274 (Complex Series, #4)

Chapter Thirteen

Tooth asks, “Do you think you can walk yet?”

I run another assessment over my body. A light ache still hangs on every inch of my body, but I can move. My head, however, still pounds and my vision spins. It’s most likely a combination of exhaustion, starvation, dehydration, and my multiple falls.

I force myself to say, “I can move if I go slowly.”

It’s not safe to stay in one place for an extended amount of time. It makes it easier for the Things to find us. I don’t want to go through another attack again. I’m not sure if I could even survive through one.

Tooth appears to be relieved. I struggle into a sitting position, my muscles screaming in protest. I have to briefly close my eyes to shoo away the dark spots over my vision. I take a deep breath before standing. I stagger, leaning against the wall for support.

Tooth worriedly runs to my side, “Are you okay?”

I slowly nod, pushing out the words, “Yeah, yeah…just give me a second.”

Tooth waits, glancing nervously around us. After the pain and dizziness fades, I slowly begin stumbling down the hall. Tooth patiently follows at my side, keep watch.

“Why are you helping me?” I ask.

“I couldn’t just leave you alone. Besides, I need an alliance of my own.”

“Why would you choose me? I can barely walk.”

“Maybe not now. But you managed to escape The Distress twice. That has to count for something.”

“But…”

            Tooth interrupts me, “I’m going to be your alliance, okay? Stop worrying about it.”

            I press my lips together and don’t say anything more.

Tooth bends down to pick something up off of the floor. A thin vial of water. He sips some before handing it to me.

It takes all my self-control to not gulp down the entire vial. Instead, I force myself to take slow sips, relieving my tongue.

The vial reminds me of my previous plan: figure out where the food comes from, locate the source, and hopefully attain a reliable food source.

I explain my plan to Tooth. It doesn’t appear like he is leaving anytime soon and I don’t really want him to.

I don’t know how much of what the Heads told us about boys is true. Maybe they do all want power and have a temper, but Tooth seems nice enough. He’s currently my best chance at survival.

Tooth becomes excited after hearing my plan, “We’d never have to starve or move away. If we had extra, we could give it out to other people.”

If what the Officials told us about men was true, why would Tooth say something about sharing? Was the information about boys being dangerous just another lie? What if Tooth is just trying to manipulate me?

Tooth says, “Whenever we find the next piece of food or water, we need to inspect everything around it in that hall. We need to see whether there’s a built in system.”

 “Exactly, if we can’t find anything, we’ll just look at the next piece.”

 “But what if we can’t find anything in the walls?”

I shrug, “If we can’t find anything built into the floor or walls that the food could come out of, then we would know that it’s probably not some type of automatic dispensing system. That means, either the Things or Officials lay out the food.”