11. Silas

"Fifteen dead."Sam throws a file across the table, papers scattering onto the floor. She slams a fist into the table, throwing herself back into a creaky swivel chair. "What the fuck is going on?"

We all exchange glances, which infuriates Sam even more.

"Well?" Her eyes move from one to the next, her hands spread. "Hmm? Well? I thought we have patrols, and guards on the gate, and fucking security cameras? Maybe a fucking alarm or two? You want to tell me a horde like that didn't trigger anything?"

Goldman clears his throat and steps forward. "They didn't trigger the alarms," he says slowly. "I don't know how, but it seems they disabled them. Or something did."

"You mean to tell me the Afflicted have suddenly become hacking experts?" Sam laughs out loud, getting out of her chair so suddenly it tips onto the floor behind her. Her gaze is venomous as it's cast over us. "I have to go and explain this fucking failure to the higher ups now, and it's my fucking ass on the line. So thanks for that. Now, if you'd all be so kind and go and do your fucking jobs, and see how the fuck this could happen."

She storms out of the room, slamming the door with such force it cracks clean up the middle.

Goldman laughs nervously, and I clap him on the shoulder. "I'd shut the fuck up, man. She has excellent hearing."

The laughter immediately stops, and Goldman swallows hard.

"How the fuck could this happen?" Wallace, one of the older vamps, shakes his head. "Those alarms, I mean, can they even be hacked?"

Goldman nods. "Yeah, of course, with the right equipment."

"If someone hacked those alarms, that means the Afflicted have company. Company that wants us dead." All eyes in the room turn to me. "Either it's rival vamps that are after the bloodbags, or it's humans trying to take us out."

Wallace guffaws. "Come on, humans? You think they'd be able to control the zombies like that? Enough to target an attack?"

I shrug, aware of the soot clinging to my skin. "I have no idea, but something's going on, and until we know what it is, this compound isn't safe." I roll my shoulders and sigh. "Goldman, put extra patrols on the gate, and another lookout on the obs tower. If anyone else is coming towards us, I want to know about it sooner rather than later."

Goldman nods and hurries out of the room, the broken door creaking loudly.

"Fifteen dead." Wallace echoes Sam's words. "That's a big loss. Wonder if they'll send us any more expended bags from the breeding farm."

I'm not prepared for how much his words have my hackles rising, and my face must betray my emotions too readily, because Wallace's eyebrows shoot up in surprise.

"You good, man?" He asks.

I huff out a breath and nod, rubbing the back of my neck. "Yeah, think I'm just a little worn out." I wave him off as he starts to talk again. "I should check sick bay. There's a few bloodbags there."

"I'll go and see how the dorm relocation is going," Wallace calls after me as I leave.

The air is heavy with smoke and death, the edges of the horizon coloring orange as dawn begins to break. This was bad, the worst hit we've had since the early days of the affliction. My shoulders shudder a little as I recall the relief I felt when I realized Juliet was OK. No bites, no blood on her.

Of course, she's the reason I want to go to the sick bay. She's there with two or three others, all shaken more than anything. They'll be fine. She'll be fine. But I need to reassure myself that she's alright.

The harsh overhead lights in the medical block flicker as the generators stutter and struggle. The grid is being tested, for any sign of intrusion, any sign of where they could have been hacked. Uneasiness snakes its way down my back. I don't fucking like this.

I pass two curtained bays, where the humans are sleeping peacefully. I round the corner into the third one, and Juliet's head jerks in my direction. Her eyes are filled with fear, and she shrinks in on herself on the bed.

I stop at the foot of her bed, giving her a smile. "How we doing?"

She gives a small, shaky nod. "Y-yeah, better. They gave me something, to calm me down."

"Good, I'm glad. They're just setting up a new dorm in one of the other buildings, and then you'll be able to go and get some proper rest." I want to move to her bedside, sit beside her, fuck I want to take her hand and try and soothe the tremors that won't stop reverberating through her body. But her eyes are like a deer's, caught in headlights, and I'm worried that if I get closer to her she'll faint again.

"Is everyone OK?" She asks, her voice high-pitched, as though her throat is swollen. "Did you see Gina? I couldn't find her, and-"

"Gina?" Gina, Gina, which one is Gina, fuck I only know them by numbers. "The lady with the curly hair?"

