by Amy Miles
“You can feel them all around you now, can’t you?” He calls out.
His approach is achingly slow and yet with each step, I feel as if time slows even further. I can truly feel his presence for the first time and hear the steady beating of his heart as it flutters at his neck. Breathing in deep, I inhale his scent and go ramrod stiff.
Monroe’s hand slips from my shoulder when my body gives off an odd spasm. “What’s wrong?”
He flounders in the dark behind me as I take two steps forward. “No. It’s not possible.”
“But it is,” the alpha responds with a voice as smooth as silk. It washes over me as I close my eyes, fighting to remember how to breathe.
“Something is moving,” I hear Hadley warn as they bunch together behind me. I barely feel Monroe’s hand regain its hold on my arm as I open my eyes to discover that the alpha stands before me, less than ten feet away and I have to fight every urge within me not to faint.
“How?” I choke out.
The alpha lifts his head slowly and I am lost in familiar eyes, not encased in white but the purest, more beautiful gaze I have ever known.
“You did not take the shot like I asked you to,” he whispers and I hold my breath as he closes the gap between us. Reaching out his hand, he takes mine in his, and I stare up into a face meant only for my dreams.
When he presses his hand to my cheek, tears slip from my eyes as I lean into his touch and whisper, “Cable.”
EIGHTEEN
A thousand sensations ripple through me as I feel Cable’s touch. The temperature of his body feels cool and natural to me in comparison to Nox. The pull of his presence in my mind has become a longing to let him envelop me in his embrace and never let go.
“For months I have been consumed with guilt, knowing that I sealed you into that cave and walked away. I couldn’t end your life. I tried to do what you wanted but the thought of losing you forever...” my voice cracks as I fall silent.
“Shh. It’s okay.” He rubs his thumb across my cheek and I lean into him.
“I have missed you so much,” I whisper. “When I closed my eyes I could see you but when I opened them you were never there. I was always alone.”
“I know,” he whispers. I close my eyes as he presses his lips to my forehead and I cling to him, breathing in his familiar scent as memory after memory assaults me. “But I’m here now.”
“What’s going on?” I hear Hadley speak behind me but I don’t care about her right now. Cable is all that matters.
“How did you escape the cave? I sealed you in.”
Cable smiles and runs his finger down my nose. “I am stronger now, remember? Just as you are.”
“The bite...” I look at his healed wound and see that it is barely more than a faint scar. “You’re like me?”
“Yes.” He takes both of my hands and lifts them to his lips. “If you had killed me, that would have been the end, but I’ve been given a second chance. We both have.”
“But I don’t understand. You were bitten before the mutations began. How could you—”
“Shh.” He presses a finger to my lips to silence me. “The how’s and why’s do not matter. We are together again. Must we look beyond that to answers that neither of us have?”
“Avery,” Monroe hisses behind me and I turn in his direction. His fear chips through the veil of happiness that I felt only a moment ago and it crumbles into ruins as I look back to Cable and draw my hands away from him.
“You are the alpha that I felt calling to me. You ordered this attack.”
“Yes.” He nods slowly and spreads his arms out to encompass his army. “These are my brethren and they do my bidding.”
“But you killed innocent people!”
Cable’s loving expression hardens and all hint of the smile that he wore only seconds ago vanishes so rapidly that I wonder if it was ever really there. “They are not our people anymore, Avery. They hunt and kill our kind. That makes them our enemy.”
I flinch at the venom in his words. This does not sound like the man I know and love. “How can you say that? There were children living her, Cable. Are they guilty of slaughtering anyone?”
“There are always causalities in war.”
His simple yet chilling statement has a profound effect on me and I step back. “This isn’t you, Cable. You used to believe in people when given every reason not to. You held out hope when there was little grasp on to. You had faith when all was lost.”
“I am different now.”
“Should we be worried that these two have a history together?” I hear Hadley whisper into Monroe’s ear and turn to look at them.
The war of emotions waging inside of me is frightening. The pull of Cable’s logic speaks strongly to my new self. I am stronger, faster and better than the humans are, but I am still among them.
“This isn’t right, Cable. These people never hurt you. They never even left the safety of these walls.”
“Liar!” He clenches his fists at his sides. I take another step back when I see a vein pulsing madly down his forehead. He takes several calming breaths and seems to get himself back under control. “These soldiers that you stand in front of mow down my kin every day while they go out on their little missions. Do you stand here and defend their actions? And what of their leaders who create monstrosities in their lab beneath this very building?”
“How do you—”
“Know?” Cable laughs. “Come now, Avery. Surely by now you know that we can sense our kind through walls and earth. We can sense their hunger, fears, and channel their rage. We can also sense abominations and mindless beasts that will follow no one’s guidance. That is what your leaders create in their test tubes. I could not allow that to continue. Not when I knew you were here.”
I take a small step toward him. “Is that what this is about? You came for me?”
Cable stops and smiles. “Of course, Avery. We are meant to be together. Don’t you know that by now? Fate, providence, or whatever you wish to call it has allowed this to happen. We can create a new world together. We can right the wrongs of the past and give evolution the push that it needs to wipe out the weak.”
“You mean to create more Withered?”
He tilts his head to the side. “Yes and no. There are others like us out there. I can feel them and soon you will be able to as well. They are lost and untrained but we can help guide them. We can teach the humans their place and live like Gods.”
I look to the floor as I gently rub the bite scar on my neck. “No.”
“No?” Cable widens his stance and crosses his arms over his chest.
