I squeezed his arm, ashamed of the fact that I hadn't realized just how rattled Aiden was. This was the first chip I'd seen in his armor since we'd descended into this hell. Aiden squeezed my hand, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath before he spoke again. "Right. We have to go right. We're going to have to take a left after and then we'll have a choice of which way to go. There should be other maps along the way."
"Let's go then," Lloyd commanded.
Lloyd jumped onto the train tracks and lifted his gun as he made his way forward. Well at least it's more open through here, I thought as I followed them.
Chapter 5
"Drop your weapons! Drop them! Drop them!"
I barely had time to register the barked orders before Cade grabbed hold of me and shoved me behind him. I stumbled and had just recovered when the first bullet flew. A startled shout escaped me as Cade drug me down and pinned me to the ground beneath his body. "Stay down!"
"Cade!" He didn't hear my terrified gasp as he pushed himself off of me and disappeared.
I rolled over as another shot reverberated through the tunnel. Abby let out a shrill scream that propelled me back to my feet. My heart was almost bursting in my chest as I ran toward where I'd last seen her. Arms wrapped around my waist and pulled me to the ground. A low groan escaped me, my body protested the impact and I just barely stopped my chin from smacking off the ground.
I was so dazed that it took me a second to realize the gentle doctor had been the one to take me down. I wrestled to squirm free of Bishop's hold as he clutched tenaciously at my waist.
"Abby! Aiden!" I screamed as another bullet zinged off the concrete walls and echoed down the tunnel.
"Bethany!" Bishop grunted as I continued to squirm beneath him.
"Let go!" I spat and forcefully shoved back with my feet.
He let go as I caught him under the jaw with enough force to make his head snap back a little. I felt a twinge of regret but it didn't stop me. I liked Bishop, I really did, but he was keeping me from my siblings and that was not going to happen.
I moved forward on my belly as I sought out Abby and Aiden. Another round of gunfire pierced the air. I cried out and flung my hands over my head as the bullets rattled down the side of the tunnel. Sparks flew as they ricocheted rapidly back and forth.
"Cease fire! Cease fire!" Darnell's shout was followed by a dull thud that made my skin crawl. The air seemed even heavier as an eerie hush descended over the tunnel. I lifted my head and blinked against the blaze of light as more flashlights clicked on. Through the smoky haze created by the gunfire I spotted Cade standing about thirty feet away, a gun clasped in his hand as he stared down at the crumpled body of a young man. For one heart stopping second I thought he was going to launch himself at the boy and drain him dry. Then, ever so deliberately, he placed the gun down and leaned it against the wall.
I looked away from Cade to find Aiden five feet away from me. He studied Cade like he was one of Bishop's specimens before he turned toward me. Aiden's brown eyes were penetrating and I found myself frozen beneath the weight of his gaze. He didn't know what it was about Cade that troubled him so much, not yet, but I didn't think it would be long before his mind started to wander down new pathways, and those pathways were sure to bring him to one conclusion.
Cade wasn't human.
I forced my attention away from Aiden and pushed myself to my feet. Lifting my hand, I wiped away the wetness I felt trickling down my cheek. I wasn't prepared for the blood that glimmered on the tips of my fingers when I pulled my hand away. I didn't know what had happened to cause it, perhaps I'd been scratched during my scuffle with Bishop.
"Impressive." Darnell was oblivious to the tension within the tunnel as he made his way to Cade. He stepped over the young man sprawled face down on the ground. The man had been sheltered within a side tunnel, one that was smaller than the one we were in. It appeared to be a water runoff tunnel, or maybe even something for the workers to maneuver through. "Ballsy."
Cade shrugged absently and kneeling down, he pulled some bandages from the bag at his feet before returning to me. "What did you do?" I whispered to him.
"Just knocked him out."
"How did you get to him?"
Midnight eyes blazed into mine as they ran lovingly over my face. "Luck."
