128 (Operation Armageddon: Book 1)

Chapter Ten: The Contagion | Part 1

"W-w-why were there so many in t-there?" Ben began to panic, turning his head away to face the wall.

"I don't know any more than you do," Matthew said, shell-shocked like the others. "But I think I may know why Mr. Palmer couldn't get the back exit open."

"What do you mean?" Emma questioned as she tried to guess the rationale behind the jammed door.

"Jane, did you see anything inside just now? Beyond the creatures?" Matthew asked, looking at her.

"I-I don't really know. It... it was so dark and... I don't want to recall what I saw going in just now..." Jane quivered, shaking in fear and pulling her hair.

"Calm down, Jane. Don't think about Liam. Try to remember. Was there anything behind the creatures? Anything on the wall?" Matthew asked, patting her shoulder.

"I... I'm not positive, but..." Jane trailed off, afraid to give the detectives inaccurate information.

"It's okay. Just say it," Matthew told her.

"I think... I think I saw... not a wall but... a door behind them, while they were still... hibernating of some sort..." Jane revealed.

"So, you guys may not have seen whatever was inside the room properly, but all you need to know is that it was a room, not a tunnel," Matthew then said to the detectives.

Daniel raised an eyebrow, unsure what to make out of Matthew's vague statement. "And?" he asked.

"And so, Palmer couldn't have been in the room because he was in a tunnel, not a room," Matthew elaborated before giving them time to catch up. "Jane claimed that she had seen what was probably a door at the very back of the room. When Liam first opened the door to the room, the creatures were seemingly passive, leaning against the back of the room."

"So... the creatures jammed the door because of their weight?" Emma asked to confirm with Matthew, beginning to understand what he had meant.

"Exactly," Matthew said, snapping his finger.

"Then, if Mr. Palmer isn't in the room, where is he?" Daniel asked, still confused.

"The tunnel is behind the rear door of the room," Matthew announced. "And so is Mr. Palmer."

Daniel, Emma, and Jane froze. They couldn't believe they had to somehow get past the creatures just to rescue Mr. Palmer. It was ugly enough for them to witness the sudden death of a student because opening the back exit door was a mistake, and now they were going to do it again in hopes of helping the trapped CEO out of the room. It just didn't seem realistic and reasonable.

Meanwhile, Ben was still leaning against the wall behind them, traumatised by the loss of his friend. He wasn't paying attention to anything at that point in time, but the detectives didn't mind. After all, the students were the victims; thus, they deserved some time to rest and recover.

"Whoa!" Daniel gasped as he looked at Jane's bleeding arm. "What happened to you?"

"Oh... that?" Jane answered, glancing at her wound for a moment. "I tried to pull Liam out just now, but... one of them scratched me, and I lost my grip on him..." she trailed off.

"That looks really bad. I'll go get the first aid kit from the car right now," Emma volunteered as she ran towards the main exit, going solo.

"Emma, wait!" Matthew stopped her. "It's not safe to go alone. I'll go with you, just in case." He then turned to glance at Daniel. "Daniel, take care of the kids. We'll be back in no time," he added. Daniel nodded, and so Matthew left with Emma.

"So, how do you plan to get all the creatures out of the room and kill them?" Emma questioned Matthew as she walked with him.

"I don't really know. We can't repeat what we did with the captain when he was in the museum, nor can we shoot them all down since there are thirteen of them in there. We'll have to try something else," Matthew revealed his doubts.