Mary sits in Margaret's room, the open door allowing for me and Alena to peek in on them every once in a while. It is still strange to have her up here, but it was practically a last resort.
She suffers from severe depression. Her wife had died from the disease that is spreading like wildfire, and now she is pregnant with a baby she does not want. It is hard to watch her sometimes, how she gets a far away look in her eyes. When ever she is forced to undergo her weekly exam, she becomes practically catatonic. All of us know better than to say anything about the bundle of cells growing inside her.
When I had first heard about her, I had been angry, since she was giving Finn something I never could. But then the guilt had set in. She was forced into this position just as Finn had been, and she wants out of it so badly.
That's why she is up here with us. Her depression is becoming severe, to the point where the scientists had caught her trying to overdose on some pills she had stolen, two different times. She is better up here, where she is not constantly being analyzed.
She spends her days listening as Margaret tells stories, seeming to become a little lighter as the other woman talks. Mary never contributes to the conversation, though, just watches Margaret from the chair we had dragged into the room, her arms wrapped around her legs.
Alena walking through the door from the stairs draws my attention away from the room, looking over at the doctor. She has a large box in her arms, a proud smile on her face as she blows a few lose strands of hair out of her face.
Viola lets out a coo when she sees her, smiling from where she is laying in the travel crib. I have no idea where Alena gets all the baby things, but I am not going to complain. The travel pen is a dream come true, because now, Viola can have tummy time while not laying on the ground. Remy likes it too, for some odd reason. He likes to climb inside and babble at her, trying to play cars with her, despite Viola just trying to shove the toys in her mouth.
We all look up as Alena reaches the desk, setting down the box with a loud thunk. Remy calls out a quick greeting to her before returning to whatever game he is trying to explain to Viola. Harry just cracks open an eye at the sound but just goes back to sleeping once he realizes there is no threat.
"What are you so excited about?" I ask, leaning back in my chair as Alena starts to dig through the box.
"So much shit," she says, a wide grin on her face. "You know how the guards are doing their training today?" I nod my head. "Well, that left the storage room without anyone to watch over, so I decided to take advantage."
"Won't they notice the missing stuff?" I ask.
She waves her hand in dismissal of my question. "Psh, Mrs. Sheridan is the person who keeps the records. She just 'recounted' after I left."
"Ah."
Mrs. Sheridan in the lunch lady's daughter. Both of them are the sweetest, always cooing over Viola. They even watch Viola from time to time. I had been wary at first, but I saw how lonely they were, just as everyone else is in this place. If having her around brightened their day, then I wouldn't mind being able to have a few baby-free hours. Besides, Harry and Remy go every where she goes, so that helped to calm my worry.
Alena chucks something at me, and I scramble to catch it before it hits my face. She lets out a cackle before pulling out some more stuff. Looking down at my hands, my eyes widen when I see that she had tossed me a chocolate bar. Not even one of those cheap ones that you find at gas stations. No, it is one of the specialty kinds.
"Wow," I say, mouth watering at the deliciousness sitting in my hands. "Thanks."
Alena just shrugs, a small smile on her face. "No problem." Her smile widens then. "Look what else I found."
By then, she just hands me the box, allowing me to look through it myself. My hands pass over softness, and I grasp whatever it is, pulling it out. Clothes, so many clothes. Most of it is baby clothes, the next size up for Viola was is getting too big for her others. There are so many of them: onesies, little pants, socks, even a jacket. Those aren't even the only clothes. There are some in there that are clearly Remy's size, and some that look like they would fit me and Finn.
"How did you even find all of this?" I ask in astonishment.
Alena plops down in the seat next to me, watching as I pull everything out, closely inspecting them before refolding them into neat piles.
"They have so much stuff in the basement, it's ridiculous. Why do you think they have a records keeper? Otherwise, they wouldn't notice if something went missing." She takes another chocolate bar from the box, unwrapping a corner of it before taking a bite. "I mean, it did take me a while to find what I was looking for, but I did."
"These are great," I say. "Thank you."
Her smile becomes softer at my words. "We all deserve something nice in a place like this."
