Текст книги "Ravenous"

Автор книги: Erika Stevens

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Текущая страница: 13 (всего у книги 14 страниц)

   “Bret…”

   “I don’t want to talk about it Abby.”

   “He loves you Bethany. He’s our friend. What are you doing?” I turned back to the window, unable to stand the wounded, pleading look in her eyes anymore. I felt bad enough without her heaping more guilt onto me. “Cade is…”

   I glanced sharply at her. “Is what?” I grated.

   She shrugged her delicate shoulders. “I don’t know; he’s always been distant, aloof, so cold and hard. He’s a stranger, we barely know him. Bethany…”

   “I can’t explain it Abby, I just can’t. It’s completely unexplainable but Cade isn’t those things, not really.”

   Abby was silent, her gaze drifted slowly toward where Jenna stood with Molly. I knew she was thinking about when Cade had threatened to leave Jenna at the dump. “That iswho he is Bethy. It’s the way he is toward all of us.” Her dark eyes came slowly back to me. They were wide with dawning understanding, her mouth parted slightly as she gazed at me in surprise. “It’s just not who he is with you.”

   I shifted slightly before turning my attention back to the window. She was right, Cade was hard, he was cold, he was deadly, and he was volatile. They were all traits that he had clearly exhibited over the past few days. He just wasn’t like that with me, he never would be. I knew that intrinsically. I didn’t know how to explain that to her though, and I wasn’t sure she would understand even if I could explain it to her, especially when I didn’t. People had been weary of Cade for years; that wasn’t going to change simply because I wanted it to.

   She sighed softly and rested her hand lightly on my arm. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”

   “I don’t,” I admitted honestly.

   She squeezed my arm gently before hooking her arm through mine and leaning against my side. “He is gorgeous,” she muttered.

   I chuckled softly as I hugged her to me, taking solace in her warmth. “It’s time to head back.” Cade was suddenly beside us, he didn’t acknowledge the midnight hair falling into one of his eyes as he focused on me. “Your brother is determined to read that thing cover to cover.”

   “Of course he is,” Abby said as she pulled away from me.

   She only made it one step before an echoing, crashing screech froze her in place. The sound rumbled throughout the night, shaking the building as its crescendo rose to ever higher levels. Abby threw her hands over her ears. She took a step back as it grew steadily louder, and more ear piercing with every second. I didn’t even realize that Jenna was screaming until Molly slammed her hand over Jenna’s mouth to silence her. It made little difference though; I never heard Jenna’s screams above the rising shriek pulsating through the air. It was so loud that the bones in my body, and my teeth, began to rattle.

  Abby was nearly on top of me as she fell back. Cade seized hold of my arms as a series of rambling crashes, and the brutal squeal of twisted metal, resonated through the air. It seemed to go on forever, rising and falling in streams of sound that shook the windows and caused the floor to tremble and shake. I didn’t know what the hell was causing the noise but I was beginning to fear that it was never going to stop, that it was just going to continue endlessly on until it deafened us, or drove us all mad with fear and confusion.

   And then suddenly it stopped. The ensuing, encompassing quiet was more unnerving than the awful sound had been. We all held our breaths, our eyes wide in the dark as we strained to hear or see anything. My ears were ringing; I was shaking slightly within Cade’s grip. I kept waiting for the noise to start again, kept waiting for something to happen, but the world remained eerily quiet.

   “What… what the hell was that?” Molly gasped.

   Aiden took a step from behind the counter; his face far paler than normal. “I think it was the bridge.”

   “What!?”

   “The bridge, I think the bridge just collapsed, or was blown up, or whatever. But I’m pretty sure that was the Bourne bridge.”

   Horror curdled through me. Though I couldn’t see it from here, I knew that he was right. The Bourne bridge was gone. It had been a constant staple in my life. As a child I had feared driving over it, terrified that it would collapse beneath us. After my father’s death I hadn’t stayed in a car long enough to make the trip over the bridge until a couple of years ago. Both bridges were a major topic of conversation for the locals, in the summer, when the tourists flooded in and created massive congestion. Everyone planned their days around them, knew when to avoid them, or when they were going to be completely screwed and have to sit in traffic, sometimes for hours. The bridges had been nearly identical, and beautiful. They were large, sweeping testimonials to the architecture and technology of the thirties and now, at least one of them was a pile of rubble within the canal it had once gracefully spanned.

