Текст книги "Ravenous"

Автор книги: Erika Stevens

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Текущая страница: 12 (всего у книги 14 страниц)

   “You can’t know that,” I interrupted.

   “Of course I can, I know you. You’ll get them through this, because you have to. If they lose us both, they won’t make it. Trust me on that.”

   I bit my bottom lip as I continued to frown fiercely at him. I wanted to believe him, but a part of me believed he was just feeding me a line of bull in order to get me to stay behind while he tested the waters. I could almost see the gears turning in his head, the thoughts bouncing rapidly through his brain as he tried to think of some other way to dissuade me.

   “Without you?”

   “What?” he asked blinking in surprise, thrown off by my questioning him instead of arguing further.

   “Do you honestly believe that I will be able to keep it together without you?”

   He shifted nervously, I could tell he was hesitant to say his next words, but say them he did. “You kept it together after your father died, untilme. You kept it together today, untilme. I’m the reason you fall apart Bethany.”

   “That’s not true!” I protested vehemently.

   He glanced over my shoulder; his jaw clenched tight, a muscle jumped in his cheek. “It is true, without me you will make it through this…”

   “That’s awful of you to say! Especially after everything that has happened!” I hissed, growing infuriated with his words and the absolute belief he had in them. “How could you believe that I’m stronger withoutyou!?”

   He grabbed hold of my shoulders, pulling me a step closer to him. “I neversaid that. When I am not around, you bury your fear, your hurt, your pain, your emotions because you don’t trust anyone else with them, but…”

   “But for some reason I trust you.”

   A small smile quirked the corner of his full mouth, his black eyes twinkled mischievously. “Yes, for some reason you trust the devil with your fears, and your pain.”

   I blinked in surprise as he brought up his nickname from school. “You knew they called you the dark devil?”

   His grin widened. “The devil knows all.”

   “You’re not funny,” I muttered.

   “I’m not trying to be.” He kissed me softly on the forehead before releasing me and taking a step back. “You will get them through this Bethany. No matter what, I know you will.”

   Though I appreciated his unwavering faith in me, I wanted to grab hold of him, wanted to plead with him to stay, wanted to tell him I loved him but the words stuck in my throat. It was obvious that he was set on this course of action, and I was not going to be able to stop him.

   “Be safe.”

   He flashed that amazing cocky grin that caused my heart to melt and my toes to curl. “Always.”

   Before I could say another word he darted away from me, bolted across the road, and disappeared into the shelter of the median with startling speed and grace. I was left gaping after him, my heart hammering wildly as a cold sweat broke out on my body. I had never seen anyone move like that. I took a small step after him, torn between wanting to follow, and needing to stay with my sister.

   My gaze went slowly back to Abby. She and Jenna had crept closer, but still hung back a good five feet. I could see the fear in their faces, a fear that caused me to straighten my shoulders and tilt my chin up. Cade was right, I would find some way to get them out of this. No matter what it took, I would get them out of here, even if I had to do it without him. That thought made me want to vomit.

   A soft rustle of the leaves was the only thing that alerted me to the fact that Cade was making his way across the other side of the highway. I held my breath, counting silently to myself. I thought he should at least be back in the median by a hundred. At two hundred I was beginning to panic. At three hundred, I could barely breathe through the tight constriction of terror encircling my chest. I was shaking, tears burned my eyes, but I refused to shed them, refused to let my terror show to either Jenna or Abby.

   I counted to five hundred. My throat was burning, I was barely breathing anymore. Five fifty. I didn’t know how long we should stay here for. How long we should wait for him to return. I wasn’t sure that I would be able to get my feet to move away from here if the time came. There was no bright light, no crashing bangs echoing throughout the forest signaling the creature’s arrival, but when I hit eight hundred I was beginning to fear that Cade was not going to return.

   We didn’t know what other kinds of weapons these aliens possessed, didn’t know what they were capable of. Just because they had always announced their arrival with noise and light before didn’t mean that they always had to. The noise and lights could just be a fear tactic, one that worked really well as far as I was concerned. Maybe they had taken Cade. Maybe they knew we were here and were just waiting for us to expose ourselves.

   I took a step back from the roadside, losing count as I began to search the night around us. Were they out there? Hunting us, stalking us? Were they narrowing in on us even now? I didn’t want to leave Cade, but he had been gone for far longer than he should have been, and he had faith in me that I would continue on, that I would get them to safety.

