He disappeared around a corner before swiftly reappearing. I stopped before him, laboring for breath as I bent over to rest my hands on my knees. “We have to keep moving.”
I knew he was right but all I wanted was to sit down and rest my weary, shaking legs. I took a deep breath and forced myself to move. Abby looked about ready to collapse, her dark hair was matted to her face with sweat and grime; her dark eyes were red rimmed, wild with fear and exhaustion. I thought Jenna was going to complain; instead she remained silent as she wiped the tangled hair away from her face.
Cade pulled a gun from the waistband of his pants; his dark eyes were intense as he handed it to me. My hand shook as I took it from him; it was the same gun I had used before. “Do not fire it unless it becomes absolutely necessary.” I frowned as my attention turned from the deadly weapon, to him. “It will only bring more of them.”
“More?” I breathed as Abby stepped closer to me. His attention turned toward the woods. A shiver crept up my spine, the hair on my neck rose as I turned slowly to survey the quiet forest. They were out there. My skin crawled with the realization; I took an involuntary step back. Cade seized hold of my hand, wrapping it around the gun as he squeezed me tight for a long moment as he tried to infuse me with his unwavering strength.
“This way,” he whispered.
We followed him as he moved swiftly and with relative ease through the course. A sign, painted in different colors, readJUNGLE COURSEand had an arrow pointing down a path. We followed Cade out of the cleared area and back into the forest. These woods had been transformed into a forest that was not from the northeast. Moss had been draped from the trees, I brushed it aside as it fell over the pathway enshrouding it with an air of mystery. Vines hung from limbs and crawled over the trees lining the small path. Some of them were as thick as my calf, others were small and thin. They climbed up the trees, entangling with the leaves and threatening to choke the tree. Ivy grew over the pathway, crawling over the dirt before slipping into the woods and into the trees. Fake birds and monkeys were propped up in the trees; I spotted a couple of jaguars, a few boas, and other snakes hidden within the landscape. I had never been here before, but I was momentarily fascinated by the atmosphere they had created. I probably would have been shot instantly as I would have been far more preoccupied with trying to find the things hidden along the pathway and in the woods.
Cade suddenly stepped off the trail and plunged into the woods. He pushed aside vines and moss as he moved. We followed behind, trying to stay as quiet as possible as we moved as swiftly through the dense woods as we could. Cade stopped near a large locust tree; he glanced briefly around his eyes narrowed as he surveyed the woods. I didn’t know what he was doing, but he seemed certain of something as he turned to the right and started walking again.
A twig snapped behind me. I jumped, instinctively raising my gun as I spun toward the source of the sound. I saw nothing amongst the vegetation and trees, but something was there, I knew it. I could feel it in the marrow of my bones as every primitive instinct I had came screaming awake. Cade was at my side, his hand gentle on my arm as he pushed it lightly down. He placed a finger against his lips, shaking his head at me as he gestured for me to remain quiet.
He pulled me back, searching the forest as we moved. He pulled me up, halting me at the base of three intersecting pines that had nearly grown together in the dense woods. He bent; grabbed hold of something and lifted it up. I watched in amazement as he lifted the forest floor into the air. It took a moment to realize that he was actually holding a large piece of plywood that had been creatively, and convincingly, covered with dirt, leaves, pine needles, and sticks. “In,” he whispered gesturing to Abby.
She stared at him in disbelief for a moment before bending low and climbing into the small hole the plywood had covered. Jenna followed but I hesitated, unwilling to climb under the wood. Cade lowered the wood gently over them. He turned to me, his jaw clenched tight as he pointed at the tree behind me. I glanced at the large maple, understanding what it was that he wanted me to do.
‘You?’ I mouthed.
He shook his head as he pulled a long, wicked looking knife from the holster at his side. I remained unmoving, uncertain. I shook my head as he pointed at the tree again. I couldn’t leave him down here, unprotected, vulnerable to the things hunting us in the shadows of the forest. He was beside me suddenly, his hand on me waist as he pushed me toward the tree. “Climb.”
