I lick the edge of my finger to turn the page of my book. I can faintly hear Molly, Carina and Penelope playing in the background with their dolls and stuffed animals, but I've gotten pretty good at blocking them out just enough so that I can read but also hear if any of them start fighting or somehow get hurt.
It will probably be fighting, and it will probably be started by Molly.
The four-year-old has been much more rambunctious since Ed left. I don't blame her. She's only four, and now both her mommy and her daddy are gone. And we have no idea when we might get her father back. She misses him, and it doesn't surprise me.
Usually the orphaned kids have a few activities that they can do after the jobs they do after school (gardening or helping with the animals) that help them feel more accepted. Usually the activities are playing games or watching a movie when Janine allows them to use the power to do so.
But Molly never went to these activities, since after preschool and getting to feed the chickens she went to see Ed in his little mechanics shop, so she's not used to this. It's not a part of her routine. The first few weeks were absolute torture since I was the one who was first called when she had a meltdown. Why was I the one called? Because besides Ed, Molly spends most of her time with Penelope, and who does Penelope spend most of her time with? Me.
She's gotten better, but she craves one on one time with someone. She craves attention, and if it isn't Penelope's attention, it's mine. And since Carina is also with us today, I fear the little brunette may get jealous since Carina and Penelope are closer in age.
But for right now, everything is going alright, so I continue reading. The story itself isn't too captivating, since I've read this book before and know how it ends, but the dialogue still makes me laugh. The sassiness of the protagonist is something that makes me smile, and the author breaks the fourth wall in the most hilarious ways.
But there's one thing I truly do like about this book, and that's the ending. Most books, like this one, has a happy ending. Characters die, characters go through hard times, they get sad and they cry, but there's still a happy ending. Almost every book does, unless it's one of those messed up books where everyone dies in the end, but those are really rare. But that's the good thing about books-you almost always know that there's going to be a happy ending.
Wish it was the same with real life.
I do wish that. I wish we had some sort of assurance that we will find our people. I wish I had some way of knowing that Caleb is still alive-that he's alright, but I don't. We've been ordered to follow any and every lead we find, no matter how stupid or unlikely it may sound. But so far we've found absolutely nothing.
And the worst part is... I'm not even surprised.
I sigh and set the book down, instead opting to watch Penelope run her Barbie over with a truck. Carina screams, or her doll does, and she makes a super dramatic scene, yelling "Why" and making crying sounds. I'm sure if acting was still in business, she would have a very successful career.
Tony walks into the room, with Amelia and Summer following right behind him. He doesn't appear too happy, but the two don't seem to notice. But I don't think Summer is here with the two. She's probably here for Ellington-one of the younger orphans she's in charge of watching when she has no runs to do.
Seeing that the Arabic girl isn't in this room, Summer starts to head off into the next, but not before I notice that she's barefoot, and... she's missing the pinky toe on her left foot.
My eyes widen.
Shit.
"What happened?" I question, and the tan skinned woman jumps, muttering out a curse.
Her accent sounds different. But then she quickly clears her throat and looks down at her feet.
"Um... birth defect. You know the saying, 'count all the fingers and toes?' Well, my parents only counted
nineteen instead of twenty."
I nod, and she basically bolts out of the room. I've seen those types of scars. It wasn't a birth defect. Her toe was removed, and by the looks of the scarring, very messily.
I recognize it almost instantly, because that's what I was trained to do once... except usually it's done a lot cleaner.
She must've not been there long... She let me see the fear in her eyes... If she had a weakness, why would they have her do this job? She's been here in Abel before me... maybe that's the only reason why.
I've had a few suspicions, but it was never her, especially since she never tried to learn too much about me. She was never pushy.
But I know one when I see one. I know now.
"I already told ya, it'll only keep workin' if we leave it alone," Tony says with a loud sigh. "If I keep checkin' it, it's gonna stop workin'."
"Well, just check it anyway," Amelia says. "It's of very little use here, since the children are quite safe here in Abel. There's no need for a zombie repellent device in a place where the zombies have no chance of getting to."
Tony rolls his eyes but walks over to the high shelf where the box is sitting. With slight reluctance, he takes the box off the shelf, but the second he does it makes that odd noise like it did before. Tony's eyes go wide and he quickly sets the box back in its place. A few seconds later it goes back to normal.
