Текст книги "Ravenous"

   I took a small step back, swallowing heavily as I looked slowly around the store. Though it had not been crowded, it was suddenly easy to pick out every person amongst the racks of souvenir clothes (clothes that didn’t sell much anymore, at least not to tourists as we had few of those now) and candy counters. Mainly because none of them were moving too. I doubted throwing something at them would work either.

   It was eerily quiet within the store. I didn’t hear any movement on the street outside either. Driving had been banned a month ago (I now realized why), but I didn’t even hear the hum of bicycle tires or the thumping footsteps and chatter of people. The soft murmur of conversations had vanished. The street sounded just as dead as the store now appeared. The hum of the store’s air conditioner was frighteningly loud in the unnerving hush.

   I turned slowly toward the door. The blinds were drawn over the window, blocking out the bright summer sunlight. It was impossible to see if the rest of the world had been as affected as the store. I wanted to believe that it hadn’t, that this store was an isolated incident, but I knew it wasn’t. A cold chill, that had nothing to do with the ac unit, raced down my spine. The hairs on my neck and arms stood on end, the room swam and blurred violently before me as fear threatened to choke me.

   The store was cool, I was sweating profusely. I could barely breathe; I was going to throw up. Nausea coiled through me, it burned its way up my throat. I could taste it, feel it, and yet I was somehow able to keep it down. This was the weirdest, creepiest, most terrifyingthing I had experienced in years, but I could not throw up in this store. The act of doing so somehow seemed even more wrong and degrading than the situation surrounding me now.

   I was hyperventilating though. I knew that. I couldn’t breathe and yet the more I gasped for air, the less I was able to get into my lungs. I needed fresh air, I needed outof this store. My bag was still on the counter, but I didn’t want to grasp hold of it. I was sure my mom would forgive me for not bringing the milk home.

   My mom!

   My heart hammered painfully, my chest compressed tightly. Nausea swelled swiftly through me again. I managed to take a stumbling, awkward step back. Was my mom like these people? Was she one of themnow, or was she like me? Was there anyoneelse like me? Was I the onlyone? And why was I still able to move while they couldn’t? What the hell had happened to them, would it happen to me?

   That thought caused fresh terror to pulse through me. My adrenaline was kicking so fiercely that I was shaking from the effects of it. I glanced over the people again. They remained frozen. Not a one of them had moved in the past five minutes. I hadn’t even seen them take a breath, but they had to be breathing, didn’t they? Were they dead? Would they ever move again?

   The questions rolled rapidly through my mind, making me dizzy with panic and confusion. They kept slamming through me, but I didn’t have answers to any of them. I couldn’t even begin to fathom the answers to any of them. Though I did not want to go anywhere near the woman again, I knew I had to grab that bag. If my mom wasn’t like this, then I suddenly hadto deliver that milk to her. And if she was…

   I shut the thought down; it was too much to handle right now. This situation was awful enough without adding to it. Darting forward, I snagged hold of the bag and ripped it off the counter. The rustle of the plastic set my teeth on edge. It was far too loud in the eerie silence that suddenly enshrouded the earth. I ground my jaw, fighting back a scream of terror as I took a swift step back. The woman remained unmoving, her hand still extended with my change. Her warm brown eyes didn’t even flicker as I waved a hand slowly in front of her face. I wanted to check to see if she was still breathing, if she had a pulse, but try as I might I could notbring myself to touch her. I was ashamed of my cowardice but the thought was completely revolting.

   I edged toward the door, scared to take my eyes off of the human statues. I didn’t know what the hell they would be like if they came to life again. Images of every zombie movie I had ever seen flashed rapidly through my mind, I could almost see them coming to life and attacking me. I could picture them tearing me to shreds as they tried to get at my brains, and organs. I shuddered in disgust.

   Reaching the door, I pulled down on the blinds in order to peek out at the seemingly peaceful day. The streets were still, no one moved upon them. People were frozen in midstride, or leaning against store fronts. Some were stopped in mid conversation with their hands in the air, or their heads tilted back to peer at the sky. A man and woman had been riding their bikes down the road when the strange freezing had occurred. They were now sprawled upon the street, their feet tangled awkwardly in the toppled bikes. The wheels were still spinning slowly; they were the only movement in the otherwise still day. Neither of them had made an attempt to break their fall, they had simply face planted into the asphalt. Blood was trickling slowly from the man’s nose; it dripped onto the pavement, forming a puddle beneath him. The woman’s face was obscured by her dark hair tumbling around her shoulders.

