Afflicted

Kai looked to Hawker for an answer.

“There are whispers about the Monitor seeing som

ething coming. I'm not sure if this is connected to this contamination issue or something else. Word is they'll have to shut off the cellphones at some point. I guess they want us to be able to keep up communications,” she replied, adding a small shrug as if she wasn't sure. I knew better; Hawker never dished out information unless she was confident in it.

“But if the Monitor can see it coming then surely we’ll be able to stop it?” Santos argued. She always talked about the Monitor system like it was a god. The rest of us didn't really agree but getting into a disagreement with her was like trying to talk a dog out of chewing a bone.

I could see Hawker struggling to bite her tongue. She was obviously confident in her intel and didn't want to let Santos dismiss it. Kai caught my eye, quirking half a smile at me as we both felt the argument coming.

The silence stretched for several seconds before Hawker snapped.

“The Monitor is just a computer programme. It can be fooled and just because it picks up on things that are happening that doesn't mean it will always be able to get warnings out in time to-“

“That's exactly what it does!” Santos cut in, her nostrils flaring.

Hawker pursed her lips angrily before launching into her explanation again and Kai let out a snort of laughter. I felt a smile tugging at my lips too as I let their argument wash over me. This was my family now and I just needed to hold on to that while I got through the next few weeks.

It wouldn't take long for me to get Diane's life back in order and then I could leave again. And this time, I didn't intend to come back.

Chapter Nine

Kaitlyn

The doorbell finally rang at eight that evening and I jumped up to let Lacey in.

Before I even made it out of my room, I heard Reese thundering down the stairs.

"It's for me!" I called irritably as he threw the door open.

"Not everything is about you!" he shouted back as I got to the top of the stairs and spotted Jason entering.

"Hi Kaitlyn," he said, his cheeks glowing red as usual. "Are you getting takeout with us?"

I wanted to dislike Jason purely for the fact that he was Reese's best friend but it was hard to keep it up when he was so polite all the time. I often wondered why the two of them even liked each other so much; they were like chalk and cheese in so many ways.

"That sounds good actually," I admitted. I hadn't thought much about food and Mom still hadn't been to the store. We'd had a message to say they'd be back late but I had no idea when they'd appear.

"What are you getting?" I made my way downstairs, wondering where Lacey was.

"Pizza. Do you know what you'd like?" He had his cellphone out, clearly ready to call the order in.

"She's boring, she'll just have a margarita," Reese said before I could answer for myself. "Might as well get her a large to share with Lacey."

I was so surprised that he was capable of considering Lacey that I didn't even respond to the ‘boring’ comment.

"That would be perfect, thanks Jason," I said as I moved into the front room.

"No problem." He dialled right away and I listened to him putting in the order as I pulled the curtain back to look for Lacey.

There was no sign of her so I switched the TV on and settled down on the couch.

The news came on right away so I flicked the channel over but the news was playing on that one too. And the next channel. And the one after that. I frowned as I gave up trying to find something else to watch and turned the volume up to find out what was going on.

"-still taking place but the number is rising each hour. It's thought that the violent outbreaks are being caused by a chemical which found its way into the water supply.

Early tests show a change in the chemical makeup of the sufferers’ brains causing violent outbursts and an inability to see reason. It is not yet known how widespread the contamination is and the public are being asked to remain vigilant. If anyone around you starts to behave in any way out of character then you must call the helpline so that they can be given treatment.

The number is at the bottom of the screen and I must repeat; don't wait to make the call. Even a few hours could be the difference between someone acting strangely and turning violent. For their own good and yours, remain vigilant."