   “Bethany…”

   “Five more minutes,” I whispered.

   “But he’s been gone…”

   “Five more minutes Abby.”

   “Look, I get that you don’t want to leave your lover behind, but they could be closing in on us even now,” Jenna said.

   I shot Jenna a furious look, my hands fisting at my sides. “Five more minutes!” I snarled.

   She glared at me as she shifted angrily. I turned back to the road, starting to count again. One more time to two hundred, and then we would have to go. We would havetoo. Fifty six… fifty seven… fifty ei… Movement rustled the trees in the median.

   My breath froze, I took a swift step forward as hope exploded through me, and then Cade was emerging from the shadows. My legs shook as relief flooded me; I was able to take my first real breath since he had left. Cade knelt by the side of the road, his hand resting lightly on the ground as he searched for us. I stepped slightly forward, barely exposing myself to the dim moonlight that illuminated the road. He lifted his hand, gesturing for us to come over.

   “Let’s go,” I said softly.

   “Wait!” Jenna hissed in surprise.

   “We have to go now, well it’s still safe.”

   “Out there?” she croaked.

   I decided to take a page from Cade’s book. “Then stay here. Let’s go Abby, now.”

   Jenna’s eyes widened, her gaze darted wildly around, but she offered no further protest as Abby came slowly toward me. I heaved the duffel bag onto my shoulder, bowing slightly beneath its weight. It was far heavier than I had expected considering the ease with which Cade moved with it. I straightened my shoulders and burst onto the road with Abby close at my heels and Jenna following reluctantly behind.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER 15

 

 

    We trudged slowly through the woods. Though we had managed to get some sleep, it had done little to ease the exhaustion that clung to us all. Jenna had been bitchier than usual for the first hour of our walk. She had finally, and thankfully, grown silent.

   “How much further do you think it is?” Abby asked softly.

   “Mile, maybe two,” Cade answered absently.

   It wasn’t that far, I kept telling myself. An hour at the most, and that was only ifthe terrain became rough, which I didn’t think it would. Or I hoped it wouldn’t anyway. There weren’t any dumps between us and the gas station at least. I kept my head down, my feet ached, my legs were weak but I could make it. We all could.

   Though the trees mostly blocked the sun, the heat of the day was growing oppressive. The light filtering through them was bright, and hot. I was sweltering, which I found oddly surprising. The heat rarely bothered me. Only when it was over a hundred did I truly dislike it. To me, anything under seventy was chilly. But today was at most eighty degrees, and though sweat coated me it wasn’t that humid out. There was a light sea breeze filtering through the leaves, shaking them gently.

   Perhaps it was my exhaustion that was making it feel as if it were a hundred and twenty. Or maybe I had caught something from tromping through all of that disgusting garbage and sliding through sludge. I rarely got sick, but I couldn’t even begin to imagine the amount of germs we had been exposed to, and none of us had eaten or drank much in the past few days.

   Whatever it was, I felt like hell and I didn’t like it.

   I was so ensnared by my misery that I didn’t notice Cade had stopped until I bumped into him. He reached back with his arm, pushing me behind him as he studied the woods. His eyes were narrowed; his body tight with tension. I frowned, glancing swiftly around. There were a couple of squirrels sitting in the trees so I didn’t think the aliens were near, but something had caught Cade’s attention.

   The sharp snap of a twig caused me to jump in surprise. Jenna and Abby huddled closer to us. A squirrel darted through the branches of a tree, causing a small raucous as it leapt into another one before disappearing into the woods. Was it fleeing from approaching aliens or from some other unseen thing?

   “Abby? Bethany?”

   I jumped slightly, spinning in the direction the voice had come from. “Aiden?” I whispered in surprise.

   He stepped out from behind a tree, his eyes wide as he stared at us in shock. I knew we looked awful. Our clothes were caked with muck; Abby’s delicate features were streaked and coated with dirt and slime. Her dark brown hair was now black, and a tangled rats nest. Jenna’s strawberry hair was also far darker; she’d placed it into a braid before going into the dump so it was not the tangled mess that Abby’s and mine was. My own honey hued hair was a dark, snarled, filthy brown.

   No wonder Aiden was having a hard time recognizing us beneath the layers of filth.

   I couldn’t stop the smile that spread over my face at the blessed sight of him. He still appeared slightly singed, or shocked, from whatever had happened to him on the bridge. His light hair was standing up, and burn marks marred the fair skin of his arms. But he was cleaner than we were, and I was certain he smelled far better.

