Текст книги "Ravenous"
Автор книги: Erika Stevens
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Текущая страница: 5 (всего у книги 14 страниц)
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 notgoing 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 wasa 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, humanblood, 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 notcome 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 werefrozen 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.
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…
Well, this was hell on earth.
“Bethany!” Bret hissed. I ignored him as I slipped a few feet deeper into the woods. That thing was out there, somewhere. I strained to see it through the darkness. “Bethany get back here!”
I bristled over his commanding tone, but I didn’t obey him, I didn’t know why he thought I would. There was some commotion, and then someone was grabbing hold of my arm, trying to pull me back through the woods. “Bethany,” Bret hissed in my ear. “Come on, we have to get out of here.”
“I know that.” I tried to tug my arm free, but he refused to relinquish me. “Bret!” I snarled, impatience tearing through me. He didn’t release me as he pulled me forward, tugging me behind the others. There was no way that we were going to be able to outrun that thing, it was impossible and if we didn’t stop it, it would only follow us to the store. “We have to stop it, it won’t go away!” I panted. “We can’t outrun it Bret, it will only catch us.” It was true, we were already wearing down. Other than Bret, none of us were exactly athletes, though Cade was a lot stealthier than I had ever thought possible.
“Finally!” I shouted when he continued to pull me along, ignoring my protests. “We have to finallystand up for ourselves! Bret, stop!”
My voice was nearly hysterical, my heart was hammering painfully, I could barely breathe, but I was right. If we didn’t take a stand we were going to die. There was no way for us to outrun it, no way for us to escape its steady, ruthless, approach. And no way that we would lose it before we made it to the antique store. “This is it Bret,” I whispered. “This is it.”
His eyes were dark in the night, but I knew their clear green color well. I also knew that stubborn set of his chin well, and the muscle that was twitching in his cheek. He was torn, annoyed, but beneath it all I could sense his fear for me, for himself, for all of us. “Bret.”
He turned away from me. “Do you have any more guns?” he asked Cade.
Cade’s eyes were dark, hooded as they slid toward me. They had stopped running with us. The plywood sat on the ground between him and Aiden. I could not see Abby and Jenna but I sensed them in the darkness, waiting breathlessly for us to join them. “Cade?” I inquired softly.
He pulled his bulky duffle bag forward, tugged open the zipper and tossed something to Bret. It was only when the dim light of the moon flashed across it that I realized it was another gun. I wanted to ask him where he had acquired the weapons, but now was not the time. He pulled the shotgun from his shoulder while Aiden motioned Abby and Jenna forward.
I dug the key from my pocket; my hand shook as I handed it back to Cade. “Take mom.” Aiden had a hold of Abby’s shoulders as Cade handed the key to Jenna and explained how to get into the room. Jenna was pale and shaking, Abby looked about ready to cry as she tremulously hugged Aiden, and then me.
“Come with us Bethany,” she whispered.
“I can’t. Go on now Abby, get to safety.”
“I think you should go Bethy,” Aiden said softly.
I shook my head, refusing to relent, refusing to cower and hide. I had been hiding for a long time, slinking silently through my life, trying to remain hidden in the world. I would not be silent tonight, and I would do anything I could to keep my little sister safe. I hadto. If we couldn’t all escape, I was at least going to help buy Abby enough time to get to relative safety.
I hugged Abby tight, turned her away, and pushed her toward the plywood still holding our mother. I couldn’t watch her walk away. It was too painful. The two of them would struggle with our mother, but they would get her there, that much I knew. Abby was one of the most stubborn people I had ever met, she wouldn’t fail.
“Bethany…”
“I’m fine Bret.”
“I love you.”
I felt my mouth drop, my heart plummeted in much the same manner. I knew how he felt about me, knew he dreamed of things that I never had, mainly because I rarely dreamed of anything. Life was too precarious for dreams that may never come true. But he had never said those words to me before, let alone announced them in front of my brother, and Cade.
I gaped at him, my eyes wide, and my heart thumping painfully in my chest. His gaze was tender, sincere, and so unbelievably loving that it made me want to run screaming into the woods after my sister. This was one of the worst situations I had ever found myself in. I could feel Cade’s hard gaze upon me, feel the smoldering heat of it. I didn’t know what to say, what to do, and thankfully I didn’t have time to worry about it. The snakelike tentacles burst free of the woods, proving that at least the creature had excellent timing along with its fierce urge to murder.
