CHAPTER 27
I didn't know what happened after that. Hands grasped at me and pulled me from the surf, they carried me somewhere. I wasn't handled roughly, but the hurried urgency of the hands was disconcerting and frightening. I couldn't quite make sense of anything; I didn't know where I was. Time went in and out in flashing blurs that left me disoriented and confused.
At times, I was certain no time had passed, at others I felt as if an eternity had slipped by. Yet, through it all I was acutely aware of one fact and one fact alone...
Cade was gone.
He had cut the rope. He'd been taken by those awful creatures. He was gone. He was probably dead.
In those moments of utter clarity the anguish of his loss was so intense it was all consuming, and debilitating. Agony would flash through me, it would sear me with its intensity and I would once again lose myself to the world of delirium and denial enshrouding me.
Then, one day, I awoke. I wanted to return to oblivion and lose myself to the world of delirium and denial, but I couldn't. I had to face reality. I couldn't simply curl into a ball and die like a part of me so badly longed to. It hurt to breathe; my heart was a broken vessel that only served to pump blood through my veins. But it continued to pump, I continued to breathe, and apparently the world was still turning. It was time I rejoined it.
I found myself in a small room, one I didn't recognize. I frowned as I stared at the dingy white walls, gray concrete floor, and ceiling fan spinning leisurely above me. I was on a metal table but a thin mattress had been placed upon it.
What the hell?
I carefully sat up and winced as I swung my legs over the side. Pain ran up my left leg and lanced across my hips and waist. I didn’t recognize the shirt I wore and the lose pair of sweats definitely weren’t mine. I pulled the shirt gingerly up, my mouth dropped as I took in the red gash marring my skin and the stitches holding it together. Pulling the pants down, I wasn't surprised to see a bandage covering my hip and upper thigh.
What had happened?
My eyebrows drew together as I tried to ponder the answer to the question, but it completely eluded me, as did my location.
Bracing myself, I slipped off the table. I winced as my feet hit the floor but I was able to support my weight. The floor was cool beneath my bare feet as I padded toward the closed door. I bit on my lip, I was anxious about what I might find on the other side, but I had no choice. I knew Cade was gone, but where was my family? I had to find them; they might need my help.
Although it was obvious I'd most certainly not been much help lately.
My hand trembled on the knob; I held my breath as I cracked it open. I placed an eye to the crack and peered out on a vacant hall. My forehead furrowed as I tried to place what was stretching before me, but I was unable to do so. I shuffled forward, moving past a few closed doors before coming across an ajar one. The steel was cool beneath my hand as I cautiously pushed it open.
A scream burned its way up my throat; I could scarcely breathe through the constriction encasing my chest. I'd seen many horrible things in my life, but this had to be one of the worst.
"You're awake."
I jumped and stumbled a little as I spun toward the voice on my right. My breath exploded from me, my hand flew instinctively to my injury as the abrupt movement jarred me. I bent over as I panted for breath and sweat broke out across my brow. It took me a minute to regain control enough to stand and face the man.
It wasn't a monster beside me, or at least he appeared completely human, but after what I'd just seen I wasn't so sure I could trust my own eyes anymore. The aliens appeared human too, had I been captured? I swallowed back the coppery taste in my mouth before I spoke. "Yes."
I don't know why I’d bothered to respond, it was obvious I was awake. I was standing here after all. "How are you feeling?"
I studied the tall man, wary as to what was going on. He appeared to be in his mid to late thirties. His wavy brown hair had hints of grey at the temples; his grey eyes were large behind the horn-rimmed glasses he wore. He appeared friendly, personable even, but with what was inside that room I couldn't even begin to feel at ease.
"Ok," I answered, unable to stop my eyes from darting back toward the door.
"You were wounded pretty badly."
"My brother and sister?"
"They just went upstairs to eat. They've been sitting by your side for the past week." A week I had been out of it for a week? "They'll be relieved to see you up."
I'd be relieved to see them and find out just what was going on around here. "Where am I?"
He gave me a sad, understanding smile. "A lobster warehouse in Wareham."
"The aliens?" My eyes flitted involuntarily back toward the door next to me.
"They haven't found us."
I heard the unspoken "yet" at the end of his sentence. Finally, I was unable to take it anymore. "What is going on in there?" I demanded.
He quirked an eyebrow, then his gaze returned toward the door. "Oh. Well we're trying to see what has caused The Freezing." I frowned at his nonchalant response. "Come."
