Kill Me, My Love

Chapter 23

After a few minutes, Zina led Lina to the stairwell. They went down two floors. In this corridor, everything was very different from what the girl had seen before. There were no white tiles or medical cleanliness. The walls were metallic, and on the numerous wide doors, there were no handles or locks. Only a small panel into which it was obvious a code needed to be entered.

– Here are these doors, – the girl pointed her finger at the widest door in sight.

– Are you sure? – Lina asked.

– Yup, – Zina replied. – And what are we going to play now? I’m already bored with secrets.

– Play? Well, I don’t know... – the girl mumbled, feverishly thinking through options on how to send the child back to her room. – Oh, I got it. Let’s play hide and seek. But to be fair, you need to go back to your room and count to a hundred there. Deal?

– Oh, counting to a hundred, I don’t know how to do that, – Zina frowned.

– How high can you count?

– I can count to thirty.

– Perfect, then count to thirty. But slowly and loudly.

– Okay, – the little one cheered and dashed back to her room.

For Lina, it was like a stone had fallen off her shoulders. But getting rid of the little one was only half the job. She also had to get inside, avoid the guards, and find the appropriate button doing something with the outer protection. There were still many tasks and problems ahead...

Suddenly, a mechanical beep was heard behind the doors. Lina instantly reacted and darted out into the stairwell, hiding so as to hear and see everything happening in the corridor.

Meanwhile, the doors slowly opened and two guards came out. Clearly, Zina had made a mistake by perceiving two-meter mountains of muscle as fat. How could one call these men – fat? Just paradoxical childish vision...

– What will happen if the boss finds out? – one of them asked while the other punched in the code, thereby blocking the entrance to the room.

Lina even stood on tiptoes to try and glimpse what the bald guy was pressing.

The first digit was five, then seven, nine. Lina didn’t see the last two digits because her view was blocked by his friend.

– Just five minutes. In that time, no disaster will happen, no one will hear about anything, – said the one standing to the side.

– Are you sure?

– I understand you're new here and afraid you might get in trouble, but trust someone who has been working for LaVeys for ten years... – he encouragingly patted the second guard on the back and walked down the corridor.

The first man nervously glanced this way and that (at that moment, Lina was sure he would definitely spot her, and that would be it... Goodbye, Sam, goodbye freedom.) However, the big guy saw nothing and also proceeded forward down the corridor.

As soon as their broad shoulders disappeared around the corner, the girl rushed to the door. – Five, seven, nine... Damn it, what are the next two digits?

Time was running short, and guessing the combination could take a long time. But there was no other choice, so the girl began randomly pressing buttons for the code.

Five, seven, nine, six, four. Five, seven, nine, one, one. Five, seven, nine, two, eight. Everything she pressed did not fit. From tension and fear, medical personnel were drenched with sweat. And she continued feverishly pressing digits again and again. Mentally begging for the guards to be delayed, hoping they would not return too quickly.

– I found you, – Zina exclaimed joyfully.

– Damn! – Lina couldn’t hold back and swore. – Zinka, darling, what are you doing here!?

– What do you mean, what am I doing? I’m looking for you. What are you pressing there? – the little one asked curiously.

The girl was ready to howl with disappointment. How can this be? Why? Why is this happening to her?

– I’m not doing anything, Zina, – dejectedly she pressed her forehead against the door. – Nothing. Don’t you want to look for me again?

– No, that’s not fair. Now it’s your turn.

– Fine, whatever, – she ground her teeth. I’ll count to a hundred. Ready, set, go. One, two, three, four...

The girl ran off somewhere, trying to hide, while Lina continued hunting for combinations. She knew that she had wasted precious time conversing with the little one, and the guards would turn up any moment. Five, seven, nine, three, eight. Five, seven, nine, seven, five.

Suddenly, the mechanism beeped, then clicked, and the door swung open.

– Praise to all gods that exist, – she whispered under her breath and slipped into the room.

Hundreds of monitors were looking right at her. Corridors, rooms, passages, the outside territory. It was obvious that there was no place without cameras. Strange how the guards hadn’t noticed Lina right under their noses. By the way, about the guards. The men were standing in the courtyard, savoring their cigarettes. Now it was clear where they had decided to sneak off to.

Below the screens, on a wide table, there was a control panel. There truly were many colorful buttons here. Various shapes and widths. And of course, there were no inscriptions on any of them. Lina realized she had no choices. So, after taking a few deep breaths, she did the only thing she could – she began rapidly pressing everything in sight.

Within seconds, a siren wailed piercingly. On some screens, men in gray uniforms with guns appeared. They ran somewhere through the corridors; some had already made it out to the courtyard, encircling it. Panic erupted everywhere. People were waking up in their rooms, getting out of bed, and running in different directions. In just a few minutes, absolute chaos ensued.

Meanwhile, Lina kept pressing buttons one after another. She knew that if Sam didn't save her now, she would get it full measure for her misdeeds.

At last, her fingers found the last button. The screens instantly went dark, and her soul felt light as a feather. She had done all she could.

Behind her, the familiar sound of doors squeaking open and curses of the guards was heard.

Lina squinted, bracing herself for the worst.

A heavy hand lay on her shoulder.

– You’ll have to come with us, – one of the bulky men barked.

– She will not go anywhere with you, – Sam spoke clearly and distinctly.