“Why would you do that if the city is going to get bombed, anyway?”
“Because the bombs were a lie.”
I’m shocked anew by his confession, reeling that I was so easily conned.
Gage is a liar. I should have known this. But he was so blunt and vulgar, I figured he was honest.
"What?" I blink back at him, trying to puzzle together what the fuck is going on.
"There are no bombs."
“That doesn’t make sense! Why would anyone lie about something like that?”
“Because the world is more dangerous when bad guys hide in buildings and use guerrilla warfare tactics. That broadcast draws some out, either to die in the streets or leave the city.”
My mouth gapes.
“Your people made it, didn’t they?”
He nods.
“You lied to me?”
“I told you I’m a monster. You didn’t listen.”
“But why? I had no food. I was at your mercy.”
“Pussy. As you’ve found out, food can be found all over the city. I needed to force you to leave. To make me a necessity, so you would come willingly.”
“You let me walk twenty blocks alone, in grave danger, so you could fuck me?!?”
“I needed to know that you were strong. Some don’t care as much about that as I do.”
“You really are a monster.”
“And you’re my lamb.”
A part of me wants to beat his chest with my fists, but I’m very aware of the position I’m in.
I can’t walk out the door, for so many reasons. I don’t know how to get out of here, the dead roam the streets, the people left in the world are…terrible.
“I’m trapped, aren’t I?”
He gives a short nod. “Yes.”
The feeling that washes over me is strangely comforting. It's not that I'm choosing not to do anything. I can't do anything.
Deep down, I know the monster won’t hurt me. I’ll be kept in a cage, forced to my knees to please the beast who’s claimed me.
But I’ll be fed and protected.
God, have I too become a monster?
Nope. A coward.
“I can’t be kept like this.”
“Are you suggesting you’d like to leave?”