Chapter 13 : Late night visitor

MAXINE. No. This can’t be happening. Theo can’t just do that. I jump to my feet before he can walk away. “Theo. Please. I can do better. You caught me off guard and I’m not really used to fighting—” “A deal is a deal,” he says dismissively. “Don’t worry, I’ll take you off sewer duty and put you somewhere nice. I can get the Overseer to do it. Just trust me.” With that, he walks away without looking back, taking one of the crossbows in the corner and hitting through more targets than Bianca. That’s when it all clicks in my head. He knew that I would be weaker than him. I just got turned into a Werewolf… what, a week ago? I don’t know how to shit properly. I have no idea how to control my wolf. I don’t know anything. I have never fought anyone before, not like this. He must have known all of that, so he chose this moment to make me “prove” my worth because he knew I would make myself look worthless. He doesn’t want me in on the rebellion. If it even is real. It’s probably just a prank between him and Jonathan. Maybe they’re laughing at how gullible I have been, believing all that stuff. But I just really wanted to get out of here. Or at least belong to something and stop feeling so lonely. * * * “Hey, you didn’t go out and eat,” Vivienne says as she enters the room. “We figured we’d sneak some of the food in so you won’t die of starvation.” She sets down a bag of food on my lap but I stay seated, watching the moon flash from behind the passing clouds. I feel horrible. I just want to go back to Kansas and be with Livia and our other friends. Hell, even living with Paul would be a better option than this. “Don’t be so upset,” Bianca tries to say nicely as she sits down next to me. “That’s just Theo, you know. He’s very strict and he doesn’t let a lot of people in. Hell, Viv and I barely made it in, and it’s because we had years of experience being in complete misery here. Not a lot of people know about his plans. We don’t even really know either.” “But we know Theo, and we can assure you it’s nothing personal.” Viv pats my shoulder but I find no comfort in it. “You just have to stay here a little longer and figure things out then after that—” “There isn’t an after,” I correct her in a low voice. “I’m getting out of here.” They look at each other, an understanding passing through them. “You know the only ways out,” Bianca says. “And you know it would be impossible. But if you just wait for Theo and trust him, it might just be faster.” “How long has he been here?” “All his life.” Viv’s eyes dim with sadness. “Theo is a Natural-Born Werewolf. He was left at the Unclaimed Camp gates when he was a baby, and the Ambassador, who was an Overseer then, took him in and raised him. He knows all about the camp. The history, the lore. He always says he’s inspired by the great man Adam Ellsworth, who established this camp as a safe space for Human-Born Werewolves or just… people who are lost. He meant to make it a beautiful camp but you see what it is now.” “Theo’s plan is to make it what it was supposed to be,” Bianca adds. “And that’s why he doesn’t just let people in. There are others here who like the system just fine, and you don’t want to mix with them.” I keep quiet. I don’t know what to say. I don’t want to feel bad for Theo, but now my heart is breaking for him. I can’t imagine growing up here, even with someone who is as seemingly kind as the Ambassador. It must be rough, seeing all the people coming but no one going. Even more painful when you realize that no one is taking you out of this situation either. No wonder he wants to make it better. But that doesn’t solve my problem. “I don’t want to eat,” I just say, putting the food on the side of the bed. “I just want to rest.” They look at each other again, but they just nod with understanding before taking the little bag and turning off the lights. I lie down and after the initial rumble of them trying to get comfortable, everything gets quiet enough for me to sleep. I sink into darkness, ready to get into the realm of dreams when suddenly, I get jolted awake by a certain creeping feeling. The feeling that someone is watching me. I sit up, and the first thing I see is the light slanting from the open window. It’s forming an odd shape on my bed, and as I wake up a little more, I realize that it’s a shadow. The shape of a man. I look up and see the man’s eyes, bright yellow in the dark. He has his upper body almost halfway inside the room, which is insane considering that we are on the upper floors of the complex. His arms are outstretched like he’s going to use them as support when he gets inside. However, upon closer inspection, I can see that he’s holding a little box. My senses sharpen. I want to scream but my voice is stuck in my throat like bile. But as I gasp, I catch a whiff of something good. Something that smells like food, particularly melted butter and chocolate, coming from the little box he’s holding. For some reason, that startles me even more. Maybe I’m just groggy. Maybe that’s not even food. Maybe this isn’t real at all. I rub my eyes and stare at the window, expecting the man to be completely gone, but he’s still there. Hanging on the ledge, huffing and puffing as he tries to balance himself a lot better. He’s breathing. That’s a good sign. He’s not a beast, he’s just a silhouette from the harsh light of the moon. But that doesn’t make this normal, does it? “Who are you?” I ask, my voice almost croaky with shakiness. “I will call the guards!” Instead of answering, the man smiles, his teeth shining in the dark. I jump out of bed and the man flinches too. The audacity to flinch like that, when he’s the one looking like the Grim Reaper here. "Get out!" I want to say, but my fear keeps me mum. He tries to drop off the food carefully but he ends up spilling it all over the floor, revealing chocolate chip cookies that are still steaming. The absurdity of the situation overshadows my fear at last, and now I'm just curious as to who this clown thinks he is. “Who the hell are you?” I shoot at him, walking closer to the window. But the man just panics, turning around to hide his face. Except that he’s literally dangling off the window ledge, so this big movement causes him to fall straight down—about twenty feet below. “No!” I whisper in horror, running up to the window to take a look at him. He’s sprawled on the grass down below, groaning in pain as he tries to get up. When he sees me looking, he amps up his speed so that I won’t see him. But it’s too late. I already saw him when he looked up. The light from the moon illuminated so much of his features. It’s the boy from the party, many nights ago. And now he’s running away from the complex, heading straight to the borders and shifting into his wolf form before he can get spotted.