Damage Me

Chapter 10

We're sitting in one of the conference rooms, at the head table.

Dinner is being served, and our father sits across from Aaron and I.

"You sure you're not hungry?" He says, directing the words to Aaron, who hasn't even touched his food.

"It's really quite good. Isn't it, Alex?"

He looks to me. I merely nod, not knowing what else to do.

Aaron shifts in his seat, looking down at his lap.

"Hm?" Our father says, smiling.

I'm acutely aware of the 10 soldiers lining the walls of the room.

My fathers supreme guard. "I'm afraid I'm not hungry," Aaron says, "The medicine destroys my appetite."

He's lying, but I see why. I don't exactly want to eat anything either.

So I pick at my food, taking a bite every so often.

"Ah," He says, putting his fork down.

"Of course. How inconvenient."

Aaron says nothing.

"Leave us." He commands his soldiers.

Two words and his men disperse in a matter of seconds.

"Look at me." He says.

Aaron looks up, his face carefully devoid of emotion, but I can feel his hate strongly, directed at our father.

He looks away. "What did you find?" He asks, with no preamble.

He still does not respond. "Son?" He says.

Aaron looks up, feigning surprise, "Yes?"

"What did you find? When you searched her room today?"

I grip my fork tighter so I don't drop it.

He exhales, shaking his head as he leans back in his chair.

"Broken glass. A disheveled bed. Her armoire, hanging open. She took only a few toiletries and some extra pairs of clothes and undergarments.

Our father sighs, pushes away his plate, says, "And you say you do not know where she might've gone?"

He asks both of us. "We only know that she, Kent, and Kishimoto must be together," Aaron tells him.

"Delalieu says they stole a car, but the trace disappeared abruptly at the edge of a barren field. We've had troops on patrol for days now, searching the area, but they've found nothing."

Aaron finishes. "And where," he says, "do you plan on searching next? Do you think they might've crossed over into another sector?"

His voice is entertained.

I glance up from my plate, at his smiling face.

He's mocking us.

"Alex," He says my name playfully, but with a sharp edge to it, and my head snaps up.

"You haven't said a word all night. Care to speak?"

I glance at Aaron quickly, and clear my throat.

"No," I tell him, my voice steady. "We don't think they'd do something as idiotic as cross into another sector. They don't have the access, the means, or the capacity.

Both men were severely wounded, rapidly losing blood, and too far from any source of emergency aid. They're probably dead by now. The girl is likely the only survivor, and she can't have gone far because she has no idea how to navigate these areas. She's been blind to them for too long; everything in this environment is foreign to her.