Hannah paced the small room, her arms folded and hands gripping each arm, as she chewed on her bottom lip. With each passing minute, she grew more and more antsy. There were no sounds coming from outside. No screaming. No growling, just silence. And she wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing.

Ten minutes had passed and he still wasn't back yet, nor was the power on. Although she couldn't say what she was expecting by this point. He never told her whether he'd be back before or after he got the power back on.

As she stood there, there was a thud on the door. Without thinking, full of relief, she rushed over and opened it, and in stumbled a zombie, knocking her backwards to the ground. She screamed before she realized she'd made a sound and clamped her lips closed. Her heart raced as she pushed against the zombies chest, his teeth snapping close to her cheek.

Shit!

The broken broom was sitting on top of the desk, and she had nothing to defend herself with. And if she dared call out to Xavier, then a bunch more would come running, of that she was sure. Her pulse raced, and she fought the will to scream as she wrestled with him. He was too strong, and the realization of that had her throat closing and sharp pains exploding in her chest.

Black ooze dripped from his mouth against her cheek, his eyes were glazed over and wild. She saw death, not just his, but hers too. This couldn't be her end. She was supposed to live until a ripe old age, get married, have kids, live in a house, but not with a white picket fence.

Xavier, please, she begged silently, tears falling down her cheeks and into her hair. He had to come back for her. He said he wouldn't leave her again. Hannah pressed both hands against the man's neck, trying to keep his teeth away from her, but her muscles shook from exertion and his teeth were getting closer.

Hannah rapidly looked around the room, trying to find something, anything that could help save her. But nothing was within reach and she couldn't help but cry. "Please stop," she begged. Wasn't there some part of him that was still alive? Any piece left of his soul? But there was just darkness in his eyes. No signs of awareness that he understood her.

Her mom's face flashed in front of her eyes and the zombie disappeared. Her mom held out her arms to her as though welcoming her to heaven, her face serene and beautiful. I'm so tired, Mom.

Then come, baby girl.

All strength fled from her body. She wanted to go and be with her mom again. The woman who had protected her and loved her. Hannah reached out to her, but her mom shimmered a moment and then disappeared.

"No," she cried. "Come back."

"I'm here, hun."

Her eyes shot open, and she found Xavier staring down at her. A handsome sight for sore eyes. Before she even realized what was happening, he was hauling her up into his arms, slamming the door closed behind him..

"You're okay, right? No bites? No scratches?" He plopped her on the desk and examined her, panic rampant in his features.

"I thought you left me again," she said, her words soft and broken, tears flowing down her cheeks. Nothing had ever made her feel so empty and lost as feeling alone and left behind.

Seemingly satisfied with his body search, he gathered her into his arms again, breathing in her scent. "Never.  You're never leaving my side again."

"What took you so long?" she asked, hiccuping from crying so hard, her arms tightening around him.

"I made it halfway to the engine then I had to hide. There were too many of them on the other side of the floor. And when I heard you scream, it nearly stopped my heart."

"There was a knock on the door, and I thought it was you. But it wasn't. It wasn't and I nearly died," she said, a shiver running from her head to her toes. "Oh god!"

He tightened his hold, kissing her forehead. "You're okay now."

"But for how long?" she asked, looking up at him as she shivered again.

Xavier pondered her question. If they couldn't get the power back on, then they had forty-five hours to decide what to do next. He had no plans on being in the station when the countdown started. But he also was going to do everything in his power to make sure that never happened. The owner had billions of dollars invested in this research station and if he could save it, that would be huge brownie points for his team.

"As long as I'm alive, I won't let anything happen to you."

She burrowed into his chest, as though he could protect her from all the evils of the world. And he desperately wished he could. But now they were dealing with something on a whole other level than the usual creeps that preyed on innocent women. Now they had something that preyed on anything that was alive, with no need to sleep or rest. They were worse than the energizer bunny. He didn't know how he was going to keep them both alive, but he'd give it everything he had.

"As much as I'd love to hold you in my arms a little longer, we have to figure out what to do next," he whispered, running his lips over the top of her head.

"Why can't they just go away?" she asked.

Just as she said that, there was a clunk in the air duct that they'd come through earlier.

"Oh for the love of god!" Xavier groaned. Both their exits were cut off. There were zombies outside the door and in the tunnels.

Hannah's eyes darted from the door to the vent, and she backed as far away from the air duct as she could. "What are we going to do?" she asked, wrapping her arms around herself.

That was a question he didn't have an answer for. He could shoot their way out, but that would draw all the ones in the vicinity to their location. The other option was covering the vent, but he didn't have any tools that could accomplish that and the vent cover was just a clip on one that gave them no protection.

"There's gotta be a way out," she said, her voice rising in panic.

Xavier paced the room, rubbing his chin. In his mind, he could see the station's schematics as clearly as if he were looking at it on a screen. He had them memorized. It's the one thing his mind was good at. As he walked over a small circular carpet that lined the floor, a hollow sound echoed beneath his heel and it made him pause.

He tapped the toe of his shoe on the ground. They were on the ground floor, on solid concrete, it shouldn't sound like that. Leaning down, Xavier tossed the carpet to the side of the room, revealing a trapdoor. He frowned. What the hell? He didn't like the unexpected in his workspace.

Hannah came over and peeked around his shoulder apprehensively. "Where does that go?"

"Your guess is as good as mine, but it's our only option if we don't wanna become zombie chow."

"What if they are down there too?"

Xavier stared into the dark tunnel entrance. There didn't seem to be a bottom that they could see. He hated going in blind, but what other choice did they have? "Only one way to find out." Reaching into a holder on his belt, he pulled out a small flashlight and put it between his teeth. "See you at the bottom."

