Humanity's Hope: Book 1 in the Saving Humanity Series

CHAPTER 8

Samuel stared at Caleb across the table, the look on his face a mixture of confusion and anger. One eyebrow was raised, while the other was pushed down. His mouth was twisted in an open sneer. Three days had passed since he'd been in the bunker. He'd spent a lot of that time sleeping and fighting off the fever.

"You can't be serious," Samuel managed to say after several long moments of staring at Caleb. "It's suicide!" Samuel's voice echoed through the empty cafeteria, and he glanced around, the look on his face turning to fear. When no one stepped into the room, Samuel placed his hands on the table and leaned forward. He cleared his throat, and then lowered his voice. "You are intentionally putting yourself in harm's way and potentially making yourself a target."

Caleb scoffed. "I'm already a target. That's not going to change." He wasn't nearly as worried as Samuel was about keeping his voice low.

Samuel's face reddened, and he spoke through gritted teeth. "That might be, but why would you purposely put yourself in a situation where you could get caught? You have no idea who's after you or what they're capable of."

Caleb folded his hands together on the tabletop and leaned forward. "I know they are capable of murder. They already took out Rachel. I'm pretty confident they won't stop until they get what they want, and I'm not going to risk any more innocent lives. But I have to know what I'm dealing with."

Samuel shook his head. "I get that, and I understand. But going back to the city is a stupid idea."

Caleb shrugged. "I'm not asking you to go with me. I can take care of myself."

The anger vanished from Samuel's face and was replaced with hurt. He straightened up, pulling his hands into his lap.

"All I've ever done is try to help you."

Caleb sighed and averted his gaze to his hands. He hadn't meant to be so short with Samuel. He really did appreciate everything he had done to help, but he also knew this was something he needed to do on his own. Samuel genuinely seemed concerned and was trying to help Caleb; he was also trying to get Caleb to go to his friends. Caleb didn't doubt Samuel's intentions were good, but the insistence was off putting and ever so slightly suspicious. He needed answers, and there was only one way to get them—by going back to the city. He figured whoever wanted him for the cure wouldn't hurt him. He held onto the hope that he was that important.

Caleb raised his head and looked at Samuel. "I know. But I have to do this."

"And how exactly are you going to do it?"

"I'm going to hack Zomtech's system. They are the ones who drew my blood and ran the tests, they have to have the results in their files."

Caleb was fully aware Matt had that particular information also. He could probably ask to see it, but he wasn't convinced he would get all the information. Matt may or may not redact the files, or he may or may not have been able to access everything. Caleb had to go to the direct source to make sure he was getting complete information.

Samuel huffed. "Exactly! Which also means that more than likely, someone at Zomtech is who is targeting you! You know just as well as I do how stringent their system is. You can't hack it from the outside. You'll have to be in Zomtech."

Caleb shook his head. "I wrote the vast majority of those codes. I'm confident I can break through them without setting foot in Zomtech."

"You'll still have to be connected to the system. And that means they'll be able to trace you." Samuel threw his hands into the air and rolled his eyes. "Whatever, man. Do what you have to do. It's your funeral."

A flicker of guilt tightened Caleb's chest. It was never his intention for Samuel to be upset with him. He pushed the feeling away. He appreciated Samuel's willingness to help, but this was about him, his life, and he had to make the decisions that were best for him. Samuel would have to deal with whatever issues he had with it. Caleb was also fully aware of the flaws in his plan. Samuel was right; more than likely the person who was after him worked at Zomtech. It was the only way they would know about him. That didn't change the fact he needed information. In a way, it also made his mission easier. If the person was at Zomtech, Caleb didn't have to hunt him down.