The Virus

Chapter Fifteen

Sitting up, I stared at the camera.

“I have to pee,” I announced.

The intercom buzzed to life. “Someone will escort you.”

            Seconds later, a big guy dressed in jeans and a blue polo labeled Biotest Center appeared and gestured for me to go out into the hall. He led me down the hall to a claustrophobic bathroom without a window. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall by the door. Annoyed, I shut and locked the door. Now what? The lack of a window ruined my plan. Running my fingers through my hair, I felt tempted to kick the door.

            I flushed the toilet just for the sake of appearances and let the water run in the sink. There was a cabinet under the sink that something told me to look in. I searched inside, aware of the guy sighing on the other side of the door.

“You alright in there?” he called.

“I’ll be out in a second,” I replied, searching through mountains of extra toilet paper.

            A metal toilet paper holder gleamed in the back corner. I grabbed it and stuffed it under my shirt. Turning off the water, I walked out. Staying behind him, I let him take a few steps before taking the TP holder and smacking the side of his head. He swayed but didn’t fall. I swung once more, praying he’d just lose consciousness already. He hit the floor with a thump and I quickly dragged him back to the bathroom. Taking his keys, I locked him inside and hurried to Luna’s room across the hall.

            The cameras in her room were on. Crap. She was finally awake however. Noticing me her eyes widen. Help, she mouthed. I put a finger to my lips to shush her and glanced at the cameras once more. I looked down at the keys in my hands. I wasn’t sure what the button on one of the keys did. I looked to Luna to see if she knew. Press it when you turn the key. I nodded. I unlocked the doors and simultaneously the cameras powered down.

“No time to explain,” I said, helping her down from the bed. “Let’s go. Now.” We ran back towards the entrance. It was the only exit I knew of and I didn’t want to take the chance of exploring this place. “Give me your phone,” I said. She handed it over without question. I yanked out the battery and stuffed it into my pocket. Doing the same with mine, we turned a corner and came upon the doors.

            I pushed them but they wouldn’t open. I looked at the keys still clutched in my fist. There was a key port beside a touch pad. I used that and pressed the same button I used before. I heard a clicking sound and tried to door again. Open. As soon as we stepped foot outside an alarm blared behind us.

“Shit,” I hissed.

            Taking off down the street with Luna in tow, I pushed my feet faster. We need to hide. I could hear Luna’s labored breathing beside me. She was strangely quiet. No ideas. No questions. Nothing. I looked at her but she was too busy running like hell.

“Over here,” I said, pointing towards an abandoned warehouse.

            We ran through the patchy grass, ignoring the objects crunching beneath our feet. It was too dark to see more than a few feet in front of us. The city lights drowned out the stars and the moon hid behind obstructive clouds. The door to the warehouse was chained shut. I grabbed Luna’s hand and led her around to the other side, trying to find another entrance. Spotting a window, Luna grabbed what looked like a pipe and smashed it. Shards of glass rained down. I helped her through first and climbed in after wards. Moving to the back of the warehouse, we gasped for air. I watched Luna slide down the wall and close her eyes. Sitting in front of her, I wiped the sweat from my brow.