11:54 PM

Five Hours Into Code Black

The woman came screaming out of the crowd.

Not running.

Stumbling.

Dragging herself forward with the kind of desperation that made everyone around her back away.

Her eyes were red.

Not bloodshot.

Red.

The veins around them looked swollen, angry, spreading farther across her face with every ragged breath she took.

She clutched at her chest like something inside her was trying to tear its way out.

"Please—!"

The word came out broken.

Then she screamed again.

A sound so raw it made even the soldiers flinch.

"STAY THE FUCK BACK!" a soldier shouted.

His rifle was already raised.

The woman kept moving.

Tears streamed down her face.

She looked terrified.

She looked sick.

She looked like she was dying.

"I’M FUCKING WARNING YOU!"

His voice cracked.

The distance between them vanished.

Ten feet.

Eight.

Six.

The woman reached out.

The rifle fired.

The shot echoed across the street.

The woman dropped instantly.

The crowd screamed.

Some people ran.

Others froze.

For a second, nobody moved.

The soldier stared at the body.

Breathing hard.

Trying to convince himself he had done the right thing.

Then another soldier grabbed him by the shoulder.

"LAWSON!"

The man nearly jumped out of his skin.

"What the hell do you think you’re doing?!"

Lawson stared.

"She was fucking coming at me!"

"She wasn’t armed!"

"She was infected!"

"You don’t know that!"

Lawson pointed at the corpse.

"The eyes!"

"The eyes don’t mean shit anymore!"

That made him pause.

Around them, civilians watched with wide eyes.

Fear was everywhere now.

Nobody trusted what they were seeing.

A cough made people nervous.

A stumble made people nervous.

Somebody crying too hard made people nervous.

The line between infected and healthy had become impossible to see.

Twelve infected.

That was the official number.

Nobody believed it.

Not anymore.

The second soldier exhaled heavily.

"Orders are to refrain from deadly force unless absolutely necessary."

Lawson frowned.

The words sounded absurd now.

"What?"

"They think a cure’s coming."

The first soldier blinked.

"...a cure?"

The other looked away.

His silence answered the question better than words ever could.

⸻

Jennifer sat motionless.

The operating room had never felt so empty.

The machine still hummed softly beside Adrian’s abandoned table.

The surgical tools remained exactly where she had left them.

The straps.

The monitors.

The equipment she had spent years trusting.

All of it sat untouched beneath the sterile white lights.

A man stood across from her.

His face was red with barely controlled anger.

His arms remained folded tightly across his chest.

He looked like he wanted to break something.

Jennifer understood the feeling.

"Where is he?"

His voice was calm.

Which somehow made it worse.

Jennifer lowered her eyes.

For a moment she allowed herself to feel the full weight of what she’d done.

The consequences.

The lives.

The chaos outside.

The possibility that she had just doomed an entire borough.

Then she looked back up.

"Not here."

The man’s jaw flexed.

The answer clearly wasn’t helping.

A long silence followed.

Then Jennifer smiled faintly.

Not because she was happy.

Because something about the situation felt strangely ironic.

"They say to love..."

She paused.

"...is to let go, no?"

The room went still.

One of the soldiers behind the man looked away.

Another stared at the floor.

Nobody seemed comfortable being there.

The man’s expression twisted.

"You sick bitch."

Jennifer laughed softly.

Not mocking.

Just tired.

The sound only seemed to make him angrier.

He gestured sharply.

The soldiers moved.

Hands grabbed Jennifer’s arms.

Cold metal cuffs snapped shut around her wrists.

She didn’t resist.

Not even slightly.

The fight had already happened.

Hours ago.

Inside her own head.

The man stepped closer.

Close enough that only she could hear him.

"You just threw away everything."

His voice dropped.

"And for what?"

For him.

The answer appeared immediately.

Jennifer didn’t say it.

She merely looked ahead.

The silence irritated him more than any insult could have.

He stepped back.

"Search the entire tower."

The soldiers nodded.

"He couldn’t have gotten far."

Then he looked at Jennifer again.

Hatred simmered behind his eyes.

"That cure is getting extracted."

His voice hardened.

"One way or another."

Jennifer finally met his gaze.

For the first time all night, she smiled genuinely.

The expression unsettled him.

⸻

"Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck..."

Aubrey adjusted her grip on Adrian.

It wasn’t working.

The guy was heavier than he looked.

Dead weight always was.

Terri tried helping from the other side, but the entire process looked ridiculous.

Between the two of them, they were practically dragging him through the corridor.

"I never really thought this part through," Aubrey muttered.

Terri laughed nervously.

"Really?"

"No."

"Glad we’re on the same page."

Despite everything, Aubrey snorted.

The elevator came into view.

Both girls immediately sped up.

