White Rabbit - A Criminal Minds Fic

Sixteen

It was Charlie that ran after her and found Alice bent over and dry heaving by the gate.
He went to put his hand on her back but she pushed him off, angrily.

"You knew?"

He nodded.

"How many? How many of our friends, our family, how many have been killed because they were ill?"

"Ally, I don't know. I honestly don't know. I'm only a few years older than you, remember that. I didn't know this was happening when I bought you here."

"Yeah right" Alice scoffed "You're his son, of course you knew."

Charlie shook his head again."I don't get any special privileges because I'm a direct descendent. Far from it. It's you he had the special interest in remember, you and Abby."

Oh god. Abby...

"So anyone that's been ill, anyone that we've been told has left of their own accord?"

"No one leaves of their own accord. I know this now."

Charlie did look ashamed of himself, and Alice wondered if he really had been kept in the dark until he'd reached nineteen. Even after Alice had been matched to Lewis, she and Charlie had remained good friends. He looked out for her and Abby, he'd comforted her the many times she'd been in the infirmary with her miscarriages and he'd always come with her to hold her hand whenever she was called to give blood, because he knew how much she despised it. It was Charlie that bought her books from his trips into town, that she still wasn't allowed to go on and it was Charlie who had spent days slapping at her hands when she'd started to itch at the rabbit tattoo all residents of the camp were branded with when they turned sixteen.

Alice couldn't wrap her head around this. Lewis had told her time and time again that when the world fell, they'd need everyone. All of the resources they could get. Due to the ages, some of the residents naturally wouldn't have been around for it anyway. But for the time being, when they were still building and expanding, working to save for the future, surely it was all hands on deck?

Yet here he was, advocating the murder of innocent people. Their friends, their family.

"The measles outbreak, last year. Amy and Sara?" she named two young girls she remembered being taken to the infirmary and not coming out. She'd been told they'd been taken back into town and would recover with their grandparents on the outside.

Charlie nodded.

"Alex? Megan? Jenny?"

He nodded at each name and Alice retched again.

"Ally, comeback to the house. Lets get you some water."

Alice didn't want to go anywhere with him. She didn't want to go anywhere with any of these people any more. This wasn't right.

But she had no choice.

...

Lewis came to her later that night. She'd shut herself away in her room, not even saying goodnight to Abby or Marnie. Charlie had tried to talk to her some more but she wasn't having any of it. Marnie had told him to leave her be, that she'd soon understand.

Alice didn't think she'd ever understand.

When Lewis came in, he didn't look annoyed or disappointment. He just sat on the edge of the bed, the bed they shared a few nights a week, and looked at her.

"Alice, this will be your job soon. To make the hard decisions, like I've had to."

"I don't want that job" she told him.