"Detective Cooper, this is obviously a mistake," Oliver said for what felt like the hundredth time and shook his head. "I don't know what else to tell you."

"Yes, of course it's a mistake," the detective across the table said with a sigh as he leaned back in his chair and dropped his pen on his notepad. "Honestly, do you think I'd keep asking you if I believed you?"

"But it's true," Oliver said and tried to gesture with his handcuffed hands. "I just landed on the island."

"That still left still plenty of time for you to kill Dr. Armstrong."

"Why would I do that? Why would I kill the very person who invited me here? You have my letter."

"This?" Cooper held up the letter from Armstrong. "Could be a fake. It's not exactly an invitation, is it? In fact, it says nothing about inviting you here."

"Customs called and verified it."

"The number could be fake."

"He called the hotel."

"Says you."

"Check the call records."

Cooper leaned forward across the table. "How do you know it was him?"

Oliver opened his mouth to protest, but he knew Cooper was right. There was no way of knowing whether Armstrong had written the letter to him, if it had been him on the phone. He felt a chill run down his spine. Was he being setup?

"See?" Cooper said and wagged his finger. "Let's say, for the sake of argument, that you're right," Cooper continued and leaned back in his chair as he lit a cigarette. "If you didn't do it, why didn't you contact the authorities as soon as you found the devastation at Armstrong's office?"

"I was scared, all right?"

"Scared of being caught, I bet."

"No!" Oliver slammed the table with his hands. "I hid in the closet when you guys came in."

Cooper furrow his eyebrows and leaned forward. "The closet?"

"Yes, the maintenance closet on the right. It was locked when you tried to open it."

"Locked, huh?" Cooper rubbed the stubble on his chin, then stood up. "I'll be right back."

As the door closed with a click, Oliver was left alone with his thoughts. He tried to pull his hands down into his lap, but the handcuffs were chained to the top of the table.

Had he been mistaken? Was Armstrong really not the one that wrote him that letter, not the one to call him at the hotel? Oliver had taken it upon himself to go to the island without even letting Armstrong know he was coming. Now, he couldn't help but wonder if he had been too hasty and jumped into a situation he did not belong in.

Cooper returned and sat down, his eyes on Oliver. "You said you were in the locked closet and someone tried to open it?"

"Yes, just before I bolted out the window."

"See, here's the thing, Oliver." Cooper paused and held Oliver's gaze. "No-one touched that door handle."

It was Oliver's turn to frown. "What do you mean? I clearly heard it rattle. Someone was trying to get in."

"It wasn't me, it wasn't us. We saw the scene and immediately took a step back to avoid contamination of the scene. It's only now, as we speak, that crime scene investigators are on scene."

Oliver felt a chill run down his spine. If the police hadn't been in the office, who had it been?

"Someone else was there," he said and stared off into the distance. The figure he had seen in the distance as he was getting into the car?

"Either that, or you're lying."

"There was someone outside, in the parking lot. At the very edge, beyond my car. Was that you?" Oliver looked up a Cooper.

Cooper shook his head. "I came from the main entrance. It was just me and my partner."

"Your partner?"

"It wasn't her."

"I don't understand-" Oliver began and shook his head.

"Listen, your story is strange. If what you say is right, we'll find your fingerprints on that handle, on the inside of the door. If we find fingerprints of another individual on the handle on the outside, that isn't you, that supports your story. On the other hand, if we find only yours..." Cooper's voice trailed off. He let his words sink in and then stood.

"For now, you'll have to wait here while we investigate the circumstances of Mr. Armstrong's death and disappearance."

For the next few hours, Oliver sat alone, his only company the lamp that hung from the ceiling directly above the center of the table. Now and then, he heard the shudders of the building and the creaking of the frame as the wind gusts hit the wall just beyond the interrogation room. The lights flickered from time to time but remained on.

When Cooper returned, he sat down quietly in the chair across from the table. He removed his hat and ran his finger through his hair, then looked up at Oliver just as the door opened behind him. A woman stepped in and closed the door behind her. When she laid eyes on Oliver, she froze mid-step. Her mouth fell open and eyes widened as she locked eyes with Oliver.

She recovered before Cooper noticed, and stepped up behind Cooper, her hands folder across her chest.

