Chapter 24

Zachary Comstock packed his belongings with only the light of his LED alarm clock to provide a subtle green glow.

He was doing everything in his power to make it look as if he wasn't home. He had left his car at the lab and even come in through the back door. His curtains were drawn and he hadn't turned on the lights since he arrived.

That's why he was surprised when the doorbell rang. He ignored it at first and continued to pack but when it rang a second time, he realized that there were only so many people it could be.

Quietly, Comstock made his way to the front door. He looked through the peephole and sighed to himself when his suspicions were confirmed. Jeremiah Fink was standing at his door.

Fink rang the doorbell again and Comstock opened the door, "Don't make a scene," he hissed. Fink pushed by him angrily and entered the house, "What do you want?" he closed the door and turned to him.

"What do I want?" Fink asked, "You know why I'm here. When the hell are you going to get someone to contain all of that?"

"I'm not," Comstock said.

"You're not?" Fink seemed surprised by the response, "Do you know how much we left in there? How much potential?"

Comstock didn't answer. Instead, he walked towards his bedroom to continue packing. He needed to finish and get out of town before the sun rose. Before workers attempted to return to work and before the rest of the town caught wind of what was happening.

"Comstock," Fink walked after him, "What do you-" he looked at the suitcase and frowned, "You're leaving?"

"Do I have another choice?" Comstock asked. HE had been answering calls all night from the other executives. They had all been complicit in the experiments but they all blamed him. He stopped answering the calls around 11 pm. Comstock knew that there was no way to spin this to make himself look innocent. Once they saw the bodies and read the files… He would be arrested.

Maybe things could have been ignored if Fink had been successful in creating his potions. But the 'Vigors' had been a failure and all he had to show for years of unethical research was a pile of dead bodies and that damn 'bird'.

"If we contain it now-"

"How do you plan to do that?" Comstock asked, "I put all of the companies money into this project. I don't have enough to pay someone to cover this up." The company had run out of money months ago and he had not paid a single bill since. "Two weeks ago I received a letter saying that they would shut off power soon. Coincidently, today is the day they cut off the power. DO you understand what that means?"

"The bird will escape…" Fink said slowly.

"Exactly," Comstock shut his suitcase, "I don't plan to be here when that happens."

"So that's it?" Fink didn't seem to believe it, "You're leaving?"

"I am," Comstock crossed his arms, "And you should too. If anyone survives that, they'll point the finger at you. Remember that assistant of yours?" Fink had made the young man turn back to get his important files and then they had locked the doors before he had returned. Not to mention Robert Lutece had gone back inside to find his sister. While it there was a high chance that everyone locked inside would die, Comstock didn't care to risk it.

"What about that girl?" Fink asked, "Your daughter?"

Comstock turned to a picture frame on his nightstand. He picked it up and sighed. Elizabeth… He had witnessed her miracles with his own eyes. IF anything was worth salvaging from the company, it was her. But she was most likely gone. He had left her with the doctor and he had left her strapped to a gurney.

He felt a little guilty for not making sure she was alright. As he thought about it, Elizabeth would have died eventually even if Fink's Vigors were successful. They would have had to continue taking her blood. She would slowly become weaker and would have died.

"My daughter is dead, "Comstock said finally.

He ran his fingers over the photograph. It was a picture of Elizabeth and her mother… How shameful was it that he was the reason that they were both dead now?

"You don't know that," Fink tried.

"I'm leaving in an hour," Comstock took the picture frame and placed it in his suitcase, "I don't care what you do from now on."

0.o.0.o.0

Rosalind could not remember a time when she had ever felt this sick. Her body felt so heavy that she couldn't even find the strength to lift her head.

She had been recovering slowly before this had happened but now she felt as if she were dying. Her nose was heavily congested and her throat was extremely dry. She had most likely been breathing through her mouth while she was asleep.

The aching had increased and she felt as if someone had spent the last few hours running her over with a car. Her head felt as if it would explode when she attempted to open her eyes, the pain grew.

And on top of all that, her body kept switch between being too hot and being too cold. Right now she felt as if she needed to be in an ice bath but she knew that she would soon feel as if she were outside in the cold.

Rosalind stayed curled on her side until she remembered that she was not supposed to be alone. Elizabeth had been with her before she closed her eyes.

