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Chapter 45

By this point the corridors were starting to get crowded. Every few meters seemed to bring a new set of footsteps. It seemed to take hours just to move from one room to the next, waiting for the others to pass them by.

Closing yet another door behind them, Adam took a poster off of the wall and taped it over the pane of glass in the door before switching the lights on. They were now apparently in a science room, according to the sinks and bunsen burners stacked on the shelves. "W-Where are we now?"

"Six doors away," Quinn replied, sitting down on the desk, evidently exhausted.

Adam could tell that the stress was starting to get to her too, and was already regretting what he'd said, but he'd apologised so much over the past few months that the phrase seemed to have lost all meaning. "So... So we're almost done?" He said, attempting an optimistic tone.

Quinn smiled slightly. "Yeah, we're almost done. Thank god." She went over to the sink and splashed some water on her face before turning back.

"You're still bleeding. You want to put some of that stuff on your face?" She gestured at the bottle he was still holding.

"C-Can't afford to waste it," he said, taking off his glasses so he could see the bottle better.

"It's good, though," she said. "How did you even come up with that?"

"I don't know, I..." He trailed away. The honest answer was that he'd suddenly remembered the formula and written it down, but for some reason he didn't feel safe admitting it. "I just... Figured it out."

"It's a good thing to figure out." She smiled encouragingly, and he started to feel condescended to again.

Adam turned to the sink and dampened a paper towel to wipe the blood from his forehead. The wound didn't feel too deep. It'd heal in a few days even without the syrum. Either way, for now it helped him blend in. Even the humans were scarred beyond all recognition at this point.

Quinn peeled back the poster a few centermeters to see the corridor, before turning back. "It's busy out there," she said. "We may be here a while."

Adam swallowed, before looking up at her and nodding. "B-Better safe than sorry," he agreed, picking up a sheet from the floor and examining it. It was only a quiz sheet. There was nothing particularly special about it. At this point he wasn't sure he wanted there to be.

He found a blunt pencil under the table and started to fill it in. If he could be distracted for a few more minutes, the time would pass painlessly. Unfortunately, it wasn't difficult enough to keep his mind from wandering.

He started to think about what would happen if neither of them made it. It'd more than likely be excruciating pain for both of them, but it wouldn't bother him. That was the worst part. No matter what he saw, he wouldn't have the capacity to care. He'd probably find it funny.

He turned the paper over quickly and started to write out as many equations as he could remember.

Quinn looked out of the window which looked out onto the street. "I can't wait until this is all over," she said. "We'll be able to go wherever we want to go and do whatever we want to do..."

"Yeah..." Adam smiled and nodded, but thankfully she didn't look over at him, so he didn't have to make it too convincing. "It-It'll be great... Wh-What do you want to do? When it's all over, I mean."

"I don't know." She said. "I guess therapy would be pretty good right now."

He laughed.

She put on a mock-offended expression. "Hey, I was being serious."