Confusion plagued me. “Why, what could you offer them?” For the first time, I felt something shift between us…in him. Michael never talked about where he came from, the military academy was the only semblance of his past that he exposed, but I felt like I was on the brink of a precipice. He stood still, his eyes bore into mine, as memories flooded his mind. Suddenly, I thought of the new friend he ate with, Miriam, and her past on the Island. Norris popped into to my head, and the awkward moments Michael shared with the man. “What is your secret?” There was a knock on the door, urgent and loud. He turned as it opened; his eyes tight, immediate anger transformed his face and his body stiffened. Norris stepped into the room, one eyebrow quirked and amusement on his lips.

“Go ahead, son. Tell her why you are just as valuable as that baby...”At Norris’ words, Michael’s head spun back at me in shock.

“You’re pregnant?”

However, I wasn’t thinking about my condition.” Who are you?”

***

“You’re pregnant…?” Michael repeated, his eyes pinned me to the spot. A series of emotions crossed his face; disgust, confusion, anger.  

“With the cure. You should proud of your little whore,”Norris added, but that triggered something deadly. Michael ripped his eyes from me, sent a look of pure hatred at the Norris. The air sparked with his rage as he seethed.

“You better run and hide before I get out of here,” the man said, his protective nature front and center.

“Who says you’re leaving?” Norris answered confidently. The man snapped his fingers and two guards entered the cell. Silver batons glowed in their fists as they awaited orders. Immediately, I moved forward, ready to interject the mayhem, when Karen joined us.

“Norris, call off the dogs!” She waved the two guys away and moved towards me. “It’s time for us to go.” She didn’t wait for a response, just snatched up my hand and dragged me away. I pulled and called out to Michael, who shook his head.

“Go Celeste, I’ll come to you. I promise,” he stated as the woman grabbed me again, pulled me from the room. As soon as we crossed the threshold, I looked back, where the guards bounced their sticks and Michael stood defensively.

“No!” I snatched my hand away, slapped Karen in the midst, before I ran back into the room. Energy surged through me, filled my body with superhuman strength, as I snuck behind the closest guard and hit him with the bible. Strike one. Shock blinded the man, gave me an advantage and I took it; arms raised, fingers clawed at his face from behind. The man howled, as the metal dropped from his hands and blood poured from his face. 

He spun around in full attack mode, but as soon as hateful eyes landed on me, he blanched. Strike two. My right hand shot out still holding the book and crashed into his skulls; his nose shattered. He went to restrain me, but I kicked at him, boots connected with his knee. He dropped and I delivered one more blow. Hungry for more blood, I went to finish the job, however arms grabbed my wrists.

“Restrain her now!” the voice unrecognizable as the blood rushed in my head; the rage kept me from seeing straight.

“Michael!” I screamed, searched for the man in the growing crowd of military men. Somehow they poured in from the hallway; four circled me. I lashed out at them, they moved, but not far enough for me to see through. I called his name again, but he didn’t answer, and then I felt the prick.

I swung around toward the perpetrator, grabbed his wrist and snapped it backwards. The needle dropped, as well as his broken arm. Quickly, the effects took over. It became hard to stand, harder to stay conscious, and before I could figure out what was in the needle, I fell into darkness.

***

These routines were getting old; I thought as I slowly regained awareness. I had yet to open my eyes, however by the sterile smell I knew I was back in the hospital. I laid on a cold surface as images flooded back; Karen’s visit, Michael’s questions, and the fight. Fed up, I raised my lids and gasped; this wasn’t just any room, but a surgical room, an observation mirror high up on the wall.

BANG!

My eyes flew toward the ceiling as an alarm resonated from the speakers. It sounded again and went on two more times before there was silence. I looked down at myself, in only a hospital gown with slits on both sides of my abdomen. Colored wires roped out of the openings in the dress, while two monitors beeped in a rhythm. This is so surreal. I watched the screen tracked the fast motions of a heart beat that didn’t mirror my own. The baby “Fuck,” I cursed, and through teary eyes turned away.

BANG!

Instantly, my hands ripped the patches from my stomach, a set of heartbeats went silent. More cords traveled up the length of the glass table and attached to my head. Shaky fingers followed the wires until it reached the shaved sides of my hairline. “Oh my god…” I whispered and turned toward a surgical tray. All the equipment lay abandoned, while several stools surrounded the bed. They were going to do something else, I thought, but why didn’t they finish…

Bang!

“Fuck!” I screamed as the alarm bellowed louder, followed by an explosion from the floor above. The room shook from the assault, and immediately, I moved into motion.

