Don't Talk To Strangers | BOOK 1

sixty eight

Elle McBriar
September 6th, 6 months and 56 days after the first zombie report.

I look at Penny with wide eyes, panting as her hand is still over my mouth.

She takes her hand off slowly, "Who are you?" I whisper, "I'm Penny. I told you this." She said, I nodded, "I know that but- what are you doing here?"

I'm beyond confused, "I've been trapped here. I was just like you, on my own trying to survive before Sophia took me. She's trying to save her family."

Penny's face faltered and I noticed a loneliness in her eyes. She rubbed her hands together, "I've been here for weeks I- I know how to get out." She said with a hopeful eye.

"I don't know if I trust you or not. I thought I trusted Sophia, but she turned out to be a lying, manipulative bitch." I said as truthfully as I could, Penny nodded her head, "Understandable. I know what you've been through, people betraying you and all." She smiled.

I smiled back, "Promise you won't stab me in the back?" I asked, "Promise."

She held out her pinky and I pinky swore, "Good. Now that that's out of the way." She said.

She turned to leave, when a click on the door sounded. She gave me wide eyes, "This way, quickly."

I was shoved behind a container, it was dark and dusty. I covered my mouth with my elbow as I coughed silently, "What's going on?" I asked, "Shh, stay quiet." Penny hushed me as we stayed huddled behind this container.

The door opened and I heard footsteps. A few beeping noises and button-pressing later and the door clicked shut again.

"Okay, we need to go now!"

* * *

I must admit, all this sneaking around is kind of fun.

We had to crawl through a vent.

Yes, like the movies. Apparently it's the only way out. "The vent leads to a room with no cameras, basically no one goes there."

She kicked the vent from the inside as I changed to the floor, "Subtle." I cringed. Penny laughed, "It's soundproof."

I crawled in after Penny and dusted off my pants as I stretched my back.

All this moving is hurting my body. I'm barely healed and crawling through tiny vent spaces is not helping.

"Holy shit Elle, you're bleeding." Penny said. I probably looked dumb trying to look at my own back, "That's nothing." I said dizzily, "Lets focus on getting out of here, then we'll worry about me, okay?"

She nodded sceptically, glancing at me one more time, "If you insist."

"What is this place?" I asked.

Penny hesitated, "Would you like the truth or the sugar coated version?"

"The first one."

She sighed, "This is basically a torture chamber." It was then I noticed the washed out blood stains on the floor and the scratch marks on the wall, "It looks like werewolves were down here."

Penny laughed, "Well with everything going on right now that sounds like the most logical explanation."

"What kind of experiments did they do down here?" I brushed the tips of my fingers against the scratch marks, chills making there way up and down my body.

"How do you know they did experiments down here?" Penny asked, "Wild guess."

"I'm a victim of torture chambers." I chuckled dryly, "Oh my God I- I'm so sorry." Penny said, "Don't be. They're dead now. We killed them."