Juliet bites her lip and nods shakily.

"Yes, she's fine, safely ensconced in the new dorm." I hope I sound reassuring.

She looks away, brushing the hair out of her face, and shivers. "I was so… So s-scared."

"I know."

"Are we safe here?" She asks in a small voice. Her stormy eyes land on me, her jaw chattering. "I w-want you to t-tell me the tru-truth. Are we s-safe here?"

I lean on the bed frame. "I promise you we're doing everything we can to keep you all safe. Really."

"That sounds like a company response." She sits up, her hands clasped to her chest. "I want to know. P-please. What's going on?"

I don't want to lie to her, but I don't want to scare her with half-truths. We don't know what's going on. We don't know how this happened.

"There just seems to be more Afflicted than normal around right now," I say. "Maybe a neighboring colony got attacked and they're making their way past us. I don't know. But whatever it is, we will keep you safe."

She sniffles, drawing her knees up against her chest and wrapping her arms around them. "How many people died?"

"Too many."

My answer seems to surprise her, and those pretty eyebrows dart up in her face. "You almost sound sorry."

"I am sorry. I don't want to see anyone die if they don't have to."

She cocks her head, regarding me critically before turning her gaze to the curtains. "I'm tired. I should try and sleep."

"Do that." I take a step back from the bed. "It'll be alright." I watch as she huddles back down into the bed, and it's not until she pulls the sheet up over her head that I step out of the cubicle.

I hate leaving her there, shivering and alone, scared down to her bones. She should be tucked up in a warm bed… Yes, with me. I groan at myself. I want to take her in my arms and soothe those fears, kiss her mouth until she forgets how scared she is.

Surrendering to those thoughts is a bad idea. A really fucking bad idea.This isn't the time.

I know I should go and help the others, I should see what else needs to be done. But the past few hours have caught up with me suddenly, and now I just want to be alone. I want to wash all this soot off me.

I head to my cabin, the horrid stench of smoke pursuing me. I shut the door behind me, stripping off my clothes just inside the threshold so I don't drag all this dirt and grime into the room. I drop the clothes on the floor and head straight for the shower.

I consider jerking off for a moment, because of course thinking about Juliet and holding her in my bed has got me hard. But instead I blast myself with cold water, hoping to chase away the arousal. It helps - not much, just a tiny bit.

I dry off and head back into my bedroom. There's a dragging sound behind me, and I turn around to see Sam forcing open the door which is catching on my discarded clothes.

"Open this fucking door, right now." She barks.

I roll my eyes and rush over, waving her away. "Just back up for a second, hold on." I push the door closed before Sam obliterates it and leaves me with no door. I kick the clothes out of the way and Sam shoves her way in with considerable force, pushing me aside. She slams the door behind her, her eyes roving up and down my naked body.

"Did you know I was coming?" She asks, her eyes blazing bright red with fury and desire.

"You need something, Sam?"

"I need to be fucked." She advances on me and grabs a hold of my mostly-hard cock. "I just got a fucking railing from the boss that I did not enjoy, so now I'd like one I will enjoy." She pumps me roughly a few times, and I clench my molars together as I harden in her hand. "Get on the bed."

She releases me to do her bidding, and I lie on my back, watching as she sheds her clothes. Once she's naked she climbs onto the bed, straddling me. Without much preamble, she lowers herself onto my cock with a gasp.

"Oh fuck." Her head falls back, and she rolls her hips. "Yeah, oh fuck, I need this."

She fucks me freely for herself, rolling and grinding in that way that feels good for women but doesn't do much for me. I tuck my hands behind my head, watching her and enjoying the feeling of her hot, wet pussy around my throbbing cock. I need more to get off, but seeing her get off is fun too.

I reach out to press my thumb to her clit, and her lips shake as a needy little moan escapes her. When I pinch her clit between my thumb and finger, she bucks on me, her fingers scrabbling at my stomach.

"Fuck, fuck," she moans, and her pussy clenches around me as she comes. She shudders for a moment, gasping for breath before she starts moving again.

"Still need more, huh?"

She bites her lips, nodding, her eyes fluttering closed. "Yeah, fuck, I need more." She grabs onto my shoulders and pulls me into a sitting position, her hips jerking harder against me now. Her eyes meet mine, her rosy lips parted as she gasps and moans. "I need more."