"Elizabeth?" she could barely speak above a whisper. Maybe Elizabeth was simply asleep but Rosalind couldn't tell.

Rosalind opened her eyes and resisted the urge to close them again as she adjusted to the dim light. From what she could see, she was alone. Elizabeth had usually stayed right under her but Rosalind couldn't see her.

"Elizabeth?" Rosalind called again. As before, she received no answer. Rosalind waited for her blurry to focus before she attempted to sit up. It took far longer than she wanted it to but she eventually sat up.

She looked around and realized where she was. She was in Comstock's office and she had no idea how she had gotten there. And it was clear that Elizabeth wasn't in the room with her.

Rosalind couldn't remember a thing from when they had sat down to rest. Elizabeth had sat next to her and she had only closed her eyes for a moment…

She looked down and saw a water bottle next to her leg. She could slightly recall Elizabeth attempting to make her drink it. But where had she gone after that? Had someone taken her? Did she leave on her own? If someone had taken Elizabeth, why would they leave her unharmed? Was she unharmed? Everything hurt and she wasn't sure what was from sickness and what was from being trapped in this building.

She picked up the bottle of water and held it against her cheek. The cool bottle provided slight relief but it was only temporary. Rosalind opened the bottle and drank slowly. Even sipping at the water seemed to take too much energy.

She thought about how Robert had attempted to make her eat and drink when she had first become sick. She wished that she had listened to him then. She had thought it was food poisoning and that it would end after a day or two of discomfort but this was much worse.

"That's enough," she said quietly. She couldn't turn back time and change her behavior but there had to be something she could do now to restore her strength.

She sipped at the water until she finished half of the bottle. She knew she needed medicine and she also knew that Comstock would have some. She could recall him mentioning his severe headaches at one point years ago. Had they resolved or was he still taking medication? If she could find what he had been taking, she could get rid of some of the pain.

Rosalind decided that it would be easier to crawl to his desk than to walk. She wasn't even sure if she could stand completely without falling. The dizziness was strong but she managed to cross the room and pull herself into his chair.

She opened the first drawer and almost laughed. There was a large bottle of pills. She picked it up and struggled to focus her eyes on the words, "Acetaminophen…" she mumbled. Tylenol. That was the exact medication that Robert had wanted her to take. It was a pain killer and it could also help with her fever.

She looked down at the other bottles and frowned as she read them. Oxycodone, Hydrocodone, Hydromorphone… These were all very strong narcotics. Were his headaches so bad that he needed these? Who would prescribe them to him?

She briefly wondered if she should take something stronger than the Tylenol but she decided against it quickly. She remembered taking Hydrocodone when she had her wisdom teeth removed. She had been so drowsy that she ended up sleeping the entire day. She was drowsy enough already.

Rosalind took 2 pills and leaned back in the chair. She should have never allowed herself to take a nap. Just closing her eyes for a moment led to her losing Elizabeth and ending up in a place that Robert wouldn't think to check.

She knew she was wasting time as she sat and sipped on her water but she needed to wait at least 30 minutes for the Tylenol to take effect. It would help with her fever and her aching body. Rosalind knew that it wouldn't fix her issues but it would make them more tolerable.

At least she hoped it would, it was very hard to convince herself to move like this. Her body was getting weaker as the hours went by and Rosalind was concerned that she would never make it out alive if she didn't get better.

She moved the chair to his small fridge and opened it. She could try eating food but just thinking about it made her nauseous. That was the main reason he had barely eaten whenever Robert gave her food but she knew she had to.

She found a few small cups of yogurt and remembered Elizabeth had eaten one herself. Rosalind continued to dig through the fridge. He had carrots, apple slices, cheese, and more yogurt. For some reason, the idea of Comstock eating healthy snacks like this seemed unbelievable.

Rosalind slowly ate the carrots and apple slices. Each bite of food made her nausea grow but she managed to finish it all. Hopefully, it would help her get better.

It wasn't until an hour had passed that Rosalind felt well enough to get up. The weakness was still there but it wasn't as bad as it had been. It also didn't feel like she was on fire anymore.

She could stand now and decided that she would wait just a few more minutes before he went to find Elizabeth.