It felt good to squeeze the trigger on the gun, to finally take a stand. The gun recoiled fiercely, I had prepared myself for this, but it still knocked me back a foot. The guns cracked loudly, bullets exploded into the dark. I steadied myself, holding the gun tighter and bracing my legs further apart in order to take the kickback better. I had no clue what I was doing; I was only trying to mimic what I had seen on TV and movies.
The second shot did not hit the creature, but it didn’t almost knock me over either. I adjusted myself, aiming a little more to the left and slightly higher. I fired again, a bolt of satisfaction jolted through me; I was fairly certain I’d hit the monster, but it was hard to tell as Cade, Aiden, and Bret continued to fire upon the thing. They seemed to be doing better with their shots, but that thingwas still coming rapidly toward us, skittering forward with a rush of momentum that I was beginning to think would never stop.
I wanted to back away, wanted to turn and flee screaming into the woods. However, I was many things, but a coward was not one of them. I never had been. I would not abandon them right now, no matter how much my survival instincts were telling me to do so. If they decided to retreat…
Well I’d be running like the hounds of hell were after me right along with them. And looking at this thing, I was pretty sure that they just might be.
It was getting closer, only fifteen feet away now. It barreled through the woods at us, snapping smaller trees in half, darting with an eerie, almost mesmerizing grace around the larger ones. I was almost as entranced, and impressed by this thing, as I was repulsed by it.
I was taking time with my shots, I didn’t know how many bullets the gun possessed and I sure as hell didn’t know how to reload it. I had to make sure that when that thing was on top of us, and it would be, that I at least had some bullets left in my gun.
It was a good thing that Cade appeared to be an excellent shot. He seemed to be the only one that hadn’t missed yet, the only one doing consistent damage to it. Damage that was hardly making a dent.
Ten feet, I fired another shot. Eight feet, I could feel my heart jump all the way into my throat. Six feet, I was half afraid that I was going to piss myself. Four feet, I fired off another shot as a tentacle lashed out.
I never saw the thing until it slammed against the side of my face. My head snapped around, my teeth clamped down on my tongue so hard that blood spurted into my mouth. I cried out, stumbling back beneath the force of the blow. My vision swam, stars burst over my eyes as blackness threatened to consume me.
Someone shouted my name, I didn’t know who. I couldn’t make out the voice over the loud ringing in my ears. Arms encircled me, pulling me back as something wrapped around my leg. A strangled scream escaped as I struggled against the darkness trying to pull me under. “Kill it! Kill it!”
Bret’s frightened cries were muffled in my ears, but I knew now that it was him holding me. That it was him trying to keep me from the clutches of that hideous thing. Bret’s arms were tight around me, gripping hold of me as the creature tried to pull me away. I knew he would never let me go. Aiden was suddenly upon us, a knife in his hand. I held my breath and closed my eyes as I braced myself. I knew what these things did when they were stabbed, and it was not pretty.
A loud, ear splitting shriek rent the air. My hands slammed over my ears, an answering scream of pain almost ripped from me but I managed to suppress it in time. Bret ducked over me; I could feel his breath against my neck, the shaking that rocked his hard body. My fingers dug into his arm as another shot rang through the air. The awful screeching grew momentarily louder, blood sprayed over us as the broken tentacle whipped through the air. Blood spurted from the bullet holes as Cade fired two more shots.
The screaming ended abruptly.
Bret’s breath was loud in my ears now; I could make out the frantic beat of his heart. The thing wrapped around my leg went slack, but it did not release me. I wanted to cry, wanted to curl into a ball and sob, I never wanted to move again. I wanted to close my eyes real tight, click my heels together, and go back to a year ago when things had not been easy but they had been far better than this never ending nightmare.
“Bethany?”
“I’m fine.”
“Then why are you shaking?” I almost asked Bret why hewas shaking, but I realized that he actually wasn’tshaking; it was the force of my tremors rocking him. It was unnerving to know this, but I couldn’t stop myself. “It’s ok, we’re safe right now.”
I bit on my lip as I managed a brief nod. It was Cade that un-wrapped the remains of the tentacle from my leg. Bret helped me to my feet, for a moment I was terrified that my wobbling legs would not hold me, but they did. Bret rubbed my arms gently as he held me before him. “The thing?” I managed to croak out.
“Dead.” Cade was beside us, my revolver in his hand. He slid a bullet into it, spun the cylinder, and slammed it shut. He studied me for a long moment, his eyebrows drawn together as he handed the gun toward me again. “Are you going to be ok with this?”
“Maybe she shouldn’t have it,” Bret protested instantly.
