Page 100 of Afflicted

“You said Us.” He narrows his eyes a little. “When you said the National Guard was shooting at you, you said Us. Who’s Us?”

Fucking idiot. Fuck fuck fuck.I laugh lightly and shrug. “Sorry sir, bloody British slang, still creeps up on me every now and then.”

Anderson’s face instantly relaxes, and he laughs too. “Ah, got it.” He dismisses me with a jovial wave of his fingers and a nod.

It shouldn’t be a big deal, but as I head out into the raging storm, I berate myself over and over. Fucking misspeaking like that, slipping up - it can’t happen. I have to be careful. Sneaking Juliet back into the compound in the midst of a massive storm was hard enough. They’d been frantically searching for her and I’d had to make up a story about her getting scared in the forest. Thankfully everyone was too busy to ask questions.

The lights overhead flicker and dim for a moment, like they’re breathing, trying to stay alive in the raging storm. They brighten back up, only to flicker again as another gust of wind batters the compound. The sky is filled with one burst after another of lightning, threading its way through the dark clouds as they build above the compound.

A sheet of rain catches me as I head for my cabin, just as a deafening roar of thunder claps directly overhead. The compound is plunged into darkness. Glowing dots of flashlights begin to appear, and I head for the obs tower. Just as I reach the bottom of the stairs, Crawley is there, waving me away.

“It’s all out, man. The storm knocked that network right out. We gotta go secure the gates and the bloodbags.” He says something else which is drowned out by another growl of thunder directly above us, and he waves his hand, gesturing for me to follow him to the shower block.

Lightning continues to dance around us, sending shadows dancing along the walls, and I hate the fucking panic that begins to whir in my limbs. The compound is unprotected. If the power is out the alarms are out. I don’t like this. And the National Guard are no doubt out looking for their man who never made it back…

Crawley throws open the shower block door, shining his flashlight inside. “Anyone in here?” He calls.

A few voices reply, peering into the tunnel of light, holding their hands up and blinking in response. Humans, some wrapped in towels, some half-dressed, walk towards us.

“Powers out,” Crawley barks. “We’re in lockdown conditions. Into the dorms and stay there.”

They all nod their assent, and then the sweet scent hits me like a gut punch. Juliet’s walking towards me, her damp hair hanging over her shoulder, dressed in a thin white shirt and tight leggings.

“You go ahead,” I say to Crawley, “I’ll check the rest of the building for stragglers.”

“No problem.” Crawley turns, telling the humans to follow him out into the stormy night.

Juliet’s gaze lifts to mine as she passes me, and my hand shoots out to wrap around her arm, holding her still. Her eyes don’t waver from mine as she waits. The others shuffle out, and we’re alone, her grey eyes illuminated by the harsh glow of the flashlight.

“What are you doing?” She asks quietly

“I’m not leaving you in that dorm.” I pull her closer to me. “All the power’s out, and I don’t trust them to keep you safe.”

“You’re crazy, they’ll notice.”

“Stay here.” I raise my eyebrows, waiting for her to agree. “Stay here, and I’ll be back in a minute.”

Finally she nods, taking a seat on the bench. “Don’t leave me here too long, I don’t like the dark.”

I give her a crooked smile, and quickly turn on my heel to head after Crawley. As I approach he’s waving the humans into the dorm, looking like he’s half-counting, but also too put off by the gusts of wind that keep battering us.

“All accounted for.” I raise my voice to be heard over the storm. “Shower block’s empty.”

“Great!” He blinks the rain from his eyes. “Anderson’s put out the order for everyone not on shift to stay inside.”

“Right, no problems. Not much to be done anyway, ey?”

“Guess not!” Crawley shoves the door closed after the last human walks in and gives himself a shake, like an irritated terrier. “You go on ahead and get out of this rain, you had enough on your plate today.”

“Thanks, man.” I head off with a wave, checking over my shoulder that he’s not watching as I detour to the shower block.Fucking idiot. The voice is back, chiding me, cursing me and my stupidity and my addiction to this woman. But I’ll be damned if I leave her unprotected. I’d rather face Anderson’s full fury and every sadistic punishment he can dole out than leave her out here.

I stick to the shadows, weaving my way back to find Juliet waiting where I left her, her arms wrapped around herself. Wordlessly, she gets to her feet and takes my hand, letting me guide her back to my cabin under the scant cover of darkness, an angry light show flickering through the sky.

But finally, we make it across the compound, to the dark line of cabins. The wind and thunder continue to rage, swallowing up all sound as I hurry Juliet up the stairs and through the door.

“You’re crazy,” she says as I shut the door. “They’ll be looking for me.”

“Crawley won’t give a fuck, he shoved all the humans into the dorm and closed the door.” I run a hand over my face, brushing away the rain. I can still see her, even in the darkness. She’s soaked through and shivering lightly. “I’ll get a fire going.”

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