Outbreak

Chapter 16

Malachi

My leg's aching, and I have scratches across my arms and thorns in my clothes and hair. I'm freezing, too. We may have warmer clothes, but we need proper winter clothes - like jackets, gloves, and boots. 

I'm leaning on Emmett still, and I can tell his legs are about to give way. We've only been wandering the pitch-black forest for about an hour, but most of that we've spent clambering over boulder and navigating our way through dense, prickly bushes.

"Emmett," I pant. "Maybe we should wait out the nigh--" 

"Did you hear that?" he says suddenly, shining his flashlight with his free hand into the forest. "I think I heard a voice." We stand as still as statues as I strain my ears for a sound, and can just pick up a faint calling voice. 

"HELLO?!" I yell into the blackness, and a faint pinprick of light appears in what I think is the direction of where the voice came. "Jason? Ivy? Malachi?" The voice calls. It's deep and distinctively male - someone I don't know.

"Wait," I say, stopping Emmett with a hand. "I don't recognize that voice." The light comes closer, and I pull out my gun warily, balancing on one leg. "Who are you?" I call hesitantly. The light shines over us when the caller reaches us, and I was right when I thought I didn't recognize them; I've never seen this person before in my life.

He has a brown buzz cut, and wear a black t-shirt with tan cargo pants and big brown leather boots tightly done up. I raise my gun, and Emmett follows. "Who are you?" I repeat suspiciously. The man gestures for us to follow. "Put down your guns and follow me if you want to live." I ignore the putting-down-the-guns part, but follow him anyway. "I'm Lenny," Lenny says while he trudges through the grass. "We found four of your friends, Quinn, Eric, Michael, and Taylor. Tell me your names?" I lower my gun at the mention of the others. "I'm Mal - sorry, Malachi - and this is my brother Emmett." He nods. "All our crew has to find now is Jason, Ezran, and Ivy." "How do you--" I start, but a voice from a walkie-talkie answers my question. 

"Lenny, we found the other three. Moving back to base." Emmett's eyes widen beside me. "'Base'? You mean--" "Grissom Air Force Base," Lenny answers with a smile. "I'm guessing your team heard our broadcasted message? It's the only way people would be able to know about us. We moved underground at the start of the apocalypse." Cool, I can't help thinking. 

We reach the edge of the forest, and Lenny stops us. I see squat structures rising up in the distance, the closest to us being a large shed. Between us and the shed is a long runway. "Alright, you two. When I say so, run like your life depends on it, because it does. This is where the most zombies are. Just follow me. Emmett, never leave your brother's side. He's going to need your help for this next part. Ready? NOW!"

Lenny breaks into a run, and Isaac half pulls, half carries me across the moonlit asphalt. when I turn my head, I see a horrifyingly large horde of zombies making for us, and a burst of adrenaline makes me limp-run even faster. Soon we reach the shed, and Lenny, who's reached the shed before us, pulls out a knife and opens a latch on the inside of a door. As soon as Emmett and I make it through, he slams the latch back over the bar, bringing several thuds and pained groans from zombies running into the door. He leads us into a hidden elevator, and the door dings closed. We descend what must be several floors below the surface level, each floor increasing my excitement. The door finally slides open, and I gasp.

Emmett

The elevator doors open to reveal the base, which is... huge. A gigantic cylindrical cavern gapes before us, and when I crane my neck to see the top, I count ten, fifteen, twenty stories, with railings along every floor circling it. Glass windows are dotted along the walls, revealing other rooms. 

This is unlike any place I've been before.

Lenny leads us along the edge of the cavern to a large door labelled 'Medbay', and opens it to reveal a square room lined with white-sheeted beds. A couple beds have white curtains pulled around them, and Lenny walks across the room and pulls open a curtain, ushering Mal and I inside. Quinn, Michael, and Taylor surround the bed, and lying on it... "Eric!" I shout, and run to his side. He's attached to a heart monitor, and it's beeping slowly. He's still wearing his normal clothes, his face is dirty, and his brown hair matted. I'd think he was just sleeping if he weren't so pale.

A nurse with curly black hair and dark skin appears at Lenny's side. 

"Your friend has suffered a serious concussion, but he'll live. He's had an MRI scan, and his brain is a little bruised, so it'll take some time to heal. When Lenny's brother Max found him and Quinn in the forest, he was unconscious and Quinn said he had fallen on his head again. He may not fully wake up until late tomorrow, but I can guarantee that he will be ok." We all sigh in relief. "I'm India, by the way," she smiles. "Call me if you need anything. But you - Malachi, is it? - I'm going to have a look a your leg." Mal nods and follows her, giving me a nervous look as he passes me. I hold up a thumbs-up, and turn back to the group.

"This place is insane," I whisper once Lenny leaves as well. "It's literally District 13 from the Hunger Games!" Taylor nods excitedly. "I can't wait to look around. But first-" her mouths stretches wide in a yawn. 

"Sleep." 

The group murmurs in agreement. 

"But I'm not going to sleep until I know that Jason, Ez, and Ivy are safe," Quinn says worriedly. 

As if on cue, the three all walk through the door, looking lost. They see us, and immediately run for us. Ezran crashes into Quinn, hugging her tightly. "Thank God you're okay," she laughs. Ivy hugs Taylor, while my best friend grins at me. "Did you see this place? It's just like--" 

"District 13," we both say at the same time, and laugh. We hug and clap each other on the back. 

Then Ezran sees Eric, and fear crosses his face. "Is he--" Quinn places a hand on her brother's shoulder reassuringly. "Don't worry. The nurse says he'll be fine. Now that you're here, though, I'm going to find Lenny and ask him where we're sleeping. I could sleep for a week."