It's been stewing in the back of your minds for the past two chapters, hasn't it? What is with that lockdown? What caused that lockdown? WHO caused that lockdown? Well, that's going to be answered… very soon…
-X-
HAROLD
10:45 A.M.
FACILITY ENTRANCE
-X-
I stop and gasp for air, reaching for my inhaler. Okay. Breathe. Breathe. Breathe. There we go…
I shake the cobwebs out of my head. I've got to get to the others. I've got to hurry!
…
…
…
…
…
I stop and gasp for air. Dammit! I need to learn and pace myself…
"Keep a-comin', slowpoke!" Chef calls. He and Chris are way ahead of me. "You want to protect Leshawna, don't ya?"
Somehow, that causes a spark inside me. It gives me enough rigor to keep going.
Protect Leshawna… Yeah… That's what I'll do…
We finally reach the large room with the switches. Without thinking, I quickly ask Eva, DJ, and Ezekiel where Leshawna went. Ezekiel points toward his door, and I run through that door. Chef and Chris follow.
-X-
10:47 A.M.
TEAM TWO HALLWAY
-X-
We go straight through the hallway. I don't pay attention to any of the scenery around me, and neither do Chris and Chef.
I hold my shotgun close to my chest. If those undead bastards lay a hand on my fair Leshawna…
…
…Well, I really don't know what would happen then, but I'd probably use this shotgun on them.
We reach the doors at the end of the hall and go through them.
(The door opens slowly, creaking softly.)
"GOSH!! Chris, you really need to pay someone to do some house cleaning."
"This was part of the challenge," he explains to me.
We step through the mess of papers all over the floor and reach the other side of the room.
(The door opens slowly, creaking softly.)
GOSH!!
Already, my first zombie! That was fast!
It looks at me, blood dripping from its mouth, its cold, dead eyes staring into my soul.
I aim the shotgun at its head. I pull the trigger twice, and the zombie falls.
I grin, and for the first time since I entered the room I notice I'm not the only one in it.
"HAROLD?"
I turn to her, my smile widening, now that I know she's alright. I winked at her. "Never doubt my wicked skills, Leshawna. Now, come on. We've got to find the others."
Then our party of (now) four left the room, and only then did I notice Justin's fallen form. Poor guy…
(The door opens slowly, creaking softly.)
"Leshawna!"
I smile. So there ARE more survivors! Great!
…But wait… Some people are missing…
Like all of Team One, for starters.
"Now, c'mon! Let's get out of here!"
"Not so fast, Shawnie."
I hear a gun cock. Uh-oh… I turn to find Duncan with a shotgun.
…Chef, you gave HIM a shotgun?!
"I don't know about you guys, but I ain't leavin' without Princess," he says.
Okay, as much as I don't like Courtney, I have to admit it'd be very dishonorable to leave her in such a horrible place. The least we can do is try and look for her. So when people start agreeing to Duncan's rescue mission, I agree along with them.
Chef starts handing out firearms to the others, and though I have a shotgun, I admit I'm a little jealous of Cody.
Once all the weapons are distributed, we begin our search…
-X-
11:10 A.M.
FIRST BASEMENT
CIRCULAR ROOM
-X-
Our search ultimately leads us to this large room, circular in terms of surface area, but more cylindrical in terms of the overall shape.
"I'll check out the machine," I say, and I walk along the walkway surrounding the machine. As I look at the large contraption, I also take note of the room itself. There's a door on the right side of the room and a downward-heading ladder on the other side (both in terms of where we came in from).
I also notice a sign on the machine that says that it controls the switches on the above floor.
I head back to the others and tell them what I found. I also offer to check the room by myself first before they head down the ladder (from the looks of things, the side door was only that—a side door. I figured it was just a small room).
And with that, I head toward the door. There's no knob, but there is a button, and I press it. As I had assumed, the door opens.
(The door slides open to the right.)
It's a small laboratory—a blinding white laboratory, really. And I mean blinding! I'm talking God's robes white here!
"GOSH!" I cry, as the whiteness was just too much for me to handle all at once. "They couldn't go for a beige wall or something?"
When my eyes finally adjust to the room, I look around the laboratory, searching for any clues on whether or not Courtney had come through here. I notice two vials on a rack, and one broken on the floor. I assume one of the interns had been messing with this.
That's probably how this all happened in the first place.
The possible deaths of many here on Wawanakwa Island all began here.
At one point, I notice a button on the wall. It's large and red—that's how I was able to notice it so easily. It contrasted well with the white.
I read the sign above it.
LOCKDOWN
In case of Outbreak, press button.
Vents and door in laboratory will shut and lock, and may save the others in the facility.
In case button is not pressed on time, and Virus spreads through the facility via the ventilation system, the facility will also be closed off from the rest of the Island to prevent Outbreak from spreading.
Lockdown procedures last Two Hours. By then, the Virus will most likely be dormant.
Wow… This is serious business.
…Really serious…
My stress levels begin to increase.
I start to sweat.
Oh, God…
The stress is too much.
Thump-thump-thump. Thump. Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump.
Oh, God!
I clutch my chest. No! Not now! Please, no!
My heart is palpitating.
Oh, God, no!
I stumble a little, and I fall.
I try to grab hold of something, but I take it with me.
Whatever it is, it falls from my hands.
CRACK!
…What the hell did I grab?
I look down. "GOSH!!"
It was a vial.
Was.
It's now a broken vial.
Fuck! FUCK!!
Despite the pain and the palpitations, I think quickly and hurriedly slam the button.
An alarm sounds.
"LOCKDOWN PROCEDURES HAVE BEEN ACTIVATED. TWO HOURS BEFORE LOCKDOWN PROCEDURES TERMINATE."
I want to smile, but I can't. I may have saved everyone else's lives right now.
But I can't smile because…
…Because I can't save my own…
I fall to the floor. The whiteness of the room is now getting darker. The room itself is getting blurrier.
I sob quietly as my life flashes before my eyes. My friends, my family, the campers…
…Leshawna…
…
The final thought of the Lovely Chocolate Sunshine that is Leshawna allows me to finally smile. Very fitting. You would think that Harold would be the type to die smiling.
So I make sure she's my last thought.
…
…She is.
YOU ARE DEAD
-X-
Hmm... I wonder how many people I've just pissed off right now...
Hey, I've had this planned out several chapters ago. Get a grip. This is a tragedy fic. People are going to die. Don't like it, don't read.