They Are Monsters (Deathless Trilogy, #2)

Chapter Thirteen: Comforter's Quarters

That evening at dinner, Ava and Captain Jones walk in together arm in arm.

What is she doing? I wonder.

We sit in silence at the table, waiting for Gunther and Cooper to arrive. The table's been moved to the middle of the ballroom where Cooper's suspension system can reach, and Caregivers and Workers surround us. A vase of multicolored chrysanthemum blooms, probably from the garden outside, sit in the center of the table. I guess it's officially fall now.

I turn my attention to Ava. Her hair is still perfectly slicked back, her eyes still lined in purple to match her tightly fitting gown, and her lips are still the color of her skin. But now she's wearing heavy pink blush. Jones probably made her cover up the mark from his hand. I wonder how many Comforters are abused by their assigned men without anyone knowing. I wonder how many times make-up is used for something more sinister than beauty.

Still, she sits quietly, staring with pursed lips at the glass of water in front of her. I look over to Nina, who meets my gaze, and subtly shrugs. Phoebe laughs at the painted butterflies on the china.

Mitchell sighs deeply, and everyone turns to look at him. "Tomorrow I will start going through all the files from Nathan," he offers the group, but no one responds. "I thought Ava and Isla might like to know."

"Dr. Harper, I haven't cared much about my cousin for a long time. His computer files are the last things I'd want to know about," Ava says, never taking her eyes off her glass. I wonder what happened between them. Nate only mentioned her once, when he told me I joked with him like she used to.

"How can you go through his files? He died in the bunker," Daniel asks.

"All information is collected on a drive that you can access behind an implanted person's right ear." I remember Nate's birthmark. How much of him was a lie? "His hard drive was removed before... you know..." Mitchell mumbles, as if he is just now realizing he shouldn't have said anything in the first place.

I try to control myself, but after today it's no use: my stomach twists, and I have to sit up and exhale so it can uncoil.

The doors to Cooper's quarters open. Gunther emerges and descends the staircase, and Phoebe begins clapping wildly at the sight of him. Two Caregivers hook Cooper into the suspension system along the ceiling and escort him behind Gunther. He lowers himself into the seat at the head of the table, and Gunther waits to sit beside him, like an old fashioned gentleman, but his face is red with anger. I wonder what they were meeting about.

Cooper is out of breath, probably from the strain of walking down the stairs, and he can hardly speak, but he lifts his hands toward the platters to tell us to eat. Caregivers lift the covers from the trays, revealing colorful mountains of food, into which all the men dig. Phoebe is too busy playing with her hair now to notice there's food, and I'm not hungry. Not after today. Nina, Ava, and Celia don't move their arms from their sides either.

"Serve yourself, Ms. Blume," Cooper pants.

"I'm not hungry."

"And your friends here? They aren't hungry either?"

Celia hides her face behind a glass of water as Mitchell piles some fruit on her plate for her. Nina shakes her head. O'Neil furrows his eyebrows in concern, rubs her back, and feels her forehead. "Are you getting sick, love?" he asks.

"No, I'm fine. Thank you, Flynn."

"That's all you're eating, Mr. Crowley?" Cooper asks.

I look at Daniel's plate, nearly empty with only a few scoops of green peas, which have scattered haphazardly around the china. He pushes them into a pile at the center of the plate before answering, "I don't have much of an appetite."