Immunity Hunter

Chapter Thirty-Three - Ashley Sonnie

Getting out of this place will be harder than I thought. The longer we stay, the more likely we'll run into more trouble.

Rin and I find a hallway with windows on both sides. The sunlight shines through making this gloomy hospital a little more inviting. I look around trying to find some sort of exit. All I find is a courtyard with a broken fountain in the middle. We walk down passageways, through a waiting room, and finally making it to a set of fire safety doors with a sign saying "Reception".

I walk up to one of the doors and slightly push it open. The sound of male voices makes me freeze. I don't want to have to fight someone else, especially not a group. That's when I recognize one of the male voices. My face lights up with relief.

"Nevin! What are you doing here?" I say as I push open the door. I run into his arms, knocking him down on his back.

"A-Ashley? But...how?" He hugs me tight, his strong arms wrapping around me, holding me close. It's as if we haven't seen one another in days, even though it was only yesterday. I'm more than happy to see him. The chance of the both of us being in the same building during the sweep was unlikely.

"Jeiku, you're here too!"

I look up to see Rin running toward Jeiku. For a moment, I forgot anyone else was here, I was so focused on Nevin that I didn't bother to look to see where Rin was. She throws her arms around Jeiku's neck and kisses him on the cheek. He turns bright red with embarrassment, his ears twitching with excitement. It's sort of cute.

I turn my attention back to Nevin. He looks like he's been through hell. His uniform and most of his body are covered in dirt and sweat. His always perfect hair now looks like he recently got out of bed. Then again, I don't look all that great myself.

"Well isn't this cute, so glad you guys are having a nice reunion but we still have a problem," a male voice says.

Two other boys I didn't notice sit across the room watching us. I stand up, straighten out my outfit and greet them. "Sorry about that, I'm Ashley and this is my friend Rin."

The dark haired one takes a few steps toward me, looking into my eyes. He grins. "Well hello there, Ashley. I'm David, and this is my friend Akairo." He points at the red-haired boy behind him. "You must be the Sonnie Princess."

What did he just call me? "I, well umm, yes. Michael Sonnie is my father."

David extends his hand to shake mine. I accept, not wanting any more trouble. Rin glares at him.

"What problem do you guys have?" she asks in a stern voice.

"Our friend is missing, and we're not leaving until we find him," Akairo says.

"You're friend?" I know exactly who they're speaking of. If that boy that attacked us is their friend, then they can go find him on their own. Nevin sets his hand on my shoulder, spinning me around to face him. He looks at the bruise on my forehead. His eyes question what happened to me. I don't want to explain what Rin and I went through and lying to him is out of the question. I decide to kiss him on the cheek to keep him quiet.

"Remember when I said you owed me one, Jeiku?" David says, breaking up the silence. "We need to find Zach. He survived falling through a floor, he can survive almost anything."

Jeiku rubs the back of his head and lets out a large yawn. "Yeah, you did save me so I guess the only thing I can do is help you find Zach."

I don't like this. I don't want to go back to where Rin and I had that boy tied up. It doesn't look like I have a choice either way. I can stay here and wait for the guys or I can tag along. Of course, I don't want to be away from Nevin right now, so I agree to go with the group.

"I know where he is," Rin says. She looks over at me before continuing. "He attacked Ashley and me moments ago. We have him tied up in a room a few halls down."

Jeiku looks at Nevin, then at the two boys standing next to him. He tightens his fists and grits his teeth. Rin grabs his right hand to calm him down. David must have seen Jeiku's reaction. He steps back a few feet shaking his head.

"Heh, that's Zach for ya. Always a hot head."

I can't believe he finds this funny.

"I'll show you where he is, and then we all can go our separate ways," says Rin with her arms crossed. She walks through the double doors and into the corridor. Jeiku follows close behind her, mumbling something about assholes under his breath. Nevin looks at me unable to find any words to make things better. I don't have any words either. By the look on their faces Nevin and Jeiku both trust these guys to some extent; otherwise, they wouldn't have stayed with them as long as they did.

We retrace our tracks back to where Rin and I left the boy with torn clothing, down through the halls, around corners and past the courtyard; all the way back to the dark corridor of exam rooms.

"He's tied up in Exam Room 5." Rin points her flashlight down the hall toward the room.

"Much obliged," David responds, he takes a bow and motions for Akairo to follow him. The two walk past Rin and I into the room. I stand with Nevin and Jeiku, waiting for the boys to return.

"Is this some joke?" David yells from the darkness. He runs out of the room. "Where the hell is he?"

Rin shrugs.

"Maybe he got loose," I reply shinning the light in David's face.

He grits his teeth and pushes past me.

"Hey, watch it!" Nevin yells, pushing David.

David turns with his fist raised, he swings, stopping inches from Nevin's nose.

"You four can do what you want. Get out of here for all I care. Akairo and I need to find Zach." David runs down the hall back toward the reception area. Akairo doesn't say a word; he just walks past us to follow his friend.

Nevin leans against the wall sliding to the floor. "I knew that guy was an asshole," he says, looking at the floor. "Why did he attack you two anyway?"

"I have no idea. He was following us when we entered this part of the hospital. He said something about playing with us," I respond with my arms wrapped around my body. A chill shoots down my spine in disgust. I sit down next to Nevin and place my head on his shoulders. I can feel the warmth of his body on the side of mine. It's all I need right now.

Jeiku groans, placing both hands on his forehead them dropping them down quickly. He looks over at Rin, then at Nevin and me. I can only guess what he's thinking and I don't like it.

"I owe David a debt," he begins. "Even if Zach is a creep and the other two are weird we can't leave them here alone."

Rin takes a deep breath, releasing it slowly. She puts her hand on Jeiku's shoulder. "You're right, but when we find him, I'm kicking his teeth in."

Jeiku and Nevin laugh. I join in as well. I'm glad to see her pep up a bit.

"So, I guess we should go catch up," Nevin says, getting up. He reaches to me to help me to my feet. We all nod in agreement and walk down the hall to find David and Akairo.

The four of us make it back to the reception area where David and Akairo are sitting on the floor discussing a plan. They both look up at us. David frowns and stands up to confront Jeiku. Akairo folds his arms with a smirk.

"I said you can leave," David snaps. He points to the door behind us.

"I owe you a debt, remember?" Jeiku says. He walks up to David and extends his hand.

David looks at him with his head tilted to the side. Then he smirks. "I always liked you, dog boy. We can split up. You and your girlfriend take the fifth floor. Nevin and the princess can take the fourth and Akairo and I will take the third. We work our way down and meet back here."

Split up? Why are they splitting us up? I don't want to be away from Rin, but I also don't want to be away from Nevin. We could leave, but Jeiku's too good a person to just walk out on a debt.