Reclamation (The Ravening #3)(8)
Author: Erica Stevens

"Hurry!" Abby screamed. "Bethany hurry!"

The urgency in Abby’s voice pushed me even faster. Aiden pushed Abby and Molly through the door. Jenna, Bret and Barney were close on their heels. We were still a few feet away from the walkway when Cade grabbed hold of my waist, lifted me up, and threw me over top of the railing. I stumbled, nearly fell, but was held up by the wall I fell against. The breath was robbed from me by the strength he’d just exhibited.

I went to spin toward him, but his chest pressed against my back as he wrapped his arm around my waist and propelled me forward. He was practically carrying me toward the door, apparently more concerned with my survival than with anyone finding his amazing burst of strength strange and out of the ordinary. Although, no one was paying any attention to us as they scrambled through the doorway. Darnell fired another round of bullets from inside the door, Aiden leaned out and grasped hold of my arms as Cade roughly pushed me toward the doorway.

"Wait! Wait!" Liz cried as she emerged from the darkness.

I shook Aiden off and lurched back toward the tunnel. Cade caught hold of me and lifted me against his chest as he pulled me away from the door. "We can’t leave her!" I gasped.

I saw the hesitation, doubt and lack of compassion in his eyes when they met mine. I thought he was going to ignore my plea but he turned around and made his way toward the doorway. Darnell and Lloyd stepped closer to the opening. The echoes of their shots ran throughout the tunnel, but it was obvious that their bullets were doing little to frighten the stampeding monsters honing in on Liz.

A wailing scream pierced the air, I’d never thought a human could make that kind of sound as it grew in intensity and reverberated through the suddenly hushed tunnel. Lloyd and Darnell had their fingers still on their triggers but no more rounds were fired. The rising shriek began to hit glass shattering levels but I refused to leave her out there alone. We had given up on so much already; I wasn’t going to give up on Liz too. I jerked my arm free and leapt away from Aiden.

Cade spun toward me as Darnell and Lloyd rapidly retreated from the door. "Wait! Liz!" I cried.

"No!" Cade roared as he pulled me back.

Liz’s tortured scream abruptly broke off. Tears sprang to my eyes but instead of trying to break free of Cade I clung to his arms as revulsion swamped me. No one drew a breath in the hush that followed as we waited expectantly for something more, but there was only the unearthly quiet and the knowledge of what it signified. Darnell, the first to recover, slammed the door shut. Something bounced against the door and rattled it savagely within its frame.

I couldn’t see the door but I didn’t think it would hold up under the assault being waged against it on the other side. The heavy breathing of exhausted lungs was loud within the room as people pressed against me on both sides, but for some reason I didn’t feel claustrophobic in the crammed confines. All I felt was numb and yet strangely secure as Cade held me closer to his side.

"Who still has a light?" Darnell demanded.

A light flickered from somewhere near the front of the group. A muscle twitched in Cade’s cheek as his midnight gaze raked me up and down. His arm twisted within my grasp so that his hands seized hold of mine, he turned them over to examine my skin. A small tremor shook his hands before he steadied himself with a deep breath and his gaze came back to mine.

"I’m fine," I whispered. "Not a mark on me."

"Yes," he murmured but he didn’t look appeased. Instead he looked as if he was about to rip this entire room apart as rigidity kept a firm hold on his muscles.

"What is this?" Molly inquired.

I tore my attention away from Cade to take in the room. There was barely enough room to stretch my arms out between the walls as the room was full of pipes and large pieces of machinery. "Appears to be a maintenance room," Lloyd muttered as he pushed through the remaining people in the room.

Darnell clicked a lock into place as another crash echoed throughout the room. He remained leaning against the door for a second before straightening himself. "Is everyone here?" I asked.

"All that are left," Private Frank Smith answered after some hesitation.

I shuddered at the reminder of the loss of Liz and Mick, but one thing these past couple months had taught me was that there was never any time for the dead. There was only time to pick up and move on if we were going to survive.

Lloyd moved further into the room and disappeared amongst some of the machinery. "You see anything Lloyd?" Darnell demanded after another crash shook the door.

Those things were all too big to fit through that doorway, but it didn’t mean their tentacles couldn’t. My hands tensed on Cade’s, I closed my eyes as I tried to control the rolling panic that swelled up my throat. I had been doing well until now; I had to remain that way if I planned to keep control of my sanity and not freak anyone else out. I just had to take it one breath at a time. We would not die in this cramped room, desperate, starving, and God only knew how far below the surface of the earth.

"Lloyd?" Darnell called.

"There’s a door back here and some stairs that lead down." The steps led deeper into the earth. I opened my eyes to find that Lloyd had returned. Another crash echoed through the room, followed by an ominous splintering sound that caused my jaw to clench. "Let’s go."

I could do this. I didn’t have a choice. I swallowed heavily, straightened my shoulders and followed Aiden as he shuffled forward. My brother stretched his hand back and I eagerly clasped hold of it. I didn’t know where we were going but I was certain that it would only get worse before it got better.

Chapter 4

The stairs creaked and groaned like they were some prop in a B horror movie as we slowly made our descent. "What is this?" Jenna asked.

"Must be some kind of passageway for the workers," Darnell answered.

"Where does it go?"

Darnell didn’t respond to her second question. My grasp was so firm on the metal rail running beside the stairs that my knuckles ached and my palm was leaving a trail of sweat behind. The dim glow of the flashlights illuminated the damp concrete walls surrounding us. "We’re not the first ones to come down here recently," Lloyd said.

"How do you know that?" Molly inquired.

"There’s no dust on the railing or the steps."

I frowned at the railing and then tilted my head back to look at the shaded light fixtures above us. They were coated with a layer of dust, and cobwebs hung from the ceiling in straggling, broken strands. Neither of those things was on the stairs or railing though.