Chapter 28
I woke up feeling like a fucking 18wheeler truck hit me as I hacked out my lungs. I opened my eyes, blinking and squinting at the harsh sunlight that I was staring up at.
"Kade?" I heard Mikey's voice and it ached to move my head as I lifted it off the hard cement pavement.
"What the fuck happened?" I asked in my scratchy voice. Mikey looked to Ben and they both bowed their heads sadly.
"You umm...couldn't save Lucy, bro. I'm sorry. She practically killed you."
"She did kill you!" Ben corrected. "She fucking bit you and Scarlet saved you. Dragged your heavy ass out of the building as it went up in toxic fumes.
"Scarlet! Where is she?" Fear gripped me, the last thing I remembered was her hauling my ass down a corridor. Mikey lay a hand on my shoulder and the worst possible pain ripped through me.
"She is over with the others." He pointed in the general direction to where she was, to say I was relieved was an understatement.
"There were so many who we didn't give the antivenom to as we ran out of time,” Mikey carried on talking. “They all had a blue line under their names on the cells, several others including Scarlet and Lucy's names had a red line under, we did a hell a lot of guessing down there."
"How many were there? How many did you save?" I glanced over the sea of people who were slowly peeking from behind their hands trying to adjust to the light.
"Not totally sure but I'd say close to a hundred." Mikey held out a hand for me to take. He pulls me into a hug and holds me. "I'm so fucking sorry Kade." Tears fell down his cheeks.
I was trying so hard now to break down, but it was no use. Lucy's gaze was embedded into my brain as I shot her. I shot and killed my own sister. My stomach churned and I had to quickly move out of the hug and throw up. My body started shaking, I fell down onto my knees and sobbed out loud. Ben and Mikey tried to comfort me, Mikey crouched down next to me.
"I've called it in Kade, there is probably a massive list of missing people out there."
I could only nod my head to say I had heard him as I tasted the salt tears that kept flowing.
"She was my baby sister Mikey. I was meant to look after her, protect her!” I blubbed out between torn breaths.
"She wasn't Lucy in there Kade, she wasn't coming back." Mikey placed his arm over my shoulder. "You tried to get her back Kade, we all fucking tried." Mikey sniffed and wiped his face again.
"Here, it was in the van." Ben passed me a bottle of coke, it was flat but it washed away the taste which lingered in my mouth.
My eyes were puffy and red, my vision still blurry as I searched over the people all dressed in the same jumpsuits. Her blue eyes twinkled when she caught me, my feet shuffled towards hers and she ran straight into my arms.
"Kade." Tears flowed down her face and I squeezed her tight in my arms. "I thought I lost you in there." I took her face in my hands and brushed away her tears.
"Ben managed to pull out an extra box of the antivenom. I'm the best person here to help them, I'm going to make sure everyone has received a dose."
I loved how caring she was.
A trail of flashing blue and red lights from several police vehicles could be seen approaching. I left Scarlet checking all the others, making sure everyone had had a shot of the antivenom. There were so many confused men and women, some broke down, others stood in shock. The police arrived and Mikey stepped forwards as he was met by a pretty woman.
"Morgan." Mikey blew out a long breath, his eyes took her in. It was obvious he hadn't seen her in some time but still held feelings for each other. I could tell by the subtle glances she gave him.
"What the fuck happened here, Mikey?" It was all strictly business with her. "Do I have to haul your ass in?"
Before Mikey could say anything several black vans were charging towards us.
"Sergeant Morgan, we have company!" one of the young officers pointed out.
"Fuck, Mikey! What is this shit?"
"Some government private agency," Mikey responded and Morgan closed her eyes as she sighed.
"This is the last fucking time I try and help you, Mikey!"
Six black vans screeched into the compound and several agents jumped out, immediately surrounding the doors and gathering the subjects together. Scarlet was amongst them, and there was no way I was going to let these fuckers take her away from me now. I ran over to the crowd of people shouting her name.
"Get back sir, we have to make sure no one inhaled any toxic gases from the accident."
"Accident? This was no accident! My sister fucking died in there." I shouted as the agent started getting pushy with me, only making me angrier. "My fucking girlfriend is helping these people." The words came out, I know Scarlet wasn't, but I wanted to make her my girlfriend, make her mine.
"Kade." Scarlet’s voice was like sweet honey to my ears as she wrapped her arms around me and I held onto her.
Several men dressed in bio suits went into the building as Scarlet and I joined Mikey and Ben who were sitting in the back of the van we had brought in.
Two larger vehicles arrived and they started ushering the people we had just rescued onto them.
"Where are you taking them?" I jumped up and questioned one of the agents.
He didn't answer me. The police had been told to leave as everything was now under control but Morgan stayed behind and being Sergeant, she was allowed.
"Mikey, you saved all those people?" Morgan questioned with a much more genuine and soft tone.
"Yea, but look...there were so many we couldn't save. We tried, but we ran out of time." Mikey held his head down low with grief as bodies started being hauled out. I held my breath as I kept waiting for Lucy's to appear.
"Michael Lewis Freeman," Morgan said, stepping closer to him, and Ben and I raised our eyebrows in astonishment at her calling Mikey by his full name. "You can't be hard on yourself. Look at all the lives you did save!" She gestured to the multiple vans that were beginning to drive away all filled with subjects who had received the antivenom dose thanks to Mikey and Ben.
Several minutes later the person who seemed to be in charge circled his hand in the air and the other agents started getting back into the vans.
"HEY!" I shouted at him. "There was a young girl in there, gunshot wound to the chest, she's my sister."
"Sorry Mr. Sawyer, we didn't find any young girls, only the unfortunate staff who died from the accidental gas leak. You better get out of here before the place goes up." He turned away from me but I pulled his shoulder so he would spin back and face me.
"What do you mean? The place goes up?" I snapped at him.
"It has been deemed unsafe and..." He checked his watch, "in ten minutes there will be a controlled explosion to close the facility down." He walked off and I chased him.
"You are hiding any evidence of what you were doing here! Isn't that right?" My blood was boiling. "My sister must be still in there!" I pleaded with him.
"Look, I can assure you, we did a full sweep of the place and there were no bodies left in there, dead or alive. I suggest you better get a move on or else you will be going down with the whole place also." He jumped into the closest van and they all hightailed it out of the compound.
"SHIT! Everyone get in, we've gotta get out of here!"
Ben floored it as fast as the van would go, I held Scarlet in my arms, her head resting against my aching chest. My mind was racing with what the agent said. "No bodies were left in there dead or alive."