Chapter 17 (Catch)

Chapter 17: Catch

Ethan Warren

Estimated, July 2024

About 26 months after outbreak

California, The Circus

Season 3

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I tried to do what I wanted to do before and just take a break, as much as I hated Thomas for telling me to do so. I did my part and told Thomas about the people, isn't it supposed to be his job to do something about it? I spent most of the day with Rudi, Dallen, and Khai. Some other people who I didn't know all that well were there too but it didn't really bother me. Actually, it made me happy to see them being able to have other friends. Sometimes it is better to know people who don't share your trauma, it makes for more uplifting conversations.

I tried to forget about the thing I saw, it made me unable to sleep because I kept thinking about it tearing the flesh off of my friends. I want to forget about it, but it was impossible.

Thomas was busy dealing with the case so he hadn't called me into his office for a meeting in about a week. I was surprisingly starting to get bored now, I needed something productive to do but everyone already had their jobs. Maybe I should've just been doing mine.

But one day all that changed. I heard screams and riots from The Big Top. I ran over there as fast as I could. The guards were carrying screaming, practically naked, men and women, they were clawing at their captures, trying to eat them alive.

"What the hell is going on?" I asked Emilio after we both flinched when one of the other guards punched one of those things.

"These are the people that were stealing the shit, finally got a hold of them."

"Take them to the cells we've been building. Don't do anything to them until I get there, understood?" Thomas ordered. Emilio obeyed and he helped carry some of the people to wherever they had built these cells. Leah, Rudi, Airianna, Dallen, and Steve had all crowded around us, they were as confused and scared as I was. Those people looked not right in the head and to think they've been so close to our people for so long, what would they have done if they were only here a little bit longer. I had to get out of there quickly, as soon as I saw them the memories came back to me and it was too much for me to handle.

"It's okay, I won't kill them. I just need to know who they are and why they're here."

"I'll come with you. It's better to have more people there, better chance they'll talk that way," Leah offered and Thomas agreed.

"We'll all go," Dallen insisted and I had a reason to object but I didn't want to admit to it so I agreed.

"We'll keep them overnight. Give them a chance to calm down, they seem a little angry."

"They seem not human," Steve interrupted.

"They are, they're not dead. This world can really mess a person's mind up, I'm sure that's all it is," Thomas tried to convince but I knew I'd never be able to look at them and see them as humans. If Thomas decided to keep them here, let them live in the community, I might have just left. But after all the killing they've done, I knew he wouldn't be able to keep them here, it would go against everything he preached for.

---

The next morning, I went with Dallen, Leah, and Steve to the holding cell. I expected to see Aiden somewhere in here but he was nowhere to be seen. The things had seemed to still have a small sense of humanity left inside them. Thomas had already been here, he was having a conversation with their leader, the only man who seemed to be at least a little reasonable.

"We learned not to waste, the people we killed were already dying," he admitted.

"Lonnie, we had the medicine for them, the resources that you stole!" Thomas practically yelled.

"We didn't steal medicine, just food." Leah and I gave each other a look of disbelief, if it wasn't them then who could it be? We had caught them in the supply room, practically red-handed.

"Just food? But why the people?" Steve asked.

"Same reason," Lonnie responded blankly, "just a different form." I felt like I was going to be sick. Not only were they murderers, they were cannibals and they had been inside the same walls as us. I had to leave the cell room, Steve followed behind me to make sure I was okay. I just couldn't listen to anymore of this, I knew I was being a bitch for not being able to but I just couldn't.

"What's wrong, Ethan?" Steve asked, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"It's just that I'm sick of all this. I thought the weird shit would go away once we got here but it's only getting worse. What the hell is next?"

"I don't know but whatever it is we'll be able to handle it. Just like we used to," he smiled and I tried to smile back but I just couldn't. I wanted this all to be over but it was just getting started.