   It was a horrifying sight, one that I could not tear my eyes away from. Swallowing heavily I tried to gather my courage to step onto that deserted, desolate street. Was there no one else that could still move? I couldn’tbe the only one. That thought was almost as terrifying as becoming one of the frozen people.

   If I was frozen at least I wouldn’t be alone, and perhaps I wouldn’t even know what had happened to me. Or perhaps, chillingly, I would.

   I removed my trembling hand from the blind. I could not stay here, I needed to move. I needed to get to my family, to see if they were safe. I needed someone to help me sort this all out. Slowly, I eased the door open. The small bell above it rang softly, a gentle sound that was piercingly sharp in the quiet day. I winced at the noise, scrunching up within myself as I waited for something to attack me. Everything remained quiet.

   Involuntarily my gaze went to the sky. A cold trickle of horror crept through me as I caught sight of the ship hovering over Boston. It was a good sixty miles away but its ominous presence was felt just as strongly. I shuddered at the reminder of it, shuddered at the realization that though they had spouted peace, they had finally revealed themselves to be anything but peaceful. Something I had suspected for a long time, though I had never suspected anything like this.

   Who could have?

   I slipped from the store, closing the door silently behind me. It took me a moment to realize that not even the birds were singing. I glanced sharply around, but I did not see animal bodies littered amongst the people in the streets. They may have been affected also, but I didn’t think so. There would at least be a few birds lying amongst the people if that was the case. Apparently the birds had even been scared off by the sudden pall that hung over the world.

   My heart was thumping loudly in my chest as I crept slowly through the still streets, trying hard not to burst into tears or flee screaming. I studied the alien ship wearily. It was not coming toward our town, it did not appear to be moving, but I knew it was only a matter of time before they appeared in the streets, before they came to take everyone. And somehow I knew that was exactly what they intended to do.

   It was what they were going to dowith everyone after they came that frightened me the most.

   I slipped down another street, keeping my eye on the hovering craft in the distance. Bret had once told me he thought they had eyes everywhere, that they knew our every move. I could only pray that he had been wrong. Their technology was far superior then ours, that was an undisputed fact, but I had to cling to the hope that they hadn’t mastered the ability to know where everyperson was at all times.

   Please let that be true, I pleaded frantically. Please. I was nobody of importance, there was no reason they would monitor my movements.

   I turned another corner, slinking through the shadows as I moved toward the center of town. My heart was thudding so hard it hurt. I didn’t know if it was possible for the inside of a ribcage to become bruised, but I was almost certain that mine was.

   People were scattered about the streets in different positions and different situations. One couple was kissing and another was holding hands on a bench. A family was getting their picture taken by the old mill, and a group of children were frozen in the middle of a game of tag. I stopped for a moment to study the children. Goose pimples broke out on my flesh, even in the hot summer sun I was chilled by the sight of them. They were the creepiest things I had come across so far, so innocent yet eerie and unnerving in their immobility.

   I forced myself to turn away from them before I started screaming hysterically and didn’t stop until the aliens were drawn by my screams. I slipped into an alley, leaning against the cold wall as I struggled to catch my breath. The humidity of the day was not as oppressive as the terror clutching at me. I closed my eyes, trying hard not to fall apart, struggling not to completely freak out. It was still over a mile to my house. I wasn’t sure I was going to make it.

   I tilted my head back as I scanned over the roofs in search of cameras. I saw none, but that didn’t matter. For all I knew they didn’t even need cameras to spy on us. For all I knew, they were omniscient. That thought didn’t seem entirely farfetched, not anymore. They could apparently freeze people in an instant after all, why wouldn’t they know where we were at all times? Taking another deep breath I attempted to gather my waning courage.

   I pushed myself slowly away from the wall, feeling like a criminal as I crept stealthily down the alley. I glanced quickly away from the man leaning against the brick building. He had been in the act of relieving himself, there was a puddle of urine before him but thankfully there was no urine still coming out. Slipping onto another main road, I darted quickly down the sidewalk, dodging the obstacles the immobile people represented. I used the back of my arm to wipe the sweat from my forehead as it slid into one of my eyes.

