Life After Death (#1)

Chapter Thirty Seven

Max was thrown back into the cell with the rest of the prisoners.

He turned around and barged at the cell door before the guards could shut it, screaming the whole time.

"Tell that bastard to bring her back!"

The guards pushed against him, and although it took three of them, they closed the door before locking it and exiting the building.

Max slowly slumped to the ground, eyes bloodshot and watering.

He didn't know what to do now. Joey had Lizzie, the most important person in his life. The worst thing was that Joey knew how much she meant to him, and he was desperate for revenge. Who knew what he'd do to her? Max dreaded to think about it.

Paulo came walking over gingerly, slightly apprehensive as he had never seen Max this way. Since the day he arrived Max had been a very calm and forward thinking character; now he was a mess.

"My friend?" Paulo said, but Max didn't look up.

Silence.

"Where is she?" Paulo asked. "Where is Lizzie?"

Now Max looked up. He looked up at the sheer mention of her name.

"Gone," Max replied.

Paulo sat down on the dirty floor next to Max, gripping his arm as affectionately as he dared.

"What happened?" he asked simply.

Max explained the pit and the fight, the return of his old friend, how he had fought him and won, and how Joey had taken Lizzie as punishment. He explained it all, shedding many tears along the way.

Paulo listened to Max's story, never interrupting, never breathing a word.

Even after Max had finished talking, Paulo didn't speak.

Why should he? What could he possibly say to make the situation better?

So he just sat there in silence, next to Max, while they both tried to figure out what to do next.

The silence was broken before long, as the door to the building opened behind them.

Max spun around, praying that it would be Lizzie; praying that Joey had had a sudden change of heart.

It was Nev.

"Paulo? Which one of you freaks is Paulo?" he yelled through the cell bars.

Paulo stood to his feet. He wasn't ready for another fight, not at the moment; but he quietly prepared himself.

"The boss wants to see you in the medical centre," Nev yawned, fumbling the key into the lock.

"What?" Max said, jumping to his feet.

"It's nothing to worry about!" Paulo assured calmly. "Sometimes if they have an injury to a guard or something, they call me in to help. I used to be a doctor before all this shit went down."

"Oh, this isn't a guard," Nev muttered, winking at Max as he did so.

Max looked at Paulo longingly, begging with his eyes.

"Don't worry, I'll take good care of her. You know that girl, tough as they come ay?" Paulo smiled, patting Max on the back as he left the cell.

Paulo walked with the guards to the medical centre, washing his hands upon entry as he always did. Except something wasn't normal. Joey was sat in the middle of the ward, perched on the end of a bed.

In the bed lay Lizzie; she was pale, and looked extremely weak. Her eyes were shut and her chest was barely moving as she breathed. Her hand was handcuffed to the side of the bed.

Her other arm was in a state. Paulo could see the bite from here. It looked deep, and an infection was already visible. The flesh was starting to turn a dirty yellow and black colour. Infection spread fast with clicker bites, and no wonder, the germs and disease being carried on those teeth was beyond belief.

"Paulo, Paulo, Paulo!" Joey shouted as he saw him enter, jumping to his feet to greet him.

Joey grabbed his hand and forced him to shake enthusiastically.

"Paulo my dear friend, it's your lucky day. How would you like to earn yourself a ticket out of here? Freedom. Out of that little cell. How does that sound?" Joey grinned.

Paulo could already tell he wasn't going to like the sound of this, but he couldn't turn down his freedom and the chance to find his family. Not for anything.

"I'm listening," he responded.

"Fantastic!" Joey shouted, clapping his hands together and leading Paulo over to the bed.

"This girl has had a nasty fall. I know! The youth of today...so careless! Well all I want you to do is keep her alive," Joey instructed with a toothy smile.

"Alive? What do you mean alive? She's been bitten, it won't be long before she starts showing signs of changing!" Paulo argued.

"That's where you're wrong! You see, I believe that this young lady is immune, which makes her very valuable indeed," Joey said, rubbing his hands together.

Paulo thought it over in his head, but not for long. It seemed like a great deal.

"So that's my offer. Simple. You save her, you walk out of here a free man. She dies...and...well, you die too," Joey laughed before walking out of the medical centre with a spring in his step.