by Lake, D. K.
"We should start heading back." Pope said.
"But we haven't found any medicine for Lane yet." Margo interjected.
"We can search again tomorrow. We can't stay out after dark, we don't know this area and we don't know who lives around here." Pope said.
"But Alice told me to get medicine, we can't go back until we find-"
"No, Margo! I call the shots out here and you'll listen to me. I don't care what Alice said, she's not here, and we're not staying out any later." Pope snapped.
Margo's lip trembled and soon formed a pout and she looked in my direction.
"Lane needs our help." she said.
"I know that, but Pope's right, we need to go back. We'll be no good to Lane in the morning if we all end up dead. We'll get up early and go back out tomorrow, ok?"
She frowned and crossed her arms and turned away from us.
"I just want to check in there before we go." Pope pointed at a building.
"You think it will have meds?" I asked.
"I dunno, but the sign has a dog on it. Could be a veterinary clinic, and they could have meds."
Drew turned to me and placed his hand on my shoulder.
"Stay here with Margo, we'll be in and out in minutes. It won't take long to see if the place has been cleaned out."
"Ok, be careful." I said and watched Drew and Pope disappear around the side of the building looking for a back entrance.
"Where are they going? I thought Pope wanted to go back." Margo huffed.
"He does, he just wanted to check out that building."
"Why? It's a pet store."
"How do you know that?"
"Because I can see a bunch of dog toys on the inside on sale on the display rack."
"Shit. He thought it was a clinic."
"No, just a pet store." she muttered at the same time we heard a vehicle revving its engine nearby.
We'd only seen one other vehicle and that had been a rundown Volvo which had been missing its front bumper and all the windows were covered in old newspapers with only a small gap for the driver to see through.
I looked both ways down the street but it sounded as though there was more than one vehicle. I thought I heard a gunshot in the distance but I wasn't sure.
"Come on, let's get off the streets." I said, tugging on Margo's sleeve because she was so distracted by the distant sounds of the vehicle that she wasn't listening to me.
"Stop yanking on my sleeve!" she cried.
"Well move your ass!" I snapped, letting go of her and moving to the side alley to get out of the view of the street.
"Why are you leaving? They might be able to help us." Margo hissed, following me around the corner.
"No, we should wait here for Drew and Pope."
"Why?" Margo frowned.
"Because I don't think it's a good idea to go wandering off, Drew and Pope won't know where we are." I said, glancing down the alleyway as I heard the roar of an engine at the other end on another street.
Margo huffed loudly and threw her arms in the air. "We won't find medicine for Lane waiting around for your boyfriend and Pope to come back. All they're going to find in there are cat collars and dog bones."
"No, we should wait here." I said, squatting down behind a dumpster.
"Don't tell me you're scared?" Margo snorted.
"No, I'm not scared, but I don't think it's a good idea to go traipsing through the streets without the others. Just wait."
Something caught Margo's eye and I stood up and watched the other end of the alleyway and saw a woman with long straggly brown hair running past the entrance.
"Look, there! She might be able to help us." Margo pointed down the alleyway.
"What, no, she's running for a reason." I said, grabbing Margo's arm before she could run after the woman.
"You know, all you care about is your stupid boyfriend, you don't even care about Lane." Margo spat and scratched me as she uncurled my fingers from her arm.
"That's not true." I glared at her, feeling a sting in my skin from where she had cut me. "I care about Lane. A lot. I've known him for years, you've known him for two minutes. You think you know him, you don't. He doesn't care about you, you're just a distraction, Margo." I blurted out.
Her eyes sliced into mine and she took off running.
"Shit." I cursed and had no choice but to chase after her.
I hurried to the end of the alleyway and came out on an unfamiliar street.
"Margo!" I whisper-shouted.
I was so mad at her. What was wrong with her? We were in a dangerous place and she decides to take off. Great fucking idea. So I might have said some stuff to upset her but I wasn't expecting her to bolt.