Hannah watched him move down the ladder, dividing her attention between the door, the vent and their newest revelation. God, she hated the dark. Hated the unknown. Okay, she didn't hate the unknown. It's part of what drew her to her job. Uncovering the unknown was a bit like being a detective.

"It's okay. Come on down," Xavier yelled. "Close the hatch behind you."

"The price is right," she murmured. "Come on down."

Carefully she descended into the dark pit, grateful that she could still see his light like a beacon in the darkness. Letting out a breath, she wiped her sweaty palm on her shirt before grabbing the next rung down. Heights were not her thing. She could do an airplane no problem, but hated being the one responsible for maneuvering the distance herself. One slip and splat, she's dead.

Surprisingly, she reached the last rung and Xavier put his hands around her waist and gently eased her to the solid ground. In the dim light of his flashlight, his eyes found hers. And everything else faded away for a moment, except the sizzling heat escaping his fingers as they grazed her hip bone. Her hands came up to his chest, her fingers gripping his shirt.

"God, I want to kiss you," he said, but then took an abrupt step back. "But if I did, I'd be a lost cause on what we're supposed to be doing."

"Ya. Right," she mumbled, stuffing her hands in her pocket. "Me too."

"Don't give me that look," he begged. "You don't know how badly I want to."

"No. It's fine," she sighed. "We have other matters at hand, like figuring out where the heck we are." She looked by Xavier and down the long dark hallway. The emergency generator didn't appear to work down here.

Xavier took her hand, and they started their trek down the hallway. He held up his flashlight and shone it down the hall, barely penetrating the darkness at the other end.

"This is one long tunnel," she said, peeking out from behind him as she shivered. His hand tightened around hers, and he let out a breath. She couldn't tell who was more scared, she or Xavier. But she knew he wouldn't announce it to the world.

They inched down the hallway in silence, only noise was the ringing in her ears that she often heard when no other noise was present. Maybe that was her brain's attempt to ignore the lack of sound.

After what felt like forever, his light lit up a solid steel door with a wheel type handle. "Let's see what's inside." Xavier said, handing her his flashlight.

"I'm not so sure about this," she said apprehensively. "What if those things are in there?"

"I'm willing to bet this is the only way into whatever is behind that door, so I doubt there are any. But  if you'd feel more comfortable, I'll go in first." Turning to face the door, he placed both hands on the wheel, giving it a spin.

"Nu uh. You aren't leaving me out here alone," she said, as she watched the door open, unable to stop another involuntary shiver. It reminded her of the reason she rarely, if ever, watched scary shows. She preferred to relax in her spare time, not be scared silly by some dumb jump scares.

Xavier disappeared inside the next dark room and Hannah rushed in after him. He reached over and took possession of the flashlight once again, and she felt oddly helpless in that moment. Keeping her hands busy helped her brain stay focused and not get lost in the possibilities of what could happen.

As the light spanned the width of the room, it revealed what looked like a common area with some dusty sofas in one corner, a few old pinball games, and a pool table along the opposite wall. Far in the back was a dining area and beside it there was a door that she presumed led to a kitchen.

"Is this what I think it is?"

"Bomb shelter?"

"Ya."

"Looks like it," Xavier responded, letting his light wander around the room again.

"You didn't know about this?"

"It isn't on any of our schematics of the station. Although, they usually aren't because they are more of a secret thing and only the top dogs generally know about them." He wasn't even certain that the director knew about it. It's likely the director before Adams knew about it and died with that knowledge a number of years ago.

"You'd think at least someone would know about it."

"After our last director died, there was a huge restructuring of the crew and most who were here were transferred to another location and new people were brought in. And since we've never had a situation that needed it, no onr ever looked into it"

"We could go back up and get everyone and come down here," Hannah suggested.

"Let's take a look around first, okay? Make sure everything is secure and operational."

The zombies wouldn't be able to open the entrance into the tunnels, but that didn't mean they wouldn't run into any problems down here. No one had been in the shelter for ages and for all he knew, they were using what little oxygen it had left.

"Let's find the generator room. They usually have one that's just for the shelter," Xavier said as he walked towards the first door on their left, just behind the couches that were set up in a L pattern. Upon opening the door, he shone his flashlight inside and saw a couch, a desk and a computer. He turned to face Hannah who was right behind him. "Just an office."

"I can't believe the place is so small. It doesn't look like the entire station would fit in here."

"Nope, it's for the big kahunas."

Hannah scrunched up her nose in disgust. "They bring people all the way out here to work, but in the event of an emergency, only the bosses are provided for? That's sickening."

"I don't disagree. Come on," He took her hand and marched towards the hallway near the games area.

"You don't by any chance have an extra flashlight, do you?" she asked. "I feel a little helpless here."

Leaning down, Xavier dug into the lowest pocket on his cargo pants and pulled out a mini flashlight, then gave her his slightly bigger one.

"Thank you," she said. "I'll check the right side. You check the left?"

"Let me know if you find it."

"Likewise."

The first room he found was a locker room with showers and toilets. Stepping inside, he left Hannah to check the room on the opposite side. The generator room would be off the beaten path. Most likely behind an unmarked door. But all he found was a janitorial room near the showers.

If they couldn't get out, this would be the place to hunker down if they couldn't stop the self-destruct from going off. That's most likely why this shelter was made. But if that's the case, then there would need to be a ladder that leads out away from the station, otherwise you'd just get buried alive.

If that was the case, they should be able to get the power turned on, and lead everyone in the back way. That was his hope anyway, providing they could find other crew members still alive. He didn't even know who all was left.

"Xavier?" Hannah called, excitement running through her voice. "I found it. I think."

"Coming!"