Chapter 25 – Deciding What to Do
Cassie awoke slowly, sensation returning to her a piece at a time, first and foremost being that she was laying on a hard metal surface. She opened her eyes, blinking several times in the harsh light. She found herself staring at a stark white ceiling, and she wondered where the hell she was. She tried to move but discovered hard, leather restraints on her wrists and ankles. What the…? She thought fuzzily until she realized she was strapped to a gurney. Clementine and Deacon were retrained the same way on either side of her.
She remembered with trepidation Kieran taking Clementine hostage in order to force her and Deacon to go with him. That psycho had brought them here to do his experiments, but where the hell was she? She remembered going through some sort of sewer tunnel and then up a ladder into what looked like a basement. Then she felt the prick of a needle in the back of her neck, and then everything went hazy. That bastard must have drugged her with something.
She took a good look at her surroundings. It appeared that they were at the head of a long, wide corridor. Lining each side of the corridor were about five or six white doors aligned perfect with each other. Each door had a small window in them, making it easy for someone to peek in or out, and there was another door at the other end of the corridor. There was also a single door nearest to them on the left side. There was nothing to indicate where they were though.
She looked over at Clementine, who seemed to still be unconscious. "Clementine," she called, her voice sounding hoarse. She cleared her throat and tried again. "Clem, wake up."
Clementine moaned as her eyes opened slightly. Then her eyes popped open fully and she looked at Cassie in alarm. "Cassie? Where are we?"
"Not sure," Cassie replied. "But it's going to be ok. We'll figure a way out of here."
"Oh yeah?" Deacon said groggily from Cassie's other side. "And how do you plan to do that?" He pulled at the restraints on his wrists experimentally.
"I'm thinking, I'm thinking."
Kieran breezed into the room through the door nearest them and stopped next to Deacon. "Ah, you're awake. I'm almost ready to start my experiments. You should be honored to be a part of it."
"Oh yeah. I can't wait to become some undead creature," Deacon said sarcastically.
Kieran leaned right down next to him. "And why wouldn't you be? At least then you won't have any more worries." He flashed him a quick smile before standing up straight and clapping his hands together. "Well, let me explain what I have planned for you. I think you should know what you'll become." He looked down at Deacon once again. "You will become what I call a smoker. You will be the first zombie to attack from a distance. You will have a wicked tongue. It will be long enough to reach great distances and strong enough to wrap around someone and pull them in toward you."
Deacon stared at him for a minute before he spoke. "Why do you call it a smoker?"
Cassie would have face-palmed herself if she could have. What kind of question was that?
Kieran's brow furrowed in anger as he grabbed Deacon by the shirt and pulled him up off the gurney. "What do you mean? Why do people call you Deacon? That's just your name, isn't it? Well, that's just what it's called." His words spilled out in quick succession before he slammed Deacon back down on the gurney and turned away.
"Ow," Deacon grunted as his head bounced painfully off the metal surface he was lying on.
"Deacon, don't provoke him," Cassie whispered harshly.
"I only asked a question," Deacon said defensively.
"Well, don't do that either. It was a stupid question anyway. I mean, really, all things he just told you and that's the question you ask?"
Kieran turned toward them, all smiles again. "Now, where was I?" he said, rubbing his hands together. "Oh yes. You, little missy," he said as he moved around to stand at Clementine's side, "will be what I call a screamer. It has to be a child, you see. That's why I needed you. First, you will sound like an innocent child crying, but then when someone gets close to you, you will emit this loud, painful scream that will disorient anyone who hears it. Not only that, but it will draw every zombie within a mile radius straight to you."
Clementine looked at him with wide, frightened eyes. "Why are you doing this?" she asked.
"Because it's fun," Kieran replied with a grin that made Clementine shudder. He then turned his attention to Cassie. "And last but not least, you, Cassie, will be what I call a witch. Much like the screamer, you will seem innocent at first, just a woman crying or moaning or what have you, but you will also be easily agitated. And when disturbed, you will chase after the first person you see. You will run them down, and you will attack them until either they are dead or you are. And because of that, I've modified the witch's DNA specifically to make her rather hard to kill. Can't have people gaining up on her before she has a chance to do some damage. Unfortunately, you will not be the first witch I've created. I do have one here already, but there seems to have been a flaw in the formula. She didn't turn out quite as I expected. Hopefully, you will be a better version."
