Ravenous (The Ravening #1)(35)
Author: Erica Stevens

I didn’t care to move, I didn’t truly care to do anything ever again. When I remained limp beneath him, he began to half push and half drag me into the center of a bunch of bushes. They were scratchy and caused my skin to burn. Whatever the bushes were, they weren’t friendly. Cade cursed as he followed behind me, struggling against the low hung branches of the plant.

I didn’t care about the bushes, or the pain. The only thing I cared about right now was the fact that I could finally cover my ears. Curling into the fetal position, I clamped my hands over my ears, but it did little to drown out the awful sounds. Cade wrapped himself around me, using his body to cover mine.

“Shh, Bethy, shh love.” I didn’t realize that a low keening sound had been escaping from me. I was shaking, but no tears spilled free. I was too horrified, to shocked to cry.

“Cade,” I moaned.

His body was warm and strong as he enfolded me within his embrace. His cheek was against mine, his hand wrapped around my head and forehead as he tried to shelter me. There was nothing sexual about his embrace right now. There was only a desperate need to protect me, to shield me from the horror and death that surrounded us. His mouth was against my cheek; his breath warm and ragged on my skin.

My eyes remained closed but the light burned against my eyelids, I thought it would be seared permanently into my irises. “My sweet Bethany.”

He kissed my cheek gently. That was when I became certain that we were going to die, and that he knew it as well as I did. I found that to be an even worse realization. Cade had been stoic throughout this whole thing, even somewhat playful. I sensed the regret and longing that radiated from those three words.

The glow was briefly more intense and I became aware of the fact that the screams had stopped. The silence, either from the lack of noise or from the suffocating quality of the light, was profound. I shivered, Cade held me closer as the luminosity faded.

I remained frozen, too stunned to move. I didn’t open my eyes; I wasn’t ready to see anything. I strained to hear something, but there was nothing to hear. Not anymore. It was nearing dawn, but the birds didn’t chirp. I couldn’t even hear Cade’s breath anymore, couldn’t hear the fierce beat of his heart. The peace was unnerving in the wake of all the noise and light.

I couldn’t take it anymore, my eyes flew open. It took a moment, but gradually they began to adjust to the early morning dawn. At first all I could make out was the plant wrapped around us. I couldn’t identify it immediately, but its size, look, and smell made me think of juniper.

Cade gradually unraveled from me. I froze, unwilling to move as he crept forward. The bush was large, but not large enough to keep him hidden for much longer. Sound flooded in like high tide on a full moon. The world came to screeching, abnormally loud life again as he lifted some of the lower branches and peered out. I winced against the abrasive sound of the plant as the branches grated against each other.

I couldn’t see anything, but I caught the small slump of his shoulders. “I think it’s safe.”

His voice was surprisingly soothing against the stark clamor that pulsated in my eardrums. “Think?” I winced; my voice was nowhere near as calming. He nodded. “They also thought the bridge was safe.”

“You didn’t.” No I hadn’t, but that didn’t do anybody any good right now. Especially not Aiden and Bret. A twinge tugged at my heart as a lump lodged in my throat. “I think the bridge was booby trapped somehow. I don’t believe the aliens are around here right now. But if I’m right, what just happened is going to bring them here, in droves.”

He continued when I looked at him questioningly. “I saw no ship; there were none of those creatures around. Nothing happened until the first group made it off the bridge and onto the highway. I think the trap was set to lure in as many people as possible before it was released, just in case an escape was attempted in groups.”

I was appalled and sickened by the endless depths of cruelty the aliens possessed. “We either go now, or we wait until morning Bethany. When it is light out.”

Translation, when they would be able to see us better. “Now is good.”

I barely caught the brief flash of his gaze as he turned back to me. I was more than just impressed by his resilience, I was awed by it. He had lost so much in his life, endured so much, and yet he wasn’t going to quit. Not even now, when things seemed far bleaker than they had only ten minutes ago. There was a good chunk of me that was completely ready to cave.

I had lost too much in these past couple of days; my mother, my brother, my boyfriend, it was too much. Maybe Cade was able to carry so stalwartly on because he hadn’t suffered such harsh losses as recently as I had, but I knew that wasn’t the reason behind his determination. Cade had lost a lot in his life; maybe not as much as I had, but he’d also experienced great loss and sorrow. He was just as confused as I was, just as frightened, but he was going to forge on.

The only difference between us, I realized now, was that he truly believed we were going to survive all of this. I didn’t. The realization was a little depressing, and yet a little reassuring. He believed that we were going to survive, and I found that I believed in Cade. I may not have faith that we would make it through this, but I had faith that he would do everything in his power to ensure we did.

“Come on Bethany.”

His fingers were strong in mine as he pulled me out from under the bush. “Abby?”

“She made it into the woods,” he assured me.

I glanced around, but we were on the backside of the rotary and I couldn’t see the bridge from here. Cade was bent over as he darted into the middle of the road with me in tow. I felt exposed here, vulnerable. I held my breath as I waited for the awful light to blaze forth, for our death to come, but it remained still in the early dawn. Cade held firm to me as we plunged into the woods. I took my first easy breath as relief rushed through me, but I knew we weren’t clear yet. We had to find somewhere safe before full daylight set in.

Cade continued to pull me forward, but I had to look. I had to know. I pulled my hand free of his. “Bethany!” he hissed.

I scrambled through the woods, tearing at the leaves and dirt as I stumbled back up the embankment we had just plunged down. I nearly fell over as I skidded to a halt near the road. I had expected to find desiccated remnants of the once proud bridge. Instead, I was struck by the fact that it looked exactly the same. The lights were still on, but in the growing day they were far dimmer.

I didn’t see human body parts or guts like I’d expected, but I felt certain that if I crept closer I would find some blood. Of course there would be blood, there had to be. Humans had once stood there, and now they were completely gone. There had to be some remaining evidence that they had existed.