Speechless

Chapter Fourteen

I see Jason open his eyes and we gaze at each other for an instant until he pulls away and looks over the edge. I walk over and look at the rest of the world with him. What's left of the world, that is. "Here we are," he says. "This is what he sees,"

"Who are you talking about?" I ask. Jason turns to me and looks at me more serious than I've ever seen him.

"God," he says as he turns and looks out over the edge once more. "This is God's view, God's view of hell," I nod to myself in agreement with what he said and how true it really is.

"We should head back down, who knows how early they plan to wake up,"'I say.

"Alright, let's go," Jason agrees. He turns away from the edge and I follow him back to the hatch. He opens it and helps me down by grabbing ahold of my hand. I step down and walk down a few steps before turning around to see Jason coming down and closing the hatch behind him. We walk down the steps and I open the door leading to the hallway and cautiously walk back to Jason's and my room. I sit on my bed and see Jason coming too. I tuck myself under the sheets and scoot over so Jason has room. He lays down and I roll on my side, facing away from him. He rolls on his side too and wraps his arm around me.

"What are you doing?" I chuckle while I drift to sleep.

"Don't worry, I'll keep the nightmares away tonight," he assures me. I smile and slowly fall into a deep sleep.

Sure enough, I wake free of the nightmares that usually haunt me.

I sit up and and scratch my scalp feeling how frizzy my hair is. The sun is shining through the big window in the room and I turn but don't see Jason beside me. I look over the far edge of the bed and see Jason sprawled out on the floor. I get up and walk over to him, snoring peacefully. I chuckle and poke him with my foot. He opens his eyes abruptly and sits up in a rush. "You scared me," he says as he calms down.

"Well we should go see if everyone else is awake," I tell him. He slowly gets up and I help him. We walk over to the door and I open it and see the data lab ahead of me. I see Libby through the clear glass just sitting in a chair quietly, knees tucked up to her chest. Jason and I walk over to the data lab and I open the door. Libby turns and sees us and doesn't seem surprised, more relieved than anything judging by her face.

"Hey guys. How'd you sleep?" She asks.

"Fine," I answer for both of us.

"Jason, can I speak with Aubrey alone please?" She asks. I turn to Jason to see how he responds.

"Yeah, of course. Meet me back in the room, alright?" Jason says.

"Be there as soon as we finish," I respond. He nods and waves goodbye to Libby and she returns the wave to Jason. Jason quietly exits and heads back into our room we've been staying in. I turn back to Libby and she has a suspiciously warm expression on her face I've never seen her wear. "What'd you need?" I ask.

"They're going to kill you," she tells me.

"What are you talking about?" I ask.

"It's not because you turn whether you were bit or not, but because you can speak with The Different," she says.

"Please call them-"

"No, you know what I'm talking about when I say Different so I'm going to call them whatever the hell I want, understood?"

"Sure," I respond trying to not sound intimidated by her, but really, I am. Libby scares me, she's too bloodthirsty, she at least has that attitude, and I can't trust her.

"Well anyways, they say they only need a small portion of your blood but they are lying, they want to drain you."

"What do you mean drain me?" I ask in a panic.

"I mean they are going to drain you of all your blood. You need to escape, you're not safe here. Please run, run far and don't look back," she tells me.

"But what about the cure?" I ask.

"Screw it! I don't trust these people I thought I knew, who even knows if this will fully cure everyone? Do you trust these people?" She asks.

"No," I answer. "But I don't trust you either," I say. She looks into my eyes and stands up.

"Maybe that's so, but better safe than sorry. I mean, you and Jason do want to build a life together," she says.

"Not in this world!" I scream. She steps closer and I push her away by her shoulders. "If this is what it takes to maybe save humanity, including Jason and all the other Gone still wondering around, then I'll take my chances. Now please, let me go back to my room,"

"Just be careful," she says as I leave. She grabs my wrist and I turn to her, a dead expression on my face. "Remember, the only things left are hope and love right?" She says mockingly. I go from a serious expression to a confused expression. How'd she know I'd said that? I think. But I turn and head back to the room Jason and I have been staying in. I need answers.

I need them soon. Before it's too late.