Isaac and I jog back up the stairs, ignoring the doors we pass. This time around, we don't even stop to breathe. The stairs seem to be clear, but when we round the last flight, two of Hartley's guards stare down at us, shocked.
"Any plan?" Isaac whispers, coming to stand beside me.
I pat my pockets. Do I have anything on me? I left my bag with our bikes outside The Wall. Except for...
With a grin, I pull my pocket knife out of my pocket. It isn't much, but at least we're not empty handed. Weilding a knife doesn't scare me nearly as much as a gun. I open it quickly, turning it in my hand.
"You're up," Isaac hisses as the guards start down the stairs towards us. He steps aside, and I lunge for the first man's legs.
The knife comes in contact with the guard's foot instantly. It sinks through his shoe and into his foot. He tumbles over me, roaring in pain. I duck, and he flips over me, down the stairs. The other guard sets his sights on us, gun cocked and ready.
Isaac jumps to the left, and I press myself against the right side. The bullet flies past us and blows a hole in the wall behind us. Keeping my body low, I crawl up the stairs, tackling him around the knees. He slams into the door. The impact alone knocks the gun out of his hand. I fight against his hands as he tries to grab my waist and push me away. Finally, he kicks me, and I skid away from him on my knees.
His gun lands on the floor beside me, and both of us turn to it at the same time. In one swift motion, I kick it down the stairs. The guard dives at me instead. He lands a blow to my stomach, another to my chin. I stumble backwards for a second, and the steps slide out from under me.
Like I'm stuck in the spin cycle, I rocket down the stairs, coming to a stop only when I run into the wall.
That's when I hear Isaac roaring past me. He throws himself at the guard shoulder first and carries him back up the stairs. Pinning the man by the neck, Isaac delivers a single blow to the man's nose. The guard falls limp at Isaac's feet.
"You alright?" he asks as he jogs back down the steps and offers me his hand. I wince but take it, trying to catch my breath.
"All good." I hold my ribs as I talk. It hurts to breathe. My face is red and hot, swelling as I speak. "Does it look bad?"
Isaac touches my face, wincing dramatically. "Absolutely hideous." He grins. "Disgusting." My heart flutters for a second as he rubs a hand across my swollen cheek.
I glance past him. The rest of the stairwell is empty.
"Am I going to make it?"
"I don't know," Isaac says with a laugh. "We'd better hurry."
Together, we climb to the fourth floor and peep into the window. Several guards line the hallway inside.
"How are we going to get through all those?" I ask, more to myself.
"Fire at will?" Isaac holds up a gun behind me. When I look at him quizzically, he points at the guards below us.
"There has to be another way." I notice the radios hanging from the guards' belts. "What if we lure them out?"
Isaac jogs down a few steps and picks up one of the radios. "That might work."
I limp down to join him, and together we drag the two bodies down to the third floor. With home huffing and puffing, we shove them into the third floor. I grab a set of building keys and a keycard before shutting the door on them. Isaac fiddles with the radio in the hallway.
"Here's the plan," he says, pulling me back up the stairs. "I'm going to radio in and say there's been a security breach in the basement. I'll say to send as much help as possible, because the prisoners are fighting back. With any luck, most of the guards will leave. That'll give us enough time to barricade the door."
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.
I sprint for the door, fumbling for the keys in my pocket. I scan the first one, but the light only turns red. So, I throw it to the floor and slide it through the scanner. The machine blinks green this time. I jump back as the doors slides open.
"Isaac! Let's go!"
Isaac is still tangled in his fight with the man. When I call his name, he glances at me and drops his guard. I see the nightstick coming long before it slams into the back of his head. Panic spreads through my body as he falls limply to the ground.
"Isaac!" I scream, reaching out but locked to the floor. I can't fight this guard; he'd kill me with one hit. As he lumbers towards Isaac, though, who is curled up on the floor holding his head, all I can think of is the Infected charging us back in Dunlap. Fear is reflected in those perfect green eyes, desperate as he searches the room for me. He says my name, gently once, then much more frantic as the guard starts kicking him.
My switch activates, and I lunge for the guard, slamming into him with both hands. He doesn't budge— as expected— but it does get his attention. He sneers down at me. Without hesitation, I swing the gun around and set it on him.
"You gonna shoot me?" he asks, projecting his voice from deep inside his chest. It rumbles over my skin, and goosebumps spread over my arms.
"I might," I whisper.
"Yeah, right, Muney." He reaches for my gun with a roll of his eyes. Quickly, I stab him in the palm. He snatches for it with the other, but I dodge his swipes. I take a step back and fire into the ceiling. Pieces of plaster rain down on us. The guard looks up at the hole I created.
That half-second gives Isaac enough time to recover. He snatches the nightstick out of the guard's hand and jumps on his back. The stick goes around his neck, and Isaac locks on tightly.
The guard flails uselessly as he tries to knock Isaac off. His face turns pink, then red, then purple. Isaac holds his ground, eyes wide as the man bucks under him. Soon, he starts to sway, his swings getting less and less threatening. His face turns blue, and his eyes droop closed. He thunders towards me a step, his eyes roll back in his head, and then he collapses to the ground at my feet.
Isaac jumps up, grinning from ear to ear. "That was awesome."
I laugh dryly, wiping sweat off my forehead. "You were awesome. I'm still terrified."
Isaac pulls a pair of cuffs out of his pocket, locking them on the guard's hands. I hadn't even noticed he brought them with us. Still giggling, Isaac straightens up and smiles at me.
"I thought I was done for," he announces. I wince. "What? Do I look as nasty as you?"
I chuckle and wipe a bead of blood away from a cut under his eye. "Just as ugly as always."
We turn towards the door, studying the next hallway.
"I should go first this time," I mumble, stepping forward. If I don't just go for it, I'll chicken out. So, I don't look back as I walk through the door.
Yet, as soon as I'm clear, the door slams shut behind me, locking him out.
Panic swallows me.
"Jay! Jay!" He must be screaming loud, because it's clear over his pounding. I frantically search the door for a place to swipe the keycard or push it through to him. Nothing. Not even a crack. It's tightly sealed.
"Isaac, I'm fine," I yell.
Silence answers me.
"Isaac?"
"I'm fine, too," he finally replies. "You shouldn't be alone."
"I'll be fine. Barricade the door, and don't let anyone in until I come out." I close my eyes and hit my head against the door.
"Please don't do anything crazy," he says desperately.
"I won't. I promise."
He goes quiet. How in the world am I going to do this without him? Ten minutes ago, I didn't even think I could do it with him. We've spent almost every waking moment together for days. Without him beside me, fear sets in my stomach.
"Jay?"
"Yeah?"
He doesn't answer right away. "I— I love you."
My breath comes crashing out of my lungs, and the fear morphs into a thousand butterflies. I stare into my reflection in the metal, watching my cheeks turn pink. Love? Is that why he's always trying to make me smile? It makes sense that he would fight Infected for someone he loves. But... Why me?
Isaac is talented, an escape artist between blue lines and sheets of paper. He's the ability to find happiness in the middle of the night, in the smallest things, and in the most hopeless cases. He's beautiful with the way his hair curls around his sculptured face and his star-like smile. He's the wind and the sunlight, freedom and tranquility.
"Jaelyn?" Concern laces itself in his voice.
I suck a breath in and press a trembling hand against the door. The metal fogs up around my touch. What I wouldn't give to be out there. "I love you, too, Isaac."
The silence stretches between us like an expanse of ocean.
"You can do this," he finally says. "You have to."
I know I can, I want to say, because you're right behind me. The words catch in my throat, and it's all I can do to nod and stand up. Slow, I turn to face Room 406.