by Lake, D. K.
"I thought you'd be more excited, you've been whining about wanting to get out of here for weeks."
"Yes, but I hadn't planned to go on another trip. I just wanted to go back to the shopping mall."
I couldn't believe that I was actually getting out of here. And I was excited and both nervous to see Lane again.
Chapter 5
"This is getting stupid now. He should be here by now! What if something happened to him?" I said on edge, fidgeting on the couch.
"I can't wait to get back to Washington." Robin said, having come around to the idea of leaving with us.
Robin was sitting at the table drawing to distract herself.
I was on tender hooks. I looked at the ceiling and didn't say anything. She was actually looking forward to going back to the same place where she was abducted off the streets.
"I hope my friends are okay." Robin said but Nick and I ignored her.
"He told us to wait, so we wait. I'm sure he just got held up with something." Nick said.
"Something? How are you so calm?" I jumped up again and paced around the coffee table, glancing at Robin still wearing a dress.
"I told you to get changed already! You need pants and a jacket to cover your arms and legs. All it takes is one scratch and you'll be infected all over again." I warned Robin. I had been reminding her for over two hours to get changed.
"It's too warm down here since the AC started playing up. I hate being all sweaty." Robin fussed.
"No, you need to get changed. Ross might be here any minute and you're not ready." Robin ignored me and switched crayons. "Robin! Get. Changed."
"Alex, she's fine, leave her alone. You need to calm down a little."
"Calm down? Someone might be on the way down here to dispose of you at any minute and I don't know how well we'll do with a blunt kitchen knife and a fire extinguisher."
"There's no good in getting worked up and starting a panic." Nick said and looked over at Robin.
"I can't just sit here and wait. I'm going to wait in the corridor."
"We're safer locked in here." Nick argued, following me to the door but just as I reached for the door handle the lights all went out and Robin squealed, knocking into the crayon pot and all the crayons rolled onto the floor.
"Shhh...it's ok!" Nick assured Robin, making his way over to the table and bumping into everything he possibly could on the way.
"It's probably just a storm. We sometimes lose power during the bad ones." he explained.
"Or maybe someone knew how to turn the power off down here." I muttered, leaning against the door, listening for any sound on the other side.
Now I was glad I was locked in on this side.
"I'm scared." Robin sobbed.
"Shhh! I can't hear anything with you sobbing." I whisper-shouted at her.
Boom.
A loud noise exploded and echoed above us.
"What was that?" Robin shrieked.
"I don't know." Nick replied.
"Was that thunder?" she asked but neither one of us answered her.
It didn't sound like thunder. More like a bomb.
The eerie silence and the dark had me on edge. I placed one hand on the door, straining my ears, but I knew if the power was out the elevator wouldn't work.
"Nick, where are the emergency stairs?" I asked.
"What stairs?" Robin piped in.
"They're down in the research area behind a door. No one uses them...you don't think?"
"I don't know." I muttered just as another loud boom went off and the whole room shook.
"What the hell is going on?" I grumbled.
"Cover your ears." I heard Nick telling Robin. "Maybe there has been a breach." he said, talking to me.
"Why would they set bombs off? There are enough trained guards with the gun power to deal with any attack. Maybe someone else set the bombs off." I searched the room for where I had put the flashlight for when we left.
There could be possible intruders inside the base, they would eventually find us hiding down here.
Where is the frickin' flashlight?
Another boom went off and Robin screamed and I heard her scramble under the table.
"Alex!" Nick called, trying to find me in the dark as I searched the kitchen area.
"Yeah...I'm over here."
"What are you doing?"
"Looking for this." I switched on the flashlight I had finally found on the counter and pointed it in Nick's direction.
"You can't go out there." Nick said firmly as I grabbed a kitchen knife.
"And I can't sit here and wait anymore. Something is seriously wrong up there. I'm not the only one thinking it, you heard the bombs as well?"
