Betrayal

Chapter 5

He led her down winding tunnels of white, where fluorescent lamps secured by thin wires were their only source of light. He walked ahead of her and kicked away any molded that got in their way. Some were large, standing at seven feet tall with skin that was bubbling and melting away. Others would crawl on all fours. They were much smaller and faster than the other ones. Lucas had a harder time fending them off compared to the tall ones. All of them reeked of rotting flesh. The mere sight of the molded creatures struck fear into the heart of the poor girl. She had no clue what they were, and she had no plans of being acquainted.

Soon, they would reach an elevator. Lucas pushed the red button on the right side of it, allowing the cage-like door to open the small space before them. It seemed to screech in protest and nearly got stuck at one point. Jolene looked over at Lucas wearily, and he merely smiled and gestured for her to enter first, which she did without any fuss. She got to go outside again; she could get out of the stuffy mines.

He was quiet the whole way up, lost in thought. He knew that Jolene would be seeing Eveline sooner or later, and he didn't want to explain to her what he was doing with a girl locked in the mines; especially if she was a candidate for the family. Lucas wanted to avoid this at all costs, Jolene was his and no one else's. He had what he wanted and Eveline was going to have to pry her dead body from his hands if she got to her.

That was another thing. If, and only if, Eveline managed to get into Jolene's head Lucas would have no choice but to kill her. His whole cover could be blown if Eveline was lurking in her head. Not to mention that the research conducted by The Connections and himself suggest that Eveline could still kill those infected, even if they weren't under her influence.

The elevator rattled and screeched as its rusted foundations struggled to bring the two up. Jolene felt anxiety bubble up within her as she thought about why Lucas was actually taking her out of her little room in the mines. Perhaps he was finally going to kill her, despite how many times he told her he couldn't do it no matter how hard he tried. She knew that, under the right circumstances, he'd be capable of it and he'd do it in a heartbeat.

After a few more moments, the elevator stopped. The door slid open again, rattling loudly in the process. This time, Lucas stepped out first, tugging on Jolene's leash as he moved farther away from her, causing her to stumble and trip on her own feet.

The mines soon became a cleaner area with an actual tile floor and drywalls. Jolene's jaw fell open as she gaped in surprise. This whole time there had been a lab underneath the Baker estate and she had no clue about it. They had been building this place over her head almost the whole time she was there.

"What the hell?" She muttered to herself, drawing the attention of Lucas. He didn't look back at her as he spoke.

"Take it in baby. Now ya know where I've been when I wasn't with ya." He told her in a smug voice. She walked a bit faster to catch up with him. For once she wanted to look him in the eyes as she spoke to him. She wanted straight forward answers.

"What do ya mean?" She asked. He looked at her and realized she didn't look like the meek, scared woman she was in the mines. If he wasn't careful she could be dangerous. He'd have to break her down again.

"Better wipe that look off'r yer face before I do somethin' that these nice people wouldn't want to see." He warned. Jolene furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"What do-"

"I said cut it out!" He shouted. Jolene gasped in surprise and tried to back up. Lucas tugged on the leash harshly, knocking Jolene over onto her knees. When she was on the ground he grabbed ahold of her hair and forced her to look up.