It's the year 2038 and a deadly virus has consumed the world for more than 14 years.
In Denmark, an unknown politician took it upon himself to create a safe space from the infected. As long as you abide by the 8 Obligations, you are allowed to live...
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#Triggerwarning
The first thing I hear when I get inside the hostel, is my brothers voice calling for me. So much for spending time with Sebastian. I remove my bow and arrows and place it on the clothing rack next to my jacket. Every hunter has their own little "station" in the reception area for when we need to hurry out on a hunting trip. Almost like the way firefighters had their gear prepared back in the days before The Breakout.
"I'm still not in the mood to talk to you Jace."
"I don't care." He walks up right in front of me and stares at me with his arms crossed. Crap... right now he is not my brother Jace anymore. He is our fearless leader Jace instead. I hate it... Now I'm obligated to listen to him.
"Fine. What do you need from me, boss?" I sneer with just the slightest amount of attitude.
"Don't take that tone with me, Lightwood."
Great... He's completely abandoned his role as my brother right now. It must be important.
"Sorry." I take a deep breath and try to dig out my professional side. "What do you need me to do?"
Jace hadn't been our leader long before he and I decided that we had to compartmentalize when we were brothers and when he was my boss. Otherwise, we would be at each other's throats all the time.
"I need you to come in and join our meeting. I've received some new information that can be valuable to us."
"Another mandatory meeting. Sure..." I follow him into the conference room. A select few of the hunters are here. So are the Chef, the Sous chef, the butcher and the keeper of the greenhouse. All in all, this is a supply meeting. I'm guessing it's about the supply run Jace promised me.
But I'm wrong.
"As most of you know, the crops aren't great this year. The harvest hasn't been as good as hoped, and we barely have any seeds left."
Great... so my brother has decided it was mandatory that I participated in a meeting where he tells us we are going to starve to death. Don't I feel privileged...
Jace sees my not-so-subtle eyeroll and clears his throat loudly.
"But our newest addition to the hostel, has given us some possible good news. There are still some Farmers in Jutland. Apparently, they are supplying The City with produce."
"Great." I cut in, "lets hit one of their food supplies, take what we need and call it a day." I clap my hands together once and stand up. "Great meeting. Real productive. Can I go now?"
"SIT DOWN!" Jace shouts.
I guess I've crossed the line... Slowly, I sit back down.
"We do not attack and steal from The City. That will only give them a reason to start hunting us again. No, we are going out to look for signs that its true they are getting supplies overseas. And if it is, then I'm taking a small group of hunters with me to Jutland, to retrieve some seeds. We are NOT thieves that steal food from other people. Not even the Privies."
"Come on..." I huff. It's so ridicules. They wouldn't think twice to do it to us...
"No! my decision is final, Alec!"
"Fine." I throw my hands up in surrender.
"Good. Now, what can we do to get the food to last until we are able to get some seeds?"
"We can go hunting for deer?" The Alfa team leader suggests.
"Yeah, because that has worked out so well these last couple of weeks..."
"Shut up, Alec." Jace speaks without even looking in my direction. "Sounds like a good idea. Take the Omega team with you."
"Not to state to obvious, but what about the place Beta team found?" I ask.
"Right. I forgot about that for a second. You told them to mark it, right?"
"Yes, of course." I suppress an eyeroll.
"Good. That's good. Assemble a team to take out tomorrow."
"Sure thing, boss." I respond while saluting him.
Jace narrows his eyes at me, and I smile the biggest provocative smile I can master up. For a second, I can see him having an internal debate on whether to yell at me, but he decides to let it go. Unfortunately. I am just warming up. I love a good argument with my brother.
"Later this week, well search for clues." Jace leans in and places his hands at the table we are gathered around. "And remember, no one can know about the supplies. We don't want an uprising again."
Everyone nods in agreement. Even I agree with him on this one. The last time supplies were low, it got pretty bad. We lost a lot of good men. And women.
As we exit the meeting, I hurry up to my room. I haven't realized how much I missed Sebastian. I have been too preoccupied being angry.
But once I enter the room, I can tell his pain is bad. He hasn't noticed me yet. He is in fetal position on the bed, silently sobbing. His entire body trembling from the agony. As I move further into the room, he hears me and wipe his eyes quickly.
"Alec... I thought you were working today..." He sits up with great effort. Pain clear on his face, as leans his back against the headboard.
"Mark took over. Jace needed me for a meeting. Are you okay?" as I sit down next to him in the bed, I can tell, he can barely hold himself together today. "That bad, huh? Let me get you some painkillers."
"No..." Sebastian takes my hands and stops me form getting up. "Others need it more."
"Not more than you, Sebastian."
"Yes, they do... I have my pain relief right here..." He taps my chest with his finger, while trying to smile at me. "Just hold me, Alec." He lies back down with his back to me so I can lie down behind him. I kiss his shoulder, before I stand up and remove my shirt and pants. Then I nuzzle in behind him and holds him tight. His breathing is shallow, and I know it's because the pain is unbearable today. I have to fight like hell, to keep my tears away. I won't cry. He needs me to be strong when he can't.
"Just promise me one thing Alec..."
"What...?"
"That if you find Magnus and can't live with yourself after bringing him peace, please come and end my misery too... I just need you to hold me when I leave this world..."
