Cryonic by Travis Bradberry Page B

You want to watch her eat me, don’t you?” I screamed.
    Alex trembled and shook. Tears welled up in his eyes, and he clasped his hands together, pleading with me to stop.
    â€œJaanet, ooooh Jaaanet . . . come and get me, Janet!” I screamed at the top of my lungs. “Big Al wants to watch you rip me apart!”
    Alex started shuffling anxiously along the perimeter of the room like his shoelaces were tied together. He fixed his gaze on the floor, save an occasional peek in Janet’s direction. She paid him no mind. When Alex reached the middle of the room and was nearest to Janet, he was forced to maneuver around a large machine. This pushed his path even further in Janet’s direction. When Alex came near, she stopped eating for a moment to glare—a lioness guarding a fresh kill. Alex closed his eyes and kept on shuffling, opening them only when the restraint release pedal was within reach.
    As soon as the straps were off, I ran toward the door. Alex opened it, and we shot through the door into the hallway. The hallway was empty and quiet, just as every other time I’d been in it. But this time there were bloody footprints stamped along the corridor floor.

11.
    â€œWhat now?” I asked.
    â€œUm, we need to get out of here before they quarantine the building. They’ll seal it off, and we don’t want to be inside.”
    â€œWon’t they come looking for us?”
    â€œProbably. Depends on how long it takes to clean up this mess.”
    â€œHold this open for me.” I cracked the door to the room and peeked inside. Janet was still on the floor, gorging on the man in the white coat.
    Alex hugged my waist and tried to yank me back into the hallway. “What are you doing?” he grunted.
    â€œJust keep the door open. I’ll be right back.”
    I wriggled free from Alex and tiptoed into the room, making my way toward Barry’s bed. He was still a rabid dog, growling and biting at the air, spittle flinging from his mouth. I surveyed my surroundings for something long and settled on an IV stand. I loosened the knob on the side of the stand and extended the pole as far as it would slide. I tightened the knob and held the stand out above the release pedal for Barry’s restraints. I paused to judge the distance. I figured I had roughly a seven-foot head start on a horse that was going to be quick out the gates. I took a deep breath and let go of the stand, turning for the door before it hit the ground. As I dashed for the door I could hear the whine of the retreating straps and could feel Barry’s clumsy feet stomping on the linoleum. Alex held the door as requestedand I slipped through the crack, turned, and slammed it shut. I could hear pounding on the other side of the door that sounded like more than one person. I must have riled them both up. When I peered through the observation window, I saw Barry and Janet pounding on the door and running into it like a couple of mental patients.
    â€œWhat was that for?” Alex was furious.
    â€œJust making a bigger mess,” I said with a smile.
    â€œAll right, let’s go. I know a way out.”
    We ducked through a door just down the hallway from my room. On the other side was a concrete stairwell. It was cool and a bit damp in there. I heard screaming and banging on the floor above us, haunting sounds that seeped through the walls and echoed within the concrete passageway. We ran down three flights of stairs before we reached the ground floor. Alex cracked the door, and we peered outside. It was a marble-floored lobby, and daylight shone through the glass doors of the building’s entrance just ten paces to our left. Two macabre figures in orange hazmat suits waddled through the front door. We pulled the door tight as they made their way past us.
    Alex cracked the door again and peeked out.
    â€œYou see anybody?”
    â€œNo, it’s clear.”
    â€œLet’s run for