This choice: Liz finds the room empty, and heads back to the others... • Go Back...Chapter #5Liz finds the room empty, and heads back to the... by: David   Liz found the room empty, and let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding. She left the room and headed out into the hallway, intending to return to the others. However, just as she stepped into the hall something slammed into her. She staggered, righted herself, and then frantically looked to see what had hit her.
She saw a dark-haired, Caramel-skinned woman leaning against the wall, breathe coming in ragged gasps, one hand at her side where she was clearly nursing a Charley-horse. The woman was dressed in a lab coat and sensible shoes, khaki pants peeking out between the two. She was a bit shorter than Liz and didn’t seem to be exhibiting any of the signs of infection.
Liz glanced around. The hallway extended a fair way in each direction, with branchings running off the main hall. The woman must have come from one of them.
Liz instinctively reached over the help the woman, who clutched at Liz just as she’d clutched at the wall, her breathing still very hard. Her eyes were wild and panicked and she forced a handful of words out. “Mice (gasp) lab (huff) virus (wheeze) . . . .”
Liz blinked, then fell back on sarcasm. “Um, what are three words that make no sense together, Alex?” she quipped.
The woman shook her head in frustration, pointing behind her, body twisting a bit, face twisting in pain as she tried to straighten up. She’d clearly been running as fast as she could, and now Liz could see and Identifcation badge. The name was Maria Alvarez, and Liz deduced that the woman was one of the Spanish exchange students who’d come to work in the biology lab.
Liz realized that the lab was on the far side of the building. If anyone was working on experimentation with the virus, it would be in the lab. Liz thought back on the three words Maria had just said, and began to feel uneasy.
“Maybe we should keep going,” Liz said gently. “This way?” she asked, pointing in the direction opposite to the one Maria had to have been going when she smashed into Liz. Maria nodded, face smoothing in relief before crinkling in pain as she started forward.
Now Liz heard what might be footsteps, though soft, coming from behind Maria. It made her uneasy, and she knew that if she helped the stranger she’d be slowed, increasing the chances of her being caught. However, could she just abandon the woman? Also, she seemed to know what was going on, and that information could be useful.
Liz considered whether to help Ms. Alvarez or make a run for it unencumbered.  | Members who added to this interactive story also contributed to these: |
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