CHAPTER 18
I nearly jumped out of my skin as Cade grasped hold of my arm. "We have to go!"
"What are they?" I breathed. He stared relentlessly at me. Knowledge trickled through me as my toes curled in my shoes. "Those things drain people, but they're so small."
"That means they're probably faster."
"They come in different sizes?" I squeaked.
"They haven't fed yet."
I was going to deny his words, but he was right. I knew it the minute he said it, he was telling the truth. They were small because they weren't bloated with the blood of people. As they fed, they would get bigger.
We may be what they fed on.
"We have to run Bethany. Now."
His hand slid into mine as he pulled me up the hill. We slipped and slid as we frantically climbed upward. I grasped hold of the thin vegetation, pulling myself up with straggling bayberries, rhododendrons, and seedlings. Cade released my hand to help Abby as she floundered up a steep section. Though I knew it wasn't true, I thought I could hear them scurrying through the trees behind us, gaining on us.
But perhaps I was right.
I chanced a glance over my shoulder. The twisting movement caused my foot to land awkwardly; I was thrown off balance as my ankle turned out from under me. A startled cry escaped me as I pitched forward and slipped back down the hill. Cade snagged hold of my wrist before I fell too far. His eyes blazed into mine as my mouth parted.
"You're clumsy," he muttered.
"You're fast," I retorted as he helped pull me back to my feet.
Abby and Jenna had stopped to wait for us but as we started up the hill again they turned and fled again. Panic filled me as my sister disappeared over top of the hill, but then Cade pulled me to the top and over the brink. It was briefly downhill before the ground leveled out and we became enclosed by the paintball course.
We raced past walls covered in myriad colors of paint. Cade took the lead, dodging tires, sacks of sand, and ramshackle buildings with ease. My legs were beginning to burn, Jenna was starting to lag, and Abby was struggling to keep up. The three of us were winded but Cade seemed as if he could go for miles, even with the guns strapped to his back. I hadn't thought he was much of an athlete but I'd been completely wrong.
He disappeared around a corner before quickly reappearing. I stopped before him, laboring for breath as I bent over to rest my hands on my knees. "We have to keep moving."
I took a deep breath and forced myself to move. Abby's hair was matted to her face with sweat and grime; her doe eyes were red rimmed and swollen as she panted for breath. I thought Jenna was going to complain but she remained unspoken as she wiped the tangled hair from her face and continued on.
Cade pulled a gun from the waistband of his pants. His black eyes were intense as he handed it to me. My hand trembled with exhaustion as I took the same gun I’d used before from him. "Do not fire unless it becomes absolutely necessary." I frowned as my attention turned from the deadly weapon, to him. "It will only bring more of them."
"More?" I breathed as Abby stepped closer to me. His attention turned toward the woods. A shiver crept up my spine, the hair on my neck rose as I turned to survey the hushed forest. They were out there. My skin crawled with the realization as I took an involuntary step back. Cade seized hold of my hand and wrapped it around the gun as he squeezed it in order to infuse me with his unwavering strength.
"This way," he whispered.
We followed him as he moved with relative ease through the course. A sign, painted in different colors, read JUNGLE COURSE and had an arrow pointing down a path. This area of the woods had been transformed into a forest not from the northeast. Moss draped from the trees; I brushed it out of my way as it enshrouded the path with an air of mystery. Vines hung from limbs and crawled over the trees lining the small path. Some of them were as thick as my calf; others were small and thin. Ivy grew over the pathway and covered the dirt before disappearing into the woods.
Fake birds and monkeys were propped up in the trees; I spotted a couple of jaguars, a few boas and other snakes hidden within the landscape. I had never been here before, but I was fascinated by the atmosphere they had created. I probably would have been shot instantly if I had played as I would have been far more preoccupied with trying to find the things hidden along the pathway, and in the woods.
Cade suddenly stepped off the trail and plunged into the woods. He pushed aside vines and moss as he moved. We followed behind, trying to stay as quiet as possible as we moved as swiftly through the dense woods as we could. Cade stopped near a large locust tree; his eyes narrowed as he surveyed the woods. I didn't know what he was doing, but he seemed certain of something as he turned to the right and started walking again.
A twig snapped behind me. I jumped, instinctively raising my gun as I spun toward the source of the sound. I saw nothing amongst the vegetation and trees, but something was there, I knew it. I could feel it in the marrow of my bones as every primitive instinct I had screamed at me to run. Cade was at my side, his hand tender on my arm as he pushed it down. He placed a finger against his lips as he gestured for me to remain silent.
