Chapter 13

AXTON'S POV...

"The purification is..." I was about to elaborate more to her about the LIGHT OF HOPE but I paused when I noticed that the little female I was talking with had gone quiet, fallen asleep.

Seeing her quiet and calm form, I quietly chuckled, she had easily slept off like a child.

I stood and silently started to approach her bed. Pausing when my knees were just beside her bed, leaning down and carefully observing her.

As I leaned down toward her, just like before, I couldn't scent any animal gene on her; recalling our previous interactions, I was a hundred percent sure that she was a pure human, uninfected by the virus.

The realization baffled me. I never thought her kind could still exist in our infected world; it made me question how she had managed to escape contracting the virus and how she had managed to survive living in the harsh lands, which had proven to be extremely unfavorable to females.

I knew it must've been extremely hard on her, seeing how she had tried her best to conceal her real identity, it showed how hard she went just to protect herself from the dangers she had faced each day.

As these thoughts rushed through my mind, the aftermath of discovering her existence dawned on me. Her existence, if let out, would attract the empire's council's attention—people I didn't trust and wouldn't let her meet.

It was better I kept her existence a secret, just as she'd strived to keep it. My men already knew and I have made them swear never to tell a single soul about her.

I slowly retraced my steps and noiselessly returned to the wall and lowered myself to the floor again.

As I sat down, I discovered that I was unable to take my eyes off her, as if there was an invisible magnet pulling my eyes to her tiny figure.

I suddenly started to feel a stirring in my heart, a strong instinct that moved me to protect her at all cost; it made me willing to sacrifice so much for her; this was a feeling that was strange to me, yet, I welcomed it with all my heart. As long as she stayed beside me, I was never going to let anything or anyone harm that tiny and beautiful woman lying in front of me.

Despite the howling dust outside, I felt so calm sitting inside the room with her, and I realized that being near her brought me such unprecedented peace.

I didn't know when, but I finally fell asleep while watching her sleep.

Soon, morning came and the terrible sandstorm had subsided.

I slowly woke from a light sleep, and surprisingly, I felt unusually calm, I'd not felt such calmness for a very long time after I woke from sleep...sleep, another surprising thing I've done quite peacefully after a long time too. I had a feeling it all had something to do with her.

I looked over at her and saw that she was still very much asleep; she must have been very, very tired from having traveled the vast and harsh deserts in search of food and shelter. I remembered the first time I saw her, she had risked her life by venturing into the paths of the Fallen and would have been they would have been killed if my squad and I hadn't gotten there on time. So, after all her life-and-death adventures, she needed all the sleep she could get.

I decided to let her sleep more and go fetch food for breakfast; I knew she must be famished by the time she would finally wake up.

Standing up from my position, I cracked my neck to loosen the tension of having slept in a sitting position throughout the night. And then, quietly, I moved toward the door, wrapped my hand around the door handle, and opened the door as quietly as I could before I finally left the room.

Out in the hallway, I didn't walk for long when I met Thane in the lounge, moving closer to him, I realized he was discussing with some other men.

"Do you think she can survive this world?" Andre asked curiously.

"She's survived this far; look how well she managed to disguise herself; I believe she'll survive," Zen replied.

"But, if she's ever discovered by the empire's council, they'd do everything to covet her. And...we all know what her fate would become if that ever happened," Andre said quietly.

"Good thing we all know what will happen if anyone lets the news spread out. Everyone has to keep her existence a secret, if we really want her to survive," Thane informed calmly.

"Of course, not a word shall leave this camp about her," Andre assured.

"That is true, Doctor Thane, we wouldn't tell a soul about it." Zen supported.

"After the last fight the fifth squad had with the Fallens at Factory 29, there's been an increase in the Fallen ones and massive shortages in supplies," Zen narrated, switching their conversation to another direction.

I saw Thane shake his head, followed by his well-thought-compliant, "The viruses in the human blood are becoming more dominant than the human gene, which brought about an increase in Fallen ones. However, the shortages of supplies are borne from the fourth squad's command errors. They not only waste ammunition but they also reduced food supplies along the border and tightened up their grip with the black market's progression." He paused, sipping his water from an insulated water flask.

"But, they think they could rule District 12 however they wanted, they are not yet aware that they are speedily leading this District into a dire situation and uncertain future; if this goes on for longer than it should, people will surely die," He finished and turned his head, giving me a curtain nod of recognition.

I nodded back at him and quickly carried a tray of food and returned to her room.

But, I was surprised to find her outside, surrounded by squad members and shaking hands with Zarek.