Part 3
As Tess suspected, the examination was based on looking for any skin marks.
They were allowed to keep their underwear as the doctor had a special x ray machine that allowed him to see the skin beneath the fabric.
“Satisfied now?” Tess asked in angry voice. Chloe could tell she was getting impatient.
“Miss, this matter is very serious,” the doctor said. “Please, stay still. Just few more minutes.”
“We weren’t bitten for a Christ’s sake!” Tess raised her voice. “Do you really think those idiots can think long enough to actually bit me there?! There have no brain!”
That did it. The doctor lost his patience and told them to get dressed.
“Finally!” Tess huffed. “Can we get a room now?”
“Tess, I think you’re just making it worse,” Chloe told her quietly when they got behind the screen to put their clothes back on.
“Oh, really? Excuse me if I’m so anxious to get it over with. Chloe, my brother is out there! He’s the only family I have left! I can’t… I won’t lose him.”
“Hey, hey,” Chloe put her hand on Tess’s arm. “I’m sorry… Tess, whoever can make it out there, it’s Lex. He’s strong. If one good thing came out of Lionel raising him, it’s that. He would never let his son to be weak, so I am sure that Lex will be alright.”
“I hope so.”
“We also have another problem,” Chloe noticed. “Morgan Edge. You have no idea how long I’ve been trying to find some evidence to put him away.”
“And now you can’t even do that,” Tess sighed. “It’s the apocalypse, Chloe. He can get away with absolutely anything. The worst part is that there is no other place to hide for us.”
“We’ll figure something out. First we need to get to know this place.”
“Are you ready, ladies? Then you can go.”
“Who are you exactly?” Tess asked, coming over to the doctor. “Are you working for the LuthorCorp?”
“I was a genetics at Star Labs,” he said. “I had no other choice but to come here. It was the only way to survive.”
“What’s your name?” Chloe asked, seeing that they misjudged him. He wasn’t as bad as the first impression they’d had of him. Maybe it was because they’d been so angry that they’d had to be examined.
“Emil Hamilton,” the answer came.
***
Finally, Tess and Chloe walked out of the doctor’s office and met with the same guard that had taken them there.
“Are you absolutely sure Lex Luthor isn’t here?” Tess asked again.
“Sorry, m’am, haven’t heard of him. Now… follow me.”
He started to lead them out of there, to the elevators.
“This whole place needs to run somehow and we all settled here in a hurry,” the guard said, “so there are duties everyone have to fulfill if they want to stay.”
“I can imagine what Edge does to those who don’t,” Tess murmured under her nose.
“I have a direct order to assign you, Miss Mercer, to the protection unit. Can you shoot?”
“Of course, you can call me a pro,” she said.
“Good. Then you will be trained as one of the guards. Your gun will be returned to you… You, miss Sullivan, on the other hand, will be assigned to keeping this place… clean,” he finished awkwardly like he didn’t know how to call it or diminish her.
“Excuse me?” Chloe raised her eyebrows.
The elevator went up.
“You have no qualifications useful to us and…”
“Useful?! Qualifications?! I am a Daily Planet journalist! What more do you need?!”
“Do you see an office and a printer in here? We don’t have time to write news. There is no one to receive them anyway. All the people in here already know everything from our leader. You will have to keep this place clean as few other women.”
“Women?! What kind of a…” Chloe started again, but felt Tess’s elbow on her side. She glared at her new red headed friend.
“Leave it,” Tess whispered. “Do you really want to agitate Edge? He knows exactly who you are and he can bring you down with a snap of his fingers. It’s about your life, Chloe. Leave it for now.”
Chloe bit her lip. Tess was right. Edge wanted to send her a message and silence her. If that didn’t work, he would do something more extreme.
The blonde reporter - or should she say ex reporter - just sighed heavily.
“Here you go. Your room.” The guard opened the door for them as they stepped out of the elevator on the fifth floor.
It looked like any other motel room. Squared. Two beds. Two chairs. Surprisingly - a TV - but a small one. And a small bathroom as well.