He led me forward, searching the forest as we moved. He halted me at the base of three intersecting pines that had nearly grown together in the dense woods. He bent; grabbed hold of something and lifted it up. I watched in amazement as he pulled the forest floor into the air. It took me a second to realize he was actually holding a large piece of plywood that had been convincingly covered with dirt, leaves, pine needles, and sticks.
"In," he whispered gesturing to Abby.
She stared at him in disbelief before bending low and climbing into the small hole the plywood had covered. Jenna followed but I hesitated, unwilling to climb under the wood. Cade shook his head at me when I took a step forward.
"Stay in here until I come for you." He noiselessly lowered the wood over their hiding place. Turning to me, his jaw clenched as he pointed at the tree behind me. I glanced at the large maple, understanding what it was he would like me to do.
'You?' I mouthed.
He shook his head and pulled a honed, wicked looking knife from the holster at his side. I remained unmoving, uncertain. I shook my head as he pointed at the tree again. I couldn't leave him down here, unprotected, vulnerable to the things hunting us in the shadows of the forest. He was beside me suddenly, his hand on my waist as he pushed me toward the tree. "Climb."
"You can't stay down here."
He grasped hold of my hips and lifted me up. I didn't have time to protest or fight him. "Climb Bethany. Now."
I swallowed heavily as I grabbed hold of the tree and began to pull myself up. I looked back to find Cade watching me from the ground before he turned away. I almost jumped back out of the tree, almost threw myself from its leafy bowers, but I grasped hold of the limb and pulled myself up. I would have a better shot from up here anyway if I had to take it.
Halfway up the tree I shimmied out to the end of a thick branch and flattened myself against it in order to blend in with the thick foliage surrounding me. I searched rapidly for Cade but he seemed to have vanished within the thick "jungle" surrounding us. My heart hammered, my head spun, where had he gone? How had he disappeared so rapidly and soundlessly into the wilderness surrounding us?
I was about to move forward when that thing crept into the clearing. Bark bit under my fingernails as my fingers curled into the limb. Horror and fear tore through me in equal waves that left me shaken and on the edge of falling out of the tree. It was a combination of every nightmare I'd ever had.
It was not overbearing and cumbersome like its bigger brothers. No this was the size of a small Great Dane. It was oval in shape, its legs arachnid in appearance as it crept forward cautiously before taking a small step back. It's chelicerae like mouth clicked as it took another step forward. Unlike its older brothers, it didn't look like a bloated tick and it was opaque in color. But it wasn’t opaque enough that I couldn't see the throbbing pulse of w
hat I assumed was the hideous creature's heart. Strange, twisted things were wrapped in circles close to the monstrosity's hideous mouth. They contained a black, viscous material that seemed to sift and flow within the vein-like circles but didn't move out through its body.
It made me sick to look at it but I couldn't tear my eyes away either.
It seemed to be looking everywhere at once but I didn't know where its eyes were actually focusing. Perhaps it didn't have any, perhaps it could only smell me, or even hear the rapid beat of my heart. It somehow seemed to know we were close as it edged closer to where Jenna and Abby were hiding. My hand tensed on the gun, I aimed it at the thing. I knew Cade was right, firing the gun would only bring more of them here, but I would destroy the thing before it ever got a hold of my sister.
That was when I saw Cade. He was kneeling at the edge of the woods, the knife clasped within his right hand as he pressed it against the ground. Shadows played over him, making him nearly imperceptible in the shade of the trees. An unnerving air of calmness surrounded him and I was reminded a lion before they pounced. I was mesmerized by him; I couldn't look away as he rose and disappeared from view.
I blinked as I searched for him, but he was no longer visible in the shadows. My attention was drawn back to the thing still creeping toward where Jenna and Abby were hidden. Cade reemerged like a ghost from a wall. He moved with startling speed as he raced from the woods. A scream rose in my throat, I choked on it as the creature spun toward him. It took a startled step back before raising on its hind legs in preparation of Cade's attack.
A strange squeal escaped the monster as Cade slammed into it. Dread flooded me, I couldn't stay here; I couldn't remain useless. I scurried back, moving as quickly as I could down the tree as I was filled with the driving urgency to get to Cade, to help him. He couldn't take on that thing by himself, he simply couldn't. I leapt out of the tree when I was still ten feet from the ground. My ankles protested the action but I didn't care as I raced through the forest to him. I didn't know what I was going to do against it but I didn't care.
I had lost sight of Cade when I dropped out of the tree, but as I plunged through some thick underbrush, he came into view again. I was nearly brought up short by the spectacle that greeted me. The battle had become oddly hushed after the initial squeal. It had also become far more violent and bloody. I stumbled forward and nearly fell as Cade lifted the knife over his head and plunged it into the already staggering creature.
