Ravenous (The Ravening #1)(13)
Author: Erica Stevens

It was too late by then. We had nothing left, they had taken it all, and we had allowed them to do it. Now they had come for our lives. They were sweeping through our streets, literally sucking the life from people. I shuddered, my hand pressed flatter against the glass. I wanted Cade back; I had to know that he was ok. I wished that Aiden was here, that I knew if my brother was safe.

I needed Bret also, what I had done with Cade was awful, but I did love Bret. He was impossible not to love. He was so open and honest and caring that there were times when I thought he was too good to be true, but he was. Times when I felt like less of a person because I knew I wasn’t as good as he was, and that I never could be. I was withdrawn, adrift in the world with little idea of where I planned to go, even before all of this had occurred, and I could be extremely cynical. I knew the world was a cold, cruel place that was just waiting to strike down the ones we loved down. But Bret didn’t see it that way. He saw it as something good and wondrous, something beautiful. He saw it as something to be treasured and enjoyed every day.

Bret was an amazing man that I couldn’t begin to fathom, and wasn’t entirely sure I wanted to. Someone like Bret shouldn’t be figured out; he should only be enjoyed and cherished. And I did cherish him, even if his kisses didn’t cause the same heart stopping physical yearning that Cade’s did. Even if I had never felt completely understood and accepted by Bret. At least not in the same strange way that Cade seemed to understand and accept me.

Bret thought I could be better; he tried in subtle and not so subtle ways to change my reserved nature. It was strange to realize that Cade seemed to accept me for me, seemed to believe that I was already stronger and more capable than I believed myself to be. He had more faith in me than anyone I had ever known before and it humbled and awed me.

An aching sadness began to fill me. If Bret was frozen then there was a good possibility that his light would be taken from this world. That would be one of the greatest losses this planet would ever know. Yet, if he wasn’t frozen, there was the distinct possibility that he wouldn’t emerge from this the same. That his inherent goodness would be tarnished by the evil threatening us now. If he knew about my feelings for Cade, and what had just passed between us, a part of him would be broken.

He trusted me completely and loved me with an open honesty I hadn’t been sure I deserved even before I kissed Cade. Now I was certain that I didn’t deserve it. Bret could never know; I could never hurt him in such a way, or allow him to be hurt so badly. I had always known I was not the great person Bret believed me to be, but he didn’t have to know just how awful I really was. Not yet anyway. He would find out soon enough, if he was still moving. Bret would finally acknowledge that I wasn’t the perfect person he thought I was. I just hoped it didn’t destroy him.

I moved away from the window. I hated the stars now, despised their mocking brilliance. The stars had held their own secrets, but they had been horrible secrets that they’d spewed upon us in waves of hatred and death. I wondered if the rest of the world was sharing in this horrendous experience, or if the aliens were moving leisurely around the planet. Perhaps they were methodically taking over the world one town at a time until it was completely theirs. I felt that it was more than likely it was the whole world at once. They wouldn’t take the chance of others finding out what was going on, and finding some way to stop them.

If there was any way to stop them.

There was no way to know what was going on elsewhere though, no way for us to establish contact outside of this town, without leaving it. I had no idea how we would get our mother that far if it ended up just being Abigail and I. That was a problem I’d tackle if we came to it though.

Moving through the kitchen, I avoided the table as I made my way back to the hall. I had just stepped out of the room when a light flashed over the back door. I froze, my heart hammering, my adrenaline pulsing rapidly through my body as I stood breathless and shaking. The light moved rapidly over the backdoor and bounced around the room. At first I thought it was the beam from a flashlight, that either the aliens or some idiot was making their way through the woods behind our home. Then I realized that it was one of their smaller spaceships, one of the ones that I had only seen twice before.

They were usually docked within the larger ships, hidden away. But when they had emerged they’d flitted about with an easy grace that had reminded me of a firefly. The smaller ships had been purposely brought forth in order to show the government, and the people, the dexterity and speed that they possessed. They had been brought out as a way to gain trust, as a promise of more promising futures for all of us, futures that had turned out to be nothing but lies.

Now one of them was on the move again, but this time it wasn’t whimsical and fascinating. Nothing good could come from its sudden appearance. I slipped further into the shadow of the stairs, uncertain how to handle this sudden development. I didn’t think that they might be moving on already. Instinctively I knew they wouldn’t leave until they made sure they had all of the people, and blood, they could gather.

The lights danced around the room, flashing off the countertops, floor, and table. It seemed as if they were trying to search for us within the house. But that was crazy. There was no way that they could know we were here. They couldn’t. Or could they?

I shuddered at the thought, my heart pounded as my throat went dry. Cade was out there somewhere, unprotected and vulnerable to the searching lights. I took another step back and then froze as I realized the lights were also bouncing across the front windows, filling the living room and hall. I couldn’t move, there was nowhere for me to go, no way to escape the increasingly frantic bounce and sway of the beams.

I could hear the frantic staccato of my heart as it hammered against my ribs. I didn’t breathe, I wasn’t sure I could draw air into my constricted chest. I stared at the roof above me as I prayed that Abby was away from the lights, that she didn’t attempt to go near a window. I loved her dearly, but sometimes she didn’t think through the consequences of her actions. I hoped that this wasn’t one of those times.

I remained still as stone as the lights flashed over the house and me. The ships were moving far slower than they had during their exhibition. What the hell were they doing?

And then, the screaming began.

CHAPTER 7

I bolted forward, racing down the hall as adrenaline spurted through me. I completely forgot about the lights, completely forgot about my own safety as concern for Abby consumed me. I grasped hold of the banister and leapt up the stairs two at a time. My foot caught one of the steps wrong, I nearly face planted as I fell awkwardly. My fingers scrambled to keep hold of the banister; it was the only thing that kept me from tumbling down the stairs. Pain lanced through my knees and hands as they smacked off the stairs, but Abby’s endless screams drove me heedlessly back to my feet.