I n f i n i t u m

Chapter Thirty

Aegis Stronghold had a lot of military vehicles, as expected of a Marine base, and it took a lot of strategic planning beforehand to steal one. The key lock was in a room that was heavily occupied by on-duty soldiers and it was hard to think up a valid excuse as to why I wanted a vehicle to myself. I'd even strongly considered just going on foot, but the travel would be near impossible. In the end, I managed to secure a Lightweight Tactical All Terrain Vehicle (LTATV), and while it was no humvee, it was light, compact, and would get the job done.

The night sky was vast as I sped down the barren road away from Aegis Stronghold and I shivered into my gear when cold air blasted from all around me. I had backup gasoline in the back that should last me the trip and I'd made sure to bring equipment for changing a tire. It was a long drive, and because I didn't take any breaks whatsoever, I managed to make it to the compound in under a day.

The building looked just as it did when I'd first gone on my mission with the Special Ops, but this time it was abandoned, with the front gates pulled wide open. I drove right up to the garage and parked inside for cover before ducking out to stretch my aching limbs.

The base must already know that I was missing by now and I wondered how everyone was taking it. There was no doubt in my mind that Jess, Teejay, and Wren were probably worried sick, but I questioned whether Lefevere was too. I automatically remembered the kiss that I forced on him, then the kiss that Wren forced on me, and quickly batted the memory away in embarrassment.

As I ventured into the compound, I tried to focus on the task at hand, entering and mentally marking up each room after searching it for any hints or indicators as to where the gang's main hideout was located. These guys weren't very organized, to say the least.

I didn't how many hours had gone by, but I was practically pulling my hair out of my scalp by the time I reached the twentieth room— yet another office —and pushed through the frustration as I scavenged the drawers. There was nothing! Even though I'd thought that there would be at least a few slip-ups, these criminals weren't stupid. I wouldn't be able to find them by searching their previous compound alone. I would have to sniff them out another way.

I gritted my teeth to keep in my groan, but the silence in the room just further infuriated me. I took the drawer and ripped it from the desk to hurl it across the room, feeling somewhat appeased when paper and wood exploded.

It wouldn't hurt to let out a little steam, right?

And so I proceeded to completely trash the room in its entirety, carelessly creating a ruckus loud enough to draw the zeds from up the hill. I didn't stop once everything was destroyed. I only moved onto the room straight across, this time wielding a golf club I'd randomly found amidst my seething episode. It is only when zeds began to stumble in my way when I decided to direct the aim of my fury onto them. I swung like no tomorrow and blinded in my rage, I didn't see the snapping jaws of the zed that careened from the right until it was too late.

I winced from the pressure of its bite and immediately unclasped my knife to stab it through the top of the head, dislodging its mouth from my forearm. I numbly regarded my throbbing arm, but in my fright of possibly seeing blood, I raced from the room in the direction of the garage, dodging zeds left and right. I got into the LTATV and backed out before speeding away from the compound.

My heart was in my throat and I could hear the rush of blood blaring in my ears. The impulse to check my arm for the bite was strong, but the fear of finding my skin broken was stronger. I kept on driving until nightfall, and I posted up inside of what used to be a grocery store. I started at the empty shelves before me, then slowly lowered my gaze to my trembling hands and up my wrist until finally, to the bite mark hidden underneath my sleeve. My forearm no longer throbbed and seeking to finally sate my anxiousness, I tugged my sleeve up to reveal the teeth marks embedded atop the inside of my forearm.