Bare feet landed on a cold concert floor, while I looked for sharp tools as weapons. I snatched up a pair of scissors and a knife before I pulled the cords out of my skulls. The pain blinded me for a second, but my survival instincts kept me from losing it. Moments later, I was at the walls looking for the way out. Concealed in the white paint, my fingers connected with a tiny button. I pressed it to hear a soft click and then I pushed. Like butter, light sliced through the opening, outlined the way out.

With haste and adrenaline, I emerged into a small corridor. Quickly, I ran down, my sweaty footprints left smudged marks, but I didn’t care. I needed out, now.I came upon another door, beside it was a closet full of lab coats. I snatched one and wrapped it around my partially nude body, before slipping into the hallway.

BANG!

The alarm covered the sound of the closed door behind me, as I raced through the unfamiliar tunnel. It was dark and lit only by red safety lights. My mind set on an escape, I rounded corners and flew past several walkways before I heard them. My body propelled forward as I stopped suddenly. I caught myself on a door knob, which clicked under my weight. Heavy, massive foot falls echoed through the tight space, came directly from straight ahead. They had yet to be in my line of sight, but I knew it would be soon.

I took my chances and entered through the door. Darkness greeted me, while the smell of blood alerted me. I took a step back, my shoulder blades against the closed door, as the footstep multiplied on the other side. “First: we find Renegade. Second: the girl. Third: the creator…” This voice was new, and by the sound, very military. Their footwear reminded me of the sounds of Michael’s combat boots, only twenty or so more. An image of the helicopters at the academy came forth and I couldn’t help but feel like these men were the same. However the most nervous thought was the correlation I felt between these men and Michael. “Who are you?” I thought of the last question I asked him… “What would you have to offer to cove?” was my second thought.“…We want them alive, boys, especially the president’s son and the pregnant girl, but kill everyone else if needed,” and a light switch went off in my head.

Bang!

The alarm went off once more and the scent of blood intensified. My heart raced as I strained to see in front of me. The knife and scissors at the tip of my fingertips, as an inkling of fear crept up my back. Then I heard it.

Like a piece of meat dragged across the floor, the sound came from my left, and the smell exploded with scent of death.

In pitch black, my feet moved further along the wall, away from the creature, as fingers searched for a light switch. The footfalls of the militants still echoed on the other side, and I feared their reaction more than a Z. I needed to find a corner, I thought. If I have two-thirds of my body cornered, than I would know what direction the Z would come from.

Arms up in defense mode, my footsteps quickened and the creature growled. Fuck, he was right next to me. Immediately, I swung to my left and missed. Arms flew back to me, before I swung out with a right cross hook, only to miss again and go straight into the wall. The metal scissor rattled upon impact, as my knuckles thumped against the concrete; the noise burst through the room.

“Stop, don’t fight back,” a scared voice, full of urgency, snapped out. Frightened, I lashed out behind me, and swung back, the scissor intent on contact. “Ahh…” she screamed and I realized it was the voice of a child.

Suddenly, the lights snapped on and I looked down into the wide, hazel eyes of a little girl. I dropped my hands off the scissors, but they were lodged into the wall; merely an inch away from her throat.

She stood frozen and watched me, frightened by my intrusion, while I tried to comprehend a child locked in a room with a… At the thought of the Z, I turned back toward the left of the room saw the gnarly beast, hunger growls and intimidating arms reached out for me, but he wasn’t moving anymore.

“They’re all chained up,” the girl finally broke the silence, and I looked back at her. However, her eyes were on the opposite corner. I followed her gaze and gasped, jumped back from the cluster of Zs huddled against each other. “They were all stripped of their ears, so they can’t hear you except for him, but if vibrations on the floor are hard enough, than know you’re here.”

“What are you doing in here?” I eased backward until the cold wall greeted me, and my legs sagged.

She looked at me, sadness in her eyes. “I’m hiding. This is the last place they’ll think to find me,” she whispered.

“Because this is the last place you should be. Children do not play in rooms like this. What if…”

“I’m not playing; they’re not playing with me. They’re hurting me…”

I took her in and noticed that she wore an identical gown as me. Stab marks littered her arms from the needles and her ghostly skin showcased massive vines across her neck and face. She was beyond skinny, almost as frail as a skeleton. Her head was shaved on the sides, like mine, while two small puncture wounds left the mark of monitors. What hair she had was blond and long, though stringy and thin. “Who’s hurting you?” I asked as she took in my appearance. Her eyes lingered on the gown and the lab coat I tried to hide under.

“The same people that’s hurting you; the same people that will hurt us all.”I shivered from her words and looked back toward the angry Z, straining against his restraints. His movements were erratic, jittery, caused the floor to bounce.

“We need to stop him from moving,” I said, and kept on eye on the cluster that began to move. I felt metal against my left arm and looked down to see her holding out a long machete.

