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

CHAPTER 20

The gray city was slowly fading to black as Caleb walked rapidly down the street. As before, the pizza place beckoned to him as a bright spot in a dark world. He didn't doubt he would be there first—he had a shorter distance to go—so he headed to the booth at the back of the restaurant where they sat before. He was the only customer in the restaurant. That caused his anxiety to spike.

They know. They're going to find you.

He pulled his hands into his lap and hunched over in the booth as best as he could. How long should he give her? How long did it take to get from Zomtech to here? If she doesn't show, where do I even begin looking for her? His palms were sticky with sweat, causing his thumb to hitch as he ran it over the inside of his wrist. He glued his gaze to the door. It tunneled. He wasn't aware of anything else going on around him. Even the sound of talking voices and clinking silverware faded to a silent static. Time seemed to stop. He focused on his breathing and taking slow, steady breaths instead of quick panicked ones. Heat rose into his body, oddly causing goosebumps to form on his skin.

The door opened, and Jan stepped in. Sound returned to the room, and time became normal again. Caleb felt some of his tension ease, but there was still discomfort that hunched his shoulders. Perhaps it was the look on her face. Her lips were pressed into a line, small wrinkles of worry lined her forehead. She walked quickly to the table, her arms at her sides, her body stiff, her gaze fixed on the floor. She sat in the booth across from him and then slid around the seat to be next to him. She still wasn't looking at him. Caleb's heart thumped his ribs again.

"Jan, are you all right?"

She looked up at his voice, as if noticing him for the first time. Her lips turned down into a frown. "You have no idea what's going on."

Caleb blinked rapidly, keeping pace with his heart rate. Her tone was even and soft, making it hard for him to tell if she was angry. Her body language indicated she was, but why? What happened? What did she see? And was it directed at him? He probably wouldn't blame her if it was, but he didn't really want her to be upset either.

"What?" The word croaked out of his mouth.

She placed her hands on the table and licked her lips. "I opened a few other files," she whispered. "The experiments are off the charts."

Caleb couldn't find his voice. This wasn't good. Her poking around in the other files was a sure-fire way for her to get caught. And how had she done it? They should have been password protected. Unless she took it off. He gave her the means to do that. But in all honesty, what would it really hurt? They were already breaking the rules, might as well take it all the way. Plus, his curiosity was piqued. He never believed the rumors about what Zomtech was actually doing, but he had seen a few things to know that at least some were true. The zombie roundups for one. How many others were also true, and which ones?

"Did you download the info?"

Jan's gaze darted around the room. "Some. There wasn't time for all of it." She turned to Caleb. "But we've got to get in there again. We have to let people know what's going on."

Caleb felt the seat bounce beneath his butt, and his head shot to the opposite side of the table—his heart lodged in his throat. He expected to see Detective Hale across from him. Caleb's hands balled into fists, his leg muscles tensed and prepared to run, but it was Samuel. Caleb let out the breath he'd been holding, and his body relaxed slightly. He was too tense to completely relax.

"Hey, guys." Samuel's tone was cheerful, the smile spread across his face. "What a coincidence seeing you here." He turned to Caleb, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Especially you."

Caleb placed his hands on the table and leaned forward. "It worked, Samuel. I got the information."

Samuel's smile faltered. "What worked? What info?"