The 4th Subject

Chapter 38: Location #3

My nerves were buzzing as I pulled up next to Matt's car. I didn't know where he or Woods and Sam were, but I knew nothing good would come from the following events.

The air around me felt heavy as I climbed out of my car. I placed a hand on Matt's engine, then snapped my hand back. Either the sun was really doing damage, or he arrived here recently. I hoped it was the latter.

Between the crunch of gravel beneath my feet and the hum of A/C units, I was already feeling overwhelmed. My fingers shook as I lifted them to the handle of an old door plastered with signage. I took a breath, practically forcing it in and out.

Here goes nothing.

"Who's there?"

Matt's voice sent a wave of comfort over me.

"Matt! Quinn!" I cried, trying to keep my voice quiet despite the relief that had just filled my body.

"Sarah?" Matt called as I flew down the stairs. "What are you doing here?"

I wrapped my arms around him tightly. We needed to properly resolve our issues, but that could wait.

"It's my dream sense," I whispered, "Matt, we have to get out of here."

"I know, I know," he replied, "we have to find Sam and Woods first."

The three of us entered a basement through a door with a massive radiation warning label.

"Wait!" I cried just as the door shut.

"What?"

I tried the handle. Locked.

"Dang it," I mumbled, my voice wavering. "I messed up, I'm sorry. I saw that coming, I should've——"

"Hey, it's ok, we'll figure it out." Matt reassured me.

I could only nod as we continued deeper into the basement. The concrete floors were stained with everything from paint and dirt to mold and what had to be blood. The walls were similarly tainted. The lights were a disgusting yellow color that only made the atmosphere worse. We passed a massive clump of mold, a couple stray boxes and a chained off door. Everything in that place made me feel worse. Except...

"Matt," I whispered, "I hear voices."

We slowly rounded the corner, Matt first, then me, then Quinn. The voices got louder. Clearer. And they sounded just like...

"Woods! Sam!"

I pushed past Matt and wrapped Woods in a tight hug, then Sam.

"Wait, how did you guys get in here?" She questioned.

"I'm so glad you guys are ok," Matt said.

"When did this happen?" Woods said, motioning between him and I.

"Yeah, I thought you two were still mad at each other." Sam piped up as she set her rig down.

"Not anymore," I said, looking from Matt to Woods, "we'll explain everything, we just...we need to go."

"Did you leave the door open?" Woods asked.

"No." Matt said. "Are there any other exits?"

"We've tried everything," Sam replied. "There's nothing else and we sincerely don't know what to do. But we found so much."

She and Woods began going on about what they found. Everything, I'd seen before. The bad feeling kept getting worse. Noises and images hurt my head.

"Guys, this is great," Matt said, "we can take what we find and literally break the door down, but we need to get out of here."