by Josiah Upton
He slowly raises his arm, pointing our direction. “Freaks,” he sneers, his voice dripping with disgust. I notice in his other hand is a small stack of yellow papers, and he holds them in the air now, turning his head left and right to address all the students looking on. “What I have here is proof, of what kind of scum we allow into this school!”
He pulls the top sheet from the stack, and I finally realize what it is: my medical record from Vicky Womack's office. How did he get that? She said she was the only one who had seen my file, and it was to be locked up securely. I guess Dalton found a way in.
He reads it aloud. “Saul Jarreux – who chooses to go by 'Zaul' – tests positive for the Hubrens virus.” Several gasps escape from the crowd of students, many exchanging worried looks. Dalton holds up his hand to silence them. “And... and... is registered as a Phase II Hybrid Reanimate!”
“NEGATIVE!” I shout over the collective screams of fear and outrage. “Phase II Negative! I'm a carrier!”
Dalton holds his hand up again to quell the uproar, a smirk on his face. “That's true, that's true. It does say negative. But just because you're not a full-blown Ugger, doesn't mean you're not a threat. That you don't endanger the lives of all these students, maybe someday the lives of their children.” He raises his arms up high in the air, looking at the students around him. “He says he's just a 'carrier', but what is he carrying? The same disease that created those freaks at the zoo! You were all there, you saw it! And what's going to stop him from infecting us with it as well?”
The students murmur amongst themselves, shaking their heads, giving me looks of hatred and disgust. Even a few teachers, who should be intervening in this disruption, are silent, shocked by what they've just heard. Genny lets go of my arm, and steps toward the crowd. “That's not how it works, Dalton. You can't get infected just by being around someone who has the Hubrens virus. Do yourself a favor, and stop showcasing your ignorance!”
At first he is surprised by her fiery defense on my behalf. But then, his wicked smirk returns, shaking his head as he looks down. He holds up another yellow sheet to read. “Geneva Grest...”
He can't do that. I won't allow him to. I'll rip that paper from his hand and shove it down his throat, make him choke, and keep him from what he's about to do. I move forward, but Genny holds up a hand to stop me. “Don't, Zaul.” I push her hand aside, determined to pulverize Dalton, but she grabs my sleeve, making my eyes meet hers. “Don't.”
I'm instantly reminded of the day I first encountered Dalton, when she urged me to stop before I crushed him. She appealed to my human side, and beyond what logically should have happened, it worked. She has that power over me, to insist that I'm not the monster I think I am, and to make me act accordingly, even if I can't completely believe it myself. And she's doing it again now, helping my human side win out. I step back, and remain at her side, awaiting with dread what Dalton is about to reveal to the entire school.
He clears his throat, and resumes reading the paper. “Geneva Grest also tests positive for the Hubrens virus, but that's not the most disturbing part. Despite her mature, developed appearance...” I can't help but jerk forward to attack, but she holds me back again. “...Genny has yet to undergo her first menstrual cycle, making her a Phase I. So, in other words, she's due to turn Ugger any day now!”
The outcry rises again, worried students and faculty clamoring about in the cafeteria. The secret that Genny has tried so hard to keep, is now known to all. Before she was just an outcast, merely talked about for being “weird”. But now, she is despised. I look to her, and the tears are pouring down her face. I hate this world, and what it's done to her.
Dalton steps forward, his body near enough that I could grab it and break it. He speaks quieter now, his voice low and menacing, addressing me more personally. “I told you I'd find out what was wrong with you, and I did. But I never thought your girlfriend was a part of it, too.” He turns to her, sneering with utter disgust. “I can't believe you. You'd better hope to God you didn't get me sick.”
“What?” I ask, confused. “What do you mean?” His eyebrow raises, but he keeps his lips tightly sealed. I turn my attention to Genny. “What does he mean?”
With moisture still soaking her eyes, her expression turns visibly colder as she glares at Dalton. “He must be referring to last year.”