  I slid into another alley, bending over as I was gripped by the sudden urge to curl up into a ball and let my sanity go. I thought the world might be a better place if I did. At least I wouldn’t be alone anymore. For a moment I was consumed by the urge to just give up, to wait here until they found me, but I had never quit before and I wasn’t about to start now. Not when I didn’t know what had become of my family, maybe after, if they were gone…

   I let the thought trail off; there was no use in dwelling on it. Not until I knew, and then I didn’t know what I would do.

   I pushed off the wall, breaking into a brisk jog as I hurried down the alley. Turning a corner, I began to move faster, nearly sprinting as I raced down the sidewalk. I was breathing so hard that I almost didn’t hear the distant rumbling noise until it was too late. As it was, it just barely caught my attention in time.

   I pressed flat to a wall, my eyes wide as the ground beneath my feet began to tremble slightly, my head bounced rapidly back and forth as I searched for the cause of the strange sensation and noise. I crept slowly forward, keeping my hand pressed against the glass window of a store. The noise grew louder, the quaking increased as the sidewalk beneath my feet began to tremble even more.

   I didn’t know where to go, what to do. My throat was clogged with fear, my body thrummed with tension. I continued to creep steadily forward, but I had to get off the street. I had to find a place to hide. My hand slipped into nothingness, I nearly fell sideways as someone grabbed hold of my arm. A startled cry started to escape me, but a hand slammed over my mouth as I was pulled against a hard chest, and drug into darkness.

CHAPTER 2

   “Shh Bethany,” someone hissed in my ear.

   My struggles eased at the sound of my name, but I still wanted nothing more than to be free of the hold pinning me tight. The grip on me loosened, the hand fell away from my mouth. I turned slowly, my eyes widening in shock as I caught sight of the person that had grabbed me. Cade stared back at me, his midnight eyes intense, and his dark hair falling across his hard, handsome face. We’d gone to high school together, but those two words were the most I’d heard from him in over a year. Though, there were times I had caught him staring at me questioningly, or watching me with an intensity that never failed to steal my breath and cause my pulse to race.

   He was a year older than me, having just finished his senior year, but that was not the reason that I had not talked to him in a long time. The main reason was that I had been too intimidated by his brooding nature, and dark good looks to approach him. To intimidated by the rumors and innuendo that ran rampant through the school about him. The gossip claimed that he was involved in everything from gangs to Satan worshipping and even the mob. I didn’t believe the rumors, but Cade did nothing to disprove them, and at times I thought he enjoyed letting them spin wildly out of control.

   He placed a long finger against my lips, gesturing for me to stay quiet as his hand slipped into mine. I stared at his long fingers, stunned by the way our hands seemed to fit seamlessly together. I was losing my freaking mind. The world was falling apart around me and I was marveling over the fact that our hands were a perfect fit, and the fact that he was actually holding myhand.

   He bent over me, pressing his full mouth close to my ear. A shiver raced down my spine. “This way.”

   My fingers clenched tighter around his, my heart hammered with fear, desire, and relief. I was not alone and judging by the tight set of Cade’s jaw, and the fierceness in his eyes, he had a plan which was much more than I had had just seconds ago. He tugged me down an alley, moving with a grace that was both stunning and captivating. I was nowhere near as graceful, a fact I was acutely aware of as I struggled to move as quietly as possible as I struggled not to trip over my own two left feet.

   I wanted to ask him where we were going but I remained silent as he led me down another street. The rumbling sound became distant, but I knew we would not escape it for long. It would find us, and I was terrified of the consequences of what would happen when it did. Cade held a hand behind him, halting me at the edge of an alley. He turned briefly back to me, holding up a finger as he peeked around the corner of the building. His fingers slowly unfolded from mine as he stepped out of the shadows.

   My heart momentarily kicked harder as he disappeared from sight. He was the only person I’d discovered, I couldn’t lose him now. I was getting ready to follow him when he reappeared. His eyes, black as onyx and hard as ice, flickered briefly over me. I felt the scorch of his gaze, thought perhaps I would see disapproval flicker over his features as he was calm, and a reassuring presence, and I was a trembling, terrified mess, but there was none.

   His fingers entwined within mine again. He turned away, pulling me down the street. I nearly collided with him as he turned suddenly and tugged me into the arched doorway of a store. My legs were shaking, my heart pounding as the rumbling noise grew closer. I could feel vibrations in the stoop beneath my feet. Whatever was hunting us, whatever was out there, it was getting closer.