"See? I told ya. You broke it, now it only works when it's left alone."
She hums. "Yes, we will have to do something about that. I can talk to Dr. Cohen, see if she has any ideas on it. But, that's all I needed from you, Antony. We'll check on it next week and see if anything's changed."
He growls in annoyance, but his angry features disappear when he sees me watching him with curiosity. He gives a small wave, to which I return. He makes his way over to me and plops down beside me, and we both watch as Amelia strides out, her heels clicking against the hardwood floors. I didn't even know people still wore heels anymore.
"See what I have to deal with?" He scoffs. "She comes to me every few days and asks me to check up on it, as if it'll magically start workin' again."
"Yeah, I've noticed she has... quite an interest in your device." I shrug. "But she's just doing what she thinks is best, which is apparently getting that device to work properly again. Besides, we've both dealt with worse. An annoying boss is nothing compared to what we've both gone through."
"Yeah, I guess so."
"You guess so?" I almost laugh. "Tony, you've lived in the tunnels of London before you were even a teenager, and you've survived through that and you used your knowledge of the tunnels to your advantage when the apocalypse. This-Amelia-is nothing."
A small smile appears on his face, but it disappears as quickly as it came. "How did you know I lived in the tunnels before the apocalypse?"
I blanch. Oh, shit. I screwed up. I really screwed up.
"Um... you told me, remember? When we first met, you told me and Paula and Summer about you living in the tunnels."
"But I never said for how long." He narrows his eyes suspiciously, and I struggle to keep my shoulders relaxed.
"Sure you did. How else would I know?"
"That's what I'm wondering."
"Tony, you told me. You just... must've forgotten or somethin'. I don't blame you. With everything that's happened, you probably just forgot you told-"
"The only person I told was Chrysalis."
"No, you told me. There's no other way I'd know unless you did, so... yeah."
He narrows his eyes, leaning forward just enough to make the situation uncomfortable. Well, more uncomfortable than it already is. "You know, Chrysalis said you were kinda weird."
I blink. "Um... thanks?"
"Like, she talked about you a lot; Said you knew things."
"What kind of things?"
"Things that you weren't supposed to know," He replies. "Things that you had no possible way of learnin'."
"Yeah, well, Chrysalis didn't know me that well. I mean, we only met once."
"Yeah, she told me that too. She didn't talk about you like, as a friend. She never told me your favorite color or anything. She just told me some of the weird stuff. She said you would know things before they happened sometimes. She said she saw it in your eyes-when you shook her hand. You knew she would be there when she saved you."
Great. So either she was crazy, a super on point conspiracy theorist, or she had some sort of weird ability like I have. Too bad she's dead so I can't ask her.
I roll my eyes. "Well, she must've read too much into it, because I don't know-"
"Then why did you tell Sam you needed to go to London because you thought me and her were in trouble months before we met in that base?"
I choke on my own breath. "W-what?"
"I heard Sam talkin' to Paula. He was tellin' her you knew about me and her and how somethin' happened in February, so you didn't even know if me or Chrys was even still alive. She was tryin' to say it was coincidence, but then he said you said it was because of Diana.
"No one else really knew who that was until I said it. Paula recognized the name when I said it, but you were certain."
"You must have misheard," I say.
"I didn't."
"I don't know what exactly you're thinking, but there's no magic or-or anything like that. You're just... getting some stuff confused."
"'There's no magic or-or anything like that,'" He mocks. "Says someone who is living through the zombie apocalypse."
"Just drop it, alright? If I did have something I didn't want to tell, which I don't, do you think I would just tell you now in front of the three children in here and with other kids in the next room?"
"So are you saying you'll tell me later?" He asks with a small bit of hope in his voice.
I hesitate in answering. "Maybe, we'll see." I turn my head toward the girls, and my eyes widen when I see Molly and Penelope fighting over one of the Barbie dolls.
"Hey! Girls! What are you two doing?"
Both their heads turn, focusing their eyes on me.
"Molly won't stop trying to take my doll," Penelope whines, and I sigh.
"Molly, Penelope had the doll first. Let her play with it. In a few minutes she'll let you play with it, okay?"
Molly's lip begins to tremble. "B-but I want it."
"You'll get to play with it in a few minutes. For now, go play with Mr. Rabbit. He's on that shelf over there."
