Virulence Immune

~ Chapter Thirty-Five ~

Luke walked Perri through the archway, over to the desk and told the soldiers that she was ready.

They were told to wait, while a second soldier went off through the decontamination chamber.

When he returned, Holloway was with him.

Holloway all but strutted over to Perri, as if he'd just won a game. The game.

"What can I do for you, my dear?" He said with a smug look.

"I'm ready." She replied. It took all her strength not to smack that stupid look off his face. "Where's Jack?"

Holloway waved the soldiers away, including Luke, before he stepped aside and gestured to the decontamination chamber.

"Come downstairs and see." He purred.

Perri moved into the chamber with Holloway.

"What have you done to him?" She asked, trying to keep her voice calm and steady.

He only chuckled.

The chamber went through its decontamination procedure and the door ahead of them opened.

Holloway stepped out and lead Perri forward.

"Honesty. Jack was going to be the ace up my sleeve." He said as they walked.

"What?"

"If you were going to be as stubborn as I thought you'd be. Jack was going to be an extremely valuable asset in my convincing you to give up the good fight, as it were."

Perri's eyes narrowed as she glared at the man in front of her, leading her down the eerie corridor. A thought crept into her head, that he was the real monster.

They stopped by a door and Holloway turned to her as he grasped the handle.

The sounds that came from beyond the door were horrible. Things were breaking, men were grunting and shouting.

"Brace yourself." He smirked, opening the door.

Perri's stony façade trembled, threatening to drop from her face, when she took a single step inside and beheld the commotion.

Three soldiers were straining to hold Jack down as he thrashed about. Even though he was strapped to the bed, the men struggled to keep him still.

Jack convulsed and groaned. Blood oozed out of his eyes, ears, nose and mouth. He was in pain. The once striking soldier was now a disheveled mess.

"Poor Jack is infected and unfortunately, there's nothing we can do to save him. You, however, can save him." Holloway stated from over Perri's shoulder, almost whispering it into her ear.

"What did you do to him, you sick fuck?" She hissed through gritted teeth.

"Well, I had to speed up the infection and, in turn, the transformation process. That's why he's... how he is. I had to make sure he was ready for you." Holloway replied, his tone was unnervingly cheery, as if he were proud-as if it were some grand achievement.

A muscle flickered in Perri's jaw and her nostrils flared with every inhale as her breath quickened.

"Come now." Holloway said. "We don't want Jackie-boy to be in agony forever, do we? So, lets get you into your own room. It's time for the harvest, wouldn't you say?"

Perri moved past Holloway as she exited the room and entered the corridor.

He shut the door and turned to her. She had her back to him.

"Well, hero?" He jested.

She blinked one. Twice. "You shouldn't have touched him." Perri growled, barely more than a whisper.

"What was that?"

"The only reason I haven't killed you yet, was because thought he'd hate me for it. I thought he'd see me as some sort of monstrosity. That he'd be afraid of me." She whispered, then shifted her head to peer over her shoulder at Holloway. "You just destroyed the only thing keeping you alive."

He snorted and said, "Is that so?"

Holloway lunged to grab Perri, but, in a blink, she whirled to meet him head on.

Perri grasped the collar of his shirt with one hand and wrapped her other hand around the back of his head.

She yanked his hair, jerking his head back, and sunk her teeth into his throat.

He tried to shout but no sound came out. Choking on his own blood, his limbs trembled, and he clutched at her clothes-trying to pry her away. The weight of him as his knees buckled and he fell to the floor dragged Perri along with him.

Panting as she stood, blood dripping from her chin, Perri paused for a moment to ponder a thought before she sprinted into the darkness of the corridor.

Unaware, that a single pair of eyes watched her from darkness.