The Chosen Ones: Book 3: The War

26

"He hit the button!" Casey said.
"We gotta go! Now!" Matt yelled. Tyler covered his ears from the blaring alarm.
Casey turned to run but stopped suddenly. She went to Walker's desk and opened the top left drawer. There it was. Her cell phone, sitting right on top of a mess of other similar ones, phones he had taken from new recruits. Her phone was easy to spot with the butterfly sticker on the back upper corner.

She had seen him put it there when she arrived and had her introductory meeting with him. Casey  tossed it into her backpack. Then something else caught her eye. It was a small black sack. She looked inside and saw a few bricks of cash, perhaps it was some petty cash Walker used for emergencies. Why not? She thought as she stuffed it in her backpack.

"What are you doing? Let's go." Matt said to her.
Jenna picked up the guns of Murphy and Burns. They were low on ammo and with these things loose in the build they needed all the weapons they could get. Matt picked up Tyler as Casey cautiously opened the door. Jenna walked slowly behind them.
"Hey!" Matt yelled to her in a whisper. "We gotta move!"

Jenna snapped out of it. There would be time to mourn later.
They were on their way home, but were far from in the clear. These things could be anywhere in the facility right now. Matt took the lead and moved slowly in the direction they came.

Casey glanced down one last time at Marty's body on the way out. She would never forget what he did for her. The fact that he survived all those days with Gavin only to die helping her made her sick.

Jenna pushed in front of Matt. This was her father's doing. Nobody was going to die because of her. Matt didn't argue. He and Casey were careful to check the guards on the ground. They made sure they were all dead, it would suck to get hit with a stray bullet now.

They passed all the bodies that they had taken out, now they headed towards the end of the facility that Shannon's team was supposed to have cleared. If they didn't, Matt's group would be in for another fight.

When they turned one of the corners all they could see were more dead bodies and rubble all over the ground. There was no sight of Shannon or the others, only more dead guards, which meant Phil's team had made it out of the Nest, hopefully in one piece. The amount of damage in the hallway suggested absolute chaos had erupted here. Blood was spattered all over the glossy white tiles.

Jenna turned the last corner that would lead them to the exit. Her adrenaline was pumping at the thought of freedom. She froze for a moment then quickly dipped back, pinning herself against the wall. She started to tremble.
"What is it?" Matt asked. "More guards?"
Jenna shook her head. "We're not that lucky." She said, quietly.

Matt and Casey knew what she meant by that.
"How many?" Casey asked.
"All of them." Jenna replied.
Casey peeked around and looked. She counted all ten of the creatures. They were walking in a circle, all growling in a low tone. They hadn't been seen yet. Her heart sank.

"What do we do?" Matt asked.
"Go back the way we came." Casey suggested.
"That'll take forever." Jenna said. "For all we know Shannon is getting ready to press the detonator. If we don't get out soon we're dead. One way or the other."

"We're so close." Casey said, helplessly.
"There's another way." Jenna said. "If you run straight you'll run right into the gym. You can run through it and go out the door on the far end. Once you go through that door there is an exit that'll take you out to the side of the building. The side our team armed with the C4."