“A full blood in change doesn’t have a hairless body or savage attributes,” a man objects.
“Neither does a hybrid,” one of ours scoffs.
“I wasn’t saying they did,” the man snarls.
“Stop fighting,” Hale growls. “This is bigger than any fucking dispute we have. If there is the possibility for humans to change from infected to full blood, then we’re all fucked. Do you think the humans will continue to donate blood for your thirst or our healing needs, or do you think they’ll line up to be turned? Then everyone fucking dies, including them,” Hale snarks.
“We don’t die. We can heal off our own blood,” another hybrid offers, and I see Brazen’s eyes narrow.
“They’re not full bloods,” I say as all the animation and color drain from my face.
“What do you mean?” Hale asks.
“The guy I interrogated… the one we thought was human… he said the true hybrid was coming. What if he was in the changing phase? We have several, what if they do too?”
“That’s impossible. You can’t turn someone into a hybrid,” Brazen murmurs.
“Not our kind of hybrid, but a different kind - a better kind according to him,” I mumble with a hushed tone, as though I’m worried the wind is listening too closely.
“Fuck,” Hale and Brazen gasp in unison, and then I stand to move between them and study the two pictures for myself.
“They were trying to feed. They need blood in the early stages,” I murmur as I tilt my head to side to side. “Those people were taking their pets to eat at a full blood buffet.”
Brazen leans over me to see how I’ve concluded my hypothesis.
“Why do you think that?” he asks when he’s unsuccessful in finding my reasoning.
“This one had just bled a full blood before you threw the knives. This picture was taken from a street camera while he was still inside the wall. This one came when he was outside the wall. They weren’t firing missiles, dropping bombs, or even really attacking. This was a massive feed like what we used to deal with in the early days of the infected,” I say softly while staring at the pictures.
“You’ve been around that long?” Brazen says in playful disbelief, and I roll my eyes while Hale stifles a laugh.
“I don’t think I like the two of you getting along,” I grouse, and then I walk over to pour a drink while Clay processes my theory.
“I think she’s right. Why wouldn’t they feed on a human colony though? Why risk the strength of a full blood colony?”
“My head is fucking killing me at this point,” Hale exasperates. “I need to sleep before I try to theorize any further.”
“There’re more questions than answers at this point,” Brazen huffs.
Clay walks over and pats me on the back, and then I turn to hug him.
“You did good. I forgot how helpful you were in the field,” he whispers.
“That’s because I’ve been on probation for five years,” I grumble.
He laughs lightly, and then shakes his head while pulling back.
“Not probation, just protective detail,” he jokes, and then he steps into one of the oversized homes-on-wheels.
“You ready?” Hale asks softly while kissing my forehead.
“I’m going to study these pictures a while longer. I’ll be in after while,” I say while pulling him down to give him a sweet kiss.
“Don’t be too long,” he sighs, and then he gives me a wink before disappearing inside.
Everyone starts dispersing, and Alex starts to climb onto the same RV as Hale.
“Oh, Ms. Emmerson?” I say mildly, her eyes widening as she turns to face me.