"Oh, that makes me feel so much better," Cassie whispered to herself.
Luckily, Kieran didn't seem to hear her sarcastic comment as he turned away from her. "Well now, I've got to go get things ready. I'll be back soon." And he disappeared through the same door he just came in from.
Cassie renew her struggles. "Ok, we so need to get out of here."
Deacon agreed with that sentiment as he began pulling at the restraint on his right wrist with all his might. After a few moments, the leather strap broke free from the table. He smirked at Cassie as he sat up. "Way ahead of you," he said as he started undoing the strap on his other wrist.
Cassie smiled. "Deacon, I take back all the things I said about you."
"You should," he replied as he started in on the ankle restraints.
"Hurry, Deacon. Please," Clementine begged.
"I'm working on it," he grunted.
Once free from the restraints, he hopped down from the gurney and went to work on freeing one of Cassie's wrists. As he was fumbling with the strap, he gasped and suddenly went still, his eyes wide. Cassie looked up at him inquiringly. With a grimace, he reached behind his neck and pulled out an empty syringe. He stared at it as he began to sway.
"Oh shit," he mumbled as he collapsed to the ground.
"Deacon!" Clementine cried.
"No!" Cassie yelled. She looked down at Deacon's unconscious form before her eyes met with Kieran standing where Deacon had been.
He smiled and looked down at Deacon. "Guess you'll be the first," he said cheerily, unfazed by the fact that Deacon had just tried to escape. He walked around the unconscious man, grabbed him by the wrists, and started dragging him away.
"Kieran, don't do this!" Cassie begged.
Kieran paused. "Oh, don't worry. I'll be back for you shortly," he said and continued dragging Deacon through the door.
Cassie sighed explosively as she once again tried to get free. The one wrist that Deacon had been trying to undo felt slightly loosened but not quite enough for her to get her hand through, not without a little coaxing anyway. She might have to resign herself to the fact that they might not get out of there alive.
Lee stood leaning his elbows on the desk in front of him, his hands cupped together in front of his mouth as he stared straight ahead, his mind in turmoil. It had been about an hour since they had returned to the hotel, and Lee was worried about what was happening with Cassie, Deacon, and Clementine. Letting that madman take them and then leaving them there instead of going after them right then and there was the hardest thing he had ever had to do. But he knew they were not ready to go after him then. Hell, they weren't even ready now.
He could still see the absolute terror on Clementine's face as she looked at him, silently pleading him to help her, and he had just stood there and watched. He didn't help her. He should have helped her. He mentally shook his head. No, he couldn't have helped her. If he had moved even an inch, that madman would have killed her right then and there. Better that he let her go so he could have the chance to save her later. Now all he had to do was figure out where he would have taken her and the others. But that was the problem, he had no idea where he could have taken them. The lab was out of the question with those volatiles now occupying the space. Kieran may have created them, but Lee didn't think he had any control over them. So where would he take them? Another lab? A medical facility perhaps?
He rubbed a hand across his face in frustration. He was getting no place fast. With a sigh, he looked over his shoulder at the people that were scattered throughout the lobby in small groups. He wasn't really surprised when they found the rest of the group from the cabin at the hotel with John when they got back. When they caught sight of Lee, he could tell that they felt guilty, but none of them seemed to want to talk about it. And Kenny was still angry at them, so tensions were running high, and nobody was talking.
Then chaos had ensued as John took Kenny away to tend to his wound and everyone else started firing off questions about what had happened. Lee and Kyle had explained about what had happened as best they could, and now no one knew quite what to do.
Lee turned around and leaned back against the desk. He felt Ronan come up next to him.
"Hey, Lee," he said solemnly.
"Hey," Lee replied. He glanced over at him. "How are the ribs?"
"Sore," Ronan replied, placing his arm across his midsection as if just talking about them made them ache. "Your doctor friend, Carlos? He took a look and said that I definitely broke some, but it's not too serious."
"Good," Lee said as he looked straight ahead in contemplation.
"Listen, Lee. I just wanted to say I'm sorry about what happened. I just can't help but think that if I had kept Clementine with me, she wouldn't have been taken."
Lee looked at him and saw the guilt all over his face. "It's ok," he reassured. "It's not your fault. You couldn't have known. You thought she would have been safer with us. With me. Normally, that would have been a safe assumption." He looked away again, feeling his own guilt rising.