“Last year?” I question, looking between the two of them. “What happened last year?”
“We were in a math class together. He asked me out, and regrettably, I said yes. We dated for, like, a day. And now, for some idiotic reason, he thinks maybe I gave him the Hubrens virus.”
Pain grips me. This is the worst thing she could say, worse than any hateful thing to come out of Caesar's mouth. The only human I've ever cared about dated my despised enemy. I can't even fully comprehend what “dating” means, but the thought of them together makes my undead blood boil.
But what's more disturbing is the fact that he suspects she may have given him the Hubrens. I may not be the most knowledgeable on the subject, but from what I understand, the primary way humans transmit the virus to one another is through sexual contact. That's how Joseph Hubrens spread it one hundred years ago, and that's how Genny's father got it before she came to be. I don't even want to think about it anymore, but the words start spilling out of my mouth.
“Did the two of you...”
“Ew!” Genny shrieks, anticipating my question. “Hell no! We just... well, we kissed.”
“But that day at the zoo,” I begin, trying to reconcile my previous knowledge with these new, painful revelations. “You said you'd never have your first kiss... you lied.”
“Look, kissing him was a giant mistake, okay?” There's a pleading in her voice now, like she's trying too hard to convince me. I don't like the feeling it gives, like I'm being lied to again. “It didn't take long before I found out what a pig he was, and I dumped him. I tried to erase that kiss from my mind ever since it happened. It didn't mean anything to me then, and it still doesn't now, so I don't count it.”
“But it does count,” I spit bitterly, the imagined picture of their lips touching being played over and over again in my mind, tormenting me. “And you lied about it.”
“Zaul, I...”
“Listen,” Dalton interrupts. “I'm sure you two freaks have some issues to work out, but in case you didn't notice, I've got an angry mob on my side that wants you to leave this school. Immediately.”
I was so wrapped up in my feelings of betrayal towards Genny that I had almost completely forgotten the teeming mass of indignant humans surrounding us. They're shouting and pointing, hurling insults and accusations. A few are even throwing small articles of trash at us. But none of that seems to matter to me.
“I'm just glad you broke up with me when you did,” Dalton continues, his lips curling deviously. “I was placing bets with my friends, seeing how long it would take before I got in your pants. My guess was you would've given it up to me at school, even before the first day was out.”
He starts laughing, and my Prisoner laughs wildly along with him. Mocking me, torturing me. Reminding me what a twisted joke my existence is. How ridiculous I was to want something more in life than what my evil nature craves. Friendship, kissing, love – these are all humans desires. Even Dalton, the miserable being that he is, can attain these things. But not me. I don't qualify.
Dalton laughs harder, and the crowd roars louder. I close my eyes to block it out, but it's all too much, being assaulted from within and without. The memories, the images, the insults, the lies – I just want everything and everyone to go away.
“Hey, freak!” Dalton screams. I can't see him, but I can hear him. And I can smell him. “Did you hear what I just said? I said I was going to bag your girl...”
I don't let him finish. I open my eyes, letting the Rage pour out of them. My arm moves on its own accord, under the control of my impulses, flying in the direction of Dalton. As it travels, a guttural scream
escapes my lips, echoing off the cafeteria walls. For a split second, a wave of horror overcomes his face. And then, it's gone. My fist snuffs it out as it connects with his nose. Blood flies through the air, he flies back several feet. The crowd is instantly silent.
I feel a little better now.
“Enough!” Mr. Neal waddles out from the crowd, pushing shocked students aside, until he stands between Dalton and I, fists on his plump hips and a look of sheer disbelief on his bespectacled face. I don't want to deal with any human right now, but especially not him. “Well well... doesn't this look all too familiar?”
I hear a groan a few feet away. To my surprise, the human I just crushed is not only still alive, but conscious. A pair of students help him sit up, and the blood begins to gush out of his nose. The sight and smell excite my Hunger, but then the Mortetine offers a small wave of nausea. Dalton notices the crimson fluid on his hands and shirt, then points his bloody finger at me. “He did this to me!” he shrieks. “That little freak sent me flying! It's the Ugger in him coming out!”