   “Why would they destroy the bridge?” Jenna whispered.

   “Someone must have tried to get across again,” Abby replied.

   “No,” Aiden’s forehead furrowed in thought as he puzzled it out. “Someone madeit across.”

   A jolt of surprise rocked me. “What?” I inquired.

   Excitement filled Aiden’s eyes. “Think about it, those things were waiting for us to try and cross that bridge, waiting for us so they could spring their trap. They wouldn’t destroy the bridge; it was the perfect opportunity for them to catch more of us. For them, those bridges were like picking off ants at a picnic, easy, simple, and they had the right bait. They wouldn’t destroy that opportunity unless something had gone wrong, unless some onehad made it across. Unless someone survived.”

   Hope swelled up my throat. “You really think so?”

   “I do.”

   I glanced eagerly at Cade, but his eyes were distant and turbulent as he focused on the far wall. “Or wedid it,” Cade said softly.

   “Huh?” Abby asked.

   “There has to be some military still around, there are most definitely other survivors out there. It could have been either group that destroyed the bridge.”

   “But why?”

   “To deter others from attempting to cross it. To ruin the trap, to keep more people from getting killed.”

   There was a long silence before Bret finally spoke. “Either way it’s a good thing that the bridge is gone. Either someone made it safely to the other side and is seeking help, or there are others on the other side looking to hurt the aliens, and they could help us. At least no one else will be hurt again.”

   “We should get out of here. No matter which side did it, it’s going to attract a lot of attention and we aren’t that far from the bridge.” Molly worriedly bit on her bottom lip as she stared wearily at the window.

   She was right, of course, but the last thing I wanted was to go back outside. I felt even more exposed and vulnerable right now, though that made little sense. Everyone seemed to feel the same way, as no one moved. I finally broke out of the paralysis that was clinging to me. Slowly, shaking slightly, I pulled away from Cade and made my way to the front door. I pulled the blinds apart as I peered out at the dark night. I could see nothing, but I had the unsettling feeling that there was a menacing presence just waiting for us out there.

   I backed away from the door. Goose pimples broke out on my skin as a cold chill swept down my spine. “How long will it take you to read that thing?” I managed to croak out.

   “I don’t know, an hour maybe two.”

   “I don’t think we have that long.”

   “Betha…”

   Aiden’s words were cut off as another rattling explosion rent the air. I jumped back, nearly following over my own feet as I staggered away from the door. The glass window exploded inward, littering the store with shards of sharp glass. Cade lurched forward, grabbing hold of my arms he pulled me down, covering me with his body as another loud bang rent the air. I curled into a ball beneath him, throwing my hands over my ears as I tried to protect them from the noise.

   Cade scrambled slightly over me for something I couldn’t see. He returned, pulling my hand away he pressed his mouth to my ear. “We need to go Bethany.”

   “Where!?” I cried over the resounding explosions.

   Cade didn’t answer as he seized hold of my hand and helped pull me to my feet. Another loud bang shattered one of the windows at the far end of the store. The explosions seemed to be getting steadily closer, and we were in a room filled with oxygen tanks. Horror filled me, cold terror seized me.

   Cade released me, stumbling forward as he staggered toward the wall containing the scuba gear. “Give me a hand!” he yelled at Bret.

   Bret and Aiden lurched forward. They helped Cade to tear the equipment from the walls. I seized hold of one of the boxes containing an assortment of floaties and tubes. The contents scattered across the floor as I hurriedly dumped them out. I tossed the box to Aiden, searching for another one as they began to fill it.

   Another explosion shook the earth; I could barely breathe through the terror filling me. My ears were ringing from the continuous onslaught of noise. The ground beneath my feet was vibrating. I jumped slightly as a hand wrapped around my arm, Bret pulled me against his side. “This way Bethany!” he shouted above the noise.

   I searched for Aiden and Cade, but they were struggling to carry the equipment and the box. “We have to help them!” I gasped, struggling against his hold on me.

   “We have to get out of here!” he snapped back.

   “Wait…” I struggled to break free of him, but he would not let me go. “Cade.”

   Cade’s head whipped around, his eyes narrowed upon us as his lips clamped tight. “Get her out of here!” he snarled with such ferocity that even I was stunned. “Now! Get her out now!”

