"Jexton, wait up!" I call and run after him. By the time I catch up, he's already inside the gates. When I step in, my eyes widen. Before me stand numerous soldiers and a tall man in a green and black stripped hat wearing dirty jeans and a ragged jacket standing in the middle of them. He looks a little young to be called a man, but I know he is not an adolescent. I turn to Jexton, but he continues to stare at the man.
"And where were you two headed?" the man asks and Jexton swallows hard and stares at him as if he is not afraid of him. He doesn't answer and the man smiles. "Okay, no answer," he says and looks at the soldiers standing beside him. "smart."
The way Jexton's brother is dressed reminds me of a crossover between a ringleader and the riddler. That is the only way I can see him at this point, and it is kind of amusing and terrifying at the same time. I decide to refer to him as the ringriddler until I learn his name.
I scratch my arm—the one with a chip in it—and stare at the ground. "You can go home, Jex. I need to have a chat with Ms. Farrah." the man says and my head snaps up. Jexton looks at me and I look at him, terrified. The last time I came in contact with soldiers I was nearly killed.
"I'm not going anywhere without her." Jexton mumbles and the ringriddler smiles and leans forward, turning his head as if to pretend he was listening closer. Jexton turns to me and flashes a look of sympathy, then looks at the man and nods. My heart sinks at his betrayal. Tears prick my eyes as I watch him walk away.
At the same time that I turn my head back to the man, his hand comes in contact with my cheek. Pain shoots through my whole face and I cup the burning skin with both hands. A tear falls from my eye and he frowns a fake frown. "Grab her." the ringriddler demands, and two soldiers walk up behind me, grabbing my arms and holding me in place.
"Stop that shit." he demands, referring to my crying. "You really think he cares about you?" he asks and I know he's referring to Jexton.
He does. I think to myself. He told me. He killed people for me. He helped me. He saved me. The man's blue eyes reflect the bright sunlight. He removes his hat and leans back.
"What the hell were you thinking?" Ander asks sternly and I breathe heavily. "Throwing a grenade? Scaring our people and putting them in danger?" he steps toward me and my breath catches. "You should be smart enough to know that there are surveillance cameras on each and every corner of these walls."
I ignore the ringriddler's informal words and continue to stare up at him. I look between him and the many soldiers standing guard around him armed with guns, and as I take in his familiar features, I realize who he is. This is Ander, Jexton's older brother.
"Move your goddamn hands." Ander demands and I know better than to protest. I do as he says and stare at the ground. "Look at me, you German outsider." my heart sinks further down at the insult. It hurts me, but I have to pretend to not care. I would take the insults rather than a beating or being killed any day.
I look up at Ander who stares at me coldly. "You're finally back," he says and smiles. He tilts his head with a smile while looking at me. "What are you crying for? This is your fault." he says and I sniffle and stare at him blankly. "Oh, you don't know what I'm talking about, do you? You're clueless!" I slowly build up the nerve to speak as he continues to insult me.
"I'm not clueless." I say and Ander gapes. "What was that, sweetheart? I couldn't quite hear you." I slowly lift my head and look up at him angrily. He raises his hands in defeat, then laughs at the gesture as if this is all on big joke. "Why did nobody tell you? I figured you'd known already. I mean, Jexton being the good, big-hearted kid he is, I thought he'd crack by now, but I guess I was wrong." I shake my head. What is he talking about? What was the soldier back at the CDC talking about?
"Your father was a traitor," Ander says and anger stirs in me at the mention of my father. "he used my father's knowledge against him and nearly killed him with it."
What? I thought Thomas did that to my father!
"Your dad was a liar. That stuff he put in your necklace was just colored water. It has nothing to do with any of this." he waves his hands in the air for emphasis. I slowly lower my head to look at the ground and Ander jumps with excitement. "Wait!" he says and I flinch. "It gets better! Your dad wanted you to think you could 'save the world.'" he laughs and whatever is left of my heart is now in my stomach, or further if that's possible.
"You should also know that Sheiltz Disease didn't kill your father," my head snaps up and my tear soaked cheeks heat at the mention of my father's death. "my dad did." Ander sighs and looks around then back to me again.
"Ah, they we're pretty good friends, your dad and mine. You know, your dad created that disease—you know, to see if my dad's cure would work. They worked together at the CDC at one point in time. My dad found the cure and was gonna release it until your asshole of a father took it and ran."
I stumble backwards but catch myself. I begin to grow dizzy and my vision blurs. This is too much. I don't know how much more I can hear without fainting. I rub my head and slowly lower myself to the ground.
"Ah, that's a good idea. We should sit, because what I'm about to tell you next is something you'll need to be relaxed for." he stretches and lowers himself to the ground as well. Echoed voices fill my head and I rest my elbows on my crossed legs. I bring my hands to my forehead and lean forward. I try not to cry, but this is a lot to take in on such short notice. At this rate, I would have rather gone off without Jexton than to sit here and be forced to hear everything Ander has to say about our fathers.
"Jexton probably filled your head with a lot of shit, didn't he?" Ander chuckles and I refuse to look up. "He's a pretty good manipulator, that kid."
Not this again. I think to myself. Please, no more betrayal. I can't take it anymore.
"Did he tell you that you'd die out there without a mask? I heard he brought you here to get a prevention shot. Have you been feeling weaker lately? Been getting sick?" I swallow and think of all the recent times I have been throwing up and getting dizzy. My vision has been failing me and the headaches have just been getting worse.
"Well, sweetheart, as much as I hate to be the one to tell you this, because Jexton wasn't man enough to do it himself, I'm going to ask you one last question, and you have to answer me honestly." I remove my hands from my forehead and glare at him. I can barely make out his face for a few moments until my eyes adjust to the sunlight once again.
"When Jexton brought you here to get the prevention shot, what color was the liquid Judy injected you with?" my hands shake along with my chin as I open my mouth to speak. "Blue." I mumble but my voice is hoarse from not speaking and crying for so long.
"What was that?" Ander asks and I clear my throat. "B-blue." I say a bit louder and he nods. He licks his lips and stares at me. I find myself not able to look away from him. My heart begins to pound and I know he's going to say something that will destroy what's left of my broken sanity.
"The prevention antidote is clear," he says and I sob at the news. He doesn't have to finish his sentence because I already know what he's going to say next: I wasn't given a prevention shot. I was injected with the bacteria that causes the disease.
A/N:
(I'm so sorry about the late update, guys. My school's Homecoming football game was last night {28-20 we won! :D} and I had to stay at the stadium for another half hour to do clean up for my FCCLA club. {We got $150 donated to the club for doing it} and I got home pretty late. I hope you guys are enjoying the story so far and don't forget to vote and comment! Thank you all so much for reading, voting and commenting!)
YOU ARE READING
Us Against The World
Adventure" We stand there for a few more minutes just pointing our guns and staring at each other. My arms begin to hurt, but I know that I cannot let my guard down. I know that eventually I will die; but I don't want it to be like this. If anything, Jexton...