"What else do you need?" I ask, raking my fangs along her jawline. "Be a good little slut and tell me how you want to be fucked."

She groans at my words. "Oh fuck, Silas." She protests as I hold her still, trying to move and keep chasing the orgasm she so desperately needs. "I need to come."

With considerable force I push her off me and flat onto the bed. She's writhing and running her fingers through my hair as I press my mouth to her wet pussy. My tongue drags over her clit, and she half-laughs, half-sobs.

"Oh fuck, Silas, please." She's never been like this before, so needy and raw. It's the closest I've ever seen her to vulnerability. Instead of drawing it out and torturing her some more, I suck on her clit, lashing it with my tongue. I grind my achingly hard cock into the bed, and Sam's cries become high-pitched as she comes again, so wet she's dripping down my lips.

She's barely finished crying out, her body still shaking, when I rise over her, flipping her onto her stomach and pushing my cock inside her. Now I need to come. I need relief. I need to fucking relieve the tension from imagining holding Juliet's shivering frame in my bed.

I grip Sam's hair, pulling her head back and kissing her neck. She sighs, turning her mouth towards me, kissing me hungrily, our lips and fangs and tongues clashing. I groan into her mouth as I pump my release into her still-quivering cunt.

"Oh fuck," she sighs against my mouth. "Fuck. Thank you. I needed that. Holy fuck."

"Happy to help," I say with a laugh, pulling out of her. I roll onto my back, and Sam surprises me by snuggling up under my arm. I look down at her, and her face is twisted with sadness. "Hey, what's wrong?"

She sniffles and shakes her head, flicking her hair out of her face with her fingertips. "I'm being fucking stupid," she says, burying her face into my chest. "You just made me come so hard I'm emotional now, that's all."

I laugh and stroke her hair. "It's alright, today was a shit day."

"Yes it was." She looks up at me, and traces a finger along my lower lip. "You're a great fuck, Silas."

"So are you."

Her mouth quirks into a crooked smile. "You know, you've never told me what you were. Before."

I tuck a hand behind my head and stare at the ceiling. "I was… in security. Alarm systems and CCTV, boring shit like that."

"Oh, right." Sam runs a hand over my chest. "My father owned a plantation."

My head jerks to look down at her. "Like, a slave plantation?"

She nods. "Yep. We were rich as fuck. And then the slaves started getting sick, this weird illness started spreading. And one night, one of them broke into my room. She tore out my throat, but she panicked and gave me her blood to turn me." Sam shrugs. "I helped the slaves murder my whole family. Retribution I guess."

I huff out a breath. "Holy shit."

"Yeah." Sam extricates herself from my embrace and sits up on the bed. "I should let you get some rest." She gives me a small smile, and shakes her head. "Sorry for going all girl on you."

I sit up, resting on my hands. "Come on, we're friends, right? You can talk to me. That's not going all girl on me."

"Friends huh?" She lets out a little laugh. "Friends with benefits, I guess."

"Exactly."

With a nod she gets up off the bed, and pulls on her clothes. "That girl, the one who fainted."

"What about her?" I hope I sound nonchalant.

"You like her, don't you?"

I laugh incredulously, stretching on the bed. "Like her? A bloodbag?"

"I see how you look at her." Sam lifts an eyebrow. "You get that possessive glint in your eye whenever she passes you by."

"Sam, come on." I sit up, throwing my legs over the edge of the bed. "She's pretty, for a human. That's all. So I look at her, and?"

Sam's mouth quirks. "Have you ever heard the expression, thou doth protest too much?"

"I'm not protesting anything." I hold my hands up. "Nothing's going on."

Sam's lips set in a hard line, and with a nod she pushes out the door.

I lie back on the bed, staring at the ceiling as it starts to reflect the orange light of morning.

Others are starting to notice. Sam has eagle eyes, she sees everything. But it's only a matter of time before someone else notices me watching Juliet's every move, sees the look on my face as my eyes follow her.

I have to be careful. I have to stop being stupid. I have to let this go.

But I'm obsessed. Even now, with Sam's taste on my tongue, the second I conjure up the image of that blonde head of hair on the pillow beside me, I'm hard again.