0.o.0.o.0

Weariness had set in fast after they left his office. Robert found himself yawning every few minutes and wondered how long he could keep moving.

Flambeau was still walking close behind him despite all of his complaints. It was obvious that he was growing more fearful as time went on, "There are so many dead birds…" Flambeau whispered.

Robert wasn't sure how he could see. It was so dark now that the lights had gone out. They had flickered for hours but now they had been off since they left his office. Robert had used his flashlight but Flambeau had demanded he turn it off.

"C-can we stop here?" Flambeau asked.

"Why here?"

"I don't know…" Robert knew that he could never understand what Flambeau had gone through. He had been attacked in the basement but it wasn't the same. Flambeau had no way to defend himself when he was attacked by 4 people.

"Alright," Robert sighed. They were near Dr. Pettifog's office now and Robert had a feeling that Rosalind had been there at some point. He entered the office and Flambeau followed quickly and shut the door.

"The crows come from Charles," Flambeau said.

"Charles?"

"Yeah," Flambeau said, "When he drank it, he made birds appear and go crazy." Just like the man with the bees. If not for the situation, Robert would have actually thought it all to be amazing. The ability to create from nothing was not something that he thought was possible.

But he knew the truth. He knew the horrible things they had done to people to get these results. He knew that they had kept Elizabeth locked away simply because her blood was what made these serums. He remembered the bloody cells from the basement and the man who had been stung to death by bees. None of this was right.

Still, if not for the death and destruction, Robert wondered if he would have even questioned the creation process. If it had been released he would have been distracted by it all. But this was all inevitable. No one had guessed that the effects would wear off and leave the people who drank it to deal with heavy withdrawals.

"Robert?" Flambeau had moved to sit on the floor.

"Yes?"

"I can't keep doing this…" he sighed, "I'm so tired."

Robert could only nod in response. He was tired as well but that wouldn't help him find Rosalind and Elizabeth. He wasn't sure if the clock on the wall was accurate but it was now 5 in the morning. That was almost 24 hours since he had last gotten up for work. He had come to work early with Rosalind to make sure that she didn't overwork herself and to talk with Elizabeth.

Now he was having trouble focusing. His reactions were delayed and their pace had slowed considerably. He knew himself and he knew that he would black out if he didn't rest soon.

"We could… rest for just a moment," Robert said. He was reluctant to do so because he knew that he couldn't rest for just a moment. If he closed his eyes he would sleep for hours and a lot could happen.

Rosalind could be hurt or someone could find the room they were in. He had a feeling that once they came from the basement, they wouldn't be happy. There was no way he would escape again. He had 7 bullets left and that wouldn't stop all of them.

But then they would get caught anyway if he didn't rest…

"I can sleep first," Flambeau said, "And you can wake me when it's your turn."

Robert didn't trust that plan at all. Flambeau wanted his gun and if Robert went to sleep while Flambeau was awake, the man would steal his gun and leave. But he couldn't stay awake. Even now as he sat in the chair his eyelids felt heavy.

"Alright," Robert agreed, "Just 30 minutes."

"Thank you…" Flambeau laid on the floor and closed his eyes, "You know, I have class today."

"Do you?"

"I think it's morning now," Flambeau yawned, "But I have an exam at 10. For chemistry, I was supposed to study last night."

"You might still make it," Robert put his head down on the desk and lifted it quickly. He had to stay awake for now.

"Only if we leave now," Flambeau yawned again. Even if they did leave now, Flambeau would be in no condition to take an exam. Maybe his professor would be lenient and give him another chance.

The room was silent until Flambeau began to snore. Listening to Flambeau snore seemed to make him even more tired. Robert stared at the door and held on to the gun but found his eyelids growing heavy. Maybe he needed to stand up…Or maybe he could simply close his eyes for a few minutes and…

There was a knock at the door and it took Robert a moment to realize what the sound was. Whoever was outside knocked again and Robert noticed the doorknob shake slightly.

Flambeau was awake and standing now. He held up his knife and moved to stand back near Robert, "I didn't lock the door…" he whispered.

Robert realized that he hadn't remembered to do it either. He pointed his gun at the door and took a breath. He couldn't hesitate. He needed to shoot whoever it was before they came through the door.