"B-bombs?" Robin whimpered.
"No, not bombs. I'm sure it was just an explosion, maybe a car engine. And I told you to cover your ears." Nick said.
"Somehow I don't think we'd hear a car engine blowing up. This whole place is supposed to be soundproofed." I said.
"Alex, you can't go out there!"
Nick chased me to the door but fell over the footstool on the way.
"Lock the door after me. And Robin, get changed!" I threw over my shoulder.
"Alex...please don't go. I'm scared!" Robin called from under the table.
"I'll be fine. I'm just gonna go and find out what's going on. Where did you say the stairs were again?"
"No. You can't. If anything happens to you-"
"I'll be fine." I quickly unlocked the door and slid out into the dark corridor before Nick could stop me.
"Dammit, Alex. Get back here!" Nick yelled.
Once outside the room, I heard Nick scrambling with the lock.
I quickly flashed the light up and down to check both ends of the hallway but they were clear. But I figured I knew this place better than most as I had been down here a while and knew every corner, turning, and what was behind most doors. I flicked the flashlight off again and quietly felt my way along the hallway to the elevator and pressed the button but the power was out and the thing was completely dead. I thought there would be an emergency back up or something, or maybe it had failed.
Another loud noise went off, this one not as close as before.
I held the kitchen knife at my side and gripped the flashlight and carefully made my way down the corridor, trying to be as quiet as a mouse. But me being me, I managed to walk into a tea trolley, and Nick had left a pair of slippers in the hallway that I tripped over. I remembered there was a map of the layout of this place on the wall just before entering the research area. I hurried along the wall and felt where the map was hung up and quickly switched the flashlight on and scanned the map.
Stairs...stairs...stairs...where are you?
I needed to find the stairs and make sure they were barricaded. We just had to sit tight and wait down here until Ross came back.
But what if he doesn't come back? What if no one comes for us now? What if we're trapped down here?
I didn't like the idea of being trapped and starving to death. We didn't have much in the way of food down here. Ross always brought down our meals and supplies, but what if he was dead?
Another rumble came from above. I frantically scanned the map.
Stairs...Come on!
Bingo.
The stairs were located behind a door, three doors along from Nick's laboratory.
Wait...no power. The door!
I spun around and hurried over to the door leading into the research area, thinking that because there was no power the door would be locked and the keypad wouldn't work, but instead, the opposite had happened. The power going out had somehow tripped the locks and the door was unlocked.
"Just great." I mumbled.
If this door was unlocked then it meant all the other doors could be unlocked, including the three experiments Nick was still running.
I slowly eased the door open, it didn't creak or groan but glided open smoothly and I quickly slipped through the gap, keeping the flashlight low.
I heard something clatter to the floor from a side room and froze.
Deadbie? Or was this part of the plan, cut the power and have someone come down and kill Nick in the dark? But what about the bombs? It doesn't make sense. But I think I would have preferred a deadbie over a human any day.
I edged closer and heard another clatter followed by what sounded like Nick's test tubes smashing on the floor. Must be a deadbie. If someone was sent down to kill Nick he or she wouldn't be scrambling around the lab causing chaos and making all that noise. Definitely a deadbie.
I gripped the knife tighter and gave myself a quick pep talk. I hadn't been one-on-one with a deadbie for some time.
Pull yourself together, Alex. And aim for the head or eyes.
I heard footsteps on the other side getting closer but another door behind me swung open and banged against a trolley. I spun around, waving my flashlight back and forth, trying to locate the source of the noise. A figure filled the doorway and I froze. The person was holding an open bag in one hand, their pants were tatty and torn and looked kinda familiar...and the crossbow in their other hand caught my attention. I tore my eyes away from the lower half of the figure and looked up at the owner of the scruffy pants. Drew had his eyes fixed on me as he lifted the bag onto his shoulder.
"Dr-Drew?" I stuttered.