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. We both knew that it hadn't been luck, that he had just risked exposing himself, or getting himself killed. He clasped hold of my chin and turned my head to the side. "I'm fine. It's just a scratch."
"It's pretty deep," he mumbled. Though I knew my blood was as tempting as the forbidden fruit to him, he didn't hesitate to tenderly clean and bandage the cut.
A low moan brought our attention back to the young man. Darnell knelt by his side and fisted a hand in his shirt. "You mind telling me why you shot at us?" he demanded.
The young man just blinked as he opened and closed his mouth. He seemed to have forgotten where he was or what was going on. There was a large bump already forming in the middle of his forehead. By tomorrow it would be completely black and blue and probably the size of a golf ball.
"How many fingers am I holding up?" Darnell shoved three fingers in front of the man's face. The man blinked at them before closing his eyes and shaking his head. "Bishop, I think he has a concussion."
"I'd say you're right," Bishop agreed. He slid by Cade and me to kneel next to Darnell. "You hit him pretty hard."
"Next time I'll be nicer to the person shooting at us," Cade retorted.
Bishop shot him a nasty look while Darnell smirked and even Aiden broke into a smile. "Can you tell me your name?" Bishop demanded as he turned his attention back to the injured man.
The kid just blinked again, opened his mouth and closed it. "His name's Dan."
We all jumped as a woman slid from the shadows of the side tunnel. She was tall and lean, with an athletic grace that reminded me of a jungle cat getting ready to strike. The dim light flashed off of her ebony skin and highlighted the striking beauty of her refined features and chocolate eyes. Her hair was cropped close to her head and a dirty blue bandanna was wrapped around it.
"And I'm Arlene." Darnell grasped his gun as he rose to survey the newest arrival. Cade took a small step forward and nudged me behind him with his shoulder. I scowled at his back but didn't argue with him, it wouldn't do me any good right now anyway. "What did you do to him?"
"Knocked out, probably a concussion," Bishop answered. "He'll be fine."
"You didn't have to hurt him." Though Arlene's posture seemed almost casual, there was an air of tension and anticipation surrounding her. I suspected she was a lot faster than she was trying to portray as she leaned back on her heels and watched us.
"He shot at us, for no reason," Darnell informed her.
"You're in our tunnel," she retorted.
"I didn't realize that it had been claimed," Darnell grated.
Arlene grinned disarmingly but the tension in her shoulders didn't ease. "We take what we can get now, you know. Dan didn't mean any harm but we've had problems down here with people trying to steal our supplies."
I felt like a bug that had just walked into a spider's web and I kept waiting for the trap to spring as I searched the shadows. "We're not here to take anything of yours," Darnell assured her.
Arlene nodded but her eyes lingered on the weapons we held. "I'm sure," she finally responded.
"We really aren't a threat," Aiden insisted.
Arlene's gaze flickered to Dan. "You see our weapons if we wanted him dead, he would be," Cade grated.
Arlene's eyes once again searched us before her shoulders relaxed and she lowered the rifle to her side. "Have you seen any aliens down here?" Darnell inquired.
Arlene shook her head as she rested her hands on her slender hips. "I haven't seen them since we were driven down here."
"You were in the tunnel above?"
Something sinister slithered through her eyes as her lip curled in a sneer
. "Until they broke through. They don't seem to be able to make it down here though."
"Yet," Lloyd said.
Her head bowed. "Yet," she agreed. "But we're better prepared for them now. You were also in the tunnel?"
"Unfortunately," Bret said.
"I know what you mean." She studied all of us again. "You look like you could use some rest, a shower maybe."
I grasped hold of Cade's arm; excitement spurted through me at the possibility of a shower. "You're willing to trust us now?" Lloyd demanded.
Arlene shrugged absently. "Well if your uniforms are any indication than you're a couple of soldiers, shouldn't I trust the military?"
"I'm not sure I'd trust anyone anymore," Lloyd muttered.
"That's true, but you don't seem like some of the gangsters, druggies, or thieves we've run into. If you were like any of them Dan would be dead. You look like you need a break. We've been there before."
