by D. K Lake
Chapter 20
I felt the Jeep slowing down and I quickly ducked back down, and pulled the blanket over my head. I couldn't hear anything over the music and stayed in my curled up position in the dark. It was like I had suddenly come down from a major high, and was left feeling like crap. All I could think about was Drew. I was so angry with him, I still wanted to punch something, preferably Drew, but that wasn't going to happen anytime soon as I would never see the guy again.
One minute he was being friendly, the next he was giving me the cold shoulder, it reminded me of that song by Katy Perry, Hot N Cold, that Pip used to play on repeat, (she loved Katy Perry), then I wondered why on earth I was even thinking about such random shit.
I was confused as to why I was so cut up over Drew not saying goodbye to me more than I was over saying goodbye to Lane. I thought I would have felt more emotional about leaving Lane, but I felt numb. I was upset, of course, but not enough to make me cry.
My tear ducts must be broken.
The Jeep surged forward and bumped over what felt like road bumps in the road. Then the Jeep went into hyper-mode, swerving, speeding up, slowing down. I assumed we were driving around the university grounds. I heard the horn a few times. Then Ross hit the brakes and a heavy box toppled on top of me.
“Uh!!” I grunted.
What's in that box? Bricks?
The music suddenly stopped and the engine cut out. I heard the Jeep door slam, and within seconds the trunk door opened and the weight of the box was lifted off me.
“Sorry, 'bout that.” Ross said.
“Are we safe here, from deadbies?”
“Yes, there's a high brick wall surrounding the grounds, and the whole place is guarded. So we have to be quick, the guards will be walking this way any minute. I drove around trying to spot them, but I think they popped into the cafeteria. Come on, we need to hurry.”
He offered me his hand and I let him help me out of the Jeep. I jumped down to the ground and my legs gave out under me. I fell to the ground and swore under my breath.
Ross grabbed my waist and picked me back up, and reached back into the Jeep to get my rucksack. I took a moment to look around. We were parked up outside what looked like a large, metal garage, behind me I could see a road that led off toward a large historical building, with lots of smaller buildings. There was a wall dividing us from the buildings in the distance, and on this side of the wall, I could see large tents set up for the Army.
“Is that the university?” I asked.
Ross slammed the door.
“Yes, the research center shares a road with the university back to the main road, but the university is divided by the wall, there are patrols all over.”
“Do they still have teachers and classes over there?”
“I don't really know, I don't go over there, but I see people wandering around at lunchtime. I think they're all researching the virus, but the experimenting goes on over here.”
He led me to a side door beside the large garage door. He pulled a set of keys from his pocket and opened the door.
I looked up at the tall windowless building and spotted a camera on the wall.
“Um... Ross, is that thing working?”
“No, I ruined a few cables before I left, so it looks like the rats have done it.”
“Rats?”
“Yeah, can't get rid of the buggers.”
“Why are you doing this, helping me?”
“'Cause Nick's my friend, and... I have nothing better to do with my time.” He shrugged.
“He's not going to put me in a cage is he?”
“I dunno, do you bite?” Ross smirked.
“Funny.” I muttered, walking into the darkness.
Ross flicked the lights on, we were inside a large warehouse-type garage with fluorescent lights that made me squint like mad.
Ross strolled across the garage to a trolley.
“So that was the easy part, now we need to get you down to the Lab without getting seen. Once you're down there no one will find you, no one bothers the nerds.”
“Nerds?”
“You know, the science geeks...or should I say, geek, as we only have one now.”
He wheeled the trolley across the room, it kind of looked like a tea trolley. A noise from outside the garage door caught our attention, outside two men were laughing and joking.
“Quick, get under the trolley,” Ross said, ripping a box open and tugging out white sheets.
I climbed under the trolley and hugged my rucksack while Ross chucked an armful of sheets on the trolley, making sure they hung down and concealed me from view.
I heard the side door open, the same one we had walked through.
“Ross,” someone greeted him. “You just got back?”
“Uh, yeah,” Ross replied.
“Been to see your little slut?” said a gravelly voice.
“Enough of the slut talk, please.” Ross said, standing in front of the trolley to cover me.
“Is she even legal?” asked another, younger, voice.
“Like it matters anymore.” said the gravelly one. “So come on, this slut of yours, she got any friends?”
“A: She has a name, Zoe, and B: Even if she does have friends, I'm not about to introduce them to you. No girl wants to look at your wrinkly old cock, Dave.” Ross said, and the younger guy laughed.
“Whatever, tell your little slut to come and see me if she wants a real man.” said the gravelly one, walking past the trolley.
I froze, afraid to move, afraid to breathe, afraid to blink, my heartbeat was going a million miles a minute...I could hear it loudly, thudding in my ears, what if they could hear it as well?
No that's insane, now I'm just being crazy.
“What's with all the sheets? Those asshole nerds been re-enacting Brokeback Mountain again?”
Ew...Really?! I couldn't see this guy but I wanted to knee him in the balls for being such a dick.
Ross wheeled the trolley away and over to a bench. Good thing I wasn't that heavy.