I scanned the street and saw her hiding behind a burned out car. My shoulders sagged as I trudged across the street to where she was hiding.
"Why'd you run off like that?" I asked. "Look, I'm sorry I said all that stuff, I'm tired." I lied.
"Shh!" Margo flapped her arms at me and pulled me down to her level.
"What are you doing?" I asked in a hushed tone but before I got an answer out of her I heard a woman screaming.
I edged closer to Margo, so close my chest was pressing up against her back but I didn't think either one of us cared right at that moment. I peered over her shoulder and held my breath as I saw two men dressed in army camouflage dragging the same woman we had seen running past the alleyway. They roughly dragged her toward a black van and another one of them jumped out of the back to help restrain her, and I spotted another person on the floor of the van with their hands tied behind their back.
We watched quietly as the woman was tied up and shoved into the van.
"Who do you think they are? Do you think they're like the police? Do you think she stole something?" Margo kept asking me questions I didn't have the answers for.
"I don't know." I whispered as they slammed the van doors and we scooted back out of view.
"Do you think they can help us?" Margo asked.
"I don't think I want to find out. I didn't like the way they were handling that woman, they weren't exactly careful when they threw her into the van. I don't think they can help us. We should go back."
Margo chewed on her lip for a second but finally nodded in agreement and we started to make a move when another van appeared at the other end of the street and started speeding toward us.
"Do you think they saw us?" Margo panicked as we crouched back down.
"I hope not." I muttered.
I heard the van pull up right next to us and held my breath. We would never make it back to the alley without being seen. I looked around and saw a small opening between two buildings.
"I spotted two over here!" hissed a voice.
Margo and I shared a look. Oh, shit.
"Do exactly what I say." I ordered and she nodded her head violently like a bobblehead on drugs.
"See that gap between the buildings?" I said.
"Uh-huh." she whimpered.
"Run. I'm gonna cover you."
"What?"
"Just go."
"Now?"
"Yes, fucking run!" I shoved her away and she took off running, distracting the guards and they were just about to go after her when I whipped out my gun and fired into the air and they all hunched down. I chased after Margo, firing another two rounds across the street. I could have easily hit one of them if I had wanted to but I only wanted to cause a distraction. I didn't know who they were and I didn't want to kill anyone unnecessary.
I hurried through the gap, searching the narrow alleyway for Margo and saw her crouched down behind a stack of crates. Great hiding spot, Margo. Not.
"Come on, get up! Go, go, go!" I urged and grabbed her hand and we took off running, and I looked over my shoulder and saw two of the men entering the alleyway so I fired another two shots in their direction to slow them down.
"My feet hurt!" Margo complained as we shot out into the street on the other side.
"Tough shit! There's no time t
o stop for a pedicure." I tugged on her arm, not caring if I pulled the thing out of the socket, we needed to get away. I saw another opening and glanced over my shoulder and shot into the alleyway again. "This way!" I said, leading her down the opening but it was a mistake because the end was blocked off.
"Shit." I muttered, looking around the dark corners for anywhere to hide.
I shoved my weight into a few of the doors but none of them were budging. I scanned the area, a bead of sweat dripping down my forehead.
"This way." I urged, pulling Margo toward the overflowing trashcans that were years overdue to be emptied and there was a mountain of garbage bags piled sky high.
"Get in!" I ordered.
"Are you fucking kidding?" Margo squawked.
"Do I look like I'm kidding?" I hissed, shoving her toward the bags and lifting a few out of the way so she could hide underneath.
"I hate you." she seethed as she stepped into the hiding spot.
"Psst!" I thought I was hearing things. "Over here!" someone whispered.
I spun around and saw a teenage boy standing in a doorway. "Quick. Hurry." he called, holding the door open for us. Did we have a choice? It was either go with him or risk getting caught.
I quickly grabbed Margo's hand and hauled her back out of the garbage.
