Chapter Ten
1482 Words
"Please! What have I done?" Principal Beckman snivelled, eyes locked with the metal blade pressed against his windpipe.
"C'mon Max, talk to us," Dawson urged uneasily.
Nurse Granger took a step towards her colleague in an attempt to free him from Max's grasp, but JJ cut her off before she got the chance. He jabbed his own knife into her side, enough so that she would know he was serious.
JJ nodded at Max to show his support. He had no idea what the older man was up to, but he trusted him.
"They're infected, the lot of them," Max growled, piercing the Nurse in particular with his burning glare.
"That's preposterous, we're no mor-" the Principal began to babble before Max eased the knife that little bit closer to his throat.
"That's why you wanted us to rest, right? So you could have a nice fresh supper. None of that bland stuff," Max spat.
"Listen, you've got the complete wrong end of the stick. Just put the knife down and let's talk about this," Nurse Granger calmly soothed.
"Max, are you sure? How can you tell?" Dawson whispered urgently. She was starting to worry that her new travel companion wasn't as together as he first seemed.
"I've been around the Brotherhood long enough to notice the subtle signs, believe me," Max grumbled.
"Like what?"
"The look on the little girl's face when we came in for starters," Max argued.
"Oh, she was frightened, that's all!" the Nurse snorted in disbelief.
"That's funny, cause she was calm as anything when she opened that door for us. No, she wasn't scared, she was hungry. I can see it on all of your faces, the strain in your speech, desperately trying to keep the urges hidden. Even you couldn't keep your tongue from hanging out when you were treating my fresh wounds, Nurse!"
"Max, I don't know? I haven't noticed anything," Dawson admitted.
"What about the fruit?"
"What fruit?" Nurse Granger asked.
"In the fridge. Shelves and shelves of rotten fruit. Why would you let it go off, if you really have been stuck in here all this time? It seems a weird thing to waste..."
"Well, we... there was..." she stuttered.
For the first time, the look in Dawson's eyes changed to a glare of intrigue; she was starting to see truth in Max's tale.
"Check them for bites and scratches," Max ordered Karl and Rodney.
They rolled up the sleeves and trouser legs of the kids, as Max and JJ did the same to their captives. The Principal's arms were littered with scrapes; subtle pale white marks that had long since healed, but they were there.
"Scratches over here," Rodney confirmed.
"Looks like a meaty old bite on this kid's ankle," Karl added.
JJ took a little longer to inspect before concluding, "Can't see anything on her arms or legs, but there could be cuts anywhere."
"What does that all prove?" Nurse Granger laughed. "Take a look at yourself, you're covered in teeth and nail marks!"
She had a point, they could easily be immune, just as he was, but he trusted his gut. Something was off with them, especially the children who seemed to lack the composure to hide their symptoms effectively. One of the little girls hadn't been able to take her eyes off his now bloody bandages since he'd arrived.
"Search her pockets," Max snapped at Dawson.
"Search her pockets?" she repeated back in a confused tone. "What for?"
"A key. I find it hard to believe that if you were trapped in here for this long, you wouldn't have smashed a window or kicked the door in or something."
"And if we had a key, why would we still be here?" Nurse Granger mocked.
"Pretty much unlimited food and water, a relatively safe place to sleep, I don't know, maybe you even come and go, trying to lure other survivors in for a spot of dinner," Max theorised.
Dawson patted her down, as she was told, before rummaging her hand deep inside every pocket. Her hands emerged empty every time.
The Nurse chuckled, "Are we done here? Have we finished playing your little game of detective?"
Max cursed under his breath.
"Come and search him too," he said, gesturing towards his silent prisoner.
"M...me? Why would I have a key? I wouldn't want to stay locked up in th-"
"Shut the f**k up," Max sniped, rendering the Principal speechless with a slight twist of the blade.
Dawson repeated the procedure again, with similar results as each pocket turned out to be empty. Just as she straightened up to admit defeat, she remembered the inside suit pocket.
She thrust her hand inside, extending her fingers to every corner of the pouch, before clutching them round a small metal object, a key.
"No way!" Karl yelled, "Our boy Max is like Sherlock f*****g Holmes!"
The Nurse's eyes dropped to the floor as she swore under her breath, and Beckman had now become a shivering wreck.
"We're sorry! Look, we weren't going to do anything! We just forgot we had that key, yes, that's it! We forgot we had it, that's all!" he stammered, sweat dripping from his brow onto Max's hand.
"Oh, shut up Beckman," Nurse Granger spat. "What are you going to do with us?"
Dawson turned her gaze to Max, unwilling to make a decision when she had been so blind to the imminent danger in the first place.
"Boys, go pack up half the food and fill up anything you can find with water from the drums," Max ordered.
"You sure you don't want me to keep an eye on her?" JJ suggested.
"We outnumber them, we're stronger than them, and we have more weapons. I'm sure she'll behave herself," Max smiled sarcastically at Nurse Granger.
"Why are we leaving any food anyway?" Karl argued. "These bastards were about to slit our throats!"
"Believe me, usually I would agree with you, but we can't blame the kids. I've seen the sickness up close, I know what is does to your mind. It makes you want to feast and it becomes near impossible to resist it, no matter how much you want to. But you lot aren't that far along, and I've seen people a lot worse act with infinite more strength and bravery, so you just count yourselves f*****g lucky that you have children here," Max seethed.
He couldn't help but think of Mona. She managed to free Max and Lizzie, at risk of death from the Brotherhood, all while fighting the unforgiving sickness. And here these cowards were, giving in at the first hurdle and turning on their fellow man.
The boys scuttled off into the back to pack up supplies, unwilling to argue with Max any further on the matter. His mind clearly would not be changed.
"Rodney, go unlock the door and make sure the coast is clear, would you?" he asked, throwing the key towards the typically quiet man.
Rodney nodded and jogged over to fiddle with the lock.
"In a minute, we're going to leave through that door, then lock it behind us and forget all about this. You're welcome to stay here and wait it out, or smash the window and leave, that's up to you, but you will not harm any other innocent survivors!" Max told the school staff; he was no longer asking.
He finally released the Principle, throwing him down into a heap on the floor, before crouching down to the children's height.
"Listen guys, I wish we could help you more, but there's nothing we can do for you right now. But I promise, if you stick with the adults, you'll be safe. You'll be back in boring old class before you know it," he winked.
The kids giggled between tear filled sniffles, and Max pulled them into a quick embrace. It was potentially the most affection he had ever shown a child.
"Can you take George with you?" little Milly asked.
"I'm sorry darling, I just don't thin-"
"He's not sick like us!" she blurted out. "He's still...normal."
Max pondered that for a second, looking up to the Nurse for confirmation, "Is that true?"
Nurse Granger nodded begrudgingly, even though she was overflowing with hatred towards Max, she still wanted her children to have the best chance at survival.
"And what do you think George, mate? Would you like to come with us on an adventure?" Max beamed.
George was tentative for a few seconds, before eventually nodding cautiously. He was clearly aware of the differences between him and the others.
"C'mon then, buddy," Max smiled, extending an arm to the young boy.
George took a moment to hug Frankie and Milly goodbye, before pottering hesitantly towards Max, who put him at ease instantly as he hoisted him onto his shoulders.
"You get the best seat in the house," Max laughed.
George let out a cute giggle, gripping Max tightly as they wandered towards the now wide-open door.
JJ and Karl were just zipping up their backpacks, and Rodney flashed a quick thumbs-up to show that the way was clear.
The group filed out the metal door, then Max locked it and through the key down the nearest drain.
"And now we have a kid, okay, great," Karl sighed.
- Writer