   Abby let out a delighted cry and raced toward him. Aiden grinned brightly at her as he held out his arms to receive her. I followed behind her, but by the time I reached them, Aiden was already pulling back, a disgusted look on his face. “Holy crap Abby you smell awful!” he gasped.

   I halted in midstride, unable to stop the burst of laughter that bubbled out of me. He turned toward me, holding his arms out. “I don’t smell any better,” I assured him.

   “I don’t care.”

   My laughter ceased as I stepped into his warm, welcoming embrace. Though he was brave enough to hug me, it did not last long, and Abby and I left a sludge mark on the front of his shirt. “Are you ok?” I asked softly.

   “Yes.”

   “Bret, Molly?” My voice squeaked, I could barely breathe as I awaited his answer.

   Aiden grinned at me. “They’re fine,” he assured me. “Bret’s on the road across from the gas station, Molly’s on the road next to it keeping watch for you guys.”

   Cade and Jenna had edged closer, but remained slightly behind us. “What happened?” Jenna asked quietly.

   Aiden’s eyes darkened, anger and sadness crept over his features. “I don’t really know; we were almost to the bridge when all hell broke loose.” His gaze moved away from us, he seemed to be focusing on something that neither of us could see. “That guy that was with us, he was in the front. When that light hit him...” Aiden’s voice grew taut; a slight tremor shimmered through him. “The edges of the light seemed to set him on fire, from the inside out.”

   My heart was hammering, my mouth dry with horror as he uttered the words inside out. Instinctively I sought out Cade and seized hold of his hand. “The fire actually came from his mouth.” Aiden shuddered; his eyes came back to us. “I could feel it creeping up inside of me. I could feel it licking against my organs, burning its way through me. Thankfully, whereas the others had been trapped by the light, we were not far enough into it to be completely ensnared by it. The three of us were able to break free, able to run. I didn’t even know where we were until we reached the other side of the IHOP.”

   Abby threw herself back into his arms, clinging tightly to him. I released Cade as I made my way to them, wrapping my arms around them both. “Thank God you’re ok,” I whispered.

   “You too,” he said with a small smile. “And from the looks of you it doesn’t seem like you had a very easy time of it.”

   “It was awful,” Abby agreed.

  “Let’s go find the others and you can tell us all about it. We’ve found a place to stay for the past couple of days. I’ll take you there before going to retrieve them.”

***

   The shower had been lukewarm by the time I got to it, but I didn’t care, it was still wonderful. I scrubbed myself so ferociously that my skin was red and chapped by the time I was done. I lathered conditioner into my hair hoping that it would help untangle the horrific mess my hair had become.

   We had managed to dig up some clothes upon entering the basement apartment, but they were all men’s clothes. I didn’t care; I would rather have walked around nude then put my disgusting dump clothes back on again. My old clothes were sitting in a trash bag now, but I could still smell them. Either that or the stench really had permeated my skin forever. Just the thought made me scrub myself again, it was becoming painful to do so, but I didn’t care anymore. I just wanted the smell to go away.

   Wanting to save at least some warm water for Cade, I finally tore myself away from the spray of the shower. I dressed in the loose fitting tee and oversized pants. Using a belt I cinched the waist and rolled the bottom of the jeans up. It took me a long time, a lot of hair, and a lot of wincing and cursing, but I was finally able to untangle my hair so that it fell around my shoulders and back again.

   I didn’t pick up the trash bag with my clothes in it; I couldn’t bring myself to touch it, but opened up the door and kicked it out. Much like a soccer ball, I bounced it back and forth between my feet as I made my way down the dark hall before kicking it next to the other two bags sitting by the bulkhead in the small galley kitchen. There was no stove but a hotplate sat next to the microwave. The apartment was sparse; it seemed as if a college student had lived here. I didn’t know if the home above had been his parents, but the entrance into the house had been blocked off. The bulkhead was the only way in or out.

   The basement had no windows, but we had only turned on one light upon entering. The light was in the far back, in a small living room with a battered sofa and a ratty armchair that looked entirely inviting. I slumped into the chair, surprised by how comfortable it was considering that stuffing was popping out of the arms. Cade slipped down the hall, moving swiftly toward the shower.

   I drew my legs up onto the seat, closed my eyes, and passed out.

