THEM (Season 1): Episode 2 Read Online Free PDF Page B

ever seen something like this before?” I motioned out the window with the barrel of the HK.
    She sat still for a moment, surveying the cruelty of the scene before us. Then, she nodded, ever so slightly, as if she didn’t want any part of what was going on out there. “He’s not our concern though. Gabby needs to heal up, and then we’ll move to a more secure location.”
    I looked at her like she was the coldest bitch in hell. “You’re shitting me, right? I mean, I’ve seen punters treat people badly, but this—it’s inhumane. You wanna just leave that poor kid like that?”
    She shrugged. “Like I said, not our problem. We have other matters to attend to.”
    “Oh, so now it’s ‘we.’ Don’t think I’ve forgotten our little conversation from earlier about how you sent Gabby out looking for me. I don’t know what the hell you’re up to, but I intend to get answers from you, and soon.”
    She pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at me. “You’re going after that kid, aren’t you? I’m telling you not to do it—it’s a mistake you’ll regret.”
    Speaking in measured tones to ensure the punters couldn’t hear us, I decided to let the good captain know what I thought about her opinions. “Doc, right now I could give a rat’s flying fart what you think. I came out here for one reason, and that was to get proof of ’thropes in the Corridor so I could convince the settlements in the safe zones to prepare for an assault. So far all I’ve managed to find is a kid you sent into the Outlands alone to find me, for God only knows what reasons. I don’t know what your game is, but the more time I spend jacking around here, the less time I have to get word back to my people about what’s going on out here in the Corridor.”
    She crossed her arms defiantly and gave me a pissy look, gesturing out the window with the bloody rubber surgical glove that was still in her hand. “Alright—if you want proof of ’thropes hunting the Corridor, I’ll tell you where to find it. It’s walking down the street right in front of you.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “That kid isn’t human—he’s a lycanthrope. Probably a wolf-type, although it’s hard to tell from here. But since they’re the most common, I’ll just assume that’s the case.”
    “And how exactly do you know all this?”
    She leaned back against the front counter of the clinic and crossed her arms. “Well, you’ll just have to stick around to find that out, won’t you?”
    Obviously, she thought that withholding information from me would keep me around. Instead, it only pissed me off that she was trying to manipulate me. And I had a sneaking suspicion she’d been doing it from the start, from the very moment I met Gabby. Well, I was tired of being played; I was going to do this my way, and get the answers I needed with or without her help. I watched the last of the punters turn the corner, and brushed past her to go pack up my stuff.
    She called after me, sotto voce, still concerned that we might bring attention to ourselves by speaking too loud. “Where do you think you’re going? I seriously hope you’re not going after that, that thing. ”
    I looked back at her as she followed me down the hallway that led to the kennels and treatment rooms. “That ‘thing’ as you call it looks like it’s at least part human—or that it once was. And if it is what you say it is, then maybe ‘it’ has the answers I’m looking for. So, yeah—I’m going after him. ”
    The doc grabbed me by the shoulder and spun me around, no mean feat considering the difference in size between us. She looked up at me and got in my face the best she could, standing on tiptoe and poking me in the chest for emphasis. “Before you go trying to rescue that animal you should consider your own kind. Think about what Gabby sacrificed to find you! And now, you’re going to risk your own life and abandon her, all to save some lab animal who’d sooner rip your