A/N:

Hey everyone! I'm so so sorry, I haven't been very active because I had so many things to do and life got a bit (very) busy, so I didn't have much time to write and update. But here we are, chapter 5! I hope you like it and sorry again for taking so long to update <3







































When (Y/n) woke up this morning she had almost forgotten that she wasn't at home anymore. She opened her eyes and a pang of loneliness hit her at the sight of the empty bedroom.

A sour reminder that the last twenty four hours hadn't been a dream.

(Y/n)'s room at home hadn't been anything extraordinary. Two beds, hers and Grey's, thin lace curtains, some shelves with trinkets and books, a rug to cover the wooden floor, and a closet. Her side of the room was clean, and Grey's messy. Nothing special really.

Still, she missed the drawings on the walls, the ones she had done as a kid, of flowers she had seen outside. Her mother had seen red when she had seen them. On the other hand, Grey had called (Y/n)'s drawings artistic. She had even drawn a little smiling face beside it. Though (Y/n) had a feeling Grey had done this to upset their mother more than anything else.

A lonely tear rolled down (Y/n)'s cheek, a bitter taste filling her mouth as she stared at her new room. At the pale cream coloured walls, at the unfamiliar cotton sheets and the sunlight filtering in through the light linen curtains. At the wooden desk and lonely chair, at the wooden floor and empty closet.

The only thing that seemed to have followed her all the way to the city were the singing birds outside. The ones she listened to for hours back home, lying on the green grass outside under the Sun.

(Y/n) swallowed thickly.

Of course, she was incredibly grateful to have stumbled upon Marcus and Tobias, to have been offered their help and a shelter. If it hadn't been for them she might have slept in the streets or worse yet, in the Uninfected camp. Still, waking up to this new reality left a sour taste in her mouth.

The previous day had been a blur, a weird mix of shock and confusion. (Y/n) hadn't quite realized just what had happened and hadn't quite grasped the extent of the situation. But now waking up in the city without Grey by her side, reality was starting to look and feel all too tangible to (Y/n). And now she had no choice but to face the thousand of emotions that had been brewing beneath the surface. It all came crashing down over her like a tidal wave, giving her no choice but to submit.

Sadness.

Loneliness.

Doubt.

Fear.

She was alone now. Truly alone. And so far from home it made her sick to her stomach. Her heart tightened in her chest as hot tears gathered in her eyes and blurred her vision. And for a moment, (Y/n) thought about staying in bed, buried under the blankets. She thought about falling back asleep and hopefully running away from her current reality.

Forgetting about Grey's disappearance. Forgetting about the fact she had left home on a whim to find her sister.

But (Y/n) couldn't really do that. She hadn't come here to mop around all day and wallow in her despair. For the first time in her life she had been courageous enough to leave home, to make decisions for herself and go after her sister.

She couldn't turn back now. And she wouldn't.

So she wiped the tears from her face and stood up on trembling legs, walking over to the wooden desk. A prick of light ingnated hope in her chest at the sight of her fake ID. Tobias had probably swung by her room when she had been asleep and had let it there for her. She had always been a pretty heavy sleeper so she wouldn't be surprised if he had knocked a few times before deciding to let himself in.

(Y/n) Parker - Protective Infected

(Y/n) frowned at the made up information about her. It was certainly weird to think of herself as an Infected when she had been taught to fear them all her life. She didn't even know how to embrace this new identity yet. Having a fake ID was one thing, but acting accordingly was another. How was a protective Infected supposed to act? How was she supposed to act?

(Y/n) had heard plenty of stories about Infected people and the Infection's consequences on Uninfected. Tales of poor Uninfected darlings had been a commodity back home. But (Y/n) had never been told much about how the Infection worked for Infected people. She had heard about the fact there were different kinds of Infections, different genes. But she had no idea what all the different types were and what they meant exactly.

She guessed she would just have to figure it out as she went. Or ask Tobias and Marcus.

"Ready? We're leaving in five minutes!" Marcus called for her from behind the door. And in all her thinking, (Y/n) had almost forgotten that Marcus had asked for her to accompany him grocery shopping this morning.

She hurriedly threw on a jacket before stepping out of her room, preying that her earlier crying session hadn't left any visible traces on her features. She really didn't want to deal with sympathetic looks or questions about how she was doing. For the less she thought about her own feelings, the better.

"As ready as can be." She said, plastering on a smile she knew probably wasn't that convincing. Still, even if Marcus noticed, he didn't ask any questions.

"Wonderful!" He cheered, "Now, take this for me please." He extended a shopping trolley to her.

(Y/n) silently took it, following Marcus to the door, her feet stopping right in front of it. She inhaled deeply in an attempt at taming her nerves.

"Nervous?" Marcus turned to her with kind eyes and a smile touching his lips.

"A bit." (Y/n) answered, "I mean, I've never stepped out of the Uninfected community before. I've never been so close to Infected people either. It's a bit... scary."

Marcus gently patted her shoulder. "It'll be fine. Just stick close to me and don't speak to anyone. You've got an ID so everything should be okay as long as you don't draw too much attention to yourself."

(Y/n) nodded as Marcus opened the door, and she followed him outside, the light spring breeze greeting her.

She silently followed Marcus down the main street of the neighborhood, until they found themselves in a whole other neighborhood entirely. This one, less desolate and with seemingly much more money. (Y/n) guessed this must have been one of the main activity centers of the city.

A shiver of apprehension licked her spine, her eyes meeting those of a young woman passing by.

