Ella looked nervously at the three as she composed herself to answer.
"I...saw Alex..."
They all looked at each other, then at her in shock. Josh holds her hand, "What do you mean by you saw Alex? We left Alex back at Maple Drive at the mall. How could he even be here?"
Claire added curiously, "Was...he ok? What was he doing in the room?"
Ella spoke in a shaky voice, "H-He was... unconscious on an operating table, wires everywhere."
"We need to go save him," Claire said before Brian stopped her.
"We need to think about this. The place is sketchy, and we don't know what they are hiding. We need a strategy on how to save Alex...if he's alive."
After talking for a while, they eventually went to sleep. The next two days, they tried to sneak into the Medical Sector again but failed. Ella and Brian tried to get in contact with their parents, but they were always "busy".
One late evening, they were in the courtyard when a black van arrived suddenly. A guy, around 18 years old, was being thrown out of the van by the guards and beaten. Brian was about to stop them when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around to see the same old man he had met the first night he came here; The one who gave him the warning. Ella and Jason walked up to the two to listen.
The man whispers, "Stay low, young man. This happens every other day. That boy is a runaway.
He turns to acknowledge the man, "What do you mean?"
"I heard he escaped one night from the Medical Sector. Once you enter, you shouldn't leave. Those so-called doctors pick their next victims every night. Hope and pray you're not the next one."
The old man walks away. Brian, Ella, and Jason looked at each other, confused and uneasy. Jason let out a nervous chuckle, "Ha... h-he's just messing with us right?"
Brian nods, trying to get over the nerves, "Yeah, this is the only effective shelter on the island, of course we're safe. That man is just trying to scare us." He then looks at Ella, who was staring into space. "Earth to Ella?.."
Ella snaps out of it and looks at them, "I'm going to bed, I'm tired." Ella goes back to the dorm and sleeps while Brian and Jason catch up with Claire in the field to play volleyball.
The sun began to set as dusk covered the facility. Everyone was getting ready for the night. Children followed behind their parents towards the Dormitory, trying to escape their fear of the dark, and adults packed up dominoes and chess on the side to avoid their curfew. In the eyes of the four teens, Unit 8 was like a prison disguised as a haven from the outside.
That night, Jason went up to check on Ella, leaving Brian and Claire in the hall of the Dormitory Sector. Claire looks at Brian, "Brian...why don't we try to sneak in again?...just me and you."
Brian looks back at her, uncertain yet determined, "I don't know...this place has high surveillance. If we get caught trespassing-"
She cuts him off, "Don't worry, my brother is a guard here. He'll help us save your friend. But we have to wait until it's very late." Brian nods.
12:30 am
After an hour of waiting, Claire led Brian to her brother, who helped them pass security. In the elevator, Brian looks down in horror as he sees a line of people being escorted into the Medical Sector. Ropes were tied around their arms in a chain, and their ankles in shackles. Claire stared in shock as she also tried to comprehend what was happening.
Brian whispered beneath his breath in disbelief, "The old man was...right."
The elevator opened, and they parted ways with the guard. But the hall had too many doctors walking around, so Brian held Claire's hand and they discreetly went to the janitor's closet and put on medical coats as a disguise. They took the stairs and circled the building looking for another entrance. As they walked, Brian heard muffled screams coming from a particular room...The Testing Room. He stopped in his tracks and gasped as he stared through a glass window. Brian's eyes trembled in fear and horror, "No…i-it can't be…" Brian mumbles to himself.
It was Alex. Strapped to the operating table with multiple wires on him. It was exactly like how Ella described him. However, he was awake, and Brian's parents were not around. He had tape over his mouth, crying and screaming in agony. Brian bangs on the window, calling his name and trying to get his attention, but it has no effect. Brian looked around for a large rock, but as he did so, he realized Claire was gone. "Claire? Claire!" He called for her in a hushed voice as he searched in the dark. As Brian was about to break the window with the rock. His parents entered the room, and he quickly ducked below the window, against the wall. He then slightly peeked through the window to see what was going on inside.
Brian's dad was trying to inject a glowing green substance into Alex's arm. While his mom was writing in a notebook. Brian begins to panic and tries to think of a plan to save Alex. After about 10 minutes, Brian's parents left the room, and he was able to sneak in through the window. Alex was unconscious, and Brian quickly unstrapped him. He lifted Alex on his shoulder, then searched around the room for a brief moment, observing the suspicious chemicals. "What is this?" He asked himself as he took up his mom's book titled "Zombifera-X." Brian tries to find out more about the serum as he reads. He curiously took up a vail labeled Zombifera-X, along with the notebook, and went back through the window with Alex on his shoulder.
Brian still had no sight of Claire, maybe she had gotten caught, he thought, but he was too determined to bring Alex to safety.
During the time Brian was freeing Alex, Claire walks into the Medical Sector, greeting the doctors like she was one of them. She sat in the lounge calmly...a bit too calmly, with a grin on her face.
A low hum fills the room as Claire stands before Brian and Ella's mother. The tension between them is quiet but heavy. On the glass table sits a black briefcase, sleek and locked.
She spoke first, "You held up your end. You brought him to Medical."
Claire doesn't respond. Her eyes are fixed on the briefcase.
She continued, "Without your help, I wouldn't be able to get that serum without getting caught. They were never your friends. Take it and leave. Head north — you'll find the others waiting. Tell them that the O blood type is the most effective."
Claire hesitates — just a second — then takes the case, "Will my family be ok?"
Catherine nodded, "Yes, they are safe at Unit 10."
Claire nods, then walks away, her reflection warping in the polished walls. She doesn't look back.
Brian walks tirelessly across the field, trying to avoid security lights, breathing heavily, "Stay with me, Alex. Just a little further…" Suddenly, he heard a large BOOM! behind him. An explosion shakes the building. The lights go out. Red emergency lights beacons flare.
A warning blares overhead from the speakers:"Containment breach in Medical. Lockdown in progress."
In the chaos, Claire slips into a service elevator with the briefcase. She doesn't look back. Brian watches as the Medical Sector slowly engulfs in flames. Brian stumbles through a darkened corridor, knees buckling under Alex's weight. Surveillance drones are sweeping the field outside. He presses his back against the wall, holding his breath. Alex's body was reacting to the serum quickly; his arms filled with purple veins, and his skin was turning paler by the second. Brian lays Alex on the ground, panicking.
Brian's eyes filled with worry and fear, "Come on, Alex…stay with me. Wake up...please."