Chapter 450: Telling about Maribel

After leaving Ivy’s room, I barely knew where I was going.

My mind felt overheated.

Everything she had said kept circling through my head, refusing to settle. The Starakians. Dullahan. The way she had said I would die soon enough. The way she had calmly told me to decide whether I wanted to face that fate alone or drag everyone around me into it.

And then there was what she had said about herself.

There had always been strange things about Ivy.

I had noticed them.

Maybe not at first. Maybe not in the beginning, when everyone was simply trying to survive one day at a time and nobody had enough energy to question every strange thing happening around them.

But since Jackson Township, I had started paying attention.

The others did not seem to notice it.

Or maybe they did and chose not to say anything.

I remembered the day Daisy and I had gone looking for Ivy. We found her alone, bleeding from her arm. At the time, I had thought she had simply been attacked or injured while looking for supplies.

But why had she been alone?

Why had she looked so calm about it?

Then there was what happened after the Frost Walker.

I had started waking up much earlier than everyone else around that time. Most mornings, the town was still quiet when I opened my eyes. The streets were dark. People were asleep. Even the guards usually moved more slowly before sunrise.

Yet Ivy was often already gone.

Whenever I asked, she said she was looking for medicine or supplies.

That explanation should have made sense.

She was a nurse. Of course she needed to find medicine.

But she did it constantly.

Early every morning.

Always alone.

And somehow, she always returned without a single serious injury. No blood on her clothes. No scratches. No stories about having to escape a group of Infected or hide in some abandoned building.

It was like the Infected simply never found her.

I had told myself she was careful.

That she knew how to move quietly.

That she was just better at scavenging than the rest of us.

But the more I thought about it, the less believable it felt.

Then there had been the Screamer incident in Jackson Township.

Ivy had disappeared during the chaos.

And recently, I had found her alone again during the attack on the Boardwalk.

Summer had been running from those fast Infected.

And Ivy had been there at that time and she got rid of the Infected.

Summer had looked shocked.

Not just surprised.

Shocked.

The signs had been there.

I had seen them.

I just ignored them because I did not want to believe what they could mean.

Ivy had been with us for three months.

She had treated everyone’s injuries. She had helped people after fights, after attacks, after long nights with no sleep. She had stayed beside us in Jackson Township. She had come with us when we left. She had kept helping after we reached the Boardwalk.

She had never done anything against us.

She could not be an enemy.

What kind of enemy stayed beside a group for that long?

What kind of enemy patched up wounds, treated fevers, cleaned blood from people’s skin, and helped them survive?

And before all of this, she had been a nurse at Lexington Charter.

Christopher, Cindy, Daisy, Rebecca, and the others had known her from there. She had been part of that school for two years before the outbreak. She had acted like a normal student. A quiet one, sure, but still someone everyone recognized.

What did that mean?

Had she spent two years pretending to be a nurse at Lexington Charter?

For what reason?

Why would a Starakian, or whatever Ivy really was, stay hidden in a high school for years?

And why would she stay with us now?

No.

I shook my head as I reached the stairs.

I could not accept it.

She could not be a Starakian.

And even if she was, that did not automatically mean she was our enemy.

Wanda was half-Starakian.

She was still with us.

She had fought beside us. She had helped protect people. Nobody questioned whether she belonged just because of what was in her blood.

Maybe Ivy was the same.

Maybe there was a reason for everything she had hidden.

I wanted to believe that.

I was not completely stupid. I was not going to put everyone in danger if Ivy was truly a threat.

But she was not.

She could not be.

I had known her for three months.

I refused to believe that she had stayed beside us all that time only to hurt us in the end.

I simply could not accept it.

By the time I reached the lower floor, I had buttoned my shirt back up.

The movement made my ribs ache, but I ignored it. I had barely stepped into the hallway before Cindy noticed me.

She turned toward me and immediately narrowed her eyes.

"Why are you walking around?"

"I was just going to—"

"No."

Cindy did not even let me finish.

She walked over, grabbed my arm, and gave me a sharp look.

"You need to rest."

"I’m fine."