Of course, it was Drew. I would be able to spot that green hair a mile off.
"Wh-what are you..."
"Duck!" he said.
"Huh?"
"DUCK!"
I heard a scuffle behind me and dived to the floor, towards Drew's feet to be exact. Drew fired his crossbow and I heard something fall to the floor behind me with a thud. I looked over my shoulder and saw a deadbie slumped against the door with an arrow sticking out of its head.
A hand appeared in front of me and I just looked at it, not really sure if it was real or not. What was Drew doing here? Was I dreaming again?
"I don't bite." Drew said with a hint of humor.
I slowly slid my hand into his and let him pull me up.
He was wearing a dark green t-shirt with a hole in the front and the same boots and pants from the last time I had seen him. He looked dirty and had mud smears on both his cheeks.
"Hey, Pretty." Drew grinned at me.
"You're really here. What are you doing here? I thought you left."
He ran a hand through his hair as though he wasn't sure how to answer. I temporarily forgot about bombs going off and deadbies walking around as I waited for him to answer me.
"I did promise I wouldn't leave you." he finally said.
"Well...yeah, but that was before. And then you left. You got in the car and left me, you didn't even say goodbye. I'm pretty sure that was you leaving."
My hand had found its way to my hip and I realized how snotty I looked and quickly dropped it to my side.
"But I came back." Drew stepped closer until we were standing only inches apart.
My breathing had changed and I was suddenly nervous, more nervous than ten seconds ago when I was on my own in the dark. I was angry and both happy at the same time to see him. I wanted to punch him and throw my arms around him. We just stared at each other in awkward silence.
He came back. For me?
Shit...what was I supposed to be doing? I had no idea. Drew had fried my brain in seconds.
"Err...guys?" Josh's voice pulled me back to reality and I slowly turned away from Drew to find Josh looking back at me. He was standing next to the deadbie on the floor.
"Josh? Josh!" I repeated.
"Hi, Alex." He smiled, pulling me by the sleeve and into his arms.
I hugged him, giving him an extra squeeze to make sure he was real and I wasn't imagining all this. He was still smiling when he let go and ducked down next to the deadbie to get the arrow. His big smile made me smile, I had missed that smile, and that shaggy brown hair, and freckly nose and dimples. He looked a lot cleaner than Drew, wearing a white t-shirt with camouflage trousers, and he had markings on his cheeks like Drew but his were black, and Drew's looked like real mud.
"Josh is here as well." I said to Drew because I was so confused as to what was happening.
"Yup...just can't get rid of him." Drew joked and held out his hand for Josh to pass him the arrow.
"Why is that thing even down here?" Drew asked, pointing at the deadbie.
"It's one of Nick's experiments. When the power went out the doors unlocked for some reason. There are three of them, Alvin, Simon, and Theodore."
"Theodore?" Josh laughed. "Let me guess...this was Theodore."
I nodded and looked down at the tubby deadbie. It was Robin's idea to give them nicknames.
"Where's Ross and Lane?" I panicked.
"Ross is waiting for us around back, and Lane went that way to look for you. Ross sent us down to find you."
"What's going on up there?"
"A group of outsiders turned up in trucks and vehicles, they're raiding everywhere and blowing up the tanks. We were trying to sneak in and then they all showed up so we just joined them and walked in the front gates. What are the chances of that happening, huh?" Josh explained.
"Yeah...what are the chances." I mumbled.
Drew stepped behind me and ducked into another room that was full of supplies. I heard another pair of heavy footsteps and a flashlight bouncing off the walls as another person jogged around the corner. I recognized his height and build and knew it was Lane.
"Lane!" I nearly screamed, running towards him and launching myself into his arms.
He squeezed me tightly and I buried my head into his shoulder. He even smelled the same.
"Hey, Alleycat." Lane whispered close to my ear. "I missed you so much."