"It seems we owe you an apology, sir," she said curtly, ice in her voice. Her steely blue eyes never left Oliver's. "We have confirmed your version of events through the forensic evidence on the scene."

"So I'm free to go?"

"You are free to go, with our apologies for the inconvenience," she said with a nod. "Detective Cooper, can you please take care of the paperwork?"

"Sure-"

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"Now?" she said, cutting him off.

Cooper stood, and nodded, then disappeared out the door. When the door clicked shut, the woman locked the door and sat down in Cooper's chair.

"Claire, what are you doing here?" Oliver blurted out as she unlocked his handcuffs.

"What am I doing here? I'm in charge around here. The question is, what are you doing here? What do you want from me?"

"I, I—"

"Listen, Oliver, I came here to get away from whatever we used to be," she said and gestured towards him. "I came here to get away, to never see your sorry face again. Yet, here you are." She shook her head, a look of disgust on her face.

"I had no idea you were here," Oliver said and rubbed his wrists as Claire collected the cuffs and put them in her coat pocket.

"Right."

"Is Matthew here too?"

Claire shot him a look. "Where else would he be? I didn't abandon him like you did."

Oliver shook his head and sighed as he raised his hands in surrender. "Claire, I don't feel like having this discussion now, ok? I didn't abandon you, I don't know how many times I've told you that, so let's just leave it at that, all right?"

"Yeah, you chased around the world looking for mutants, zombies or whatever. You left us to fend for ourselves when the outbreak started."

"That's not true and you know it."

Claire sighed and looked down on her hands before she spoke again. "Perhaps not, Oliver, but that's how it felt to me. That's how Matthew felt."

Oliver reached for her hand but changed his mind when she withdrew it. "Claire..."

She looked up at him, eyes glistening. "It doesn't matter now. You're free to go."

"What about Armstrong?"

"It's a routine homicide investigation. We have your side of the incident so for all I care, you can pack your bags and fly back to where you came from." Claire stood and opened the door.

Oliver was going to argue that what he had seen hardly seemed like a routine homicide, but he changed his mind as he stood and exited the interrogation room. Just speaking with Claire for a few minutes had been exhausting, and trying to tell her how to do her job was unlikely to improve the situation.

He signed a few forms with Detective Cooper and accepted Cooper's offer to drive him back to his car. They returned to Armstrong's office through the pouring rain and parted ways with another apology from Cooper for the inconvenience.

"I hope you sort it out," Oliver said as he opened the door of the squad car.

"We will. Claire is a clever one."

Oliver nodded. "Yes, that she is. Thanks again for the ride."

"Here," Cooper said and handed Oliver a business card. "If you remember anything else or need anything, give me a shout, ok?"

"Thanks, I appreciate it."

The ride back to the hotel was uneventful and left Oliver to himself to analyze what had happened during the last few hours. By the time he reached his hotel, everything seemed like a blur. He returned the rental car keys to the front desk and took the elevator up to his room.

As he retrieved the hotel room key from his pocket and tried to put it into the lock, he found that his hand was shaking so violently that he had difficulty inserting the key into the lock. He exhaled, closed his eyes and forced himself to relax. On the third try, he managed to get the key in and felt a sense of relief flood him as the door unlocked.

The door swung open, and a cold breeze greeted him. Across the room, the window was wide open, and the curtain flapped in the breeze. His suitcase was thrown on the floor upside down, his clothes strewn all across the floor and the bed. All drawers were pulled out and piled on the floor, the nightstand lamp lay on the floor, flickering. The mirror on the wall across from the bed was cracked from the bottom left corner to the top right.

Oliver froze, his mouth wide open. Someone had wrecked his room. He stepped into the restroom. All the towels were on the floor, his toiletries spread across the counter and the floor. The shower curtain had been pulled down and lay draped over the toilet.

A crunching sound from the main room caught his ears and out of the corner of his eye, he saw a shadow rush towards the window and disappear between the flapping curtains.

"Hey you, stop right there," Oliver shouted and rushed towards the window. When he reached the window and looked down, he saw a dark shadow run across the parking lot. As if it sensed him looking at it, it stopped and turned. Dark and featureless, the only thing that Oliver would remember from the encounter were the white, lit orbs in the place where one would normally find a person's eyes. They glowed ominously and Oliver felt a chill run down his spine as it seemed to lock eyes with him.

