The 4th Subject

Chapter 37: All By Myself

A few days later, I awoke to an empty house. Not because they abandoned me, because it was 11 in the morning. Ryan was at rehearsal and Sam was no doubt at the office. Or at her location with Woods.

The kitchen tile was cold under my feet as I made breakfast. The sizzle of my eggs in the pan seemed loud. The toaster seemed loud. Everything felt loud in this moment. No amount of mozzarella or sweet chili sauce could save me now.

As I bit down on my egg sandwich, I checked my phone. No messages from anyone. Not even my family.

Great, now I feel extra alone.

I finished quickly and went back to my room. Matt——and clearly, the others——thought I'd spend today in the same place I'd been for the last three. But I can't just sit here and do nothing. That wasn't going to help anything or anyone.

After changing into a pair of black jeans and a white Mickey Mouse t-shirt, I stared at myself in the mirror. Saying I felt numb was strange; inaccurate, and yet...well, accurate. I braided my hair and slipped into my black ankle boots.

I checked my phone one final time as I tried my red flannel around my waist. Still nothing. But I didn't let it bother me. I grabbed my keys and took a breath. This was it.

Blue Base loomed over me as I pulled into the parking lot. I didn't see Matt's or Woods's cars.

Maybe I'll park in the back today. Just in case.

Everything was exactly the same. Of course it was, it was only three days ago, but I felt different. That's typical when I'm alone.

"Sarah, what are you doing here?" Bailey asked, standing to give me a hug.

"Just catching up on some stuff," I replied, "trying to help the team and all."

"Ok, I'll be down here if you need anything."

"Thanks, Bailey."

The door to Headquarters was open. It often was, it's not like there's sensitive information in there. I dumped my bag on the couch and set my coffee on the Tablet Table. My eyes fell upon the screen, then drifted back up to the door. I did have the code for the Vault.

A few soft beeps and a loud click later, I was inside. Someone——probably Matt——put all the serums back into the case and into a box. Except the counteragents. None were in the vault, so I assumed they all took theirs. Understandable, I guess.

I got access to the RSD and searched for the next serum location. Was it a terrible idea to go alone? Probably yes. But I wasn't planning on just sitting here.

The next location was on the riverbank of the Castaic Creek. I could easily access it off of I-5. As long as no one from the nearby correctional facility thought I was suspicious, I'd be fine. Plus, there was a Starbucks and a Wingstop in the area. Victory lunch sounds good.

I went down to Woods's warehouse and began collecting some things. Gloves, a bat, some tools. I found the old Geiger counter buried in the bottom of a drawer. It was still working fine and someone clearly took the new one, so I added that to my box.

A couple minutes later, I was driving down the highway.

"I understand their perspectives," I said to my camera, "but we just...Sam's right, we're not on the same page. We're not even on the same chapter right now."

After about 40 minutes of driving——half filled with taking and the other singing——I arrived. I pulled off the highway and parked on the road beside the prison.

"While I'm looking, I might as well address the comments about my dream sense." I started as I made my way down. "There's a lot of people who agree with Matt, and as I've said before, I get it. It's confusing and it doesn't seem to be as helpful as you'd think it'd be. Trust me, I agree with you on that. But it's...it's really not that simple."