But… What if it was Rosalind? Would she be foolish enough to announce her presence like this? Maybe it was another staff member who had been locked inside… But Robert felt that he would have run into them a long time ago.

Robert stepped around the desk slowly and took a deep breath as the doorknob twisted. The door opened just enough for whoever was outside to peek in slightly. Robert tried to see through the darkness but he could barely see. He wondered if whoever it was could even see him.

"Robert?" the person whispered.

Robert wondered if he was hearing correctly. It sounded as if Elizabeth was the one speaking… Could she see? Or was she just calling into the room for him?

"Not here…"

"Wait!" he said a little louder than he meant to. There was silence before the door opened a little more.

"Robert?" He could see a little better now. It was indeed Elizabeth who was standing in front of him.

"Yes," he walked forward and closed the door behind her. He made sure to lock it before taking a deep breath, "Can you see anything?"

"I can see," she answered, "But it's really dark."

"Elizabeth?" Flambeau said, "Is… Is she one of them?"

"Does she look like she is?" Robert asked. He could barely see her and he knew Flambeau couldn't either.

"How would I know?" Flambeau sighed.

"Robert…" Elizabeth's voice was shaky, "I need help."

Robert put the gun in his bag and opened his arms slowly and Elizabeth rushed to him. He wasn't sure how she had stood there so calmly but now as he held her she trembled and cried, "I'm here to help you," he said quietly, "Are you hurt?"

"No," she sniffed, "It's Rosalind." Her voice was muffled but he heard her clearly. His sister was hurt.

"Where is she?" he asked quickly.

"I… I don't remember how to get there." Elizabeth admitted.

"We can't trust her…" Flambeau said, "What if she's one of them?"

"She isn't," Robert snapped, "And I trust her more than I trust you." Flambeau didn't respond.

Robert wanted to give Elizabeth a chance to calm down but the thought of Rosalind alone and hurt made him want to get back out there. He didn't need to rest, he needed to find her.

But Elizabeth didn't know where to go. It was dark and they could barely see anything. They did have a flashlight but that could draw attention if they used it too long.

"Alright," he took a breath, "Let's have a seat."

"No!" Elizabeth pulled away from him, "We have to find her now!"

"Elizabeth," he said, "You have to be quiet."

"But…"

"We're going to help her," Robert said, "But we have to figure out where she is first." He needed to get as much information as possible.

"You can't be serious…" Flambeau said, "do… Do you know who she is?" Robert thought it was obvious that he knew Elizabeth but that wasn't important.

"Do you?" he asked.

"Well," Flambeau paused, "I read a report before. She's the one we get the blood from." Robert had known for a while that they had been using her blood for these experiments but Flambeau had acted as if he didn't know who's blood it was.

It was apparent that Flambeau knew more about Elizabeth than he was letting on but that wasn't important now, "What does it matter?"

"They'll smell her blood." Flambeau said, "And they'll track us down if we stay with her."

"They can smell blood?" Robert asked. That would mean that he would need to move fast. They would have to get to Rosalind and get out before they figured out where she was.

"Well… Maybe…" Flambeau said, "I don't know but it's possible! If they see her, they'll tear her apart."

"They won't be able to see her." Robert didn't believe that they had night vision. Even if they could smell her blood, they wouldn't be able to find her unless she was directly in front of them, "And even if they could, I have a gun. They won't hurt her."

"You think you'll suddenly stop being afraid of using it?" Flambeau asked, "You're going to hesitate and they'll kill all of us."

"No…" Elizabeth whispered.

"That's not going to happen," he said firmly. He slowly led Elizabeth to the chair and took the flashlight out of his bag. He turned it on and sighed in relief as he saw her completely.

"They'll see the light." Flambeau pointed out.

Robert took off his jacket and stuffed it under the door, "We'll be fine."

"Why is she dressed like that?" Flambeau asked. Elizabeth was wearing a thin hospital gown and her arm was bandaged. Robert remembered that they had taken her under the guise of giving her vaccines but he now knew that they had only been trying to get her blood. He wondered if Comstock's reasoning for opening her window was just to get her blood in the first place.

"What does it matter?"

"She could be one of them." Flambeau insisted, "We can't be too careful."

