“She was my best friend, her name was Nicole,” I replied.
“Too bad she isn’t here,” he winked.
“The good news is we are out of the bunker. The bad news is we are still far from the city. We need to find a vehicle and get back to the warehouse soon,” I directed.
Jacob and Wes wasted no time exiting the coffee house to find a vehicle. The rest of us followed after them. The town looked to be in the same condition as the last time I was here. It was easy to find a car or truck. The tricky part was finding the keys. We had to divide up and enter into private homes. Sally found a key to a minivan sitting on the counter in a blue modern day ranch. She exited the house looking a little pale but I guessed she was nervous trespassing in a strangers house. I knew from experience it felt wrong going into a house that wasn’t yours and taking things that didn’t belong to you. My dad was a cop and he arrested people everyday for breaking the rules. I had committed multiple crimes at this point. I had even killed. Killed screamers and my own mother.
“Let’s get out of here,” Jacob yelled.
We all piled into the minivan and heading into the city. I knew we had to drive above the speed limit in order to make it to the warehouse before dark. Not that speed limits mattered anymore but with road conditions being rough, it made it tricky to maneuver on the road. Lucy drove the van at a decent speed. She did a good job avoiding objects and growth that had began to take over the pavement. We made it into the city with time to spare. We turned onto one of the roads that led home when we ran into trouble. Cars had been neatly lined in a row blocking our route. Lucy stopped the van and we idled while we processed the scene before us.
“Someone blocked the road,” Lucy stated.
The sound of a gun filled the quiet city. We ducked down and covered our heads not knowing where the sound had come from.
“Place your hands where we can see them and exit the van,” a voice commanded.
“I don’t think we should get out of the van,” Sara whined.
“I will get out and if anything goes wrong I want you to drive away,” I told Lucy.
I opened my door and slowly exited the van. I put my hands up to show I had no weapon. I watched two figures appear from behind the lined up vehicles.
“Layla?” A voice called out as she approached.
I watched Zola and another soldier I hadn’t recognized come into sight. Zola lowered her weapon and put her hand out to shake mine.
She wrapped her gloved hand around mine.
“What are you doing on this side of the city? We had an agreement,” Zola barked.
“I know but we had an incident and this is the only route to the warehouse. Why do you have it blocked like this?” I snapped back.
I watched Zola move side to side in small nervous movements. She was tense and had a scowl on her face she tried to cover up.
“When you left we had an agreement,” she said again, glancing around uncomfortably.
“We are trying to stick to our agreement by getting home,” I stated.
I followed the direction of her eyes and noticed there were others hidden in buildings, they had us surrounded.
“The doctor took control of everything and everyone. We get sent out everyday to find your warehouse. We have orders to bring all of you back to the doctor. He needs to continue his work. I tried to convince the others to kill the doctor but it was a losing battle. The doctor is very convincing and he is obsessed with finding you now. He believes you and your friends hold the key to a cure. The abilities you exhibited that day have made him obsessed.”
She stepped closer to me and whispered, “You have to get out of here. You are surrounded and I can’t help you. You need to pull whatever magic tricks you have out of your hat. I’m going to put you against the van then you are going to punch me in the face and you are going to get the hell out of this city. Go south and don’t come back here.
She ushered me to the van passenger door and pulled handcuffs out of her back pocket. She whispered, now in my ear. I turned and she staggered back. I punched her in the face and she fell with well played acting skills. She fell to the ground and I lifted her up. I pushed her into the van and jumped in, shots echoed in the air but I was too distracted to pay attention.
“Go!” I shouted.
I felt a sharp pain explode in my shoulder when I slammed the door shut. Lucy put the van in reverse and we drove backwards down the road. Everyone in the van ducked and covered their heads as bullets hit the van and flew around in all directions. The van spun around and we hurried down city streets looking for another way to the warehouse. We weren’t being followed because the sun was making its last descent of the day. We were smack in the middle of the city and once again in real trouble.
“You have to let me out,” Zola begged.
“You want to go back to the mad doctor?” I sneered.
“You don’t understand,” she muttered.
She lifted her hand away from her chest and blood spread, wetting her black coat, like spilled milk on a table.
“Oh God,” I said, “Olyvia help her.”
Olyvia slowly sat up but was in no condition to help Zola. Bright red blood ran down the front of Olyvia’s brown and grey striped coat. I reached for Olyvia and pulled her coat to the side. She too had been shot in the chest and was bleeding at an uncontrollable rate. I watched helplessly as she struggled to breath. When I thought things couldn’t get any worse, they did. Screams echoed out and the sun was almost completely gone. Shadows danced around, waiting to make an appearance. I glanced at the others in the van.
“I know a way to the warehouse. We will be there in minutes,” Lucy stated.
She drove faster down the beat up roads. We whipped around corners.
Olyvia choked on blood and whimpered out in pain. Sally pushed on Olyvias gushing wound. Nate helped me with Zola.
“Layla,” Zola said barely above a whisper, “you can’t bring me to the warehouse with you. You have to leave me.”
We rounded the corner and the warehouse came into view. We were close. We drove as fast as the van would go and made it to the gate. The gate slid open but we weren't alone. A trail of screamers followed behind us. Familiar faces appeared as we entered the parking lot. Guns fired off as the gate closed slowly. Screamers jumped at the gate. I watched Addy take out every screamer that approached. I had almost forgotten how fast she was with a gun. The gate finished the last click and locked securely into place. I slid the van door open and called for help. Lucy also exited the van. We rushed Olyvia and Zola into Dr. Nickels lab. The lab was packed with supplies and equipment. They had set up three more rooms and much to my surprise I found seven bodies occupying beds. Something had happened in the days we were gone. A sudden wave of nausea came over me followed by lightheadedness. A sharp pain came from my shoulder. I glanced down and found blood running down my arm. I moved my coat and saw a bloody wound in my shoulder. I felt woozy at the sight. My legs went numb and my eyes became too heavy to keep open.
Day 107:
One week slowly passed by after the encounter with the soldiers. Olyvia recovered at a remarkable rate. By the next day she was up and moving about. She attempted to heal me but her gift was in a weakened state. Zola was barely hanging on and had lost too much blood. Dr. Nickels spent endless hours working on keep her alive. She was in critical condition and had slipped into a coma. Dr. Nickel’s said the likelihood of her pulling through was slim to none. I had hope she would pull through. Zola was strong and a natural fighter.
When I woke I found Silas and Gabe at my bedside. It was nice to see Silas there but I was hurt and mad at him. I didn’t understand why we had drifted apart. I turned my head away from him without speaking and found Gabe staring at me. He gave me an awkward smile and patted my arm.