“In the basement. He’s fine, or as fine as he can be, considering.” I managed a nod. My hand fluttered nervously up to push my dampened hair back. “Are you ok?”
“Fine,” I croaked. “Just fine.”
“Are you claustrophobic?”
I started to shake my head to deny it. I had never admitted it to anyone, even if there were times when I couldn’t hide it. Hell I hadn’t even truly admitted it to myself. I was too ashamed by the fact that tight spaces tended to upset and frighten me, too ashamed of the weakness. Though, my family knew about it as I went out of my way to avoid tight enclosures, including cars for extended periods of time. “Maybe a little,” I hedged.
“I can open the door again if that will help, but we won’t be able to talk.”
My gaze darted longingly to the closed door. I was unreasonably certain the air out there was much fresher than the air in here. I found that I wanted to speak with him though, and the last thing I wanted was that hideous thing slithering into this room. “No I’m fine.” It wasn’t a complete lie, I did feel better with him here, and I was certain that my fear would only continue to ease the longer I was exposed to, and forced to acknowledge it. Though he didn’t look as if he believed me, he didn’t reopen the door. “Will he be ok out there?”
“I think so. They seem to only be going for the people on the street right now.”
“Why?”
His jaw clenched, a muscle in his cheek jumped. “I think they are trying to clear it.”
My stomach heaved and rolled. I wanted to vehemently deny his words, but the second I heard them I knew he was right. Those things were focusing on the streets because they needed to clear them, and the frozen people were obstacles right now. I hadn’t been sick since I was a kid, but I was fairly certain that by the end of today I would end up losing my breakfast. If not my life.
A chill raced down my spine. The hair on my neck and arms stood on end. There was a very good chance that I, that we, would not survive this day. This attack was methodical, well planned, deliberate, and brutal. The aliens would not want survivors, they would not tolerate them, and that is exactly what Cade and I were.
I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to ease the numbness slipping through my body but I failed miserably. “I can’t stay here,” I whispered. “My family. I have to get to them.”
Cade nodded. “We have to wait a little bit.”
“My sister…”
“We’ll get to them Bethany. I promise we will get to them.”
I found that I believed him. I didn’t know why I did, or why I felt that he would do whatever he could to help me, but I knew that he would. My head bowed, tears of frustration, anger, and misery burned my eyes. I would not shed them though; I had not cried in years, I would not cry now.
“Why are we still moving while everyone else is, well…”
My question trailed off, I didn’t know how to describe these people right now. Frozen? Mannequins? Corpses? The living dead? Whatever they were, and no matter what they were called, they were the freakiest things I had ever seen. “I don’t know. I imagine that somehow we were all given something, whether through food or water, medicine or surgery, or even simply the air we breathe. It seems that for some reason it did not work on us though.”
“Not yet.”
Cade’s eyes were dark and hooded. I swallowed heavily, hating the words I had just uttered, but we both knew that they were true. Just because we were not statues now did not mean that we weren’t going to become them. At any moment we could freeze and become trapped within the confines of our own bodies. That thought did nothing to ease the constriction in my chest that being within this room had started. In fact, it took all I had not to completely fall apart. Took all I had to keep on breathing even though it was suddenly very painful, and hard. I didn’t know if those people were consciously aware of the fact that they were frozen, about to be killed, but I preferred to think that they weren’t. I couldn’t bear the thought that they knew they were stuck like that and about to be devoured. If they did know…
I shut the thought abruptly off. It was too awful to even begin to contemplate. I couldn’t take that if it were to happen to me. I would rather die first.
“They may simply be taking us in stages,” he agreed. “Or it may never happen to us. We are all different; we are all made of different DNA. There is no way that everyone would react in the same way to whatever it was they gave us. I’m sure we’ll be fine Bethany.”
I wanted to believe that, wanted to believe that we would stay mobile, that we would not freeze at a moment’s notice, but I was still filled with terror. I had a feeling that if the aliens discovered whatever they had done hadn’t worked on us, the consequences for us would be even worse than what the people on the street were going through. They would not be happy to learn that they were not perfect, and that things had not gone exactly as planned. We would be punished.
Horribly.
I swallowed heavily, frightened by the realization. We could not be caught. But what the hell were we supposed to do? Where were we supposed to go? I struggled to keep my mounting panic contained. First things first, I had to get out of this room and find my family. I prayed that they were safe.
“I never trusted them,” I whispered.
“I know.”
My attention turned back to Cade. He had moved deeper into the room, his midnight hair blended seamlessly in with the dark shadows surrounding him, hugging him. He was examining a few of the boxes, but he didn’t try to open them, and he didn’t appear to be truly interested in their contents. I had the feeling that though he wasn’t looking at me, his concentration was still solely focused upon me. “How did you know that?”
He lifted a large box with surprising ease and placed it on top of another. “It’s been written all over your face for the past year.”
Though I had caught him watching me, I hadn’t realized he’d been scrutinizing me so intently, but apparently he must have been watching a little more keenly than I had realized. “Oh.”
“You don’t hide things very well.”
