They Are Monsters (Deathless Trilogy, #2)

Chapter Fourteen: Fight

"I'm not a terrorist," I say, opening the door, and finding the beautiful black haired girl leaning against the sink across from me, posed like a disgruntled Snow White doll. All the girls who were once around the mirror have cleared the path between us, and most now stand near the doorway back into the quarters. "Why do you think that?" I ask.

"That's what the Deathless are," she says, eyeing me up and down. "That's who my man is trying to protect me from, so... why should I let you sleep in the same room as me? Why do you deserve to even be here?"

"What's your name?"

"Tanya."

"Tanya, right. Well, clearly, you've been misinformed about the Deathless, Tanya," I say, taking a step toward the exit.

She moves to block my way. "George Cooper saved us. He would never lie. You're the liar."

I peer at the crowd around the door to see if they're taking this seriously. If they are, then this girl isn't playing a prank on me. If not, I'll keep walking. I don't want to fight with this girl, but that doesn't seem to be an option. The crowd stares at me in anticipation and fear. They really believe I'm a terrorist.

"Look," I say in my most gentle voice, "I'm not going to hurt you. I expect the same from you."

I take another step toward the exit, when the girl claws the dress out of my arms. I bend down to pick it off the floor when Tanya pushes me against the wall.

"Hey, what the hell is your problem? I told you I didn't want to hurt you, so back off."

"Yeah? What if I don't want to?" She pushes me again.

"Then, I don't know, deal with it? I'm not going to fight you."

"But you're okay with violently attacking the bunker?"

"Yeah, to rescue all those frozen survivors."

"What about all the soldiers you people killed?"

"Tanya... I didn't kill anyone in the bunker. I didn't even have a gun, I was taken there as a prisoner. And, actually, there were soldiers who were left there to die, and I helped them get out."

"Whatever," Tanya spits the word at me, and then literally spits right in my face. As I clear the saliva from my cheek, she pushes me again, this time sending my body against the wall with such force that it shakes some dust from the ceiling. "You've got to answer for yourself, Deathless," she orders.

All the anger builds inside me, like lava behind a dam, and my cheeks redden with heat. I lose control of my thoughts, and discover my arm is lifted, ready to punch the red from her lips, when someone else pushes me away, and I fall to the floor.

I look up, ready to defend myself against my new attacker, when I see a lioness pouncing on her black-haired prey. Ava. She knocks her fist against Tanya's skull, sending the girl back into the counter. The bystanders flee, trying to escape Ava's swing as she goes in for round two, and I see a few leave the bathroom from the exit into the hall.

The crowd of spectators swells as more girls run in to watch. Tanya gets in a shot, slapping Ava right in the spot Jones did earlier, and I can tell it stings more than Ava expects, because her eyes water. Tanya reaches for her hair, but Ava knees her in the stomach and knocks her to the ground.

Tanya coughs bloody splatter onto the white tiled floor, and spits a puddle of it in front of her to clear her mouth. "What the hell, Ava?"

"Don't hurt my friends," she pants.

Captain Jones throws the door open, the veins on his neck so engorged that they seem to stare at us as intensely as his eyes. From the floor, he looks even bigger than usual. His back is arched like a bull, and he snorts and pants like he's ready to buck us all out of the room.

"What happened in here?" he shouts. I guess he's not poisoned after all.

"Your crazy girl went off on me," Tanya yells, somehow sounding more injured now than she had before.

"Yeah, after you hit Isla. You threw the first punch. You got what you asked for."

He scans the room, and stops at the spectators at the door. "What happened?" he booms.

"Tanya started it," a small girl in the doorway says. "The Deathless girl didn't want to fight back, but Tanya hit her anyway, and that's when Ava came in and attacked her. But why shouldn't we be able to hit her? She's Deathless, right?"

"Are you the Captain?" he asks, approaching the girl. I can't see his face, but I can imagine how red it must look by his tone.

"No," the girl mumbles.

"I can't hear you. Are you the Captain?"

The girl hides her face. "No," she says more loudly this time, but with far less confidence.

"So do you get to make those decisions?"

"No...."

He spins around the room, staring down the three of us involved, before returning to the girls stopped at the doorway. "All of you need to understand one thing: You are not anyone to be making decisions. You are just Comforters, that's it. You do not take matters into your own hands. Now Ava and Tanya must be punished. Both of you, come with me. It's down to the Carrier quarters now," he says without looking at Ava, and I can't be sure, but it sounds like there's sadness in his voice.

Tanya starts screaming, "It's not fair! You can't take me from him!" But the Captain doesn't stop, he just lifts her from the floor by the arm, and drags her out.

Ava follows obediently, but stops to look back at me before leaving. "Don't forget about me down there," she says with surprising calmness.

I won't. How could you forget about someone who sticks their neck out for you? At least we have someone in the Carrier's group now. But no one knows what happens to the Carriers. Maybe I will never see her again, I think, and it makes the back of my head sting even more.

As Ava exits the bathroom, Dr. Wilkes stumbles in, his gaze finding the bloody tiles first. "Is everyone all right?" he asks, approaching to help me to my feet. He stretches out his long hand to me, and I take it. Not because I trust him yet, because I still don't, but because after today, I'm not sure I even have the strength enough to stand.

"Whose blood is that?" he asks once I'm on my feet.

"Tanya's," I mumble. "She tried to fight me, because I am... I was Deathless. She wouldn't listen to me. Ava fought her off, but she shouldn't be punished for it."

"That's not my choice," he says. "But I don't think it's safe for you to sleep in here tonight. Let's go."

"I don't want to, I want to stay with my friends," I begin to panic.

He ignores me, guiding me by the back, but turns to the crowd of girls at the doorway. "Nina," he calls. She's tall, standing out from the rest of the girls, and she steps forward. A stray tear is running down her cheek. She and Ava were close. I can't imagine what she must be feeling. "Help me bring Isla back to her room. It's best if she sleeps there tonight."

Nina pushes back through the crowd, and the rest of the girls disperse, gossiping as they turn, leaving only Celia in the doorway, her face filled with fear.

Dr. Wilkes sees her, and before leaving, says, "I will be back at around midnight to check on her," a little more loudly than he needs to. "Isla may have a concussion, and I'll have to examine her in here beneath the fluorescent lights, so make sure the bathroom is clear."

His logic makes no sense, but it's enough for her to understand. He knows about our midnight meetings, and not only that. I think he wants to help. She nods, and we walk back to room 6.