I flinched as he opened the door to reveal the horror within again. He moved quickly into the room, apparently immune to the dreadfulness of what lay within. I remained hovering in the doorway, not quite ready to step in there. There were rows of people within the room, at least twenty of them from what I could see. They were all frozen in various positions, all trapped within their own bodies. Though I knew it wasn't true, I felt as if their eyes followed me when I hesitantly moved into the room.
"Are they still alive?" I managed to croak out.
He glanced back at me as he stopped by a child. A child. Of course I knew children had been affected by this, I’d seen them before, but not this close. The young girl, with her brown hair in a ponytail, her head tilted back, and her small hand reaching out toward something that wasn't there tore at my heart.
Tears burned my eyes, but even more than that I could feel a swelling rush of fury growing within my chest. I walked toward the little girl, taking in her innocent features, and the small smile curving her mouth. She could almost be a perfect, life-sized doll. A part of me tried to believe she was a doll, another part wanted to destroy the things that had done this to her.
"We haven't figured that out yet."
I glanced back at the man; I'd forgotten he was even there. "Have you figured out anything?"
"We think we know how the frozen people were chosen."
I took a quick step toward him that I instantly regretted as my hand went back to my side. "How?" I breathed.
"The people who are still moving all have one thing in common."
"And that is?"
"We all have type O blood."
I hadn't thought it was possible but I actually felt the color drain from my face. My brain flashed back to biology class three years ago when we had typed our own blood. I'd already known my blood type by then, as I'd received plenty of it when I'd been in the hospital after the car accident. My father had been O, my mother was A.
It seemed to be the one thing I'd inherited from my mother.
Swallowing heavily, I focused my attention back on the man. "How do you know this?"
He appeared a little frazzled as he ran a hand through his disheveled hair. "I've tested everyone within this building; they all have type O blood. The people trapped in this frozen state do not."
His gaze was piercing as he studied me, his arms folded over his chest. "Are you a doctor or something?" I asked.
"I am, though until this happened most of my work was focused upon research."
"What kind of research?"
We both knew I was stalling but I was hesitant to meet his penetrating gaze. He was a doctor, he had probably saved my life, and yet I felt trapped beneath the weight of his stare. "I was studying cystic fibrosis, but when the aliens arrived I began to research them. I was fascinated by them and intended to learn more."
"Did you learn anything about them?"
r /> "Not much more than we already knew." I shifted as my gaze turned back to the young child. "I’ve discovered they don’t immediately kill everyone they take."
My eyes shot back to him, I took an involuntary step forward as excitement spurted through me. If he was right then there was still a chance, no matter how small, Cade was alive. I was tingling, electrified with excitement but I was terrified to put too much hope into his words, terrified of what he would say next.
"How do you know that?" I demanded.
"They drain some of them immediately." I shuddered as I recalled the man on the street. "And some of the others they take with them. I believe they store them for later."
I was repulsed by the notion, but hope still pulsated through my whole body. "Are you saying Cade could still be alive?"
His eyes became sympathetic, but the relentlessness of his gaze left me cold. "I believe it’s highly unlikely."
"But it could be possible," I pressed.
"It could, but you would do better to let that thought go. It would be better if you moved on."
I couldn't look at him anymore. How could I simply move on? The thought caused a lancing slash of distress to tear through my heart. "If there's a chance..."
"How would you get to him? What would you do? You don't even know where he is, where to begin looking for him. There is no chance you will be able to find him."
I gaped at the man before me. I hated his words and him for saying them. I was resentful of the fact they may be true. And yet...
I knew I wasn't going to give up. I never would. If there was even a small chance Cade was still alive, then I was going to continue to look for him.
I focused on the little girl again, my mind churning as I tried to sort through the tangled thoughts and emotions jumbling it. If he was alive, what were they doing to him? My head bowed beneath the weight of my emotions and the disquiet the thought caused. If he hadn't cut that line, I could have saved him, if he'd given me the chance. He had sacrificed himself for me; I had to save him now. There had to be a way to find him, he would do the same for me.
"Do you know what your blood type is, Bethany?"
I had to force myself to look at the doctor again. The speculative gleam in his eyes made me feel like I was pinned under a microscope. "You could be wrong about the blood type. O is the most common..."
"But everyone here who is still moving has it, including your siblings. None of the frozen people have type O. I could be wrong, but the possibilities of this not being our uniting factor are very slim. Even if it is the most common blood type, there would be others here with a different type. There might be more than just the blood component involved, but it is the most significant tie I’ve found. Do you know your blood type?"
