Thanks for all the reviews and thank you to CosmicGunslinger for editing. This chapter is sort of inspired by Seafret's 'Wildfire'.
Final chapter will be coming soon, rather than next week.
Sam opened her eyes slowly and gritted her teeth. Her mouth was dry and her stomach was doing flips. She rolled onto her back and lay there for a long time, trying to stop her body from hurting.
She had no idea how long she had been unconscious, or semi-conscious. She vaguely remembered people coming in and pouring water into her mouth or checking her vitals. Those memories were faint like a dream though, and Sam wasn't sure if they were real.
When she finally didn't feel like she would throw up, she sat up and looked around the room. There was a bottle of water and four apples by the door. Sam crawled over to them and downed half the bottle immediately before munching down on the apples.
They were delicious, but her stomach was still growling when she finished. She must have been out for a couple of days if she felt this ravenous.
When she finished the apples, core and all, Sam stood up shakily and looked outside the door. She could see a guard patrolling in this hallway and quickly ducked under the door before he saw her.
After she heard his footsteps pass by her door, she hobbled over to the far corner of the room. There, she lifted up the corner of the carpet and took out the needle Lara gave her.
She had no idea what she was going to do with this. It wasn't strong enough to kill someone outright so she needed to be smart about this. The tip was sharp, but it would snap once it was smashed against the skin.
Lara took another beating to get this to her and she couldn't fuck this up. She had to find out where Lara was and get her out as well, if they didn't kill her already.
Sam walked back to the door and hid behind it. She didn't know when they would open the door but once they saw that the room was empty, then they would have to investigate. She only had a needle, so she would try to stab it into his eye. Then she would need to get his gun or his knife to finish him off.
"Finally, you're here." Came a voice outside her door. It was gruff, and had a Russian accent. Dmitri, she guessed. "Standing around here is boring."
"Yeah, yeah." English accent, but she didn't recognise the voice. "Any trouble here?"
She heard something jingle. Keys?
"No. Everyone getting lunch. The doctor checking on Lara upstairs." Sam's heart leapt into her throat. "Girl not dead yet. A shame." Dmitri snickered. "Impressive, but she suffering. It's what she deserve. I think I might go watch her squirm."
"Alright, have a good one." She heard footsteps as Dmitri walked away. The new guard then headed off in the other direction.
Sam clenched her fist around the syringe. What did they do to Lara? Why was she in pain? If they killed her Sam swore she would kill all of them.
She knew she should never have trusted Mathias to keep his word. Mathias had her beaten her and now he was experimenting on her. She hoped that Lara wasn't dead - Sam still hadn't told her that she loved her.
"What the…?" Came a voice directly outside her door. Then, there was the frantic jingling of keys in a lock.
Shit, this was it. Sam pressed herself up against the wall and took a deep breath. She could hear her heart beating in her chest as she gripped the needle and readied herself.
The door opened and she saw the guard rush into the room. Sam stepped forward and wrapped her arm around his mouth. With the syringe in her other hand, she stabbed it into his right eye.
Sam grimaced as she felt his scream against her arm and blood run down her sleeve. She let go of the needle and fumbled for the knife at the man's belt. She felt its hilt and drew the knife, instantly plunging into his brain.
The man went limp in her arms and she let him drop with a thud. She closed the door hurriedly in case someone came along and looked down at the man. Her heart was still jackhammering in her chest as she knelt down and searched the guard. She managed to retrieve the knife, some keys, a gun and a candy bar that she scoffed down ravenously.
Sam shoved the gun into her jeans. She was glad she had one but it was too risky to use it here. She wasn't comfortable with a knife but it wouldn't alert everyone if she killed someone.
Sam peered outside the window and saw that the hallway was empty. After a few heartbeats where no one came, she slipped outside and into the hallway.
Sam had only seen it once and she vaguely remembered where they brought her down before. She headed down the hallway, staying low and out of sight of the windows. The labs she saw were empty save for one woman focused on studying something in a fish tank. She found the stairs easily enough at the end of the floor.
Upstairs, she remembered. Sam crept up the stairs and onto a floor which looked much like the second. A guard walked past the stairs in front of her and she ducked back down, pressing herself against the stairs. The guard continued by, humming to himself. Sam could hear several growls coming from the rooms. From the amount of noise, it sounded like there were a lot of biters in there. She guessed that they were experiments, either failed ones from Stevens and Mathias or just ones which were brought off the street.
She wondered how long they had been doing this, how many people they had given a fate worse than death to further their cause.
Sam could hear her heart in her ears as she crept behind the guard, the knife in her hands. She kept fearing that at any moment, he would turn around and see her.
