worse than the truth,” I told him honestly. “I've always had an overactive imagination. The nightmares I had about monsters under my bed were 1,000 times worse than any zombie I've ever seen, including the two today.”
Drake hesitated for a moment and then nodded. It was apparent that he was gathering his thoughts and I didn't try to rush him. I was having a hard enough time accepting that the flavorless 30 year old canned food I despised so much was the only thing keeping me from looking like Seth. I couldn't get his dead, white eye out of my thoughts.
“You realize that you'll never be able to go back from here?” Drake asked me unexpectedly.
“Huh?”
“Once I tell you everything, you won't be the same girl. You won't look at things the same way. Even if you run screaming away from the Scavengers and go back to the Cube and your job in the hospital ward, you'll see things that will remind you about what you learned tonight. You'll understand things you don't want to understand.” Drake shrugged his broad shoulders. There was sympathy in his eyes.
“I already see things I don't want to see. Maybe understanding them will help me figure out how deal with what I see,” I told him.
He chewed his lip for a moment longer, then raked his fingers through his glossy hair.
“What did you think you would be doing when you joined the Scavengers?” he asked.
“Um, I don't know, really. Just whatever was needed of me. Why?”
“What did you do at the hospital ward?” He switched tactics.
“I was a nursing assistant.”
He shook his head no. “Nursing assistant is just a job title. What did you do ?”
“Oh.” I understood what he was asking now. “Mostly I took care of people. I dressed a lot of wounds. Brought water and food when people asked. Changed bandages. Changes bed pans.” I made a face at the last one. “Why?”
“What did you think you would be doing when you joined the Scavengers?” he repeated his original question but now I understood the context of his words.
“I guess just helping find supplies and bring them back to the Cube,” I said. “My Dad always told me the name Scavenger comes from the idea of a scavenger hunt. He said that the Scavengers kept lists of supplies that were needed in the Cube, things like food and medicine, and went out to search the outside world for those items – kind of like a big scavenger hunt. With zombies thrown in for a bit of excitement,” my voice wavered a little bit as I attempted to make light of the situation.
Drake shook his head at me. “Your Dad was probably right about 20 years ago.”
“Twenty years ago?” I repeated in disbelief.
“Yeah. The description you just gave me is what the original Scavengers did do, back when finding food was just a matter of locating your nearest zombie-infested grocery store and clearing out the aisles. What we do now is a lot more complicated. And a lot more political.”
“Political?” Now I was really confused.
“You already met Seth. He's the leader of...well, we don't need to go into that right now, but let’s just say he's kind of my antithesis.”
“Antithesis?” I wasn't familiar with the word.
“To put it simply, I'm the good guy, he's the bad guy.” Drake smiled at me and this time it was genuine.
“Oh, I get it,” I said, pushing away the memory of Seth telling me not to trust Drake. Drake was telling me the truth now and according to him, Seth was the enemy. It only made sense that the enemy wouldn't want me to trust Drake.
“Good. I hope you never see him again, but if you do then you'll need to remember how dangerous he is.”
“He said we were in his valley.” The words came back to me unbidden.
“Yeah,” Drake scowled. “The Cube is located inside the area of land he considers to be his turf.”
“What?”
“Don't worry about it right now. It’s really not important.”
“But?”
Drake shook his head fiercely. “It's not important, Pilar. It really
Drake hesitated for a moment and then nodded. It was apparent that he was gathering his thoughts and I didn't try to rush him. I was having a hard enough time accepting that the flavorless 30 year old canned food I despised so much was the only thing keeping me from looking like Seth. I couldn't get his dead, white eye out of my thoughts.
“You realize that you'll never be able to go back from here?” Drake asked me unexpectedly.
“Huh?”
“Once I tell you everything, you won't be the same girl. You won't look at things the same way. Even if you run screaming away from the Scavengers and go back to the Cube and your job in the hospital ward, you'll see things that will remind you about what you learned tonight. You'll understand things you don't want to understand.” Drake shrugged his broad shoulders. There was sympathy in his eyes.
“I already see things I don't want to see. Maybe understanding them will help me figure out how deal with what I see,” I told him.
He chewed his lip for a moment longer, then raked his fingers through his glossy hair.
“What did you think you would be doing when you joined the Scavengers?” he asked.
“Um, I don't know, really. Just whatever was needed of me. Why?”
“What did you do at the hospital ward?” He switched tactics.
“I was a nursing assistant.”
He shook his head no. “Nursing assistant is just a job title. What did you do ?”
“Oh.” I understood what he was asking now. “Mostly I took care of people. I dressed a lot of wounds. Brought water and food when people asked. Changed bandages. Changes bed pans.” I made a face at the last one. “Why?”
“What did you think you would be doing when you joined the Scavengers?” he repeated his original question but now I understood the context of his words.
“I guess just helping find supplies and bring them back to the Cube,” I said. “My Dad always told me the name Scavenger comes from the idea of a scavenger hunt. He said that the Scavengers kept lists of supplies that were needed in the Cube, things like food and medicine, and went out to search the outside world for those items – kind of like a big scavenger hunt. With zombies thrown in for a bit of excitement,” my voice wavered a little bit as I attempted to make light of the situation.
Drake shook his head at me. “Your Dad was probably right about 20 years ago.”
“Twenty years ago?” I repeated in disbelief.
“Yeah. The description you just gave me is what the original Scavengers did do, back when finding food was just a matter of locating your nearest zombie-infested grocery store and clearing out the aisles. What we do now is a lot more complicated. And a lot more political.”
“Political?” Now I was really confused.
“You already met Seth. He's the leader of...well, we don't need to go into that right now, but let’s just say he's kind of my antithesis.”
“Antithesis?” I wasn't familiar with the word.
“To put it simply, I'm the good guy, he's the bad guy.” Drake smiled at me and this time it was genuine.
“Oh, I get it,” I said, pushing away the memory of Seth telling me not to trust Drake. Drake was telling me the truth now and according to him, Seth was the enemy. It only made sense that the enemy wouldn't want me to trust Drake.
“Good. I hope you never see him again, but if you do then you'll need to remember how dangerous he is.”
“He said we were in his valley.” The words came back to me unbidden.
“Yeah,” Drake scowled. “The Cube is located inside the area of land he considers to be his turf.”
“What?”
“Don't worry about it right now. It’s really not important.”
“But?”
Drake shook his head fiercely. “It's not important, Pilar. It really
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