Free The Ashes: an Eden prequel by Keary Taylor Page B

I say as we turn left down a hall.  “Gave me food, kept me from starving.  I think it must have been a guard since he opened the doors.  But he said not to touch anyone.  You know anything about that?”
    He shakes his head.  “Nope, but by the looks of this place, I think it’s safe to assume that’s sound advice.”
    And I see a body.  It’s lying across a table on its back.  It’s staring at me, its eyes wide open.  But they don’t look right.
    “Yeah, I’d say that’s probably some pretty good advice,” he says as we pause.
    The inmate’s eyes are metallic, with ridges that shouldn’t be there, its iris an opal-looking color, all shimmery in the wrong ways.
    There’s nothing human about those eyes.
    “Come on,” I say, glancing back once more at the body.  “Let’s get out of here.”
    “You think it was some kind of disease?” the guy says.  “Think that’s what happened to the guards?  There was some kind of outbreak and so they took off?”
    “I don’t know,” I say and shake my head.  All I’m thinking is that I need a way to defend myself.
    We start checking doors and offices.  I see a sign that says “Warden” and duck inside.
    We find three handguns in a drawer and a small handful of ammunition.
    “Keep this one,” my companion says as we both look at the extra.  “I’m in for fraud.  I’m not exactly the type who knows how to use this thing.”
    I can’t blame him for assuming I know how to use a weapon.  Fraud did find me in the SHU.
    I take the extra ammo and slip it into my pocket after making sure both firearms are fully loaded.
    We hear the sound of movement outside the office.
    “Who’s there?” I shout, leveling both firearms.  I haven’t handled a weapon in seven years, but it all comes back in an instant.  Just like riding a bike.
    No one replies, but I hear the sound of feet coming closer.
    I pause for a moment when I see something on the warden’s desk.  There’s a letter.  And it has my name on it. 
    I grab it and tuck it into my back pocket.
    “Come on,” Fraud says, a hint of fear creeping into his voice.  “Let’s just get out of here.”
    I nod, my eyes still on the door.
    I peek around the corner before we exit.  No sign of whomever, or maybe what ever else is out there.  But I can still hear it, just around the corner.
    “Medical’s this way,” Fraud says as we turn a corner.
    At the sound of his voice, our pursuer seems to catch onto our location.  Feet pound against the gray pavement underfoot. 
    “Move it!” I yell, shoving my companion from behind.
    The sound of feet keeps getting closer as we dodge down halls and around corners trying to shake it off.  It disturbs me that I don’t hear anything else.  No hard breathing.  No one shouting at us.  Only the sound of running.
    I dare a glance back.  There is a man in a doctor’s white lab coat chasing us.  His eyes gleam.
    I suddenly stumble, something soft and lumpy bringing me down to the ground.  I’ve tripped over Fraud, taken down by all the debris on the floor.  We roll in a tangled heap for a moment and I know that thing following us is going to catch us.
    Grabbing the guns that have fallen from my hands, I turn to take aim.  But I stop.  The crazed doctor has his hand around Fraud’s throat, lifting him a good six inches off the ground. 
    I consider running for a moment.  Medical is right behind me.  I could make it.  I could finally get out of here and be free.
    But instead, I take aim and squeeze the trigger.
    The doctor instantly drops my companion, his hand a bloody mess from my shot.  His eyes turn on me and without hesitating I shoot again.  Exactly where I aim.  Right between the eyes.
    It drops to the ground in a heap.
    “Come on,” I say, looking at Fraud as he places his own hands around his throat, coughing violently.
    Don’t let anyone touch you.   That’s what the guard had said.  His warning echoes in the back of my head as