"It's not your fault either," Ronan said.
"I'm supposed to protect her, and she got taken right out from under me."
"Hey, we'll get her back," Ronan said, placing a hand on Lee's shoulder. "We just have to figure out how. Do you think he's still at the lab?"
"No," Lee replied with a shake of his head. "Not with those volatiles running loose. He may have created them, but I don't think he has any control over them." He sighed and ran a hand over his face. "Ok, he must have had a place in mind when he set those things loose on us."
"Questions is, where would he have taken them?" Ronan inquired.
"I don't know," Lee replied. His eyes roved around the room and zeroed in on Max, who was sitting by himself on one of the red couches. "But I think I know just who to ask." He strode purposefully toward the scientist with Ronan right behind him. "Max, is there another way out of the lab besides the door that leads to the pharmacy?"
They didn't actually see Kieran leave the lab, and even though Lee believed that he wouldn't still be there, he had to make sure. Kieran had disappeared through a door near the back of the lab, furthest away from the entrance. He wouldn't have just boxed himself in. He was crazy, not stupid. So there had to be another way out.
Max looked up at him sadly, and it was a minute before he realized that Lee had asked a question. "Um, yeah. There's a secret entrance that leads into the sewers."
"A secret entrance?"
Lee looked over his shoulder upon hearing Luke's voice to see that everyone else had gathered around them, looking on curiously.
"That's just great. He could be anywhere in the entire city by now," Nick scoffed, crossing his arms.
"Not necessarily," Lee said thoughtfully. "For what he's planning to do, he can't just do it anywhere. He would need some sort of medical facility or a science lab, right?" He looked back at Max. "Max, how well do you know the city?"
"Um, pretty well, I guess. I've lived here for ten years."
"Then, think. Where would Kieran have taken our friends?"
Max sighed and lowered his eyes to the floor. "What will you do?" he asked quietly.
"What you can't," Ronan replied.
"Wait a minute, wait a minute," Luke objected, taking a step forward. "You're talking about killing him."
"So, what?" Nick said, crossing his arms. "From what I hear, this guy needs to be stopped at all costs. Hell, I'll kill him myself."
"That shouldn't be our only option," Luke argued.
"Luke, I know where you're coming from, but sometimes that is our only option," Pete said with a sigh.
"What if we talk to him? If we can get him to see reason…" Luke protested.
"No," Lee said with a shake of his head. "You didn't see him. The way he acted, the things he said, the look in his eyes, he's completely insane. You can't reason with someone like that."
"Luke, I know you don't like the idea of killing someone. I don't either, but sometimes it's what you have to do in order to protect the people you care about," Ronan said. He sighed when he saw the turmoil on the young man's face. "Let me ask you a question. Have you ever been put into a position where you had no choice but to kill someone in order to save a life?" When Luke shook his head, he continued. "No, I didn't think so. I was a cop. I was put into that position long before any of this, and I know it's not easy. But I'm glad I made the choice that I did because if I hadn't, an innocent person would have lost their life, and I couldn't have lived with that."
Luke sighed. "Alright, I get it. I still don't like it."
"None of us do," Ronan replied. He looked at Max. "Max, where is he? I know you know."
Max took a deep, steady breath. "Northbrook Asylum," he answered unequivocally.
"A mental institution?" Luke said, looking doubtful.
"No, it's perfect," Kyle said. "Not only would that place have med facilities and possibly even a science lab, but it would also have locked cells, someplace he could put his special infected until he's ready to set them loose on the city."
"Exactly what I was thinking," Lee said. He turned his attention back to Max. "You're positive about this?"
Max nodded. "I saw Kieran leaving through the secret entrance one day and decided to follow him. That's how I discovered what he was doing."
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go."
They all spun around in surprise to see Kenny standing behind them, one arm splayed across his stomach. John was standing behind him, shaking his head and looking annoyed.
"Kenny!" Lee exclaimed. "What are you doing up? Shouldn't you be resting?" he said as he walked towards him.
"That's what I keep telling him, but he won't listen to me," John said, crossing his arms.
"I ain't just gonna lie around while Cassie and Clementine are in the hands of some asshole with a god complex," he said over his shoulder to the annoyed doctor. He turned back to Lee. "If you're going after them, I'm going too."