“You can’t stay down here.”
He grasped hold of my hips and lifted me up. I didn’t have time to protest, time to fight him. “Climb Bethany. Now.”
I swallowed heavily as I grabbed hold of the tree and began to pull myself swiftly up. I looked back to find Cade watching me from the ground, his head tilted back to watch me for a long moment before turning away. I almost jumped back out of the tree, almost threw myself from the leafy bowers, but I grasped hold of the limb and pulled myself up. I would have a better shot from up here anyway if I had to take it.
Halfway up the tree I shimmied out to the end of a thick branch and flattened myself against it in order to blend in with the thick foliage surrounding me better. I searched rapidly for Cade but he seemed to have vanished within the thick “jungle” surrounding us. My heart hammered, a crushing sense of panic began to descend over me, where had he gone? How had he disappeared so swiftly and silently into the wilderness surrounding us?
I was about to move forward when that thing crept into the clearing. I froze, my fingers curled into the limb, bark bit under my fingernails. Horror and fear tore through me in equal waves that left me shaken and on the edge of falling out of the damn tree. It was hideous. It was terrifying. It was a combination of every nightmare I’d ever had and yet I’d never in my life imagined something so appalling could exist.
It was not overbearing and cumbersome like its bigger brothers. No this was the size of a small Great Dane. It was oval in shape, its legs arachnid in appearance as it stepped slowly forward before taking a small step back. It’s chelicerae like mouth clicked as it took another step forward. Unlike its older brothers, this thing had no blood in it, it did not look like a bloated tick and it was opaque in color. But it was not opaque enough that I couldn’t see the throbbing pulse of what I assumed was the twisted creature’s heart. Strange, twisted things were wrapped in circles close to the monstrosity’s hideous mouth. They contained a black, viscous material that seemed to sift and flow within the vein-like circles but didn’t move out through its body.
It made me sick to look at it; I couldn’t tear my eyes away.
It crept slowly forward, its leg clicked, it seemed to be looking everywhere at once but I didn’t know where its eyes were. Perhaps it didn’t have any, perhaps it could smell us, or even hear the rapid beat of my heart. It somehow seemed to know that we were close though as it appeared cautious as it crept closer to where Jenna and Abby were hiding. My hand tightened on the gun, I aimed it at the thing. I knew Cade was right, firing the gun would only bring more of them here, but I would destroy that thing before it ever got hold of my sister.
That was when I saw Cade. He was kneeling at the edge of the woods, the knife clasped within his right hand as he pressed it against the ground. Shadows played over him, making him nearly imperceptible in the darkness of the woods. His eyes were narrowed, but an unnerving air of calmness surrounded him. I was mesmerized by him; I couldn’t look away as he rose slightly and somehow disappeared from sight.
I blinked, searching for him, but he was no longer visible in the shadows. My attention was drawn back to the thing still creeping toward where Jenna and Abby were hidden. And then Cade was back, moving with startling speed as he raced from the woods. A scream of fear rose in my throat, I strangled on it as the creature spun toward him. It took a startled step back before raising slightly on its hind legs as it appeared completely taken aback by Cade’s attack.
A strange squeal escaped the creature as Cade slammed into it. Terror floo
ded me, I couldn’t stay here; I couldn’t remain useless. I scurried swiftly back, moving as quickly as I could down the tree as I was filled with the need to get to Cade, to help him. He couldn’t take on that thing by himself, he simply couldn’t. I leapt out of the tree when I was still ten feet from the ground, my ankles protested the action but II didn’t care as I raced through the forest to him. I didn’t know what I was going to do, what I could possibly use against this thing but I didn’t care. I simply could not allow him to face this thing alone.
