Lying to Shilo is becoming harder and harder. I could have sworn I saw Christine in the woods. Just watching the party. I walk out through the gate. I make my way over to her. Then I see her. She stands and tries to look bigger. Unfortunately when they planted her, she got a weak body. This girl is only five foot two. "Bion what are you doing?" She questions me. "Christine I was assigned by the commander to be the inside man," I say. "I know that I mean what are you doing with that maggot," Christine spats at me. I clench me teeth together. "She isn't a maggot," I say through gritted teeth. "Wait Bion don't tell me. Oh my gosh," she laughs. "You fell in love with one of those cockroaches?" I punch her in the face. She stumbles backward. "Bion love is a trick, she is just going to use you," Christine says and wipes the blood from her mouth. "That is it!" I punch her again and again. Then she falls on the ground and I jump on top of her. I punch and punch and punch. i grab hold of her collar on her shirt. Fear sparks in her eyes and my lips curl into a smile. "Love isn't a trick. It is beautiful. It may have its flaws but having someone love you is, is amazing. They care for you and would die for you," I say. "They would even kill if it meant you lived." I draw out my knife. I raise it over my head. "I do this for love," I say and stab her just as I did Stephen. Shilo steps out of the trees. I'm so screwed. She looks at me as if I murdered her mom or something. And for all she knows I could have been a part of it. "Shilo let me explain," I say. "What? Explain that you are one of the freaks that killed my parents!" She screams at me. Tears roll off her cheeks. "Explain that you are only here to gather information on us! Explain that you are a traitor to us and your own species," Shilo says as she looks down at Christine. Then realization flashes before her eyes. "No! No you can't." Then she laughs and blood drips from her mouth. Worry crosses my face. Is Shilo sick? "It was you, you killed Mia," Shilo yells at me. "All this time I have trusted you, depended on you. And in the shadows you have been killing my friends." Hatred takes form on her face. She pulls her dagger from her belt loop. Shilo twirls it in her hand and starts to circle me. I get up off Christine's dead body. I watch her go round and round. "Shilo I don't want to hurt you," I say. I pull my knife from Christine's chest. "Oh I'm sorry I don't want to make you do something you don't want to do. Oh wait you and the rest of your freak friends have been making me kill forever!" She lunges at me. I am quick and I take the dagger from her hand. I hold her to my chest with my arm. "Shilo calm down," I say. She bites into the wound on my arm. The stitches break and blood spills over her. I loosen my grip and she take off. She runs away off into the woods. "Shilo!" I shout and run after her. She was too fast. I lost her trail. I curse under my breath. Then suddenly Shilo bursts out of a bush. She jumps on top of me and has me pinned to the ground. "You don't want to do this." She laughs and smiles maliciously. Shilo clamps her hands around my neck. I grab her hands. She is going to kill me. If I am dead Shilo stands no chance at survival from my kind. I punch her beautiful face and she falls off of me. Shilo is knocked out. I pick her up and start walking towards her tree. When we get there I tie a vine around her hands and throw her up on the platform. When I am about to climb up myself Lola clamps her jaws down on my leg. I scream out in pain. I shake her off and she takes a huge chunk of skin with her. I scurry up the tree. I rest my head against the trunk. Shilo lies unconscious beside me and Lola barks at us. She growls and rips at the tree with her claws. After about an hour of Lola going nuts I finally say something. "Would you give it a rest baby," I say. She growls in response. I rub my hand through my hair and sigh. I really messed up this time. Shilo flutters her eyes open. She looks drowsy. Then she take one look at me. She grits her teeth and struggles against the vines. "It is no use I have them bound pretty good," I say. Shilo hisses at me. "Bion why?" I look down at my hands. "Look yes I am one of them but I still love you. I never told the commander about you. You are safe," I say. "Ha yea safe. I am sitting next to a freaking alien," she mumbles. "You do not love me," Shilo spats at me. I look her dead in the eye. "Shilo I love you with all that I have and all that I am," I say. "If you love me then tell me everything. How did you light up in the head sets? How did you really get that cut?" Her eyes bore into me. "Shilo the camp was not the first time I have seen you," I say. She stays silent and listens. "I have been watching you at your camp for quite sometime and I was the guy you shot at the gas station," I say. A whole new kind of anger crosses her face. She kicks me in my wounded leg. "God dang," I yell. She smiles. "I cut myself to get into camp. The commander made a chip that identified me as a human. But Lola took care of that," I say pointing at my bleeding calf. It is already starting to heal. "It was my idea. When I saw you go with Mia I told the commander about taking her out," I confess. She struggles against the vines tying her down. "I was the one who healed you. I'm sorry Shilo." I look into her big brown eyes. I try to brush a strand of hair from her face and she tries to bite me. I move my hand away quickly. "Once I get out of these you are dead,"she threatens me. I am bleeding out and need to get fixed up. I start to wrap up my leg when Shilo lays down. Then she rolls off the platform. I rush to the edge and see her take off running with Lola. She sprints back to camp. I leap off and my leg buckles. Things start to get dizzy. I fumble for the earpiece. "Commander I'm hurt need.." I can't get the words out. "Bion, Bion!" The commander yells. I black out.
