Genesis

Secrets and Assumptions

     My heavy eyelids crept open as I looked up, surprised by what I saw. 

     Light. 

     The overwhelming blackness had disappeared, revealing deep shades of violet and purple that were strewn across the sky. I reached my hand upwards to rub my forehead, forcing myself to sit up as I let out a sigh of relief. 

     I'm alive.

     "Quinn?" I heard the gruff, guttural voice say in his familiar, soft tone. I turned around and saw him, no longer concealed by the darkness of night. His hair was tousled, the coal-black color matching his thick eyebrows, arched softly over his icy grey eyes, looking at me. It wasn't until he reached out to touch my shoulder that I recognized him, my eyes focusing on a distinct, red bite mark on his forearm. My mind flashed back to the previous day when Jax picked a fight with a black-haired guy on the edge of the camp and bit into his arm. I felt all my muscles tense as I remembered his name.

     The moment I felt a touch on my shoulder I jumped to my feet. He mirrored me, drawing his arm back to his side and casting a confused glance on his face.

     "You're Colt... aren't you?" I asked him.

     He drew his lips together as his eyebrows furrowed slightly, any semblance of a smile having vanished from his face.

     When he didn't speak, I continued, "That's why you wouldn't tell me your name?"

     He kept his silence, focusing a sharp gaze in my direction which made me want to shiver. I clenched my jaw as I remembered back on Dorian's warning about him.

     "You know what people say about you, don't you?" I asked him.

     "People say a lot of things about me," he said with a scoff, leaning against the tree behind him and folding his arms against his chest. My eyes moved to the mark on his arm, finding it difficult to stay focused on his cutting gaze.

     I glanced back up to him when he next spoke, "So, what, now you're just going to believe everything people say?"

     I was taken aback by the hostile undertone in his voice. He looked away before he continued, "Here I thought you were different, but you're judging me just like the rest of them. You don't even know me--,"

     "Exactly, I don't know you," I interrupted sharply, frustrated with all the accusations he was throwing at me, "What is this about, anyway? Is this about what happened last night?"

     At the mention of that, his eyes flickered back to meet mine. I sighed.

     "Thank you for saving me from that guy, but after that... I thought I was dying. I was desperate for anyone to comfort me, but that was it. Now that I'm still alive, you don't have to worry about it anymore."

     We stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity, although in reality, it must have been just a few seconds. I was relieved when he looked away, as I didn't think I had it in me to let his sharp gaze try to cut through me any longer. I watched him as he took a few steps past me and stopped next to Grasshead's rotting corpse.

     "Who was he to you anyway?" he asked me blandly.

     I was quick with my reply, "He was no-one to me. I didn't even know him."

     "Then why was he out here with you?"

     "I don't know," I sighed in frustration, prying my gaze away from the body's dead eyes, "When I woke up in that tent, he was trying to--, you know, and I guess I'm just not vigilant enough but I didn't notice him follow me out here last night... and then he just jumped me."

     There was another silence as I glanced towards the body of the rager who scratched me, prompting me to look at my arm, noticing that scabs had formed over the wounds. I put my other hand up, slowly reaching towards the scabs and letting my finger land on one of them when, much to my surprise, I didn't feel any pain at all. I gasped at what happened next. I pushed my finger a little harder on it, and the dry scab fell off, revealing perfectly smooth skin.

     "Holy shit," I breathed quietly, rubbing the rest of the scabs to see what would happen, and sure enough, under each one of them, my skin was completely healed.

     I noticed Colt looking at what I was doing before he spoke, "That's impossible. They were way too deep to have healed by now... How is that possible?"

     "How is me being alive possible?" I questioned, looking back to see him looking skeptically at me before I continued, "I guess I must be immune or something."

     "You can't tell anyone," he told me quickly.

     I looked at him confusedly, narrowing my eyes, "Why can't I, Colt?"

     "Just... think about it. Everyone here has people close to them that they've lost because of this crazy thing that's happening, and if they were to find out you're immune... well, who knows what they'll do to you." 

     His voice was condescending and it infuriated me, "I'll tell whoever I damn well please," I asserted, before crossing my arms and looking away.

     "Fine. At least help me bury these bodies," he said, as my eyes snapped back up to see him walking to the end of Grasshead's corpse and grabbing its scrawny ankles.

     "What?" I questioned. He rolled his eyes.

     "Well, we can't just leave them here, can we?" he sighed impatiently, "What if someone finds them?"

     "What are you saying? That we're just supposed to bury these bodies and go on pretending like nothing happened? Like we don't know shit about where Grasshead went?"

     "Who's gonna miss him?" he said matter-of-factly before dragging the body next to the rager's corpse

     "No!" I shouted as Colt let go of the body's ankles, hearing a thunk as Grasshead's legs dropped to the floor, "We can't just do that."

     "What would you do then?" he asked me with a hint of aggravation.

     I threw my hands up in the air, exasperated, "I don't know. Maybe I'd tell Dorian."

     He raised an eyebrow at me, scoffing, "Dorian? Really? That guy's about as competent as the dead keeper."

     "What the hell 's the matter with you? Yes, I would tell Dorian. He does hold the authority around here, and he's done more for this camp than you ever could," I stated harshly, gritting my teeth as I continued, "I'm going to tell Dorian. There's nothing you can do to stop me. And if you don't like it, why don't you just leave like you were going to do in the first place?!" I finished, breathing heavily. We glared at each other for a few moments, before Colt began to walk away.

     I folded my arms over my chest as I watched him walk further away, throwing all kinds of silent curses at him before I saw him stop, turning to look back towards me.

     "Aren't you coming? Camp's this way."