The Viral Chase

Chapter 36: Misjudged

Chapter 36

Misjudged.

I am having a really bad headache, the one that gives a pounding feeling in your head. And that's not all, my whole body is stiff and filled with pain. This is bad, oh no, this is worse. They are making me physically weak too. The only food I get to eat is what Jack brings me, which I rarely even touch. No doubt, I feel weak and drained all the time. Two days and I am already down, don't know how long will I survive. What was I thinking when I thought that I can manage to make a plan and escape this on my own!

I have been staring at the computer screen since the last twenty minutes and not a thing has been coming to my mind, it is completely blank. "Alina, you gotta do something." Jack whines and I am suddenly brought back to reality. Okay, so now I am zoning out too. "Are you even listening?" He asks again and I nod, feeling irritated. When did he turn into an annoying idiot? Times like these really do reveal the true colors of a person.

"I can't make it!" I finally yell in reply to Jack's frequent pestering. "What do you mean?" "I am not able to think, everything is just blank." I reply in a weary voice as I slump against the back of my chair. He looks at me wide-eyed, stunned by my reply. "You must be joking, Al." "I am very much serious." I reply with a straight face, staring back into his eyes.

"You need to make your brain work or we won't be able to get away from here." Jack speaks after we reach the cellar. That's where he brought me when I couldn't do a single thing about the virus. "I am trying." I mumble in a whiny tone, frustrated by his repeated attempts of getting me to think when my mind is numb.

He left me alone couple of minutes ago with nothing to do and anyways, I can't think of anything here. I am trying to count my days of exile that I have spent away from my home but it is difficult to remember every morning when the sun shined. Suddenly, a tall figure arrives and I stand up immediately.

"Why can't you just give them what they want?" Daniel whisper yells as soon as he is in front of me. "Why do you even care!" I spit back through my gritted teeth not bothering to look at him anymore. "C'mon now." He tries to pull me with him but I jerk my hand away, glaring at him. "I am not coming anywhere with you." He grabs my wrist harshly and starts walking out of that dark cellar with me stumbling behind him.

"You are hurting me!" I yell and I feel him loosen his grip just a little but not enough for me to break free. Instead of walking back to those rooms or lab, he is taking me to a different route that I never knew of. A hidden passage that is not easily visible but if tried, one can spot it. It turns towards the left as we trudge through it. The more deeper we go, the more darker it gets. I can feel the panic rising back in me, my heartbeat getting faster and faster with every step he is making me take. I try to pull my hand out of his hold to run back, to find Jack and get to away from this man but without success. He is not even putting much efforts to keep me by his side.

Soon enough, there is a faint glow of a light source, maybe its the natural illumination from the sun yet still not bright enough to see properly. A tall silhouette appears at the end of the passage and its hard to see the face but he looks familiar. "Take her out as soon as you can." Daniel speaks in a low voice while pushing me roughly towards him. The unknown figure catches hold of me by my shoulders as I stumble forward.

His face is just inches away from mine and I can see his face clearly, even in this dark. Its his features that I recognize so well; his broad forehead shining with beads of sweat, his jaw set in determination, his emerald eyes sparkling in this small glow of light and his curly hair disheveled as usual. "Are you alright?" His husky voice asks me in such a smooth tone that I feel at home, already. I can only nod in response and his gaze soon shifts from me to Daniel, "Thanks." Harry expresses his gratitude to him and I can see it in his eyes that its a sincere one, from his heart.