~~~
I awake to a bright light. I must be back at the base in the infirmary. I had terrible nightmares of the commander slaughtering Shilo. I open my eyes all the way. I see the doctor standing over me. "We got you all fixed up Bion," she says with her sweet voice. The commander walks in. "Bion, we found you bloody under a tree. We also found Christine dead a few miles from you. Care to explain," he says with a raise of one eyebrow. I clear my throat. What am I supposed to say? "Someone was trying to kill Christine. I couldn't let us lose her, so I tried to stop them. They sicked their dog on me and I ran. I climbed up that tree and they bit my leg and arm. Once they left I tried to climb down and leave. I guess I didn't make it," I say with a slight chuckle. "I guess once I was gone they got Christine. I blew my cover. I am not worthy to be in your presence sir," I say and hang my head. In my head I am laughing. I can't believe he fell for that lie. "I see," he says. "Well then we will be on high alert. No more going back in and lying. They don't trust you anymore. Rest up and then go back to the woods there and take as many a you can," the commander barks at me. I nod and he slams the door behind him. The doctor smiles warmly at me and walks into her office. I rub my hand over my face and sigh. "Ugh, I really screwed up this time," I whisper to myself. I shut my eyes.
~~~
I struggle against the hands holding me. The commander runs a finger down Shilo's face. Fear clouds her brown eyes. He smiles at her and tilts her chin towards him. I punch my handlers. I run towards them and Stephen comes out with his mortified eyes. "We were family Bion. How could you?" He says with his delicate eyes filled with hurt. Five silencers restrain me. Christine comes out behind a curtain. She has my knife in her chest and has revenge coursing through her eyes. Then Kennan walks over to Shilo. He kisses her. "Stop! Leave her alone," I scream at him. To my surprise she kisses him back. "He didn't lie to me like you, you freak," Shilo tells me. Then the commander stabs her from behind. Her screams fill my ears. Then I realize the silencers holding me are ones I have killed in the past. "I am going to kill Shilo in the end. You killed your brothers and sisters for a dead girl," the commander says with a deadly smile. It is all too much. Shilo's screams, Stephen's mortified face, Christine's blood, Kennan, the commander. I cry out in pain. Suddenly the silencers start to shake me. "Bion wake up! You are dreaming! Bion!" They yell at me.
~~~
I wake up with a gasp. I breathe heavily and see the doctor standing over me. "Bion are you ok?" She asks. "Yea," I gasp. "Yea I am fine," I say. She still looks worried. "What were you dreaming about? You kept yelling for them not to touch her," she says. "I was dreaming about Christine. The humans were making me watch them kill her," I lie to her. It was partly true. She was there. "Don't worry ok no more of those creatures are going to hurt you," she says warmly. Her smile is very comforting. I think back to when I first got into camp. How Doc was comforting and Mia bombarding me with questions. I half expect Shilo to come walking through the door with a proud and fearless look on her face. But no, she remains a lost memory in my messed up head. I smile back at the doctor when really all I feel is anguish and hatred for who I am. I sit up and hop off the cot. My leg aches but it will do fine for now. "Be carful now Bion," the doctor tells me. I nod and walk out. I stomp through the all too familiar forest. I walk straight towards my hiding place near Shilo's tree. I knew after she had told everyone of my betrayal she would come here. She has always loved her tree. Shilo feels safe there and she has never killed there. It is where she can get away from this mess. Like I said she sat atop the camouflaged platform. I still hadn't told Shilo of the place where I first saw her. Like back then, she won't notice me. A light burning sensation spreads across my calf. I look down at it and I can see it is inflamed. It is hot to the touch. I focus my attention back on Shilo. Millions of thoughts swirl in my head. Should I try and reason with her? Should I finish her off like I should have at the beginning of all this? I won't do that, I can't do that. Should I just wait? I think to myself. I look up at her strong and elegant face. Her eyes are closed and she leans her head against the wide trunk of the tree. Lola rests her head in Shilo's lap. I feel terrible. Shilo has been through so much and there is lots I don't even know about. And after everything she just got stabbed in the back again. She trusted me and I betrayed her. I killed her most trusted friend and deceived her. I rub the back of my neck and look at my feet. When I look back up Shilo is staring right at me from the tree. A death glare is plastered on her face. She grabs her gun. Shilo doesn't even want to listen to reason, she immediately starts to shoot at me. She nicks my shoulder and destroys a dead tree. I run.