When she got close enough, Sam kicked hard at the guard's knees. The man cried out and fell forward onto his knees, but before he could recover Sam pulled his head back and sliced his throat.
Blood spurted into the air. Sam let go of his hair and the man fell forward with a thud. The blood began pooling around his body.
The growls and the bangs rang louder and Sam looked around. The biters were getting restless; she needed to find Lara now. She quickly stripped the man of his keys, his gun and his knife. She didn't think there was anyone else left on this floor and started looking into the rooms, looking for Lara.
In each of the rooms, she could see many biters shambling around. It was at the fourth door where she saw Lara curled up against the far wall.
"Oh god," she whispered to herself. Sam pulled the keys out of her pockets and started trying them on the door. Her hands were shaking from what was happening but she managed to unlock it with the third key she tried.
"Oh god Lara!" Sam opened the door then rushed over to her girlfriend. She shook her shoulders. "Wake up!"
Lara groaned and tried to roll away from her. "No…" she muttered. "Not again…"
Sam pulled her into her lap despite her struggle. "Lara, it's me, Sam. It's okay."
"S-Sam?" Lara muttered, her eyes fluttering open. She looked up at her and smiled wearily. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm here to rescue you, idiot." Sam could feel tears in her eyes as she stroked her face. Lara was worse off than she had first thought. Her skin was clammy and pale, and it looked like she had a hard time focusing on her. "What did they do to you?"
"Experiment," Lara explained. "New vaccine. Still fed me, though. Don't want me dying early."
Sam stopped breathing for a moment. They experimented on Lara. If she had the virus in her then there was no way she would survive. But…if she was still breathing after a few days then surely there was a chance she was okay?
"Look…we'll-we'll get you out of here, okay?" She needed to remain hopeful for the both of them. "You promised me we would."
Lara's smile slowly turned into a frown. "Don't worry about me," she whispered. "Just go. I'm dead anyways." Her right hand - the hand that Mathias had cut - was pressed against her stomach.
They didn't have much time, the guards could come at any minute.
Sam snorted and stood up, pulling Lara up as well. "Yeah, since when have we ever agreed on anything?"
Lara sagged against her but then managed to stand by herself. She thought Lara was going to protest but she just looked at her with blank eyes. "What's your plan?" she asked weakly.
Sam didn't like how Lara looked. She was still swaying on her feet and looked like she was using every bit of her strength to stay up. Still, if Lara could move by herself then it would make getting out easier. "We need a distraction," Sam told her. "I have keys to this floor. There are biters in almost every room. I was thinking that if we open the doors, and then if something happens, the biters will come out and they will have to deal with them."
Lara blinked at her then slowly nodded. "Okay. Let's do this."
Sam gave her a knife and crept over to the door. When she saw that there was no one outside, she took Lara's hand and led them out into the hallway.
"Keep watch for me, okay?" Sam said. "I'm going to open the doors."
Sam quickly and quietly unlocked the doors to the rooms with biters in them. The biters inside groaned and moaned, but they didn't try to push open the doors. After she unlocked all of them, she returned to Lara and tugged her quietly down the stairs.
"Fire escape," Lara muttered. Sam glanced back at her. "We can't walk out the front door."
Sam glanced down the flight of stairs and realised that Lara was right. Although the fire escape hadn't worked out well last time, it was better than strolling out into the open.
She looked around and saw a blacked out green sign straight ahead which she recognised from their last attempt. "This way." She led them towards the inner courtyard.
Bang!
A bullet just missed her.
Sam spun around and saw Mathias standing in the hallway with a gun. She stepped quickly in front of Lara and raised her own gun at him.
"Don't do this, Sam," he said. He held the gun steady at her. "Think about all we've accomplished. We're close to a cure!"
Bullshit. Sam wasn't going to let him torture them anymore. She squeezed the trigger twice. One of the bullets hit Mathias' shoulder before he ducked into a room and growled.
"Sam!" he yelled angrily.
Sam quickly pushed Lara back and kept firing at the doorway. She rounded the corner then pressed herself against it as several bullets hit the ground next to her. "Last chance, Sam!" he yelled. "This place is surrounded. You won't be able to get out alive."
Dying would be preferable to this.
Lara gripped her arm tightly. "Sam," she whispered. "Throw down your gun."
Sam gaped at her. Had she lost her mind? How could they give up?
Lara reached down between them and drew out another gun. Sam had forgotten she had that.
"Distract him," she said. "Throw yourself on the ground. I'll shoot him."
Lara swayed on her feet and Sam wasn't sure she would be able to take Mathias out. She had to trust her though. Lara hadn't let her down before.
