The Badass Protector

COLT

“WHAT’S GOING on?” I was the last to enter.

I was a watcher the previous night. I scowled upon seeing the familiar faces at Gael’s office, and something didn’t add up that I was not even informed.

“Morning, Colt,” Cora greeted.

“Morning.” I gestured to everyone to start telling me, and my scowl deepened when I couldn’t find Iris in the room.

Darick shrugged. “No idea, man.”

I leaned against the wall since Cora and Lois had already occupied the chairs. A moment later, Gael entered with a steaming mug of coffee in his hand.

“What did I miss?” I started.

“Wait for your turn,” Gael briefly said and sat on his chair.

It frustrated me that suddenly I became invisible around him, and as far as I knew, I hadn’t failed the duty he gave me.

Right now, I questioned myself if he still needed my service or if I had to pack my things and move out.

“Let’s start with you, Darick.” Gael eyed him. There was something different about the way he acted.

“Um, okay. Look, um, we didn’t talk much, Gael.” He looked at me, then back to Gael. “She told me her name and said she had just arrived a few days ago. She seemed kind, though. She looked harmless and genuinely concerned that I was hurt,” Darick explained.

So, this was all about Iris. It now became crystal clear, and the fact that Iris was not around.

And here I thought he let that woman stay because his conscience would keep him awake at night while Iris was alone, fighting for her survival.

My jaw clenched when I realized he had kept me in the dark. I hated being angry at him and wanted to erase this unwelcoming emotion because he was the only person I trusted with my life.

“Did you observe something strange?”

“I was drowsy, and I’m not good at picking up things like that, reading people. I just took the pill when she and Lois came to see me. I wasn’t able to observe her very well. As I said, she looked weak and pale, and I don’t think she could even harm me in my sleep.” Darick shrugged.

“How about you, Templeton?”

The idiot, Frost, smirked. “She’s pretty.”

I narrowed my eyes when he briefly eyed me, waiting to see my reaction.

“This is a serious matter, Templeton.”

“Sorry, Gael. I have nothing much to say other than she grows some weight and curves-”

“Jesus, Frost!” My voice got everyone’s attention. “Tell us something other than what you see.”

“I’m just telling the truth. That’s what I saw, man. If you didn’t stop me from inviting her to come hunting with me, I could have told you some details.”

He cleared his throat and became focused. “On another note. I didn’t see anything off other than friendly. She didn’t seem to have something up on her sleeves. I mean, she was shy at first, but later on, she adjusted pretty quick around us and worked her ass off in the garden.”

“And that’s the odd thing. Don’t you think?” Cora interrupted. “She catches up on everything pretty quickly, like she used to do without difficulty.”

“What made you say that, Cora?” Gael asked.

“She’s friendly to everyone to get their sympathy, and after that, she’ll stab us behind our back,” she replied confidently.

“Whoa! Hold up there,” I stopped her, and she met my gaze. “How many times did you talk to her?”

She shifted. “Twice?”

“And you had already come up with all that? What did you two talk about anyway?” I focused on her body language. She didn’t have to say anything when she swallowed and shifted uncomfortably. “You don’t have to answer that.”

I started to dislike Cora. I knew she wanted to get rid of Iris, but what she didn’t know was what would be the consequences awaited someone like Iris once Gael decided to let her out of this camp. She didn’t have to prove her self-worth to the group by making a story out of it.

Gael nodded. “How about you, Lois?”

“I’m her roommate. She slept most of the night. I haven’t observed unusual things she did besides helping Anna in the kitchen, planting, and picking some vegetables. She also went to visit Dr. Hull. I checked her backpack, and all she had were the vitamins Dr. Hull gave her. I checked under her mattress, but there was nothing. We talked about our lives, and she told me about her brother and that they didn’t find her parents when the virus reached their hometown. Her brother died weeks ago. Murdered, actually.” Lois’s voice cracked.

“You can’t blame someone for not spilling the trauma she had endured weeks ago. We’re still strangers to her, you know. The scars on her arms, I think it’s not from drugs. I don’t know.”

Her story was the same story she told me. Either it was true, or she must have rehearsed it for days. Either way, there was only one way to find out.

“Did she tell you about her necklace?”

“A gift from her mom. Why is it so important, guys? She never took it off, even when she used the bathroom.” Lois looked at me as if she was telling me something.

“Okay, thank you for coming. Colt, stay.”

I nodded absently and took a seat. The meeting was wrapped up, and some part of me didn’t want to say anything since it was obvious, but my emotion was clogging up in my throat that I had to voice it out.

“I couldn’t believe you did not let me get involved with this. And what am I still doing here if I don’t have any more help for you?”

He leaned on his chair, studying me. “Don’t be so dramatic. I just don’t want your emotions will cloud your judgment.”

“Seriously? Since when I failed something you asked me to do?” I huffed, frustrated.Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.

“Never, but I doubt you would be able to judge fairly at this time?”

“Judge fairly? How so?” My nose flared with tension, and Gael noticed it.

“Let me tell you, Colt. One, you fought back, woman or not, if she was a threat. I knew you could easily handle the first time you encountered her. But you chose to give her back the necklace instead of twisting her wrist to let the gun fall off, or was I wrong about your self-defense expertise? Second, you asked me if you could take her with you for a supply run, which never happened with anyone, even Lois. Then someone saw you talked to her in the garden.”

“I was just asking her if she wanted something. What’s wrong with that?” My answer came out defensive, and Gael didn’t miss it. I had to avert my gaze from him to the papers on the table.

“I also noticed how your jaw clenched when someone admired her. Should I go on?”

“Still, it’s not fair that you did not tell me about it. You don’t trust me anymore, Gael, because I failed to protect my brother, and I was supposed to go instead of Darick.”

“This has nothing to do with your brother, Colt. We were betrayed and ambushed that nobody saw it coming. Have you forgotten that he died protecting me? I should be the one who’s dead, not him. You should blame me and not yourself.”

“He made his choice,” I replied shortly. Every time I remembered what happened, it still gave me a sharp pain in my chest.

“I trust you, Colt. Don’t ever question that. And honestly, I would never allow her to go out with others. It’s not that they can’t protect her, but she seems to trust you more than anyone in the camp.”

“I doubt if she trusts me. She’s distant.”

“So, as I observed. Don’t worry. She’ll come around.”

“I am not worried.”

“And one more thing. The last time you and Templeton fought was about your brother’s shirt he wore without your permission, and yesterday, Iris was wearing one of Colton’s. And I heard it clearly that she called you Colton, yet I never saw you go ballistic to correct her.”

Sometimes I wanted to punch him for being so damn right.

I didn’t know. All I wanted was to protect Iris no matter how annoying she was.