N87 Virus | Book 1 | After the Outbreak Kadin, Karri (booksvooks TXT) 📖

They approached Allison’s group of children and teachers and informed them they must go as well. A Collector glared at her, no recognition showed on his face. He pressed his rifle into her chest and pushed her to start walking. Rage boiled in her chest but Allison ushered the children along, holding tightly to the younger ones’ hands. Keep them safe. Get to your friends. That’s all that matters. They’re probably just here to take out supplies.

Before she entered the gym Collectors pulled the children away. Allison reached for them and was met with the barrel of a gun against her chest. Her insides shook as the fire at her center grew. She bite her lip to suppress her growl.

“It’s okay,” she told the children. “Do as you’re told. It’ll be okay.”

Allison squeezed into the crowded gym, shoulder to shoulder with people whose faces she recognized but names she did not know. A microphone cord was stretched from the intercom speaker and drew Allison’s attention to the top of the bleachers where the announcer’s box was. There were armed Collectors in the box and around the entire perimeter of the gym. This isn’t a supply collection. The vibe in the room was uneasy and it made her skin crawl. A feminine voice shouted over the intercom, “That’s her! She’s right there!” Allison looked at the announcer’s box and saw Morgan pointing at her. She’s alive. Relief rushed over Allison at the sight of Morgan, but then her stomach dropped as the crowd parted, moving away from her.

Dr. Neff appeared from behind a curtain and stood next to Morgan. His face was serious and determined. Allison’s gaze met his icy stare and a smirk formed on his lips. He waved his hand in her direction. Collectors surrounded her from all sides and she felt a pinch, then a jolt of electricity ran through her body sending her crashing to the ground. Her mind was in a fog, the world around her spinning. She was being lifted by her arms from the ground, but she couldn’t move her body. Her heart was racing. She was being dragged across the dirty laminate floor.

Allison felt her limbs begin to tingle and her muscles twitch. She struggled and another jolt of electricity blasted her, followed by the prick of a needle in her arm. She heard Gabby shouting her name, but she couldn’t see her. Her heart slowed, and that familiar warmth that always built toward her ragged strength wasn’t there. She felt normal. She tried to struggle again. Her movements lagged like an old computer and her body was numb.

The Collectors dragged Allison outside and tossed her into the back of a van. Before the gym doors closed, she saw Trevor forcing his way through the crowd, calling her name, his face frozen in fear and panic. Right as he almost pushed to the exit of the gym, a Collector slammed him in the face with the butt of his gun and people screamed. Some people tried to make a dash and were tackled by Collectors. Then others tried to push past the wall of Collectors, showing turned to cracking heads with nightsticks, which led to a crush of people surging against the Collectors, and Collectors pushing back with riot shields. The van doors slammed, cutting off her view of the chaos, and then she and the two Collectors restraining her rocked back as the tires scratched up grit and lurched onto the road. A gunshot rang out, then so many more, and the shooting didn’t stop.

Chapter Twenty-Four Allison

Allison awoke on a cold, hard cot. Her head was heavy and her body tingled from top to bottom, but she could move. I don’t feel like me. Allison’s hair was damp and her skin felt fresh, like she had recently showered. She stared at her hands, pressing her fingertips together, confused by the numbness that engulfed her. I should feel angry. Where is the burn? It wasn’t just her body that was numb, so were her emotions. She looked down at her body. They had replaced her clothes with a simple white t-shirt, white shorts, and white non-skid socks like you get in hospitals to keep you from slipping. She sat up and looked around her room.

The sterile white walls were void of decoration. A table with benches attached sat at the center of the room; it was bolted to the floor. A small stainless steel sink was tucked away in the corner, bolted to both the floor and the wall. The cot she sat on had a single pillow, white linens, and like everything else was bolted down. Across the room was a steel door with a tiny glass window. Allison walked across the room on wobbly legs and tried the door. Locked. She looked out the window, but only an empty hall was on the other side. Doors, some with windows like hers, lined the hall. No signs or anything else identifying was in view. She turned to go back to the cot and noticed a security camera in the corner, too high to reach. Creepy, peeping fucking Toms. She flipped it off before returning to the cot. Her legs shook by the time she reached it and she let her body fall onto it. Trevor. Oh shit, Matt and Gabby! Her heart pounded against her chest as she thought of her friends trapped in a tiny room like her . . . or worse. The gunshots. Oh fuck, the gunshots! Morgan how could you do this?

A Collector appeared in the door’s window. The door opened and he stepped to the side allowing Dr. Neff to enter the room. The Collector attempted to follow Dr. Neff but he raised his hand to stop him.

“Where are my friends?” Allison demanded.

He ignored her and closed the door and motioned for Allison to take a seat at the table while he took