“Bethany?” Cade inquired.
I swallowed heavily and forced myself to nod. “Of course I will.”
“Beth…”
“I need something to help protect us Bret.”
“We’re fine for now.”
“For now,” I reiterated.
His soft green eyes were dark, hesitant. I could see the worry and fear in them. I could also see the love. He touched my cheek lightly as he took a step toward us. Cade thrust the revolver in between us, I took a startled step back as it was pushed in between Bret and I. Bret shook his head but didn’t protest further as I took the gun from Cade again.
CHAPTER 8
I staggered through the door of the antique shop. My legs were shaking, my stomach heaved as I slumped to the floor. I could barely catch my breath; my lungs were on fire as I struggled to keep control of my shaking body. I jumped when hands seized hold of me, trying to lift me back up. “It’s ok Bethy.”
It wasn’t ok, both Aiden and I knew that, but I wasn’t about to protest. He hauled me to my feet, pulling me beside him as he led me through the store. It was a good thing that Aiden was more graceful than I was, I would have knocked everything in the store over if he hadn’t been leading me. My stomach rolled again, bile burned the back of my throat but I refused to vomit, I would not lose the meager contents of my stomach here.
“Stairs Bethy, where are the stairs?” he hissed in my ear.
I managed to raise a tremulous arm and point in the direction of where the stairs were. He took a sharp right as he headed for the door, holding me up as he pulled the door open. The stairs were dark, neither Aiden nor I wanted to turn the light on. We felt our way through the dark, struggling not to fall down the steep steps. We were halfway down when I vomited.
I simply couldn’t hold it in anymore. The awful screams, sights, and sounds haunted my every moment.
Aiden paused, leaning against the wall as he held me against his chest, gently rubbing my hair. I was shaking, on the verge of vomiting again when Bret stepped into the stairwell followed swiftly by Cade. I pulled away from Aiden as I leapt forward, scrambling to try and get back out as Cade started to close the door. “No, wait!” I gasped, stumbling up a few steps. “Wait!”
“Bethy.”
“Let go of me!” I nearly screeched when Aiden wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me back toward him. Panic was clawing at me, tearing through me in unending waves of horror. “I can’t be here! Aiden, let goof me!”
He didn’t let me go; instead he pulled me further down the stairs, dragging me into the darkness. Bret and Cade followed slowly behind as I struggled within Aiden’s grasp and then went limp. Cade found the cord and pulled the switch on the light. I ducked my head, unable to look; my eyes were still wounded from the bright light of earlier. I blinked rapidly as I tried to focus my gaze.
I was covered in blood, some of it was mine. Most of it wasn’t. And not all of it was from that creature. I wanted to deny that fact, but I couldn’t. I knew deep in my heart that most of the blood was from my neighbors, my friends. That thing had exploded like a fat tick, ripe with all the blood of the people we knew.
“Bethy you’re safe, be glad.” I couldn’t be glad; there was no way that I could ever be glad again. I barely knew how to breathe anymore, let alone be happy I was still breathing.
Aiden was practically carrying me now. “Where is the room?” Bret asked softly.
Cade was suddenly before us, his eyes dark and distant. There was a hardness to him that I had not noticed before, a coldness that left me almost as shaken as the bloodbath we had just witnessed. I thought I might throw up again.
I was stumbling, staggering, my head was spinning. I heard Abby’s gasp of fear, relief filled me as darkness descended over me.
***
I didn’t know what time it was when I woke up. I did know that everyone else in the room was sound asleep, and I needed to get the hell out of here. I was silent as I stood; I tried hard to control the frantic beat of my heart, and the rising panic trying to claim me. I breathed a sigh of relief when I found the switch for the door and pushed on it.
The door swung slowly open. I stumbled into the darkness, managing to catch myself before I crashed into something. I turned back, staring at the people within the room, my friends, my family. Abby was curled against Aiden; she looked even younger and far more vulnerable in her sleep. Jenna was in a ball; her head rested on one of the old blankets that had been draped over a crate within the room. Cade was further in the back, sitting with his back against the wall, his chin on his chest. It was obvious he had fallen asleep while trying to keep watch. Bret was close to where I had been sleeping, I think he had been even closer to me, but had rolled away in his sleep.
I took one last look at them before I slid the door silently closed. I crept slowly up the stairs, being far quieter than I had ever thought I could be. But then again, there was a lot that I had done this day that I hadn’t thought I ever would, or could, do. I had never dreamed I would fire a gun, let alone help to kill something with it.
