“Shh, Bethy, shh love.” I didn’t realize that a low keening sound had been escaping from sound. I was shaking, but no tears spilled free. I was too horrified, to shocked to cry.
“Cade,” I moaned.
His body was warm against mine, strong as he enfolded me within his embrace. His cheek was against mine, his hand wrapped around my head and forehead as he tried to shelter me from the misery. There was nothing sexual about his embrace, no intense desire radiated from him right now. There was only a desperate need to protect me, to shield me from the horror, agony, and death that surrounded us. His mouth was against my cheek; his breath was warm and ragged on my skin.
My eyes remained closed but the light burned against my eyelids, I thought it would be seared permanently into my irises. “My sweet Bethany.”
He kissed my cheek gently. That was when I became certain that we were going to die, and that he knew it as well as I did. I found that to be an even worse realization. Cade had been stoic throughout this whole thing, even slightly playful. He had never shown fear, and though he didn’t show it now, I could hear the goodbye in his tone. I sensed the regret and longing that radiated from those three words.
The light blazed momentarily brighter, I became painfully aware of the fact that the screams had stopped. The silence, either from the lack of noise or from the suffocating quality of the light, was profound. And horrifying. I shivered, Cade held me tighter. The light faded.
I remained frozen, too stunned to move. I didn’t open my eyes; I didn’t want to see anything. I strained to hear something, but there was nothing to hear. Not anymore. It was nearing dawn, but the birds did not chirp. I could not even hear Cade’s breath anymore, could not hear the fierce beat of his heart. The silence was unending, unnerving, and terrifying in the wake of all the noise and light.
I couldn’t take it anymore, my eyes flew open. It took a moment, but slowly they began to adjust to the dark morning. At first all I could make out was the plant wrapped around us. I could not identify it immediately, but its size, look, and smell made me think of juniper.
Cade slowly unraveled from me. I froze, unwilling to move as he crept forward. The bush was large, but not large enough to keep him hidden for much longer. Sound suddenly flooded back in, the world came to screeching, abnormally loud life again as he lifted some of the lower branches and peered out. I winced against the abrasive sound of the plant as the branches grated against each other.
I could see nothing, but I caught the small slump of his shoulders. “I think it’s safe.”
His voice was soothing, surprisingly gentle against the stark clamor that pounded against my eardrums. “Think?” I winced, my voice was nowhere near as calming. He nodded. “They also thought the bridge was safe.”
“You didn’t.” No I hadn’t, but that didn’t do anybody any good right now. Especially not Aiden and Bret. My heart ached, I wanted to cry; I wouldn’t. “I think the bridge was booby trapped somehow. I don’t think the aliens are around here right now. But if I’m right, what just happened is going to bring them here, in droves.” I looked at him questioningly. “I saw no ship; there were none of those creatures around. Nothing happened until the first group made it off the bridge and onto the highway. I think the trap was set to lure in as many people as possible before it was released, just in case an escape was attempted in groups.”
I sat back, appalled by what he was saying. Sickened by the endless depths of cruelty the aliens possessed. “We either go now, or we wait until morning Bethany. When it’s light out.”
Translation, when they would be able to see us better. I swallowed heavily and nodded. I didn’t want to stay here a moment longer, especially if he was right and what had just happened was going to bring them here. “Now is good.”
I barely caught the brief flash of his gaze as he turned slightly back to me. His jaw was clenched in determination. I was more than just impressed by his resilience, his charm, his warmth. I was awed by it. He had lost so much in his life, endured so much, and yet he wasn’t going to quit. Not even now, when things seemed far bleaker than they had only ten minutes ago. There was a good chunk of me that was completely ready to cave right now.
I had lost too much in these past couple of days; I could hardly breathe through the loss crushing me. My mother, my brother, my boyfriend, it was too much. Maybe Cade was able to carry so stalwartly on because he had not suffered such harsh losses as recently as I had, but I knew that was not the reason behind his determination. Cade had lost a lot in his life, maybe not as much as I had, but he had also experienced great pain and hurt. He was just as confused as I was, just as frightened, but he was going to forge on.
The only difference between us, I realized now, was that he truly believed we were going to survive all of this. I did not. The realization was shocking, a little depressing, and yet a little reassuring. He believed that we were going to survive, and I found that I believed in Cade. I may not have faith that we would survive this, but I did have faith that he would do everything in his power to help us survive.
“Come on Bethany.”
He grabbed hold of my hand; his long fingers strong in mine as he pulled me out from under the bush. “Abby?”
“She made it into the woods.”
I glanced around, but we were on the backside of the rotary, I could not see the bridge from here. I wasn’t sure I wanted too. Cade rushed swiftly forward, bent over as he darted into the middle of the road with me in tow. I felt exposed here, vulnerable. I held my breath as I waited for the awful light to blaze forth, for our death to come, but it remained dark and still. Cade held tight to me as we plunged into the woods. I took my first easy breath as relief rushed through me, but I knew we were not clear yet. We had to find somewhere safe before full daylight set in.