   A sense of urgency filled me as Cade opened the door and slid silently into the antiques store. I followed behind, biting on my lower lip as I fought back the scream welling within my throat. Cade slid the door shut, the soft click of the lock barely audible over the growing noise outside.

He turned slowly toward the shaded windows. Even his profile was perfect, I realized as I stared at his hard jaw and sculpted nose. His eyes narrowed slightly, his teeth clenched fiercely as he pulled me back a step. Seeing him now, hearing him now, I was suddenly struck by the memory of the last time we had spoken nearly a year ago.

   I’d been standing on the street, watching with my mom and little sister as one of the massiv alien ships first arrived. It slid over top of us as it moved toward the city, blocking out the sun, and emitting a soft humming noise that had been barely discernible over the normal sounds of the day. I had clung to my mom and sister, my heart hammering, awe and fear filling me as we watched it move slowly onward.

   In the movies UFO’s were usually depicted as silver and shiny, this was not. It was pitch black, dull, and cold in appearance. It was only later that we would learn it was black because it was powered by solar energy and the black helped to capture the powerful rays of the sun. It was tubular in design with two large engines attached to each side of it. Though there was a hazy disturbance trailing from the engines, it was clear enough that the sky beyond could be seen through the fumes. The ship was so quiet that it seemed impossible that the sizeable engines attached to it were actually powering it forward.

   Twenty five alien ships had arrived that day. Five settled over the U.S., three over Canada, and four throughout central and South America. Five more moved in over Europe, five more over Asia, two over Africa, and one hovered above Australia. Their arrival had signaled a short period of chaos, fear, and uncertainty. But over time things had settled down as no imminent threat emerged to kill us all and the aliens repeatedly proclaimed peace.

   As time passed this claim seemed more and more acceptable, especially once they began to share their greater technology and vastly superior medical advances with us. Incurable cancers were cured; diseases were brought under control, if not eradicated. They taught us to harvest solar power in new and far more effective ways that drastically reduced our reliance on fossil fuels and nearly eradicated air pollution. They introduced a new form of irrigation that allowed us to grow food in even the most arid of deserts, including Antarctica. Millions of starving people were suddenly fed, people were healthier, happier, and starting to rely upon the advances the aliens gave to us. Everything they did for us was an improvement; life became radically better for everyone throughout those first nine months.

   But on that strange, frightening first day, Cade had been in my neighborhood. I never knew why, as he didn’t live close to us, but suddenly his car was stopping before me. He had leaned across the front seat of his beater car, his arm on the passenger side window as he leaned toward us. Toward me. He had been thinner then, lean and gangly, but never awkward. Cade had miraculously managed to skip all of the awkward stages that were involved with being a teenager and always been gorgeous, heartbreakingly so.

   His midnight eyes appeared even darker as the sun disappeared behind the ship. He seemed far more intense as he pinned me with that unerring, fathomless gaze. I was unnerved, and yet strangely enchanted by his forceful stare, a stare that didn’t leave me, not even to watch the extraordinary new arrivals as they slid across the sky. I had to force my gaze away from his as I turned my attention back to our suddenly strange sky. Then the ship had moved past us. The sun had reappeared as it left the rural areas behind for Boston.

   “Are you ok?”

   My attention had been drawn back to Cade as he uttered the question. I couldn’t find words for him; I didn’t have any at the moment. I was terrified, fascinated, and completely stunned to realize that aliens actually didexist. And they were here. He continued to stare at me, expecting some kind of answer, but I couldn’t find one for him. I didn’t know if I was ok, I didn’t know if any of us would ever be ok again. Clenching my jaw tight, feeling like an idiot in the face of his confident aura, I had managed a small nod.

   He gazed at me for a moment longer, a strange gleam in his dark eyes as he studied me intently. He appeared strangely torn, seemed as if he didn’t want to leave. But that made no sense, we barely knew each other, and we certainly weren’t friends. At least we weren’t friends anymore, we hadn’t been for years. Finally he had returned my nod, sat back in the driver’s seat, and drove away. I’d watched him go until he took a left and disappeared from sight. We hadn’t spoken again since then.

