The Sphinx Project (5 page)

A glance at my watch confirmed that we only had another three minutes before Guy's estimated lockdown time.

I didn't see anyone at all until we'd nearly reached our cell. I had overtaken Guy, so I saw it first. Turning the corner, I skidded to a stop.

My stomach contracted in horror as I stared at the guard we'd secured to the door. His body hung limply from the handle. I felt like I was going to be sick. Huge teeth marks marred both sides of his neck, and something had gnawed right through the bone of his lower leg. His eyes had rolled back in their sockets, and his face was so white it almost blended into the walls.

His neck was such a mess, we couldn't even find a place to take a pulse. I could hear his heart, though just barely. He wouldn't make it.

The guilt I'd felt earlier returned, settling heavily in my stomach. This was our fault.

There was nothing we could do for him now. We moved on, rushing toward the only other exit from the building. There was so little time left.

As we got closer to our cell, I heard screams. Sounds of crunching, slurping and sucking reached ears. I dropped the bag from my shoulders and drew my sword once again, taking a deep breath to prepare myself for what I was about to see.

"We don't have time for this!" Briana yelled. "Keep moving."

She was right, but I ignored her. Nicole and Mouse followed my lead, drawing their blades before we strode around the corner.

We immediately came face to face with half a dozen of the creatures. They were scattered around the room, apparently feeding from the men we'd left there. Disgust rolled through me and shame clawed at my chest.

I very nearly gagged at the sight. Were it not for my years of training, I would have. Their faces were buried in fresh wounds. Two of the guards already lay close to death, mutilated, discarded to rot. One was well and truly dead but still kept their interest. The last two were moaning, trying to roll away from the gnawing scavengers.

We knew what to expect this time, how to handle the creatures. I easily swung my blade through the first creature's neck before they even saw us coming; they were too interested in filling their stomachs.

Reversing the blade, I beheaded a second on the return swing. Another barreled at me and I ducked automatically. Mouse hurdled over me, her blade outstretched.

Nicole didn't hesitate to take care of a fourth, and Briana severed a fifth's head with one of the small axes. Within moments, all of the creatures lay motionless beside their 'food.'

"What are we going to do about them?" I swallowed back the bile welling in my throat.

Trying not to pay attention at the men scattered around us, or the body parts, I moved closer to Nicole. I attempted to shut myself away from the gruesome images around me. It didn't work.

If we hadn't tied them up they'd be okay now; they could have fought them off. I didn't like them, but I wouldn't wish this fate upon anyone.

"We leave them." Briana kicked one of the bodies onto its back, staining the toe of her shoe red. "They treated us like trash—why should we help them?"

"We can't leave them here. It's because of us that they're in this mess!" I exclaimed. Why was I shocked that she could say something so cruel? I should be used to her not caring about anyone but herself by now.

"Come on," Guy said. "Cut the bindings and close them in. Someone'll release them when they've got the building under control."

I cut the plastic cuffs that bound them—even the dead one. I couldn't tell myself why.

The two who were still lucid rolled to their stomachs, attempting to stand. I forced myself not to look back as I walked to the door. I slammed it closed behind me, pushing the big red button to lock it.

We reached the entrance to the garage without running into anyone or anything else. Guy's key card opened the door and he led us in the direction of a battered old station wagon. I didn't put my sword away and kept my gun close at hand, listening cautiously for the telltale sounds of breathing.

With the packs, it was a tight squeeze, but we all fit in the car. Guy took the driver's seat and I sat beside him. The rest of the girls crowded into the back.

Guy twisted the key in the ignition and reversed out of the parking space. He sped between the rows of cars before heading up the ramp. The number of vehicles parked in the garage shocked me. I wouldn't have guessed this many people worked here.

We were pulling up to the huge roller doors when bright red lights set into the roof began flashing. A siren blared in time with the lights, almost deafening our sensitive ears.

"They've sealed us in!" Guy's voice was panicked, mirroring the expression on his face.