It didn't seem right to leave Flambeau alone but Robert was getting irritated. Flambeau's paranoia was growing rapidly and it was likely that he would do something drastic soon. Robert didn't feel safe with Flambeau following behind him but there was nothing he could do.

"You're right," he said, "She'll stay close to me, I'll watch her."

"Right…" Flambeau said quietly.

"Robert," Elizabeth called out to him, "We have to go now." He agreed. Rosalind was close now and he could rest once he was sure that she was okay.

"We have to remember where she is," he reminded. Elizabeth barely knew where she had left Rosalind and it would be almost impossible to see in the dark halls.

"We went into doors. They were different and Rosalind pressed a button." Elizabeth said, "The top one." So they had used the elevator before the power went out. But Elizabeth couldn't have used it to get down to the 1st floor. With the silence, they would have heard the loud bell.

So if they had taken the elevator up and Rosalind had pressed the top button, then it was likely that Rosalind was on the 3rd floor.

"What else do you remember?" he asked.

"It was really clean," Elizabeth said, "And when I left the room, all the lights were off outside but it wasn't inside of the room." Whatever room Rosalind was in had a backup power supply or a battery-powered lamp. He was confident that she was on the 3rd floor and it wouldn't take long to find her. There were only 6 offices up there.

"Let's go." He held out his hand and Elizabeth took it. Robert noticed how cold she was immediately and wished that he could find something to put her in. He turned off the flashlight and waited while his eyes adjusted slowly. The process would have been easier if he weren't so tired.

"Where are we going?" Flambeau asked.

"Rosalind will be on the 3rd floor," Robert said, "So I'll check there first."

"We're going all the way up?" Flambeau asked slowly.

"You keep saying we're close to the exit, you can leave once we reach the second floor," Robert said.

Flambeau was silent and Robert led Elizabeth towards the door. He picked up his jacket and draped it over her shoulders before opening the door slowly. He finally knew where to find his sister and he didn't hesitate as he led the group up the stairs.

Elizabeth stayed glued to his side and Robert was determined not to lose her again.

He stopped only after reaching the second floor. It was just as dark as the floor below and Robert wondered if Flambeau's exit was actually nearby as the man had claimed it was.

"Well?" Robert asked, "Are you going to go? Or will you stay with me just a little longer?"

"I… I have to leave." Flambeau said, "I'm sorry…"

It felt like he had been poked with a pen. At first, Robert hadn't realized what had happened to him. It wasn't until he felt the warm liquid on his back that he realized that Flambeau had stabbed him in the shoulder, "What…" he grunted when Flambeau yanked the knife out.

"I need that gun," Flambeau stabbed him again, this time a little lower. Robert fell back onto the stairs and

He hoped that Flambeau wouldn't kill him, "You don't have to do this…" he was out of breath already, "Just take the gun." Robert realized that he was still squeezing Elizabeth's hand. He let go and closed his eyes, "Just take it…"

"I have to get out of here…" Flambeau said. Robert could feel him rummaging through his bag and coughed as Flambeau disappeared into the darkness. He wondered if Elizabeth even knew what had happened. She had said that she could see but he wasn't sure. He desperately hoped that she hadn't witnessed the brutal attack.

"Robert?" Elizabeth touched his arm, "What happened?"

"I…" Should he tell her? Would it scare her? "I'm a little hurt…"

"No…" he could hear her breathing picking up. She was going to cry again and he didn't want that.

"It's okay." he said quickly, "Let's find Rosalind." It wasn't okay. He could still feel the knife in his side and his shoulder was bleeding heavily. Despite the fact that the injury did not hurt, he was losing what little energy he had left.

"Why did he hurt you?" Elizabeth asked. So she had seen it… What was he supposed to say? Flambeau was so scared that he had resorted to almost killing someone for a gun. Robert had noticed that he was getting more and more afraid as the minutes went by but he hadn't imagined that he would stoop so low.

"Robert?" Elizabeth called his name, "I can't hold you up."

"Sorry," Robert mumbled as he reached the top of the steps. He was putting too much weight on her but he couldn't help it.

It was dark on the third floor but his eyes had adjusted enough to make out the white letters of the nameplates. No one but executives worked up here.

