Chapter 39
Grappling for Answers
Theo
Rhys and Ollie have been missing for nearly two days, and we’re still no closer to finding them. It’s driving Alex to insanity and I’m not far behind.
Investigating the exit the Scourge used to infiltrate Haven only confirmed what we already knew; someone on the Council betrayed us. But there’s no other evidence to tell us who it is or even a solid reason why.
The Scourge scumbags who survived the attack have been just as useless. None of them know anything aside from their orders, which were to create as much chaos as possible during the attack. They don’t know where Luke would hold Rhys and Ollie, or even that they had been taken in the first place.
It’s all been meticulously planned, leaving us to grapple with nothing.
And to make shit worse, the doctor has just sent word that Andy’s condition has suddenly deteriorated.
Which is why I’m leaning heavily against the wall in the corridor outside the isolation room he’s locked in. Alex stands next to me, stoically watching as Rachel cries against Tamsin’s arms. Tobias is on her other side, rubbing her back while fighting back tears of his own.
While I don’t know Andy very well, he’s important to Ollie and our friends, so I’ll stand here in silent support.
Even if my ass and thigh are throbbing because I forgot to take my pain meds and have been moving around too much.
Something I would have berated anyone I was treating for doing, but you know what they say about medical staff and them being the worst patients.
Kevin—the lead doctor at the medical centre—stands in front of the door leading to Andy’s room. He’s an older man with greying hair and blue eyes that are warm with sympathy as he watches Rachel breakdown.
“I understand this is difficult to hear,” he says grimly. “But with his condition worsening like it has, it won’t be long before the infection takes hold.”
“And there’s nothing you can do to help?” Tamsin asks.
Kevin shakes his head. “We’ve done all we can, but there’s no cure.”
“How much time?” Tobias asks softly while still rubbing Rachel’s back.
“I’d say less than forty-eight hours.”
Rachel’s sobs grow louder.
Fuck. I rub my face, exhaustion slamming into me.
Ollie is going to lose it if we get her back only for her to find out Andy is dying or dead.
Objectively, I understand that it’s not my fault, but that doesn’t stop guilt from worming its way into my chest. Maybe if I’d done something different, then neither of them would have been taken.
“I’ll leave you to process,” Kevin says, his voice thick with sympathy. “But I suggest you think about saying your goodbyes soon.” He turns and strides away, leaving the five of us in the corridor.
“We have to get Ollie back before then,” Alex murmurs to me as Tobias and Tamsin continue to comfort a grieving Rachel.
I nod. “Agreed. Have you uncovered anything yet?”
“Anthony put one of the security guys on Adam to see if he’s doing anything sketchy, but so far, he’s clean.”
“And the others?” I’m still not sold on Adam being the traitor, even if he’s the most likely.
“Nothing yet. Anthony’s using the rest of the security team to patrol the other exits, in case the Scourge come back, so we’re focusing on Adam right now.”
Which means we have nothing to go on and an ever-present ticking time bomb. Fantastic.
“Alex. Theo,” Tobias says, causing both of us to turn our attention to him. He looks exhausted, his eyes are bloodshot, and the circles around them are darker than they were yesterday. “Tamsin and I are going to take Rachel back to their caravan, and then I’ll come help you with whatever you need.”
Personally, I think he needs a good night’s rest, but I don’t say it. It’d make me a hypocrite when I’m obviously in need of one too.
“Meet us back at our cabin so we can brainstorm our next moves,” I tell him and watch as they lead Rachel down the corridor, her sobs wracking her body with each breath.
Poor woman. I can remember watching my own mother die, and the grief was all-consuming. The only thing keeping me going was Alex and Rhys—when he wasn’t on a mission—forcing me to look after myself. Luckily, Rachel seems to have both her partner and friends to help her through it.
“Come on, let’s get going so you don’t risk ripping open your stitches,” Alex says with a heavy sigh.
I push myself off the wall with a wince as pain shoots up from my thigh and ass. Motherfucker. I really should have taken my pain meds this morning.
Alex’s gaze narrows. “You fucking idiot,” he grumbles with a shake of his head. “You didn’t take your painkillers?”
“Forgot,” I grunt as I stagger towards the exit. “I took the antibiotics at least.”
“Oh well, that makes everything better,” he says sarcastically before grabbing my arm and throwing it over his shoulder while holding my waist to support my injured leg.
I grimace but say nothing as we slowly make our way to the door at the end of the corridor.