Lee nodded. He knew he couldn't stop the other man from coming with. Kenny loved Cassie too much, and he cared about Clementine almost as much as Lee. "Alright, looks like we've got a rescue mission to plan," Lee addressed the assembled group. "We need all the help we can get. Who's coming?"
"I am," Ronan said with determination. "Clementine was my responsibility. I shouldn't have let her go. It's my fault she was taken and I want to help get her and the others back."
"Well, I'm definitely going," Kyle said, taking a step forward. "Deacon may be an asshole, but he's still a part of my group. I'm not going to let him or the girls get turned into monsters."
"I'll go too. Someone's gotta watch your back," Reggie said with a wink at Kyle, who smiled and put an arm around her shoulders.
"We'll go too," Luke said.
"All three of us," Pete added, looking at Nick and Luke.
"Yeah, uh," Nick said awkwardly, absently scratching the back of his head. "It's the least we can do after the way we treated you back at the cabin."
Lee looked back at Kenny, uncertain. He didn't have a problem with them coming. They could use the extra help, but he knew Kenny would have a problem with it. And the last thing they needed was friction amongst the group that would interfere with getting Cassie, Clementine, and Deacon back. Kenny looked Lee in the eye and then huffed, turning away. But he didn't argue, which Lee interpreted as his grudging consent.
"Alright," Lee said, turning back to the three men. "We welcome the help."
"What about you, Max?" Ronan asked. "You coming along?"
The jittery scientist looked up at him with wide eyes. His eyes began to shift back and forth from one person to another nervously. He started to fidget as he stood there shaking his head. "No, I-I can't. I mean…I would be of no use to you. I would just…get in the way. So, I can't." He slowly backed away, then ran through the ballroom doors, disappearing from sight.
"I think that guy's got a screw loose or something," Kenny commented.
"He's just scared," Ronan said.
"Alright. The rest of you should stay here and be ready in case we need any help when we get back," Lee said.
"No arguments here," Rebecca said as she sat down on one of the circular couches with a relieved sigh. "This place is kind of nice."
"Yeah, a lot better than that cabin," Alvin agreed as he sat down next to his wife.
"I'll show you where you can lay down in a minute if you want," John said as he walked by the couple. He tapped Carlos on the shoulder and beckoned him to follow him. "Come on. We should get things set up in case they need medical attention when they get back."
"I'll be there in a minute," Carlos replied as he turned toward his daughter. "Sarah, sweetie, I want you to stay here with Rebecca and Alvin, ok?"
"Yeah, ok, Dad," Sarah agreed readily.
Carlos watched his daughter sit down on one of the other couches, open her book—which was the only thing she insisted on taking with her when they left the cabin—and start reading. He then looked over at the group assembled by the door getting ready to leave. With a deep breath, he walked over to Lee.
"Lee?"
"Yeah?" Lee asked, turning toward the doctor.
"I just wanted to say I'm sorry for kicking you out before. I was wrong. You are immune, and I should have given you the chance to prove that."
Lee held up a hand to stop any further apologies. "It's ok. I get it. You were looking out for your own people. Nothing wrong with that."
"Yes, but…I didn't have to be so harsh about it," Carlos replied.
"Forget it. Try to focus on what's going on now."
Carlos nodded and walked away. After Carlos was out of earshot, Kenny stepped up next to Lee and shook his head.
"You know, Lee. Sometimes, you're too trusting for your own good. How could you just forgive him that easily?" Kenny said.
"Because he's no different than you or me. He's just looking out for his people. You know what that's like," Lee reasoned. Kenny snorted, and Lee turned to look at him. "C'mon, Ken. What would you have done in his place?" Kenny looked away, but Lee persisted. "If you had just met me, and you found out I was bitten. And I tried to tell you that I was immune, that I wasn't going to turn. What would you have done?"
Kenny humphed, refusing to meet Lee's eyes because he knew what he would have done. If it hadn't been Lee, if it had been some stranger who walked up to him with a bite and told him that he wasn't going to turn, Kenny knew exactly what he would have done. He would have kicked him out or left him there, gotten as far away from the man as possible to protect the people he cared about. But he certainly didn't want to admit that.
But Lee knew. He knew exactly what Kenny would have done. "You would have done the same thing, and you know it."
Kenny glowered at him. "Let's just get going," he said as he turned and walked away.
Lee shook his head as he followed him. Yes, after all this time, he knew Kenny too well.