That wasn’t going to stop me. Whatever’s necessary.
I glanced back at the girls. Kat was asleep, though not at rest. Her eyes rolled behind her lids, and violent shivers racked her body.
Though Reeve was awake and watching me, she lay behind Kat, arms curled around her, offering warmth.
Jaclyn sat at the edge of her cot.
Now, I mouthed, then faced Lab Coat.
“Let us out,” I shrieked, the sound startling the guy enough that he actually glanced over at me. I rattled the bars with every bit of my strength. “My friend needs help. Where’s your heart? How can you leave us like this? To starve? To face torture?”
The shrillness of my voice awakened the zombies. Moans and groans erupted all around me.
Hungry.
Eat. Must eat.
Lab Coat pushed to his feet and stomped from the room. If he failed to bring back a guard...
The side door opened, and Lab Coat stalked inside with a tired-looking guard at his side.
I did my best to hide my relief.
Frowning, the guard pointed a finger at me. “Be quiet,” he barked.
Smells so good.
Him. Want him.
Must eat...drain...empty...
Zombie thoughts...or Z.A.’s?
“I’m through being quiet,” I shouted. Bang, bang, bang. I punched at the bars, unconcerned by the sting in my already sore hands. “I’ll never be quiet again. You’ll have to make me.”
Reeve rushed to my side, her voice harmonizing with mine. “We want out. Let us out. Let us out.”
I laughed, but it wasn’t a nice sound. “So brave out there, aren’t you?” I taunted the guard. “Doubt you’d be so confident in here. I could take you down in seconds.”
“This is your last chance to be quiet,” he snarled, hand curling around the stick hanging at his waist. Then his gaze landed on Reeve and narrowed. He licked his lips. “But please, do me a favor and refuse it. I’ll come in there and show you just how brave I can be.”
“Let us out. Let us out.” Reeve.
“Coward!” Me.
Grinning a terrible grin, he pressed his thumb against the lock. When he pulled the door open, I shoved Reeve behind me and backed her toward Kat, who had woken up and now leaned against the far wall. All the while, I gripped the scalpel I’d stolen, the blade hidden by my arm.
He stomped toward us, his eagerness to get his hands on Reeve making him stupid. He grabbed me, probably intending to toss me to the side, but I struck without hesitation, stabbing him in the neck.
Howling, eyes going wide, he stumbled away from me. His knees buckled before he could exit the cage, and he went down. Blood gushed from the wound, leaking through his knuckles as he applied pressure.
Whatever’s necessary, remember?
“Scalpel,” Jaclyn shouted, jerking me out of the daze.
I tossed it to her, wondering why she needed it, then rushed out of the cage, closing in on Lab Coat. He remained on his feet, as if frozen.
“Don’t hurt me,” he pleaded.
“Like you didn’t hurt me?” I punched him in the throat with a blood-covered hand, and he, too, went down. I tore the badge from around his neck before stalking to the glass case where the tranq guns were stored.
In the hallway, an alarm erupted, screeching through the airways. Dang it. There was at least one more guard.
“Get Kat and get out of here,” I instructed Reeve, and pounded my fist into the glass. “I’ll get Jaclyn.”
Shards rained to the floor; my knuckles stung and bled. I grabbed the gun as the side door burst open, a single guard rushing through. Just before he reached me, I managed to turn and squeeze the trigger. He fell—right on top of me.
Struggling to breathe, I wiggled out from under him and turned to finish off Lab Coat, only to realize he’d already regained his bearings, found another badge to use on the door and rushed out of the room.
“Ali.” In the cage, Reeve was struggling to hold up Kat. I pocketed as many tranq darts as I could hold and rushed over to help, passing Jaclyn along the way.