The light was far brighter outside; it blazed across the sky with the force of a million bright bulbs. It blared against my eyes, causing me to stumble and nearly fall as I bumbled blindly behind the plywood. A rumbling filled the air, shook the ground. I was dismayed to recognize it as the same awful sensation that had accompanied the arrival of that hideous thing earlier.
I wanted to look back, to see what was coming at us, but I was afraid that it would cause my control to completely unravel. I knew what was back there, and I sure as hell didn’t want to see it again. Bret’s breathing was heavy beside me, I strained to make out Abby, but I couldn’t recognize her through the glare pounding against my irises. I was going to be blind by the time this was over.
I felt, more than heard or saw the impending attack simply because those two senses were almost completely useless right now. I knew that it was coming, that something was hunting us, and that it was close. A scream of terror was trapped in my throat. I wasn’t ready, I was too young for this, and I certainly had never wanted to go out this way. I wanted to scream against the indignity and awfulness of it all, but it would do me no good. There was no stopping this.
An image of my father flashed before my eyes. I was grateful that he had never had to know this, had never had to see his family hunted and slaughtered like rodents. I was glad that, as of right now, my mother seemed to have no idea that she was being pursued, and that her children were so close to death. Unfortunately she would wake up, just as that man had, but by then it would be too late, and death would follow shortly after. She would never have to know the loss of her children. I was glad for all of these things, and I was especially glad that I seemed to be the first one that they were going to take down. I couldn’t stand to watch as they took my siblings, and Bret. I wanted to let go of the board and bolt in a different direction, but I knew it wouldn’t do me any good, and I was not about to go down like a coward.
No, I was going to die brave, or at least make an attempt at it.
CHAPTER 7
A loud bang rang out, causing me to jump in surprise as Abby let out a startled scream. I ducked low as another bang shattered the air; the weird, echoing screams of the creatures filled the night. They hissed and screeched as another reverberating bang erupted. My heart was hammering but I was finally able to place the source of the loud, startling explosions, as gunshots.
I looked rapidly around, but though the bright light had faded slightly from the gunshots it was still hard to make anything out. Another shot rang out, reverberating through the air. Bret cursed softly; he was half bent over the plywood as we hurried forward. I caught a brief glimpse of Abby as she darted off the trail and disappeared into the woods. Relief filled me. At least Abby was safer.
The strange screaming grew louder as another shot rang out. We were almost to the end of the path, almost to the thicker woods when my eyes finally detected the source of the gunshots. Cade stood at the edge of the woods, a shotgun leveled against his shoulder, his gaze focused on something beyond us. Relief filled me at the sight of him; I was finally able to easily breathe again as the constriction in my chest eased. I didn’t know where he had gotten the gun from, and I didn’t care as he fired another shot.
His dark eyes met mine for a brief moment before he dropped the gun and swiftly reloaded it. “Hurry!” Abby called from the woods. “Hurry please!”
Cade raised the gun again, firing another shot that caused the odd, hissing type of scream to explode in a torrent of rage and pain that made my eardrums ache. “This way!” someone else shouted from the woods.
Aiden left the trail, plunging deeper into the forest. Cade slipped into the shadows, momentarily disappearing as he blended in with the darkness. We slipped through the forest, unnaturally loud as we crashed through the trees, and underbrush, desperate to escape the blinding light that followed us. I didn’t see Cade again until he was suddenly beside me.
“Give it to me,” he said softly, his hand against mine as he tried to take the plywood from me. “Let go Bethany.”
“No, my mom…”
“I’ll keep her safe, just get ahead of us.”
“Cade…”
“Go.”
His fingers caressed my hand briefly, sending a firestorm of sensations throughout me. I stared at him for a moment longer, trying hard to understand what exactly was going on, and failing miserably. “Listen to him Bethy,” Bret said softly. I fought against the guilt filling me as I slowly released my hold on the plywood. “Stay with Abby.”
I turned from them, unable to meet either of their gazes as I ran from them. And it was the two of them I was running from at the moment, not the aliens. I was oddly more terrified of them right now then I was of the monsters hunting us. For the first time I chanced a glance over my shoulder, horror filled me as I caught sight of the thing behind us.
It was one of the smaller ships, a little larger than a bus as it hovered over the forest. The lights had been toned down, but there were five of them still bouncing over top of the trees as it searched eagerly for us. It wasn’t that far away, but I sensed that it might possibly be heading in the wrong direction. The creature that had followed us into the woods, the one eager for blood, was not going the wrong way though.
I could hear it crashing through the trees, stalking us, scenting our blood as it trailed us. And then I realized what was happening. The ship was moving off because it knew that we would not escape. It was not worried about us evading the creature it had left to destroy us. It was off to hunt other prey while it left one of its monsters to hunt us. And it was a monster. I could see it now, not clearly, but it was there. I sensed that it was different than the one I had seen earlier. It seemed larger, but it moved with startling speed for its massive size and cumbersome build.