She grimaced. "Fine!" she snapped. "Just promise you won't hurt us!"
"I promise!" Mathias responded. "Now throw down your gun and come out."
Sam knelt down on the floor and slid her gun around the corner. "Good!" Mathias said. "Now come out. Both of you!"
Sam looked at Lara, who nodded. She took a deep breath and then threw herself out into the corridor.
She winced from the rough landing and looked up. Mathias swerved his gun to her, a look of confusion on his face before the sound of a gun made a hole in his head. He looked stunned for a moment, his eyes blank, before he fell backwards.
Sam stared at him for a moment. His blank, lifeless eyes stared into nothing. She really should have been relieved at his demise, yet they still needed to escape from this horrid facility of his creation.
Lara walked up to her and helped her up. "Are you okay?" she asked.
"Yeah," Sam nodded. "We should keep going." She glanced down the hallway and started down it.
"Wait," Lara said.
Sam glanced back. Lara knelt down next to Mathias and then picked up the two Remmingtons on his body.
"Okay." She stood back up, grimacing. "Now we can go."
Outside, Sam could hear several shouts and yells as people rallied to the building. If the gunshots had drawn the others here, then she hoped the biters would soon emerge to meet them.
Lara reached the door to the fire escape and reached for the handle when the door burst open. Lara was knocked back against the railing as Dmitri burst through and pinned her against it.
"There you are!" He growled. "Schas po ebalu poluchish, suka, blyad!"
"Lara!" Sam fired the gun at Dmitri when the whole railing gave way with a loud crack.
Sam rushed over to the edge just in time to see Lara land on her back and then cry out in pain. Dmitri groaned and pushed himself up onto his knees, glass crunching under his boots. He crawled over Lara and wrapped his hands around her throat, teeth bared. "I kill you now for what you did to my brother," he said tightening his grip.
Sam aimed the gun at Dmitri and shot him twice. The bullets pierced his head, splattering his brains and he slumped down on the floor.
Lara gasped as air entered her lungs again, but it turned into a painful cry. Her hands clasped around a patch of red at her side and Sam realised with a start that she had landed on something sharp.
"Lara no!" She looked around and couldn't see a way to get down.
"Shit," she cursed. There was only one way down. She sat down on the edge of the balcony and then slid off.
Sam landed roughly on her knees, which sent pain up her legs. She stumbled over to Lara who was breathing shallowly now and gripping her side where a rebar had pierced her.
"Holy shit, Lara!" She had no idea what to do. They needed to move but getting this thing out of Lara might do more damage than good.
"Sam," Lara grimaced. She grabbed her hands as Sam tried to touch her. Her eyes were bright and pleading. "You need to go."
"What? I'm not going to leave you!" She looked around desperately. Panic was settling in and it was harder to breathe. "Look, I'll find a way to get you out, okay? I promise." She moved Lara's hand out of the way and tried to pull it out.
Lara cried out in pain and Sam instantly stopped. "I'm sorry!" she said. The bar looked attached to a fallen piece of railing. The only way to get Lara out of this was to pull her off it.
"You need to leave," Lara begged. Her breathing was faster now. "I'm not going to make it."
Sam ignored her and got to her feet."I'm sorry Lara, but this is going to hurt." She grabbed Lara's hand and pulled her up, wrenching her off the rebar.
Lara yelled as the bar was ripped from her side with a horrific squelch. Lara instantly sagged against her and Sam struggled to keep her up.
"I'm sorry," Lara whispered.
Sam pulled her up against her. "You can make it up to me by getting out of here," she said, trying to keep her voice steady. Her side was warm from where the blood seeped into her clothes. The feeling sent a fresh wave of fear through her but Sam managed to swallow it down.
Lara pushed herself off her. "I can walk," she muttered.
Sam glanced at Lara skeptically but then decided to leave her. Lara was going to be slow, so Sam would be best off scouting. She opened the door which lead out into the hallway and signalled to Lara to come through. Lara had picked up Dmitri's gun and hobbled through the door. "We're almost out," Sam said. "We can do this."
Sam ran ahead to the double doors and nudged it open. The sound of gunfire rang through the lobby and she could hear people shouting. "The biters are loose! They're coming out from the labs!"
Sam closed the door again and looked around. There was a faded exit sign on the far end of the hall. They had to go this way, it was too risky to go through the lobby.
"Come on, Lara." She took her hand and followed the signs to a smaller exit. Sunlight shone into the hall and when she peeked her head out, she could see people rushing towards the building. Getting out was going to be dangerous, but Sam had no choice.
She turned around to Lara. "We're going to sneak through," she told her. "Are you up to it?"