   I blinked as I was torn from the memory of that day by the shaking of the building. My heart jumped in fear, but a strange thrill of excitement ran through me as I studied Cade with a growing sense of wonder and curiosity. Then, the quaking increased and I forgot all about him as my terror spiked high again. The glass in the windows began to rattle in the frames, vibrating with the force of whatever was coming toward us. I took an instinctive step back. Cade’s hand fell briefly against my back, stopping me from moving before his touch slipped away.

   I watched in wide eyed fascination, and dread, as he moved slowly toward the window. I wanted to reach out and grab him, wanted to scream at him to stop, but I was unable to move as I gaped at his back. He eased down a slat on the blinds, barely moving it as he peered out the window. Drawn by curiosity, I crept toward him. Pressing against his back, I leaned forward to peer over his shoulder. He shot me a look but didn’t try to stop me.

    The shaking increased, the noise level escalated as it echoed throughout the store. My eyebrows drew questioningly together, I searched for the source of the sound, but I couldn’t pinpoint it through the narrow gap in the blinds. I jumped slightly as a large thingsuddenly loomed before us. And thingwas the only word that could be used to describe it. I had no idea what it was; I’d never seen anything like it. But it was awful, disgusting, gross in ways that I had never begun to imagine gross.

   Cade grabbed hold of my shoulder, holding me still as I instinctively took a frightened step back from the monstrosity outside. I nearly collided with a table containing fragile figurines that would have shattered on impact. The saying bull in a china shop flashed through my mind, and I knew that I would have to be careful. I was about as graceful as that bull. And there were far too many fragile things within this store, and too many hideous things outside that we had to avoid.

   The thing moved slowly forward. It was smaller than a Mac truck but there was something about it that reminded me of a semi without its trailer. It crept forward on numerous legs that were arachnid in appearance, but swollen, red, and bloated like an overfed tick. The legs seemed to pulse and vibrate with some strange life force that I didn’t understand. I was confused, completely unable to understand what the hell it was doing. Unable to comprehend what the hell it could possibly be. My mind simply could not wrap around the hideousness of this atrocity before us.

   It stopped next to a few of the frozen bodies, hovering above them as it lowered slightly to get closer to the people. I watched in fascinated horror as one of those legs curled up before snaking out from the disgusting creature. The tentacle like appendage moved with an eerie, rapid grace that was almost as captivating as it was repulsive. I found myself entranced by its slithering, snakelike movements. The tentacle was clear; it slithered over the ground before snagging hold of a man holding hands with a woman. My mouth dropped, my eyes widened, a scream tore up my throat. Before I could utter a sound, Cade swiftly slid his hand over my mouth. He pulled me against him, pressing my back to his chest as he held me tight. My knees buckled as I found myself barely able to remain standing. Cade helped keep me up, but I could feel a tremor in his powerful, taut muscles.

   The tentacle thingy slithered up the man’s leg before reaching his chest. It pulled back when it reached the man’s face like a cobra ready to strike. It remained there for a few moments before attacking with deadly, and startling, velocity. It sank into the man’s throat, burying itself deep within his body. The tentacle was clearly visible as it moved, slithering beneath the man’s skin as it made its way swiftly through his body. The clear tentacle began to fill with pulsating blood as the man suddenly, and violently, came back to life. Vomit rolled through me, and it was only the mortifying thought of throwing up on Cade’s hand that helped me suppress it.

   The poor man thrashed against the thing moving through him, his arms flailed wildly against the brutal assault being waged on his body. He grasped at the woman beside him, but she remained still as stone, oblivious to his pain. The man’s fingers tore at the invader, trying to pull it free, but his efforts were useless and only caused more blood to spill from his already brutalized throat. I gagged, choked, nearly fell as every muscle in my body collapsed.

   This time Cade was barely able to keep me up. I could feel the horror that filled his entire body as he clung to me. He took his hand away from my mouth, wrapping his arms around my waist he pulled me away from the window. I did not fight against him, there was no fight left within me. There was little of anything left within me besides fear and revulsion.

   Cade led me swiftly through the store. He dodged the shelves, and delicate artifacts, with a graceful ease that even through my numbing shock and horror, I was able to admire. We passed by the counter. A gray haired man stood behind it, a duster was clasped in the hand above his head as he faced the shelves behind the register. His spectacles gleamed in the light of the lamps dangling from the ceiling above him. My heart went out to him. I moved toward him, wanting to do something, wanting to wake him if I could, needing to get him out of here before that awful thingcame for him.