Chapter 23: Malignity
KATHERINE
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The door slammed shut behind me with enough force to make the walls tremble.
Good. Let them shake. At least something was honest today. I strode through the training center without acknowledging anyone, heading straight for the section reserved solely for me. It wasn't much of a secluded corner lined with weapons racks, battered training equipment, and a handful of punching bags but it was mine. A place where no one questioned me. A place where I could bury everything I refused to say aloud. I yanked my gloves on. The leather tightened around my fists. Then...
I threw the first punch.
Thud.
Another.
Thud.
Again.
Thud.
The heavy bag swung violently. I didn't stop. Control yourself. Another punch.
You're letting your emotions cloud your judgment. A harder one. You know better than this. The bag groaned beneath the impact. I clenched my jaw. The anger wasn't only about Leila. That would have been easier. Much easier. It was about Caine. For years... I had worked beside him.
I had bled beside him. I had helped build this shelter from nothing more than abandoned ruins and impossible dreams.
Brick by brick.We had built a home for people the world had abandoned. And somewhere along the way... Without realizing it... I had begun to admire him.
Admiration slowly become affection.
Affection has become something far more dangerous. Feelings. Feelings I never intended to have. Caine never encouraged them. He never rejected them either.
He simply... Stayed distant. Every time I thought he was finally lowering his walls...
He built them higher. Colder. Thicker.
Another punch landed. Crack. I breathed heavily. Then why... Why did he show compassion so easily to a stranger?
A woman who had walked through our gates only yesterday. A woman from the Reestablishment. He had spoken gently.
Patiently . Almost... protectively he even blushed for fuck's sake . I had spent years standing beside him. Years. Yet I had never received that version of Caine. I hated myself for thinking it. Because jealousy had no place here. Not anymore. Not after everything we'd survived. I shook my head violently. Focus. The memories came anyway. The Five. The original squad. I immediately forced the thought away.
Don't. Don't think about Layne. Not today.
The remaining four of us had survived hell together. Before the outbreak. During it.
After it. We had fought starvation.
The infected. We built this shelter while constantly lying to the authorities, Every lie carried the risk of execution. Eventually...
The Reestablishment shifted its focus farther away from this region. Our existence became easier to conceal.
But never truly safe. Never. Doctor Briar had always been reserved. He cared deeply for Layne. After she disappeared...
He buried that grief beneath medicine and responsibility. No one spoke her name anymore. Not because we forgot. Because remembering hurts too much. Hog... He was everyone's anchor. The one who checked on every broken soul before his own. Even Caine. Especially Caine. As for me... Work became my hiding place. If I stayed busy enough... Maybe I wouldn't have to acknowledge how lonely I'd become. Another punch. Harder. The chain above the bag rattled. Leila's face flashed through my mind. She wasn't lying.
I knew that. Years of suppressing my emotions had sharpened other instincts.
Observation. Body language. Microexpressions. The slightest tremble in someone's voice. The smallest hesitation.
Those things never lied. Leila had spoken the truth. At least... As far as I could tell.
But truth... Didn't automatically earn trust.
I exhaled sharply. Am I overthinking this?
The thought irritated me. Maybe.
Maybe not. I hit the bag again. This time with everything I had.
BOOM!
The leather split open. A deafening tear echoed through the room. Sand burst from the rupture, spraying across the floor like dust in an explosion. The bag sagged uselessly from its chain. Silence followed.
I stood there breathing heavily before finally pulling off one glove. Grabbing my water bottle. Taking several long drinks.
The cold water did nothing to cool the storm inside my head. I closed my eyes.
"It's all going to be fine..." I whispered beneath my breath. "Don't let your emotions get the best of you." Another slow breath. "I'm blessed." My voice steadied. "I'm grateful" Footsteps. Someone entered. I didn't turn around.
The presence felt familiar. Heavy.
Confident. Caine. Without looking, I spoke.
"If you're here to take that girl's side..." "I'm not interested." A deep voice answered instead. "Katherine." I froze. That wasn't Caine. I turned. "Hog." He walked toward me, his expression calm as always. I sighed. "Hog, I—" He gently raised a hand, stopping me before I could continue. "Katherine..." His voice remained soft. "I am well aware that what I am about to say will almost certainly not be what you were hoping to hear." A faint, sympathetic smile crossed his face. "Not least because these words are coming from me..." A pause.
"...rather than the person you were truly expecting to stand before you." My stomach tightened. He knew. Of course he knew. Hog noticed everything. I looked away. He continued. "Your reservations are justified." "She walked through those gates only yesterday." "And trust is not a privilege anyone earns overnight." "I would question your judgment if you welcomed her without hesitation." His words settled heavily between us. "But..." He took another step.
"Do not allow suspicion to eclipse our purpose." His voice became firmer. "Remember why this place exists." "Remember what forged us into this family."
I looked back at him. "Every one of us was stripped of the people we loved." "Every one of us was left with nothing but grief..."
"...and the will to endure." His gaze swept across the training room. "And from those ruins..." "...we found one another." "We built this sanctuary with our own hands." "Our own blood." "Our own sacrifices." His voice carried quiet conviction. "It was never built upon certainty." "It was built upon hope."
"Our purpose has never changed." "We save those who can still be saved." "We keep fighting..." "...regardless of the cost."
He allowed the silence to breathe before speaking again. "So if there is even the faintest possibility that Leila is telling the truth..." "...then that possibility alone is worthy of consideration." His eyes met mine. "We march into death's shadow every time we step beyond these walls."
"Every mission carries the promise of uncertainty." "Every mission could very well be our last." A sad smile touched his lips.
"Risk is not new to us." "What matters..."
"...is who stands beside you when it comes." He placed a hand against his chest. "And I will be there." "You know me well enough to know that I will not permit anyone to orchestrate our downfall."
"Not Leila." "Not an enemy lurking beyond the trees." "Not anyone foolish enough to mistake vigilance for weakness." His expression hardened. "The only adversary no one has ever conquered..." "...is inevitability itself." "Death comes for us all eventually." "Whether by the infected..." "By time..." "...or by the quiet cruelty of fate."
Neither of us spoke for several moments.
Then Hog walked past me. He stopped beside the destroyed punching bag.
Sand lay scattered across the floor. He rested one weathered hand against the torn leather. "I ask very little of you, Katherine." He looked over his shoulder.
"Only this." "Set your doubts aside long enough to give cooperation a chance."
"If uncertainty still lingers..." "Speak with Leila yourself." A small smile appeared.
"You possess a gift that very few people ever will." "You read the truth in others long before they speak it aloud." He nodded toward me. "Trust that instinct." "Put it to work." Then... Without waiting for an answer... Hog walked away. The door clicked shut behind him. Silence reclaimed the room. My eyes drifted back to the torn punching bag. Its contents lay scattered across the floor. Just like my thoughts.
I closed my eyes. Maybe Hog was right.
Maybe... Before passing judgment... I owed Leila one conversation.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnyegg45YXx
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