Lara was gripping her side and her face was twisted in pain. Still, Lara managed to nod and squeeze her hand.
Right. Sam looked outside again and then ran to the closest bushes outside the building. She peered over the bush then darted across the road and behind another building. Lara followed clumsily and slumped against the wall as Sam glanced at her with worry. "Are you okay?" she asked.
Lara took several deep breaths before answering. "Let's keep going."
Sam gripped her gun and ran along the wall of the building. She quickly held out her arm to stop Lara as she saw two people run past in front of them.
"What's happening?" one of them asked as he ran past.
"I don't know!" Their voices faded as they moved away.
Sam looked around and saw that it was clear. There was a building ahead to their left where the fence ended.
Lara winced and leant against her back. She pointed at the building. "That's where I got in from," she said. "There's biters on the other side."
Sam turned around and steadied Lara. She sagged into his arms but then managed to stand. "Hey, stay with me okay?" Sam said. "Once we get out of here, we'll fix that wound?"
Lara nodded mutely. Sam dragged her towards the building and shoved the doors open. It was dark inside, and Sam would have gotten lost within the building if Lara didn't take the lead.
"Here," she said, stopping at a recently boarded up window. "Break it off."
There were still planks and supplies next to the window. Sam picked up the hammer and used the back end to pry off the nails. Lara watched her with a grimace, her hand pressed to her side. Behind them, she could still hear gunfire as the others fought off the biters.
Sam tore off the rest of the boards and threw them to the floor. After a quick look outside to confirm that there were no biters, she jumped through the window then slowly helped Lara through as well.
"We're almost there," Sam said, looking around. "Just hold on, okay?"
"Keep going," Lara muttered. "Right. There's a way out into the city."
Sam turned and led them through the university. The roads here were dirty and cluttered with biter corpses everywhere. It was clear that Stevens and Mathias didn't bother with expanding past this area and the guards had just mowed down the biters that came too close.
The sound of the gunfire drew stray biters towards the main campus. As Sam and Lara made their way back to the city, a few biters tried to ambush them. Sam fought them off with some difficulty, feeling fatigued and weak from weeks of being a human lab rat. Lara tried her best to help but Sam told her to keep watch. She wasn't doing well and in her state, she would probably do more harm to herself.
At one point she saw a large horde of biters heading down the road towards them. Sam pulled them quickly into a nearby cafe and pushed a table against the door, praying that they wouldn't come in here.
"Let's hope they pass us," she whispered, turning around to Lara.
The Englishwoman slumped against a wall and slid down it. "I can't do this anymore, Sam," she mumbled. Her eyes were closed and her face was twisted in pain. Her wound had soaked the left side of her shirt with blood and her skin was even more pale than before.
"Lara no!" She rushed over to her and knelt down next to her. "We're almost out okay? You need to hang on!" Her voice shook with desperation. She couldn't lose Lara, not now. Not with what they've been through.
"I'm dying, Sam," Lara said, taking deep breaths. "If the virus doesn't kill me, then the rebar will. I'm bleeding out, and there's no way this can be fixed without surgery."
Sam could feel tears threatening to overwhelm her. "I'm won't lose you, Lara," she growled. She looked around angrily for something useful. "I can cauterize the wound-"
"And what about the virus?" she interrupted, her head rolling towards her.
Sam stuttered to a stop. She didn't know what the virus was doing to her, but she couldn't let Lara give up like this. "You're not dead yet! There's still a chance you'll make it!"
"I can feel it in me, Sam," she rasped. "It hurts. Everywhere. Just leave me. I'll only slow you down."
The tears poured down her cheeks freely now. Her heart felt like it was being torn from her chest. "Lara, please," she begged. "I love you. You can't leave me."
Lara opened her eyes and stared at her. A small smile graced her lips as a tear ran down her cheek. "I love you too."
"Then get up, and I'll tell you that for the rest of your life," she growled.
Lara reached forward and cupped her cheek. All the frustration drained out of her and Sam placed her hand over hers. "Please don't leave me," she pleaded.
They had just gotten each other back. Lara made her feel safe and loved like nothing else in this world could. They balanced each other out, with Sam making sure Lara didn't drive herself insane and Lara making sure she was safe.
She was her rock, her knight, her soulmate. After all they had been through, after all the death and hurt they had seen and felt, this couldn't be how it ended.
She didn't know how she could continue without her.
Lara stared at her, her breathing calmer. "If I turn," she muttered. "Don't hesitate, okay? Promise me."
Sam nodded mutely, pressing her lips hard together. She didn't know if she could kill Lara, but if it's what she wanted, then she would do it.
Lara smiled wryly and took her hand. "Then we should go before they come after us."