Slate shows Bethany place after place, giving her the grand tour. She didn't sleep well despite being dead tired, body aching and still hungry even after breakfast, it wasn't enough food.
They pass the fields, they can see it from upstairs inside. People are out there, but they have a much higher security clearence than Beth herself.
Slate has the right level for it though. There is a small outdoor area for people desprete to go outside, but it is fenced in, heavily guarded and mainly only used for people who want to have a smoke or people who can brave the smoke.
"So, last on the tour... Drumroll!" Slate says, pretending to drum the air. "The rec room!"
And he begins to pull her into the room through two double opening doors when a voice calls out. "Slate!"
Slate looks over his shoulder. He sees Mikey standing there. "Actually... Do you wanna go in? Maybe by yourself? I'll come find you later.
I have to talk to... Mikey. It will be okay, it's fun in there. Maybe make some other friends who aren't me?" He suggests, ushering Beth inside.
Then his gone. Beth sighs and reluctantly slips inside. Yep, it's as boring as it sounded. There's people here, but they look bored, there is some security stationed in the room and it's just some books, chess, jigsaw puzzles likely with some pieces missing and some faded ping pong tables.
She flops onto a falling apart couch in the corner of the room to look out the windows. They're small, but you can see outside a little.
A young man her age with curly orange hair looks over from sitting at a desk alone near the window, reading a book stands up and approaches her.
"Can-can I join you?" His voice is timid.
"Knock yourself out." Beth says back harshly. He takes a seat beside her. "So..."
"If you're going to be nosy, just spit it out."
"Uh, OK. I'm Gerald, 19 y/o and I came here about a week ago. You?"
"Bethany Fairfield, 18- I mean 19 and same almost. I was in an induced coma for a short while I think, but I don't care how much time has passed. It's already been just over a year and the world is not going back to what it was."
"You remember your full name?"
"Why is everyone so surprised about that I meet? Grayson said this place isn't big on last names, but geez."
"You don't know?"
"Know what, Gerald?"
"They're erasing our identity's on purpose." He whispers.
"Great, the psych case is talking to me." She says, disbelieving him. "Ah, excuse you." He says annoyed.
Beth doesn't say a word, just keeps looking out the window. "You have any family?" He asks her.
"Two abusive parents and I hope they're dead. I took off the moment senior year finished and never looked back. Gotta keep moving forward, Gerald."
"Somehow, I don't think there is anything to look forward to anymore."
"Mmm."
"Uh, I have a girlfriend. Well, she is my fiance actually. Her name is Lydia.
We got separated, I told her to run."
Beth doesn't say anything. Gerald lowers his voice more. "Beth, look at me."
She looks at him. "The Tommorow Party shot at me and Lydia. They tried to kill us, I was captured and she got away.
The leaders who run this place, they're bad news."
"The Tomorrow Party? What do you mean? Grayson is an accountant-"
"They're lying to everyone. Well to everyone that has not been erased yet, they drop the charade around the people that are no longer who they we're before.
The amount of guilt tripping, making others feel grateful they we're rescued, it's not right. They planned this, caused this and are manipulating whoever is left alive."
"It's not like that at all-"
"How much do you know about the leaders? I heard you we're shot by Mikey. Asshole he is and you're what, forgiving him for doing that?
Look around you, open your eyes. This is the government, the current political party that is in power and the Military is operating on their orders. The security personal here is actually the Military. They leaders aren't letting you stay because they feel bad for accidentally hurting you and/or want to keep you safe.
This is about control."
Beth clutches her head, squinting her eyes a little. "What did I do that was so bad to deserve being harassed by a conspiracy theorist? I haven't killed anyone. Not even a zombie." She mutters, feeling a mild headache.
"Are you okay? Do you not feel well?" Gerald asks her as some memories slowly start to creep back.
---
"Beth, they can't be trusted! They're dangerous! I watched them board everyone onto helicopters and other flying veichles. They even handcuffed innocent people and carried them by their arms and legs onboard.
You have to believe me!"
"I don't."
"Fine, if you want to stay here and be taken against your will then, go ahead. But I'm not staying!"
"Paisley, please!"
"......"
She looks she doesn't even know her name and takes off, leaving Beth alone to wait for Slate to land.
---
"Beth?" Gerald says and she looks at him, a tear sliding down her face.
"I remember... Oh god, what have I done? Paisley's still out there, alone. They- they did trick me."
"Beth, listen to me carefully. Very carefully, don't take any medication they give you, okay? You proably had some when you we're in surgery and recovering from it, but don't take anything given to you from now on, understand?
Be compliant and pretend you're memories are somewhat repressed and keep your head down.
You can't trust anyone, but yourself here."
"I think I can trust you."
"Oh, well, yeah. I'd like to be your friend..."
"My friend?"
"Yeah."
And then he eyes Beth's wrist, it's bandaged. Where Paisley bit her when she ran into her in the dome. They we're both searching for supplies, got into a fight over stuff and she bit Beth's arm, sinking her teeth in.
It wasn't deep, but enough that she looked bitten. Gerald gently places a hand on Beth's arm, unwrapping a portion of the bandage to look.
"You're like me?" He asks, starting to smile. Albeit a creepy smile. "What?" She asks him.
"I'm bitten too. People turn within three days, it's been 10 days for me. I'm immune."
Beth's face morphs into horror. There is no way he was bit ten days ago. "I was." He adds on, whispering and pulls back his coat arm back an inch, she sees an infected, oozing slightly bite mark on his upper forearm. Weirdly it doesn't smell of rotting flesh at all.
"When they bought me here, I refused to get undressed, insisted I was fine and they lady leader-doctor didn't push the issue."
Beth is speechless.
"So, what did they say about yours? You went into surgery so surely they have seen yours. I'm not telling them about mine though, and I can't get any gauze and stitches."
Beth just looks outside, visibly shaking, turning away from Gerald a little. "Beth." He says, reaching out to hug her or just hold her, something. Even her hand if that is what she wants.
Her heart starts to beat rapidly, she starts to shake more and it feels like the world is starting to spin, her vision is blurry when she sees Gerald reaching for her.
She stands up and shoves him hard to the ground, he falls backward. "I won't let you hurt me, I'll kill you!" She screams at him, feeling unable to breath and sits on him, starting to punch him hard in the face repeatedly, his jaw, his eye, nose.
Whatever she can hurt so it doesn't get a chance to bite her. She can't hear anything and blood is covering her vision and skin when she feels someone pull her off, throwing her to the ground hard.
They pull her arms behind her back, handcuffing her wrists together and sit on her.
"What's this girl's name? I don't know her. Someone speak up, I need her name!"
"Bethany." Gerald croaks, laying on the ground beaten black and blue, blood oozing from his broken nose, swollen shut left eyelid and even some chunks of hair pulled out of his scalp.
Bethany can't hear anything, vision still blurry on account of adrenaline and Gerald's blood on her face. She feels the person who shoved her aside wipe her face with something that is wet. It becomes easier to see and she can see what she can see the number she did on Gerald.
His now out cold and her hearing is coming back. "Beth, Beth, Beth." A female voice keeps repeating. "Can you hear me? Are you with me? Someone fetch Ester."
It's a female military member sitting on her back. "I can't breathe." Beth croakes out, and she's pulled to sit up and her chin is clutched, forcing her to look at Gerald.
"Look what you did, look what you did!" Yells the female Security member at her.
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