“Don't be ignorant!” Mr. Neal hisses. “There's no such thing as 'the Ugger coming out', even in a Phase II Negative. Either you are a Hybrid Reanimate, or you're not.”
“He broke my nose!”
“Yes,” Mr. Neal answers, eyeing me intensely. “And Mr. Jarreux will definitely answer for what he's done.” The gaze on his chubby face burns into me for a moment longer, before turning to Dalton. “But so will you.”
“What?” the bloodied teen chuffs. “What the hell did I do?”
“Aside from inciting a school-wide disturbance?” Mr Neal asks, hands gesturing to the assembly around us. “Breaking into the principal's office, stealing students' personal files, and disclosing the contents of said files to everyone? All are serious offenses. If you are able to walk, go to the nurse's station, get cleaned up, and then report to the office immediately.”
As Dalton struggles to get up, he gives me one last look of pure hatred, before storming out of the cafeteria. With the situation I'm in, socking him in the nose probably wasn't the best decision, but the sight of his broken face almost makes it worth it.
Mr. Neal now looks around, addressing the crowd of students and faculty looking on. “Let this be a lesson to all of you: We do not tolerate violence, or such blatant disregard for authority and policy, here at Pueblo High. Order is what separates us from those creatures you all observed at that Hybrid exhibit. This is a school, not a zoo! Now, go home. Lunch is officially over.”
As the students slowly disperse and exit the cafeteria, Mr. Neal wheels around to face Genny and I. “Why is everybody going home now?” I ask, fearing the APA's Hybrid-hunt in Pueblo has something to do with this early dismissal. “There's still three more periods left.”
“Patriot Burning,” Genny answers me, though I don't look her way. The painful revelation about her and Dalton is still at the forefront of my mind. “It's being held in the concrete lot behind the school this year, and they're letting everyone leave early, to prepare for the 'festivities'. There's food, rides, live music, even a reenactment of the End War – all to the tune of nationalist, fear-mongering propaganda.”
“That's enough out of you!” Mr. Neal barks, pointing a chubby finger her direction. “At every opportunity, you seem to relish the idea of defying authority, dishonoring patriotism, and questioning truth. But now, I think I finally understand why.”
Mr. Neal's attitude toward Genny has always been antagonistic, but it must have just gotten worse, considering he now knows her medical status, and is aware that someday soon she will become what he so firmly protests. In his eyes, he might not even consider her human anymore.
“You need to go home,” he says curtly. “Does your father know to pick you up early?”
“Yes,” she says, her voice sounding a little shaken. I'd almost forgotten the public ordeal she's just experienced. “And I don't think I'll be attending this school again. You know, considering... recent developments.”
“That might be best,” he says quietly, nodding his large head with slow, exaggerated movements. “Say good-bye to Zaul, then be on your way.”
Say good-bye? Be on her way? While I did enter this school to speak with Genny one last time, the main reason I'm here is to speak with Gordon, to tell him the plan, to let him turn me in. And while it's true the learning of the relational past between her and Dalton leaves a burning hole inside me, I won't let my bitterness keep Gordon from doing the only thing he can to keep his daughter safe. It wouldn't be fair to him, and it wouldn't be fair to her. And if he picks Genny up and I'm not there, I'll have to go back to Cañon City again to talk with him. I don't have that much patience... or maybe, even that much time. I have to be there when Gordon's Jeep pulls up.
“I'll walk her outside,” I offer, taking hurried steps away from Mr. Neal.
“No, you won't,” he insists. “You've just assaulted another student, and until we find out how Dalton wants to proceed in this matter, you will be within my sight at all times.”
Or else what? I'll get detention, get suspended? None of that will matter in an hour or so. Come Monday, I won't be walking the halls of this school, but will already be three days deep into my eternal sentence down at the facility. What's important is getting this done, and getting it over with quick. I ignore his command and keep walking.
