Survival Of The Fittest/By Taran

Chapter 15

We enter the tunnels, narrow and dark. The tunnels smell musty and wet. It smells of the ground after it has rained. The ground in the tunnel was full of icky mud, our boots covered with it.

Isaac flings out a tiny flashlight from his jean pocket, turning it on so we could see through the tunnels, seeking the red flag Finn told us to look for. The red flag marked the spot we were going to be safe, where we were told to sit until he came back with the rest.

"There," Isaac walks faster toward the red handkerchief that was pushed into one of the pipes, bright red for us to see the tiny piece. Isaac touches it, flipping it over to find a folded paper taped onto it.

"Directions," He looks back at me. I sit down into the mud, not giving a shit about getting myself covered in it. I still had a tingling sensation in my legs. My legs weren't fully there yet.

"You think it's a way out of here?" I ask, Isaac shrugs wrapping the paper back up into the handkerchief. He walks to me, sitting himself down into the mud, in front, facing me.

"Could be. We don't know where it leads exactly," he closes his eyes, looking back down at me.

"How are your legs?"

"Fine. Still don't feel shit though." I look in the direction of the handkerchief, back to Isaac, who now has his head down, swirling the mud around with his boots.

"It leads to the fourth community called, 'Red Rage'. Finn said that's the last of the four of Fort Smith, and our only way out. Did you have anything to do with finding the tunnels? Because Finn told me he had no clue."

I try to get up to go sit beside Isaac, but I didn't know how to. It was almost as if I didn't know how to walk anymore. I didn't understand how or where to place my foot to get up. I sigh in frustration.

"He came up to me at the prison, assuming, after he told you. He figured you trust me, he should too. So, when he asked to find the tunnels, I agreed to help. He unlocked the cell when he was guarding me, so I could go look for it. No one knows about the tunnels. They were a use long ago, which explains why there's mold and it smells musty," He gets up, resting himself beside me.

"I didn't even know what this building was, except I had seen people in lab coats go in and out, until I heard a scream. Yours." He places his hand on my thighs. I shake my head at him.

"Nope, can't feel it." Tears form in my eyes, I look away and wipe them before they make it out.

"Finn probably heard on the radio when Doctor Brown was paging for guards to help her with us," I put my head on his shoulder, as he grabs my hand. He nods.

"I'm immune." He nods. He knew that I was.

"I know. And that's good, at least one of us can survive," He lets out a small giggle, immediately stopping when he realizes that for me, that was not a good thing. I didn't want to lose anymore of the people I met and care for, especially not him.

He places his other hand on my cheek, caressing it gently. His fingers felt soft on my skin. I close my eyes, placing my hand over his. The feeling was safe and loving, something Isaac made me feel almost every time I'm with him.

"Your legs will be fine, Mill" I open my eyes when he removes his hand from my cheek, the other still holding my hand. We look away from each, looking at the moldy wall of the tunnel in front of us.

"What if my legs are fucked? God knows, what was injected into them," I sigh. No one says anything, since none of knew for sure if I'll ever be able to feel or walk properly again. We just didn't know, and he didn't want to say anything to get my hopes up.