They arrived at the facility faster than expected. Everyone was too busy sleeping or complaining to care where they were. The sun had burned down on them for another hour, sizzling anything in its grasp. Brie wiped her forehead, letting out an exasperated sigh.
"It's so hot..." Melissa whined, pushing back her hair that was slowly slicking to her forehead. She glanced forward to look out for their destination, her eyes going wide as she saw a huge building coming up. "Is that it?" She gaped.
It was a huge hospital. It had signs of breakthrough with broken windows that had been boarded up. The gates that surrounded the facility were bent, yet they still stood strong. The walls were untouched, shining a blinding white as the sun reflected from the blacked out windows. It seemed this place was closer to a prison than a hospital, caged in and boarded away from the outside world.
"This is it!" Josiah clapped his hands together and opened the car door, stepping out reluctantly and stretching his legs. Brie followed, helping Melissa stand as she clung to Akame with nerves. She glanced forward to the car in front, seeing Adam and John standing, waiting for them.
Her mind was whirring. Will they let Adam in? She watched as Josiah rattled a key against the gate's lock, swinging it open smoothly and leading them down a tiled path.
"Adam and Akame must go with Clay, Nick will stay with us." Brie glanced to the 2 body-guards who nodded fiercely. She felt a stab of guilt leaving them with strangers to be tested on and dragged around.
"Can I go with them?" She blurted out, turning to Josiah with wide eyes. He paused for a moment and let out a sigh. "So you want me to... babysit?" He looked down at Melissa who pouted with shock.
"I am not a baby!" She squeaked, dropping Akame gently and crossing her arms grumpily.
John stepped forward. "I'm here too, you know."
"Alright, Clay and Brie will escort them. I'll take Melissa and John to their rooms. And Clay..." Josiah whipped his head up from the floor.
"Bring her back here as soon as you're done." He ordered. After an exchange of nods, they set off in opposite directions.
Brie trailed after the large man with Adam by her side. He still hadn't spoke, which made it clear it was true that he was mute. As they made their way through the building, Brie noticed she hadn't seen a single person yet.
"Where are all the people?" She questioned. Akame shuffled in Adam's arms as he moved to respond. For some reason, Akame wasn't fond of him.
"We're in the testing facilities so I highly doubt there'll be people walking around when it's possibly contaminated." He mumbled, receiving a grunt of agreement from Clay.
They turned a sharp corner to find themselves staring at a huge room. It reminded Brie of the dentist, and she could only assume it was the lab. There were beds with equipment attached to them, utensils and a sink sat at the very back, a singular tap dripping water softly into it. The ominous trinkle of the water set the mood fiercely.
Clay held his arms out as if to signal this was their stopping point. Brie raised an eyebrow towards Adam, who did the same right back to her. It was strange having a body guard who couldn't talk. I mean, how would they communicate? Everything seemed off, but they weren't there to complain.
"What now?" Brie asked, jumping as a voice responded behind her.
"We test." She spun around to find herself face to face with a nurse. She had a mask over her face, protective clothing around her body and a scalpel in one hand. Brie stared in horror before relaxing as the nurse doubled over with laughter.
"Did I scare you?" She giggled, pocketing the scalpel and walking forward. "I'm Jane, I'll be the nurse running tests and making sure everyone is healthy before letting you into the sanctuary."
"Oh, right..." She watched as Clay returned to the door, standing guard. Jane motioned for Adam to sit on the bed and patted the second bed for Akame to lay on. Akame let out a meow of disapproval as Adam placed her onto the thin sheets.
"We'll start right away, however I'll have to ask you to stay with Clay since you don't have any protective clothing on." Jane ordered.
Brie trudged back to the door and stood beside Clay, watching as Jane took mouth swabs and samples from the two. It didn't look like too much effort, so she let herself relax.
"How long have you been here, Clay?" She tried to conversate, watching as he help up two fingers. "Two months?"
He nodded.
"Have you been mute all your life?" He shook his head. "Oh... Did something to do with the apocalypse cause it?" He then nodded.
So Clay and Nick were going through trauma? They were brothers after all, it made sense if they both went through the same thing. Maybe they saw something horrible and it scared them.
"You seem really nice." She smiled, finding herself gazing into his eyes with wonder. He blinked, surprised, then nodded and pointed at her. "Me too? Thanks." She smiled, admiring his features.
Then she quickly snapped out of it. Stop it, Brie! You're not here to admire people.
She shook her head quickly and turned back to the lab, watching them struggle to keep Akame's mouth open. That cat sure had attitude. Soon after, Jane returned.
"It'll take an hour to process the results, so why don't you head to your room and I'll come grab you when it's ready?" Jane explained and pulled her mask down to reveal the rest of her face. It was smiling softly. Brie nodded. Clay tapped her arm and made a motion to follow him.
"Okay, let's go." She pulled herself away from the wall and made her way down the hallway, back to the left side of the hospital.