Dark, hazel eyes looked at him, a flicker of panic danced behind them. She stood at a distance, mouthing words he couldn't hear and stirring discomfort to rise from the pit of his stomach. He tried to reach out but an unseen force suddenly pulled him away.
"You betrayed me!" her fading scream jerked him awake, his heart rate crazily beating inside his chest. He shook his head, wanting to get rid of the effects of his vivid dream.
"No," he whispered in the dark. "No, I didn't."
But his voice carried it into the void, not reaching the person he intended it to hear. With a disgruntled sigh, he got out of bed and ruffled his hair, annoyed. Before he could drown in his hazy memories, a rapid knock startled him.
"Hey, Meyers! Captain needs us in his office in five minutes."
Without saying a word, he threw on his army green shirt and camouflage pants. Briefly checking his reflection, he pursed his lips as he caught sight of the fiery gaze that stared back at him. "I'm going to find you, I promise."
"Yo, Bryn," his roommate called out, knocking impatiently on the locked door. "Are you awake?"
Bryn Meyers blew out a sigh. Not wanting to disrupt the others with his comrade's incessant pounding, he finally stepped out. "Yes, I'm awake, Alec. Let's not keep the Captain waiting."
"You're not going to ask?" Alec answered, raising a brow. He followed Bryn, observing his body movements.
"No," Bryn replied coldly, knowing his roommate all too well.
"Good, I'll tell you anyway," Alec spoke enthusiastically. "Doc says there might be an immune among the survivors the squad had brought in. Captain wanted this to be kept secret until it's a hundred percent certain."
Bryn kept his comment to himself. He decided to keep walking, clenching his hands into fists.
"Aren't you excited? God! We might finally have a cure."
"Stop cursing," he immediately answered, giving Alec a sideways glance. "If you're not a believer, at least don't use His name in vain."
Alec threw his hands in the air, chuckling at Bryn's short lecture. "Jeez, if I didn't know any better, I'd start thinking that you're actually a religious devotee or something." He shuddered, looking at Bryn with disgust. "Amen, father."
Bryn stayed quiet. He was not religious. But believing in something gave him hope—a tiny thread of belief that he was one day going to find her. And that she's alive, as herself and not as a monster.
Gritting his teeth, he walked faster, no longer interested in what Alec had to say. The corridor was eerily silent. It was occasionally broken by the distant sound of commands shouted by training officers.
When they arrived at the captain's office, they found the captain with a lone woman in tattered clothes. From their standpoint at the door, she appeared like one of the monsters, causing the two men to pull their guns. However, the captain signaled for them to halt upon noticing their presence.
"Willow and Meyers reporting for duty sir," Alec greeted their captain, giving him salute. He nudged Bryn when he saw that he barely acknowledged the captain's presence.
"Welcome, gentlemen," the captain answered, turning to them quickly before finding himself staring at the woman sitting across from him. "To answer each of your questions, no she's not infected. At least not yet. But Doctor Pete had her under strict observation until they figured out if she's really immune or if the effects are only delayed."
"Permission to speak sir," Bryn uttered, craning his neck lightly to get a good look at the woman who had kept her head down ever since they came.
"Speak, Meyers," the captain leaned back, one brow raised. "Before I change my mind."
"Was she bitten?" he stared at the captive, observing every movement she made. He didn't want to miss any sign that would give him a small glimpse of who or what it was.
The captain sighed. "No, but she was scratched. Black veins appeared to branch out from it. However, it looks faint. The wound seemed to have healed. And she hasn't shown any signs of transforming."
Bryn took a step forward. But the captain held a hand up, halting him. That was when he noticed that the woman was cuffed to the chair. "Until now."
"No," the captain clarified. "But, she might have been infected along the way. Her exchanges with a guy named Drew lured her to the restricted part of the city."
Bryn followed their captain's gaze at the table. A broken phone lay on top of it.
"Whoa! You have to be crazy to have fallen for that app. You were—" It was Bryn's turn to nudge Alec. He silenced him with a shake of his head.
The woman who had been unresponsive finally held her head high. Her eyes were red and her lips were trembling as she looked at the two soldiers still standing by the door.
"It was a mistake," she murmured.
"Yes, it was a poor mistake on your end," Alec mockingly responded.
The woman glared at him. "It was a mistake to come here." She started sobbing, her shoulders shaking.
The three men exchanged glances, not knowing how to handle the situation. So they let her cry her eyes out, occasionally trying to get her hands free from the chains. But her attempts were futile. The cuff stayed put and her strength wasn't enough to set her loose.
After a few minutes, when she calmed down, the captain spoke. "The government is simply helping survivors out there. No one forced you to use the app nor surrender." He took a deep breath. "I believe you also have come in contact with some people before you came to us."
Bryn perked up. He was finally coming to understand why the captain decided to call for him and Alec.
The woman raised her head again. She stared at the captain. "I know nothing about them."
"Of course," the captain chuckled. "But I'm curious why you decided to jump out of the car and come running to us?"
She chuckled too. "Because I thought you could help," she clicked her tongue. "But I'm beginning to see that she could have."
"Who?" the captain innocently asked.
"Gabby," the woman answered confidently. Bryn approached, defying his captain's orders to keep at a distance, risking infection.
He towered over her, his breathing becoming ragged. "What did you say?"
The woman's brows furrowed but she answered honestly, knowing she had nothing to lose. "That woman, I heard them call her name." She let out a sigh. "Gabby, her name is Gabby."