Hostage Negotiation

Lara and Jenna immediately let her go. Jane took her chance and ran up the stairs. Toby, Jon, and I went after her. She tried the first-floor door—locked. Then she went up the next flight. This door had been propped open by someone to make it easier to move supplies through. She ran into the corridor, knocked Ty out of the way, and bolted into one of the flats, slamming the door behind her.

I got to the door just as she locked it. I ran into it and bounced off.

I heard a scream from inside the flat.

"Sky!" I yelled.

More screams followed, along with shouts of, "Shut up! Shut up!"

I kicked the door. It was solid.

"Fuck," I muttered, my mind racing with possibilities. Could she turn with Sky locked in there? Would she hurt her?

I took a moment to collect myself.

"Jane!" I called out, this time angrily. "If you hurt her, I will destroy you. There's no way out of there. Just come out, and we can figure this out."

Silence.

"Jane!" I screamed, booting the door again.

"I'm not coming out," she said.

"You don't have a choice, and neither do we! You could be infected."

"I'm not!" she wailed.

"Well, come out then!"

"You'll throw me onto the street to die!"

"Damn right we will," Jon began, but I cut him off.

"We won't throw you out, Jane. Just please, let the girl go. She has nothing to do with this."

"No! You're lying! You'll come in here and kill me!"

"Jane, we don't want to force the door, but we will!"

"NO!" she shouted.

I slid down against the door. The others were looking at me.

"Get the ice axes," I said.

"Hold on," Toby said. He went to a pile of stuff in the corner and pulled out a sledgehammer.

"Where did you get that?" I asked.

"Found it," he replied.

I nodded and turned back to the door.

"Jane, this is your last chance to open up!"

"If you come in here, I... I... I will hurt her."

I took a gamble that she wouldn't. I didn't think she had it in her.

Toby took the sledgehammer, and we backed up a bit to give him room to swing. The first hit seemed to have no effect.

"Aim for the lock," I said.

While Toby worked on the lock, more shouts came from within. After the third hit, the lock broke, and the door swung open.

Toby went to head in, but I stopped him.

"Where are the guns?" I asked.

"We haven't brought them up from the lobby yet."

A bit of relief washed over me.

"Wait here," I said.

I took my coat off, unclipped my baton from my belt, tucked it into my pocket, and entered the flat.

Straight ahead was the bedroom. To the side was a bathroom, a cupboard, and a short, narrow hallway leading to an open-plan kitchen and living room. The door was closed.

I knocked.

"Jane?" I called.

I heard whimpering but no response.

"Jane, I'm coming in."

I opened the door a little. Clio came flying out of the room, making me jump.

I pushed the door open fully. The front room was small and square, with a large, typical church window taking up almost the entire far wall. The kitchen was to the left.

Jane was pressed against the window, the curtains drawn behind her. She had Sky pressed up against her, a knife in her right hand.

"Jane, let her go," I said calmly. "We can sort this out. Don't do something you'll regret."

I took a step forward.

Jane pressed further back against the window, raising the knife toward me.

"Go away!" she sobbed.

"I wish I could, Jane. But I can't."

I stepped closer. I was now within arm's reach.

"You okay?" I asked Sky.

"Yeah," she whispered.

"Okay. Walk slowly toward me. Don't worry. No one is going to hurt you."

She started to move forward. For a moment, I thought Jane was about to let her go. But suddenly, her empty hand shot forward to pull her back.

I stepped forward quickly and pushed Sky away.

Jane brought the knife up and slashed at my chest. I jumped back, making sure Sky was behind me. I extended the baton.

"Sky, go wait in the hallway!" I ordered.

She ran off.

"Jane, just put the knife down. We can sort this out. You can stay, and we will keep an eye on you. Or you can leave. Your choice."

"You're just gonna lock me up!"

"We don't have a choice."

"Yes, you do!"

"Jane, I have seen what these bites can do to people."

"That hasn't happened to me!" she yelled and lunged forward.

The knife came down fast, nearly hitting me in the chest as I stepped back. As she recovered, I used the baton to drive her back. The knife swung again, higher this time. I felt a sting across my cheek.

I kicked her legs out from underneath her. She fell to the floor, bringing the knife back up. I dropped the baton and grabbed her wrist. She used her free hand to claw at me and kicked me in the crotch.

Pain surged through me.

"Jon!" I yelled.

Toby and Jon burst into the room and grabbed her, pulling her away.

I lay on the floor, gasping. My balls ached.

I stumbled out of the flat. Jenna was hugging Sky.

"You're bleeding," Lara said.

"It's fine. It's my balls that hurt," I muttered, winking at her.

She laughed. "I think we're past that."

