Adam couldn’t tell Carson. Once the men were in formation, and Layla and Maddy were overseeing the session, he excused himself and went to the virology centre. For the second time, he entered the centre and saw everyone busy with one thing and the other. If not for the madness raging outside that might crash over them anytime soon, one could almost take it for another normal day where scientists were doing what they do best. One of them told him where Carson was and Adam went there after assuring the lady that he wouldn’t just walk in without knocking first. Adam could see why she had insisted on that. The notice DO NOT ENTER UNLESS TOLD TO was in front of the room. Adam could see Carson and the woman he had once seen in UChicago working on something. They were both suited up and the woman had a chart and a pen in her hands like she was writing down observations about what Carson had in front of him. They were in what seemed like an intense conversation, so he waited for a pro

“I am sorry,” Jared said again.Adam knew the man was not as remorseful as he was pretending to be. He just wanted Adam to do what he wanted.Jared looked up at him and said, “Okay, what about this? You all wanted us gone anyway. If you think she would be a threat to you all, you can let me have her. I have my car here. I can take her back to...take her away from here. She is my wife and you can’t just expect me to let you kill her like that.”“And someone else is your daughter but you don’t mind that your buddy would have killed her. Wow, real smooth, Watson. Real smooth”“I…”“I am not interested. I like your offer.”“You…you do?”"Dad!” Gwen protested with a whimper. “She already said we can stay.”Layla already spoke to them? Well, it doesn’t matter.Adam could see that the man had initially said what he said because he was expecting Adam to counter him.The coward had no intention of leaving, especially now that he had no human buffer to shield him and his precious family.Adam

Carson and his team were waiting to take Patricia in.Jared made an attempt to follow them into the facility but a look from Adam was enough to stop him.His daughter was not as sensitive as her father, of course.She cried, screamed, and cursed as they were taking her mother away.Maddy was glad to do everyone a favour by shutting her up.With a sharp slap to the face that made a resounding cracking sound that shut Gwen up fast enough, she smiled and declared loudly, “We are going to be best friends.”No one gave the spoilt brat a second look, where she crumpled with a sharp yelp.Her father was too busy staring after his unconscious, undead wife.Those who had stopped to watch the entire thing unfold got back to training and their activities.Soon enough, those training dispersed, and Adam talked to them again.They made arrangements to secure all the perimeters of the property as best as they could.Adam had another meeting with the chemists who were working on the destructive chem

It was like an inferno.He could see the zombies trying to disperse like headless chickens.Each of them had consuming flames on them.The fire was making no sound and Adam was sure that nobody had lit a match from the aeroplane.Yet it was burning furiously.Adam had never seen the magnitude of such a fire before.His phone rang and he picked it up.“Is everyone okay?” he asked automatically.“Yes, all is well here. Did you see that? They fired up those monsters.” Layla said it with a bit of excitement in her voice.“Not your regular fire, I can assure you,” Adam muttered almost to himself. “Then he said, “Make sure nobody gets it in their head to explore. What caused that fire could have an adverse effect.”“Oh, they are not going anywhere.”At this point, Adam’s mind was hardly on the zombies, who were screeching and groaning in pain as they breathed their last.It focused more on the occupants of the aeroplanes.“Where the hell did they go? Did they leave?”Two minutes passed and

“Why didn’t you say something?” “Because I didn’t want everyone to be disappointed if it didn’t work out.”“That makes sense,” Layla answered. Then, “Still, you could have told me. At least then I would have been prepared, instead of gaping like a fool.”Adam lowered his head to look at her.Her face was impassive as she looked back at him and Adam couldn’t read her.“Are you angry?” he asked, just to be sure.“No, I am not,” Layla said automatically. “I would have loved to know beforehand, though. No secrets, remember?”“Yes,” Adam answered. “I am sorry,” he said before he kissed her.She yielded to the kiss, and they stayed locked together for a moment before she opened her eyes, and looked back at the sky where they had been gazing earlier before she spoke.“They are gone,” she said against Adam’s lips.Adam moved back from her embrace and turned so that he could see the sky as well.“So they are. And it seemed we wouldn’t be having any company soon,” he said as he listened as far