Footsteps come up the stairs, and we quickly scramble to get the supplies put away, but the door opens before we have a chance to stash everything. Finn walks through the door, and I let out a massive sigh of relief. He gives us confused looks as he walks over but doesn't question our antics.
Remy immediately gets excited once he sees Finn, calling out his name from where he is now standing in the play pen. Viola lets out her own squeal of delight, seeming to be feeding off of Remy's excitement. Finn leans down to pick them both up, not struggling at all with the weight.
"They finally let you go?" I ask, coming to stand next to him.
"Yeah, Delaney got up to his usual antics, so they stopped bothering with me." Remy cuddles into his side, while Viola starts to fuss a little bit.
Alena is already walking over with a pre-made bottle, allowing Finn to calm the hungry baby before she has a chance to cry.
Grabbing a chair, I drag it over to where he is sitting. "Alena was more amazing than usual today," I tell him.
Finn looks at me in confusion for a few seconds, but his eyes widen marginally when I hold out the chocolate bar.
He breaks off a small piece before popping it into his mouth, letting out a satisfied moan. Remy immediately starts to squirm, wanting everything that Finn gets. Pretty soon, the chocolate bar is completely gone, and we are all satisfied.
Viola is still wide awake, happy once her belly is full. She is old enough now where she is awake for so much longer, smiling all the time and almost able to roll over. It makes me a little anxious but also happy to see that she is growing healthy.
And Remy, he is doing so well. I have a feeling that he was neglected at his old home, not getting any of the attention he needs. It makes me sad to think about what his parents were like, but it does answer the question of how they could leave him behind.
I don't know how long we sit there, Alena pulling over a chair as well as we talk. It's one of the few times where we are not constantly looking over our shoulder, worried that we may get in trouble for every little thing we do.
This tranquility is broken, though, when an all too familiar siren rings through the air. We all exchange looks before running over to the window, Finn handing me a crying Viola while cradling Remy against his chest.
It is the same as before, beasts coming out of the woods while guards run out of the building. There are more of the monsters this time around and they don't go down easily. The guards are too distracted by the monsters to notice Delaney sprinting back towards the hospital, inside the back door.
Confusion comes over me, but I don't try to think too much about it. He is always up to something, and he never likes to share what is going on in his head. I have found it easier to stop asking questions.
The guards are at a stalemate with the beasts, two guards being taken down for every monster that is killed.
The intercom crackles on, and a voice comes over the speakers. "Everyone please proceed to your rooms, where you are to lock the doors and remain until the situation outside has been brought under control."
Alena is the first to force herself away from the window, quickly walking over to Margaret's room. She steps inside, talking to the two women, Margaret looking worried while Mary just stares out the window. Alena seems to be reassuring them, before rolling in a cart of supplies. She meets my eyes right before closing the door.
I'm going to stay in here with them. You guys should probably head back to your room before the guards notice you out here."
"Good idea," Finn mumbles, quickly crossing the floor.
"Wait, grab the box."
Finn quickly detours, tucking the box under one arm while walking back over to the stairs. I run after him, holding Viola closely against me as we make our way up to our room. In our hallway, people are scrambling around, obviously scared about what is going on.
Danny's door is already closed, so we make our way over to our room. Finn locks it once we are all inside. Our curtains are still open from this morning, and I quickly make my way over to the window.
My heart stutters as I look at the scene below. The guards are struggling, not able to hold back the beasts that just keep coming out of the woods. There are too many to count, and they are quickly gaining ground.
"Finn," I whisper, looking back at him with wide eyes. "I don't think they are going to be able to hold them off."
A grim look comes over his face, but he doesn't question my judgment. Instead, he sets Remy down on the edge of the bed, quickly packing our stuff, into the packs we had long ago emptied. We have done this so many times that is doesn't take long to stuff all of our stuff, including the new gifts from Alena, into our packs.
Finn is just zipping the last pack when there is a knock at the door. We exchange wary glances at the sound, knowing that whoever is on the other side probably doesn't want anything good.
But the voice that comes shocks me. "Finn, Alden, come on. It's time to go," Delaney's all too familiar voice says. "We're getting out of here."