Feeding Frenzy

Chapter 21

 Evey let the door softly click shut behind her as she stepped out of the twins' room. They had driven until they lost the Infected and then drove to the next Cleansed town. Ford's joke about them running out of gas lingered in the back of Evey's mind. Relief had washed over her when they pulled into the driveway of a house.

The soldiers' voices were loud as Evey came down the stairs. Johnson and Gomez were sitting at the kitchen table. Gomez had his head buried in his hands. Ford was leaning against the counter.

"We're fucked," Gomez said. "Completely fucked."

The floor creaked as Evey left the bottom step. Ford crossed his arms over his chest and narrowed his eyes.

"Go to bed," he told Evey.

She scoffed and strolled into the kitchen. She glanced out the window over the sink to see Harrington was on the porch with a gun. She sat on top of the counter next to Ford. He cleared his throat.

"Upstairs," he said. He cocked his head to the side to motion to the staircase. "Now."

"Nope," Evey said. "I want to know the plan now."

"We don't have a new plan," Gomez said.

"There must be another way to get to Toronto."

Gomez lifted his head from his hands. He furrowed his brows.

"You want to still go?" he asked. "There's no way we're making it to the hospital without being swarmed."

"There's got to be some possible way," Evey said.

She had not thought about the possibility of not going to Toronto. She was sure that no matter what, that would be their next goal. Without going to the city, they would have to hope to be found after a Cure was discovered. What would the world even look like after the Cure?

"Can't we drive there?" Evey asked. "The roads haven't been too bad."

"What do we do when we get to Toronto?" Gomez asked. "It had never been Cleansed."

"Cleansed?"

Johnson straightened his posture in his seat. Gomez's eyes went wide as he chewed on his lip.

"What is Cleansed?" Evey asked.

"Remember when we came to your home and your family was Infected?" Johnson asked. "That was Cleansing."

"You call murdering innocent people Cleansing?"

"If we didn't do it, they would have murdered those that are Immune. We had to protect the few that we had."

"How could you tell so soon who is Immune? News about the Virus had barely been released and you were in my town and knocking on my door."

Ford scowled as he pointed at the stairs.

"Everett, leave," he said.

She tilted her head to the side.

"What are you hiding from me?" she asked.

She was not asking the group, just Ford. His stare was cold but she could not look away from those blue eyes. She found herself staring at the gold flecks around the iris.

Johnson's voice brought her back to reality.

"You should really get some sleep, Everett," he said.

She forced herself to tear her gaze away from Ford's. Even without looking at him, she could feel his intense stare burn holes into her skin.

"What are you not telling me?" Evey asked.

"Bed," Ford said. "Now."

"You need to calm yourself."

Ford let out a huff of breath as his nostrils flared. His fingers curled tighter into his bicep.

"Everett-" he started.

Evey held her hand up to silence Ford. His face grew red as this enraged him more.

"I deserve to know," she said.

"Just tell her about Thyestean," Gomez said.

The table shook as Johnson kicked Gomez. Gomez let out a yelp before rubbing his shin. Ford pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head.

"What is that?" Evey asked.

The soldiers were all silent. They all glanced at each other, waiting for one of them to reply. Rage was building up in Evey and causing her to tremble when she realized that they were hiding something big from her.

"I've heard that word before," she said. "Thyestean."

"From where?" Johnson asked.

"Ford."

Johnson glared at Ford, who responded by shrugging his shoulders.

"Thyestean is the name of the Virus," Johnson said.

"Who named it?" Evey asked.

"The government," Gomez said.

The table rattled as Johnson kicked Gomez again.

"Seriously?" Johnson asked. "Do you ever keep your mouth shut?"

Evey pushed herself off the counter. Ford shifted his weight, fighting the urge to reach out and touch her.

"The government is involved?" Evey asked. "Is this because of them trying to find a Cure?"

"Not quite," Ford muttered.

"Do not make me yell at you too, Ford," Johnson said.

Ford held up his hands in defense. A smile crept onto Evey's lips. Johnson turned in his chair to face Evey.

"You really think we should go to Toronto?" he asked.

Evey nodded.

"No," Gomez said. "It's a death trap."

"Anything we do is a death trap," she said.

"There's no way to get there."

"We could try another helicopter."

"Yeah." Gomez rolled his eyes. "Because those are plentiful."

"We shouldn't go," Ford said. "Not safe."

Evey put her hand on her hip and tapped her foot.

"I am not going to wait around to be saved," she said. "We have to do the saving."

"Sounds cute," Gomez said. "We're going to lose our lives."

"Everyone I have loved has lost their life. We have all lost someone, I think we should do it for them. They would want us to help find a cure."

"She has a point," Johnson said. "We'll be wasting our lives out here. I think we should go."

Evey jumped when Ford put his hand on her shoulder. His touch caused tingles to run across her skin. She looked back at him, and he curled his fingers into her flesh.

"The twins," he said.

She sucked in her bottom lip. She wanted to protect the twins, but she may be marching them into their own death. She had the gun now, so they had more of a chance, but could she save their lives?

"They'll die out here," Evey said. "I want to give them some kind of future."

"Or no future at all," Gomez said.

Evey shrugged Ford's hand off her shoulder and walked toward the front door. She opened it and stuck her head out. Harrington was sitting on the front step. He turned to look at Evey. He raised a brow, curious to why she was outside.

"Do you want to still go to Toronto?" she asked.

He nodded. "I'm down for it."

"Thank you."

Evey closed the door. She looked in the kitchen at Ford and Gomez scowling. She flashed them a smile as she headed for the staircase.

"Three votes for going to Toronto and two votes for staying in these god-forsaken towns," Evey said. "See you all tomorrow."

Gomez swore as Evey went up the stairs and into the room across from the twins' room.