Three more people emerged from the shadows as she finished speaking. They had blended in with the dark so completely that I hadn't noticed them until they moved. The only one who didn't take a step back from them was Cade as he remained unmoving before me. "We have a place where you can stay for a bit. Eat, rest, if you would like."
"Sounds good," Darnell agreed, but he kept hold of his gun as he studied the three men behind Arlene now. She was willing to trust us, but were we willing to trust them? "How many of you are there?"
"Not as many as you. Come on."
"Arlene," one of the strangers grumbled at her.
"It's fine Lyle. They're just looking for a safe place. You might want to help out Dan though; he's going to have a bad headache come morning."
"That's for sure," Bishop agreed.
Chapter 6
I dropped the towel on the pile of blankets that had been set up in my "room." Really, it was just a small space blocked off by sheets hanging from the ceiling in order to offer some form of privacy. It was the most I'd had in months though, and it was fantastic. Cade had set it up while I'd been in the shower. It wasn't a real shower in the technical sense of the word, but a broken pipe that spit out luke warm water that felt like heaven. As had the single bar of soap I'd used to wash my body and hair with. I smelled like lavender, a scent I normally despised, but I found myself inhaling deeply and repeatedly now.
I'd handed my stench laden clothes over to be burned afterward. There was no washing the filth or blood out of them. Arlene had given me a set of relatively clean clothes in exchange. The jeans had a hole in the knee, and they were too big on me, as was the plain maroon shirt, but I didn't care. I almost felt human again, almost felt like a girl again.
It had been a long time since I'd experienced either of those things.
Cade had set the blankets up apart from the others at the far end of the tunnel, but there was no one around now anyway. They'd all been gathered in the main room, getting to know each other, when I'd left. The tunnel was lit every thirty feet by flashlights that had been hung from the ceiling. They cast a circle of yellowish light on the floor and constantly swayed in a nearly imperceptible air current. I tried not to think about the walls surrounding me, but I was acutely aware of the stale air and the ground pressing above me.
I settled onto the blankets and savored in the simple act of being alone. It had been so long that I'd almost forgotten what it was like to simply just be. I wasn't fooled into thinking that we were safe down here, but it was the safest I'd felt since all of this had started.
I knew Cade was there even before the sheet was pulled back to reveal him. I'd know the nearly soundless tread of his step, a step I was certain most of the others would never pick up on, anywhere. A tread I was certain I never would have picked up on before consuming his blood.
I refused to think about it, refused to acknowledge the changes within my body. I hadn't spoken to Cade about them yet, I knew I should but I couldn't get the words to leave my throat. I'd just gotten him back; I wasn't ready to put a damper on the joy that still came with that reunion.
We'd spent many nights wrapped in each other's arms, but there had also been twenty other people with us. We were alone right now, in my simple sheeted room. The half smile slid from his face as something else sprang forth and he began to stare at me like I was the last peanut butter cup on earth.
A shiver raced up my spine as my throat went dry. He didn't move, didn't come any closer as he stood in the "doorway." There would be no turning back after this, if I reached out to him now things would never be the same, but it was going to have to be me that made the move. He wouldn't come unless I offered myself to him, not because he didn't want me, but simply because this had to be my choice.
I knew what he needed from me; I could see it in the lines on his face and the harsh set of his jaw. I'd offered myself to him before, but this time I knew he wouldn't turn me down. This time there was nowhere else to go, nothing else to turn to for the soul and blood that he required.
I savored in the harsh beauty of his carved cheekbones, full lips, and midnight hair and eyes as I tried to control my leaping excitement and alarm. I forced the lump in my throat down as I stretched my hand out to him.
"I didn't come here for this," he grated out from behind clenched teeth.
"I know." The corded muscles in his lean arms stood out as his hand clenched on the sheet and he glanced behind him. I rushed on before he took off on me. "It's only a matter of time Cade before it happens anyway. I... I want to know what it feels like and I'm here. There's no one else..."
