CHAPTER 38 — The Silence Before the Snare
Elion — POV
Lab 3B was only the beginning.
We spent nearly twenty minutes inside that single room, stripping it of anything Meso deemed "important," which—unfortunately for my Inventory—was nearly everything.
"Take that analyzer," she said, pointing to a large device that looked like it weighed half a ton.
I lifted it with telekinesis.
"Take those microscopes. Not the regular ones—the extreme-resolution ones on the left. Those two. Oh— and the cryo-preserver. No, the bigger one. The big-big one. Actually let's just grab both."
I telekinetically lifted a machine the size of a mini-fridge, as well as the larger one the size of a full fridge.
Alexiy blinked. While Rea just stared with a mix of awe and horror. I thought I heard Delilah whisper under her breath, "monster…"
I simply ignored them and kept stacking the equipment in my Inventory until Meso told me next. I had plenty of storage capacity still and since everthiy was weightless in my Inventory I didn't need to worry about a thing. I simply dropped them into the hand-size black portal and they vanished.
When we cleared the room, Meso zipped out to the hallway, bouncing on her heels.
"Next one! Lab 3C~"
She scanned her map and turned sharply left.
The girls exchanged looks—some exhausted, some resigned.
We followed down the hall and the next door had a sign that read:
Lab 3C
This room wasn't for research—it looked like a specialized clinic space.
There were Freezers, cryo-tanks, racks of empty vials. A wall unit that looked like an MRI baby cousin. Mostly useless without power—not that Meso cared.
"Elion," Meso whispered reverently, "this is perfect."
"You don't even know what half of this stuff does," I shot back.
"I know it's EXPENSIVE." She clapped her hands. "Which means useful. Take all that we can, I don't know when we'll get the chance for some nicer equipment. But Elion, this should help me run some test and try get more answers. After all you have a bloodline thing so you're not human now right?"
"That's not how biology works," Rea said flatly.
"Yet," Meso replied. "We still don't know shit about the system or the mana or anything, no rules no frameworks that guide us. For example if he's a different race dose he have a higher level cap than humans? Or is there if a level max? Or if he's still human then what is this 'bloodline' is it in his blood? HIs DNA? See there are so many questions. So much we still don't know."
Meso finished ranting, her cheeks flush and her breathing deeply as she had said her piece in a single breath. Before anyone could pick up the conversation I stepped in and changed topics.
"Alright, then help me move all this tuff into my Inventory." I said as I set to work, using my telekinesis to lift some of the larger machines. Things that I could only guise as ultrasound machines, or scanning panels, something that looked like those ventilator things for people to breathe.
Most of this stuff I've over seen on T.V. shows. I wouldn't even know their names, let alone how to use them. But I knew Meso would figure it out, she was just that kind of genius.
After we cleaned out this lab, we made our way down the hall We hit them one by one. Going from room to room. grabbing everything; From a MRI machine to a blood pressure cuffs and ice packs. Eventually we made it to a storage supply room. Meso led the way and when we got to the locked doors, so I busted the window and unlocked it.
Inside?
Gauze, there were rolls upon rolls of bandaging. Sterile gloves in boxes on shelves. Alcohol pads stacked neatly in their rows. Disinfectant bottles lined the bottom shelves. and I saw a cupboard of Syringes, and needles, and suture kits. I also saw that looked like bunch of bags of saline solution. I also saw a cart with scalpels, and things like tape and even trauma shears.
"Grab everything," I said.
We did.
The girls worked efficiently—Meso raiding like she'd been waiting her whole life for permission to loot a hospital, Rea calculating what would be useful in emergencies, Alexiy filling bags carefully, methodically.
Delilah moved silently, picking up heavier or bulkier supplies as if they weighed nothing.
When we finished, the room looked like a supply tornado had ripped through— with only the empty shelves left in the room.
Five minutes later, all of it was in my Inventory.
The only sound in the entire hospital was our footsteps and the quiet rustling of lab coats hanging from broken hooks.
And that…
Was the problem.
We stepped back into the long main corridor connecting the East Wing labs.
Lights flickered overhead. Dust floated in dead air. Not a single moan was heard or a shuffle. Not one undead.
I slowed.
The others noticed immediately.
"Elion?" Alexiy whispered.
I looked around, scanning every shadow.
"Where are the zombies?"
Silence answered.
Rea frowned deeply. Delilah's hand tightened on her blade.
Meso tapped her chin thoughtfully.
"Well," she said slowly, "we can reasonably assume that the undead didn't suddenly develop manners. From what I've seen, they usually are attracted to noise and life. I don't think they can see so much as sense us. Either through the air, or heat, or sound, or the floor. I'm not sure... There's so much I need to test." She got quite towards the end, and seemed to mutter and ramble more about different things she wanted to test.
"So where are they?" Alexiy asked, voice tight.
Meso snapped out at the sound of her voice, she looked around and met my eyes.
"Most likely?" she said quietly. "We're not alone in this hospital."
The words hung in the air like smoke.
I nodded.
"Everyone stay sharp. Survivors can be worse than zombies. If they made they their base, we will try to negotiate a trade. Let me do the talking, but if I give you the signal then attack to kill. "
Meso looked almost excited. Rea agreed immediately. Delilah grunted. Alexiy swallowed then asked, "What's the signal?"
"You'll know." I said.
The next room goal on our list was the pharmacy. That was deeper into the wing, in the main center of the hospital. Behind a reinforced door marked AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY.
It was shut and locked. But not just locked. It was also chained. There was a metal link chain with a padlocked on the door. That was definitely put there by survivors. The only question now if they were still around, or inside.
"Meso?" I asked.
She shrugged. "Just break it. Better to ask for forgiveness than permission right?~"
I lifted my ice crowbar, the crystalline edge still sharp as it glinted in the light, and swung.
CRACK—
The chain snapped instantly.
The padlock bounced against the floor.
Delilah exhaled softly while Rea nodded with approval.
We entered.
Shelves upon shelves of medication— still mostly intact.
"Grab only what we need," I said. "We don't have infinite space."
"Correction," Meso said. "You don't have infinite space. But I intend to find your limit today."
I ignored her.
We grabbed:
More bags of saline, and disinfectants, painkillers like morphine, antibiotics, steroids, even epipens and sedatives. I thought I even saw some contraceptives get thrown in.
OTC medications of every kind
Anything that would be needed.
My Inventory filled rapidly.
I was kneeling down reaching for a crate of antibiotics when I heard it—
Click.
A gun being cocked.
Every muscle in my body froze.
From behind one of the tall shelving units, a voice spoke— she sounded calm, controlled, and deadly serious:
"Don't move. Now…What do you think you're doing in our pharmacy?"
I slowly lifted my head.
Rea reached for her weapon. Delilah stepped slightly backward to get closer to the others. Alexiy tensed beside me, while I saw Meso smile faintly— as if she was bemused, not afraid.
My hand hovered an inch above the antibiotics.
Because now?
Now we weren't dealing with zombies.
Now we were dealing with people. I sighed.