Nothing Happens in Sommerville (Part Eighteen)

Mallory struggled to find her balance between her throbbing foot and unstable prosthetic. The adrenaline from her escape and attacking Willen was fading. Now all she wanted to do was collapse.

She’d attempted to break free from the underground storage by copying a scene from an old movie–the name and plot long forgotten–and told herself she could withstand the pain.

But after the first blow of her prosthetic against her bare foot, Mallory quickly learned that had been a lie.

She’d needed to find an alternative escape. After an excruciating amount of time examining the chain, she’d found the smallest hint of a weak spot. She hadn’t been able to break it with her bare hands, but with some brute force, she’d managed to bash the links apart with her prosthetic.

Unfortunately, her efforts had taken a toll on her leg. A large crack now ran up the wooden limb, making it far less sturdy than it used to be. Luckily, she’d been able to make a walking stick out of an abandoned crowbar near one of the empty food vats. Which had proven to be very useful against the psychotic Wall Watcher that had charged her with a knife.

Mallory had never liked Willen. Something about the man had always given her the creeps.And though she’d never imagined hurting him (or killing him), she was glad she had, now that she could see just how much damage he’d done to her husband. 

Bennet’s face was a mottled mess of blood, bruises, and shallow cuts. His left eye was so swollen, she didn’t think he could see out of it. When he smiled at her, Mallory grimaced at seeing a few teeth were missing. 

She allowed herself to feel one second of relief at seeing Bennet alive, before the fury came back.

“Five years.”

Bennet’s smile turned into a confused frown. “What?”

“Five years,” Mallory repeated. Her hands balled into shaking fists. “You’ve been lying to me for five years, Bennet!”

In their entire marriage, Mallory had never raised her voice like that. The few arguments they’d had were usually over mundane issues, like forgetting to put the toilet seat down or hogging the blankets. Nothing that would make Mallory shout with the cold anger she felt now.

“I. . .” His good eye was wide in surprise. “I wasn’t–”

“Cut the crap, Bennet!” He flinched at her sharp tone. “We both know I’m right. You and Tye have been lying to me about everything!” She tried to focus on her anger instead of the hurt of betrayal. “You’ve been lying to everyone!”

“What? No, no! It’s not–It’s not like that!” Bennet protested as he frantically struggled against the restraints trapping him in the chair.

Mallory would have laughed at how ridiculous he looked if she wasn’t so upset. “Oh? So you and Tye haven’t been lying about sending people to other compounds and that the world is going back to normal?” 

“We. . . Well, no. That’s. . . that’s true, but—”

“And what happened to all the people you and Tye sent out of Sommerville?” Mallory continued. “The ones who were sick and needed treatment somewhere else? Or the emergency watchers who had to leave for another compound without the chance to say goodbye?” She leaned forward as she coldly asked, “What did you and Tye really do to people like Eden’s brother?”

If any part of her had still hoped Bennet wasn’t involved in Tye’s plan, it died at the stricken expression on his face. Guilt dripped off of Bennet like the blood still oozing from his injuries. He looked away from Mallory’s accusatory glare with a shaky exhale.

“It sounds like you already know,” he said quietly.

The admittance hit Mallory like a bus. She staggered back from him, covering her mouth in horror and trying to fight the urge to be sick. Bennet, her adoring husband, was a murderer. Those blood-covered hands had taken life from others, then touched her with love and gentleness. How many times had he come home after killing one of their friends, only for her to greet him with a kiss? 

“Oh my God,” Mallory gasped, taking another step back from him. “It’s true.”

“Mallory–”

“You killed them.” She shook her head, even now still not wanting to accept it. “You actually killed them.”

“It’s not what you’re thinking.”

“You’re a murderer, Bennet!”

His expression darkened. “I was following orders.”

“You think that makes it better?!” Mallory shouted with tears in her eyes. “You didn’t have to go through with it!”

“If I went against Tye, he’d just kill me and find someone else to take my place,” Bennet said through gritted teeth.

“Not if enough of us had known the truth!” Mallory argued. “If you had reported him then–”

“REPORT HIM TO WHO?!” Bennet exploded. Blood splattered across the floor at the force of his outburst. “Haven’t you gotten it yet? Everyone else is DEAD, Mallory! We’re all that’s left! There’s no one that can stop him!” His proclamation echoed in Tye’s office before he lowered his head with a sigh. “What would be the point, anyway? Sommerville’s only got a few days left in it. Exposing the truth isn’t going to fix anything.”

There was a heavy silence in the room at Bennet’s words. Mallory frowned at where he sat, still bound and bloodied from Willen’s abuse. He looked utterly defeated, like finally saying the truth out loud had sucked all the fight out of him. Despite the cuts on his face and the broken angle of his nose, Mallory could see the dark shadows under Bennet’s eyes. The hopelessness of Sommerville’s fate had drained the life out of him, and Mallory hadn’t even noticed.

He’s a murderer, Mallory’s rational side reminded her. Don’t feel pity for him. Still the ache in her chest at seeing him so low prompted her to take a step toward him.

“Just. . . tell me why.” Mallory waited until Bennet glanced up at her before continuing. “If it was all doomed from the start, why do all of this? Why lie and do Tye’s dirty work if you knew there was no point in it?”

Bennet stared at Mallory like he couldn’t comprehend the need for such a question. His eye darted from her face to her stomach, and to the noticeable absence of her wedding ring, before he met her gaze again.

“Because I love you,” he said simply. “I would have done anything to keep you safe. And though it only bought us a few extra years, I’d do it all over again for just one more second with you.”

Words failed Mallory as she stared at Bennet. Despite her resolve to hate him, she could feel the sting of forming tears.

Bennet had lied to her about so much. Her past, how she lost her leg, the inevitable end of humanity itself. There were so many reasons for her not to trust him.

But she knew he wasn’t lying about this.

She pressed a hand to her stomach and thought about their unborn child. Living proof that the love had been real, despite not knowing what to think about Bennet now.

“If you really love me, you’ll help me stop him.” She could see Bennet’s reluctance already forming at the thought of opposing Tye. “Please. We have to make things right.”

The power flickered with long, excruciating pauses between light and dark. Soon the lights would turn off permanently. The air filters wouldn’t be too far behind, along with the dome’s screen hiding the horrors outside. The next few days would be full of chaos and panic leading to a slow, suffocating death. Assuming the wall hadn’t fallen by then.

It would be understandable if Bennet refused. Sommerville’s future was bleak at best, and for all Mallory knew, exposing Tye might make everything worse. But the others deserved to know the truth.

Bennet furrowed his brows in thought before he nodded. “Alright. I’ll help you. I mean we’re all going to die, so,” he flashed her a sardonic smirk, “what the hell, right?”

Mallory felt herself smile. If they somehow didn’t die in the next few days–which was very unlikely–she didn’t think she’d be able to fully forgive him. But this was at least a start.