"You look like you’re about to fall over."

"I’m not."

"Ryan."

That one word was enough.

Cindy did not raise her voice. She did not need to. Her expression made it clear that I was not winning this argument.

"You did not sleep last night," she continued. "You were beaten half to death by Gaspar, hit by an anti-Symbiote blast, and you are still recovering from injuries that would put a normal person in a hospital."

"We don’t have hospitals anymore."

"You know what I mean."

I opened my mouth, ready to argue.

Then I felt how tired I actually was.

The adrenaline had been gone for hours. The anger from talking with Ivy was fading too, leaving only exhaustion behind. My body felt heavy. My head hurt. My eyes were dry and sore from staying awake through the night.

Cindy saw the moment I gave up.

"Go sleep," she said more softly.

In the end, I accepted.

There was no point fighting her over it.

I found another room on one of the higher floors of the Emerald Hotel. The room was mostly empty, with an old bed, a cracked dresser, and curtains that did not fully cover the windows. It was high enough that the Infected below would not be able to reach it, and the growls from outside sounded distant.

That was enough for me.

I lay down on the bed, feeling every bruise complain the second my back touched the mattress.

Then I closed my eyes.

For once, I did not have to force myself to sleep.

The exhaustion took me almost immediately.

When I woke again, the room was darker.

At first, I did not understand what had changed. My body still hurt. The sheets felt unfamiliar. The hotel was quiet except for muffled voices somewhere down the hall and the distant sounds of the Boardwalk outside.

Then I noticed the orange light slipping through the thin gap in the curtains.

Evening.

I had slept through most of the day.

I slowly turned my head.

I was not alone.

Sydney was lying beside me on top of the blanket, asleep with one arm loosely resting near mine. She looked calmer than she usually did. Her dark hair had fallen across part of her face, and for once, she was not teasing someone, running around, or trying to turn a serious moment into a joke.

I smiled faintly.

Then I reached over and gently moved a strand of hair away from her face.

Sydney frowned.

A second later, her eyes slowly opened.

She blinked at me, still half asleep.

"Ryan," she murmured. "Did you have sweet dreams?"

"Nothing," I replied. "What about you?"

Sydney’s face brightened almost immediately.

"I had a dream that we had a fivesome with Cindy, Rachel, and Elena."

My expression twisted.

Of course.

"I shouldn’t have expected any other kind of dream from you," I said.

"Come on," Sydney said, shifting closer and wrapping her arms around mine. "I’m sure you would love it."

I sighed.

"Sydney."

"What? You would."

"I’m not answering that."

She laughed quietly, clearly satisfied with herself.

For a few seconds, I let her hold my arm. The warmth was nice. Familiar.

Then I remembered why I had wanted to talk with everyone.

"Anyway," I said, "can you call some people for me?"

Sydney looked up at me.

"Not everyone. Just Cindy, Rachel, Christopher..."

I hesitated.

"And Maribel too, if you find her."

Sydney’s mouth slowly turned into a smirk.

"Maribel too, huh?"

I looked away.

"Just get them."

Sydney did not press the subject.

Not yet, anyway.

She climbed off the bed, grabbed a flashlight from the small table beside the door, and turned it on. The weak beam lit up the dusty room.

"Fine," she said. "I’ll bring them."

Then she opened the door and stepped out into the hallway.

About ten minutes later, the people I had asked Sydney to bring started arriving.

Cindy came in first, carrying a small lamp so the room would not be completely dark. Rachel followed behind her, looking tired but curious. Christopher entered next, closing the door partway as he glanced around the room like he expected this to be some kind of emergency meeting.

Maribel came in last.

She looked nervous the moment she stepped through the doorway.

For a second, she stood near the door with both hands held together in front of her. Then she quietly shut it behind herself and moved closer to the others.

Sydney leaned against the wall near the window, looking far too entertained by the fact that everyone had been gathered in one room.

I sat up a little straighter on the bed, ignoring the ache in my ribs.

"There’s something I have to tell you," I said.

Everyone looked at me.

I briefly glanced at Maribel.

