Who We Were | Book One

34. Telling The Truth

There was an uncomfortable tension in the room that Josh couldn't mask, and Will couldn't understand. He leant back against the leather chair, taking in the boy beside me as if he was seeing him for the first time.

"Are you going to explain what happened?" Will exhaled.

"You mean they didn't tell you?" Josh muttered, finally meeting his eyes.

"Chris and Tom told me their versions," he stated, "I want to hear yours."

"I'm not here to defend myself," he shook his head and returned his gaze to the table. "I fucked up. I took their fucking weapons and I ran." The man across the table tilted his head and rubbed a finger against his bottom lip, taking in his words. "Another death on my shoulders, right?" Josh scoffed.

"B—" Will began before he was interrupted.

"Do what you want with me," Josh sighed, exhausted. "Just don't bring her into this. None of it is her fault."

Will pursed his lips as he contemplated Josh's words. "What were you doing in Dawn Hill?" He asked finally.

I interrupted before Josh could speak. Part of the reason we were there at all was because of me, the least I could do was take some of the blame. "My parents told me about a camp in Cornwall and I asked him to take me there... It seemed fine at first but then it wasn't so great after a while...If we didn't leave, they would've killed us. Me at least."

"What happened?" His eyes flickered between mine and Josh's.

"I knew we couldn't stay there," Josh explained. "It was obvious they were starting to catch onto something, I just didn't know how much time we had." He looked to me, his eyes full of sympathy and regret. "I had to let them believe I was on their side while I tried to figure out what they were doing... Turns out you found out more than I did."

"What did you see?" Will asked, the creases deepening against his forehead.

Josh tilted his neck towards me, but I shook my head. "I... How much do you know about what they're doing there?"

Will's face was an unchanging mask as he considered my words. "I know they're experimenting, but unfortunately not much more than that."

"It's more than experimenting..." I explained. "Do you know about the different strains?"

"I do," he confirmed.

"They created them," I stated without hesitation. "Something about creating a species with a purpose. They said that the Infected have no use anymore so their potential shouldn't be wasted."

Will leant back and pulled his lips into his mouth. "I'd hoped you wouldn't say that."

Josh seemed just as surprised. His eyes remained wide as they darted across my face. "Em, are you serious?"

"I wouldn't lie about this..."

"I know," he shook his head. "I know, but creating strains... Will, what use would they have for something like that?"

The man at the head of the table scratched his cheek, dragging the skin with his fingertips. "I don't know..."

"The next strain," I began. "They said it was almost ready, they called them the Silent."

Will's body shifted and it was like the air in the room became heavier. Nobody knew how to react to what I had said, and I wanted to avoid talking about what had happened as much as I could. The events of the previous weeks had finally caught up with me and I was far beyond exhausted. I needed time to process what had happened and try to understand what Liz was doing and why she was doing it.