Cave of Shadows

Invalid

Chapter 18- Connor’s POV

I was led into the medical tent, where I was subjected to a rigorous physical examination.  It was determined that I was severely malnourished and suffered from sleep deprivation.  Even without the examination I could have told them all of that.  When the physical was over they took me to the tent with the runcible spoon on the side and sat me down in front of a large plate of food.  It was the largest amount of food I had seen in one place since summer training, and I was tempted to scarf all of it down in one gulp, but the fact that half the things on the plate were foreign objects gave me pause.

“Now remember, Antony, your body has never had meat, eggs, or dairy, so you’re to take small bites of the small portions we’ve given you and eat mostly vegetables, okay?”

“My name is Connor,” I grumbled, but I followed her instructions to the letter.  About 5 minutes later I was outside of the tent, barfing into a trashcan.  I didn’t stop until my stomach was empty.

“That’s alright, dear.  It’s only your first day, after all.  You’ll get better.”

“What’s wrong with me?” I gasped, trying to catch my breath.

“I told you, dear, you’re not used to animal products yet.  It will get better over time, but for that to happen you are going to have to eat some at every meal.”

“Take me to my friends.”

“I thought you said they weren’t your friends.”

“You know what I mean.”

She sighed.  “Yes, I suppose I do.  Alright, then, I’ll take you to them.”

We walked back to the medical tent.  Beds lined up as far as the eye could see.  About halfway down the second row, right next to each other were Roxanne and Clark.  Clark, thankfully, was asleep, but Roxanne was lying in her bed, staring at the ceiling. 

“Roxanne, dear, there’s someone here to see you.”

I stepped forward so that I was standing at the foot of her bed.

“Déjà-vu,” she whispered, then smiled weakly.

“Where’s Melchior?” I demanded curtly.

“They took him away.  I don’t know where to, and I don’t know why, but they did.”

“I suppose we should have seen this coming.  He is the son of the two most evil people in existence.”

“Well, one of them is dead, and the other one is in the custody of these people.  By the way, who are these people?”

“The Infinity Collective.  Long story short, they’re who the Colony thought we were working with when we exposed the arranged marriages by accident.  Ra- someone told me that they thought the incident at the wedding was premeditated.”

“Where do you think they got that?”

“I have no idea.  All I know is that, at this point, with the end of The Colony so near, the Collective would have to be really stupid to let the Melchior live.  It would jeopardize the goal they have worked towards since the Rebirth.”

Her eyes widened and brimmed with tears.  “No!  They can’t do that!  Everyone I love is dying all around me; mom, dad, Clark- I can’t lose anyone else!  Please don’t let them kill him!” she begged, sobbing.

“Alright, alright, I’ll talk to Napoleon and see what I can do, okay?  You just focus on recovering, okay?”

“Alright,” she agreed, and breathed a sigh of relief.

I stood there for a moment, trying to find the words to tell her that she had someone else to add to her list of the dead, but for some reason I couldn’t make myself say it. 

Finally, I turned to go.  “I’ll let you rest.  You’re going to need it.”

“Connor, wait.  Will you do me a favor?”

I sighed.  “What is it now?”

“Take care of yourself.  You look horrible.”

I cracked a smile for the first time since her death and walked out of the tent.  Almost immediately after I stepped outside I was stopped by two Collective men. 

“Napoleon wants to see you,” one of them said gruffly.

“Great,” I said, “because I want to see him, too.”

Author’s Note

So, here’s another chapter.  The rest of this book is all written.  It has 22 chapters and an epilogue, so 23 parts in total.  Since this is chapter 18, that means there are 4 chapters left and then the epilogue.  This is so exciting!

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