Permafrost [COMPLETED]

Lori

"Who is that?" I ask my boyfriend as I watch Luke and Marcus through the window carrying another boy their age.

"I'm just glad they're back." I hear Griffin to my right as he unlocks the window, helping the three boys in.

The third one seems to be unconscious as Luke grabs him from inside and lays him down on the couch.

"Who is that?" Levi asks and Luke drops his backpack, taking his jacket off with it.

"We found him like this outside of the supply building. We couldn't just leave him."

The boy groans and mumbles something incoherent as all of us watch him.

"Do we have a scanner?" Marcus questions and Levi starts heading for the closet.

"I think my brother has one."

Levi moves boxes and things for a minute or so before pulling out a black box like device.

A green light flashes when it's turned on and an automated voice makes us all jump.

"#34987291"

"I've never seen one up close." I whisper and most everyone agrees.

"My dad has tons in the garage." Lena tells us.

Of course, he would. Why wouldn't he?

Levi sticks the device to the mysterious boy's arm and it starts to suck, making his body twitch in different spots.

"Completed."

Levi pulls the black box from the boy and his barcode is visible for just a second before it disappears back into his skin.

"Benny Dotson," Levi begins to read. "Capricorn. Age 16, a full-time resident of Brookwall. Parents are Amelia and George Dotson. George works for Bradley."

"I've seen him before." Lena says in the silence and Griffin puts an arm around her shaking frame.

"I'll get a cold washcloth for his head." Riley disappears into the bathroom and I hold my stomach.

"If he dies, it's on us." I whisper to Cade and he squeezes my hand.

"He's not gonna die."

"Riley will take care of him." Marcus tells all of us. "She'll stay here while the rest of us do supply runs. We get her what she needs, understand?"

"I'll go on the next one." I say suddenly and Cade grips my arm.

"What are you doing?" He whispers and I ignore him.

"Who wants to go with Lori?" Levi asks and everyone looks at me.

"I will."

"Cade, no." I tell my boyfriend and he ignores me back.

"I'm not letting you go without me." He says a few minutes later and I bite the inside of my cheek.

"You'll leave before sunrise." Marcus says and I nod, comfortable enough to fall into my boyfriend's chest.

When sunrise comes, we're already on the trial, me focusing on the mission more than the boy who's trying hard to keep up.

"Will you slow down?" He asks but I don't. "If you're mad at me just say so."

"You shouldn't have come." I say and he sighs.

"Well, you shouldn't have volunteered." He tells me and I huff, walking ahead of him. "Sulk all you want, babe, you're stuck with me."

After a few more supply runs, everything seemed to be going smoothly until I got my shoe caught on the fence.

I tripped over the rail and ended up spraining my ankle.

And you can guess where I ended up.

"Would you put me down? It's just a sprain." I tell my boyfriend but he keeps walking.

"I have a goldfish." He replies and literally utters me speechless.

How do you reply to that?

"What?" I finally ask and he laughs, continuing his journey with me on his back.

"I thought we were saying things that didn't matter." He steps over a rock. "I don't care if it was just a stubbed toe- I'm carrying you."

I roll my eyes and give in, placing my cheek on his shoulder and closing my eyes.

We get to a sketchy part of town and Cade sets me down on a dusty curb.

He roams down the alley and comes back with a somewhat creepy guy, holding a set of security cards.

"They'll let you get into any room in the RES building. They hack the Reapers, and if you're smart enough you can get into the layout with these bad boys. Control the power lines, the water sources, the deliveries and even the wall."

I take them from him and he pulls out his smart phone.

"Now, will that be cash, card, or memories?" He creepily asks and my heart rate increases.

"Dude, we had a deal." Cade steps in but the guy refuses to take no for an answer.

"You and I had a deal but her and I do not." He says looking into my eyes.

I place the cards in my pocket so he doesn't change his mind.

"M-memories." I finally mumble and Cade grabs my arm.

"No way." 

"Calm down. This is my decision."

"Why memories?" The guy asks and I take a deep breath.

"Sometimes memories are the worst form of torture."

"They have to be my choosing." The guy speaks.

"Okay, no. This is suicide!" I ignore Cade.

"What memories do you want?" I ask the man, my hand holding my ankle.

"Lori!" I don't even process that Cade's still here.

"Only the ones of me."

"Done." I say without hesitation and the man grabs my arm to scan my barcode, the pain shooting through my veins for a split second, the coating over my eyes getting fuzzy.

I understand the situation fully, if I was to ever encounter the WatchMen and if they were ever to confront me about the cards, I would have no idea where they came from.

I know what you're thinking- Cade could just tell me but not after the scanner does it's job.

Even if Cade were to give that information to me, I would just forget it again because my brain was not meant to hold that knowledge. Thanks to the scanner.

I open my eyes and I'm standing next to Cade, the faint throbbing pain in my ankle and the tight straps of my backpack are the only things I can feel.

"What are we doing here?" I ask him, remembering that he set me down just moments ago.

He shakes his head and picks me up again, starting to walk towards the next street light.

"Let's go home."