It wasn’t so much tall as it was wide. It skittered through the woods, shaking the trees as it bumped roughly against them, rattling the leaves in their bowers. Though the tentacles made it appear as if it were an octopus on dry land, its flattened head quickly squashed any octopus resemblance. Two giant pinchers extended from what I could only assume was its mouth, they were about three feet long and clicked eagerly together. A tick maybe? I thought wildly. Was it a giant tick? But no, it wasn’t even like that, not with its pulsating red color that was translucent at times.
Then, ever so slowly, I began to realize that the red trickling through it was not its normal hue. The red color in it was blood, human blood, and this thing was not full yet. Its normal color was the nearly opalescent shade that rippled throughout the creature, flowing with its movements. An opalescent shade that made it appear jellyfish-like, but other than the color it looked nothing like a jellyfish either.
For a moment I couldn’t move, I could only stare at one of the monstrosities that the aliens had unleashed upon us. It didn’t appear to have eyes, at least not any that I could make out from here, but it knew where we were. It moved swiftly through the trees, hunting us like dogs on the scent of a rabbit.
I dimly acknowledged the fact that if the aliens had shown us these things upon first arriving we would have known instantly that they had not come in peace. We would have known what they had intended all along. We would have been prepared for this betrayal. Whatever they had done to make people freeze had to have been a lengthy process. That had to be the reason they had pretended peace for as long as they are. They just hadn’t known that some of us would survive their silent attack.
Before this had happened, we had only seen the nicer versions of the aliens, versions that looked very similar to us, and induced trust. They did not have bug eyes, a giant head, and small bodies like so many movies had led us to believe. Instead they were of average height, the tallest one I had seen was only six feet and he appeared to be a rarity. They had light olive to dark complexions, dark eyes, and dark hair. This fact had led many people to believe that whatever galaxy they had come from, their planet was closer to a sun, or suns, than ours was.
Beside the
fact that their coloring was not as varied as ours, there were other differences between them and us. It was rumored that they were physically stronger and faster than us, that they could see and hear better. I had never seen a display of these claims, but there had been a few news reports speculating on it, and claiming to have witnesses before the news had been shut down.
None of the aliens wore glasses, and it had been bantered about that they could possibly see at night. It was even rumored that they healed more rapidly. I didn’t know if these rumors were true, I had never seen proof of the claims, but I didn’t discount them. I didn’t discount anything about the invaders anymore. For all I knew they could fly and I would no longer be surprised to see them do so.
I didn’t know what these things were that the aliens had unleashed upon us. Maybe the alien’s creations, or their pets even, but I didn’t believe that they were the aliens themselves. I didn’t for a moment think that the face the aliens had shown us was some kind of disguise. There was no way they could have been hiding this hideous, massive creature beneath their outer skin. It was impossible; these things were far too big to have been kept inside a human sized body. But then, where had these creatures come from? It didn’t seem as if they would be easily leashed and kept under wraps. Not for almost a year anyway.
I was confused, lost, baffled by the strange twist these awful things represented. But there was no time for deciphering what they were now. Not when one of those things was closing in on us, skittering through the woods as swiftly as a squirrel through a tree. If we didn’t do something, it would be on top of us in a matter of moments.
The gun was draped over Cade’s shoulder; he would not be able to get to it in time. I don’t know what came over me, what possessed me, but I darted back to him. “Give me the gun.”
He blinked at me. “What?”
“The gun Cade, give me the gun,” I insisted impatiently.
“Bethany…”
“It’s useless on your back, and we’re going to need it.”
He did not shrug out of the shotgun strapped to his back, but somehow managed to juggle the plywood as he reached under his shirt and pulled out what I assumed was a revolver. It looked like the ones I had seen on TV anyway. “Do you know how to use that?”
“I’ll figure it out,” I muttered, turning it in my hand as we jogged along. I didn’t point it anywhere near me, or anyone else. It was the first time I had ever handled a gun, and if the shaking of my hand was any indication, I was not to be trusted with it.
I felt stronger with the gun in my hand though. Safer, even though I knew that it was only a false sense of security. None of us were safe right now; we probably never would be again. “You shouldn’t have done that!” Bret hissed at Cade.
I knew that he loved me, but Bret seemed to think that I needed his protection at all times, that I couldn’t take care of myself. Though, I supposed my tendencies toward being a loner, aloof, and incessantly clumsy helped perpetuate his belief. As did the fact that I had never really done anything to change his opinion. It didn’t annoy me all that often, and I hadn’t felt like arguing about it, so I had allowed it to continue. It had been the wrong thing to do, because it was irritating the hell out of me right now.
“She’ll be fine.”
“Bethany doesn’t know how to handle a gun, if she hurts herself…”
“She’ll be fine!” Cade interrupted sharply.
I slipped the revolver into my waistband and jogged swiftly away from them. That thing was still stalking us, but it was not ready to make its attack yet. I caught up with Abby; she was still carrying the bag of food over her shoulder. Jenna Howe was toting another bag that I could only assume held more food, or perhaps weapons.