“I see.” Though I didn’t see, and I was more than a little confused by this conversation. I wanted a change of topic. “How did you know about this room?”
“I’ve been working for Peter for two years now.”
“Peter?”
“The man outside.” I frowned, my hands clenched tighter on my arms. I hadn’t known that about Cade. In fact there wasn’t a whole lot I did know about him anymore, other than rumors. The girls at school called him the black devil due to his cold demeanor, midnight hair and onyx eyes. I had never given much thought to the nickname, I’d thought it was silly and that they were absurd for saying it. Standing in his presence now though I completely understood it, and couldn’t shake it from my mind. “He keeps the most valuable things secured in here.”
I just nodded. I didn’t know what else to say. I was so confused, frightened, and disoriented by this abrupt change in our lives that I couldn’t think straight. I wasn’t sure if I was reading too much into this conversation, or if I was completely missing something. Either way, I was beginning to feel like an idiot.
I had not been expecting any of this when I’d woken up this morning. But then, it could be worse, I could be one of those people in the street. I was lucky to still be moving, I was lucky to have someone else with me now. Especially Cade, as he seemed remarkably calm and competent considering the way our lives had been abruptly turned upside down.
I needed to pull myself together; it was the only way I was going to survive. “Sit.”
My attention was drawn back to Cade. He had settled himself onto one of the boxes; his arm was draped over his bent leg as he watched me. I didn’t want to move away from the door though. I did not want to go deeper into this room. The very idea of it was enough to make my heartbeat excel and my skin crawl. I shook my head.
He sighed softly, climbed to his feet, and carried one of the boxe
s over to me. “Sit Bethany, relax. I have a feeling we won’t be getting many more opportunities to do that anytime soon. We had better take advantage of it now.”
I stared up at him, momentarily lost in his onyx eyes as he gazed at me. I had always tried not to let how attractive he was effect me. We were totally different people and he was way out of my league. He had always been a strange enigma that was fascinating, but nearly impossible to solve. He could have any girl he wanted, probably most women too. And I was… well I was just me. Not awful, but nothing overly remarkable either.
But now Cade was only inches from me and his presence was overwhelming in the small room. I felt like a fool, but I couldn’t stop myself from admiring the sheer magnificence of him. He was perfect and beautiful, if a man could be considered beautiful. I realized that he smelled wonderful, like spices and fresh air. I shifted self consciously. I didn’t want to move away from him, but I didn’t want him paying too close attention to me either. He could see that I was a mess, but he didn’t have to smell me on top of it.
I didn’t think I could relax, but I slid limply onto the box because I didn’t know what else to do. He watched me for a long moment before moving back to his own box. We didn’t speak for a long while, the light bulb swayed slowly back and forth, shaken by the vibrations of that thing making its way slowly down the street, draining its victims.
Draining people.
CHAPTER 4
We slipped through the shadows of the buildings, Cade moving with easy grace and a silence that was astonishing. I wasn’t quiet or graceful, but at least I wasn’t a blundering idiot. Not this time anyway. I followed him as we made our way through the streets. I did not feel the rumbling approach of those monstrous things, but I kept alert for any sign of their return, or any sign of something else coming for us.
The streets were not as cluttered with people now. I did not know what they did with the bodies when they were done with them, but thankfully they did not leave them behind. Guilt filled me for feeling relieved about the disappearance of the frozen people, but I couldn’t handle seeing their broken remains cluttering the street. Not on top of everything else.
Cade slipped around a corner; my heart picked up a beat as he momentarily disappeared from sight. He was waiting for me when I turned the corner, his long fingered hand stretched behind him to hold me back.
I stopped, my breath trapped within me as I strained to hear anything out of the ordinary. It was unnaturally still in the fading light of day. I wondered if the aliens had retreated to their ships for the night, or if they would be returning soon to start collecting the people still within their homes, and stores.
Cade moved forward again. We made our way out of the center of town, slipping into backyards, staying to the woods as we swept through the shadows with more speed. Excitement and trepidation hammered through me as we neared my house. I didn’t know what to expect, I tried not to get my hopes up too much, but it was impossible.
I almost broke into a run when my house finally came into view, but Cade held me back, his arm encircling my waist as he kept a tight grip on me. “Getting yourself killed won’t do you, or your family, any good.”
I nodded, biting on my bottom lip as I ignored the strange sensations his touch aroused in me. Or at least tried to ignore them. It was impossible. My body tingled with unfamiliar currents of electricity when his fingers momentarily brushed over the bare skin exposed by the slight uplifting of my t-shirt. I forced myself to focus on something other than him, now most certainly was not the time to be thinking about this stuff.
My house looked ominous in the fading light. It appeared empty, cold, and dark. My home was never dark. Abigail was forever turning on lights, but she always forgot to turn them off. It wasn’t unusual to come home and find every light in the house blazing brightly, spilling from the windows, and lighting the night like a homing beacon. My mother and Aiden were constantly lecturing Abby to turn the lights back off; I remained silent on the matter. Though I never said it, I secretly liked the welcoming warmth of the lights when I came home. There had been enough darkness in our lives, I wasn’t about to tell Abby that she should keep the house dark too.
