Fragile Hearts [DANGEROUS FELLOWS]

⚠️FORTY-THREE: OUR ONLY OPTION⚠️

For the rest of the day, everyone was pretty somber. You'd wanted to catch up with Lawrence and see what he was planning, but he had already shut himself in his room when you made it upstairs. Zion and Jay were somehow entertaining themselves with the thermostat, and Hailey was just sitting on the ground, picking at the carpet. The rest were in their rooms.

"Put it on thirty degrees," Jay suggested. "It'll get colder and colder until we freeze to death."

"It doesn't go that low," Zion said. "Besides, I've always been a 'burn to death' kinda man."

"Right on," Jay replied, turning the knob as far as it would go. And apparently further, because with a pop it came off of the thermostat, bouncing onto the floor.

"Here," you said absently, picking it up and handing it to Jay.

"Thanks," he said, looking a little uncomfortable. "You alright?"

No, you thought. Things couldn't be worse.

You just gave him a weak smile.

You passed a lot of the day doing random things in your room. Fiddling with the TV, examining toilet paper, laying in bed and staring at the ceiling. You even managed to doze off a little, but each time you were jolted awake by the image of Dr. Johnson sticking the needle into Eugene's neck.

Before you knew it, the sun had set and darkness had settled. You didn't want to go to Felix's room right away, in case anyone was still lingering in the hall, so you lay in silence, mulling over your thoughts.

You waited until a little after ten before you decided it was safe. You quietly stepped out of bed, to your door, opening and closing it as silently as you could.

You were surprised to see Felix already standing at his door, waiting for you. You went over to him, trying your best to give him a smile.

"I almost thought you fell asleep," he said with a quiet laugh.

"Sorry," was all you could think of to say, going past him into the room. His was much different than the others; it had a desk setup off to the right, as well as some cabinets, and his bed on the left. There was no TV here, but there was a computer.

"You have a computer?" you asked in surprise. It wasn't just any average consumer PC, either. It looked more like something a professional would use.

"Yeah," Felix said with a shrug, going over to tidy up some papers. "I use it for super important work things."

"Work things?" you repeated.

He grinned. "Solitaire."

You wondered for a fleeting moment if there could possibly be an internet connection, but it didn't seem possible. After all, when the main city power went out, all WiFi and cell phone service must've, too.

"So, anyways," Felix said, clearing his throat. He didn't go on, so you guessed he wanted you to start.

"We need to leave here," you told him. "Things are just turning worse and worse, and after what happened in the infirmary all of my friends are getting suspicious."

"Leave," Felix repeated. "I wish it was just as easy as that."

"Well, think about it," you explained. "No one has ever tried leaving, right? So maybe if-"

"People have tried," Felix cut in. "You think about it. The electric fences, the ID card locks, the soldiers on guard. They're not for keeping the zombies out, they're for keeping us in."

Your heart sank at his words. Caged in, like a bunch of animals waiting for slaughter. The thought made you feel sick.

"Don't you have an ID card?" you asked. "We can use that to open the front door."

"They control everything," Felix reminded you. "One of the confidential buildings has a control room, and it connects to every single electrical utility in this Crap Zone. If they saw us coming they'd shut it off before we could even say 'darn.'"

"There's no way to sneak out, either," you thought aloud. As far as you knew, the front entrance to the Safe Zone was the only one.

"There's one other way, but our chances of making it are impossible," Felix said. "Off to the back there's a small door that leads to a parking lot. But that's where they keep all of the combat vehicles, and there are all sorts of alarms and guards there. It's strictly forbidden, and I'm sure they'll shoot first and ask questions later."

"So what does that leave us?" you asked, starting to feel hopeless.

"I've been thinking about this awhile," he began. "Our best bet is if we ambush those guys in the control room and take over. They might have tasers and batons, but they won't have guns."

Tasers and batons? You'd been tased once before, accidentally, when you were looking for something in your friend's purse, but the feeling was fresh enough for you to know it was super painful.

And you could imagine being beaten by a baton well enough.

"We'll probably outnumber them," Felix reassured you, seeing your face. "It won't be hard to take their weapons... especially if they aren't expecting us."

"So we attack them and take over the controls," you said. "Then what?"

Felix shrugged. "We open all of the electrically locked doors and get everyone together. Maybe take one of the military vehicles and get the hell out of here."

"But where will we go?" you pressed. You remembered what it was like to not have a safe place, and the thought sent chills down your spine.

He just shrugged again. "We'll figure it out," he said, but you weren't feeling too convinced.

"We don't have much time," you reminded him. "I'm scared for Eugene. I don't know how much longer-"

"Yeah, I get it," Felix cut in, and it looked like he was remembering something. "I'll look around a little more tomorrow, and see if we can get a solid plan going that night. Sound good?"

"Sounds like our only option," you replied. You were feeling more down in the dumps than ever. "I'll see you tomorrow, Felix."

He nodded, sticking his hands in his pockets. It seemed like he wasn't ready for you to leave. But there was no reason to stay, so you turned toward the door, pushing it open. It squeaked loudly as you closed it behind you.

You heard the sound again. It wasn't the door, it was Saddle - meowing down by your feet.

"Hey sweetheart," you cooed. "What're you doing out here?"

"Oh, just getting some fresh air," a voice replied, making your stomach leap. You looked up, locking eyes with Lawrence.

He was smiling, but something in his eyes told you he was very, very unhappy.