I smiled, then looked at Sky.

"You okay?"

She looked up from Jenna's embrace and nodded.

Yells from downstairs answered my next question.

I hurried down. Jon and Toby were in the process of throwing Jane out the door.

"No," I said.

They stopped pushing her. Jane stopped yelling.

"Bring her back in," I ordered.

They dragged her back inside. I handcuffed her to the bannister.

"Upstairs. Now," I said to Toby and Jon.

"What about me?" Jane asked.

I shot her an angry look. She shut up.

We went upstairs and sat down in Lara's flat. Everyone was furious.

"Throw her ass out on the street," Jon said. "She tried to kill you!"

"She's scared," I argued.

"And dangerous!" Jon shot back. "What if she turns?"

"We handcuff her to a radiator in an empty room. If she turns, we deal with it. If not, we cross that bridge when we come to it."

"She had her chance, and she attacked us with a knife!"

"We vote on it then," I said.

After a secret vote, I won. Four to three.

Jon was pissed but went along with it.

Toby and I took Jane to a top-floor room, handcuffed her to a radiator, and left her supplies.

"You're just gonna leave me here?" she asked.

"We'll check on you in a day."

"What if I'm not infected?"

"Then we vote again."

"And if they say no?"

"Then we give you supplies and send you to the evac center."

"I'll die before I make it there!"

"Then you should think twice before going all stabby on people," I said, 

And with that, the long night began.

I sat down on the floor, out of arm's reach.

"When did you get bitten? Why?" she asked.

"I'm curious," I said.

"Just before I met you."

"Okay then, let's say about 10:20," I said.

"You have any family?"

No answer.

"Anything to say?"

"Not to you."

"Okay then."

I got up and walked out, closing the hallway door behind me. I left the flat and shut the main door, then grabbed a chair and placed it a few feet back. Sitting down, I kept watch. Someone would guard the door at all times. No one would go in or out until tomorrow at 8 o'clock.

The noise we had made earlier had attracted some undead to our location. They were milling about outside, searching for a sound that was no longer there. All the windows in the rooms we had entered were covered.

Jon had the idea to go outside and spray-paint DEAD INSIDE on the front door to deter others from trying to enter. But we hadn't seen or heard anything human today—apart from Jane.

Due to the number of dead outside, we had to hold off on destroying the stairway, as the noise might attract them. Instead, we settled for moving the supplies to the top floor. There were five rooms there. We cleared them—empty.

The other two floors? No idea. There could be dead waiting, locked inside their rooms. We'd clear them tomorrow. But for now, the top floor was safe, and the door leading into the hallway was solid.

Toby and Jenna took one apartment. Lara kept hers. Ty and Jon were sharing for the night. Sky opted to stay with me for now. I gave her the bedroom, and I took the sofa.

She's asleep now, with the hallway light on and her door open.

The fifth room has Jane in it. I'm watching it now, reading Day by Day Armageddon again. I can just look to my right and see Sky. She wakes up occasionally, looking over to check if I'm still there. Then she goes back to sleep.

No one has gone into Jane's room since I left. No sound has come from there.

I've been sitting here watching since we locked her in. Ty will take over at 11. Jenna at 6.

I couldn't concentrate on my book anymore, so I put it down. I rested my head in my hands, thinking back on the day's events.

So much could have gone wrong.

Sky could have been killed.

I could have been killed just as easily.

Why was I giving Jane a chance?

I reached for my necklace—a metal angel wing. Pressing it against my forehead, I felt the cold metal against my skin.

I sighed.

God, I was bored.

Jon and Ty had gone to their room. Jon was still pissed at me for letting Jane stay, but he'd get over it.

I reached into my pocket, pulled out my phone, and tuned into a radio station.

A couple of evacuation centers had already been overrun. Not that they said this outright—they just stopped mentioning them.

Foreign news wasn't much better.

France was almost as bad as here.

The Americans were making a stand in various places, but it seemed nowhere was safe.

China refused to comment.

I turned off the radio.

Jon walked into the corridor.

"All quiet?" he asked.

"Yeah, not a peep."

"What are we gonna do with her if she isn't infected?"

I sighed. "We put it to a vote."

"And if they want her out?"

"Then she goes."

He nodded. "You're too soft, you know."

I nodded back.

"Look what your fucking cat did to my arm." He showed me his arm, covered in scratches.

I laughed. "It's not my fault she hates you."

"Are we good?" he asked.

"Yeah, man. We're fine. I get why you want to kick her out. It crossed my mind too."

He nodded.

"Night," he said.

"Nighty night, dude."

I plugged in my headphones so I wouldn't disturb Sky and continued my watch.

Maybe tomorrow will be better.