Chapter 21: Choices
"It's playing dead."
As if hearing his words, the core pulsed harder. The blood around it began to rise. Then it surged like a curtain, rapidly moving toward Jay.
Without missing a beat, Jay raised his shotgun and blasted the curtain apart. Blood scattered all around him.
Lexie opened fire, each shot striking true. The Fehl tried to move, to shield the core, but it was slower than before.
Jay shouted and lunged toward the core. He cut through a half-formed barrier and brought his blade down with everything he had.
It met the core—and with a sound of shattering crystal, it split.
The Fehl let out a final, piercing screech that shook the walls, then collapsed in on itself like melting wax. Then, the blood that made up its form dissolved into a steaming pool that quickly lost its color, turning into dull sludge.
Silence fell again. Jay stood still, breath heavy. Then he looked down; his blade was cracked.
Lexie exhaled slowly. "Is it dead?"
"This time, it is." Jay nodded. His blade dropped to the ground with a clatter. It was regrettable that it broke so soon. But it had served its purpose.
"It was tricky. Luckily, we met it here." Anywhere else, and they'd have had to retreat. "Also, what was that earlier? It's not like you to mess up that bad." She narrowed her eyes and looked at him up and down. Exhausted or not, that kind of slip wasn't like him. She was sure the Fehl had done something.
"Not sure, but the Fehl almost gave me a heart attack." He never thought the Fehl could control his body in such a direct way. And honestly, it played its cards well, as that small slip-up would have been enough to kill him if Lexie wasn't there.
"With the skill set it displayed, it's not too far-fetched for it to control your body." Lexie strode forward and picked up the shattered pieces of the Fehl's core. Even the loot couldn't ease the frown on her face. "Our current abilities won't cut it for long."
"You are really interested in those cores."
"Yup, I think they are our best way to break the deadlock. Though this one isn't as pretty as the frozen one." She tossed him a piece.
"Maybe." He lightly stroked the shard. It felt warm, and he could feel mana emanate from it. It was faint, but he could easily recognize it, as he had felt it just a few moments ago. "I wonder if the other things we killed had them too."
"It's possible. But not all of the frozen ones dropped them either. Seems inconsistent."
"We should pay more attention to it later," Jay said as he walked back to the supply room. He felt many of those felt would become simple once the so-called system synchronization was done. Still, it wouldn't hurt to find a solution first. They still had to defend themselves.
"You did it," Angela said as they entered the supply room.
"Yeah." Jay nodded, glancing at the nitrogen tank beside her.
"Brought one just in case." She couldn't help directly during the fight. But she had been on the watch, ready to intervene if the first tank wasn't enough.
"That's thoughtful."
"That's the least I could do. So… what now?" She looked at the corridor inside which the fog and blood mist were slowly dissipating. They had most of the things they were looking for. Save the blood bags. Courtesy of the Fehl.
"Can we find blood bags anywhere else?" Lexie asked.
Angela hesitated. "You're in no shape to keep fighting. Maybe we should call it here."
She wasn't wrong. The fights had left them battered. Jay, especially, looked like hell—covered in blood, his skin blistered, fingers frostbitten. Lexie didn't look much better, her clothes torn and streaked with soot. Angela's trained eyes told her that they needed rest more than anything else.
Jay noticed her concern and gave a faint smile. "Don't worry. I still have some fight in me." They couldn't give up after all this.
Angela sighed. "There might be some units on the third floor. Sometimes they keep extras there. I can't promise they'll be the right type, though."
"Great!" Lexie's eyes lit up. "I'll take that over nothing. Let's go."
"All right. But promise me you'll back down if we run into something like that monster again," Angela said firmly. "Even if we don't find the right blood, I'll figure something out."
"Got it," both Jay and Lexie nodded in unison.
They packed their gear, checked weapons, and followed Angela to the elevator shaft.
"Let's take this. It'll be faster, and we can skip the lower floors."
They hit the button. A soft chime echoed, followed by the mechanical groan of the elevator descending. With a quiet hiss, the doors slid open, revealing two zombies inside, their dead eyes locking onto the trio.
