Deviant (An Original Novel)

5

"What?" I snap. What the hell is he talking about?

"You're Resistant." He states, stepping towards me again. I step back, a little scared to be honest.

"What's that mean?" I demand.

"You're immune to the virus." He answers, the hint of a smile on his lips.

"No I'm not!" I exclaim. "I can't be! That's impossible!"

"No it ain't."

"How do you know?" I growl, glaring at him.

"Well, if you were gonna turn, the wound would be numb. You wouldn't feel it. Hell you could stab the area and still wouldn't feel it." He states.

"How do you know?" I repeat. He takes the edge of his shirt and lifts it up a little, revealing a bite similar to mine. Except this one has risen, and looks old. My eyes widen at the old bite.

"Thirteen years old." He states, lowering his shirt again.

"B-but... How?"

"I dunno. Something in our DNA." He answers. "All I know is that we're immune to the virus."

I'm speechless. I'm immune...

"How do you know?" I demand. It can't be right!

"How'd you say your stomach was?" He asks.

"It's fine." I state. "What does that have to do with anything?"

Answering my question, Alex pulls a knife out of his belt. The knife blade is a good ten inches long, and it gleams in the dim light. Placing the blade against his wrist, he quickly pulls it. He bites his bottom lip and squeezes his eyes shut as the blade splits the skin. Blood starts oozing out, but after a couple minutes, it stops. Taking a red rag out of his back pocket, he wipes the blood away, revealing a faint red line on his tanned skin.

"Is that how your stomach looks?" He asks, smirking at me.

"Y-yeah..." I murmur. My eyes are going wide, disbelief flooding my core.

"Yeah. The virus can turn you into a psychotic killing machine, or make you a self healer." He explains.

"We have to get back to Junction 8! We have the cure!" I exclaim.

"Nah. That won't happen." Alex mutters.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I was from Junction 8. And I was a Supply Runner. I got bit, and when I didn't turn, I went back. When I did, I showed them the bite, and they shot at me." He pulls his shirt collar to the side, revealing an old, round wound on his right shoulder. "And now I'm basically a loner."

"If they tried to kill you, then why are you so close to Junction 8?" I ask, confused.

"Cause I trade with Supply Runners. That's how I got the explosions for my traps."

"That's illegal!" I exclaim. "Trading with outside forces is illegal!"

"Not really. If nobody knows about it, then it's legal."

"That ain't right!"

He just shrugs his shoulders. "I survive. And survival is key in this world." He smirks.

"Oh great! First I'm immune to a virus that gives me magical witch powers of healing, now I'm with an outlaw!" I declare, throwing my arms in the air.

"Well, you're technically an outlaw too." He points out.

"Whatever!" I snap, storming towards a window. The afternoon sun is sitting right on top of a skyscraper. It looks so peaceful outside, but I know deviants lurk in the dark corners of every building out there. Behind me, Alex is silent. Then I hear a rattling, and moments later, the smell of fire fills the room. I whip around. Alex is sitting by a burner of some sort. Little flames lick a pot that's placed on them.