Survival Mode

Chapter Twenty - Five

"Damn... Dashi and Shellington have been in that room for quite some time now," Doctor Wilson reported - a tinge of worry evident in his voice.

In Kwazii's hand was a glass of water. He took a sip of it and waved his hand in the air in nonchalance. "They could be most likely settling some business. Since they are...apparently...the leaders of our group."

Doctor Wilson raised his eyebrows at this. "And I take it as you don't want them to be?"

"I don't recall saying I did not want them to be our leaders. I'm only saying apparently they are our leaders. Especially your daughter." Kwazii argued back with him.

The two continued to argue. Kate eventually scolded her brother and the argument was put to an end. Heather was sitting against the wall and watching the two give each other one last angry glare and then turn away. She let out a sigh and closed her eyes. Malcolm was all she could think of. Her fiancé had been missing for five years. It felt like an eternity though.

Heather felt herself begin to doze off. That was until the door opened. Her eyes fluttered open and she heard in Kate's cheery voice - "Richard! Do you remember me?"

It was silent for a few seconds. But when this man...Richard...spoke, Heather's eyes widened in horror. "Kate? Oh my God - Kate! I thought you were kidnapped or some thing! You were gone for at least a month!" The man then entered the cabin and enveloped Kate in to a big hug.

The blonde hair...brilliant green eyes...the perfect nose... Oh God...

"MALCOLM!?" Heather screamed his name at the top of her lungs. Her throat ached. She pressed herself against the cold, wooden wall. She panted. Her eyes wide.

He turned to her. His eyes widened too and he took several steps backward. He had to hold on to a chair to keep his balance. "Hea - Hea - Hea - ther?"

Quickly she scrambled up on her feet. She ran toward him. She probably looked like a chicken with its head cut off - running all over the place and crashing in to things. When she reached Malcolm he grabbed her with his hands and kissed her. Heather returned the kiss and threw her arms around his neck. Once they pulled away Heather slapped his right cheek. "What the hell... WHAT THE BLOODY HELL... Where were you!? Hiding from me this whole time!?"

Every one stood away from the two as they watched in confusion. Malcolm let out a gulp and looked terrified. "N - No... I would never hide from you."

Heather leaned forward and her voice was low as she spoke, "Then tell me where in the bloody heck you were. You disappeared the day before our wedding day! I searched for you for YEARS!"

There was another fearful gulp from Malcolm. "Look - I - I know it's a lot to take in at the moment. But I have a perfect explanation as to why I have been missing. But Heather you need to shut up...you could attract the -" A growl came from outside. There were frightened gasps from the people with in the cabin. Malcolm let out a sigh. " - zombies... Follow me every one. It won't be long before they some how reach the inside."

The group followed after Malcolm. The door to the bedroom which Shellington and Dashi had been in opened and they both stepped out. They both looked at the group in confusion. Doctor Wilson immediately spoke up, "Zombies are trying to get indoors. What the heck were you two doing in there?"

Dashi looked at Shellington for a second then back at her father. "Uhm - discussing. Burkland. What we should do. Isn't that right, Shellington?"

He nodded. "Yes, that is correct."

Doctor Wilson gave his daughter and Shellington an uncertain look. Then he turned away and motioned for them to follow. Malcolm continued to lead the small group through the cabin and eventually came to a flight of stairs leading down ward. He pointed to the old wooden stairs. "These lead to the emergency room. We have a metal door down there that the zombies won't even be able to enter. In the morning - once they are hopefully gone - we'll leave."

They were now climbing down the stairs. A metal door appeared and Malcolm pushed it open. They entered the emergency room in a hush. As soon as every one was inside Malcolm locked the metal door. A sound came from upstairs - the sound of the wooden door leading to the outside world being broken down. Every one got away from the door as far as they could.

Hours passed. It was nearly four in the morning. Tunip, Doctor Wilson, Tweak, and Dashi had gone to sleep. Heather paced the room - obviously pondering about what had happened hours earlier. Shellington sat himself down in the corner of the emergency room and let out a sigh. Soon enough Kwazii came over and sat beside him. He looked at Shellington with a completely unmistakeable smirk. "So... You and Dashi... You two were in that room earlier for quite some time."

There was a sigh from Shellington. "Yeah...I suppose so."

"What were you two exactly doing in there?" Kwazii questioned him. He looked around for a moment then leaned close to Shellington's ear. He whispered to him, "You two didn't do some thing you may regret in the future, did you?"

Shellington looked at Kwazii for a moment - completely disgusted. "Ew! No way! But...we did uh - we did kiss..."

Suddenly Kwazii's eyes widened. "What?"

"We kissed." Shellington repeated himself. He let out a sigh. "She finally told me who Michael was and how he died."

"Was it good?"

"Was what good?"

"The kiss," Kwazii repeated. He was smirking once again at Shellington. "I know you have a tremendous crush on her - so this why I'm asking you whether it was good or not."

"It - was," Shellington responded to him.

Kwazii let out a chuckle. "I knew it! You two are so meant to be. Being the leaders of our group and always conversing amongst each other...it's all so adorable. So are your hugs. Yeah your hugs are definitely the best."

As Kwazii continued to laugh Shellington held his head in his hands and let out a groan. "Damn it Kwazii... I swear. One day you will regret having this ridiculous conversation with me. It was just a kiss!"

The two continued to talk. As for Kate and Malcolm - the two sat in a different corner. Kate pretended to braid her hair while Malcolm considered what to say to her. He let out a sigh and began with, "Kate I - I am so sorry."

She stopped braiding her hair. Kate looked up at the wooden ceiling and let out an annoyed sigh. "You lied to me. You said your name was Richard Davis...not Malcolm Davidson. You even told me you were on the run from your family not your fiancé."

Malcolm was silent. "I wasn't running from Heather."

Kate glared at him. "Then who were you running from, Malcolm? Or is it Richard? Can I even trust you any more?"

"You can! I swear," Malcolm spoke to her with terror. He let out a sigh. "My real name is Malcolm Davidson. I was on the run from...some one...but I swear on my life - it was not Heather. I love Heather with all my heart."

"Then tell me, Malcolm," Kate said angrily, "who were you running from?"

Malcolm let out a sigh. "His name is Carter Mason. He kidnapped me when I was nineteen. He told me he needed help launching some plan or some thing. He heard I was brilliant in science so that was why he took me. I refused and he locked me away in a room with a limited amount of food and water. Every day he would ask me to help him and I continued to refuse. One day he let me go. But he told me if he ever saw me again in his life he would kidnap me again. So that's why I've been hiding here all these years."

Kate was shocked for a moment. She looked toward Heather who had been staring at them. Her eyes were wide. It was obvious she had heard the whole conversation. And to Kate's surprise, Malcolm abruptly spoke up again, "He lives here in Burkland. And he's dangerous, Kate. Some thing tells me he's up to no good."