CHAPTER 3
I was shaking, close to tearing my hair out, and on the verge of screaming hysterically by the time Cade returned. He hadn't been gone long, minutes only, but I was sweating so badly my clothes were soaked and I was horrified by the realization I was probably starting to smell worse than the dank room surrounding me. Though I tried to hide my distress from him, tried to put on a brave front and prove I wasn't a weak idiot, I knew I failed miserably.
He closed the door behind him. "The man?" I managed to choke out.
Cade raised a black eyebrow, his head cocked to the side as he watched me. My shaking had eased now he was back, but my throat was still clogged. I was humiliated by the fact I was on the verge of tears. When I needed to be at my strongest, I was so close to completely falling apart, and all because of four stupid walls and a door.
"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. I hadn't even truly admitted it to myself. I was too ashamed that cramped spaces tended to upset and frighten me, too ashamed of the weakness. My family knew about it though, 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 it will help, but we won't be able to talk."
My gaze flitted longingly to the closed door. I was certain the air out there was much fresher than the air in here. I would like to be able to speak to 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 my fear would lessen the more 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're trying to clear it."
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 had to clear them, and the frozen people were obstacles right now. I hadn't been sick to my stomach since I was a kid, but I was fairly certain 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 wouldn't care for survivors, they wouldn't tolerate them, and that is exactly what Cade and I were.
I wrapped my arms around myself as I tried to ease the numbness slipping through my body. "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 I believed him. I didn't know why I did, or why I felt he would do whatever he could to help me, but I knew he would. My head bowed, tears of frustration and anger burned my eyes. I wouldn't shed them though; I hadn't cried in years, I wouldn't cry now.
"Why are we still moving while everyone else is, well..."
My question trailed off, I didn't know how to describe the state of 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 we were all given something, whether through food or water, medicine or surgery, or even simply the air we breathe. It doesn’t seem to have worked on us."
"Not yet."
Cade's eyes were hooded as he tilted his head to study me. I swallowed heavily, hating the words I’d just uttered, but we both knew they were true. Just because we weren't statues now didn't mean we weren't going to become statues later. At any moment we could freeze and become trapped within the confines of our own bodies. The thought did nothing to ease the constriction in my chest 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 difficult. I didn't know if those people were consciously aware they were frozen and about to be killed, but I preferred to think they weren't. I couldn't bear the thought they knew they were stuck like that and about to be devoured. If they did know...
I abruptly shut the thought off. It was too awful to begin to contemplate. I couldn't take it if it were to happen to me. I’d 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 everyone would react in the same way to whatever it was they gave us. I'm sure we'll be fine Bethany."
I liked to believe we wouldn't be struck immobile any minute now. I had a feeling 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 wouldn't be happy to learn they weren't perfect, and things hadn't gone exactly as they’d planned. We would be punished.
Horribly.
I swallowed heavily, frightened by the realization. We couldn't get caught. But what were we supposed to do? Where were we supposed to go? I labored to keep my mounting panic contained. First things first, I had to get out of this room and find my family. I prayed 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 with the shadows hugging him. The black tank top he wore emphasized the corded muscles of his arms as it blended in with the dark. The summer sun had deepened his already olive complexion to a bronzed hue I was envious of and would never be able to achieve. My summer color tended to be red if I spent too much time in the sun.
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 even if 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 closely, but apparently he must have been watching a little more keenly than I’d 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 decided to change the 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 more firmly on my arms. I hadn't known that. 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 coal colored eyes. I had never given much thought to the nickname, I'd thought it was silly and they were absurd for saying it. Standing in his presence now 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 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 hadn't 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 had to pull myself together if 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 intend to move away from the door though. I was not going any 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 climbed to his feet and carried one of the boxes 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 as he gazed at me. I had always tried not to let how attractive he was effect me but it was impossible. We were completely different people and he was way out of my league. He'd always been a fascinating enigma that was nearly impossible to solve. He could have any girl he desired, probably most women too. And I was... well I was just me, 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 as he leaned close enough for me to see the stubble lining his jaw. He smelled like an enticing combination of spices and crisp fresh air. I shifted self-consciously. I didn't want to move away from him, but I didn't want him paying too close of attention to me either. He could see 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 limply slid onto the box because I didn't know what else to do. He watched me for a minute before moving back to his own box. We didn't speak as the bulb cast shadows around the room. It shook from the vibrations of the thing making its way down the street, draining its victims.
Draining people.