To Be A Hero

Chapter 64: Choice

Please read A/N at the end of this chapter!

"Yep. Copy that," Steve says, before sighing and turning to us. "I presume you just got the same briefing I did?"

"We can neither confirm, nor deny," Maxine responds, and Steve fixes her with a blank stare.

"With respect, ma'am, there's no time for that now. The water's coming in."

"He's right," Janine says, before glancing at him pointedly. "Mr. Sissay, I have never liked nor trusted you, and time has proven me correct on both accounts. However, we have a greater chance of staying alive in here if we work together. This place, I believe, was designed to be a death trap."

"To be fair, Dr. Dee did say that the labyrinth was a trap," Sam says. "Although, he didn't say death trap. He could have been clearer, it's true."

"There are zombies ahead of us, and the rushing tide of the ocean behind us," Janine says, and I sigh.

Yes, the zombies. I don't know how Steve managed to get past them coming in, but he did, and now they're coming for us. Leave it to him to get us into even more shit than we're already in.

"Zombies, we can handle," Steve says. "I've got guns, you've got guns."

Janine sends him a tight smile. "Discharging a weapon in this enclosed space with unstable walls and ceiling that could pour the sea down onto us if punctured? That must be our last resort."

"I've got news for you: this is the last resort."

Maxine nods in agreement. "Yeah, and to get back around to the other entrance to the chamber Veronica's in, we've got to run towards the zombies."

"We work together now until we're above ground," Janine says. "We only have thirty minutes. Agreed, Mr. Sissay?"

"Agreed."

"And after we're above ground?" Maxine asks.

"I've always liked a bet. We'll see we're the chips fall. Let's move."

See where the chips fall my ass. As soon as I get the chance, I'm shooting him.

We head down the tunnels, and I can hear the zombies. They're loud, too loud. I get a very sick feeling that bubbles and burns inside me. My stomach clenches and a wave of nausea makes me sway slightly as we run.

The overwhelming desire to turn and flee engulfs me, fear spiking through my chest, leaving me terrified. We should go around. I don't know why, but everything in me is screaming to find another way, to go around them.

But we don't have time for that. We have thirty minutes, and if we don't find out about the cure and get out of here, then we're all going to die. I can't waste time to ask Janine if we can go around the zombies, not when we can simply shoot them and get to the other door and get Veronica that way.

Stupid girl. She should have known better than to go in alone. We have to hope we can get that other door open so we can get in and see what's in there. If she's the only one who sees it, and she decides to go back to the Minister...

Because Steve has a point. The Minister does have the better labs, and that's what Veronica wants.

"That sounds like a lot of zoms," Maxine says worriedly.

"When I came through, I counted twelve," Steve says. "They're slowly waking up in the chambers all along the exit tunnel."

"Of course," Janine whispers, eyebrows drawing together as realization strikes her. "They're not meant to stop us getting in."