Tears well up in her eyes, but I shake my head, keeping my face stern. Whimpering and a bit miffed that she didn't get her way, she stands up and trudges over to the shelf and grabs her stuffed animal.
"You... seemed surprisingly confident in tellin' that kid what to do," Tony says with slightly large eyes. I shrug.
"I've been considered a parent for about a year, and I've been put in charge of younger kids when I was in America. Ya get used to it."
"Aren't you younger than I am? Weren't you like, barely a teenager when you were in America?" He purses his lips. "I think that's what Summer told me. Said you came to England maybe a year after the apocalypse?"
Summer told him that?
I shrug. "I had to grow up quickly so my little sister wouldn't have to. But I didn't realize I couldn't protect her from what happened in that base. As much as I tried..." I sigh. "Here though, I might be able to keep Penelope safe. Her brother, on the other hand... he likes to throw himself into danger."
"Maybe he wants to do the same thing you did."
"Yeah, but he still has the chance to be a kid. That's something I didn't have," I say, looking at him sadly. "That's something a lot of us didn't have."
He nods. "Yeah, I guess you're right."
A small moment of silence passes over us, but I quickly break it. "Hey, Tony?"
"Yeah?"
"When did you hear Sam telling Paula about what I... apparently knew?"
"So you do have some weird sightseeing powers!" He gasps, and I deadpan.
"Just answer the question."
"Um... maybe yesterday? No, the day before yesterday... I think. It wasn't too long ago."
"Huh... alright." I stand up quickly. "Do me a favor and watch those three for me? I'll be back soon."
He raises a brow in question. "Um, alright, but why?"
"I just need to talk to someone real quick. Just a nice, civil talk."
•
"You're lucky I haven't snapped your neck."
Sam leans away from me in fear. "What did I do?"
"What did you do? I'll tell you what you did, you little crap! You told Paula about the dreams I had before our residents disappeared-the ones about Chrysalis and Tony."
He blinks. "Did you just call me a little crap?"
I groan. "Why? Why would you do that?"
"I didn't tell her that much. She just said you were acting a bit weird after you got back from Sarah's funeral, especially when Amelia started talking about the zombie repelling device and Comansys." He takes in a small breath. "I just said you thought the control box we had from Van Ark might be Comansys, and how you thought a kid named Tony and your doppelgänger might have something to do with it. That's all I said."
"And Diana?"
"I told her the name rang a bell because you found a Comansys pamphlet a few months back, which you did. I made you sure to make you sound like a sane person. I'm not going to paint you as a lunatic, you know."
I stay silent for a minute. "Sam, I know you believe me when I said I dreamt that whole ordeal, and I'm thankful that you do believe me, even if you thought I was nuts when I told you the first time."
"I didn't-"
"But, just because you believe me doesn't mean Paula will believe me. She might think I'm somehow working with Diana or Comansys or something, and then she might tell Janine."
He scoffs. "Seeing that you've saved her life multiple times and took down one of our biggest enemies, and you were suspected to be a traitor only to prove that theory wrong to those that thought so, I doubt she'll think that."
"But do we want to risk it? I don't want Amelia putting anything on me. I know she doesn't like me or the fact that I'm tight as a clam when it comes to telling my name. She's been trying pretty hard to get me to let it slip, but we all know that's not going to happen."
"Unfortunately."
A small smile pulls at my lips. "What? Do I not look like a Five to you?"
"You do, I guess, but still I want to know your actual name. But I guess if I ever want to get those kind of brownie points I'd have to do things that won't get me death threats."
I chuckle. "You know I'd never actually hurt you."
Couldn't if I tried.
"Yeah, I know, but you still have your passive aggressiveness and terrible sarcasm I might have to deal with as punishment."
"I'm not passive aggressive, unlike some people," I snort. "And me? Sarcastic? Never."
"Very funny," He says with an eye roll.
A short silence fills the room, and I sigh, wringing out my hands.
"I've uh, thought about that offer I was given at Sarah's funeral two days ago... I uh, know the other runners have been getting anxious to hear my answer."
He perks up at that. "And your answer is?"
"I uh... decided I'll take up on the offer. I'll... try out being Head of Runners. Whether it goes well or not, well, that's a different story."
"Well, you'll most likely not have to make any plans, if that's what you're worried about," He says with a shrug. "Janine and Amelia are usually the ones in charge of that department."