The complete absence of them now was enough to make me want to cry.
“Cade,” I breathed, choked by the lump in my throat.
“They wouldn’t turn the lights on Bethany, not tonight.” I wanted to find solace in his words, but there was none. It was too dark, too quiet. I didn’t want to go in there, I had to. “Come.”
He entwined his fingers with mine, pulling me slowly through the trees. We moved swiftly across the street, darting around to the back. For the first time I realized just how rundown my home had become. Paint was peeling off in flakes; the back porch sagged beneath the weight of years and weather. I was overwhelmed by sadness; a sense of helplessness filled me.
I crept up the stairs, wincing when they squeaked beneath my weight. My heart hammered as I twisted the knob and pushed the door slowly open. I didn’t know what to expect, I was terrified of what I would find. The hinges creaked, the kitchen floor groaned slightly as I stepped inside. The familiar scent of my mom’s perfume, food, and scented candles washed over me. In the dim light I could make out the tidy kitchen counters. I could see the outline of pictures, report cards, and magnets that covered the fridge. Plants hung in the window over the sink, dishes were stacked neatly in the dish drain.
It was my home, and for the first time it felt cold and lonely. Vacant.
I made my way slowly through the kitchen. Though there was enough light to guide me, I moved mostly on instinct through the darkening rooms. Cade followed as I crept cautiously up the stairs. “Mom.” I was afraid to speak too loud in the foreboding silence. “Mom.”
I heard the choked tears in my voice, the slight note of panic that was clearly audible. We reached the top of the steps, the house remained completely hushed. I swallowed heavily, forcing myself to speak louder. “Mom?”
“Bethany.” I jumped slightly, startled by the response. I had truly believed that I was never going to receive one. Cade placed a hand in the small of my back, steadying me before I crashed into the banister. “Bethy?”
“Abby?”
There was a soft shuffling noise and then my little sister appeared in the doorway of our mom’s bedroom. Relief filled me, a small cry escaped as my knees nearly gave out. And then I was moving, running, fighting back tears of joy as I grasped hold of her. At fifteen, she was only two years younger than me, but she seemed much younger. Maybe it was her far more petite, and delicate build, but I felt it had more to do with her innocent, youthful air. She was nowhere near as jaded as I was.
Her small arms wrapped around me, clinging tight as she sobbed against my shirt. “Oh Bethy I was so scared! I didn’t know what to do, I couldn’t leave her,” she moaned.
I closed my eyes, my heart breaking as Abby confirmed my horrifying fear that our mother had not been as lucky as us. I could barely breathe, but holding Abby gave me a sense of strength that I hadn’t felt until this moment. I had to be strong for her; I had to keep her safe. No matter what, I had to make sure that she survived. “Aiden?”
Abby shook her head, her coffee colored hair fell about her shoulders in a tumbling mass of long curls. “I don’t know, he went to see Bret earlier but he hasn’t come back.”
My hands tightened on her as I clung to her, taking solace in the fact that at least she was still moving, still ok. If Aiden was able to move he would come back here as soon as he could. Bret’s house was farther away than the antique store; it would take Aiden longer if he decided to wait for nightfall too. If he wasn’t still moving then I would find him at Bret’s, but I was in no hurry to rush out of here. Not right now. I was heartbroken, tired, and I wanted to see my mom. “Where is she?”
Abby nodded toward our mother’s bedroom, but it was obvious that she didn’t want to return to it. She was shaking, terrified, and unlike me there were tears coursing rapidly
down her face. I ached for her, she had probably spent the entire day standing guard over our mother, terrified and confused. And completely alone. I didn’t blame her for not wanting to return, she’d done enough already.
“Stay here,” I said as I gently squeezed her shoulder.
I moved past her, creeping into my mom’s room. The room was dark, but I saw her instantly. She was sitting on the bed, her head bowed over the papers spread out before her. Her reading glasses were in place, a pen was clasped between her lips. Her dark hair had been pulled into a lose bun that hung against her slender neck. The resemblance between her and Abby was unmistakable. They both had elfin, striking features, dark hair, and a petite physique. Abby and my mother had always reminded me of delicate faeries. I often felt awkward and out of place around them due to my clumsiness and larger build, a part of me was convinced I would accidentally hurt them one day. I was slender like them, but taller than and not as dark, as Aiden and I had inherited our dad’s height and honey blond hair.
“Mom,” I whispered, even though I knew it wouldn’t do any good. She did not respond, did not even blink. I moved closer to her, shoving aside the papers as I slid onto the bed. I had seen her in this exact same position many times before, but this was the first time I had ever felt out of place and frightened. I touched her cheek lightly, her skin was still warm, but it was cooler than it should have been. That man had still been alive, she had to be also, I hoped. Sadness filled me; I choked on my misery. “Oh mom.”
I bowed my head to hers, resting it against her bent head. I was trying hard not to lose complete control, not to turn into a sobbing mess, but I wasn’t sure I could keep my sanity through this whole catastrophe. I felt Cade’s presence in the room, sensed his dark gaze focused upon me before I saw him.