I had lost sight of Cade when I plunged out of the tree, but as I plunged through some thick underbrush, he came into sight again. I was nearly brought up short, nearly undone by the sight that greeted me. I was struck by the fact that the battle had become oddly silent after the squeal. It had also become far more violent and bloody. I stumbled forward, nearly fell as Cade lifted the knife over his head and plunged it into the already staggering creature.
It wasn’t the awful, bluish black blood that covered him and the creature, or even the tentacle that had emerged from the underbelly of the beast and now flopped on the ground, that caused me to halt. It was the utter calm façade that Cade still possessed. He did not seem winded, did not even seemed phased as the creature crumpled beneath him. He ripped the knife free and wiped the bloody blade on a handful of leaves he snagged from the ground.
I remained unmoving, my breath caught in my chest as he finally lifted his gaze to me. He remained unmoving for a long moment, as still as stone as he watched me. I didn’t know what to do, what to say. I didn’t know what I had just witnessed, was uncertain as to who exactly this person standing across from me was. I’d known him nearly my whole life, even when we hadn’t spoken, he had always been a presence, always been a presence in my world. And now he was standing there, covered in blood and staring at me with a look that both broke my heart and terrified me. He looked so vulnerable, looked as if he desperately needed me to understand what had just happened, but I didn’t know how to. He looked primitive, he looked wild, and I was filled with the certainty that this would not be the last time he killed with such force and brutality.
But then, it was a necessity of our lives now. I was just stunned by how fast he had accepted and taken to this.
“Are you ok?” I managed to croak out in a tremulous voice. He nodded as he used his forearm to wipe some of the blood from his face. I found myself able to move again, able to breathe again as I caught sight of the gash on his upper arm. He had won the battle, but he had not walked away unscathed. “You’re hurt.”
“It’s fine.”
“You don’t know what kind of germs those things carry.”
He turned his arm over, frowning at the blood that seeped from it. “It’s a shallow cut Bethany.” He used his good arm to keep me back. I frowned fiercely at him, shoving aside his good arm as I seized hold of his hand.
“Don’t be a baby, let me see.”
He sighed softly but relented to me as I pushed him toward a rock. He settled upon it as I gathered the meager stash of supplies we had left. There were no bandages but there was a small thing of antibiotic cream and I ripped up a shirt to use as a makeshift bandage. I felt his onyx eyes watching me as I knelt before him. He didn’t flinch, didn’t move away from my touch as I gently used the rag to clean the blood from the wound. He was right, it was shallow, but I still slathered cream on it in the hopes that it would prevent infection and kill any germs.
“You’re good at that.”
I managed a wan smile. “When you’re as clumsy as I am you learn a few tricks.”
He chuckled softly, a soft sound I found I liked immeasurably as my grin widened and I sat back on my heels to admire his rare and fleeting smile. “I thought perhaps you were considering becoming a doctor.”
“No, that was Aiden.”
My amusement faded with the stark reminder of everything we had lost. Cade’s smile slipped away, a muscle in his cheek jumped slightly. “I see. And what did you want to do?”
I frowned, my gaze drifted toward the forest line as I thought over his question. I’d never really known what I’d wanted to do, what I would become. I’d assumed I’d go to college, I’d even considered going away, but I’d never truly thought about what I would study there, what I would want to do for the rest of my life. I would never have the opportunity to find out either.
“I don’t know,” I admitted.
He was silent for a long moment as I wiped the excess cream and remaining blood from his arm. “Whatever it was I’m sure you would have been good at it.”
I glanced at him from under lowered lashes trying to discern if he was kidding with me or not. He did not appear to be. He seemed to honestly believe that I would find something that I was actually good at. I wasn’t so sure. “And what about you? Were you going to go to college?”
He shrugged absently as I tied the torn piece of shirt around his arm. I had to force myself not to linger over his soft skin, and hard muscles. Hard to force myself not to notice the flush the feel of his skin brought to my face and body. “Eventually.”
“Where would you have gone and for what?”
