Chapter 81: Finding a fighter

Ember and Aiden, dressed in black, step out of the lab. The haggard people in front of them are obviously researchers and patients from the lab. Neither party says anything. They are sizing each other up.

Ember and Aiden’s eyes roam the people standing in front of them. Their clothes are dirty, their eyes are tired, and their bodies are hunched. Their eyes held a mixture of fear and hope.

“Who are you?” Aiden asked. His stance appeared relaxed, yet was anything but.

“I’m Dr. Audrey Thorne.” The woman who answered was the one who appeared first. “This is my lab. We heard you come in.”

“You heard us?” Ember asked skeptically. “If you heard us come in, then you must have heard us fighting? Why didn’t you come out to help? Better yet, why didn’t you kill them yourselves?”

A disgruntled woman responded, “We’re all weak women and children. How are we supposed to fight them?”

Ember’s face went blank. “You were capable of living this long. Why aren’t you capable of killing a few zombies?”

The woman went silent. There wasn’t really anything she could say that would make sense as to why they didn’t try to kill any zombies. The only reason that made sense is that they were scared.

“You came out now, what do you all want from us?” Ember was not in the mood to be nice to anyone here.

No matter how tired they appeared, they were able to survive this long. She did not believe they were as weak as they were pretending to be.

Dr. Thorne cleared her throat. “We need some help getting out of here. Could you help us?”

Dr. Thorne smoothed her hair. She was an attractive woman if you looked past the grime. She appeared to be in her forties. Her body was well-maintained. Her body was curvy. The kind that would be seductive if used right. Her eyes found Aiden as she spoke.

She straightened her posture, attempting to make herself look sexy despite her disheveled appearance.

Ember sneered, watching her act. “If you want help, look at me. Why are you looking at him? You smell like you crept out of the sewer. Don’t pretend to be sexy here.”

Ember caught the dissatisfaction in her eyes. She rolled her eyes. She did not have time for this. She would rather go back and get the neuro-silver. Just as she thought, she turned back to the lab and left Aiden to deal with the woman.

Aiden watched Ember leave. The doting in his eyes was evident to everyone standing there. But Dr. Thorne wasn’t discouraged. In her mind, men were all the same. Creatures who think with their lower body. If she gave the right temptation, he would take her with him. When he saw her cleaned up, he would want her.

“Dr. Thorne, do you have any specialties?” Aiden asked, voice flat.

He did not care what she thought. What he cared about was whether she would be useful to the base. If she is, he would point her in the right direction. They could wait until they came back. He would not risk sending her directly to the base.

“Pathology. Why do you ask?” She caught his eye. Her body language showed how confident she was in what she did.

Aiden thought briefly about whether he needed such a person on the team. He couldn’t say there was no use for her. She could help Sarah in the medical bay. If she complained, they could kick her out.

“What about the rest of you? What do you do?”

“I am a teacher,” came a small voice.

The woman who spoke was dressed in a dirty cardigan. He hair was pulled into a ponytail, and her face was dirty. Aiden thought she looked decent. His eyes flickered between the woman and Dr. Thorne.

At least she won’t try to seduce me.

“What did you teach?” Aiden asked.

“Art,” her voice was small.

It was clear she understood that her profession was not useful in times like these. But Aiden had no issues with her being an art teacher. To him, it meant she was inventive. She may not be able to contribute art, but she could contribute ideas.

“Are you willing to fight?” Aiden made sure to hold her gaze when he asked. He wanted to see how brave she would be.

He waited. He would not force her to answer. Fighting was her own choice.

He waited until she straightened her back. Her gaze went from being uncertain to being determined.

“Can,” she replied with certainty.

“Good,” Aiden replied. Walking into the lab, he stopped beside Ember. The people outside didn’t follow. “I need a machete.”

Ember did not ask questions. She trusted that whatever Aiden was about to do was for their good. She handed him the machete before continuing her demolition duties.

