Page 119 of Afflicted

“Would you prefer it if I did?” When she’s only answered with silence, she shrugs. “I’m not going to turn you in, because there’s no point.”

“So what do you want in return?” I know she wouldn’t do this unless there was something in it for her. Why the fuck would she cover for me like this?

“I don’t want a thing, Silas. I came here, as your friend. When I saw you’d cut the feed to the gym, I knew you’d made yet another mistake. So I came over here to stop you.”

“Another mistake, ey?”

“Yeah, like the one you made the night of the storm, and the supply run to Savannah.”

“You were baiting me.”

Sam laughs lightly. “I was always very good at fishing, Silas.Fish are stupid. And so are men when they got a pretty girl in front of them.”

“It’s not like that,” I snarl, feeling my rage building. “This isn’t just some cheap lay, not like what you and me had.”

“Ouch.” Sam’s nose wrinkles. “That wasn’t called for.”

“Fuck you.”

“Maybe so, but either way, as your friend, I did come here to stop you from making a mistake.”

“Juliet is not a mistake.”

“She may not be, but coming inside her would be.” Sam’s face is infuriatingly neutral, her chin tipped up as a self-satisfied smile crosses her lips.

I recoil at her words. “What are - What do you mean, coming inside her would be?”

“Ithoughtit would be a momentary thing, between the two of you.” Sam rolls her shoulders, her gaze lazily moving back to the ceiling. “But that night you absconded with her to your cabin, when I could smell her practically dripping from your walls, I could see it wasn’t going to end. You were just going to keep sleeping with her, no matter what.”

Panic snakes its way up my back. “Yeah, she’s mine, that’s why.”

“Mmmm, yours huh?”

“Yes.”

“Well, not for much longer.” Sam’s icy gaze drops back to my face, and she tilts her head. “Did she tell you she got an exam this morning?”

“Yes.”

“Did she tell you what kind of exam?”

“Yes.” I growl, my hands balling into trembling fists. She’s fucking enjoying this.

“And what do you think that was for?”

I lunge at Sam, slamming her against the wall. She almost moans as her back connects with the stone, her eyes bright red as she runs her tongue over her fangs.

“Pent up, honey? Did I interrupt before you got to finish?” She laughs in my face.

“Tell me what the fuck is going on or-”

“I got her transfer papers this morning.” Her expression turns into one of defiant triumph, and my arm drops from her throat.

I blink stupidly, letting the words sink in. “Transfer? To where?”

“Charleston.” The word rolls off Sam's tongue slowly, as though she’s savoring how it tastes. “She’s prime age.”

My body reacts instantly to the grief and revulsion that wells up inside me.Charleston.The breeding farm. They’re going to lock her in a room with a man jacked up on drugs, who’ll rape her until she’s pregnant. They’ll force her to carry a baby that will be torn from her arms once she’s done feeding it. And then they’ll do it again. And again. And again…

---