Undead Rises

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴛᴡᴇɴᴛʏ ᴛʜʀᴇᴇ

ᴄᴏʀᴀ ʜᴇɴᴅᴇʀꜱᴏɴ

Tobias' snores were as loud as usual, I rolled my eyes but smiled. At least that part of him would never change. After I yelled at Aria, I wandered the hallways. I had no idea what I was going to say to my brother, what I was going to tell everyone else.

I knew that I had to get them out of this place. And I knew I couldn't tell my brother I was staying. I couldn't risk telling them the truth.

His loud snores pulled me out of my thoughts, I walked towards him and crouched beside the bed. Before I realized what I was doing, I was shaking him awake, slow enough not to scare him awake. When his eyes finally opened, a tired sigh left my lips. "Cora? What wrong? Are you okay?" he started questioning me as he sat up in his bed, careful not to wake Zoey who was sleeping right beside him.

"I'm fine, but I need you to listen to me. The people here aren't as amazing as we thought they were. You need to get everyone out, now. I've noticed that they don't guard the exits because they don't think we will leave. Wake everyone up, leave and get out through the woods so they don't see you." I explained, and he was clearly confused.

Tobias got up from the bed and placed his hands on my shoulders, a serious expression on his face. "We are safe here-" I cut him off before he could continue. "They're the ones who took Ben, they have been testing on him." Tobias was quiet, I kept talking. "Aria is going to help me break him out, but she can't be worried about all of our safety while she does it. We will be right behind you." I lied.

"Aria is going to be with you guys, the whole time?" he questioned, and I nodded. I knew if I spoke, my voice would quake, and he would know I was lying. "Okay, I'll see you when you get out. Meet us at the car wreck." he wrapped his arms around me, squeezing me tightly. I felt a lump in my throat and stinging in my eyes. This was probably the last time I was going to see my family, my brother.

"I'll meet you there. I love you." I said while letting go and walking towards the door, he told me that he loved me too. Once I was out the room, I allowed myself a moment to grieve. Grieve over the loss of my family and over the life I could have had. Once that moment was over, I wiped the tears from my face and stormed towards David's office. A man like him never slept; I doubt he was sleeping now.

I barged into his office, determination in my blood. David looked up from the paperwork on his desk and watched me through the fragile reading glasses that were on his face. He looked disheveled and tired, but somehow, he still looked menacing. He smiled.

"It's rude to barge in. Don't you knock?" the question was rhetorical; he pulled his glasses off from his face and placed them on the desk before leaning back into his chair. "We need to talk, and I don't give a shit about pleasantries right now." I seethed, some part of me was hoping to scare him, but I knew that was not possible. "Well, have a seat. If you drop the fucking attitude, I'll drop the bullshit." he smirked, he was the one in control, the one tugging on all of the puppet strings.

I took a seat in the chair; my eyes immediately fell to the letter opener, but I pushed the thought away. I couldn't kill him.

"I want Ben out of here. He is a child."

"No. He is the cure we have been waiting for, don't you realize that? If I let him go, the world stays the way it is."

"Not if you replace him with me."

This caught his attention. David's eyes seemed to scan over my body before he scoffed. "Bullshit, you're just making that shit up." he stood up from his chair, placed his hands on the desk and leaned into it. It was an interrogation tactic, to get me to confess that I was lying. After a few minutes pass, he rose an eyebrow. "Show me." he demanded, he wanted proof.

When I leaned down to grab my pant leg, I noticed him reach for his gun. Maybe I intimidated him more than I thought I did. I smiled to myself as I rose my pants and exposed the scar. The scar that was still slightly pink, but almost healed. The scar that had caused me to freak out not too long ago.

"Holy shit." he muttered under his breath as he walked around the desk, trying to get a better look at it.

"I was bitten more recently, and Ben is still growing. You don't know if his body reacted the same way as an adult's body would to the virus." I was basically trying to sell myself off to David, trying to get him to replace us. He looked up from my scar and watched me, the wheels in his head were turning. "Alright. We will take you and let the boy go." David said as he stood up straight and folded his arms over his chest.

"I wasn't done talking."

"What else do you want?"

"You need to send him with Aria, send them to the last place she saved my life. She'll know what that means." I explained, standing up to face the tall man. He thought over it for a moment before stretching his hand out, clearly wanting a handshake. A deal. However, I wasn't stupid. Never trust a man who would casually kick his daughter out of the safest place alive, never trust a man who clearly has alterior motives.

I move towards him, as if I was going to shake his hand, but with the speed I had gained over the last few weeks. I grabbed the holster and held it towards my head. It was a risk. Either he called my bluff and didn't care if I died, or he would cave and give up Ben fully. There was too much silence, I had to sell it.

"Joseph told me the truth. He did subtle testing to see the difference between us. He told me that my immune system had anti-bodies that Ben didn't. My anti-bodies can be used in a vaccine, Ben is an undetermined factor. So, the question is, are you willing to risk it?" I asked as I put a bullet in the chamber, my finger hovered over the trigger.

"Fine, I will let the boy go. No strings attached, but no Aria. She stays here!" he practically yelled; I was surprised over the fact that I was able to rile him up. "Then we have no deal and I put my fucking brains on your wall." I smiled, and for a moment he looked taken back, clearly not prepared to handle crazy.

"Okay. Okay. Okay. We have a deal."

"This gun doesn't leave my temple until I see them leave the property. Get to work."

David Smith walked over to his desk and picked up a phone before barking orders, without taking his eye off of me. I watched a screen that were connected to the security cameras. I watched Aria leave, clearly confused and distraught. Until I decided that there was enough distance for them not to be followed, I allowed the gun to slide off my temple. I placed the weapon on the desk and looked up at David.

"Let's find the cure and get this shit over with."

ᴛʜᴇ ᴇɴᴅ.

𝙰𝚞𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚛'𝚜 𝙽𝚘𝚝𝚎: 𝙰 𝚜𝚎𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚍 𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚒𝚜 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚔𝚜, 𝚒𝚝 𝚍𝚘𝚎𝚜𝚗'𝚝 𝚎𝚗𝚍 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝙲𝚘𝚛𝚊 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚢𝚎𝚝. 𝙸 𝚑𝚘𝚙𝚎𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚎𝚗𝚓𝚘𝚢𝚎𝚍! 𝙿𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚘 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎, 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚎.