tching against the heavy steel door se

gainst a tall metal shelf in the dark storag

aned against the door from the outside, let out a wet, guttural

r, Rachel heard footsteps. Two people were running fast,

d. It was Mira. "What about Rachel?

th, her heart slammi

, waiting for the man she had trusted, the ma

't even sl

echoing flatly off the tile walls. "She's trapped.

the hall, followed by the heavy

rned to the

s chest, hitting her harder than

rm path down her cold cheek. Derek hadn't ju

the emergency key, locked the storage door from th

the man who had promised they would escape the hos

ful realization settling deep into her

blurred with tears, and h

through the vents, something inside her snapped. The s

he locked door. Grief

y wiped the tears from her face. Her

is room,' she swore s

e room was small, packed tightly with floor-to-ceiling shelving uni

cked front door, there h

ees and began searching

vy wooden crates of saline solution, h

intenance hatch set low into the wall. It was rust

nuckles turning white as she

tch swung open with a quiet groan,

shaft. But just as her hands touched the metallic

guttural roa

mall, trem

somewhere on the ot

tearful whisper wh

screamed at her to keep moving, to crawl through t

king on extra weight would only sl

shaft, then turned her

oath to save lives, not to leave he

Rachel thought, her d

e hatch, crawling on her hands and knee

ers, but after ten agonizing feet, the tunnel

tly, landing softly

od splatters painted the far wall. Beneath an overturned stain

es bent and her footsteps silent. She kneeled

seven, was curled into a ti

r as he clutched his left leg. A deep cut ran do

. She offered him a small, reassuring smile, keeping her voice

lling in his dark eyes, but he

pulling him into her arms. He was light, t

om her coat pocket, wrapping it tight

lifting him securely against her chest.

ace into her shoulde

it open an inch. The corridor outside was bathed

right, twenty feet away, three mutated creature

tesquely lengthened, and their bone-plated

stairwell at the end of the hall, but

edical training to analyze their posture. 'The virus has dama

her free hand, her fingers closing aro

n, Rachel hurled the glass bot

AS

the far wall, echoing loudly

nts snapping as they spun around and sprinted wildly toward t

murmured und

weight on her toes as she carried the

uble doors, and slipped inside an abandoned examinatio

out a long, shuddering breath. Her arms ached f

set the child down. "You did great," she said sof

wer, a strange hum echoe

nearby, a broken medical computer

e, translucent blue light that didn'

egan to assemble its

conf

rvival Syste

ng a step back as she stared at t

at, the screen chimed softly, and a second n

on: Save the pat