The Unknown

TEN | friend.

Tess suspected Matt had seen her driving the car around and had followed her into the school to investigate. This meant his camp probably wasn't far from the road she had driven in on. 

Further past the school was a small desolate city, buildings rotting and withered by nature. She felt certain the group must be living somewhere nearby. The question was how to make sure they would all be outside at once so she could deliver them to the Species.

Part of her registered that they might not want her to do this. But she was convinced they didn't know what was best for themselves. She did.

Tess darted through the night under cover of trees and buildings, avoiding open spaces.

Sure enough, there was a fire blazing at the base of one of the tall buildings. She got as close as possible, crouching behind a water fountain, its stone cracked and broken.

Her sharp eyes could make out some of the faces, and their voices filled in the rest. There were five of them, and they were all kids from the School younger than her. They were also surprisingly talkative and in good spirits, roasting food and laughing around the fire. These kids didn't look sick—not how she and Kyle had been when they surrendered themselves to the Species.

It occurred to her that Kyle had experienced symptoms the earliest and was also the oldest. Maybe he'd been abducted before any of the others, giving his body more time to fall apart. This group had evidently survived much longer without many symptoms. They were all around sixteen or younger.

Matt was nowhere in sight. She kept a close eye on her surroundings, remembering his threat.

Tess watched the kids for an hour. She caught herself smiling, their happiness infectious. 

But her face dropped when she realized one of them was having a severe nosebleed. The others closed in to comfort him, obscuring her view.

This had been Kyle's first symptom, the one that was an omen for the horrible agony to come. She had to remind herself that the kids would face the same fate if she didn't intervene.

That's when her fingers found the signaling device in a pocket of her black jumpsuit. She drew it out, and her finger found the button, ready to press it. She would find Matthew separately. He would be—

Out of the corner of her eye, something swung toward her. 

Hard metal collided with the side of her head. Her vision shuddered. 

She wasn't sure if her skull was intact or shattered. Her head went numb, the pain only beginning to seep through. Wet hot blood was running down her scalp.

She turned. Matt. He was standing beside her as she recovered herself, watching with a pained expression. He swung a metal pipe back like a baseball bat, ready to hit her again—

Her finger was still on the button. She pressed it.

The world exploded with light and a burst of energy. She knew it didn't affect her as much as pure humans, who would be incapacitated for at least a few seconds.

When it subsided, all of the kids had vanished. Matthew was still beside her, as she'd hoped. She had a few questions for him. He was disoriented and gasping as if he'd just surfaced from a deep dive underwater, clutching at his throat.

"Matt, we need to talk," she stated.

He turned to face her, his movements lethargic. "I disagree," he said breathlessly.

"I poke you with one of these and you're dead immediately." She flexed her fingers in front of him tauntingly. "So don't move."

He eyed her fingernails with keen interest. "Fine. Do it."

She ignored him. "Did you ever make it to another city? After you deserted us?"

"No." He grit his teeth. "I started to feel sick and turned back." He said this with shame and anger, swiping a hand through his hair. A tangled clump came out in his hand, and he wiped it casually on his pants as if he were used to this.

"You're sick. I can help you."

He looked at her, his eyes crazed and manic. "I do not want your help," he huffed. Then his expression shifted to one of desperate pleading. "Please, Tess. Let me die in peace."

Those words sent a shiver through her. She stared at the device in her hands, then her eyes flickered back to him.

His face hardened like he knew she could never let him go.

Matt suddenly lurched upright and charged at her.

They landed in the empty fountain, Tess's head cracking against the stone. Matt's eyes were now murderous. He forced the pipe against her neck, choking her. 

She sputtered, her eyes growing wide. Surely her oldest friend wouldn't kill her. He couldn't, could he?

Her first instinct was to scratch and claw at him, but she had to hold this back.

Matt, however, had other ideas.

Keeping her air cut off with one hand, sending spots across her vision, he grabbed her wrist with his free hand. He moved her deadly fingers toward his own bare arm, freckles visible even in the moonlight.

Tess realized with horror what he was trying to do. She clenched her fingers into a tight fist, digging the nails into her palm and drawing blood.

He tried to force her fingers to relax. He was trying to poke himself. 

Her vision was fading. She had to stay conscious, or he would succeed. Her eyes welled with tears.

She drew her knees toward herself, then planted her feet on Matt's torso, throwing him off her. She coughed and choked air back into her lungs as Matt tripped over the fountain's edge. He stumbled and fell onto the grass with a grunt. 

After catching her breath, Tess searched for the signaler. It was gone—she must have dropped it when he'd tackled her.

Matt spotted it before she did, lying a meter from him in the grass. He scooted toward it, long arm outstretched, while she dove at it. Her hand narrowly missed scraping his flesh as she plucked it up and, without hesitation, pressed the button once more.

With another blinding flash, he was gone. 

She had saved his life. Except it didn't feel like it.

She was all alone. The campfire was still glowing to her right, and the dead buildings still stretched up toward the pale moon.

Sweat and tears were rolling down her face. She'd been bruised and bloodied, and she felt hollow inside. Still breathing raggedly, she dragged herself back to the car and collapsed into the back seat, willing her body to heal its own injuries.