. In the end, they knew that no amount of planning would help them when the time came for them to run. But it gave Bethany some comfort to feel as if she had even an ounce of control over her survival.
23
In the cellar of a grandiose hotel, Alec, Bobby Dean, and Melissa were also talking about escape strategies. Unfortunately, their tyrant was still very much alive and well-organized. But when they discussed plans, everyone had a different priority.
Bobby Dean has a strong sense of justice for their situation. He wanted Callum to feel the full brunt of the suffering he’d caused others. Most of this suffering was imagined because he had no way of accounting for the lives Callum had ruined before they met him. His best idea was to pound Callum’s head into the ground until he was brain dead, then hand him over to the Infected in the cow pasture.
This of course, did not sit well with Alec or Melissa. As much as they hated Callum, it seemed a little extreme to go to such lengths to get rid of him. Alec thought in practical terms—if they needed to eliminate him for escape purposes, a fatal blow would suffice. There was no need to drag things out because that would only make the possibility of being captured that much greater. They must always account for Callum’s allies, of which there were many.
Melissa felt like she didn’t have the appropriate amount of time to mourn Thomas’s loss before getting back to business. Though she knew what she would see could scar her for life, she didn’t feel good about abandoning Thomas. After all, he was still a sentient being, of sorts. No one could adequately care for him like she could. After all, she owed that to him. He had nursed her back to health when it would have been easier to leave her behind.
“I want to take Thomas with us,” she requested softly. “What if they treat him poorly after we leave?”
“No,” Bobby Dean drawled in a drawn-out dissent. “I know you’re sad about this, but that’s a terrible idea. Do you have any idea how to care for a little zombie man? No, he would probably end up getting you k
illed. Are you ready to be a caretaker to someone who doesn’t even know his own name? You’d be stuck with him for life.”
Melissa thought about it. She did value her independence. But Thomas had become a part of her. It would be a sin to abandon him.
“He’s better off with his own kind,” Bobby Dean continued. “I know it’s hard, but what you choose today will determine the rest of your life. Don’t you want to be able to live your own life one day?”
“He’s right,” Alec said. “He’s not really a human anymore. Not in the way you’d hope, anyway.”
“Fine,” Melissa cried. “We’ll just leave him here. I was just so happy to hear that he’d survived the fire. I wanted to properly tell him goodbye.”
“I know,” Alec said. “But it won’t do either of you any good to sit around and wonder how things could have gone differently. I think he would want you to move on.”
She nodded. “He would want me to get to Oklahoma.”
“Exactly,” Alec said, a little brighter. “So, let’s figure out how we’re going to get there. We need to watch out for hired guards and Callum’s army of ex-Infected. “As far as the ex-Infected go, they can take orders, but their thinking skills aren’t so sharp. If we can confuse them, we’re home free. The others could prove to be more of a challenge. They have some firepower on their side.”
“Maybe I can be used as interference,” Melissa said, a tinge of sarcasm in her voice. “I’ll distract the ex-Infected while you guys get a vehicle. There’s a lot full of them just behind the hotel.”
“She’s right,” Bobby Dean said, remembering the beat-up car they drove into Safe Haven. “I wonder what Mike did with his car keys. The dude is probably dead by now, right?”
Melissa grimaced. “Or has been operated on. Take your pick.”
The door to the cellar opened and everyone became silent. Melissa wondered if someone at the top of the stairs had been listening to their plans. If so, they would certainly be punished. She wished she had spoken a little more quietly.