“Actually there's only one of them left down there now.” Ross said quietly.
One of them left? What happened to the rest of them?
“Oh, I'm sure you keep him company at night, which one's left? Chenny, boy? Or the Chinese one?”
Ross ignored him.
Chenny? The Chinese one?
Hang on a minute, I thought I was going to see Nick Walker? What the hell was going on? Who was Ross taking me to see?
“Whatever! I need a drink. Come on, Ed, let's leave this piece of shit to clean up everyone else's shit.” Dave laughed and I heard them leave through a different door.
A moment later Ross crouched down and lifted one of the sheets aside.
“Just ignore what Dave said, he's a right dickhead.”
“Yeah, I got that. Um, who's Chenny and the Chinese one?”
Ross frowned like he didn't understand what I was talking about.
“I thought I was going to see Nick?”
“You are,” he said, reaching past me and pointing. “Hey, just lift that sheet up.”
I twisted around and lifted the sheet aside, and my eyes widened at all the different boxes of chips and chocolate bars.
“Oh my, I think I already died and went to heaven, you guys have chocolate here? Snickers, Mars bars, num-num-num-num.”
I got sidetracked.
“Yeah, the guys cleared the supermarket out, you know, the one opposite the shopping center.”
I nodded, licking my lips, picking up a Mars bar and practically drooling.
“Are you okay?” Ross asked, slightly amused.
“Yeah, as long as I've got chocolate everything's fine.”
“Grab what you want.” he said, straightening up and letting the sheet drop down.
I didn't waste any time and grabbed a nearly empty box and filled it with junk food treats. At present, I couldn't keep anything down but I wasn't going to let that stop me munching on chocola
te.
I heard Ross piling boxes onto the trolley and after a few minutes, he lifted the sheet again.
“So you're, like, their lackey?” I said.
Ross shrugged.
“It's not that bad, as soon as I've done my chores I can leave and do whatever I want, no one keeps tabs on me, so I can come and go when I please, and I can see Zoe whenever I want. At least being the lackey means I don't have a time schedule and can do what I like most of the time. And luckily for me, the nerds always keep a tidy room, well... one nerd, Chen's missing at present.”
“Who's Chen?”
“Another one of the scientists here. They say he's over at the University, but I dunno, I asked around and no one has heard of him over there.”
“So where is he?”
“Dunno, like I said, he's missing, people tend to go missing around this place... Right, you ready?”
I wanted to ask more questions but I didn't get the chance. He let the sheet fall back down.
“Stay quiet, and no peeking.”
The trolley started to wobble and we soon picked up speed, but Ross slowed down for the door. He moved around the trolley to open the door, then I was rolled through into a corridor. I couldn't see much, except for the speckled white floor. I kept my legs tucked up, holding my rucksack.
The trolley creaked, squeaked, and rattled. We stopped at numerous doors, where Ross said 'hi' to people and handed them boxes of supplies, and made general chit chat, most of them were interested to know what it was like outside the grounds. I got the picture these people never left this place. He wheeled me along one, very long, straight corridor, and into an elevator. The doors slid shut.
“You okay under there?”
“Um, yeah, where are we going now?”
“Nick lives underground in the Lab.”
“Underground?”
“Don't worry, it's not dark down there or anything like that, it's actually a lot nicer than up here.”
“Who were all those different people you were talking to?”
“Different scientists, they all specialize in different areas. Some test the blood, others dissect bats, and whatever scientist like to do.”
“And what does Nick do?”
“Nick's been working on the cure. There were more of them down there testing the vaccines and shit, but...” he trailed off.
“There were?”
“Let's just say if they don't produce results they disappear. And then there's the boss.”
“The boss?”
“Her name's, Miriam, she runs things around here. She's a real bitch, though... And here we go.” Ross said, and the elevator came to a clunking stop.
I wanted to ask a million more questions, like, was I in danger of bumping into this Miriam character?
He wheeled me along a hallway with a dark, red carpet. The lights weren't as bright down here which was nicer on the eyes. We turned a corner and I could hear music playing from somewhere in the distance, some kind of Opera music.
Not too far down the corridor, Ross started making vehicle noises, pretending the tires were screeching when we turned the corner, then he revved the engine and raced down the corridor. I held onto the trolley for dear life, I think Ross had temporarily forgotten I was underneath.
The trolley came to a sudden halt, and if I hadn't been holding on I would have fallen out.
“Special delivery!” Ross called.
He lifted the sheets aside and held out his hand to me. He pulled me to my feet and I looked up and down the corridor, it looked like the inside of someone's elegant home, with cream colored walls and sconce lighting, and expensive paintings hanging on the wall.
I stood up straighter and tried to steady myself. My stomach felt like a tsunami was going on inside it, I don't think Ross's driving helped the situation, it was probably what started it off again, that and the smell... what was that... cinnamon?
“Where are we?” I whispered.
“The Nerds' living quarters.” Ross replied, guiding me toward an open door where the Opera music was playing from.
“Oi! Special delivery!” Ross said again, knocking on the door.