   Bret tugged on my arm, and this time I relented to him. Abby was already by the back door, holding it open for us. Bret pulled me rapidly forward; I nearly tripped over my own feet as I struggled to keep up with him. I was stiff, braced for further explosions, but no more rent the air. I staggered out the door, inhaling giant gulps of air that was nowhere near as fresh as I had hoped it would be. It smelled rancid, it tasted foul. There was a bitterness to it that caused me to recoil. My lungs burned from the tainted air, my nose hairs were singed as the horrendous smell and intense heat burned into my nostrils.

   For a brief, entirely disorienting moment, I thought that it was snowing. But it couldn’t be snowing, not in August anyway, could it? Then again, far stranger things had happened over the past few days, snow in August didn’t seem entirely impossible at the moment. I reached my hand up, blinking against the fine particles coating my eyelashes, falling across my face, and turning the night sky completely black as they blocked out the stars and moon. The fine particles were pungent against my lips, bitter on my tongue. It took me a long moment to realize that it was not in fact snow, but fine, flowing ash.

   I turned to the right, the building blocked some of my view but the sky behind the building was a vivid red orange hue. Whereas the night around us was as dark as midnight, it was as bright as the sun over there. And it looked angry, malevolent, and deadly. We all stood, staring in silent awe at the glowing, malicious sky. We had been so eager to flee the building, but now I found that my feet would not move. I didn’t want to see what the building hid, what was sheltered from our view.

   “Awful,” Abby breathed.

   “What isthat?” Molly croaked out.

   “Flames from the bridge must have spread,” Bret said softly.

   “The gas station,” I whispered.

   “And the other buildings close to it. Those were the explosions. The fire is going to keep spreading. It will reach other propane tanks, gas tanks, oil tanks. We need to go before it reaches us.” I dropped my hands, dismayed by the coating of soot that clung to them. “We have no choice but to swim now.”

   He tugged me back a few steps. For a moment I was frozen, and then self preservation kicked in. Bret’s hand slipped away as we hurried down the hill, struggling to stay on our feet in the rough, dark terrain. I had to keep wiping the ashes from my eyes; they stuck heavily to my lashes making it even more difficult to see. The hill became slick with the material coating it, I slipped and slid, waiting for the inevitable moment when I lost my balance.

   Surprisingly, I was not the first one to go down. Instead, Molly let out a small cry as she lost her footing. Her arms pin wheeled in a useless attempt to keep her balance as her feet flew out from beneath her. I winced for her as she landed hard on her butt, bounced a few times before doing a complete ass over teakettle somersault.

   Bret and Abby made an attempt to grab hold of her, but she quickly catapulted out of their reach. Molly let out a soft cry of pain, but remained terrifyingly quiet as she plummeted out of view. “Molly!” Abby cried.

  “Hush!” Bret hissed sharply.

   “But…”

   “Shut up Abby, Molly did.”

   Abby grew quiet but I could almost hear her tears. My heart hammered in true panic. Was Molly ok? Had she been hurt in the fall? I had no way of knowing what the hell was at the bottom of the damn hill; I could barely see a foot in front of me due to the inescapable blackness. Were there rocks down there? Was the damn ocean down there?

   I chanced a glance over my shoulder; I could barely make out Cade and Aiden struggling down the hill behind us. Their breathing was loud in the oppressive air, but then, so was mine. My lungs labored, my throat burned. It could not be good to be inhaling this crap, but there was little I could do about that now. Little that any of us could do.

   A loud pop sizzled through the air. A bright burst of light and fire leapt high into the air over the burning glow behind the store. A propane tank perhaps? I tried to recall the buildings in the area of the bridge. There was the IHOP, a hotel; no there were twohotels, a laundry mat, convenience store, gas station, funeral home, tourist traps, woods, and plenty of homes. There were so many things to spread the growing flames, things that would rapidly catch fire without anyone to stop the flow of the fire.

   And the aliens would not stop it. Not when they knew it would flush out the remaining people like rats fleeing a flood. And that’s exactly what we were now, trapped rats that they would narrow in on quickly. Especially if we continued to head toward the water.

   My heart flip flopped; I tore my attention away from the hated flames. Was that the real reason the aliens had destroyed the bridge? Had they wanted to ruin any chance of escape, and set fire to the land in order to draw us out?

   I wanted to cry, I didn’t dare. We still had some hope, some time, no matter how small it was. We just had to get away from here before the flames reached us.

