Chapter 29: Oh for Fuck's Sake
ELENA
The door creaked as I slowly pushed it open. For a split second, nothing happened. Then I noticed it. A thick piece of timber had been wedged behind the door from the inside, keeping it shut. What the... Before I could react, the heavy plank tipped over. THUD! The deafening crash echoed through the empty building like a gunshot, bouncing off concrete walls and stretching across every silent corridor.
I squeezed my eyes shut. "Oh, for fuck's sake," I muttered beneath my breath.
My heart immediately began hammering. Great. Just... great. A few seconds later, faint voices echoed from somewhere deeper inside the building. The soldiers.
They had heard it. They were coming.
No, no, no... I needed to leave. Now. I reached for the door, intending to quietly close it before anyone saw me. But before I could move , A hand gripped the edge of the door from the darkness inside. I froze.
Every ounce of blood drained from my face. The hand was grey. Rotting. Its fingernails were blackened. My breathing stopped. The infected stepped into the dim light. I stumbled backward in shock and fell hard onto the floor. "No..." Another infection emerged. Then another. Then another. Three. Four. Five. They kept coming.
Their slow, dragging footsteps echoed through the room as more figures appeared from the darkness. My eyes widened. No...No... The room... The room was full of them. Dozens of lifeless eyes stared straight at me. It felt as though the entire room had been hiding infected.
I scrambled backward, palms scraping painfully against the rough concrete floor.
They continued advancing. Slowly.
Relentlessly. One after another. Their growls filled the corridor. Adrenaline finally forced my body to move. I pushed myself onto my feet and ran. I barely made it two steps. My injured leg struck a wooden crate lying across the floor. Pain exploded through my shin. The same leg. The same wound I'd slammed into the ten kilogram dumbbell back at the shelter. I cried out as I crashed to the floor again. "Shit..." The impact sent agony shooting through my leg. I tried to stand. Couldn't. The infected kept coming. There had to be at least twenty of them now. I dragged myself backward using my arms, every movement sending fresh waves of pain through my body. They were getting closer. Closer.
Closer. This is it... Suddenly Brilliant beams of white light flooded the hallway. The infected hissed as the flashlights swept across them. I looked toward the source.
Ian. Beside him stood Hog and Thomas, their weapons already raised. Without hesitation, Ian sprinted toward me. Gunfire erupted. The sharp cracks echoed violently through the building. Ian reached me first, grabbing my arm and pulling me onto my feet while firing with his other hand. His movements were precise. Controlled.
Each bullet struck exactly where it needed to. One infected fell.
Then another.
Then another.
Five collapsed to the ground before they even reached us. Ian kept me close, shielding me as he continued firing into the advancing horde. Behind him, Hog and Thomas opened fire. More infected dropped. Their bodies crashed onto the concrete floor one after another. Moments later, the rest of the soldiers stormed into the hallway. The confined corridor erupted into chaos. Gunfire. Growls. Falling bodies.
Within minutes... Silence. The last infected hit the floor. Only then did Ian finally turn fully toward me. His hands remained on my shoulders as his eyes scanned me from head to toe. His expression... Complete disbelief. It was as though he'd seen a ghost. I couldn't even meet his eyes. Embarrassment and guilt settled heavily inside my chest. This wasn't how I wanted them to find out. Not like this. Not after lying to every single one of them. Ian's voice broke the silence. "What the fuck are you doing here?" Before I could answer, Hog spoke. "Elena... how did you manage to come here?" Thomas frowned. "I think the better question is..." He looked at me incredulously. "When did you come here?"
From somewhere behind them, Dameon's voice followed. "How did you even find these zombies? We searched for this entire building." James looked just as confused. "Weren't you supposed to be back at the shelter training?" Questions came from every direction. Each one landed heavier than the last. I opened my mouth. Nothing came out. Before I could explain Static crackled through one of the soldiers' radios. Leila. "There are incoming people!"
Her voice was urgent. "Danger ahead! The loud gunfire must've alerted the Reestablishment!" More static. "I repeat , the danger is ahead!" The room immediately tensed. Dameon looked toward Hog. "Should we hide?" Thomas interrupted almost instantly. "No."
His voice was firm. "We need to leave. Right now. Before they catch us." I forced myself to breathe despite the panic clawing at my chest. "No." Everyone looked at me. I swallowed. "Everyone should hide."
My voice shook slightly. "I know a place."
I looked around at every soldier. "I know somewhere inside this building." "They can search all they want." I took another breath.
"They won't find you." Silence followed. No one moved. Of course they hesitated.
Why wouldn't they? I lied. I'd secretly followed them. Because of me, the Reestablishment had been alerted.
Everything happening now... Was my fault.
My vision blurred as tears filled my eyes.
I'm so sorry... Then Ian spoke. "Elena's right." Every head turned toward him. He didn't hesitate. "She knows this place better than any of us." He looked at Hog.
"We follow her." Something inside me tightened. Even after everything... He trusted me. I nodded quickly. "This way."
I led them through winding hallways and forgotten corridors until we reached a nearly abandoned room hidden away from the main sections of the building. Almost no one knew it existed. I discovered it months ago while cleaning this floor. It had remained untouched ever since. "This room." I hurried toward the old wooden door. "Inside." The soldiers immediately began moving. Just then . The massive entrance doors somewhere downstairs groaned open. Voices echoed through the building. Guards. They were inside. "They're coming," I whispered. Hog grabbed the old doorknob. It refused to move. "It's jammed." He pulled harder.
Nothing. The footsteps grew louder. Closer.
Someone shouted in the distance. My heartbeat thundered inside my ears. "Come on..." Hog gritted his teeth and forced the handle downward. With a loud crack . The swollen wood finally gave way.
The door swung open. "Inside!" I urged.
The soldiers rushed into the hidden room one after another. The approaching voices were almost upon us now. Ian remained by the doorway. He looked at me. "Come on."
I stared past him. The guards were already turning the corner. There wasn't enough time. If I enter now... They would see all of us. Every single person would be caught.
No. I couldn't let that happen. Not after everything they'd done for me. Not after giving me a home. Not after treating me like family. I owed them. Even if it meant losing my chance to find Nowella. Even if it meant not seeing my sister again for a very long time. Without allowing myself another second to think . I shoved Ian backward.
He stumbled into the room. "Elena—!"
I slammed the door shut. The latch clicked into place. A heartbeat later , Blinding flashlight beams struck my face. I couldn't see. One of the guards laughed. "Commander!" His voice echoed down the hallway. "Look what we got here!" Instinct took over. I turned and ran. I barely managed two steps. Something hard slammed into the side of my head. A rifle.
Pain exploded through my skull. The world tilted violently. Darkness swallowed me whole.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOt5zIV9XHo
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