I started in surprise as I caught sight of Jenna. Everything had been so hectic, frantic, and terrifying when we fled the house that I hadn’t noticed Jenna until now. I didn’t know where she had come from, but I suddenly recalled the other voice I had heard calling to us from the woods. This was the most disheveled, and rumpled I had ever seen Jenna look, and yet I was certain that she still looked ten thousand times better than I did right now. Like Abigail, she was slender and delicate, with a fragile air that made me weary of breaking her in my awkwardness. Her skin was as smooth as porcelain, her eyes wide, and a bright emerald green. Her rosebud mouth trembled with the force of her exhales, her pale cheeks were flushed with exertion, and her strawberry colored hair was a disheveled mess around her heart shaped face.
Though we were the same age, Jenna and I were not friends. We never had been. We did not run in the same circles at school. Jenna was popular, perfect, and wealthy. Even during this time, when wealth was not as important as it had once been, she still flaunted it. She was always immaculately dressed in expensive clothes, her makeup and nails were flawless.
Jenna and Bret had dated a few years ago, and most people thought that they were the ones that belonged together. Including Jenna. She had never made it a secret that she still wanted him, she had never tried to hide her flirtatious behavior with him, or her animosity toward me. I’d never really known how to react to her; I tended to ignored her, which was easy enough most of the time. However, there were times when she was hard to ignore, and so was her overt behavior. Times, when even I had to acknowledge the fact that she would do anything to get Bret back. I honestly couldn’t understand why he wasn’t with her still, why he had broken up with her in the first place, or why he continued to choose me over her. Jenna was beautiful, graceful, and confident. I was, well I was a quiet, clumsy, mess.
Sometimes I wondered if Bret might be a little slow.
“Where are we going?” Jenna asked, the terror evident in her voice. It was probably the first time she had talked to me in three months. I was fine with that fact. I had few friends, I liked it that way. I tried not to think of them now, or the fact that I may never see them again. It would be ok, I told myself. I would survive their loss, I had survived worse before, but I still ached for them. I hoped that if they weren’t frozen they were able to get away, and that if they were frozen their deaths were as quick and painless as possible. I wished there was some way that I could go to them, some way to help them, but there wasn’t. My family had to come first, maybe later…
Maybe later I would be able to see them again, but I didn’t hold out much hope for that. This was not the world I had always known anymore, I was gripped by the knowledge that everything I had always known was gone. That nothing would ever be the same again, and that there would be a lot more losses before all of this was over.
“The antique shop.”
“Where Cade works?” Jenna squeaked.
I blinked in surprise. Even Jenna had known that Cade worked at the antique store. But of course she had, she may have her sights set on Bret, but Jenna was one of the people that would know where everyone she considered of importance worked, hung out, or lived. “Yes.”
“Why?”
I didn’t answer that question. I simply didn’t want to, and I wasn’t entirely sure I knew why we were going there. I glanced behind me, but the dark night was enclosing in on us. The ship was fading from sight; only the slithering sounds alerted me to the fact that we were still being hunted. Still being toyed with.
Abby’s jaw was set in determination; she was moving swiftly along, her dark eyes intent as she searched the night. “I don’t know where my parents are,” Jenna said softly. “They were going out to do some shopping. They wouldn’t have gone far though. My mom hates the fact we have to walk everywhere now, but I didn’t see them anywhere near our house after this happened. I don’t know where they are. I waited for hours, and then I ran into Cade…”
I glanced back at Bret, frowning as he met my gaze. Where were his parents? I wondered. It was only then that I realized just how scattered, awful, and heartbreaking this whole situation was. Just then I realized the families that had been, and would continue to be destroyed by everything that had happened today.
&nb
sp; Including my own.
I looked to my immobile mother. We still had her in our possession, there was still hope that she would come back to us, but was there really a chance? I wondered miserably. Even if there wasn’t, there was no way I was going to let those things get a hold of her. No way in hell.
“I waited, I waited for so long, but they didn’t come back.” My attention was drawn back to Jenna. It didn’t appear as if she were talking to me anymore. Instead, she seemed to be trying to work through her guilt and shock. I wanted to comfort her, wanted to assure her that she hadn’t done anything wrong, but my words would do little good and I knew it. She would blame herself until the bitter end and it would be awful. “I looked for them, but I was afraid to go far. I left them a note. Maybe I should go back.”
“There’s nothing you could do Jenna,” I finally managed to assure her. “We can’t go back now, that thing is right behind us.”
Her bright eyes darted behind us, widening slightly. “I left a note…”
“They’ll find it.”
“Will they find me?”
My heart was breaking for her. “I hope so,” I answered honestly.
“Are we going to survive?” Jenna asked tremulously.
There was no answer to that question; I didn’t even know why she had asked it. “Go left,” Cade hissed from behind us.
I veered sharply to the left, pushing Jenna and Abby along with me, forcing them deeper into the trees. It was hard enough for us to make our way through the thick underbrush, the three guys holding our mother were having an even harder time. I doubled back, slipping behind them as I searched the darkened woods. I was trying hard not to lose my control, trying hard not to give into the panic that was clamoring against my skull, and pounding through my veins. But I was greatly afraid that I was going to snap and fall apart at any moment. I had held up through my father’s death, but this…