The awful bluish black blood covering Cade, and the creature, didn’t cause me to halt. Or even the tentacle emerging from the underbelly of the beast and flopping on the ground that froze me. It was the utter calm façade Cade still possessed. He didn't seem winded, didn't even seem fazed as the creature crumpled beneath him. He ripped the knife free and wiped the blackened blade on a handful of leaves he snagged from the ground.
I remained unmoving, my breath trapped in my chest as he finally lifted his gaze to me. He was as still as stone as he watched me. I didn't know what to do, what to say. I didn't know what I had just witnessed and I was uncertain as to who exactly this person standing across from me was. I'd known him nearly my whole life, even when we hadn't spoken he'd always been a presence in my world. Now he was standing there, covered in blood and staring at me with a look that both broke my heart and terrified me.
He looked as vulnerable as a child, looked as if he desperately needed me to understand what had just happened, but I didn't know how to. He was primitive and untamed, and I was filled with the certainty this wouldn't be the last time he killed with such force and brutality.
But then, it was a necessity of our lives now. I was just amazed by how fast he had accepted this and how well he had taken to it.
"Are you ok?" I managed to croak out in a tremulous voice. He nodded as he used his forearm to wipe some of the blood from his face. I found myself able to move and breathe again as I spotted the gash on his upper arm. He had won the battle, but he hadn't walked away unscathed. "You're injured."
"I'm fine."
"You don't know what kind of germs those things carry."
He turned his arm over and frowned at the blood seeping from it. "It's a shallow cut Bethany."
He used his good arm to keep me back. I frowned at him, shoving aside his good arm as I seized hold of his hand. "Don't be a baby, let me see."
He sighed but relented to me as I pushed him toward a rock. He settled upon it as I gathered the meager stash of supplies we had left. There were no bandages but there was a small thing of antibiotic cream and I ripped up a shirt to use as a makeshift bandage. I felt his eyes watching me as I knelt before him. He didn't flinch, didn't move away from my touch as I gently used the rag to clean the blood from the injury. He was right, it was shallow, but I still slathered cream on it in the hopes it would prevent infection and kill any alien germs.
"You're good at that."
I managed a wan smile. "When you're as clumsy as I am you learn a few tricks."
His low chuckle was a sound I found I liked immeasurably. I grinned as I sat back on my heels to admire his rare and fleeting smile. "I thought perhaps you were considering becoming a doctor."
"No, that’s Aiden."
My amusement faded with the stark reminder of everything we’d lost. Cade's smile slipped away, a muscle in his cheek jumped. "I see, and what did you dream of doing?"
My gaze drifted toward the forest line as I thought over his question. I'd never really known what I'd wanted to do, what I would become. I'd assumed I'd go to college, I'd even considered going away, but I'd never truly thought about what I would study there. I would never have the opportunity to find out either.
"I don't know," I admitted as I wiped the excess cream and remaining blood from his arm.
"Whatever it was I'm sure you would have been good at it."
I glanced at him from under lowered lashes as I tried to discern if he was kidding with me or not. He didn't appear to be. "What about you? Were you going to go to college?"
He shrugged absently as I tied the torn piece of shirt around his arm. I had to force myself not to linger over his supple skin, and rigid muscles. Had to force myself not to notice the flush the feel of his skin brought to my face and body.
"Eventually," he finally responded.
"Where would you have gone, and for what?"
Those heart-stopping eyes flickered briefly over my face. "I hadn't decided yet."
I sat back on my heels as I studied him. I had the feeling he wasn't telling me something. I didn't have a chance to question him further though as Jenna and Abby appeared.
"Are you ok?" Jenna blurted.
Cade pulled the sleeve of his shirt down to cover half of the rag. "Fine," he muttered.
Abby gaped at the dead creature just feet away. I couldn't bring myself to look at the ruined remains. "How did you know about that hiding place?" Jenna asked.
Cade's hand clasped briefly around mine before he rose to his feet. "I spent a lot of time up here." I was taken aback by the revelation. I didn't exactly pin Cade as a paintball kinda guy, but then there were a lot of things I'd never pictured him as but was beginning to realize he was. "I know the course extremely well."
"Thankfully," Abby muttered.
"Why?" I inquired.
He shrugged as he rolled his shoulders and stretched his back. "Target practice." He flashed a smile, but his gaze drifted away from all of us to search the woods. "We should get moving."
I wasn't going to argue. I wrapped my arms around Abby's shoulders and forcefully turned her away from the creature she was still gawking at. "It's awful."
"It is," I agreed.