Truths

His eyes flicker to my chest for a millisecond before looking back to the flames and saying "I found out towards the end. It's actually comical that it took me that long to figure it out." Towards the end? End meaning when he came here?

I frantically try to think if he had acted strangely or something but I can't really remember anything. He was always a little strange... I look back to him and ask "Why didn't you say anything?" He continues to cook and says "You clearly wanted to keep it a secret so, I did. What you did was illegal and if others had found out about it, you could have been sent to jail with your parents. Besides, I wasn't going to blame you for trying to fix the mess your brother left you with, Valerie."

He looks up to me and locks eyes with me. My heart skips a beat when I hear my name... my real name on his lips while looking at me like that. I swallow hard and slowly nod my head once before saying "I see... thank you for keeping it a secret."

He watches me silently for a few seconds before asking "So, Cruz also knew?" I freeze before slightly nodding and saying "He really did know my brother so he knew upon seeing me that I wasn't really him. He agreed to keep it a secret as long as we remained friends."

Thane's eyes darken but he just silently nods and goes back to the flames. Silence falls between us again before he asks "Why did they take you, little bird?" Hearing that nickname again brings a small smile to my lips as I say "They found out I could use more than one power and wanted to hand me over to their leader as a 'gift'."

Thane's face hardens as he asks "Did they know that you were female?" I nod and say "The one that took me knew." Thane looks like he wants to ask more but he bites his tongue and goes back to cooking. I narrow my eyes on the thing he's cooking and ask "How long do you have to cook that thing?"

Thane continues to watch the flames as he says "If you don't cook it long enough, it will poison you." He slowly lifts his hand and shows me his black nails with a serious face. My eyes widen in worry as I quickly say "You're poisoned!? I brought a medical kit, it may have something that..."

He cuts me off with a low chuckle and says "Not like that, little bird. Once poisoned, you can't undo the effects. As you've probably seen, everything here is effected over time. It alters your DNA and in a way, you adapt to survive in its harsher environment. The food you eat, the water you drink, and even the air you breathe... it's all contaminated."

He looks back down and pokes at the fire again as he says "After being here for so long, you eventually change. To be honest, I forgot to even speak. It's not like I forgot how to it's just... I forgot to speak. After not speaking for so long... it's like your brain starts to discard it as something unuseful."

I slowly nod in slight understanding before smirking and saying "But it looks like you're still shaving." He looks up to me with a small smirk and says "I never did like facial hair. I just use my blade to cut it."

I point the small stick at him and say "But you didn't seem to mind the longer hair." His small smirk starts to grow into a smile as he says "It's easier to tie back. I tried keeping it cut at first, hacking at it with my blade but in the end, it was easier to just let it grow out and tie it back."

I nod in understanding, wearing a smile of my own as I think about my own hair. It was true, longer hair was easier to deal with when you don't want to mess with it. Slowly my smile starts to fade when I think of Fern and Hunter.

When I look back up again, I see him still watching me. "Thane... did you know about cities made for... Ragers?" Thane's face crumples up in confusion before he asks "Like their camps?" I shake my head no and sigh in relief. He doesn't know.

I lean forward a little and start explaining to him everything I found out. I watch him and see that he looked at me in disbelief but by the end of it, he sat in silence with a look of anger on his handsome face.

He watches me close and softly asks "Are you certain?" I nod my head with a grave face and that seems to be all he needs. He nods once and says "Then I believe it. Somehow, it doesn't surprise me... My father and the people he works for aren't good people."

Oh...

Thane pulls the food off the flames and when he places it down on a thin flat rock, I feel myself swallowing. Not out of hunger though... it looked like a vicious mutated rat of some kind. Suddenly, I remember my bag!

I look around the cave with worry and hope but when I don't see it, I start to curse. Thane watches me for a minute before asking "What are you looking for?" I look back to him and say "My backpack. I brought water and snacks."

He slightly frowns before saying "You weren't wearing one when I found you." I slowly nod and think back to the guy I fought with before. Had I lost it then? I sigh and look back to see Thane cutting off some overcooked meat and handing it to me.

I look at it with disgust and fear but Thane shakes his head and says "I cooked it for a very long time. It shouldn't hurt you but you're gonna need the strength. You have to fight to survive here, little bird. I will do everything I can to keep you safe but I'm not a god."

I reach out and grab the hot meat with a nod and say "Thank you... I understand." I throw the tough meat into my mouth and start chewing while trying to do math in my head to distract myself. I never want to be the cause of him getting hurt again in order to protect me. I need to be strong.