It's fine. Everything's fine. (Y/n) reassured herself, tightening her hold on the shopping trolley.

Not many people were out and about at this time of day, which considerably lowered the chances of having a bad encounter. But (Y/n) knew she would have to get over her fear of Infected people if she wanted to survive her time in the city. She couldn't fear for her life every time she stepped outside of the house. This would be awfully counterproductive in her search for her sister.

So instead of focusing on the people around her, (Y/n) chose to focus on the city itself.

The first thing that caught (Y/n)'s attention was the sheer size of the city, and she wondered how anyone could possibly find their way around here. Hell, she had only seen a portion of it and she was already lost. The Uninfected Community had been nothing but a tiny village in comparison, if one could even call it that.

Apart from its sheer size though, the city didn't look as scary as she had imagined, and if it hadn't been for its Infected inhabitants (Y/n) might have considered it a great place to live. In this neighborhood, houses and buildings looked quite nice, made of smooth bricks and big windows. Some vegetation paved the large streets and a tramway drove people from one place to the other.

She caught sight of a museum dedicated to 'Infected and Uninfected History', an association building for 'Infected with unwilling darlings' and some others that sent a chill down her spine. But other than that, the city looked like any other she might have heard about.

"Okay we're here. It's crowded inside, so stick close to me, okay?" Marcus told her as they stopped in front of a covered market's gates where stood two men in uniforms.

(Y/n) nodded silently and stepped closer to Marcus, the both of them approaching the guards.

"ID, please."

Marcus didn't blink at the blunt request, simply retrieving hsi fake ID from his pocket. (Y/n) did the same, eyes glancing at Marcus's ID.

Marcus Rhodes - Protective Infected

From what she had gathered so far, (Y/n) thought it fair to assume that the protected gene was the easiest to reproduce as an Uninfected. There was a reason why Marcus and her had been given Protective Infected IDs. Still, she needed to know just what being a Protective entailed if she didn't want her cover blown.

(Y/n) followed Marcus inside the market, carefully eyeing their surroundings before speaking up.

"What are Protectives like?"

Marcus chuckled at her question, an amused smile curving his lips as he led the both of them to a stall selling fruits and vegetables.

"By Protective they usually mean Overprotective. Think like restricting your loved ones' freedom to keep them safe. Like locking them up in their bedroom for their own good for instance." Marcus said, and turned to (Y/n) with a reassuring smile, "What's good about it is that most Protective's instincts don't kick in until they've found their darling. So until then you're free to act more or less normally. Well, they do have a protective streak even before that, but it's less pronounced than a full blown infected obsession."

That was a relief, (Y/n) wouldn't have the constant stress of acting out of character. Still, more questions plagued her mind as she followed Marcus around stands.

"Is that why you trust Tobias? Because his infection hasn't been triggered yet?"

A fondness filled Marcus's gaze at the mention of Tobias, and he picked up an apple.

"Tobias is different." He said, "I can't tell you exactly why, that would be his tale to share, but Tobias has what other Infected tend to lack; self awareness. He knows the Infection shouldn't be the norm and that all it implies is condamnable."

"You mean to say it's not the case for others?"

"Not exactly. Most Infected nowadays were born in this society and taught from a young age that the Infection was the norm and so was its twisted vision of love. So most of them don't see themselves as an anomaly and think it the other way around. Tobias didn't receive the same education and was taught from a young age that Infected people were the only threat to us. That's why he's dedicated to helping us as much as he can, all whilst keeping a certain distance to ensure his infection doesn't kick in."

(Y/n) frowned, putting the pieces together in her mind and soaking up the information like a sponge. It was a lot to take in all at once, but it's not like she had a choice in the matter. One missed information could lead to her demise. Still, hearing about Marcus's confidence in Tobias's ability to keep himself in check was reassuring. She still had questions about Infected people and the Infection as a whole though.

"Okay. And how does the Infection work for the other Infected?" She asked, following him to another stall selling fish and all kinds of seafood.

"Usually other Infected types already have heavy signs of their Infection before they've found a darling. Sadists already have a sadistic streak, obsessives already have a kind of obsession for whatever subject picked their fancy, possessives already have a possessive streak for their material goods and people around them."

A shiver of dread pricked up (Y/n)'s spine at the thought of a Sadistic Infected, as if they weren't scary enough she now had to worry about some of them actively hurting others for pleasure. Marcus didn't seem all too bothered by the thought though, then again (Y/n) guessed he had probably grown used to it after such a long time living in the city.

"Anyways, talking about this here isn't safe. So let's buy some more food and then we'll be on our way. You've got places to be, after all." Marcus said and winked at her, a small smile curving (Y/n)'s lips in response.

They carried on with their grocery shopping, making idle chit chat whilst buying the missing things on their shopping list. All the while, (Y/n) remained blissfully unaware of the pair of eyes on her.

Tobias stood at a distance, observing Marcus and (Y/n), a heavy sigh falling from his lips as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

He had gotten off work earlier than usual just to check on (Y/n)'s and Marcus's shopping trip, worried that things maybe wouldn't go as planned and that the two would get into trouble. (Y/n) was still new around here after all, and though Marcus was content taking her around and about, Tobias still had his doubts.

She stuck out like a sore thumb in the Infected city, and although Tobias had provided her with an Infected ID it was only fair for him to worry about her safety. And him going out of his way to check on her was normal, and something anyone aware of the dangers of the Infected city for Uninfected individuals would do.

Tobias would have done this for any other Uninfected around, and as long as he kept his distances from (Y/n) everything would be fine. For both of them.

Right?