She met my eyes, her cheeks already turning a little red, then gave me a small nod.

"I cured Maribel."

For a second, nobody spoke.

Then all their attention shifted toward her.

Maribel immediately looked away.

Cindy let out a slow breath.

"I guess that was it," she said.

Rachel’s eyes widened.

"Really?"

"Yeah," I replied. "During the Theater incident I told you about. She had been bitten, and I cured her there."

Sydney’s eyes narrowed slightly as she processed what I meant.

"Wait," she said. "You mean you fucked Maribel inside a cinema hall?"

"Always very smooth, Sydney," Christopher said, letting out a short laugh when he noticed the look Maribel gave her.

Maribel glared at Sydney.

Sydney only smiled wider.

"Putting the details aside," I said quickly, feeling my face heat up, "I cured her. And... well..."

Why was this so difficult to say?

I looked down for half a second before forcing myself to finish.

"She’s with me too."

Sydney shrugged as if I had just told her something obvious.

"Well, that’s not shocking."

Maribel looked toward her.

Sydney smiled at me.

"I knew that once she got a taste of Ryan, she would be completely head over heels for him."

"I am not a pervert like you," Maribel shot back, crossing her arms.

"That’s what they all say. Even Cindy over there—"

"Shut up."

Cindy quickly covered Sydney’s mouth before she could finish.

Sydney tried to say something through Cindy’s hand, but it came out as muffled nonsense.

Christopher sighed and folded his arms.

"I get it," he said. "But why did you call me here for that? You should’ve only called your girlfriends."

Sydney pulled Cindy’s hand away from her mouth.

"Well, you’re part of Ryan’s harem too," she said. "Don’t forget that."

"Yeah, fuck off," Christopher replied groaning.

Cindy laughed despite herself.

Rachel covered her mouth, trying not to laugh too loudly.

Maribel let out a breath.

"Thank God," she said, sounding genuinely relieved. "For a second, I thought Ryan was into both."

Both I and Christopher gave her an upset look.

"I didn’t call Christopher here to talk about my love life," I said quickly.

Damn it.

Maybe I should have asked Christopher to come later.

I rubbed my forehead and let out a tired sigh.

"Anyway," I continued, trying to bring the conversation back under control, "I called you because I want to tell you what I’m planning to do next."

The room became quieter.

"I’m staying in the Boardwalk longer."

Christopher’s expression shifted.

Rachel stopped smiling.

Cindy looked at me more carefully.

"Callighan’s clearly targeting this place," I said. "The Screamer attack proved it. They are not going to be safe if we just leave after everything that happened."

Sydney tilted her head.

"Isn’t it also because you need to stabilize the beauty over there?" she asked, glancing at Maribel.

"There’s that too," I admitted.

Maribel looked embarrassed again, though she did not argue.

"But it’s not only that."

I hesitated.

There was still something else.

Something I had not told them.

The truth was, I did not want to bring it up. I was already exhausted from keeping secrets, and I knew how it would sound. But I trusted these people. They were my family.

If I could not tell them, then who could I tell?

"During the night," I said, "I had to cure Carmen too."

The room went completely silent.

Even Maribel looked toward me in surprise that I said it in the end.

"Carmen?" Rachel asked slowly. "Shannon’s mother?"

"Yeah." I nodded. "She got bitten during the Screamer attack. I had to cure her."

Cindy’s expression became serious.

"She doesn’t know about the stabilization yet," I added. "I asked Maribel to help me explain it to her."

Maribel gave a small nod.

"I will," she said quietly.

Sydney let out a long sigh and shook her head.

"Aren’t you overworking yourself, Ryan?"

"He saved her life," Maribel said sharply.

Sydney looked toward her.

"I know. Ryan saves a lot of lives." She shrugged. "I know that better than you, newbie."

Maribel narrowed her eyes.

For a second, I thought they might start arguing again.

Then Christopher spoke before either of them could.

"Whatever," he said. "If you want to stay in the Boardwalk, it’s fine. You’re not that far from us anyway."

"Yeah," I said.

I looked around at all of them.

