--Phase 9 “The Contagious”--
“Benji!”
Kaien, Allen and Dominique shifted their focus to Nathan and Benji. When Benji cried out in pain, Nathan, who was sitting next to the surgeon, knit his brow and asked, “Are you okay?” Benji did not answer but he caught his breath in a startled gasp of pain.
Kaien stared and studied Benji's face. He got the impression that the other man was trying to hide a lot from him. Almost instantly, he got up from where he was sitting and kneeled down next to Benji on the ground, looking for something. He pulled out Benji's left arm, which Benji had been holding and tried to hide.
Allen sprang forward and asked, “What’s wrong?”
“He’s bitten.” Tremors were felt by all of the men in the room, but particularly by Nathan when they heard the statement. Other than the moment when Benji had protected and shielded him, he could not think of another time in which Benji would have been bitten. Nathan felt responsible and blamed himself for everything that had led to Benji's injury.
“I’m so sorry! It’s my fault! I—” Nathan cried was stopped as Benji put his finger on Nathan’s lips, telling Nathan that he was going to be okay and it was not Nathan’s fault he got hurt.
“But—”
“Nathan, enough,” Dominique interrupted. He pulled the nurse, making some space for Allen and Kaien to examine the wound.
“”He’s not fully bitten,” Kaien said as he looked closer at the injury. “The tooth mark is definite but only a quarter of it bleeds him out.”
“Then the virus already...” Allen felt the blood rush to his heart with a thud.
“It’s in his body,” Kaien finished Allen’s line. “He’ll turn into them in about one hour, another plus fifteen minutes if he’s lucky.” Kaien stated the probabilities of what would happen. “But we can prevent it if we get out of here before that and treat him with the antidote.”
“Where’s the antidote?” Nathan asked.
“It’s right in front of the hospital. Where the army set their tents,” Kaien explained as he continued when he saw a definite question in Nathan's eyes. “I can’t bring them with me because they need to be completely frozen all the time.”
“I’m okay,” Benji forced his voice to obey him. “The pain only shows up once in a while. Don’t worry.”
Nathan lacked patience, struggled with anxiety and outbursts of emotion. “Then we better get the hell out of here as soon as possible!” He announced, and the others agreed with his assessment. They gathered their belongings together and then started climbing the stairs. This time around, Allen was able to move his legs more easily, and he no longer needed someone to carry him.
Slowly and gently, Kaien opened a door above them, making sure it was safe by pointing his gun in all directions. Instead of relying on a stupid dead map, they got to their feet and left the area by following their common sense. The formation remained the same, with the exception that Allen took Benji’s place in the back position. Few times he had to argue that he was ok and that he would be able to fight from behind to protect them.
They did not come across any zombies or difficulties along the way until they progressed into another circular room. It was a junction. The passageway split into four different directions.
“Left or straight?” While Kaien was considering the question, Nathan voiced it. To tell the truth, Kaien did not have any clue of where they ought to go. The area was not on his map, and if they made a wrong choice, it could spell disaster for them.
“We should split up,” Dominique announced a spontaneous solution that was disliked by everyone, including himself. “I once studied a drain system map near this hospital for repair stuff. I remember this junction, and of the four possible routes, only two of them don't end in a dead end. One is the one we came from, while the other is either to the left or straight. The path to the right led to nowhere.”
“But that’s suicide,” Allen argued and refused. “If the zombies got us in a dead one, we’re dead.”
“How about this?” Kaien had a superior thought that not everyone will like too. “Only Dominique and I are quick enough and uninjured. Both of us will split up. We’ll come back running as soon as either of us knows which one is out. If Dominique's is the exit and he makes it back before I do, then all of you should follow him out and so versa.”
When he had been told the idea, Dominique did not hesitate to say, “Okay,” knowing that this was the wisest course of action. He was terrified beyond measure, he detested the plan, but he saw no other options. Both Allen and Benji suffered injuries. Nathan, he was not thinking clearly since he was worried about Benji.
“No!” Allen immediately protested but Kaien’s stern voice got him.
Kaien offered some solace to Allen by speaking to him in a calm and self-assured tone. At the same time, he was urging Allen to pay attention to what he had to say because there was not much time left. He reached over and placed his right hand on Allen's left shoulder. The way Kaien said “Wait here and look after Nathan and Benji,” it seemed like he was giving orders and not accepting ‘no’ as a response. “I'm going to entrust them to your care from now on.”
“But, wait Kaien! Dominique! Both of you can get kill—”
“I’ll take left,” Dominique cut Allen’s sentences. He glanced one last time before he ran as fast as he could to the tunnel, saying, or rather, lying he would be fine and came back safely.
“Don’t worry, Allen,” Kaien smiled for the last time before he also disappeared into the dark tunnel. “I’ll be back. I promise I will get all of you out safely.”
“Allen,” Nathan’s voice echoed from behind Allen as the oncologist turned back, facing the crying Nathan and half-consciousness Benji. “Benji, he’s... he’s cold...”
On Nathan's face, one could plainly see the terror and fear he was feeling. Even though Allen was still not feeling well, he needed to keep his composure for the sake of the others. He nodded and opened his jacket, giving it to Benji to wear so that he could stay warm. He examined Benji's pulse and found that it was still strong. Nevertheless, he was aware that, as time went on, it became weaker and weaker. Allen muttered a curse deep within his heart and swore that he was on the verge of tears.
No, he did not want to cry or watch this again. Not after watching everyone else in the room turn into zombies one at a time in front of his eyes three years ago. The images were crystal clear and he hated himself for not being able to forget it. He clutched Nathan's and Benji's hand and he prayed that, if there was still a light of hope in this doomed world, he wished for all of them to get out from there safe and sound. Alive as human beings.