   I was so intent on my thoughts that I didn’t realize the ground had begun to level out. Molly came into view, standing at the bottom of the hill. She was dirty, disheveled, and her bottom lip was bleeding but she appeared otherwise unharmed. We raced across the street, fleeing into the backyards of residential homes, staying parallel with the railroad tracks that ran near the beach. The tracks followed the water and the roads, yet the trees surrounding them offered us enough protection to stay hidden from anything above.

   Our breathing grew labored, my lungs were burning from the arid air, but no one asked to stop. No one said they couldn’t go on. It simply wasn’t an option right now. I don’t know how long we ran for, pounding over unseen ground, trying to escape the dark ash and deadly flames. I didn’t dare look back, I didn’t want to know how close the fire was, didn’t want to know how much time we had left.

   “This way,” Aiden gasped.

   We followed silently as he took a sharp right; he darted through someone’s yard before stopping at the edge of the woods. I stared out at the dark parking lot before us. Dread filled me at the thought of running out there. We would be exposed, vulnerable.

   Aiden and Cade dropped the equipment they had been carrying. They shuffled between each other, muttering softly, and then a small flashlight clicked on. “Aiden!” I hissed.

   His mahogany eyes were dark, piercing as he gazed at me over the beam. I was pinned by that stare, frozen within its desperate depths. “Do you want to use this crap or not!?” he demanded.

   I bit my bottom lip as I finally turned back to the hungry fire. Above the tree line I could make out the angry glow of the flames. We had gained some time, but there was too much kindling and fuel in between the fire, and us, to think that it had been much. We had an hour, maybe two, before those flames came far too close for my liking.

   “Why are there only four tanks?”

   My head snapped around at Jenna’s question. I strained to see into the box that Cade had been carrying, hoping that I had missed something, hoping that fear had caused me to lose my ability to count right. One, two, three, four… No, no, there had to be more. One, two, three, four…

   But no matter how I turned that box, no matter how I twisted it in my head, I still only saw four tanks within it. “They were the only ones,” Cade said softly.

   “I saw at least ten tanks in that store!” Jenna retorted fiercely, terror causing her bitchier side to reemerge in front of Bret. But then again, I was feeling pretty damn terrified and bitchy right now too.

   Cade’s dark eyes were piercing; Jenna recoiled slightly from him as he leveled her with his hard gaze. “They were the only ones with oxygen in them,” Cade elaborated.

   My heart plummeted; my legs suddenly became so weak I could hardly stand. I slumped to the ground, despair filling me, tears burning my already burning eyes. The ash was not as thick here, but it would be soon. I stared out at the parking lot toward the glimmering, beckoning ocean beyond. There were still some boats floating out there, bobbing silently on the small waves that lapped against them. They taunted me with their presence; they would be so useful right now. One of them could save us. But to climb on one, start it up, and use it would be certain death. We were trapped, stuck, and staring at the things that could rescue us.

   “What are we going to do?” Abby breathed.

   “Share them,” Molly answered simply as if it was the most obvious answer in the world.

   I swallowed heavily at the suggestion. It was such a long swim to be sharing tanks, especially when most of us didn’t have a clue as to what we were doing. I turned to Cade, trying not to give way to my panic. His eyes burned into mine. Though he wasn’t within reach, I could feel the soothing caress of his presence on my raw soul. Simply looking at him gave me strength.

   “Is that possible?” Jenna squeaked.

   “It’s going to have to be,” Molly muttered her attention riveted upon the contents of the box as she pawed through it.

   I watched with growing unease as she began to pull things out and lay them neatly upon the ground.

CHAPTER 17

 

 

   I felt like swamp thing/idiot as I walked/wobbled toward the edge of the water. I also felt completely exposed. It was only a brief moment that we would be in the open, only a brief moment in which there was a chance we would be spotted, but that moment was far too big for my liking.

   We had avoided the parking lot area, moving further down the shoreline to a more secluded spot. It was a long distance to the mainland from here, but we had all opted for a longer swim rather than longer exposure time. Molly, as the only one with experience, was the only one with her own tank. It would be better if she possessed it and was able to help out if something went wrong, or someone panicked. Molly and Aiden were also the only ones with compasses.