The moment only lasted a fraction of a second before the shadow turned and disappeared into the underbrush beyond the parking lot. Oliver let out a gasp as he grabbed the window frame for support as his legs faltered.

A knock on the door startled him.

"Calm down, Oliver, it's just Cooper," ha said to himself and took a drink from a bottle of water on his nightstand.

He walked over to the door and peeked through the peephole. It wasn't Cooper. He unlocked the door and swung it open, a smile on his face.

"Jason, you made it back," Oliver said and reached his hand out to greet the man who had saved his life only hours before.

Jason didn't answer and looked up at Oliver. His face was dirty, his hair matted. A black streak ran down his right cheek and his skin glistened from heavy perspiration. With a grunt, he leaned towards Oliver, his pupils fully dilated and the white of his eyes and bright pink color.

Oliver felt a chill run down his spine as he took a step backwards, his hands raised in front of him.

"Jason? What's going on? How did you get back here?"

Jason took a step forward, his eyes locked on Oliver's. A snarl escaped his dry and cracked lips as he wrapped Oliver's arm in an iron grip and pulled him out of the room and into the hotel hallway.

"Hey, stop that! What are you doing?" Oliver said with a raised voice and pulled himself from Jason's grip. The man who had saved his life just hours earlier squinted and let out a growl. Oliver took a few quick steps backwards and reached for the hotel room door. With one swift motion, he stepped across the threshold into his room and swung the door closed. At the very last moment, Jason's hand grabbed the edge of the door with a grunt and prevented it from closing.

Oliver pushed against the door with all his might, adrenaline now rushing through his veins. He pushed against the door with his shoulder.

"Jason, let go of the door. Let go!"

Despite putting all his weight against the door, he felt it open more. At first, just a few inches, then a foot. Then the door was pushed open as if he hadn't been pushing back against it and he flew backwards and landed on the floor.

Jason stood in the now wide-open door, his fists opening and closing as he approached in a hunched over position. Saliva dripped from his lips, his eyes were wide open and his nostrils flared with every labored breath. He pointed towards Oliver with a slightly bent finger and let out a guttural growl.

"Hey you, who are you?" said a voice behind Jason. Oliver immediately recognized it as that of Detective Cooper.

With a speed that Oliver had never seen in a human being, Jason rushed past him, into the hotel room and straight towards the window. Cooper rushed after him, his gun drawn. He stopped next to Oliver, raised his gun and fired towards the window. It was too late. Jason had already disappeared.

Cooper rapidly approached the window, his gun aimed at the window. There was no-one out there except the wind and the rain.

"Who was that?" Cooper said as his eyes remained on the outside.

"What happened here?" Claire stepped into the room. "Oliver, are you all right?" she said and rushed to help Oliver up from the floor.

"Someone forced themselves into the room," Cooper said from the window as he holstered his gun and closed the window panes.

"What? Oliver, who was it?" Claire said as she helped Oliver over to the bed.

"Jason. It was Jason."

Claire and Cooper looked at each other at the same time.

"You know him?"

Oliver nodded. "Yes, he works here."

"What, here at the hotel? What was he doing in your hotel room? With you on the floor?"

Oliver took a deep breath and explained how he knew Jason, and how he had saved his life. "Something was different about him, though."

"Different how?"

"He wasn't himself, he was different." Oliver paused and looked up at Claire. "It reminded me of the last outbreak?"

Claire crossed her arms and sighed as she shook her head.

"You're kidding, right?"

Oliver frowned. "Why would I be? I was with the man just hours ago. He was completely normal. Something has changed?"

"So just because he's now different, he's some sort of mutant, a, a— "

"A what?" Cooper said from his spot at the window.

"Do I need to say it?" Oliver said, his voice now raised. "Claire, you can't deny that two-thirds of the population of this planet was affected—"

"Of course I don't. But that was years ago, you know that."

Cooper took a step closer. "Wait, are you saying what I think you're saying?"

Oliver nodded with a sigh. "Yes, that's right, son. Zombies used to be a thing. I think they're back."

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