"Yes," I responded flatly.
"You were injured badly enough you required a blood transfusion when you arrived here. I wasn't going to type you because everyone else has been O. Even though you were still able to take your siblings blood, your brother informed me you weren't."
I refused to look away from him as I forced myself to meet and hold his steady gaze. "No, I'm not."
He continued to study me. "I would like to run some other tests on you, if you would let me."
"What kind of tests?"
"Some genetic tests. There may be something different in your blood, something in your genetic makeup that isn't the same as the others, something that made you immune when others weren't."
"You're immune too."
"But you're different." He seemed a little too eager to start poking and prodding me. "You're different than the rest of us here. Don't you want to help if you can?"
"Of course I do!" I protested hotly, realizing only too late that I’d just given him the reaction he'd been angling for.
"Good, good. There may be something..."
His words drifted off as the door creaked open. Relief and joy filled me when Aiden popped his head around the corner. A small cry of delight escaped me as I hurried past the doctor toward my brother. He grinned at me and held his arms out for me. He caught me and hugged me gingerly against him.
"Finally," he breathed. I clung to Aiden, needing his solid reassurance right now. "You ok Bethany?"
"Yes." It was a lie, we both knew that, but it was a lie we were both willing to accept right now. Abby stepped into the doorway with Bret close behind her. They embraced me carefully, though Bret held me for longer than I would have liked. "Are you guys ok?"
"Perfectly fine," Abby assured me.
"What happened?" I asked.
"You don't remember?"
Everything in me shied away from the memory of those last moments on the beach. "No."
"One of those things hit you, but thankfully the rebellion had been in the woods when we made it to land. They were able to fight it off. You were wounded pretty badly but the doc took care of you so you'll be ok."
I managed a small smile for Abby, but I was certain I was never going to be ok again. "The rebellion?" I inquired.
"There are about sixty people upstairs, eight are soldiers, and the rest are survivors. They have a fair amount of weapons and it's relatively safe, for now," Aiden explained.
I had the crushing feeling too much time had passed, felt as if it was all slipping rapidly through my fingers, but I didn't know how to stop it. But it had to be stopped; it had to be changed, somehow.
"You have to be hungry." Abby drew my attention back to her. "We've only been able to give you juice and some soup while you were out."
I was amazed to realize I was extremely hungry. Abby continued to prattle on as they led the way down the hallway, up a set of stairs, and into the large warehouse. Her talk was nervous, on edge, and it took me a minute to realize she was trying to fill my head with her words instead of thoughts of Cade. I loved her even more because of it, but it wasn't working.
I studied the people gathered within the building; some of them were sleeping on blankets and thin mattresses. Others were huddled in small groups, though none of them seemed to be speaking. Lobster pots had been stacked almost to the top of the cavernous ceiling against the back wall.
"This way."
I followed Aiden through a back door into a small kitchen that must have been used by the workers. There were a few people inside of it, talking quietly as they put dishes away. My stomach rumbled eagerly as the tantalizing scent of food hit me. I was given a plate of canned beans and a peanut butter sandwich that looked as delicious as a steak would have. I picked at the food. I was starving but I found I didn't have much of an appetite.
Curtains had been drawn over the windows, but I pulled them back to stare out at the hushed day. As I ate, I planned. There were soldiers amongst the people, trained soldiers who would know how to hunt, how to attack, and how to shoot with confidence and accuracy. Soldiers who could teach us how to hunt, and how to kill.
Soldiers who could help me either find Cade again, or help me exact my revenge. Because if I didn't find him, or if he was dead, I was going to take out as much revenge as I could until I was stopped. My attention was focused on the two men and one woman standing by the front door in army fatigues.
I placed my half-eaten food down and left the kitchen. I didn't know how I would go about trying to find Cade again, but I did know I was tired of running and tired of hiding. It was time to stand and fight. It was time to take our world back from the monsters ravaging it.
And these soldiers were the ones who were going to help me do that.
The End
Book 2, Taken Over, is now available!
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About the author
Erica Stevens is the author of the Captive Series, Kindred Series, Fire & Ice Series, Ravening Series, and the Survivor Chronicles. She enjoys writing young adult, new adult, romance, horror, and science fiction. She also writes adult paranormal romance and historical romance under the pen name, Brenda K. Davies. When not out with friends and family, she is at home with her husband, dog, and horse.
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