When Aiden stepped out, Dr Thorne was standing near the woman. Her face was stern. Based on their position, it was clear that Dr. Thorne was usually in charge. Aiden did not care what she said to the woman. As long as they did not bother him.

“Ready?” he called to the woman.

Her eyes flickered to Dr. Thorne before stepping up to Aiden. She nodded. Dr. Thorne’s face turned green.

“Good. What’s your name?” Aiden asked.

He started walking without waiting for her reply. Quickly, she chased after him.

“It’s Amara,” she replied.

“Amara, nice to meet you.”

Leading her down another corridor, their footsteps clicked on the floor. Amara, beside him, stayed close. Her footsteps fell in sync with his. Aiden noticed almost immediately. She mimicked his footstep to make it sound as though only one person was walking.

A cunning look appeared on Aiden’s face. He varied his steps. She followed him.

“Do you plan to stick to the story that you’re an art teacher?” Aiden asked.

Amara stared up at him with innocent eyes. “What do you mean?”

Aiden shook his head. Since she didn’t want to reveal anything, He would say nothing. As long as she did not stab him in the back, he didn’t care where she was from or who she was. He was happy she was not as innocent as she appeared.

Stopping out a pair of double doors, the sound of footsteps were hear behind it. Aiden gave her no chance to retreat. He flung the doors open and pushed her inside. His eyes flickered when he saw she almost dodged him.

Interesting.

As she tumbled into the room, the hungry zombiez ran towards them.

“Aim for the head.” The only advice Aiden gave.

Hacking at the zombies, he watched the mousy woman turn into a killing god. Her hands moved like lightning. Aiden was honestly amazed.

“Catch,” he said.

Without looking, Amara started cutting zombies left and right. He dodged when a zombie came his way. Staying close enough to Amara for her to kill zombies, but in her blind spot, so she could not harm him.

After the last zombie lost its head. She turned on Aiden. Breathing heavily, she advanced on Aiden.

“Your machete or my bullet. Which do you think is quicker?” His hand rested on the gun.

Aiden silently thanked the Ghost Protocol. If not for that, he was certain he would die under Amara’s blade. The standoff lasted until Ember appeared at the door.

“Well, what do we have here?” Ember walked in, amused.

“I’m having a standoff. Don’t spoil the fun, Em.” Aiden chuckled.

Ember raised her hands in surrender. “Just so you know, those idiots you left back there tried to attack me.”

The smile on Aiden’s face vanished. His hand left his gun, and he turned to Ember. The moment his gaze turned away, Amara moved. Aiden dodged smoothly, disarming Amara.

“Those lessons in the pod were a good thing, I see.” Ember grinned.

“Don’t joke now. Are you okay?” His face full of concern, he searched her body.

“I’m fine.” She shook him off. “Are we getting a new teammate?”

Pinching her cheek, he responded. “Yeah, art teacher. Amazing.”

Ember stared at the dirty woman before her. Her innocent face contrasted with the aggression Ember saw a moment ago.

“Approved. If you decide to fuck her, I get to watch.”

Aiden rolled his eyes when he heard what Ember said. “Not interested in fucking her yet.”

The two spoke as though she wasn’t in the room.

“I’m right here, you know,” Amara said indignantly.

“We know,” they replied.

“Would you prefer we say it behind your back?” Ember asked. “If he wants to fuck you, it’s your blessing. His dick is amazing. Chef’s kiss.”

Aiden pinched Ember’s nipple. “Stop it.”

“It’s the truth.” She pouted. “Anyway, are you planning to join or not?” Ember asked the question casually. “If you are going to be a part of the team, I’m warning you now, there’s a lot of fucking involved.”

“Who am I fucking?” Amara asked flatly.

“Whoever you say yes to,” Ember shrugged. “You can’t get him without my approval, though.” She jabbed at Aiden’s chest. “Also, we aren’t going back to the base now. So you need to travel with us til we go back. Up to it?”

Amara watched the way Ember leaned into Aiden. His arms wrapped around her waist. It was clear this was normal for them.

“Okay.”

And with one word, another member was added to the team.

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