nothing really good. Nothing that would work against the zombies. Of course, right now, Sellars was the real danger.
“…should be fine for now. I’ve got twenty of them on the grounds right now. Well, at least until they start chewing on the neighbors.”
Sellars laughed. Actually laughed. It made Sarah sick to her stomach that he talked so casually about the flesh-eating zombies he had created.
But this was good intel. She’d have to run the gauntlet of creatures if and when she got out of this building. Without the special toxic ammunition or even a decent weapon.
“No way, Jennings.” Sellars sounded miffed for some reason. “I’ve got it under control. I’ve got her blood and access to more anytime I want it. I’ll crack the puzzle and we’ll have something to sell Zhao inside of a few days. See if you can get in touch with Rodriguez. I’m still working on McCormick. She cancelled on me for lunch. If she doesn’t come around soon, I may snatch her and force her to work with us.”
The bastard. Talking about kidnapping another woman like it was no big deal. The more she heard him talk, the more she hated this guy.
“No, I like the house. Krychek came through with a good location. There’s even a boat I could use for a quick getaway and plenty of woods for my little army of ghouls.” He snickered again but cut it short when an alarm sounded inside his office. “Fuck. No, there’s someone on the grounds. The proximity alarm just went off. No, I’m not taking any chances. I have her blood. She can rot for all I care.”
Nice. Sarah knew he was talking about her. There wasn’t anyone else in the building that she could detect. At least not on this floor. And he definitely had her blood. The bastard wouldn’t leave that behind after the difficulties he’d had in acquiring it. The good news was that it sounded like he was leaving. Sarah felt her pulse leap at the idea.
Sellars’s voice increased in volume, speed and pitch. He was nervous. She heard him end the phone call, and then she heard cursing and rustling sounds from within the office.
A few minutes later, he was jogging down the hall, a big satchel slung over one shoulder, a large handgun in one hand and a cooler bag in the other. No doubt that was where he’d stored her blood. She couldn’t let him get away, but she also didn’t have a weapon. If she tried to stop him now, he’d shoot her at point-blank range.
Better to bide her time, follow him out of the house and hope to hell it was Xavier who’d breached the defenses. She knew he would be coming for her. It was only a matter of time. Hopefully, he would find her and they could work together to bring Sellars down.
She crept along the corridor as Sellars ran up the stairs. The lights went off as she hit the bottom step and she heard a door slam shut above. She was in the dark, but she knew where she needed to go—up.
Sarah took the stairs as quickly and quietly as she could. She encountered a light switch at the top of the stairs, but she left the light off. When she opened the door, she didn’t want the light betraying her in case Sellars or anyone else waited above. Suddenly she had a bad moment: Had Sellars taken the time to lock the door from the other side? She hoped he’d been in too much of a hurry.
Only one way to find out. She turned the knob. Much to her relief, the door opened. The room beyond was dark, but there were windows, and some ambient light came through them from outside. She was on the first floor, in the kitchen of a very well-appointed house. Of course, she had no idea where the house was. With a sinking feeling, she realized she might not even be on Long Island anymore. Sellars could have taken her anywhere. She didn’t know how long she’d been unconscious.
Before she could start to panic about that, a shadow passed in front of the kitchen window. She crossed the room to peer out cautiously and came face-to-face with a hideous apparition. It was a zombie and half its face had been chewed off. A single eye stared at her blankly, and she had to swallow the yelp of fear that threatened to erupt from her throat.
Too