CHAPTER 15
I gawked at the sight beneath us, too startled to react at first. "Cade..."
"I see," he murmured.
I blinked as I tried to convince myself that what I was seeing was real. "They're human."
"Yes."
I followed him back down the tree. The group of ten people spun toward us, drawing out the weapons they possessed as we landed on the ground. "Easy," Cade said, using his arm to push me back from them as he shielded me with his body. I frowned at his back but he wouldn't let me out as he kept his arm pressed against my chest.
They studied us skeptically before lowering their spears and one rifle. "What are you doing here?" a tall burly man demanded.
"The same as you I suppose," Cade responded with more nonchalance than I would have managed under the circumstances.
The man eyed us warily. I was staggered by the hostility radiating from them; we weren't their enemy. "Are they out here?" a woman asked tremulously.
"Not yet, but I'm sure it's only a matter of time. Where did you come from?" Cade inquired.
"Mashpee." The man responded, indicating the town next to ours. "We're making our way to the bridges."
"Are you going to attempt to cross them?" I blurted.
"We can't stay on this side, we're trapped here."
I glanced at Cade; I wasn't at all sure how I felt about that. It was true, on this side we were cut off from the world, separated from the mainland by the canal. The bridges were the only way off the manmade island, but nothing had crossed over them in awhile, car or person. The thought of attempting to cross them on foot seemed like a suicide mission to me. We would be out in the open, high up in the air and easily spotted from above. I would rather jump in the canal and take my chances with the deadly current and cool water, rather than try and run across either bridge.
"They're just gonna herd the survivors into smaller and smaller pieces of land, until they can't herd us anymore. Until there is nowhere left for us to go. We have to get off this island," the man continued.
I shuddered as I realized the man was right. They would continue to push us where they chose, but the bridges were not an option, at least not to me. Neither was swimming across, and a boat would be an easy target on the open sea, or in the canal. We were trapped here, stuck, and at the mercy of the aliens hunting us. "Have you met many other survivors?" I inquired tremulously.
"I met up with three others near the Sandwich line and we've picked up two others along the way."
They hadn't walked an overly long distance, but I thought they should have discovered more people in the area they'd covered. "We'll walk with you," Cade said.
"Cade," I whispered as dread filled me at the thought. They were the first people we'd seen since all of this started, I should be ecstatic to see them, and yet their plan terrified me. I didn't even like driving over the bridges, never mind running across the damn things.
"We'll go with you for a little while," Cade amended as he squeezed my arm. "If that's ok?"
They exchanged quick glances. "Strength in numbers," the man agreed.
"Yes." My heart was hammering as my skin became coated with a thin sheen of sweat. "There are others of us nearby." Cade turned to me clasped hold of my shoulders. "I have to find Jenna; there is no way to know how far she ran. Wait for us."
"Cade..."
He was disappearing into the woods before I could offer a full protest though. I marveled over his grace and ability to move with such speed and ease before focusing my attention back on the group. They looked as beaten and terrified as I felt. I found my defenses crumpling and I managed a small smile for them. It was only halfheartedly returned. "This way," I said.