Dead or Alive

Chapter 26

Slowly, the results started being illuminated on the monitors. All of us held our breaths in anticipation. I didn't realize that I was clenching my fist until I felt Aaron grab my hand reassuringly. We watched as the vital signs drop slowly and a sense of dread filled all of us. Then, the vital signs stopped altogether. A collective groan filled the room. I sighed and allowed my head to drop. 

"Well, that could've gone better," Rayne sighed, "but we were on to something. I think we're close, but we just need to work on it a bit more."

"What now?" I asked.

"Although you were on the right track, I'll have a team of professionals work on tweaking it. You did a good job though," Rayne explained.

I nodded. Just as I opened my mouth to reply, another worker walked into the room.

"There's a group of people outside. You might want to come and see if they're a threat," the worker said.

"Alright. Come on, guys," Rayne said, referring to us.

We followed Rayne out of the room and to the balcony above the waiting room. A group of three people trudged through the snow up to the front door. I noticed that one of the members was a kid.

"They have a kid, Rayne. We have to let them in," I said.

"You're right. You guys go down to the waiting room and let them in. I need to go back and review the results," Rayne instructed.

We nodded and walked down the stairs and to the waiting room. I opened the large metal doors, and my eyes went wide.

"Mom? Dad? Becca?" I said, dumbfounded.

"Mala!" my little sister, Rebecca exclaimed, running to me.

I wrapped my arms around her and lifted her up. 

"I thought you guys were dead!" I exclaimed, "Please, come inside."

My family walked in and I ushered them to the waiting room. They sat down in front of the fireplace and other workers gave them blankets.

"It's amazing that you found your family, Amala!" Scarlett exclaimed.

I smiled at her, "You guys go on back to Rayne and help her with whatever she needs. I need to catch up with them."

They nodded. Aaron quickly kissed my temple and went with the rest of the group. I sat down with my family in front of the fire.

"What happened to you guys?" I asked.

"We were out at the store and obviously people were going crazy. They were all attacking each other. We managed to get back to the house and we saw Clementine laying on the ground with her head bashed in. We assumed she turned into one of those things and you had to take care of her. We've been wandering around, joining different groups, until we ended up here. Our entire group died on the way here," my mom explained.

"I'm so sorry that I wasn't there for you," I said, sitting Rebecca on my lap.

"It wasn't your fault. I'm just glad we found you," my mom said. 

I glanced over at my dad and saw that he was glaring at me. I shook it off.

"Come with me. I will show you guys to your room," I said.

Carrying Rebecca, I guided them to the dorms and to their room. I opened the door and walked inside. I set Rebecca down and turned to my parents.

"This is your room! Breakfast starts at eight tomorrow morning," I explained.

"Thank you, Amala," my mom said.

I smiled at her and left the room. As I was walking down the hall, I felt someone roughly grab my wrist. I turned and saw my dad glaring daggers at me.