Page 53 of Afflicted

The cramped filing office is empty when I walk in. I cross the room to the desk and flip open the laptop that’s sitting on it. I pull up the file of the night of the attack, waiting for the figure to come into frame. I tap my foot on the ground, not wanting to fast forward the footage in case I miss something.

Then the figure in the black hoodie appears. It looks like a man, broad shoulders, large hands. He keeps his head down.

Then he looks up, and jumps. Takes two stumbling steps backwards. The frame flashes and he’s gone. I rewind and watch again, those stumbling steps backwards. There’s a crack, and I’ve smashed the mouse under my hand.

The figure in the black hoodie is Matt. He reacts to whoever sprung him at the perimeter fence exactly the same way he reacted to me busting him outside the storage shed. I have to take a few steadying breaths to stop myself from storming out there and grabbing him now.

I pull up Matt’s file, trying to find anything that would indicate he knew what he was doing. He has to have had some idea about electronics and generators to pull this off. I remember Sam's words about the revolutionaries, and I wonder for a moment whether Matt’s transfer here was on purpose.

I skim the file, and find the words I expected to see - “Engineering degree.” He worked as a mechanic but for sports promoters, dealing with complicated high-performance vehicles. He’d know what he was looking at when cutting wires. This was him.

I rewind the surveillance footage again, focusing this time on the head that comes into view at the bottom of the screen. It’s barely a flash, but I pause to see the wiry hair on top of that head. It’s all black and white, so I can’t see the color.

But I know it’s red. I know what that hair feels like, because it was in my hand when I tore Braun’s head off.

I don’t even bother checking the code on the surveillance footage for Braun’s signature. I know it’s there, the fucking fool was too stupid to cover his tracks well. He deleted that footage, because he was the one who caught Matt.

I slam my fist into the desk, shattering the surface. That fucking dick has a counter over his head now. He’s going to die.

I’ll need to bide my time on that for now. Juliet needs me.

I cross the yard back to the clinic, which is busy as humans are brought in for harvesting. I pass them all, headed back to the room where I left Juliet that morning. She’s lying in bed, gazing out the window as I open her door. As soon as her eyes land on me, they light up, and she gives me a small smile.

“Hi,” she says, trying to sit up.

“Hi.” I sit down at her side. “How are you feeling?”

“A little weak, but I’ll be fine.” She gives me a shy glance. “I was a little worried. That they’d, I don’t know, take me out back and shoot me. Now that I won’t be any good to them for a while.”

I shake my head emphatically. “They wouldn’t do that to you, I promise. I wouldn’t let them.”

She nods, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “Can… can you make sure Matt is kept away from me?”

“Of course.”

“And can I be changed to the other dorm?” Her eyes are brimming with tears as she looks at me. “I don’t want to sleep in a bed next to him anymore.”

“I’ll have him moved,” I say, resisting the urge to reach out and take her hand. “You have friends in that dorm.”

“Thank you.” Her voice cracks, and she clutches a hand over her mouth. “I just wish I could understand why.”

I think I know why. I’m sure I know exactly why. But until I hear it from him, I’m not going to say anything.

“I wish I could give you an explanation.” I shake my head, rage filling my veins like lava. “All I know is that a guy like that, he’s not worth the ground you spit on.”

“Did I do something wrong?” She sounds so sad as she says it. I'm sure my heart is going to drop out of my body and shatter on the floor. “I mean, did I…”

“No, never.” I lean over her on the bed, and she gazes up at me as tears begin to roll down her cheeks.

“You didn’t deserve this,” I say quietly, and stroke the tears away with my thumb. “I need you to know that.” I know I shouldn’t, I know this isn’t the time, but I press a soft kiss to her forehead. She doesn’t flinch, or tense. She lets out a small sob instead.

I want to take her out of here. I want to tell her that if she were mine, I’d kill anyone who so much as looked at her in a way I didn’t like.I want to carry her to my cabin where I can care for her and murder anyone who touches her. I want to show her how a man who truly cares for her would treat her.

Instead I draw back from her and give her a smile. “I will always protect you.”

“But why?” Her lip trembles. “I still don’t understand.”

“You don’t need to understand, because it’s beyond explaining. You just deserve to be looked after. And I want to do that, if you’ll let me.”

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