Before either could react, Jay and Lexie lunged forward. A quick strike, a twist of the blade, and both bodies dropped before a sound escaped.
"See? Nothing to worry about." Jay grinned as he wiped his knife on his shirt.
Angela grunted in reply. She knew a bunch of zombies would pose no threat to the duo. She just hoped the hospital had run out of surprise.
The elevator ride was uneventful, and the doors opened to a quiet third floor. It was eerily still. Only a few coat-wearing zombies paced lazily through the corridors. Jay and Lexie took them down in silence.
The search was smooth. And after a short sweep, they found a stash of blood bags. No A-negative, but a single O-negative unit. That was enough for Alex.
Besides that, they also met the survivors that peeked at Lexie earlier. Only that this time there was an unexpected situation.
For the first time, a group of survivors didn't look relieved to see them. Instead, their faces were tight with fear, doubt, and something harder to miss. Suspicion. Even stranger, only two out of the six were willing to leave with them.
"What the hell do you mean, John?" Angela's voice cut the silence, sharp and disbelieving. "You're staying here?"
"We're safe for now," said the man she'd addressed—mid-fifties, glasses, lab coat stiff with dried blood. He adjusted his frames and stared her down. "And I believe real help will come. There's no reason to follow you and your reckless friends.
"You stubborn old fool," Angela snapped, pointing a finger at him. "You'd rather rot here than walk out with us?"
"I saw that little girl did." He gestured at Lexie. "I'm not handing my life to someone like that."
Lexie arched a brow, then leaned toward one of the people who had agreed to follow them. "Do those two have history?"
"Yes," the man whispered. "They've butted heads for years. It's no secret."
Lexie snorted. "I kind of understand her. This guy is annoying."
Angela turned her back to John and faced the others—two nurses and a younger surgeon standing behind him. "You don't have to follow that fool," she said, her tone firm. "Come with us, and I promise we'll keep you safe."
The trio exchanged a long, tense glance. Finally, one of the nurses stepped forward.
"Emma?" John said sharply.
"Sorry, Professor," she replied, eyes soft with regret. "But I think Professor Angela's right. We need to move."
Angela nodded. "Good."
She gave the group one last look, her expression flat. "I really, really hope you don't regret this."
"You looked pretty fierce back there," Jay said, a faint smile tugging at his lips.
"I hate that guy," Angela muttered. "Always thought he was better than everyone else."
"Don't blame him too much," Jay shrugged. "People are free to believe what they want."
"Should've knocked him out and dragged him," Lexie added.
No one replied to that.
In silence, the group made their way back to the elevator and returned to the basement. From there, they exited through the loading dock and circled the building. After walking for a while, they soon returned to the coffee shop.
Meanwhile, on the third floor, John stood by the window, watching their distant figures grow smaller.
"Are we really doing the right thing?" the young surgeon beside him asked, voice unsure.
"Yes," John said flatly. "Don't underestimate the state. Rescue will come. Soon." Still, as he spoke, his fingers curled tightly around the window frame.
"Let's hope so."
Back to Jay's side, when they returned, they found Ash, Darren, and Lucas ready, bags full of supplies beside them.
"Gosh, what happened to you?" Ash gasped and covered her mouth when she saw Jay and Lexie's state.
"A small incident." Jay said. "Since you are ready, let's go."
Ash looked at Angela, concern in her eyes. "Will you be alright?"
Angela gave her a firm nod.
With nothing more to say, they stepped outside. In the sky, the alien sun still burned fiercely, casting long shadows across the bloodstained pavement. The streets were quieter than earlier, but not peaceful. Even now, every corner could hide a threat.
Jay and Lexie led the way, eyes constantly scanning their surroundings. Angela stayed close to them, now moving with more confidence. Darren carried Lucas, who clung to his neck silently, too young to grasp the full extent of the nightmare.
Ash, Emma, and the two other survivors followed behind them, eyes darting everywhere.
They pressed on, hoping to reach the library without any incident.