Where We Go | Book Three

53. Six Hours

Behind us, GUN scrambled to gather themselves in their trucks. Melanie was lifted away but not before I saw her hand still clutched against her stomach. I stopped the smile on my lips before Ben turned. He was still panting, twisting his body to keep sight of GUN who were now following in their trucks. 

Melanie had got what she deserved, what she'd always had coming to her. It was revenge for Carnelian, for Land's End and Dr Lawson.

"Em, what the fuck were you thinking!" Pilot shouted. His hands were covered with patches of dirt and blood, and they gripped the steering wheel tighter.

I sat back, leaning my head against the headrest. "I was thinking she deserved it."

"There are a lot of people out there who deserve a lot of things, that doesn't mean we're the ones to action it," he spat.

"I just solved our problem!" I retorted.

"Get a fucking hold of yourself, Em!" he shouted, swerving through the forest. "You're hurting. We all are. But you haven't solved anything."

"Julia didn't deserve to die," I argued.

"And you think killing them is going to fix what you're feeling right now?"

I would've shouted again but there was something within his red-hot gaze in the mirror that made me stop. "It was worth a try," I muttered.

"Julia didn't deserve to die," he agreed. "But that was her choice. That was the decision she made... If GUN thought she was you and they'd killed her, they would've left us alone." Pilot swerved again, taking another turn. "We could've had more time." The distance between us was growing and GUN were struggling to keep up with the manoeuvrers Pilot was making through the forest.

Ben leant down to the footwell where I'd thrown my backpack. "Em..." he muttered.

"What?" I snapped, sharper than I'd intended. He pulled a box from my bag and my blood chilled. The plastic casing had shattered from the impact of the bullet, pieces of which were now at the bottom of my bag.

"What is it?" Pilot asked from the driver's seat.

Ben failed to meet my stare as he pulled at the lid, and it fell off completely. My lungs emptied as I peered over, seeing his hands start to tremble. Inside, the vials were cracked, and the liquid had emptied, leaving none of them full. My carelessness meant I had secured my own death too. My serum was destroyed.

"Shit," I whispered, through a shaking voice.

"Someone tell me what's going on!" Pilot spoke louder.

Ben released his grip on the box, letting it fall back into the bag. "Em's serum is destroyed," he said.

"What?!"

"You heard me!" he replied. "Fuck," Ben mumbled, dragging his hand down his face. My body flinched with each heavy beat of my heart. "Fuck!" Ben shouted, slamming his hand against the seat in front.

"I'm heading for Land's End," Pilot said, "We'll be covered there."

"No!" I spoke louder. "I'm not risking everyone there. There's nothing there that can help me."

Ben lifted his head. "Go to the lab," he ordered.

Pilot dared a glance over his shoulder. "You're serious?" he glared. "You said it yourself, they're not ready."

"We don't have another choice," he replied.

"What about leading GUN there?" I widened my eyes, shifting to look out the window where their truck was now nowhere to be seen.

Ben shook his head. "They already know where it is, they've just been waiting. All we need to do is beat them there."

Pilot yanked on the steering wheel, making a hard left turn in response to Ben's answer. My body fell into Ben's with the shift, and I could feel his body shaking beneath me, whether with anger or fear, I couldn't be sure.

"You better be right, Robertson," Pilot said. "Or God help all of us."

*

Ben slammed his fist against the metal. The third punch almost landed in the face of the guard who opened the door. Without a word, Ben pushed his way inside, grabbing my hand and pulling me behind him. The corridors were dark and dimly lit,

"Hey!" the man shouted behind us. "You're not supposed to be here!"

"Urgent appointment!" Ben yelled back. "Dr Lawson will want to take this one."

We ran the rest of the way through the building, twisting, and turning down the corridors until the door of Laboratory One opened before Ben could even touch a hand to the paint. 

In front of us, Dr Lawson's eyes were dark and sunken from lack of sleep. Her hair was piled on top of her head in a messy bun, and her usual white lab coat was slipped lazily over a grey hoodie.

"Ben Robertson," she greeted without a smile. "What an honour to grace us with your presence... again." She stood in the doorway, hiding the rest of the lab from view. "Do I need to re-iterate that you have no invitation to be here until we are finished?"

"Whatever process you have," he panted. "You need to speed it up."

Dr Lawson scoffed. "The process is the process, there is no speeding it up."

Ben checked his watch. "You have six hours."

She lowered her stare. "Is that an order?"

"It is unless you want to see me turn into an Infected," I said, stepping forward. "And I'm quite sure you don't want to experience that first-hand."

Her head cocked. "Your serum?"

"Destroyed," I replied, handing her the smashed box. "You can have what's left of it as a reminder of the urgency."

Her lips parted but no words came. She looked down at the shattered vials and traced her finger along the edge of the plastic.

Ben wrapped his hand around my own, squeezing gently. "Can we take this as a guarantee you can deliver?"

Her stare lifted, and she softened. "We will do what we can."

The guard Ben had pushed past appeared behind us. His face was bright red, and sweat was beading on his forehead. 

"Sarah," he panted.

"What is it?" Dr Lawson stepped forward.

"GUN were spotted... They're heading this way."

Her stare snapped at us, and I shrunk with guilt.

"We will hold them off," she said calmly like this was not the first time it had happened. "You both should leave. Go back to Land's End where they can protect you."

"But-"

"You have my word on the cure," she interrupted Ben. "We will get it to you."