"What are you doing now?" she asked. " I thought you wanted me to hide in the filth?"
"Change of plan."
"But we need to hide. What is wrong with you?"
I pulled her across the alleyway and she must have seen the boy standing in the doorway because she stopped protesting and shut her mouth.
The boy ushered us inside and quickly pulled the door closed behind us just in time as we heard the men's heavy boots outside. I squeezed my eyes shut, praying they hadn't seen us. I felt Margo's hand tighten around mine and I gave it a little squeeze to tell her to stay calm and keep quiet.
Chapter 15
Margo and I stood still in the darkness, her clammy hand still firmly inside mine and not letting go anytime soon. I only hoped I hadn't made a mistake and led us into a trap of some kind. What if the boy worked for the army people and he held us hostage in here until they came for us? What if there were others inside here? What if they were more dangerous than the army?
I gulped. What had I done?
We all stayed in the small entrance way, quietly listening. The teenage boy stepped up to the door and peeked out the small peephole with his hands pressed against the door. Margo's breathing was still heavy and labored and my heart was still thudding inside my chest at a rapid pace. I glanced around, guessing we were in the entrance way to an apartment and I could see a set of steps that led up to another floor.
"Check down there!" ordered one of the army men.
A minute later we heard. "All clear! They're not down here, it's a dead end."
I let out a small breath and Margo loosened her grip on my hand.
"I think they're leaving." the boy whispered, turning around to look at us.
He looked totally harmless with red curly hair and he was wearing a pair of glasses, and he had on a woolly jumper with a pair of smart jeans and lace-up tennis shoes. But looks could be deceiving. He secured the door with a deadbolt and about fifty other padlocks. It was like Fort Knox in here. I was still in two minds. Was it a good thing we were on the inside and no one was getting in or a bad thing that there was no way in hell we were getting out?
"Come with me." The boy brushed past us and started to climb the steps.
"Is it safe to go with him?" Margo whispered.
"Would you prefer to go back outside with them?" I asked.
She shook her head to say no, and I jiggled her hand to get her to let go of me. She had a death grip on me.
"Stay close." I said quietly to Margo before following Curls up the steps. I didn't know his name so for now, Curls would do. We followed the stairs up to the fourth level, passing more doors. The words 'Stay Out' were spray painted onto one door and another one had multiple locks with padlocks on the outside and I wondered what was on the other side. We finally arrived at a door with a Welcome mat. Curls unlocked the door and we had to climb another set of stairs once we were inside.
The wooden steps creaked as I carefully maneuvered my feet around the piles of books that were piled up each of the steps. Margo started to follow me. At the top, we walked straight into an open living room and kitchen area. The place looked clean and homely, and whoever lived here most love to read as there were books covering the tables, the window ledges, and stacked in piles all over the floor. I also spotted a lot of paper airplanes scattered around the place. Someone must like planes. Curls crossed the room and peered through one of the blinds. I was still looking around when something moved in the corner of my eye and I saw a man in a wheelchair sitting next to a telescope. I took in the situation. The teenager looked scrawny and looked to weigh less than me and I could easily take him on, and the other person was in a wheelchair. Something told me these people weren't a threat to us and instead they were trying to help us. If anything they had taken a huge risk by letting us into their home.
"They've moved on." Curls said, looking over his shoulder at us.
Margo had already got distracted and was looking at something shiny on the table that looked like some kind of glitter ball light and she managed to knock over a pile of books.
"Don't touch anything." I hissed.
She was like a frigging leprechaun after a pot of gold when it came to anything shiny or clothes.
"Sorry." she quickly apologized and crouched down to pick up the books.
I kept my eyes on Wheels. The man in the wheelchair finally moved away from the window and spun around to face us, a rifle situated across his lap.
Maybe they weren't that friendly. I still had my gun tucked into my waistband and surely Curls must have seen me with a gun but he hadn't tried to take it from me yet.
