After (#3)

Chapter Thirty-Two

Before Max could even begin to explain or apologise to Lizzie, she had already jumped over the edge of the elevator shaft. With a blood-soaked t-shirt from one of the fallen clickers in hand, she slid down the main wire with ease until she reached the base of the pit. With the number of dead bodies piled up at the bottom, at least a quarter of the opening was now blocked, meaning that Lizzie had to crouch to enter the lab.

JJ shrugged his shoulders at Max, acknowledging the fact that Lizzie would not come around easily, before following her over the edge. Once his companion was safely at the bottom, Max reached up to grab the top of the rope that had been used to lower Saunders down and hauled it back up. Doubting whether Herbert would have the strength in his arms to make the trip down solo, Max wanted to be safe. The last thing they wanted to do was lose Saunders' only chance of survival to a great fall.

Max retied the rope harness around Herbert's arms and legs before lowering him over the edge of the shaft. Slowly but surely, he allowed the rope to run through his blistered hands until the old man reached the soft landing of the bodies below. Once Herbert was clear, Max followed Lizzie's technique and slid down the wire with the aid of a slimy red-stained shirt. By the time he had ducked under the doorway into the lab, Herbert was already at work.

They had escorted Doctor Saunders into a separate smaller room at the end of the lab. Not only did it come with a lockable door, but it also contained all the necessary equipment that Herbert would need. With Saunders now safely on an operating table with a trained medical professional watching over him, Max's mind switched to damage control.

Confident that the elevator shaft was an unlikely route in for any hungry clickers, he immediately darted over to the main entrance to the lab. While it usually featured a keypad for entry, the system was long since broken and the glass door could now be slid open by force. Beyond that, a narrow hallway led to the main stairwell, only a few floors below where the clickers had first broken in. With the noise and smell of human flesh above, Max could only hope that the undead would continue to slowly climb the building. He had faith that Rodney and GiGi would be able to mastermind a defence for the time being. Even from the basement, Max could still hear the remnants of the onslaught against any clickers that had remained outside the front doors. Rodney had clearly used every piece of explosive at his disposal.

Confident that they were safe for now, Max retreated inside the lab, pulled the glass door shut and began to pile desks and equipment as a makeshift blockade. Once he was satisfied with the defences, he asked the one remaining guard to keep watch over the door while he checked on Herbert.

Max couldn't help but catch Lizzie's eye as he entered the room, although the teenager looked away with a sharpness that cut deep within him. He only hoped that one day she would understand his actions.

"How are we looking?" Max asked, placing a confident hand on Herbert's shoulder.

The old man wheezed and coughed into his shoulder, "Not great, but as good as we could have expected."

"What does that mean exactly?"

"It means," Herbert said with a heavy tone. "It means that I have managed to stop the bleeding, but he hasn't got a whole lot left."

Max glanced around the room towards the medical supply cupboards and refrigeration units, "Have we - "

"Already checked," Lizzie interrupted. "No blood on tap."

"So, he needs a blood transfusion?" Max asked, suddenly noticing the fact that JJ was already sat down next to Saunders with his sleeve rolled up to his shoulder.

"Way ahead of you, big man," JJ smiled, although there was fear and unease behind his grin.

"Get up," Max demanded.