Zero Cell ✓

Chapter 10

Alex nearly leaped with joy as one of the keys finally fit into the lock. He flicked his head at Keaton, who gave a curt nod. They were met with a flight of stairs as they entered the next room.

"Let's not stay too long upstairs; I wanna regroup with Lyra as fast as possible. I'm certain she'll try and loop back," Alex said, taking two steps at a time.

"Agreed. Hopefully, we won't run into any more problems too."

It didn't take long to reach the top, and the duo rushed down the hall until they stumbled across the first door on the left. A thick gold nameplate told them that this room was the lounge. Alex silently cursed himself, remembering a room blocked off by a gate that looked like it could've been a lounge. But, of course, that was too easy. He groaned in frustration and rolled his eyes as he wandered further down the hall. There were rectangular rows of windows that let in moonlight. Dust particles bounced inside the bluish hue and scattered quickly as the two walked by. He glanced out the passing windows, hoping to glimpse the night sky. But the angle of the building made that problematic. He squinted slightly and wondered how long the night would go on.

Then, a heavy pat on his shoulder caused him to jump out of his thoughts. It was Keaton's, and he'd let go as soon as he touched it. He then pointed forward down the hall.

"Alex, look," he whispered.

With an arched brow and curiosity that could kill a cat, Alex followed Keaton's finger with his eyes. Down at the end of the hall was a small child, holding both his hands up to his chest; he cautiously wandered into the hallway, glancing all around. He wore a small dark red shirt with long black sleeves, blue denim shorts, and little yellow rain boots. His face, full of concern, looked like he'd been crying for a while. The little boy's short, curly brown hair was unkempt, and his matching eyes showed terror as he gazed back at Alex.

Is that a child? Alex's eyes widened, and for a split second, his shoulders loosened. The boy jumped with an eek before turning around and sprinting in the other direction. He pushed through the door at the end of the hall and ran out of sight.

"Hey! Wait!" Alex shouted. He then took off in a hustle but halted instantly when the closest window shattered before him. A stalker had jumped through and into the corridor. It hissed and glared at the two, blocking their path.

Why now!?

In a swift motion, Keaton spun toward it on his left heel and finished off with a fatal kick to the creature's stomach, knocking it off its feet. Alex barely had time to process as his legs shifted into high gear, running past the stalker's spasming body. They'd made it halfway down the corridor when more windows shattered behind them. Of course, Alex had to look, slowing down his speed, only to find three more stalkers lunging after them. Their high-pitched shrieks stung his ears.

"Forget 'em!" hollered Keaton.

Alex turned around and kept at it. They pushed open the door and took an immediate left into another long hallway, great. Thankfully, the little boy was just in sight and about to take a right turn.

"Please! It's not safe! There're monsters everywhere!" he called out, pleading with the boy to listen.

But the kid was fast and likely couldn't hear him. Alex surmised the kid thought they were monsters, too. He furrowed his brow and—

THUD!

—a door on the right burst open, swishing on its hinges and slamming against the wall. Alex clenched his teeth and scowled as a zombie shuffled into the hall, blocking them from reaching the kid.

"Get outta my way!" Keaton shouted, seething with anger.

But it wouldn't listen. It just wanted to feast. Keaton took the first monster; now it was Alex's turn. He whipped his Glock 48 toward the reaching zombie and fired.