The Immune

25. Fighting Giants

I nod and squeeze against the wall behind the door. It's a better plan that I could have come up with. He squeezes in beside me, raising his eyebrows. I give him a silent thumbs-up. He pulls the radio up to his mouth and presses a button on the side.

"Attention all guards. We have a security breach in the basement. Two of the detained have broken out and are fighting against us. Please, send all available units for assistance!" Isaac somehow manages to make his voice so deep that it's unrecognizable. I pinch my lips together to hold back laughter. The radio crackles, and swearing erupts behind the door.

"We're sending help, officer. Hold your ground."

I grit my teeth as the door swings open, and guards pour out. They come stomping out the door, flooding the steps with their raised guns. I hold my breath as they disappear down the stairwell. Until their voices become intelligible, we stay motionless behind the open door.

Finally, everything falls silent, and Isaac pushes the door shut. The sound masks our footsteps as we come out into the open.

"I can't believe that worked," I whisper.

"Me either," Isaac says, but his voice is still deep. I explode with laughter. "Jay! Sh!" He jerks me up against him and covers my mouth with his hand. Giggling, he squeezes me until I stop. "You have to be quiet!"

I glance up at him, smirking under his hand. As much as I dislike his constant positivity, I really have grown to like Isaac. A person could get lost in the Appalachian forest that is his eyes. In such close proximity with him, I can't exactly breathe just right; he's too overwhelming. There's a musk of smoke and sweat, the hand soap from the Alma and the detergent they use to wash clothes. His hand over my mouth smells slightly like crayon wax.

His dimple catches my attention, and the laughter stops. He stares down at me, his grip loosening. His lips part; my breath catches as he straightens up. One hand still on my waist and the other drifting down to my neck, he stares down at me, the smile gone. Hot breath washes down over me.

It's happening. Do I even want it to happen? Of course, I do— right?

I push myself onto my tiptoes, forehead gently touching his. Noses meet. I can almost taste the mint toothpaste clinging to his teeth. My eyes fall closed and...

The door slams open behind us. We jerk apart to see another guard standing in the doorframe.

As he takes a few looming steps back, we get a good look of what we're dealing with. If I thought Stephen was massive, he's a chihuahua compared to this guy. His shirt sleeves pull tight against his arms, and the buttons suffer on his chest. As he snarls down at us, he unsheaths a massive nightstick. The gun stays holstered on his hip, thankfully.

Behind him is the door to Room 406. It's marked by a black plague like the one Hartley peeled off in the floor above us. The letters glitter is gold, reflecting the lights overhead. There's no window on the door, so I'm just going to have to trust Howard on what's inside.

"I got this," Isaac says, brushing the hair out of his face. He cracks his knuckles and hands me his gun. "You go around him and get in that room."

I barely have time to open my mouth and ask him what he's thinking. He takes off running towards the man, screaming like a banshee. My eyes go wide as he throws himself headfirst into the guard. His arms lock themselves around the man's neck.

After that, it's hard to tell who is yelling. I push myself up against the wall in a futile attempt to stay out of the way. They come crashing towards me, flattening everything in their path. Chairs, picture frames, shelves— it all tumbles to the floor. Finally, the man grabs Isaac by the arm and dangles him off the ground. Isaac manages a few solid hits with his other arm. Altogether, it's an amazing sight.