I wiggled out of Lane's arms and he set me down again. I looked down and saw that he was holding a long machete in his hand. I was used to seeing Lane with a baseball bat, it was always his go-to. He must have finally upgraded, but I worried he might chop his fingers off with it. I noticed it already had some dried blood on it. I looked back at his face and felt a moment's happiness when I looked into those familiar green eyes, I thought I would never see them again. I ran my hand down the side of his face, noticing his blond hair had grown longer and he hadn't bothered to do anything with it and the ends were curling around his ears. The moment didn't last long though and I soon remembered where we were.
"What are you doing? Stop that!" Josh hissed and I turned around to see him telling Drew off.
"What? They've got some good shit in here." Drew replied, stuffing all sorts of medical supplies into his bag as he walked back out of the lab.
"Come on, we need to get Nick and get out of here." Josh urged, waiting by the door.
"He's in the living quarters. Through that door, look for a door that has 2A on it." I said, and Josh disappeared through the door.
"Stay with Drew while we get my brother. I can't wait to get you out of here." Lane said before leaving me.
Drew cleared his throat a little loudly and disappeared into another lab room and Lane slipped through the door. Another loud bang went off above us and I quickly followed Drew into the lab and shone the flashlight around to find him raiding the drugs cabinet.
"Are we safe? I mean, up there?" I asked as he shoved a load of drugs into his pockets.
"Yeah...here, put some of this on your face."
He turned to me and chucked a tin to me that I managed to drop and it rolled across the floor.
"Shoe polish." I read the label. "You want me to put this on my face?"
"Not unless you want to get shot? They're a pretty messed up bunch up there. If you want to blend in you'll put it on."
"Are we even going to be able to get out of here?"
"Most of the group is too busy raiding the food supplies and are over at the university."
I smeared some black shoe polish under each of my eyes.
"So are you all fixed now?" Drew asked, closing the cabinet.
"I didn't get neutere
d." I said with a smile, rolling my eyes.
"You know what I mean." He turned to look at me and shone the light on my face.
"Yeah...I'm all good now." I blocked the light with my hand. "Quit it."
He chuckled and lowered the light. He slung his bag over his shoulder and walked over to me and stood in front of me, studying me. He kept the flashlight out of my eyes but still used it to look me up and down.
"What?" I asked, not liking the way he was looking at me.
"I'm not doing anything."
"Yes, you are. You're staring at me like you don't believe me. I'm not going to bite you, Drew."
"I'm not worried about you biting me."
His eyes fell to my neckline and he reached over and picked the necklace out of the hem of my t-shirt before I could stop him.
He just stared at the full moon shaped necklace he had given me with this strange look on his face. I placed my hand over it and his eyes snapped to mine. We stared at each other for what felt like hours, days, months. What was happening?
"I missed you." I whispered softly.
Where did that come from?
I expected him to dismiss it and leave the room but instead, he stared at me for a few seconds more and stepped closer.
"I missed you too." he said, backing me into the door and holding onto the edge of the frame above my head, blocking me with the crossbow in his other hand, and trapping me.
He was taller and I had to hold onto his t-shirt to steady myself so I could crane my neck to look up at him seeing as he was insistent on invading my personal space and pressing up against me.
Ohgawd. We were touching in several different locations. I watched as his eyes traveled to my lips, and I thought he leaned closer.
Wait...is he leaning? Is he going to kiss me? He can't. He wouldn't. Oh, my...he is! We can't...Lane!
"You're standing on my toes!" I blurted out just before his lips were about to touch mine.
I heard voices and he quickly moved away from me and stepped out the door. I still had my fist in the air from where I had been holding onto his t-shirt. I let out a breath and tucked a loose piece of hair behind my ear, wondering if I had just imagined the whole thing.
Drew had tried to kiss me. Did he want to kiss me? Well, yeah, he just tried. But why? He didn't even say goodbye, I didn't even think he liked me that much. Maybe that's how they greet each other in the South. Maybe.