"Have they initiated the complete lockdown procedure?" Mouse asked, her face serious.

"Yeah."

She shoved open her door, running around to the driver's side. "Have you got any screwdrivers?"

"In the glove box." His confusion was obvious. Mouse's reaction hadn't reassured him, but it helped me. She knew what she was doing.

I jerked open the compartment and rummaged around for the screwdrivers. They were in a black plastic case, which I passed over to her. She selected one, undoing the cover of the machine, jerking it away to peer at its inner workings. Her eyes brightened straight away.

"This is really old." She plunged her hands into the back of the machine, fiddling with wires and screws. She stripped the casing from a wire with her teeth before wrapping it around another.

A few more tweaks, and the light on the front of the device flashed green.

"Done and done." Mouse sprinted back around the car and slid into her seat.

Guy rolled down his window and leaned out across the barrier to scan his card. We were so close! I could almost taste the excitement on my tongue, but a bitter tang of fear still tainted the flavor; we weren't out of the woods yet.

None of us saw it coming; I heard some sort of scrambling high above us but before I could say anything, a creature seemed to drop out of nowhere. All I knew was that it wasn't there and then all of a sudden, it was. To make matters worse, it latched onto Guy's arm, sinking its teeth deep and holding on tight.

With a yell of pain, Guy wrenched his arm back and forth, trying to drag himself free. It didn't work—the creature's teeth dug in deeper. A greedy sucking sound bubbled from its mouth and the creature's throat was visibly working, slurping and chewing on Guy's arm.

"Pull it in." Reaching across Guy, I grasped the window handle and turned it.

Guy dragged the creature's head inside of the car. It came willingly, happy to keep feeding on his arm. I wound the handle that controlled the window as fast as I could. The window slid up until the creature was lifted off its feet, dangling from the window, sucking contentedly like a baby on a bottle.

I paused momentarily, disgusted by what I was about to do. I grasped the handle more firmly and wrenching it around the last few times, forcing the glass up. The window slid higher, placing pressure on its throat. It kept moving.

The creature began to notice, eyes bulging. As the pane of glass crushed into its neck, it struggled. It released Guy's arm but was unable to free itself. The glass continued with small squelching noises, and when it could squash no further, I heard a sickening crunch.

I quickly reopened the window, allowing the now-limp creature to fall to the concrete outside.

Guy nursed his arm to himself—the creature's jaw had dug deep, exposing bones and mangling flesh. His wrist hung limply, unable to move. With extreme caution, he reached across himself to scan the key card.

"Steer," he said through gritted teeth.

I grasped the steering wheel. When there was sufficient clearance for the car to scrape under, he put it into gear with his good hand and pushed his foot to the floor.

We sped up the ramp, exploding into the bright light of the morning sun. The sterile building was surrounded by grass, a barbed wire fence stretched high above us.

I could hear the sound of gunshots, shouting and screaming coming from the main entrance of the building. We followed the fence in the direction of the noise. Guy increased our speed and we turned the last corner, bringing us into the sight of the guards.

No wonder they'd sent so few to our cell. There was no time to waste chasing us. They were well and truly occupied with the swarm of creatures flowing from the mouth of the building. We didn't even have to crash through the gates, they were already wide open, the scientists and lab techs running for their lives.

I kept an eye out for the young lab tech who'd helped me. The last thing I saw before we sped away was a small cottage with bright blue shutters, obviously out of place surrounded by the barbed wire.

Chapter Seven

We drove for several hours. The narrow lanes of the countryside wound curling paths over hills and between fields. We turned the radio on to drown out the awkward silence that settled over the car, but there only seemed to be bad news.

Eventually we reached a town large enough to have a hospital, far enough away from the chaos of the labs for us to be comfortable stopping for a short time.

We left Guy at the hospital on his own. I wanted to stay with him, but he said it would raise suspicion if the doctors saw us covered in blood. He gave us a map and pointed out where we could find some clothes and food, naming some stores we should keep an eye out for.

