The Zyne Project by Sara Brooke Read Free Book Online Page A

to put together his thoughts.  Sneaking a peek over at Rosa, he wondered if she was feeling bad too.  The unspoken question hung in the air between them.
    Would they both turn into…something psychotic…something like Rick?
    They’d both taken the same infusion as Rick and those genes were running through their vein.  How long would it take before they were both…sick?
    The idea was terrifying and too painful to focus on so they both concentrated on getting Rosa’s phone.  But crossing over into the reception area wasn’t as easy as it seemed.  Both were acutely aware that Rick was on the loose and they couldn’t simply casually saunter in and grab her cell.
    “Look,” Rosa said, “I know we need to get in there.  I’m not even sure where they put our phones, so we’re going to have to search around. We need to move carefully. Let’s go get something that we can use as a weapon, because we really don’t know what we’ll find.”
    The dining room staff had been on break prior to the official lockdown so the pantry and cooking areas were vacant, giving them free reign to seize the sharpest, longest knives they could find before heading out.  The two grabbed several and gripped their weapons tightly, quietly creeping toward the entranceway.
    From their hidden vantage point, they could see that the front glass doors were now covered with a yellow tent-like material.  Rosa gasped. The CDC or some other high-ranking governmental agency had sealed off the perimeter.  She wouldn’t be surprised if they found all the other exits sealed and the windows guarded by the military.  From her experience, she knew that these types of measures were taken when there was an extreme danger to the public and she wondered if the therapy they’d received not only changed their hair color but also fundamentally altered their cellular structure, making them harmful or contagious. 
    Together, she and Bryan crept along the wall and finally found themselves standing at the reception area.  A sound under the table alerted them that they were not alone.
    “Who’s there?” shouted Bryan. “Come out, or we’ll have to shoot!”
    Neither of them had a gun obviously, but he wasn’t taking any chances…
    Slowly, Jennifer rose from her hiding place and recognizing them, ran over and hugged Bryan tightly.  Tears streamed down her cheeks and she sobbed into his neck.
    When she finally calmed down, the three stood close together as she recounted recent events, describing the tornado that had erupted when Rick flew through the common area, destroying everything in sight.  She hadn’t seen him, but the sounds he’d made were terrifying enough.  She’d sat still under the counter for several minutes waiting to see if he would come in and find her, but thankfully, he’d lumbered away in a different direction and disappeared.
    “What’s wrong with him?” she asked fearfully. “Is the same thing going to happen to us? Oh my God!”
    Rosa tried to calm her down.  “We don’t know what’s wrong, but we definitely need to stick together and see if we can call for help.  It looks like the building is sealed off, but let’s see if the doors will open up.”
    The group tried to open the glass doors but they were locked.  Bryan unsuccessfully hurled a chair at the glass, which didn’t even leave a mark.  They quickly realized that they would need to seek another escape route.
    “Let’s see if we can find those phones,” Bryan suggested, “At least before Rick comes back.”
    They discovered a door along the wall behind the reception area.  It was unlocked and led to an office with a phone, fax machine, computer, and several mail slots lining the walls. The three searched the room but could not find their belongings.  Rosa picked up the phone on the desk, hoping to connect through a landline, but it was dead.  Frustrated she sighed and sat down in the chair.
    While the other two continued searching, she began to feel