Reclamation (The Ravening #3)(11)
Author: Erica Stevens

Everyone stared at him like he’d just started speaking French. "Which means?" Bret finally prompted.

"Both those lines lead out of the city and are the only routes that won’t have us backtracking into territory we already know is deadly."

"And if they’re blocked?" Lloyd asked.

Aiden ran a hand through his tussled hair and shook his head. "There are no other options, at all, unless you want to go back into that crap up above. We have the orange or the blue line."

No one spoke as they absorbed the full impact of his words. Cade was the first to recover. "Which way?"

"I’m pretty sure it’s right."

"Pretty sure?" I asked.

"It’s really faded Bethy and I don’t know the T routes. I can’t pinpoint where we are exactly but I’ll know within the next hundred yards. If we make it to the next station and it’s the wrong one we’ll just have to turn around."

"We’ll be fine," I assured him.

He nodded, but his eyes appeared distant and unfocused. "We’ll be fine."

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."