Cade continued to tug at me, pulling me forward. But I had to look. I had to know. I pulled my hand free of his. “Bethany!” he hissed.
I scrambled through the woods, tearing at the leaves and dirt as I stumbled back up the embankment we had just plunged down. I nearly fell over as I skidded to a halt near the road. I had expected the bridge to be gone; I had expected desiccated remnants of the once proud structure. Instead, I was struck by the fact that it looked exactly the same. The lights were still glowing, but in the growing day they were far dimmer. It was serene, still and peaceful. I did not see human body parts or guts like I had expected, but I felt certain that if I crept closer I would find some blood. Of course there would be blood, there had to be. Humans had once stood there, and now they were completely gone. There had to be some remaining evidence that they had existed.
But I saw no sign of them in the growing day. My brother had completely disappeared. My heart lumbered to pump the blood through my veins. I felt it chugging painfully along to keep me alive, but it was having great difficulty with the task.
“Bethany.” I turned back to Cade. Abby and Jenna were behind him. Abby was crying silently, tears ran down her dirt streaked face. The sight of my sister, my only living relative, helped to ease the constriction in my chest a little. “We have to go Bethy.”
I bit on my bottom lip as I nodded to him. I knew we had to go, but I didn’t want to. I didn’t even know where we were going to go, or what we were going to do. And I was not ready to leave Aiden and Bret behind, even if they were already gone. I glanced back at the hated bridge. Our lives were rapidly unraveling, but at least we still had them. For now.
Motion to the right caught my attention. My eyes narrowed on the IHOP restaurant. There were woods behind the building, and in the shadows of those woods, there was movement. I took a step forward, straining to see what was moving around over there. Aiden suddenly appeared at the edge, his hair was tussled and standing on end, he looked beaten, but he was there.
“Aiden,” I breathed.
“What?”
Abby, Cade, and Jenna hurried to my side as Bret appeared. Relief swamped me, I found myself able to breathe again. “Oh!” Abb
y cried, she went to dart out of the woods but Cade grabbed hold of her arm and pulled her back.
“You can’t go out there,” he said softly.
Abby looked like she was going to protest but thankfully she thought better of it and remained quiet. Molly appeared behind Bret. It seemed that she had taken the worst of whatever had happened to them. Her clothes were torn; her long reddish hair was a frizzy, crazed mess around her dirt streaked face. It looked as if she had received a giant shock, or been through a fire of some sort.
I did not see the man that had been with their group. I didn’t know if he was staying hidden, or if he had been lost like the others. Aiden pointed behind the building, toward the road that ran under the bridge. He began to make motions like he was doing something, but I couldn’t quite figure out what it was. “Is he pumping gas?” Jenna asked in confusion.
“The gas station, down by the beach,” Cade said with a note of dawning realization in his tone as Aiden began to make swimming motions.
“Near the rental place,” I whispered.
Cade gave him the thumbs up sign. Aiden hesitated for a moment before nodding and slipping into the woods. Molly followed swiftly behind him but Bret remained for a moment before blowing me a kiss and fading away. “Thank God,” I whispered.
Cade squeezed my shoulder gently and pulled me away from the roadway. I did not miss the questioning look that Jenna shot me. Though it seemed silly to even think about such things now, I knew that she would reveal anything that happened between Cade and I to Bret. Even now, after all of this, she still wanted him. Or maybe it was because all of this, she wanted him even more. We had few loved ones left, it only made sense that we would search out more loved ones to rely and depend on. More people to love and protect us.
I looked toward Cade. From the outside looking in, someone might say that was what I was doing with him, and what he was doing with me. But as his onyx gaze met mine, I knew better. I knew that no matter how badly I didn’t want Bret to be hurt, he would be. There was no way to stop that, because in Cade’s eyes I could see my future, my home.
It was the strangest, most exciting, confusing, and comforting feeling that I had ever experienced and I never wanted it to end. Cade’s features softened slightly, his eyes gleamed with understanding. A connection sizzled between us, a bond that I felt in every cell of my body. Everything within me screamed for him. His hand seemed to burn into my skin, searing through my flesh as it flooded me with a heat that I had never felt before. A heat that I had never even imagined could exist until that moment, or until Cade.
“What are we going to do now?” Jenna inquired softly. Though our attention was turned to her, I could still feel the strange connection thrumming between us. I was suddenly certain that it could not be broken, that it never would be. Not even by death. I thought I should be terrified of these emotions; I had never wanted to be this vulnerable and exposed. But I was vulnerable, I was exposed, and I was at the complete mercy of my feelings for Cade. I had vowed I would never feel this helpless again after my father’s death, but I was.
And if he didn’t feel the same way about me… But he did. I was illogically certain of that. I slid a sideways glance toward him as he walked beside me. His shoulders were tense, his gaze slid over the woods as he searched everywhere at once. His words from the tree whispered back over me, ‘you will always be the only one that matters.’ They had been true, I knew that instinctively. Knew it with everything that I had, and was, and always would be.
