Page 73 of Once Upon an Apocalypse

“But how can you be sure? You said yourself that others were starting to see through Dr. Tuwile’s lies. What if Matthew is someone like you, someone who escaped?” My mom has a valid point, but one we cannot risk by playing the nice, welcoming hosts.

“Let me question him,” I suggest.

“No,” everyone in the room shouts at once.

“Why? He’s looking for me. Let him see I’m here. He’ll have a reaction, then we can react.”

“It should be me who questions him,” Jonah says.

On the other side of the table, Norman lets out an audible huff. “And let you plot with our enemy. I don’t think so.”

Jonah glares at Norman with unfiltered hate in his eyes. As far as I know, Jonah and Norman have had very little to do with one another. But it looks as if there is some kind of history there. Something I don’t know about.

“Jonah will be the one to question Matthew,” Amos decides. When Norman takes a breath to start rambling a disagreement, the rest of leadership agrees. “Make him believe that you have infiltrated our community and ranks. That you are gathering intel to send to Dr. Tuwile.”

“This is a terrible idea, Amos.” Norman stands up, slamming his fists on the conference table.

“Jonah has proven himself to us. He saved Lori and Amos’ lives. He’s given us valuable information that brought down Novus Seclorum.” Anna says.

My mom nods her head in agreement. “We need to have each other’s backs here or none of us will survive. We need to trust each other. And you, Norman, should understand what it feels like to want that trust.”

The tension in the room thickens as everyone turns to stare at Norman, whose frustration at being outnumbered is obvious in the way he grinds his jaw. “Fine,” he says, giving up and storming out of the room.

“Well, I guess that concludes our meeting,” Jeremy says with an uncomfortable smile.

As Jonah heads for the door, Amos stops him. “Take Olivia and Kyle with you in case Matthew gets defensive. Lori, come with me. There’s something I need to tell you.”

Jonah and Amos’ commanders all share an ominous look that makes my blood curdle. So obviously I can’t wait for Amos to tell me whatever it is. But he refuses to say another word, dragging me behind him as he walks us to the sports center and into his office.

Chapter 46

Normanisstillworkingfor Dr. Tuwile. Jonah had told Amos his suspicions about Norman after seeing him for the first time at The Valley. That’s the big secret Amos has been hiding from me for months. I didn’t suspect a thing.

I collapse into the armchair in the corner of Amos’ office, processing everything he just explained to me. We all knew he’d worked for Dr. Tuwile in the before, but Jonah claims Norman was working with him until a few months after the outbreak.

It would make sense as Norman didn’t show up at The Valley until the walls were nearly complete, according to Amos. As they were organizing their leadership, Norman was an easy choice for leader having exclusive knowledge about the virus that destroyed the world. The community needed someone to head their education system too. Norman showed up just at the right time. Without him, The Valley wouldn’t be the safe haven it is today. It wouldn’t be a thriving community devoted to spreading knowledge and remembering human history.

Sure, Norman is a vile asshole. He’s a scientist first. Human second. Just like Doctore. But I’ve seen him with the kids here. He treats them like gems, nurturing their knowledge and coaxing them to grow into future leaders. I think of the orphans in the bunker. They were starving. Had no one. Doctore could have easily provided for them. Instead, he used them as an experiment, turning them into monsters.

If Norman was working with Doctore, why didn’t he just turn me in right away? Why let me live in peace at The Valley for a year? Why let me fall in love? And if he knew exactly where I’ve been, why attack those other communities to look for me? Something isn’t adding up here.

I push myself off the armchair and begin pacing the length of Amos’ office. He just stares at me, waiting for me to respond with words. Patience is one of his strongest virtues. Amos could stand at his desk like a statue for days waiting for me to say something.

Jonah storms into Amos’ office, halting my panicked pacing. Olivia enters shortly after, catching her breath as Jonah says, “He told me everything.”

A huge grin spreads across Amos’ face. “Tell me.”

Jonah doesn’t answer Amos right away as he looks me over for a moment. “You all right, Shortcake?”

I nod as Amos explains that he told me about his suspicions of Norman. Jonah pinches his mouth together before opening to say, “Norman might be innocent. At least Matthew didn’t have any intel on what Norman is up to or what he was working on with Doctore.”

“What did he say?” Amos asks, pushing off his desk to walk over to me. His warm, solid hand slides across my back until it reaches my hip. Anchored to Amos’ side is my personal safe zone. I melt into him, laying my head on his shoulder as he moves me to the armchair, sitting me down on his lap.

Jonah and Olivia hop up on Amos’ desk, getting comfortable as Jonah reveals everything our new captive let spill. “I knew Doctore would move around sometimes. I never knew where he would go though. Until now. Matthew was one of Doctore’s most trusted guardians. His personal bodyguard, traveling everywhere Doctore would go. And Matthew has given me all of Doctore’s lab locations. The reach he has is more than we could have imagined. If we are to take him down, we need the military to help us.”

“They don’t really help us. We help them,” Amos sighs. “They provide us safe passage inside The Wall and pass on intel to keep the survivor communities safe. But they don’t leave their posts to actively help us if there’s no direct threat to them. Taking down Novus Seclorum was a rare occasion. Going on a wild goose chase to maybe find Dr. Tuwile?” Amos pauses, looking up at me before saying, “We should still go to The Wall and at least talk to General Greene.”

Jonah nods. “There’s more.” Before Jonah continues, he looks at me with so much sadness, making his brown eyes look muddy. “Doctore has been successful in creating more gladiators. Lori isn’t the only one.”

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