"This time, we have to be careful," I said seriously. "The Boardwalk is still recovering. Mei and Emily are still trapped in Brigantine. Callighan and Gaspar are still out there."

The joking atmosphere faded.

"Once we get Mei, Emily and Keith back," I continued, "we focus entirely on taking Callighan and Gaspar down."

"Yeah," Christopher said, nodding. "I’m already sick of them."

I nodded back.

Nobody needed to ask who he meant.

Callighan. Gaspar. Zakthar. The people behind the Screamer. The people who had turned the Boardwalk into a slaughterhouse and still had Mei and Emily trapped in Brigantine.

I was sick of them too.

But being sick of them was not enough.

"We need to be ready," I said. "Marlon has that Starakian weapon. The one he used against Gaspar."

Apparently, because of it Gaspar had got quite a grudge against Marlon and the reason why he was so careful against the Boardwalk.

"I’ll talk to Marlon about it," I continued. "We need to know what else he has, how many of those weapons exist, and whether we can use them again against Gaspar."

I looked toward Rachel.

"And you should talk to Kunta. Ask whether she can help us against Gaspar too."

Rachel’s expression became serious.

"I will."

Kunta was still upset with us.

We had not allowed her to stay beside Zakthar after he lost consciousness. I understood why she was angry. She had been alone for a long time, and despite everything Zakthar had done, he was still someone from her world.

Someone she knew.

Someone she cared about in her own strange way.

But Rachel had a better chance than any of us of getting through to her. Kunta seemed to have a soft spot for Rachel, even if she did not openly admit it. Maybe Rachel could convince her that helping us against Gaspar was not just about protecting the Boardwalk.

It could also be the best way to stop Callighan from using more Starakian technology.

"Also..." I started.

Then I stopped.

Should I tell them about Ivy?

My hands slowly clenched together.

I thought about everything she had said upstairs. The certainty in her voice. The way she talked about the Starakians as if she knew exactly what they would do. The fact that she believed I would die. The fact that she said she would not.

And the way she had looked at me before saying that she was not part of us.

I wanted answers.

I wanted to tell the others that something was wrong.

But I could not bring myself to do it.

Not yet.

Ivy had been with us for three months. She had treated our injuries. She had helped us survive Jackson Township. She had never attacked us. She had never led us into a trap. She had never done anything that made her look like an enemy.

Maybe she was hiding something.

That did not mean she wanted to hurt us.

"Also what?" Cindy asked.

I looked up.

"Nothing," I said. "It’s not important right now."

Sydney leaned her head slightly to one side, then smiled.

"Are you thinking about telling everyone about our polygamous relationship already, Ryan?"

My eyes widened.

"W...What?"

Maribel looked even more shocked than I did.

Sydney’s smile grew.

"What? Are you embarrassed about being seen as one of Ryan’s harem members?"

"T-That’s not it!" Maribel said quickly, her entire face turning red. "I mean... yes, it’s embarrassing! At least let me prepare myself mentally first!"

Cindy crossed her arms.

"She’s right. And is this really the right moment to bring that up?"

"I don’t think so," Rachel said. "At least wait until our problems here are dealt with first."

Sydney looked around the room like everyone had suddenly become boring.

"You all take the fun out of everything."

Christopher stood near the wall with his arms crossed, staring at the girls in complete disbelief.

Then he looked at me.

I could practically see what he was thinking.

How did this become the conversation?

I had no answer for him.

Telling everyone about my relationships with several women.

The thought made my stomach twist.

Part of me wanted to be honest. I was tired of hiding things. Tired of secrets creating more problems than they solved. If these relationships mattered, then maybe I should stop acting like they were something shameful.

But Ivy’s words returned to my mind.

"You do not have much time."

"You will die soon enough."

If that was really true—

If the Starakians were coming for Dullahan and there was no real way to stop them—

Then maybe I should not commit that far.

Maybe I should not stand in front of everyone and openly tie these women to me when I did not even know whether I would still be alive in a few months.

The thought left a bitter feeling in my chest.

I looked down at my hands.

For now, I said nothing.