“Take one more step, Mr. Jarreux, and I will have no choice but to contact local law enforcement!”
That got my attention. The police may not be the APA, but a run-in with them should definitely be avoided at this point. Despite the urgency of the situation, and my restless desire to be done with this charade, I can't risk it. I stop in my tracks, but don't turn to face Mr. Neal.
“Say your good-byes, then follow me to the office.”
Genny stands a few feet away from me, nervously chewing on her thumbnail. This is not how I planned on saying good-bye to her. Her mouth opens slightly, concern on her face. “Are you still planning on doing what you said you would?”
I remain silent, knowing the answer is yes, but not wanting to say it. When I look at her face, all I see is Dalton's lips on hers, his hands on her body. The light and warmth she once gave me has turned dark and cold, and all I feel is pain and betrayal. Gibbs never taught me how to manage these feelings. I want to tell her no, as revenge for lying to me, for hurting me. But since she tried desperately to talk me out of this plan just a few minutes ago, “no” would probably be what she wants to hear anyway. So I don't say anything, and the pain and uncertainty on her face seems to satisfy my selfish desire for emotional retribution.
“Is this about Dalton?” Tears start to collect in her eyes. I can't go through that all over again, so I look down at the floor. “I told you it was a stupid mistake, it happened over a year ago. And I'm sorry for lying to you about it. But you have to believe me. Please don't let what I've done make you give up on life. Just... just don't do it, Zaul.”
I still don't answer, I still don't meet her eyes.
“There has to be another way. I can't lose you.”
She finally turns and walks towards the cafeteria exit, leaving me here with Mr. Neal, leaving me to drown in the futility of this life, and the pain she so needlessly caused. But it will all be over soon.
Chapter 36
I'm back in the office again, where this all started in the first place. Sitting silently, trying to block out everything and everyone around me. As the time slips by, less and less students pass through the halls outside, until it's almost completely silent. Then, faculty members start disappearing. The large female sitting behind the receptionist desk is last, giving me a judging look as she leaves. I'm not sure if it's lingering animosity from our first encounter, or the events in the cafeteria.
Now, it's just me and Mr. Neal – and, if my sense of smell serves me right, Principal Womack, sitting in her office.
Finally, Dalton walks in, the nurse behind him. He has a large bandage on his nose and a small
bag of ice in hand. The sight of him again should urge me to jump up and tear him to pieces, but lagging behind Mr. Neal in the hall afforded me the chance to sneak another dose of Mortetine. The Prisoner still screams at me from behind his bars, though the roars are dull and quiet now. After I endure whatever is about to happen, I won't be seeing Dalton – or anyone else from this school – ever again.
“How is he?” Mr. Neal asks the nurse.
“Well, the bleeding finally stopped,” she answers. “I can't say for certain, but I wouldn't be surprised if we're looking at a broken nose here. I gave him some ice to help with the swelling, but I strongly recommend he goes to a doctor and gets an x-ray taken. Today, if possible.”
“Thank you, Brenda,” Mr. Neal says. “I'll see you at the Burning tonight.”
I track the nurse as she exits, my Prisoner slightly riled by her feminine aroma. But soon my eyes meet Dalton's, which have been burning into me since he entered the office. I'm not sure if he's still suspicious of my true identity or not, but one thing is certain: his hatred for me hasn't lessened in the slightest.
“Sit here,” Mr. Neal instructs him, pointing at the chair a few feet from mine. He looks back and forth between the two of us for a silent moment. “Well? Do you two have anything to say to each other?”
“To this freak of nature?” Dalton questions, eyes wide with disbelief. “I got nothin' to say.”
Neither do I. He's the whole reason I'm stuck here in the first place, wasting time while the Collars are out there sweeping the neighborhood, looking for Gibbs, and eventually me. If it weren't for the threat of the police being called, I would be long gone. If he's expecting an apology from me, he won't get one.
