Chapter 65: 65

CAINE’S P.O.V

I fucking hated being the new guy.

As a child, I bounced around in foster homes, it meant that I was always the new guy. There was always a new school and fitting in was hard especially when everyone already had their designated friends and favorite spots.

I gave up trying after a while and just learned to sit back and watch. It didn’t make it any easier, but it also didn’t make it harder.

I had ignored the guards for the most part, only speaking when I was given my orders. I stuck close to my team, I didn’t know them and I didn’t trust them but for the rest of the day, my life was in their hands and I had to know if they would keep me alive so I watched them.

For the first few hours, I barely spoke. There were four people in my team, including me- two guys and a girl. The girl stayed on her own, her bag clutched tightly to her chest and her eyes always wary. The guys on the other hand seemed more playful, they laughed about the most stupid things and whispered inside jokes to each other. Neither seemed particularly threatening, but I didn’t feel the urge to join any of them.

We watched our designated patch of land, setting traps to capture prey and monsters and checking on the previous ones to make sure there was nothing caught in them. We managed to find a hare, but nothing more.

I was in the middle of bagging the hare when I felt a presence behind me. I stilled, the hair at the back of my neck standing on edge, but I refused to give them the benefit of knowing that their presence unsettled me.

“Do you need something?” I asked, my voice cold and uncaring.

“You don’t have to be so mean all the time.”

I recognized the voice, it belonged to one of the girls. I didn’t know her name, and in all honesty, I didn’t care to. I didn’t turn to her, but I didn’t have to. I could feel her close to me and saw the light blue of her hair out of the corner of my eye. How she managed to get her hands on hair dye, I had no idea.

I finished bagging the hare and stood to my feet. “What do you want?”

“I’m just trying to be nice. We’re going to be out here all night together. The least we can do is get to know each other,” she shrugged.

I ignored her obvious effort and gestured to the bag. “What happens to this?”

“Someone comes just before the sun sets and takes it from us.”

“Where do we camp for the night?”

“Wherever. They don’t care.”

At least that hadn’t changed. They still didn’t give a shit about the guards despite knowing that we were the reason that they were safe. They didn’t care if we lived or died, as long as they were alive and well fed.

“I’m Amy-”

“I don’t give a shit who you are,” I cut her off. “I’m not here to make friends.”

“Well Caine, tough shit because we’re stuck together. We don’t have to be friends, but we have to be civil and I need to know that you have my back.”

’We’re on the same team, of course I do.”

She scoffed. “You don’t get it. Two weeks ago, we had a run in with one of the monsters. The guys left us and ran for their lives. We almost died.”

“What does that have to do with me?”

She ran her hands through her hair in frustration. It looked like she wanted to scream or punch me, maybe both.

“I need to know that if it comes down to it, you’ll stay back and fight. We lost all our supplies and the catch for the night. The General didn’t take too kindly to it and he didn’t care that it was my life or the catch. That can’t happen again.”

“That sounds like a conversation you need to have with the guys.”

I started to leave but she grabbed my arm. “I have a kid, a boy, he’s four.”

“This world is no place for a child.”

“Do you think I don’t know that?” she hissed out. “When this whole thing started, I was going to kill him in his sleep, but he woke up and he stared at me and he thought the pillow was for a pillow fight. I have done everything I can to keep my boy safe. I know this is another sob story and you’ve probably heard a million of them, but I need to know that someone has my back, please.”

When I didn’t immediately respond, she grabbed my other arm tightly.

“If I die, they’ll toss my son out like garbage. You know what they do to people like us.”

“I can’t promise you anything,” I said finally.

“I don’t need your promises. I just need someone on my side.”

I brushed off her hold. “You don’t have to worry about me running, I’m not a coward.”

“I know.”

She didn’t say anything else until night time,

Just like she said, a guard came over and took the hare from us. He didn’t leave any food or supplies, just took the bag and walked away.

The sun set quickly, and the cold settled in the night. The darker it got, the more I understood why Amy came to me. The men were stupid at best and suicidal at worst. They were lousy and noisy. I was grateful when they fell asleep but that didn’t bring much comfort either because they went to sleep, not caring that Amy and I would be forced to keep watch.

“How long have you been stuck with them?” I asked and she shrugged.

“Since we got here, I guess. It was worse in the beginning. You should be happy they don’t snore anymore.”

I rolled my eyes. If any of them started snoring, I was leaving. I wasn’t going to risk my life for some fool, team be damned.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“You already did.”

The corner of her lips twitched. “I heard about how you brought your girl here. I also heard that you were hurt bad.”

There was no question in her words so I said nothing, keeping my eyes trained forward and my face neutral so as not to betray anything. I tried to avoid thinking about Nadine all day but it was impossible. She was on my mind every second of the day and right now, I wanted nothing more than to be curled up in bed next to her.

“I also hear that she’s Mr. Tyler’s daughter.”

“If you want to know something, then ask.”

“How do you do it? How are you with her knowing that her father is the one who put you here.”

“Excuse me?”

“Mr. Tyler is in charge of the guards now. He handled the teams and where everyone goes. We’re not usually this far from the bunker, but when I saw you, I understood. He probably wants you dead.”

I should have been shocked or annoyed but I felt nothing. He wasn’t the first person to try to kill me and I knew he wouldn’t be the last.

“She’s not her father,” I said after a moment of silence.

“But how-”

“I am not talking about my personal life,” I snapped and she went silent. “You should sleep, I’ll keep watch.”

For a long moment, she said nothing. I counted two whole minutes before she finally nodded.

“Wake me up in a few hours.” She turned on her side and curled up into herself. “Goodnight, Caine.”

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