Stay Inside

28. Hannah

"As soon as Erik died, we knew Lothryn would abduct you."

Perhaps if Hutch had said the words any earlier, it would have shocked me. But nothing shocked me anymore. I was face-to-face with a real-life zombie separated only by a narrow pane of glass. I could see every slimy, pulsing vein on his face.

"Well, not you in particular," said Hutch. "Just a girl between the ages nineteen and twenty-four within a radius of the apartment. It happens in Erik's novel with his characters Eramice and Sallas in some creepy male fantasy homage to Beauty and the Beast. Correctly identifying you was nothing short of a triumph."

I cringed as she discussed my abduction with any sort of positivity. And worse, I imagined that as Benton was shot and I was dragged against my will to Lothryn's apartment, one of Hutch's agents was watching and allowing it to happen.

"You might've noticed our collective of young, objectively beautiful women," she said. "We housed them in various locations around Lothryn's apartment. Our hope was that he would encounter one of them during his first excursion outside, but we knew that was a long shot. So as a failsafe, we place our agents on dating apps to bring them closer to other likely candidates. Tara found David. David led us to you."

She was too proud of herself.

"Sounds like you have it all figured out," I said.

"Almost," she replied. "We just need the cure. So tell me, Hannah Moreno, what do you know? What might've transpired between you two that we missed?"

It was hard to look away from the zombies, but I turned to face the bigger threat that stood behind me.

"You said that the reason I'm still alive is because I might know something that can help you," I said. "So if I don't know anything, you'll kill me. And do know something, you'll kill me after I tell you."

"Not necessarily," she said coyly. "If you show the potential for continued cooperation, I see no reason for your death at all."

Her face suddenly contorted to one of concern. She ran back to the deck and pressed the button on the mic.

"What was that?" She asked Tara. "What was that last part?"

She listened and sighed deeply.

"He's bluffing, he can't know that."

Then she sat, and she listened. I walked towards the two-way mirror that divided me from Lothryn and Tara. Lothryn's disposition had changed. He was speaking with new confidence. Tara was sinking into her chair. Whatever he was saying, neither she nor Hutch were pleased. Hutch began to turn through the pages of Erik Carpenter's manuscript. Her eyes were wide, intense, and wild with disbelief.

When Lothryn finished speaking, Hutch brought her hands to her face and massaged her eyelids. She reached for her pack of cigarettes. She nearly pulled another out of the box, but decided instead to throw the entire thing against the wall. I began to hear unusual sounds in the distance, a spray of bullets, concussive explosions, and shouting men.

"Damn it all," Hutch whispered to herself. She pulled a gun from beneath the table and stared at it like an old frenemy.

Red light began to flash overhead and an automated voice spoke over the loudspeakers.

"This is a red level alert," it said. "Environmental integrity has been compromised. Administering airborne EXtros antidote to the environment."

I heard what sounded like a stream of gas turn on. I didn't see anything, but the air smelled sweet like Tang. The automated voice continued.

"Please inhale deeply and make your way to exits in preparation for total lockdown. This is a red level alert."

Hutch stood up from her chair with the enthusiasm of a kid leaving the house for middle school. She walked past me to greet whoever was about to meet us at the door. The lock clicked and a pair of agents entered wearing masks over their faces. They both held guns.