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“It’s a little chilly outside tonight.Perfect for watching the stars but not keeping the hands warm.G’night.”She slipped inside, leaving Ted behind.
“Well, that stings a little,” Ted said, shoving his hands into his pockets.
“Try not to take it too personally,” I said.“We live in a world where you lose the ones you love the fastest.She’s just trying to protect herself.”
He nodded thoughtfully and went inside.
I finally released Molev’s hand.“Can we talk some more, or do you want to go in?”
“I’ll stay with you,” he said.
We strolled away from the door as I let my thoughts circle back to our conversation before the interruption.
“Why didn’t you want to tell me you have no women?”As soon as I asked it, that missing piece clicked into place.“Human women are the resource you mentioned.The one that you need.Am I right?”
He hesitated again before answering.“Yes.When we came here, we didn’t know what females were.When Drav shared what he discovered, many of us didn’t believe him and demanded proof.Many disagreed with Mya’s place with our people.”He glanced at me, and the corner of his mouth lifted slightly.“Mya did not approve of how we settled our disagreements.Since she came to us, she has helped us navigate the differences in our worlds and has shown us that we need to find a better way to live.Here, on the surface.”
“This is better?”I asked.
“No.The hounds and the infected must be stopped.Only then will we all have a chance at a better life.”
He looked up at Sid on the roof for a moment.“I would ask that you not share this information with the rest of your team yet.Just as Patrick intends to use the time it will take to return to your origin base to test my integrity, I intend to do the same.Very few of the interactions we have had with humans have gone well.We are mistrusted, threatened, and attacked when all we do is offer our help.And why?Because we are different.Because we were locked away under your earth and released at the same time as the hounds.Because two of our kind took the shots fired at them as a challenge and answered it in kind.”
He exhaled heavily.
“There is much we need to change about this world if we both want to survive in it, Andie.Can I trust you to help me make those changes?”
“If you really are the person you seem to be, yes.You can.”We continued toward the barn in silence and paused when we reached the doors.“If you’re after women, why not take Roni up on her offer?”
“You have no male in your life.Why are you not offering to have sex with me?”
“I don’t know you.”
“Should choosing a partner be different for me?”
“I guess not.Although, I have to tell you that most human men are just after a quick hookup.”
“Explain.”
“A one-night stand.Where two people have sex once and never see each other again.I think that’s what Roni’s after, to be honest.The not seeing each other again thing would be a little hard to manage, though.”
“I am not interested in one night.I want many nights to erase the memory of the thousands I spent alone.”
“That woman who was with you.Cassie?Was she with one of you too?”
“Yes.She chose one while we were helping her find her son.”
“Was that a condition of your help?”
“No.There are very few children left at Whiteman and none as small as what she described.We helped because we hoped to see the baby for ourselves.”
The impact of having no females of their own hit home then.No women.No kids.No families.
“Will you tell me more about what your life was like before you came here?”I asked.
“Our lives?In the beginning, it was filled with survival, much like this.As time passed, I saw signs of darkness creeping into a few of my brothers.Some grew more distant.Restless.Others withdrew, choosing to live more isolated from each other.
“Their withdrawal ate at me, feeding my own hopelessness.In those caves, we had no true lives.No future.No hope.There is nothing there for us but an endless existence.Is it wrong to want more than that?”