“Sorry, but…” Chloe started, “I don’t seem to have any warmer clothes… and I’m pretty sure Tess has nothing else than what she’s wearing either…”
“You’ll get some,” the answer came. “Take some rest. There are three meals per day. Breakfast at 6, lunch at 12 and dinner at 6 again. Don’t be late. The canteen is on the ground floor. Tomorrow you will also start your job. Miss Sullivan, you will be expected at the ground floor in room 1.2, and you, Miss Mercer, level minus 1, the armory.”
“Thank you,” was all Tess could say.
As the guard disappeared, Chloe moaned, “Are you fucking kidding me?!”
“Chloe, we need to stay low for a few days and then we’ll figure something out,” Tess tried to make her feel better.
“What’s there to figure out, Tess?! We are stuck here! There’s nothing to go to outside, unless you want to die and become one of those…” Chloe’s voice trailed off and she shivered. “And here?! What will we get here?! Tyranny! It’s Morgan fucking Edge!! He’s worse than Lionel Luthor!”
“Chloe…”
“Don’t Chloe me! I’m right! We’re dead either way! We’re in prison here!” Chloe walked over to the bed, fell on it and started crying.
“Chloe, I’m really sorry,” Tess’s voice softened. “You’re not the only one who lost everything.”
“I have no one, Tess. No one. You, at least, have your brother.”
“I don’t even know if he’s alive…”
“We have to hold on, don’t we?” Chloe asked, facing Tess with her face wet from tears.
“There is no other choice, but to hold on and see what the future brings. This can’t be the only safe haven in the world.”
“Maybe… maybe the epidemic didn’t spread outside America?” Chloe voiced her feeble hope.
“It did,” Tess had an answer. “It did. Few of my father’s patients were from Europe. One from Russia, one from France and one from Germany. And there would’ve been more to come… they even wanted to distribute the cure, but… I don’t know if they actually did,” she sighed, hated not to know, too.
“It sucks,” Chloe said.
“Yes, it does.”
***
They spent four days there. Four long, tedious days with Chloe playing a house keeper and Tess being trained.
And in the night of the fourth day, a rattle woke them up.
“What the…?” Tess asked, immediately sitting on bed, thinking that zombies breached their security and were inside. Even though it seemed impossible.
Somebody was knocking hard on their door.
“Miss Mercer! Are you there?!”
Tess jumped out of bed and came to the door to open it. She face a guard from the night shift.
“Miss Mercer.”
“Yes?” Tess asked.
Chloe also got out of bed and came closer.
“There is a man by the gate, claiming he’s Lex Luthor.”
“What?!” Disbelief, hope, worry, happiness… all of that was in Tess’s voice now.
“You need to come with me.”
“Of course!... Chloe!” she turned to her new friend. “Lex…”
“I’m so happy for you, Tess!” Chloe squealed and was about to turn around when Tess grabbed her hand.
“Come with me. I can’t do this alone… what if he’s…” She didn’t have to finish. Chloe understood and let her lead her.
They got out of the building quickly and there, on the other side of the gate, was a tall bald headed man.
Chloe recognized his patrician features. It was Lex. No one else.
She couldn’t have forgotten this handsome face, straight nose, pride posture.
She had had a crush on him back when she’d been in high school. It had been silly and stupid, wouldn’t lead to anything, but thanks to her childish obsession she could know for sure now that it was him.
“Lex! You’re ok!” Tess yelled. “Let him in! What are you waiting for?!”
“Miss… he can…”
“LET HIM IN!”
“Quiet!” The guard got angry. “It’s the middle of the night!... He can be bitten!”
“Do you really think I would jeopardize my sister’s safety like that?!” Lex asked angrily. “I am fine! Let me in!”
“The doctor will see you first thing in the morning,” the guard said while gesturing for another to open the gate. “And you,” he turned to Tess, “you need to keep an eye on him. He’s your responsibility now. If he shows any signs… shoot him.”
“Sure,” she answered bitterly.
The gate was opened and Lex got inside. Tess hugged him immediately.
“I was so worried!” she sobbed into his neck. “I’m so glad you’re made it!”
When they parted, Lex’s eyes set on Chloe.
“Chloe Sullivan,” he said, “and we meet again.”
So he did recognize her… She swallowed hard.
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