Or tried to.

Carrying an unconscious person made speed largely theoretical.

Eventually they stumbled through the doors.

Terri nearly collapsed against the wall.

Aubrey hammered the button.

The doors remained open.

Waiting.

Slowly.

Painfully.

"Come on..."

Nothing.

"Come on."

Still nothing.

The elevator seemed determined to move at the speed of depression.

Terri glanced at Adrian.

Then at Aubrey.

"You know..."

Aubrey looked at her.

"This seemed way harder in my head."

A grin tugged at Aubrey’s lips.

"Yeah."

The doors began sliding inward.

"That’s because I’m here."

Terri rolled her eyes.

But she smiled anyway.

For half a second things felt almost normal.

Then footsteps exploded down the hallway.

Both girls froze.

Aubrey turned.

A squad of armed soldiers rounded the corner.

Their eyes widened instantly.

"...shit."

"WE HAVE A VISUAL!"

Every rifle came up.

⸻

The man pressed a finger against his earpiece.

"Status."

"We found them."

A pause.

Then:

"They’ve got the target."

The man’s eyes flicked toward Jennifer.

She remained seated.

Restrained.

Silent.

Watching.

"Shoot them."

The response came immediately.

"Sir, we could hit the target."

The man’s expression darkened.

"You think I give a shit?"

Jennifer’s jaw tightened.

Barely.

Just enough.

He noticed.

A cruel smile appeared.

"Do whatever you have to."

The soldier hesitated.

Then:

"Copy that."

The transmission ended.

The man leaned back.

Satisfied.

Jennifer looked away.

—

The elevator doors continued closing.

Far too slowly.

Aubrey slapped the button repeatedly.

"Move!"

The soldiers opened fire.

The hallway erupted.

Gunfire tore through the air.

Bullets slammed into the elevator doors.

Sparks exploded.

Metal screamed.

Terri threw herself sideways.

Aubrey did the same, dragging Adrian down with her.

The doors finally sealed shut.

The noise vanished.

Only ringing remained.

Smoke drifted lazily through the confined space.

Terri’s ears buzzed.

Her chest rose and fell rapidly.

For several seconds neither girl spoke.

Then Aubrey checked her arm.

Blood.

Not much.

A graze.

Still enough to sting.

"...fuck me."

Terri stared.

"You got hit?"

"Barely."

"You say that like it’s a paper cut."

"It kinda is."

The elevator began descending.

For the first time in several minutes, neither of them had something actively shooting at them.

That counted as progress.

Then Adrian groaned.

Both girls froze.

The sound had been faint.

Weak.

But unmistakable.

Aubrey slowly looked down.

"...Terri."

Terri stared.

"Yeah?"

"I think he’s awake."

—

Darkness.

For a while, that was all there was.

Darkness and weight.

Every part of my body hurt.

Not sharp pain.

Not even dull pain.

Just exhaustion.

The kind that settled into your bones and made moving feel impossible.

I couldn’t remember where I was.

Couldn’t remember how I got there.

There were fragments.

A rooftop.

Blood.

Jennifer.

Something else.

Something important.

The memories slipped away before I could catch them.

Then I heard a voice.

A familiar one.

One I hadn’t heard in what felt like forever.

"Look who’s awake."

My eyes snapped open.

The world blurred.

Shapes swam together.

Light hurt.

Everything hurt.

But slowly the image sharpened.

And there she was.

Aubrey.

Standing right in front of me.

For a second I genuinely thought I was hallucinating.

My mouth opened.

Nothing came out.

Aubrey folded her arms.

Trying very hard to look unimpressed.

Failing.

Terri peeked out from behind her shoulder.

Then gave an awkward little wave.

"Hi."

I stared.

The reality of it hit me all at once.

They were here.

Both of them.

Alive.

Real.

The knot in my chest broke instantly.

I pushed myself upright.

Nearly fell.

Aubrey moved automatically.

Catching me before I could hit the floor.

"Easy, idiot."

That was all it took.

I grabbed her.

Pulled her into a hug.

Hard.

The words never came.

I couldn’t make them.

My throat closed.

Tears flooded my eyes before I could stop them.

Hot.

Immediate.

Embarrassing.

I didn’t care.

For a moment Aubrey went completely rigid.

Like her brain couldn’t process what was happening.

Then slowly...

Very slowly...

Her arms wrapped around me.

Something warm settled into her chest.

A feeling she hadn’t experienced in a long time.

Safety.

Terri stood there awkwardly.

Watching.

Then I reached out.

Grabbed her too.

The poor girl made a startled noise before being dragged into the hug.

Her entire face turned bright red.

"Oh my God."

She laughed nervously.

"Oh my God."

Nobody said anything else.

Nobody needed to.