“I know where they store the confiscated weapons.” Impressed by her knowledge, I wasted no more time. I grabbed the weapon and looked the fucker in the eye. I approached with slow movements, and this seemed to encourage him more. “Make it quick, …”she added and I followed her instructions, I brought my arms up like I held a sacred bat and this was the World Series. One. Two. Three…and I let go; his head flew up in the air, as the machete cut clean through his neck. “Catch him before he falls,” she screamed, however it was too late. The Z’s body slumped hard onto the floor, before tipping over like a deep tree. 

A deep silence exploded through the room as all eyes snapped toward the Z cluster, watched with baited breath. One moved, then another, and then, there was a piercing howl. “Fuck, come on!” I yelled as all the Z’s spun around and piercing yellow eyes connected with mine. Immediately, I identified this as not the normal Z’s like the one I killed, no, they were in the state of transformation, into something angrier, hungrier, and deadlier.

I snatched the girl’s hand and ran for the entry door. “Jump over his body!”I screamed as the girl deadpanned, watched the clustered Z’s come to life. “Come on!”

“They’ll reach you; they’ll reach us before we can leave,” she stuttered, and I looked behind in time for one of the bastard’s hand to reach out and grab my shoulder. Her power was magnificent, and I stood no chance, but then something clicked, that primal instinct surged through my groin.

Straight away, I dipped low, arms high as I slipped out of the lab coat and out of her arms. Immediately, I snatched at her outspread limbs and twisted it above my head, before I pulled her arm straight out of the socket. Next, my right hand fisted and went right into her glaring mouth, open wide, waiting for the taste. However, my fist skated right over her tongue and came out on the other side of her head. Demon eyes latched on to mine, as the Z went lax, dead instantly. However, I couldn’t stop. I knelt down over the fallen corpse and ripped at her body; yanked limbs apart and stabbed at its stomach. I wanted to destroy her, conquer her, and drink the blood from her decayed flesh...,and suddenly, reality hit me hard. It was like I watched something take control over me, and my hands were posed wide, covered with dripping intestines.

Snapped back, frantically I drop the innards from my hands and turned toward the girl.” Is there another way out?” I called, fearful of my own actions. I jumped back over the first Z, however the little girl cowered away from me. “Is there another way out?” I screamed at her, irritated with her sudden quietness, but then I realized she looked at me in fear. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to yell, but we’ll die in here if you don’t tell me.” I reached out in kindness and she only crawled into the corner, her eyes never leaving mine. “Please, don’t be scared. I’ll save you…”

“But you’re one of them, you’re an infected.”

Instantly, I shook my head, denied her words, before I remembered the test Michael gave me. “My eyes are yellow?” I asked, and the little girl nodded. “Oh shit, oh shit…”and like the safety sound, my body rung with alarm.

“Behind you!”The girl screamed and I dropped to the floor, to see a big guy above me, his grip missed me by inches. I crawled over to the fallen machete and quickly, snuck behind him. With clear precision, I sent the knife straight down on his head, before repeating the motion until I reached his spinal cord. The man fell.

“Remember what you said, they hurt me too, but I’m human, will always be, as long as I control myself,” I said and looked at the poor girl in sympathy. She gasped slowly, her eyes widened in disbelief.

“They’re brown again.” I knew, because at that moment, I felt all the strength leave me, and I staggered across the fallen Z’s to her. “And I know another way out. Follow me.”I watched as the girl picked something up from the floor and wind it up. Confusion didn’t last long as the toy lit and displayed an intense lightshow. She tossed it to the other side of the room and like flies to a lamp, the Z’s attention were diverted. “I always knew that would come in handy.” A smile of victory passed her lips, before she made a mad dash toward the corner all the Z’s clustered at. It was also the closest corner to them. “Hurry,” she instructed me, as she reached up on the wall and like the observation room I came from, a sliver of light cut through the paint. She pushed the door opened enough for her to slip out, before I did the same. Within seconds, I slammed it shut and looked toward a set of stairs, the little girl had already ascended them.

“Wait…wait. Where are you going?” I called to her as I too climbed to the second landing and saw a medical desk. A glass window overlooked the chaos below, as the equipment taped their every move. “I have friends that can help you, us. We must find them and then we can leave.” I addressed the plan, not worried that she was still a scared preteen.

“Leave, to go on the outside?”

“Yes, to leave on the outside, away from the cove. We’ll go so far away they won’t be able to find us.”

“Can that happen?” she asked, hoped laced her words.

“Yes, I promise.” I owed her a life, a safe one.

She was silent, looked down through the window, before her head turned to me and she nodded. “I don’t remember the outside.”

And I smiled at her innocence. “You don’t have to. It’s like paradise.”