Through the Lungs and Back

Chapter Eight

 The technology hallway seems to get longer and longer the more times I walk down it. What is this, my tenth time? Something along those lines. "Where to, Ellis?" Molly asks after locking the door on our way out. "Weapons, poison, Keller, then potential watch for the night." Ellis says. His blank expression hardens, and he pokes Molly's shoulder. "We don't need weapons. I can make some if you get me a metal sheet." Molly says. Ellis sighs, and we turn right instead of left. "I know where we can get a metal sheet. I'll meet you when I get it." I say. I remember using a sheet of metal as a sled when I didn't want to walk down the stairs, and I want to contribute to the group. "Great. We'll be in the kitchen." Molly says. At that, we separate, and I go for the staircase. There are no people nearby. No voices, no footsteps, no nothing. It feels like I'm in a horror movie.

Then I remember, I am in a horror movie. It's called real life. I climb up the stairs, taking two at a time. And the only way I can survive is if I can contribute to the team. That motivates me a lot more than it should. When I find the metal sheet, I take it back down the stairs. It's a lot heavier than I remember. I go back to Molly's room, and I slip it under the door. That went a lot better than I thought it would. I thought I would have to fight someone. Maybe this whole quarantine thing is easier than I expected.

When I enter the kitchen, I see Molly and Ellis are each holding a bag. Ellis tosses me one, and I catch it. "What are we doing with these?" I ask. "Taking things. Knives, poison, pills, whatever else might be useful." Ellis replies. "Did you get the metal?" Molly asks. "I did." I proudly reply. "I slipped it under the door." I say. "Great." She replies. I watch Ellis and Molly gather supplies from hard to reach places. I find a tall cabinet and I force it open. I grab a chair, and I use it to reach the top shelf. I find seven small bottles with one black skull on each.

Poison.

I shove them into my bag, and I look for similar things. "Guys, over here. I found knives." Ellis says. I jump off the chair, and I join him at a metal countertop. So does Molly. We both pile as many knives as we can into our bags until they run out. My bag is half full now, and I have to choose what I want to take instead of throwing in dangerous looking objects. I continue searching through the cabinet I was looking through earlier, and I find a pair of scissors.

Just then, someone walks in. Her skin is splotched with purple and red marks. She walks slowly, each foot thumping loudly when it hits the floor like it's hard for her to lift her legs. She mumbles something, but I can't tell what it is. I look over to Ellis, and we make eye contact for a brief moment, and his eyes ask me for the scissors. I toss them to him. He slips on a pair of black gloves and a black gas mask. None of his skin is exposed.

"Excuse me, ma'am." Ellis says. The woman walks sluggishly towards him. "Are you in need of assistance?" Ellis asks. When the woman gets close to him, she slams her forehead against his gas mask, and he backs away. The woman continues to sluggishly walk towards him. When she leans back to smash her head against his surprisingly durable mask, Ellis opens the scissors and stabs both of her eyes at the same time. He slowly closes the scissors, cutting a deep gash in her head until they break and kill her.

My jaw drops. I knew Ellis was tough, but I didn't know he could hurt someone like that. He takes a cloth nearby and wipes off his gas mask like it was nothing.

"Our mission just got harder. Molly, you don't need a hazmat, but Christian does." Ellis says. He pulls something out of his bag and tosses it to me. "It's a volunteer suit that doubles as a hazmat if you have the gloves and mask." Ellis says. He tosses me a mask identical to his and a pair of gloves. "Step in the cabinet and change. Molly and I will look out for you." Ellis says. Molly jumps off a chair and pulls shelves out of the cabinet I was searching through so I can fit in. I step inside and I change as fast as I can. When I step out, Molly is playing games with the screen on her arm, and Ellis is ripping up blank paper. "We were put on the night shift. Let's go." Ellis says. He hands the bags to Molly, and she leaves before we do. "She'll meet us where we need to be." Ellis says. I follow Ellis down the volunteer hallway. "So where are we going?" I ask. "To see some people die." Ellis replies. He abruptly stops in front of me, and he uses a key to get in a room not too far in the hallway. "Up here." Ellis says. The only thing in the room is a spiral staircase, mainly because it's about the only thing that could fit in here. Ellis takes two steps at a time when he walks up. I can't because Ellis is taller than me and he has longer legs. The staircase is pretty short, but since it's spiral, I can't really see over it. The upper level is much different. The stuff is more high-tech, like it is around the coasts. There are more windows than walls. Two enclosed glass areas on each side of us. Both of them are split into five smaller sections. One side has five people with red stickers, and the other has five people with green stickers. "Those people we watch and record." Ellis uses his virtual clipboard to gesture at the the greens. "Those ones we have to do things to." He gestures to the reds. "I'll take care of red, and you and Molly will take care of green. Also; try not to kill anyone. Anyone who dies up here means one less chance for the majority of us to get out of here. Got it?" He says. "Got it." I say.