   I didn’t know how much time had passed when I woke up again. It was impossible to tell time in the windowless room. My legs were cramped, my neck ached from sleeping at such an awkward angle, but I felt better than I had earlier. “You’re awake.”

   I started, blinking slightly in surprise. I hadn’t realized that Bret was on the couch until he had spoken. I winced as my legs protested against me straightening them and my neck screamed in twisted agony, but I was slowly able to unravel myself from my cramped position. “I didn’t see you there. Where is everyone?”

   “Bedroom down the hall. How are you?”

   I swallowed heavily. His tone sounded off, dull, flat. There was something wrong, and I was afraid I already knew what it was. I had been an idiot to fall asleep before I’d had a chance to talk to him; it seemed as if Jenna had beaten me to it. “Ok.”

   “From what Abby said it sounded like you guys had a rough time out there.”

   “It could have been worse. Far worse.”

   I tried to make him out on the couch, but it was too dark in the room. There was definitely something off about him, but I wasn’t sure if Jenna had talked to him, or if he was just as exhausted as the rest of us. I swallowed heavily. If Jenna hadn’t spoken to him, then I had to now. There was no point in dragging this out, no reason to cause him more pain than I was already going to. I couldn’t keep up this charade, and I had a feeling that Cade wouldn’t allow it to continue for much longer. If I didn’t do something, I was certain Cade would.

   The couch groaned slightly as he stood up and came slowly toward me in the dark. Guilt and self hatred flooded me as he knelt before me and took hold of my hands. I wanted to pull my hands away, but he leaned forward and kissed me before I could react. My head spun, I wanted to recoil from him, but I couldn’t bring myself to be that cruel. Bret didn’t deserve that, he didn’t deserve any of this. There was no spark in the kiss, no desire, but it was comforting, familiar, and sweet. I allowed him to kiss me for a moment longer before I slowly pulled away from him.

   “I’m glad you’re safe Bethany, and that you’re here. With me.”

   “Bret…”

   “We can get through this, together. We can get through anythingtogether.”

   His hands were tight on mine, squeezing more firmly as he leaned closer. I swallowed heavily, unsure how to proceed. I had never dealt with anything like this before. “Bret, we need to talk.”

   “You had a rough time out there.”

   “We alldid.”

   “Sometimes things happen…” I frowned at him, my eyebrows drawing tightly together. Had Jenna talked to him, or had he picked up on a strange vibe from Cade and I? Either way, it seemed as if he was determined not to hear what I had to say, or to rationalize it away.

   “Did you speak to Jenna?’

   “Jenna? No why?”

   I hedged, uncertain how to proceed. He must have picked up on something between Cade and I; or perhaps Cade had said something after I’d fallen asleep. “Bret there’s something we need to talk about. Did Cade…”

   His hands tightened on mine, he leaned closer. “We don’t have to talk about him. When people are frightened, or stressed, they do things that they normally wouldn’t do.”

   “Bret…”

   “It’s ok Bethany; things will go back to normal now. Or at least as normal as they can be under the circumstances.”

   I didn’t know what to say to him, I could barely breathe through the anguish clenching my chest. I had known Bret most of my life, he was a good person. He was a wonderfulperson. It was me that was awful, and wrong and hurtful. I clasped both of his hands tightly in mine. I knew what had to be done, but maybe it didn’t have to be done right now. It was obvious that he didn’t wantit to be right now, obvious that he was clinging to the hope that we would be fine. There wasn’t much that I could give him, but I could give him that at least. Couldn’t I?

   Movement caught my attention. My eyes snapped toward the doorway, widening slightly as I spotted Cade. I didn’t know long he had been standing there, but if he hadn’t moved I never would have noticed him. It seemed as if he was a part of the shadows, he blended seamlessly in with the darkness. I watched him for a long moment, amazed and slightly unnerved by the way the shadows embraced him so completely.

   I pulled back, unable to stop myself as Bret leaned forward to kiss me again. Pain flashed through his eyes, his hands clenched upon mine as he sat back on his heels. I couldn’t look at either of them as I untangled my hands from Bret’s grasp and rose slowly. My back protested the movement as I stretched my cramped muscles, but it felt good to move again.

   I blinked against the harsh flare of light as Cade flipped the switch. Anger flashed across Bret’s features when he spotted Cade leaning in the doorway. “What do you want?” Bret demanded.

