CHAPTER 62: A SHIFT IN REALITY

Lachlan sat on the wooden bench outside the cabin, his elbows braced on his knees, his fingers steepled in front of his mouth. He wasn’t shivering. Wasn’t speaking. Just... breathing. Measured and deliberate.

Sera watched him through the half-cracked door.

He was still in the clothes from last night, blood dried at the edge of his lip, and his jaw worked in slow circles like he was testing it. No more serrated teeth. No visible blue veins even though his skin had taken on a blueish undertone to it. But he hadn’t said more than two words since she’d helped him back inside.

And she hadn’t pushed.

Inside, Noah was still asleep—miraculously, despite the horde, the open door, and the sound of her snarling in the night. That kid could sleep through a war.

Finally, she went to stand in front of him. "Come on," she said softly, taking his hand and pulling him to his feet. "We need to get cleaned up before Sleeping Beauty wakes up and wonders why we don’t look human any more."

Ever so slowly, she dropped his hand and went to her room. Going to the closet, she grabbed what she needed. Sports bra, tank top, leggings, socks, and yet another hoodie. Black this time.

They were going to have to go get more supplies if the rest of Lachlan’s unit was coming, and she wasn’t going to let the supplies she had stashed away in the dorm room go to waste... or be used by someone else.

Spinning around, she jumped just slightly as she bumped into Lachlan. He was standing right behind her, his glazed look concentrating on her body as if he was scared that she was going to disappear at ay moment.

"You’re okay," she murmured, stroking his cheek. "I’m not going to disappear. I just want to grab a shower and get dressed. Can you let me do that?"

Wordlessly, Lachlan shook his head, his body trembling slightly as he took a step even closer. "It feels like if you aren’t in my sight, the thing inside of me will come out and destroy everything," he admitted softly as he followed her to the shower. "I’m scared of what I can do."

"Never be scared of what you can do," advised Sera as she moved around him and into the bathroom. "I know it doesn’t feel like it, but you are in control more than you think. The zombie is not a mindless creature like you saw outside. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be having this conversation."

She pointed to the toilet and shut the door behind them, twisting the lock.

"It will give you clues," she continued, putting her clean clothes on the floor and starting the shower. "It will tell you what it needs. The key is to not fight it. If it is hungry, then you need to feed it. If it wants something, then you need to give it to them."

"It wants you," admitted Lachlan, watching as she stripped out of her dirty clothes. He stared at her lavender skin, oh so perfect, as the muscles under it flexed with her movements. Her veins were a much darker purple, almost black against the purple of her skin, and he couldn’t help but reach out and touched where they moved from her neck, down her collarbone, and to her chest.

Her skin was soft beneath his touch, and he could smell a scent coming off of her, something unique to her, and so very comforting.

"No ideas now," Sera chuckled, letting him trace over her skin. "I need a shower first."

The creature under his skin rumbled, and a dry laugh was rung out of Lachlan’s mouth. "Is this normal?" he asked, stepping back and going to sit on the toilet lid again.

"Define normal," shrugged Sera, entering the shower and closing the glass door behind her. The creature inside of Lachlan lunged forward, not liking the barrier between them, but the man held it back.

She was just on the other side. He could easily see her. Everything was fine.

"I feel like I am going crazy," he finally admitted. "And this all has to do with the vaccine? Will everyone turn into a zombie?"

"Most will," admitted Sera as blue and purple blood washed off her body and down the drain. "I know in Country M, a fraction of the population will gain superpowers, but I don’t think those will show up for a while. I guess it depends on what version of the vaccine you got."

Lachlan froze.

"Country M?" he murmured, trying to keep his voice soft so as not to startle her.

Sera hummed as she lathered up her hair. "Yeah," she sighed. "Hydra was trying to come up with an injection that would create the perfect Naval soldier. They took the DNA of a bunch of sea creatures and merged it into one. I don’t know what happened to the first group of experiments, but eventually, they decided to widen their subjects to the entire human population, not just the military. Not just the Marines. You being blue? That’s from the Mako shark, the teeth too. I heard Adam say one day that they originally took that DNA for their speed and aggression..."

Her voice trailed off, and Lachlan realized that he hit a landmine that he never knew about.

"Well," he said, forcing his tone to become lighter. "I am definitely going to have to learn how to speak without biting off my own tongue."

"That’s because you were fighting the creature," said Sera, coming out of the shower and wrapping a fuzzy white towel around her. "They know how to work around the teeth and claws, but it is unconsciously done. Like we don’t think about breathing, but it comes naturally."

"Makes sense," agreed Lachlan, his body relaxing now that she was beside him again. He watched as she moved in front of the sink and the small mirror in front of it.

She moved with a practised ease as she pulled the makeup out of her medicine cabinet. "You look like you’ve done this a lot," he murmured as the purple skin disappeared under the foundation. There was a part of him that found comfort in her purple skin.

And an even bigger part of him that loved the idea that he was the only one who knew about it.

"Over a year," she agreed, handing it out to him. "You look a little blue," she continued. "But it’s up to you."

Lachlan took the bottle from her hands and stared at it for a moment. "You do it," he said at last, holding it out to her as he tilted his face up. "I trust you."

Sera hummed and put the foundation on him. "I have your back," she repeated, and the creature inside of him purred at that.