Caitlin’s stomach dropped.
“She really liked you,” he added. “Respected you. Anything you needed, and Donna was right there. It made getting her off school grounds easy.”
She was certain she’d draw blood if she didn’t pull her nail away from her skin.
“Once she was bit by the rotter I’d found stuck in the briars, I wrapped a gag around her mouth so no one would hear her and brought her into the locker rooms from the field entrance.” He shifted forward on his elbows. “You know, I actually thought you saw me that day. You were in the gym as I came out and you were staring at me through the window.”
An icy finger dragged over Caitlin’s spine.
The day she’d almost gone to check the locker rooms after she saw him leave.
“But why not just kill her?” Caitlin asked. “If you were so concerned about your secret getting out, why not just kill her and dump her body?”
Seth grinned. “I needed a Plan C.”
Frowning, Caitlin waited for him to explain.
“Plan A was the swarm. Plan B was the fire. And if that hadn’t worked, I would have let undead Donna loose in the halls at night to munch on as many people as she could before the screams woke everyone.”
She swallowed, trying not to show how sick she felt.
“And before you ask,” Seth added. “I picked Bob to frame because he was annoying. Simple as that. Annoying and cheery and he sang way too loud in the goddamn showers.”
“Too bad you didn’t notice Bob is lefthanded,” she replied sharply.
Seth chuckled. “Yeah, I’ll admit that was a sloppy mistake. You caught it though, which was kind of thrilling.”
“Thrilling?” She repeated, blinking at him.
“Not every day you meet someone smart enough to give a good chase,” he said. “I like a challenge, Caitlin. And you delivered.”
“So this is how you wanted to spend your days while the world crumbled. By playing psychopathic games and getting people killed.”
“We’re all living on borrowed time,” he said. “As far as I’m concerned, this was going to happen eventually.”
She didn’t know if he meant becoming a killer or getting killed himself, but either way she wasn’t sure she disagreed.
And that bothered her more than anything.
“You know, I actually feel sorry for you,” she said. “To have no hope. No compassion. It must be so lonely.”
“Not nearly as lonely as you’ll feel,” he said, leveling his cold stare on her. “You’re going to lose everyone you love, one way or another, and there’s nothing you can do to stop it. See, you think I’m the tragic character here—a doomed man about to be executed—but really, I’m coming up roses. I’ll be gone. I won’t have to sit around and watch more people make stupid mistakes and get themselves killed.”
Something in his tone made Caitlin think he wasn’t just angry at her, or the group, but at someone else.
His sister, she thought, who he lost before making it to an Ark.
“You’re the tragedy, Caitlin. The sooner you accept that, the easier life will be for you.”
The frayed threads she couldn’t leave untied suddenly disappeared.
Caitlin got everything she needed.
Standing up, she cast one last glance at him before calling for Sister Agnes, telling her she could come back.
“What, no proper goodbye?” Seth asked, sneering.
“Goodbye Seth,” she said, hand on the door handle. “If there’s any real justice left in the world, you’ll die slow tomorrow.”
Chapter Fifteen
Everyone was awake before dawn, milling around the main cooking fire in silence.
Not a single person ate.
Waiting on an execution wasn’t exactly appetizing.
Holding her hands out to warm them, Caitlin stared into the flames, replaying the conversation she’d had with Seth over and over.
Standing up, Nathaniel murmured, “I’m going to go tell Sister Agnes it’s time.”
Booker nodded and turned to Desi. “C’mon, let’s getcha inside.”
“I’m not that cold.”
He paused, squatting down so he’d be eye to eye with her.
“Des, what’s about to happen… it ain’t for kids. Ain’t for anybody really, but we gotta take care of it.” He held her gaze. “I know you’re smart, and you’re brave, but there’s no reason you should see this, okay? Y’already carry too much on your mind. I ain’t gonna let ya add this too, alright?”
Desi swallowed, jerking her chin in a ‘yes.’
“Take the book Nicole’s havin’ ya read and stay in the trailer ‘til I come getcha.”
“Okay, dad.” Desi faltered, eyes widening. “Uh, Booker,” she corrected quickly.
Smiling softly, Booker gave her shoulder a reassuring pat. “Okay.”
Caitlin watched as Desi collected the physics book Nicole had found for her and hurried off to the far side of the trailer park.
She’d just rounded the corner of one of the mobile homes when Nathaniel shouted for Scott.
“What the…” Scott muttered, jumping up and following the direction of the yelling.
“Scott! Scott, come quick!”
The rock churning in Caitlin’s stomach doubled in size.
Rushing behind him, she and Booker followed, sprinting for the trailer door.
“Jesus, what happened?” Scott asked as soon as he was inside.
As she pushed her way inside, Caitlin could make out Sister Agnes’ profile as she lay on the floor, her scarf yanked down, exposing her greying hair.
“I found her like this,” Nathaniel said, kneeling on the other side of her. “Is she…”
Checking her pulse, Scott waited a moment before saying, “She’s alive.”
“Will she be okay?”
It was then Caitlin could see the red marks at Sister Agnes’