   I glanced at Cade, my eyes lingering upon the rope tying us together, tying allof us together, except for Molly. She would need to be free if something went wrong and her help was needed. I didn’t like this, not one bit. Though the ocean was vast and wide open, I could already feel a growing sense of panic at being trapped beneath its rolling waves.

   Aiden and Abby had been paired together in the front; Bret and Jenna were behind them, and finally Cade and I. Cade had the tank strapped to his back, though I had a feeling that he would try and force me to take the mouthpiece far more often than I would need it. I only hoped he didn’t hurt himself in the process.

   Knives had been handed out in case someone got into trouble and had to be cut away. In case they had to be sacrificed. I didn’t have a knife, but then I wouldn’t have been able to cut the rope and sacrifice anyone, no matter what happened. I shuddered at the thought, shifting the bag of guns on my back as fear trickled through me. The weight of the guns was reassuring. They had been divided into three water proof bags and given to the three of us without tanks.

   I wasn’t too confident in this plan, but it was all we had. It had taken a half an hour for Molly to explain everything to us as quickly, and as well, as she could. It had been another half an hour before we found this secluded backyard. The fire was encroaching; small pops and bursts continued to fill the air. The falling ash was becoming thicker again. Dawn was only hours away. We didn’t have any time to try and formulate another plan.

   I didn’t think there wasone anyway.

   “Let’s go.”

   Molly slipped easily into the water, my entrance was nowhere near as graceful as hers as I flopped, floundered, and fell into the ocean. I was thankful for the wetsuit as the chill of the water hit my cheeks and hands. I inhaled sharply before ducking beneath the waves. Though I was nowhere near lacking in oxygen, my lungs began to burn as panic tried to claim me. Cade was suddenly beside me, I could not see him in the murky water, but his hand grasped hold of my arm before stroking slowly upward.

   His presence caused the burning in my lungs to ease slightly. My fear ebbed. I clung to the rope, kicking easily through the water. It had not been long, I knew that, but I felt as if we were making good progress, even if I couldn’t see where the hell we were going. Apparently Molly decided that we were far enough down as she clicked on the light. I could barely see the dim glow, it briefly highlighted Aiden in front of me, and then it was gone as Molly turned it back off. There was a slight shifting in front of me, a small turning toward the right.

   Cade was beside me again, I didn’t know what he intended until I felt the press of the mouth piece against my lips. I tasted salt and water as I inhaled deeply, grateful for the fresh surge of oxygen that filled my lungs. His hand pressed lightly over my mouth, looking to soothe me as we continued to slip silently through the sea.

   This was going far better than I had anticipated; a fact that only caused my uneasiness to spike. Everything had been so hard until now; I had expected the same thing here. It made me anxious and tense, I was certain that something was going to happen. Cade tried to force me to keep the mouth piece, but I managed to give it back to him. For a brief moment my fingers entwined in his, and then he was taking the air from me.

   We made our way through the water, the light would flare briefly every once in awhile before going back out. Subtle adjustments would be made in our direction as Molly read the compass. Three sharp tugs on the line alerted me that we were finally approaching land. Hope and fear shot through me. We were almost out of here, but there was no way to know what awaited us on the other side.

   Then suddenly I felt it, a rising up of the ocean floor beneath us. We began a steady ascent, swimming upward, heading for land again. What the hell were we going to do if they were awaiting us? Nothing, there would be nothing we could do. We couldn’t get to the guns, we wouldn’t have enough time to flee back into the sea, and even if we did, we wouldn’t have enough oxygen to remain hidden for much longer.

   We had done all that we could, now all we could do was hope that luck stayed on our side. There was a slight shifting to the left; I followed easily along until I felt my head break water. I rose slowly, pulling the mask slightly up as I surveyed the rocky shore. Cade was beside me, his dark hair matted against his forehead, his dark eyes intense. He moved closer to me, his body pressing against mine as I shivered. The air was cold against my wet hair and skin.

   “This way,” Molly whispered.

   We half swam/walked closer to the shore. Molly pulled her flippers off, tossing them onto the shoreline. The darkness was so complete that I couldn’t see if there was anything waiting for us. I bent low, pulling the flippers off I wiggled my toes in the sand, taking a brief moment to enjoy the simple pleasure.

   I could barely breathe as we scrambled onto the shore. We were exposed, vulnerable, out in the open. It was a good fifty feet before we would reach the shelter of the trees. The shore was rocky, rough, and painful beneath my bare feet but there was no way I was stopping to dig our shoes out of the bag on my back.

