here.”
“There’s a filing cabinet in the other room,” I said. “We can cut up strips of a piece of paper.”
Sam went into the other room and came back with a deck of cards. “I found these. The guards must get bored in here.” He placed the deck on the table. “We all take a card. The two people who draw the highest numbers get to stay here.”
It sounded reasonable enough. I cut the deck and drew a card. The three of spades. I sighed as I showed it to the others. It looked like I was going into the building.
Jax took a card, frowned, and put it face up on the table. Five of hearts.
Johnny took the nine of clubs, Tanya drew the ten of hearts, and Sam ended up with the six of diamonds.
So Tanya and Johnny were going to watch the cameras while Jax, Sam, and I went into the main building. I took a deep breath and tried to prepare myself mentally for going inside a building full of zombies, hybrids, and something that was even worse. There was nothing I could tell myself that would stop the shaking in my hands.
I put one of those hands on the Desert Eagle at my hip. If the end came while I was in that building, I was going to make sure it came quickly.
We each took a walkie-talkie and checked that they were working. Sam and Jax stuffed theirs into their backpacks and switched them off to save the batteries. I clicked mine on. We would only need one between us unless we got separated, and I had no intention of letting that happen. I clipped it to my backpack strap, on my chest, so that I didn’t have to hold it. I could simply reach up and press the Talk button.
Tanya and Johnny took seats in front of the monitors, placing a walkie-talkie between them on the desk and turning it on. They switched two of the monitors to the level 1 reception area , and the level 1 elevators .
Sam looked at Jax and me. “Okay, guys, we can do this just like I said. A quick smash and grab. We’ll be back here in ten minutes.”
I wasn’t sure if he was genuinely trying to psych us up, or if he was trying to reassure himself that this was going to be all right. It didn’t really matter; his pep talk had zero effect on me. I was dreading going into that building, and the greatest motivational coach on earth wouldn’t be able to talk me out of my fear.
I picked up my baseball bat and stepped out into the night. The drizzle had become a heavy rain, hissing down on the parking lot, pounding the cars.
“Let’s move,” Sam said, jogging toward the main entrance of the building.
I picked up my pace but was in no hurry to go inside, despite the rain. This might be the last time I breathed fresh air, might be the last time I was ever outdoors. Once I went through that door, I might never come back.
We reached the glass doors, and Sam swiped his card through the lock on the wall. The doors slid open with a gentle whisper. The air that drifted out between them smelled foul.
“Ready?” Sam asked. Jax nodded. I didn’t feel like I would ever be ready, but I nodded, too.
We slipped into the building like thieves in the night.
Chapter Twelve
W e crossed the reception area quickly, looking all around for any sign of movement. It was as quiet as a tomb.
The walkie-talkie crackled through the silence. “We can see you on the camera,” Tanya said. “Everything looks okay.”
I glanced up at the camera set high on the wall, its red light blinking. Under any other circumstances, I might have waved, but I felt too tense to do anything more than press the button on my walkie-talkie and say, “We’re heading for the elevators.”
We reached the three closed metal doors. Jax pushed the button and it lit up green, an upward-pointing arrow indicating the direction we would be traveling.
“Come on,” Sam muttered, pacing nervously. “Where is the fucking thing? It’s not like anyone else in here is using them.”
We heard the elevator arrive behind the middle door, clanking noisily. The doors slid open and we stepped inside.
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