   Apparently Bret had decided to take all of his anger out on Cade, instead of me. Cade lifted a dark eyebrow; wry amusement flitted over his handsome features. Under the amusement though was a seething mass of tension and anger. This was a situation that was going to have to be resolved, soon, or it was going to get ugly. It never should have gotten to this point to begin with.

   And it was entirely my fault.

   “You know what I want, or at least who,” Cade drawled.

   My mouth dropped, my hands clenched tightly on my arms as I stared at him in utter disbelief. I couldn’t believe he had just said that. “Son of a bitch!” Bret snarled.

   I seized hold of Bret’s arm as he took an angry step forward. He looked about ready to beat the crap out of Cade, but Cade remained standing nonchalantly in the doorway. He didn’t appear at all fazed by Bret’s anger though Bret was a good thirty pounds heavier, and two inches taller. “I just thought that all the cards should be on the table, so there is no confusion about what my intentions are.” I could only stand there and continue to gape at Cade as his gaze burned over me. “I know what I want, and now you do too.”

   Bret was shaking in my grip, his hands fisted at his sides. I was trembling from the effects of Cade’s sizzling look, and from the words he had just uttered. I was frightened, heartbroken, and torn. “Don’t do this now,” I managed to whisper. Bret didn’t relax in my grasp, but his gaze did come slowly toward me. The betrayal and anger in his eyes made me want to cry. “Bret, I’m sorry, I really am. I didn’t mean for this to happen, I never meant to hurt you, it’s the last thing in the world I ever…”

   I gasped in surprise as he knocked my hand aside and jerked his arm from my gasp. Cade’s casual demeanor vanished as he came away from the door. Anger darkened his features; his eyes were ice cold with fury. My heart leapt into my throat, I darted in between them, throwing up my hands to halt Cade’s approach.

   “You want to take this out on someone then take it out on me!” Cade snarled. His rage was so volatile, so intense, that it caused the hair on the nape of my neck to stand up. It didn’t matter if Bret was bigger; in that moment I was certain that Cade might just kill him. “Not her, me.”

   Before I knew what Cade intended he seized hold of my hand with surprising tenderness, considering the enraged look on his face, and began to rub it. “Its fine, I’m fine,” I managed to stammer out. His eyes came slowly toward me; they crinkled at the edges as his gaze softened slightly. My hand clenched around his, I could not stop the immediate physical and emotional reaction that surged through me.

   “What’s going on?” I had been so caught up in everything that I hadn’t noticed Aiden’s appearance in the room. His hair was rumpled from sleep, his eyes were slightly swollen, but there was a keen edge in his gaze that was slightly unnerving. “Are you ok?” he demanded of me, his attention honing in on Cade’s hands on mine.

   “I’m fine. Everything’s fine,” I managed to reassure him.

   He glanced at Bret, then at Cade, before finally settling on me again. Cade had been his friend once, but that had been years ago. Bret was his best friend now; I knew where Aiden’s loyalties would lie. I didn’t want him put in the middle of this. “Better be,” he said softly. “Abby, Molly, and Jenna are awake too.”

   “Good, we need to figure out what we are going to do.”

   “Didn’t Bret tell you?”

   I glanced back at Bret, but he wouldn’t look at me, his gaze was focused on the far wall. His jaw was locked tight, his arms folded over his broad chest. I ached for the hurt I saw in him. Swallowing heavily I turned my attention back to Aiden.  “No,” I said softly.

   “The rental store down the road does have scuba gear.”

   I frowned in confusion. “But you said that was a bad idea.”

   “It’s the only one we have now. The fact that we have to get to the mainland has not changed Bethany. We can’t stay on this side. They’ll find us.” My hand tightened around Cade’s, I needed his strength. I knew I should let go of him, knew that I was only hurting Bret more, but I couldn’t bring myself to release him. I was a truly awful person. Cade’s hands wrapped around my arms, he pulled me a small step closer to him, his attention still half on Bret as he listened to Aiden. “We have to do something Bethany.”

   Though Aiden was trying to keep his face expressionless, confusion and shock blazed from the eyes rapidly flickering back and forth between the three of us. He focused on me, shook his head, opened his mouth to say something, and then clamped it shut again. He hissed something under his breath, it was so low that I couldn’t make it out, but Cade pulled me even closer to him.

   “I know we do,” I muttered.

   “It’s getting dark now, we should be going soon.”