"It's this way." Elizabeth said, "Please…" It was unfair that Elizabeth had to be a victim in this. She had done nothing to deserve this and yet here she was. She was terrified and she had not stopped crying since he found her.

"I'm fine," he said although he wasn't sure. He still couldn't feel the injury at all but he did feel the blood soaking his clothing. He was bleeding a lot and that wasn't good. How was he supposed to help Rosalind like this?

"I… Robert, I don't remember which room she's in." Elizabeth said, "But Rosalind said it was Comstock's office."

"I'll tell you when to stop…" They were close now. It made sense that Rosalind would hide here. It was so removed from the disaster and it would have everything he needed. He had seen Comstock's office before and was slightly hopeful. If he could just make it there, everything would be okay.

But he had to make it there first. Robert wasn't sure if he would wake again if he passed out. But the door… Comstock's office was so close…

"Robert?" Elizabeth squeezed his arm, "You're falling…"

"I'm sorry," he mumbled as he collapsed. He heard Elizabeth calling his name but everything seemed so muffled. Was he really going to die here?

He shut his eyes and took a deep breath, "I'm okay…" his voice didn't sound like it was coming from his mouth.

"Rosalind…" was his sister well enough to come and find him? "He's hurt!"

"Robert…" he couldn't see a thing but he recognized his sister's voice, "Oh Robert…" Was he imagining it? Elizabeth had said she was hurt but she didn't seem hurt. Not as she pulled him into the room.

"Elizabeth, close the door and lock it please," Rosalind said.

"Lock it?"

"Turn that… yes, like that," Rosalind said.

Robert looked around the room and sighed. It seemed so secure, "There's light here," now his voice seemed too loud, "How long have you been here?"

"Long enough for a nap," she answered, "Elizabeth, we're going to bandage his injuries."

"I don't know how…"

"I'll tell you what to do," Rosalind said. He grunted when she touched the knife, "Don't be dramatic, it isn't that bad."

"It's not like I can see it," he was starting to feel the pain now. Perhaps his mind had blocked it out but now that he was lying on the floor and not moving, he felt every injury he had.

"Elizabeth, take this. I'm going to move the knife and once I do that, press this on top of the area." Rosalind said. He could hear the younger girl sniffling and knew she was still crying. This had to be a lot to experience in such a short period of time.

"Will he be okay?" Elizabeth asked.

"Yes." Rosalind seemed confident and Robert trusted her completely despite the fact that he knew she had no idea what she was doing. Rosalind had no medical training and could very well make the situation worse by removing the knife but he trusted her anyway.

"Okay." Elizabeth said,

"it'll be okay now." Rosalind said.

"But you're still hurt," Elizabeth said.

"I'm a little sick." Rosalind said, "But I'll be okay now." Even in the dim light, Rosalind looked very pale. It didn't seem like she had recovered at all since he had last seen her. In fact, her face was bruised. Had she fallen? Or maybe she had been attacked.

"You're sick?" Robert asked.

"I've been sick," she reminded. He tried to focus on her, she seemed to be straining just to care for him. If he had been more vigilant, she would be able to rest and he would have been able to figure out the next part of their plan.

"Are you ready?" Robert wasn't sure if Rosalind was asking him or Elizabeth.

"Pull it out on the count of three," he said.

"Alright," Rosalind did not count before she pulled the knife out and Robert clenched his jaw to keep from shouting.

"Do you know how to count to 3?" he gasped.

"I counted in my head," She said. He squeezed his eyes shut as Rosalind wrapped his injury. She was wrapping him up tightly and he wondered if he would even be able to take a deep breath with the number of bandages she was placing on him, "I think you were lucky," Rosalind said quietly, "I don't think it hit anything fatal."

"Great…" he opened his eyes, "We'll wait a few minutes before we go."

"We need to rest first," Rosalind said, "We're together now and we're safe." She was right. His injuries were bandaged and the door was locked. He wanted to find a way out before the people who had gone to the basement came back.

"Just a small break," he agreed.

"Of course," Rosalind said, "Just a small break." Rosalind placed a pillow under his head and brushed the hair from his face. He felt Elizabeth curl up beside him and Rosalind sat on his other side, "I'll be sure to wake you." He wanted her to sleep as well but he didn't say it. Instead, he relaxed and finally let sleep take him.