"There are others," he whispered.
"Cade." I wasn't going to spend time arguing with him. "This wasn't why you came here but it's why you're still standing here."
He eyed me like a deadly cobra as I rose to my feet and took a step toward him. I was convinced he would bolt as I moved closer to him, rested my hand on his arm, and pulled it toward me. There was so much strength in the corded wrist I held before me, even more than met the eye as I knew what was inside of him, I knew what he was capable of, and what it took for him to suppress it as he stood before me. If he ever let himself go...
I broke the thought off. There was no room here for fear. Though he resisted it, he finally allowed me to pry his fist open and lift his palm to my cheek. "Bethany..."
I stood on tip toe to press a kiss against his compressed lips. He remained unrelenting for a moment and then the sheet fell into place with a rustle as he released it. His hands grasped my waist with the speed of a striking shark. A startled sound escaped me as he lifted me up. Instinctively, my legs wrapped around his waist as his hand entwined in my hair and he kissed me with an urgency that stole the breath from me. His tongue swept in to taste the deep recesses of my mouth in sure, strident thrusts that left me trembling and aching for more as I pressed closer to him.
Inhaling deeply I relished in the fresh scent of him. His hair was still wet and tussled from his shower as my fingers slid through it. On him however, the scent of soap was faint as it mingled with the enticing aroma he emitted. We were far from outside, yet the scent of the outdoors clung to him, making him seem even more wild and dangerous.
Those eyes were entirely black as he pulled back to look at me. The veins in his face were visible as the darkness residing within him spread throughout his body, but instead of finding it hideous or frightening, I found myself loving him even more as my fingers trailed over a vein that ran from his forehead, down his cheek, to his lips. All of this was always within him, he could easily kill any one of us, and yet he was still looking at me as if I were the most priceless artifact in the world.
My chest heaved as I struggled to catch my breath and control the desire thrumming through me. I knew what he needed from me, but right now all I craved was him. His hand traced over my cheek and skimmed down to the base of my throat. His breath was warm against my cheek, his body slid tantalizingly against mine as he slowly lowered me to my feet.
Tingles slid over my skin as his fingers traced my collarbone. My
heart lurched with excitement, my body yearned for something more, something I instinctively knew that only he could ease. I didn't see the walls surrounding us, didn't smell the stale air as everything in me was focused on him.
"Lovely," he whispered against me. "My lovely."
"Yes," I breathed. I felt disoriented and out of my depth as my head spun. I didn't know what I was saying yes to anymore and right now I didn't care.
His lips were a bare whisper against my cheek as they moved over me. I leaned closer to him, my hands clenched upon his arms as I sought something to help keep me grounded. Touching him though was like seizing hold of a lightning bolt as it had the absolute opposite effect on me. I had to swallow in order to wet my suddenly parched throat. I was tingling all over, my body felt strangely malleable. I was putty in his hands and he knew it.
A low growl escaped him, his hand wrapped around my neck as he held me against him. With my cheek pressed against his chest I was able to hear the forceful beats of his heart. His scent was stronger, heightened by his passion as his fingers caressed the nape of my neck and his muscles stood out rigidly against me. He was still fighting his urges and I didn't understand why.
"Bethany."
"It's ok." He had come here in order to satisfy one hunger but I knew now he would be taking two things from me tonight. "I want this. I want you."
"It wasn't supposed to be like this. Not here."
"I know."
"Somewhere else..." He said the words, he meant them, but his restraint was unraveling. "Somewhere better. Somewhere special."
"There may not be somewhere else, or some other day."
It had been the wrong thing to say as black raced through the veins in his arms and his hand clenched briefly on my neck. The midnight of his veins was stark now as he pulled back to look down at me. It was such a disconcerting thing to see, but I didn't find it ugly or frightening. In fact, I now found the color in him beautiful even though I knew that it meant the man standing before me, the man I loved with all my heart and soul, wasn't human.