   I couldn’t wait to get out of this apartment, and to put some space between Cade and Bret. But the thought of being outside again, of being completely exposed to those creatures once more, caused a cold chill to run down my spine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER 16

 

 

   I turned the scuba tank over in my hands. I had no idea what the hell we were going to do with these damn things. What the hell were we thinking to even attempt this incredibly crazy idea, even if it had been mycrazy idea? Drowning was not one of the ways I wanted to go out, but then again neither was getting my blood drained by some crazy freaking spider/tick/octopus/jellyfish like monster.

   Both options sucked, but I preferred to give my body over to nature than the aliens any day. “There might be some kind of manual or something around here,” Aiden muttered, biting on his bottom lip as he wandered behind the counter. “A video even.”

   “A video?” I inquired dryly.

   “DVD maybe.”

   I rolled my eyes as I shook my head. Only Aiden would think that he could play a DVD and know what to do, or that there even was a DVD on the basics of scuba diving. But then again, for all I knew, there actually might be one. Abby was holding up a set of flippers, studying them carefully as she flapped them in the air. We had lived on Cape Cod our entire lives, but strangely enough my siblings and I had never donned a set of flippers before.

   “We do have Molly,” I reminded him.

   Aiden shrugged absently. “Would still like to learn as much as possible beforehand.”

   I followed Aiden behind the counter, holding the flashlight for him as he rummaged through the shelves. I didn’t think he had a shot in hell of finding a video, but I didn’t say that to him. I figured he simply needed something to distract him from what we were going to do. “Here’s something.”

   “What?” I asked in surprise.

   He pulled out a stack of papers and fluttered them in the air. “It’s a manual.” Well that might be helpful, I thought silently. Though, I was pretty sure that reading about scuba diving wasn’t the best way to learn how to do it. It was better than nothing though, that was for sure. He sat back on his heels, flipping through the pages. “It will help.”

   He put it on top of the counter as he stood up. Cade and Molly came around from where they had been exploring the back of the store. “There’s a room back there, but it has windows. We either leave tonight for the mainland, or we go back to the apartment,” Cade informed us briskly.

   He’d been on edge since we’d left the apartment. The strange thing was that I didn’t think it had anything to do with what had happened with Bret, but with something else entirely. He was pale again, his mouth pinched once more. I wondered if perhaps he hadn’t slept like the rest of us. I worried about him, afraid that he was going to make himself sick with lack of sleep and nutrition.

   I didn’t like the idea of staying here, or going back outside. Unfortunately we didn’t have a choice. “I want to read this,” Aiden replied, tapping his fingers on the pages before him. “Maybe we should go back to the apartment till tomorrow night then.”

   “Are we taking all this stuff with us?” Jenna inquired softly. I had noticed that she had become a lot more agreeable, and nicer, since she’d seen Cade and I holding hands in front of Bret. “It’s pretty heavy.”

   “I guess we can leave it,” Aiden answered but his attention was elsewhere. He was like a pit bull when he became focused on something, he locked onto it and wouldn’t let go, and right now he was focused on that manual.

   “There’s no guarantee we’ll be able to make it back here,” I protested instantly.

   “Hmm, true,” Aiden muttered.

   I sighed as I shook my head at him. I moved away from the counter, heading to the back of the store. The windows held a glimpse of the ocean. Through the trees and homes, I could just make out the light of the moon sparkling across the gleaming surface of the water. It all looked so peaceful, so wonderfully normal and safe. For one brief moment I could almost believe that everything was as it should be. That there was no fear, hunger, or pain anymore.

   I closed my eyes, wrapping my arms around myself as I tried to bottle the rush of emotions that surged up in me. For one brief, poignant moment, I allowed myself to long for everything that we had lost, everything that we would never have again. Then, I opened my eyes, and forced myself to accept the fact that this was our new reality. Running, hiding, being hungry, scared, dirty, and tired was all we would know for the rest of our lives. But at least we were alive, we still had loved ones, and we were still moving which was more than I could say for most people.

   “Are you ok Bethy?”

   I hadn’t heard Abby approach, but she was suddenly at my side. “I’m fine.”

   “Are you sure? You seem so… ah… I don’t know, but you don’t seem like you lately.”

   She was trying to discreetly ask about Cade, but I didn’t have any answers for her. I didn’t know what it all meant, how it would all turn out. All I knew was that everything was very complicated and I wasn’t ready to talk about it. “None of us are the same lately.”