Oh. She wants to talk aboutignoring fuckingguidelines?
I whirl around and direct my blisteringly cold ire towards her. “Shall we talk about rules and guidelines then, Councillor?” My voice is deceptively soft, but beneath it is a layer of ice.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Adam swallow and Katherine flinch. Charles clenches his jaw and turns his glare toward Elsa. Huh, apparently I’m not the only one pissed off at her. Elsa, however, is blissfully—orstupidly—ignorant of the depth of my fury.
That is until I take a menacing step towards her, using my stature to intimidate as I glare down at her. She pales and shuffles backward, some of her bravado faltering before she steels her spine once again.
“Yes,” she sniffs. “I think we should.”
“Excellent. What should we start with first? Theseveralprotocols I put in place last summer that were completely ignored when those fucking morons behind me drove up to our gate with anentire hordebehind them. Not only that, but then demanded that we let them back inside the gate, regardless of the infected that surrounded them.
“And then, whenanotherperson ignored yetanother protocolandopened the fucking gate to allow the entire horde inside, these pieces of human excrement, hunkered down in their car like cowards and watched as good people died helping them.”
By the time I’m finished, my hands are shaking and I’m seconds from turning around and beating the ever-loving shit out of the idiots behind me. I don’t think I’ve ever been this out of control.
Adam and Charles are glaring at those behind me in disgust, only now realising the true extent of how much the supply team fucked up. Katherine looks heartbroken, her eyes welling with tears and a hand clutching her throat. Elsa looks a little embarrassed, but I’m not done.
“Of course, all of that’s just about what happened tonight. If we’re talking aboutallthe ignored protocols, then should I tell you about the fact that no one has done food inventory for several weeks? That Alex has spent the better part of two days having to go through the pantries and found food missing and undocumented?
“Or that supply teams are going out unprepared, untrained and without the proper supplies needed? What about gate security and how the protocols I put in place, for our fuckingsafety, are constantly being ignored? Should I go on?”
Elsa’s mouth opens and closes like she’s imitating a fish, but she doesn’t speak. Apparently, I’ve stunned her into silence. Would wonders ever cease?
Charles sighs heavily. “Alright, Rhys, you’ve made your point.”
I shake my head. My anger is still riding me hard, urging me to keep going. To make them understand just how fucked everything is. “I don’t think I have. Not just yet.” I step close to Elsa, my eyes boring into hers. “You want to know how I know I have the power to kick the wank stains behind me from this place?” I ask softly.
She swallows hard and shakes her head, but still doesn’t speak. Her face is as white as a sheet, and she’s trembling. I’d never physically harm her; I’m not that much of a monster. But if she doesn’t know that, then I won’t enlighten her.
I turn my attention to the other three councillors, making sure they all understand what I’m about to say next. “People hate incompetence,especiallyfrom their leaders. The only reason you four have the poweryou do is because welet you have it. That can all change at a drop of a hat. All I’d need to do is tell them how little you seem to give a shit about their safety and wellbeing.” I meet every single one of their eyes as understanding dawns on them and they look at me in horror.
“Think on that the next time you try to lecture me aboutrules and guidelines, councillors.”
And with that, I walk away from them and towards Theo, Alex and Ollie. “Come on, let’s go make sure Andy’s settled into his isolation room before we head home.”
The three of them nod and we head towards the exit. I stop before I leave to look back at the councillors who are all still staring at me in shock. The few security team members left are looking at me with awe and glee, while the supply team looks sick.
“Councillors, I’d suggest you come up with a suitable punishment for the supply team and make sure it’s a good one. My threats aren’t empty.”
I walk out of the building, my fury fizzling into exhaustion, grief and guilt because even after all that, none of this will bring back those we’ve lost tonight. Or who we will lose.
Waiting Game
Olivia
Three days.
That’s how long it takes for the infection to overtake a still-living host, killing them and then turning them into a ravenous monster. That’s how long Andy has left to live.
We all stand in the hallway outside the isolation room that’s become Andy’s cell, shivering and clutching our blankets against our almost naked bodies. Rachel has a look of abject devastation on her face as she stares blankly at the wall. She’s been like that ever since the doctor told her no one could see him. Tamsin stands beside her, arms wrapped around her as she whispers soothing words into her partner’s unhearing ears.
“There’s nothing else that can be done?” Rhys asks the serious-looking doctor. He’s on the older side with salt-and-pepper hair and watery blue eyes. “Nothing that can help him fight it?”
The doctor shakes his head. “I’m sorry, but there’s nothing we can do aside from keep him comfortable and isolated while monitoring him,” he says. “Honestly, I’m surprised he’s as lucid as he is. Although that might be because the injection site was so small, he only got a small dose of the virus.”
Alex, who’s been hugging me against his side and stroking my arm, perks up at that. “Does that mean there’s a chance his body could fight it off?”
The doctor grimaces. He told us his name when we first arrived, but I can’t remember anything aside from him telling us how long Andy had to live. “I’m not certain about that. While there’s a chance hecouldsurvive, it’s so remote he’d have a better chance of winning the lottery.”