"Those assholes don't give up." the man muttered.
"Excuse me?" I said, confused.
"The men chasing you. They just keep coming back, taking innocent people off the streets, but what can you do?"
"Uh...I'm sorry, I don't know what you're talking about." I said, keeping one eye on the gun in his lap and one eye on Margo as she fumbled with the books in her arms and Curls ducked down to give her a hand.
"You're not from around here, are you?" the man said.
"We're from Missouri." Margo blurted out as she stacked the books.
Just tell him everything why don't you?
"Well, I am." She looked at Curls and smiled at him which made his cheeks darken and he looked embarrassed all of a sudden. Poor boy. "But Alex is from Montana."
I wasn't from Montana, but whatever. I'm guessing Lane had told her where we were from and she probably wasn't listening at the time. But I didn't correct her.
"You girls are a long way from home." the man said.
"Yes. We're uh...looking for friends." Margo lied but at least she stopped herself from telling this stranger the truth.
I studied Wheels for a moment, he was around fifty with brown hair that was speckled with gray, and a kind, clean-shaven face, wearing a buttoned-up blue shirt and smart beige pants and a pair of loafers on his feet.
"I see. Well, I'm Ansel and this is my son Lawrence."
Curls-Lawrence awkwardly smiled at us and pushed his glasses up his nose before walking into the kitchen.
"I'm Alex and this is Margo." I said and he smiled, listening carefully. "We were with some friends but we got separated." I cast a glare in Margo's direction. If she hadn't of run away we wouldn't have got separated from Pope and Drew. I just hoped they were ok and hadn't been captured by those men. I knew Drew would be looking for me. And I knew he wouldn't stop looking for me until he had found me.
"Those men showed up and we saw them grab this woman and they tied her up and put her in a van." I said, and the man nodded as if he knew what I was talking about.
"They're c
ollectors." Ansel said, wheeling closer to us and stopping beside the table.
"Collectors of what?" I queried. I had an idea but I wanted to be sure.
I wandered closer to the window and carefully peered through a gap in the blind.
"They collect humans." Ansel replied with a sigh. "They've been doing it for nearly a year now. I think they have someone new in charge and now they collect healthy humans off the streets. We're in a neutral zone and that means anything goes. I don't think they behave like this over in the safe zones."
"Like a sweep?" I asked.
"Yes, I've heard some call it that." Ansel nodded.
"We had a friend from here, she said they take them away and infect them and then send them off to science facilities to be tested on." I said, trying to be careful and not say too much.
"I wouldn't know what happens after they leave here, but I've heard the rumors too." Ansel said. "Are you hungry?"
"Um..." Before I could say no, Lawrence had appeared with a tray of tea and cookies. How had he even boiled the water?
"Electric still works." Ansel informed me. I glanced up having noticed there were no light bulbs. "But we don't use the lights. The army isn't the only ones out there. You have to be careful."
"Why did you help us?" I asked.
"I saw the way you were shooting. You weren't trying to kill anyone."
"I don't like killing people. There aren't many of us left."
Ansel nodded as though he understood.
"How come you two are still in a neutral zone, I thought it was just a standard test to check you for symptoms and they let you through?" I said, confused.
Ansel gestured to the table and Margo and I slid into a seat as Lawrence poured us both a cup of tea. This was so weird, one minute I was being chased by army officials the next I was sitting down to tea. I was just waiting for the white rabbit to make an appearance.
"We could leave, but Lawrence was born and raised in this apartment, and we said our goodbyes to my lovely wife here, and there are too many memories for me here to say goodbye." Ansel said with a sad smile.
"Sugar?" Lawrence asked, holding a jar of sugar under my nose.
"Um, two please." I couldn't remember the last time I'd had a proper cup of tea, but it was probably when I was back in the underground laboratory with Nick. Nick did have an unhealthy tea fetish.
