Bloody Sunset by Gwendolyn Harper (classic books for 11 year olds TXT) 📗

she couldn’t let go untied.

Seth had saved her.

One could have argued his admission of wanting to prove the group’s failings was exactly why he set the fire, but where did that leave the Geek swarm? Donna being turned and left in a closet to either rot or be sprung free, just like she and Nicole had done?

The motives didn’t add up and if they were going to put the man to death, she felt the least they could do was give him a chance to explain himself.

It was risky, but she knew he’d talk to her. His outburst at Booker had proven he still had some feelings towards her.

What those feelings were exactly she wasn’t sure.

As quietly as she could, Caitlin extricated herself from the blankets and crawled out of bed.

“Songbird?” Booker mumbled, groggily turning to search for her in the dark.

“Shh, it’s okay,” she whispered, pulling on her shoes. “Just need to relieve myself.”

Grunting some word of acceptance, Booker rolled back over, hand gently smoothing over Desi’s hair, assuring him she was still safe and sound.

Slipping out of the trailer, Caitlin yanked her coat on, folding her arms across her middle to brace herself against the cold.

In the light of the full moon, she could see tiny swaying figures in the distance, roaming across the Oklahoma plain.

Geeks. Only three or four and most likely deterred by the smell of their dispatched brethren they’d lined up along the front of the trailer park.

Still, it was a haunting reminder of the world they inhabited now.

No government, no laws, no civilization.

The balance of transgressions and punishments was much more severe.

To endanger the living made you no better than the dead that walked the earth.

Caitlin wondered where that put her, as the path she firmly strode upon was littered with good intentions.

Reaching the door to Nathaniel’s trailer, she knocked softly.

When the door swung open, she blinked.

“Sister Agnes,” Caitlin blurted out. “I wasn’t expecting… I’m sorry, am I interrupting something?”

“No, it’s alright,” Sister Agnes said with a smile. “Nathaniel and the others are bunking with Luna for the night. No one felt comfortable sleeping with a prisoner in their home.”

“And you’re here because…?”

Sister Agnes tilted her head. “Well, I suppose I was the most trusted not to murder him myself once we were alone together.”

“Makes sense.”

Folding up the piece of cloth she was stitching, Sister Agnes stared at her for a moment. “Did you come for Nathaniel, or for someone else?”

Caitlin took a deep breath. “I need to talk to him. Seth.”

Sister Agnes stepped aside, letting her in.

A single hurricane lamp was lit on the small dining area table, but the glow illuminated the whole trailer.

“Seth, you have a visitor,” Sister Agnes announced.

With his forehead on his hands, Seth was slumped over a card table set up on the other side of the room. Slowly, he lifted himself, eyeing Caitlin curiously.

He still didn’t say anything.

“I’ll give you a little privacy,” Sister Agnes said, collecting her sewing. “I’ll just be in the bedroom.”

The look she gave Caitlin was a silent ‘just in case.’

Taking a seat on the edge of the motheaten recliner left by people who were probably long gone, she stared at Seth for a long time, waiting for the words to find her.

“Why?” It was so quiet, she barely heard herself.

“Why what?”

She scowled. “Don’t play dumb.”

“I already told you why,” Seth said, shifting his bound wrists on the table. “Though it was all for naught.”

“You told me why you set the fire,” she said, leaning forward. “But you didn’t tell me why you did the rest.”

“The rest…” He squinted at her in the dim light. “Seems ill advised to incriminate myself further.”

“You’re going to be shot tomorrow,” she said plainly. “Do you really have anything to lose?”

Seth grinned. “Glad to see you still won’t mince words.”

Caitlin continued to wait, staring him down until Seth finally relented.

“I started collecting rotters the week we moved to the school,” he said. “The shack was right there, and no one bothered to secure it. Lazy and ineffectual,” he muttered.

Digging her thumbnail into her palm, she forced her expression to seem neutral. The last thing she wanted was for him to clam up on her.

“The gap in the fence was practically begging to be utilized,” he continued. “It was a perfect funnel. I just had to wait.” He smirked. “No one asked questions about where I went—hell, no one even noticed I was gone for hours at a time. I never joined a work detail, everyone just assumed I had because I was eager to help elsewhere. So I didn’t have to report to anyone and no one thought I was missing.”

Caitlin chewed the inside of her bottom lip, listening to her hunches be proven.

“Honestly, the hardest part was trapping the bait. Animals are much smarter than we give them credit for,” he said. “But once I had enough rotters to make my point, I left little appetizers in a trail right to the main course and let them go.”

“You were with us in the courtyard,” she said. “You…”

She couldn’t bring herself to say it aloud.

“Edward saw me at the start of the swarm,” he answered. “It would have seemed suspicious if I suddenly just disappeared.”

Caitlin noticed how he glanced away as he explained himself, and she knew there was more to it.

“Were you hoping someone died?” She asked.

Seth shrugged. “Didn’t matter to me. Would have made my point faster if we’d lost a few people. Too bad your beau decided to play hero.”

Play hero. It was an interesting distinction from someone who considered himself an actual hero.

“Why Donna?” She asked, knowing it would catch him a little off guard.

Seth tilted