All That Remains

10. Elias

"Do you want something to eat?" Keenan gestured towards what Elias assumed to be the kitchen. "Martha does wonders with a can of beans."

Elias marvelled at the man in front of him, who clearly had so little and was willing to share it with a stranger. As opposed to the Pride who carefully rationed out every single thing. "No, thank you."

Keenan nodded once before heading down the hall and turning into the first doorway on the right, with Elias and Jae trailing behind him. They entered into a room with soft lilac walls, the dining room table and chairs seemingly out of place in the confined space.

"So, your people are killing survivors." Keenan's voice was filled with such distaste that Elias shrank back in the hard wooden chair he had just lowered himself onto. It wasn't a question; it was a statement.

"I had no idea what Lorenzo was doing until I spoke to Jaelynn," Elias defended himself. "I didn't realise that they were attempting chip removals on survivors. I thought it was The Risen."

"You've been very sheltered," Keenan pointed out the same thing that Jaelynn had. "I don't know whether to be jealous of you, or feel bad for you. Tell me more about this Lorenzo."

"There's not much to say." Elias glanced at Jaelynn for guidance but she just shrugged. "I used to think he was removing the chip to try and turn the Risen back to people. Now that I know the truth, I believe he's doing it as more of a preventative measure."

"If he was indeed removing the chip from the Risen, it would be pointless. The chips are what keep the Risen alive and what stops their bodies from deteriorating. Removing them would either result in them turning straight back to corpses, or it would cause their body functions to shut down slowly," Keenan explained. "Either way, the outcome would be the same."

Elias had never thought about the fact that the Risen's bodies were mostly intact, but Keenan's explanation made sense. Some corpses had been wandering around for almost a year and if it weren't for the chips, their flesh would have decayed and their organs stopped working.

The only way to tell them apart is by their smell.

Jae had told him that when they'd first met, and he assumed she was right since he hadn't come close enough to one to test her theory. Now he wondered how the scent of death could cling to them when their body was, for the most part, still functioning. Was that because the chip revived them after they had died but before their bodies could rot?

"I didn't think of it like that," Elias admitted, his cheeks turning a soft pink. "Otherwise I would have done something about it a long time ago."

Keenan eyed Elias for a long time, seeming to search his face for the truth. Elias hoped that he would absolve him, reassure him that he couldn't have known. Instead, Keenan changed the subject. "Is he working alone?"

Elias immediately thought of his father, whose face was as familiar as his own. The man who had become a stranger to him. "No. There's a woman there, Delta. She used to be a doctor before the Rise. She helps him." Elias was almost scared to say the next words aloud, worried that Keenan would judge him. "I think my father has been in on it too."

"We have to kill him," Jaelynn said, speaking for the first time since they entered the room. "Not your father," she added quickly, though judging by the hard glint in her eye and the tightness in her jaw, Elias could see she would if she had to. "Lorenzo. From my understanding, he's the ring leader."

"No." Keenan shook his head vehemently. "We are not killers, Jae. We don't want to stoop to their level."

"But-"

"Too much blood has been shed as it is," Keenan cut her off, his voice stern.

"And it will continue unless we stop him!" Jae's voice rose and she slammed a hand against the table. "We can't let him get away with this!"