We’ve just reached it when it swings inward, revealing an unfamiliar nurse in uniform. He stutters to a stop, wide eyes flicking between Alex and me as he hastily shoves his hands into the pockets of his scrubs.
Weird, but I guess Alex and I can be pretty intimidating. Especially when we’re both standing in the way like a bunch of twats.
“Sorry, we’ll get out your way,” I say, nudging Alex to move us to the side since there’s no way I’d be able to move us both with my injuries.
The nurse nods and hurries by once Alex has us pressed against the wall.
I expect Alex to move after the nurse is gone, but he doesn’t. He lingers, a frown on his face as he watches the nurse like a hawk. I nudge him again, but he shakes his head and inclines his head towards the nurse.
With a furrowed brow, I turn and look, immediately understanding why Alex didn’t move. “Hey!” I shout, silently cursing that I can’t go after the nurse. “What the hell are you doing?”
The nurse’s eyes snap to mine as he pauses outside Andy’s isolation room. The locked isolation room, that no one aside from Kevin is allowed to enter. And this guy has his hand on the door handle and a key in his other hand.
My eyes narrow in suspicion as he continues to stand there, looking like a deer in headlights.
“Well?” Alex prompts, his voice low and filled with danger. He’s become such a bear since Ollie and Rhys were taken. Not that I blame him, since I have my own destructive ways of coping.
“I-I,” the nurse stutters, his hands visibly shaking on the door handle. He still doesn’t move.
And then my mind flashes to how quickly he’d shoved his hands in his pockets when he’d first seen us at the door. Something’s not right, and with everything that’s happened in the past few days, I’m not about to ignore the alarm bells blaring in my skull.
“Get us closer to him,” I tell Alex.
The big guy grunts, and the two of us move to the nurse.
“Show me what’s in your pocket,” I bark, causing him to jump a foot into the air.
Panic overtakes his expression. “I-it wasn’t my idea! I swear! I didn’t have a choice!” he cries, still not reaching into his pocket. “Please believe me!”
I untangle myself from Alex’s hold, mostly so he can grab whatever the nurse has in his pocket, and lean against the wall. Alex wastes no time in closing the distance between him and the smaller man and shoving his hand into the guy’s pockets.
“Be careful!” the nurse says, his voice still quivering.
Alex’s brows furrow as he removes something from the nurse’s pocket and gives it to me.
It’s a tiny vial filled with clear, viscous liquid that’s been put into another vial and shoved into a plastic sandwich bag along with an unused needle and syringe.
What the hell?
I stare at it in confusion and horror. “What is this?” I snap at the nurse, anger building inside me. Whatever the fuck is in there, the nurse’s intent is clear; he was going to inject Andy with it. Andy, who’s already dying from the zombie infection.
What the fuck is going on?
“Answer him,” Alex snarls, grabbing the nurse by the front of his uniform and slamming him into the wall.
The nurse whimpers, the blood drained from his face. He looks seconds from passing out. “I-it’s venom,” he squeaks, his entire body trembling in Alex’s hold.
Venom? What—
The realisation crashes over me, threatening to send me to my knees. This motherfucker was about to inject Andy with fucking zombie venom. I see the moment Alex realises because his hands go from the guy’s shirt to wrap around his neck.
“You piece of shit,” he snarls, his body trembling with rage as he squeezes the smaller man’s neck.
The nurse chokes and gasps, hands clawing at Alex’s wrist as he struggles to breathe.
As much as I’d love to watch Alex choke the fucker to death, we need him alive. Things aren’t adding up, especially since Andy is already dying from the zombie infection. Why would the nurse need to inject him with the venom if he’s already infected?
I shove the venom into my pocket, stagger over to my best friend and place a hand on his shoulder. “We need answers,” I tell him softly. “And the only way he’ll give them is if he’s alive.”
Alex growls and tightens his grip for a moment before releasing him. The nurse coughs and gags as he tumbles to the ground, his eyes wide and glassy.
I watch him gasping for breath with grim satisfaction for a moment before speaking. “Alright, start talking.”
The nurse swallows and winces, bruises already appearing around his throat. “I was told to pick up the vial from the side of the gate and to go to this room and inject the venom into the patient,” he croaks.
“Is this the first time you’ve dosed him?”
The nurse nods furiously. “Yes! The other times I was just told to cut off the intravenous antibiotics and sedate him.”
He fucking what?! “You mean to say that this poor man hasn’t been getting antibiotics all this time?” I snap, barely resisting the urge to strangle the nurse myself. What the actual hell is going on?