I tried to take a step forward to look inside the room, but my vision started to blur and I covered my mouth not sure if I was going to throw up or pass out. Maybe both.
“You don't look so good,” Ross said, taking my arm to steady me.
Then the projectile vomit shot out of my mouth and all over the posh carpet. Then I fell to the floor in a crumpled heap.
“Ah, fuck!” I heard Ross say.
“What happened?” asked another voice.
“She just threw up on me and then she collapsed.”
I was exhausted and pretty sure I was lying in my own vomit but I didn't have the energy to move, I couldn't even wiggle my fingers.
“This is Alex?” asked the other voice.
“Uh, yeah, who else were you expecting?” Ross said.
“Well get her up off the floor.”
I felt my body being tugged and pulled, then I was lifted off the floor. I could feel my legs and arms swinging and my head felt unusually heavy.
“Is she dead?” Ross asked.
“No, she's not dead. Her body's shutting down, sometimes they slip into a comatose state at this stage. Take her down to the containment rooms.”
“Okey dokey.” Ross said, swinging around and knocking my head on the wall.
Oww!!!
I wanted to smack him, or yell at him, but my body wasn't cooperating and I felt like a limp dishrag.
“Maybe try to get her there in one piece.” the other voice said sternly.
“Sorry!” Ross apologized before he carried me off to the containment rooms.
Containment rooms?
I wasn't sure what the containment rooms were but they didn't sound welcoming. I was sure I should be panicking but I couldn't even open my eyes.
“Oh, Nick, which room?” Ross spun around to ask.
“Room #6, then get back here and clean up this mess. Miriam will go apeshit is she sees a stain on the carpet.”
The last thing I remember hearing was Ross, “Fuck's sake.” he grumbled.
End of Book 2.
Note from the Author
If you enjoyed Chasing Colorado please leave a review and let others know.
Stay tuned for a bonus extract.
Before
Drew sat in front of the TV with his feet up, enjoying a beer.
“Hey, douche bag, you give any more thought to comin' out with me?” Ellie asked.
“Pass.” Drew replied.
So what do you plan on doing instead?
He shrugged. “Sittin' here and gettin' drunk.”
“Or you could come out with me.”
“Why don't you take Duncan with you?”
“It's Deacon... and we broke up... again.”
Drew sipped his beer and carried on watching TV, trying to ignore his sister standing in the room. Ellie got frustrated and walked in front of him and got in the way of the TV.
“Ellie!” Drew warned.
“Drew!” Ellie mimicked childishly. “You need to stop moping around like a love-sick puppy and get back out there.”
“I don't want to get back out there. I want to stay right here. Now move your fat ass!” Drew said, knowing the word fat would aggravate his sister even more and hopefully get her to leave him alone.
But Ellie was anything but fat, she used to weigh 320lbs but hit a low point when she couldn't find anything suitable for prom... including a prom date, so after a prom night spent in tears, she decided to lose the weight and managed to lose an incredible 200lbs in two years. Then she got depressed over her saggy skin and opted to have surgery and nowadays she was a skinny little thing that caught the attention of every straight guy in the room... if anything she was too thin now.
“Stupid ass!” Ellie said, kicking Drew's legs off the coffee table.
“El, you don't need me to go to the trav
eling fair with you, you can go on your own.”
“But it'll be more fun if you come. I don't wanna look like some loner riding the bumper cars on my own.”
Ellie's face softened and she walked over to her brother and pushed his beer away from his mouth and sat on his lap and put her arm around his shoulders.
“It's been almost a year... you can't spend every night in front of the TV like this. Gettin' drunk every night isn't going to change anything, except you're gonna get a beer belly at this rate.”
Drew went to take a swig of beer but Ellie snatched the bottle from him.
“El-”
“No, you're comin' out with me whether you want to or not.”
Drew ignored her and put a cigarette in his mouth but Ellie snatched that away as well.
“You know I hate you smoking in the house.”
“Well, if you go out you won't know any different.”
“I know when you light my scented candles it's 'cause you've been smoking in here.”
“Just leave me alone, El.”
“No. Get. Up. I don't want you wasting another second of your life pining over what's-her-face. She made her decision, she and that boring suit deserve each other.”
“That boring suit earns what I make in a year in less than a month.”
“I don't care how much money he makes, he still bores the pants off everyone he meets. Just forget about Lisa, she did, she soon forgot about you when Mr. Money Bags came along. She wasn't right for you, little brother. Any girl that breaks your heart like that isn't worth your time, and if she ever shows her face around here I'll break her pretty nose.”
Ellie jumped up, grabbed Drew's hand and tugged his arm until he stood up as well.
“Get your shoes.” she said, stepping around Drew and walking into the hallway. Drew found his hi-tops near the TV and pushed his feet into them and at the same time he heard Ellie stumbling around in the hallway and cursing him. She reappeared wearing a light cardigan, holding Drew's crossbow in her hand.
“Put this somewhere where I won't trip over it, and stop leaving arrows everywhere, I nearly got one up the ass yesterday when I sat on the couch.”
Drew laughed and put his crossbow in the closet under the stairs.