Those dark eyes flickered briefly over my face. “I hadn’t decided yet.” I sat back on my heels, studying him for a long moment. I had the feeling he wasn’t telling me something, that there was something he wasn’t revealing. I didn’t have a chance to question him further though as Jenna and Abby appeared.
“Are you ok?” Jenna blurted.
Cade pulled the sleeve of his shirt down, it only covered half of the rag wrapped wound. “Fine,” he muttered.
Abby’s eyes were wide, her mouth open as she gasped at the dead creature just feet away. I couldn’t bring myself to look at the ruined remains. “How did you know about that hiding place?”
Cade’s hand clasped briefly around mine before he rose slowly to his feet. “I spent a lot of time up here.” I was stunned by the revelation. I didn’t exactly pin Cade as a paintball kinda guy, but then there were a lot of things I had never pictured him as but I was beginning to realize he was. “I know the course extremely well.”
“Thankfully.”
“Why?” I inquired.
He shrugged, rolling his shoulders as he stretched his back. “Target practice.” He flashed a smile, but it did not reach his eyes and his gaze drifted away from all of us to search the woods. “We should get moving.”
I wasn’t going to argue with that. I wrapped my arms around Abby’s shoulders and forcefully turned her away from the sight of the creature she was still gaping at. “It’s awful.”
“It is,” I agreed.
CHAPTER 13
“This is as good a spot as any,” Cade declared.
I sighed as I dropped the small bag on the ground and slid down. I was acutely aware of the fact that our main food source had gone with Aiden, and I wasn’t even sure he still had it. However, my stomach rumbled eagerly as I recalled the meager food supplies that had been placed into Cade’s duffel bag of guns before we had left the tree house. It had seemed smarter to have the food and water spread out between us, and I was extremely relieved that it had been. I was starving, but I was fairly certain that I was going to pass out before I got the chance to eat. I wanted to take my sneakers off, but decided against it. I didn’t want to see the mess that I knew my feet had to be, and I didn’t want to be caught unawares in bare feet.
Cade was digging through the bag when I lay down on the ground, propped my head on my hands and passed out cold.
***
It was mid afternoon when I woke again. Cade was the only other one awake, I was beginning to suspect that he didn’t sleep at all, and it was more than a little daunting. Did he have any weaknesses? I yawned, stretching as I lifted myself slowly up. Cade’s eyes were dark and hooded as he watched me, he may not sleep, but it was more than apparent that he needed some rest. There were dark circles under his eyes, bags were beginning to form, and they had become slightly bloodshot. His light
olive complexion was paler than normal, and there was a pinched look around his mouth that made it seem as if he were in pain. Worry filled me as I watched him, the lack of sleep or hunger was starting to get to him. Or perhaps his wound was started to become infected with some strange alien parasite.
“You should rest.” I tried to keep my tone light, but the worried tension in it was obvious.
“Not tired.”
“Liar.”
His full mouth curved into a small smile, he shifted slightly, draping his arm over his knee as he watched me. “You need to eat.”
I nodded. “I do, and you need to sleep.”
He shrugged absently, his fingers played idly with a stick. “I got an hour or so.”
I would have to be happy with that fact, it was more than I’d thought he’d received, and I knew it was all he’d give into for now. I reached for the bag, pulling out a thing of peanut butter crackers. I should probably eat more, but I didn’t know how long it would take us to rejoin the others, and I had to make sure that Abby had enough food. I could go hungry; I didn’t want her to though. My belly rumbled as I nibbled on the crackers, eating them slowly as I tried to trick my stomach into thinking it was receiving more than it was.
I watched Abby as she slept; she looked so peaceful and content. It was hard to believe that every waking moment of her life had become such a constant battle. And from here on out it would continue to be. I was so entrenched in my thoughts that I didn’t realize I was on my last cracker, until it was gone. I wiped my hands on my legs, trying hard to ignore the gnawing hunger in my stomach. I sat back, pulling my knees up against my chest as I wrapped my arms tightly around them.
“We have to get moving soon.”