   Cade’s hand wrapped around my upper arm, he propelled me forward. We staggered, slipped, slid, and ran through the sifting sand. I could hardly breathe through the terror constricting my chest. I felt as if we were moving through quicksand.

   We were almost to the tree line when light blazed over us. Everything seemed to slow; we were mired on the beach, trapped like rats beneath the glow. Everything around me was completely acute, bright, and vibrant. The air seemed to shimmer. I felt as if I could reach out and touch every particle. In those, the final moments of my life, I felt completely and entirely connected to the world, and the people around me. I could hear and see everything, I could feel the energy of the air, feel the life force that would forever connect me to the ones I loved. Though they were silent, I could almost hear the hum of the engines as one of the ships moved over us.

   And then Cade was grabbing hold of me, wrapping his arms around me, and pulling me down beneath him. The earth rushed up to meet me, sand filled my nose and mouth. His hand was reaching in front of me, bronzed in the bright light. I didn’t know what he was doing until I saw the knife. Then, the rope connecting me to Aiden was sliced.

   Relief filled me, hope and love bloomed in my chest as I realized he had just freed my brother and sister. They would be able to make it, we never would. We were too far behind, too far away from the sanctuary of the trees.

   “Cade…”

   “I love you Bethany.”

   A sob ripped from me, my fingers dug into the sand. His lips were warm against my cheek, gentle as he caressed me. I turned into him, savoring our last moments together, taking comfort in the solid strength he radiated. I wanted to tell him that I loved him too, that I always had, and always would. The words stuck in my throat though, I couldn’t get them out past the terror encasing me.

   “Bethany!” Abby’s screams echoed from the woods. Tears burned my eyes as I watched her struggling against Aiden’s tight hold. “Bethany!” I knew that Aiden would keep her safe. Ever practical, ever stoic Aiden would save Abby because he knew there was no hope for me.

   Then another light blazed forth. A moan of agony and despair tore from me as it lit the woods. My siblings weren’t going to be able to escape either. They were as trapped as we were. The aliens had been waiting for us all along.

   I was so caught up in my despair that I didn’t immediately recognize the noise that blazed out of the forest, erupted across the beach, and echoed through the night. Then, the sound pierced my foggy, distorted mind. I inhaled sharply, getting a mouthful of sand for my effort, but I didn’t care as gunshots continued to ring out across the beach. Far more gunshots than anything our supply of weapons could have achieved.

   I lifted my head, wincing against the barrage of lights that burst from the woods. It was not another ship, but something else entirely. Cade was frozen above me, his muscles taut and hard. And then he was seizing hold of my arm and pulling me to my feet. “Stay low!”

   I bent over as I ran forward, struggling through the sand sifting beneath my feet. I could barely see or hear anything over the noise and lights. Cade was beside me, he had ditched the tank from his back. He was reaching out for me when he tripped and fell. For a moment I didn’t understand what had happened, Cade was always so graceful and sure. Then I felt the sharp tug of the rope still binding us.

   I cried out as I was pulled roughly back and knocked off my feet. My fingers clawed uselessly at the beach, but there was nothing for me to grab hold of, nothing to stop my violent propulsion backward. I flipped onto my back, horrified to see Cade halfway off the ground. One of those thingswas wrapped around his waist, tugging him into the air, and toward certain death.

   A scream of terror tore from my throat. I lunged at him, trying to grasp hold of his hands as we were pulled backward. My heart hammered, it was not my life and safety that I was concerned with anymore, but his. Another tentacle snaked toward me, but Cade was somehow able to turn and knock it away. I was tugged sharply forward, lifted off the ground and awkwardly thrust back onto my feet. I stumbled, reaching for Cade again, but he was getting further away from me.

   “Cade!” I screamed. Jerked roughly forward, I was spun sharply around before being slammed face down onto the beach as the rope joining us was pulled taut. The breath was knocked out of me, I could barely see as stars burst before my eyes. I struggled to clear my vision, spitting sand out as I tried hard to breathe again.

   I was pulled toward the shore, drug by the rope binding us. Somehow I managed to flip onto my back once more. Grabbing hold of the rope I tried to dig my feet in, tried to get some kind of leverage as I fought to keep Cade from being torn away from me. My hands caught fire, rope burns tore across my palms, laying them raw, but I refused to let it go.