Reclamation (The Ravening #3)(45)
Author: Erica Stevens

"And we come back in those things?" Craig inquired.

"Yes."

"They don’t notice the weight difference?" I asked.

She shook her head. "It’s all robotic arms that lift them in and out of the ships. I don’t think they put a weight system into effect because they never expected anyone to try and sneak on or off the ships in the containers. They would never expect anyone to disobey them."

"How did you know that before you went on there last time?" I demanded.

She shook her head. "I didn’t."

"And you went anyway?" Betty inquired.

Jessica looked at the others before meeting my gaze. "I met Leo before this happened, before I even knew that The Freezing was going to occur for certain, before we graduated from high school. I knew that you and I were supposed to meet our freshman year in college, but I simply… I just couldn’t," she whispered. "They had another station like this on an island off the coast of Maine. I only knew about it because the family I’d been placed with was Tintagelian too and I overheard them discussing the island. The island was set up as a test run for The Seekers and the ships, along with other places where I’m sure that the missing populace wouldn’t be overly noticed.

"I went onto that ship with the hope of finding a way to end all of this before it even started. In the hopes that I could free myself from the destiny they had set out for us, and instead I discovered that The Freezing was going to occur before the summer ended. The Freezing wasn’t the escape I’d been looking for, but it was a way for Leo and me to get away all the same. I took a chance going up there, I didn’t know if I would be able to make it back to him, but I was going to lose him no matter what and I wasn’t willing to do that without a fight. It may have been stupid and rash…"

"I understand," I interrupted as she continued to try and justify herself. I may not have boarded a ship, but I’d risked Bethany’s life with my own stupid and rash decision. I could only hope The Ancients arrogance in believing that no one would dare cross them, or outsmart them, would be their ultimate downfall after this day.

I leaned back on my heels as I studied the containers. She was right, even for one of our kind I wasn’t exactly thrilled at the prospect of using them to enter the ship. "We have to go now," Jessica urged. "The last time I was here there was only one hour between each one of those things arriving. I doubt it’s happening as quickly now as they have to be running out of people, but I don’t want to take the chance that it’s not any different."

"Let’s go then," I said as I slipped away from the tree.

We descended the hill rapidly and perched at the corner of where the fences joined. From here I could see the patrol making their rounds on the other side of the compound near another platform. Jessica broke out a set of wire cutters and began to snip at the metal wiring. The metal was cool beneath my hand as I helped to roll it out of the way for her. Pinning the makeshift gate back we moved quickly through the hole and kept to the shadows as we hurried toward the elevated platform.

Reaching the platform, I cupped my hands together before me and helped to boost Jessica up. She grabbed hold of the platform and lifted herself onto the landing. Craig helped push Betty up as Steve boosted Cory upward. I could hear the three of them moving around above us, but from this angle I couldn’t see them up there. "Lowering one down," Jessica whispered.

Raising my hands above me I braced them to grab hold of the bottom of the canister. My knees bent beneath the weight of it but I brought it down and placed it on the ground beside me. Jessica disappeared briefly before reappearing with another one. I lifted it down as she jumped off the platform with Cory and Betty at her side.

I didn’t know how much time had passed but I could hear the steady click of the clock winding down as I lifted one of the canisters onto my shoulder and scrambled back through the fence and up the hill with it. Jessica and I, faster than the others, made it to the top of the hill first.

"This should be good," she panted.

Grabbing hold of the edge of the canister, I yanked the top free. The blood was the color of coal in the dim moonlight but the scent of it assailed me. Inhaling deeply, I had to fight the urge to dip my hand in and savor in the warm life pooled within. I forced my head up and wasn’t surprised to see the darkness that resided within us, and that was ruled by our hunger and rage, creeping across Steve and Cory’s faces. There was no name for it, it was simply who we were, who we had always been, and what resided within us, but I believed it was what had caused the humans to come up with the legends of demons.

Though their desire was evident, Steve and Cory tipped the canisters onto their sides and poured the blood onto the forest floor. I placed the canister upright again and gathered leaves and pine needles to cover the massive puddles seeping into the earth. I knew there was no way to cover it all but I was hoping that between what we did now, the location, and the trees they wouldn’t be able to spot the blood from above.

"Leo helped you do this the first time," I said to Jessica as we started back to the platform with our much lighter stowaway containers. Her head tilted as she studied me. "This isn’t a one person job," I answered her unspoken question.

She took a deep breath and shook her head. "No, I never told Leo I was going to do this until after I was back."

"Who helped you then?"

"Rosemary."

She turned to face me when I stopped walking. "How long have you known Rosemary?"

"She was a teacher at my high school; I think she had been placed there with the sole purpose of watching over me." I didn’t doubt it. The Tintagelian that had watched and reported on me was the adoption agent that had originally placed me with the Marshall’s and moved me about over the years. He had also been the one to decide that the Marshall’s had to go.

"Rosemary saw the difference in me after I met Leo; she knew what was happening to me even when I didn’t. I don’t know what I would have done without her there to guide me; I don’t know how you or any of the others managed to navigate those waters alone. It must have been horrible."

It had been but I wasn’t about to admit that. "She let you go alone?"

Jessica flashed a wild grin. "She didn’t have a choice. Our breeding has ensured that we are the stronger ones after all. I don’t pull that card often but in this case it helped me to get my way."

I couldn’t help but smile back at her as I nodded. "I understand."

It only took a few minutes for all of us to help each other onto the platform. We were just beginning to get organized when I began to feel the solid thump of one of the larger Seeker’s approaching the station again. Placing the empty canister down I lifted my head to see if I could locate it. The solid wall behind the platform made it impossible to see what was coming our way though.