"I'm glad. They make much better plans than I could, which says a lot since I hate admitting Amelia's actually good at something."
"You really don't like her, do you?"
"I've liked other people more, if that's what you're asking." I let out a small laugh. "You should've seen how much I hated the people at the A.M.T.B. There's a place you would've seen a lot of dislike."
His eyes light up in that certain way when he thinks I'm opening up. "Was any of that dislike aimed at you?"
"I worked for the underground operations, and I was good at it. Of course, I was disliked." I lean against the wall, memories of dark rooms and shifting eyes flashing through my mind. "And I was disliked because I had two weaknesses. They wanted to snuff that out of me, but they never could."
"Is that why you were sent to Mullins?"
It takes me a few seconds to answer. "I... don't know. Maybe it was because I started slacking. Wes had died. I'd... killed him."
Sam sighs. "No, you didn't."
I ignore his words. "Only had one reason to stay alive, which was enough for me to do my job, but not do it well. Next thing I know my throat's bleeding and burning and I'm being told that I'm moving to England."
He nods, and there's something in his eyes that I can't decipher. "You must've hated them."
"Still do. Hated Mullins too. For a long time I thought they requested I be voiceless, until I put two and two together and figured something out."
"What?" He asks. "You can't leave me hangin'."
I keep my face neutral, but continue. "Once, I saw this kid about to be sent to... I think it was somewhere in Iraq, and he... his two fingers-middle and ring-were missing from his right hand. His hand was newly bandaged, as if he just lost his fingers maybe a few days ago. He never would tell me anything, or anyone for that matter, and there was no way I was gonna get it out of him.
"Of course, I didn't know he'd left until he was gone-until his files said..." I stop myself while I'm ahead. "It happened like that, I started to notice. Before people were sent off... they lost something-a finger, an ear. It was just enough to where it wouldn't disable the product to uselessness, but it would scare us enough to ensure we'd keep our mouths shut."
Sam looks so pale I fear he might faint, or puke. "But... you were just a kid. Were the others there-"
"We were all young. There were people as young as eight-years-old there training. Anyone younger was sent off to who knows where... But we weren't kids. None of us. We were forced to grow up the moment we stepped unto that place."
We started out young and beautiful, but then our hearts grew old and turned to stone.
I stare at the wall, memories of that place-the Torrencers flashing across my eyes. I remember the fear there-the pain-the blood and death and sense of worthlessness. I remember the lifeless eyes and broken souls. I remember children's bodies with eyes of soldiers.
Sam grabs my hand, pulling me away from that place. "Hey, are you alright? You're here now. Remember that. They can't hurt you now."
"Oh, yes they can. They have eyes everywhere," I whisper, wrapping my arms around myself. "Why do you think I keep so much of my past a secret? I don't just do it just to be all mysterious and alluring. I do it because if they find out I told... they'll kill me."
"They'd have to go through almost everyone in Abel to get to you," He replied tensely. I almost laugh at how cute that sounds.
"They aren't like Van Ark. They won't come with an army. They won't even come. They're already here."
His eyes widen. "What do you mean?"
"There's an agent of the A.M.T.B. already here. She's been here a lot longer than me, but I know she's one of us. And she's been watching me very carefully, now that I think about it. But she's kept her distance a lil' bit, to make sure I don't get suspicious." I sigh. "But... I know who she is because she messed up."
"So what are you gonna do?"
"I don't know." It's an easy lie. Because I know what I'm gonna have to do.
I'm going to check her loyalty, and if she's loyal to the Torrencers... then I'm going to have to kill her.
I'm going to have to kill Summer Swan.
A/N: Hello, everyone! Sorry it took so long to update. A lot has been going on recently. One of the people over our volleyball and basketball league passed away Friday. He was fighting pancreatic cancer that had spread to other parts of his body, so we had to go to the funeral yesterday. Plus I had two really bad episodes of chest pain during volleyball practice today, and my best friend was sent to the E.R. because of severe stomach pains.
So, I've been really busy. Please pray for my best friend and I, as well as for the family who lost a great man. He was a father, husband, brother, and son, as well as the principal of a rival school of ours. He was a youth pastor too. His family is really going to need prayer, so I ask you add his family to yours.
Thank you and have a blessed day.