He had meant those words, because for some strange reason Cade wanted me, and he cared for me far more than I had ever realized. We were bonded by shared experiences and losses and grief, but even more than that Cade saw all of me. Saw everything that I was, and always would be, and he understood it in a way that no one else could. I think he understood me better than I did, and though it was frightening it was also exhilarating and wondrously comforting.
If something were to happen to him…
I broke the thought abruptly off. I couldn’t go there; I couldn’t even begin to go there. I could not bring myself to face the fact that I was more than likely going to lose more loved ones before this was over. That it was very likely we would not all survive, that none of us may survive.
“Find a good place to lay low for the day, and get some rest. We can’t get to the gas station without running across the highway; we’re better off doing that at night. And we can’t keep going without some rest,” Cade said.
We slipped further into the woods, moving swiftly through the underbrush. “I’m so happy,” Abby said as she looped her arm back through mine.
“Me too,” I agreed, though it felt odd to be happy in this horrible situation. People had just died, many other lives had been lost, but we still had Aiden and Bret. We began to climb as the woods started sweeping gently upward. It was full morning now; the day was already beginning to heat up. I just wanted to sit for a little bit, maybe close my eyes. I wanted to get off my damn feet. Recently my main mode of transportation had been my feet, as had many other people’s, but I was not prepared for this much walking, and running. I was pretty sure my blisters were growing blisters.
Cade stopped as we came across an old rock wall splitting the woods in half. “If we keep going we’re going to come across the paintball course,” I said.
Cade nodded as he studied the wall, and then the hill. His eyes were narrowed, and then, slowly, his head tilted back. My heart seemed to stop; I stiffened as a blast of terror tore through me. Before I could tilt my head back to see what had caught his attention, he grabbed hold of me and shoved me against the rough bark of a locust tree. My breath was momentarily knocked from me.
“Stay,” he hissed.
I was too stunned to move anyway. He had been so fast, so rapid, and I watched in amazement as he used that speed to grab hold of Abby and Jenna. He pulled them back, sheltering them beneath the leafy bowers of a large oak. The three of them flattened against the trunk of the tree as the small ship that had somehow caught Cade’s attention moved swiftly through the sky over a hundred yards away.
Fear constricted my chest; I glanced back down the hill we had climbed as I began to pray silently. Aiden, Bret, and Molly had been lucky before, I could only hope that luck held out. They were sitting ducks if they didn’t find some sort of shelter. Even if it was just a tree. “Bethany!”
I turned at Cade’s hissed whisper. He’d stepped from the shadows of the tree; his hand was outstretched to me. My attention was drawn back to the ship as it settled over the area of the bridge; I waited, breathlessly to see what it was going to do. “Bethany we have to go!”
A door in the bottom of the ship slid open. I froze, my heart hammering, my eyes widening as something dropped out of the ship. It was small, round. At first I had the insane notion that it was a cannonball, but right before it dropped below the tree line, legs unfolded. Another one dropped from the ship as the first one disappeared. They were the size of a grown dog, perhaps a shepard, but it was hard to tell from this distance.
What were they?
I gasped, nearly jumping out of my skin as Cade grasped hold of my arm. “We have to go!”
“What are they?” I breathed. He stared at me for a long moment. Horror circled through me, my toes curled in my shoes. “Those things. But they’re so small.”
“That means they’re probably faster.”
“They come in different sizes?” I asked in disbelief.
“They haven’t fed yet.”
I was going to vomit, I was going to deny his words, but they were right, he was right. I knew it the minute he said it, he was telling the truth. They were small because they were not blotted with the blood of people. As they fed, they would get bigger.
And we may be all they had to feed on.
“We have to run Bethany. Now.”
He didn’t have to tell me twice, his hand slid into mine as he pulled me up the hill. We struggled, slipped, and slid as we frantically cl
imbed upward. I grasped hold of the thin vegetation, pulling myself up with straggling bayberries, ilexes, and seedlings. Cade released my hand to help Abby as she struggled up a steep section. Urgency filled me, my heart lumbered painfully. 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 awkward movement caused me to go slightly off balance. My foot landed awkwardly, I was thrown off balance as my ankle twisted out from under me. A startled cry escaped me as I pitched forward, slipping back down the hill. Cade reached out, snagging hold of my wrist before I fell to far. He held me for a long moment, his eyes blazing into mine as my mouth parted slightly.
“You’re clumsy,” he muttered.
“You’re fast,” I retorted as he helped pull me back to my feet.
His hand tightened upon me or a brief moment before he started pulling me forward again. Abby and Jenna had stopped to wait for us but as we started back up the hill again they turned and fled onward up the hill. They suddenly disappeared over the top. Panic filled me as my sister disappeared, 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 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; Cade seemed as if he could go on for miles, even with the guns strapped to his back. I hadn’t thought he was much of an athlete; apparently I had been completely wrong.