He tossed his wallet to Mouse, telling us to get what we needed, before pushing himself to his feet and walking into the building.

Mouse unfolded the brown leather to find half a dozen plastic cards, each with a series of numbers written on a little yellow piece of paper taped to it.

"What are these?" she asked, lifting one free from the material that had softened with age.

"Pass it here." I examined it, turning it over between my hands. It was metallic blue with a row of numbers punched into it, a square holographic sticker and Guy's name printed below. "It's a credit card. Mom used to have a couple. You can put them into those machines and they give you money."

"Oh."

We ignored the cards, not entirely sure how they worked. Opening another compartment, she found a stash of paper notes. Pulling one from the pocket, she held it to the light and examined it, turning it over and over in her hands before passing it between us. We knew what money was and how to use it, but we'd never actually held any before.

"How long do you think he's going to be?" Briana asked.

"I don't know, but we should get a move on, to make sure we're here when he gets back." I slid into the driver's seat and started the engine. Nicole climbed through the middle to take the passenger side and began reading instructions from a map.

The streets were busy; women pushed strollers with squalling toddlers in tow. Old ladies walked side by side, their tightly curled heads close together as they gossiped. Shopkeepers went about their business.

"Check that out!" Mouse squealed. A teenage boy sped past atop a skateboard as we were stopped at a set of traffic lights. I'd only ever seen one on television before. I watched until it was out of sight, adding that to the list of things I planned on doing, now that I could.

Beep!

I had been so distracted by the skateboard that I hadn't noticed the lights change. I lifted the hand brake, put the car into gear and accelerated smoothly; driving was one of our easier lessons.

"Here it is," Nicole announced.

There was a parking lot, surrounded by huge buildings with colorful window displays. It was just like they'd shown us in the training videos. We couldn't experience it firsthand, so they'd hired actors to roleplay what were supposed to be everyday scenarios.

I pulled into the driveway and circled the lines of parked cars until I found an empty space. I stopped the car and opened my door, stepping into the cool sunlight. A breeze swept between the cars, causing the fabric of my pants to flap around my legs. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. It was like light exploding in my chest.

Freedom.

We weren't totally out of the woods yet… Guy was hurt, and they'd begin chasing us once they'd dealt with the more immediate threat posed by the other creatures, but that couldn't restrain the excitement growing inside me.

I turned, propping my elbows on the top of the car. A smile played around Nicole's mouth. Mouse looked a little nervous but excited. Briana seemed just as surly as ever.

"What do we need?" Mouse asked.

"A change of clothes for each of us and some food. That's all for now." Nicole's voice was firm as she took charge. "You two," she said, pointing at Mouse and I, "can go and find the clothes. We'll get the food."

"How come I can't get the clothes?" Briana asked, a scowl plastered across her face.

"Because we don't have time for you to fuss around." Nicole focused on Briana properly for the first time, running her eyes over her stained clothes. Frowning, she turned to give us a once-over too.

"Put this on." She bent down, pulling Guy's big jacket from the floor in front of the passenger seat and handing it to Briana.

"Why me?"

"Because you're the one covered in the most blood. I don't want anyone asking questions."

"But it's horrible!"

"You're never going to see any of these people ever again. You don't need to worry about being pretty."

Briana snatched the jacket out of her hand, tugging it over her arms as she scowled. She gave up arguing—Nicole was in charge, whether Briana liked it or not; she always had been.

Mouse extracted the notes from the wallet; separating them, she handed half to Nicole and kept the other half for herself.

"Do you think we'll have enough for everything?" We walked to the sidewalk that ran along the front of the store, peering into each as we passed.

"Not a clue," Nicole said.

I peeked into the first store we came to, finding it full of strange objects.

"There's ours," Nicole said, pointing to a small grocery store close by. "And that's yours." The clothing shop was on the other side of the parking lot. Nicole and Briana veered off toward their destination. Mouse and I continued onward.