“It’s not right. These people deserve to live as they choose, without fear or corruption. You would take them from one tyrant to the next, placing yourself on a pedestal of fear and worship only so that they can be enslaved to you.”
“It is as it should be. That are now the inferior race.”
“You aren’t thinking straight, Cable. This isn’t you.”
Cable closes the gap between us in the blink of an eye. My hair shifts back from my face and I realize that he has moved faster than any Withered I have seen before. “It is me, Avery, and it will soon be you as well. In a short time, you will want what I want and will understand that this is the way of things. It is the natural order.”
All around the room, the Withered grunt in affirmation. The scent of urine reaches me a second after Hadley groans and I know Warren has pissed himself again. Cable smirks as he looks over my shoulder at the soldier.
“You see his weakness? It is literally leaking right out of him.”
I step between Cable and Warren, blocking his view. “What is it that you want?”
“You.” He reaches out for me but I shift back. “I have searched for you these long months. It was not until you were bitten that I felt a strong tug in this direction but
then it all but vanished. I was sure that something terrible had happened to you so I began to hunt for your whereabouts.”
He turns and looks back over his shoulder. “They can talk, you know? Perhaps not in a language that you or I do, but soon you will begin to recognize the mental impulses and decipher them. It just takes practice. I will teach you to understand more than just what they are feeling. I will instruct you how to command them.”
“How did you learn it all?”
“It was by trial and error mostly. It gets easier after our first kill.”
My blood runs cold. “You...you’ve killed?”
Cable’s smile turns almost condescending. “It is who we are now, Avery. I know you’ve felt the urges. You can’t tell me that the scent of blood doesn’t make you tingle with desire. It’s almost better than sex.”
My stomach twists as I look back at Monroe. To his credit, the man stands tall and strong despite having a front row seat to the most fucked up conversation probably ever known to man. Hadley looks pissed over his shoulder but her finger does not flinch off the flare gun trigger. Warren is a sopping wet mess with his lower lip trembling and snot running from his nose. If he makes it out of this alive, Nox is going to have his work cut out for him.
The thought of Nox sends a jolt straight into my stomach. Is he still alive? Did Flynn make it back to him to relay my plan so that they can mount an attack?
“Avery,” Cable whispers in my ear.
I stiffen when I feel him move around behind me, pressing his chest against my back. “I know that you are confused. I was when I first transitioned but you have no idea just how amazing all of this will be once you truly open your eyes to the world around you.”
“I won’t. Not like you.”
“You sound disappointed in me.”
I flinch at the feel of his fingers slowly sliding up my bare arm. How many times have I longed for a moment just like this, when Cable would be alive and smiling? That I would feel his touch again and know that everything would be right with the world again? But it won’t ever be the same because he’s not Cable anymore. He’s nothing more than a madman wearing his face.
“I am disappointed,” I whisper and turn my face away when he tries to kiss my cheek.
His hand pauses against my elbow and for the briefest moment I feel anger wash over me. It takes me a moment to realize that it is not my own, but his.
When I was trapped in the lab beneath the hotel he must have felt my anger and my fear. That is why he attacked in such great numbers. His purpose wasn’t to wipe out the entire base, though I’m sure he was more than open to that option, but to rescue me. Somehow, in that sick and twisted mind of his, he still loves me.
I close my eyes and sway backward into him as the realization hits me. “You killed all of these people for me.”
“Of course, I did,” he whispers in my ear. “They were hurting you and for that, they had to pay.”
“No.” I turn and face him, pressing back on his chest to allow some distance between us. “Those people that your pets are piling up out there did nothing wrong. They didn’t hurt me. They didn’t even know I existed.”
“But some did...” He trails off, brushing his fingers back down my arm toward my hand. My skin rises in gooseflesh at his unwelcome touch then he laces his fingers through mine and draws me forward to follow his lead. “I have a gift for you.”
“I don’t want anything from you.”
He smiles and presses his lips against the back of my hand. Whatever longing that I felt for him the first time I laid eyes on him has shifted into revulsion but I force myself not to react.
“Oh, I think you will very much like this.” He waves out his hand toward the crowd of Withered and they instantly begin to fold in on themselves. With a bit of tugging on my hand, Cable leads me forward.
“Monroe, walk straight ahead until I tell you to stop,” I call out as Cable leads me toward the middle of the room. I have to make sure that Monroe and the others do not get too far away from me. Their lives and mine depend on it.
Blood squishes up from the plush carpet beneath my boots as we walk. With each step that we take, the farther we move away from the exit and I have yet to glimpse any sign of the generator. A sinking feeling in my stomach makes me think that we might not even be in the correct room.
Where are you, Nox?
There has been no sign of the others and although I’m grateful that all attention has shifted onto our group, I’m afraid that there might still be other Flesh Bags roaming the hotel looking for a feast.
I can’t let anything happen to Nox. Not after all that he has done to try to help me.
Looking over at Cable, I realize that the best thing I can do is stall as long as I can. Even if that means finding a way to allow myself to encourage Cable’s advances.
There is a snarl from directly behind me and I turn to see that Monroe has inadvertently led his group in a veer off to the right and he has just walked straight into a Flesh Bag that I wouldn’t have wanted to cross paths with when he was still human. It leaps onto Monroe and takes him down, breaking the human chain that the three soldiers were clinging to.
“Hadley, don’t move!” I scream and try to run to Monroe’s aid but Cable’s vice-like grip on my hand pulls me back.
Monroe’s screams send the Withered into a flurry as the scent of his blood permeates the air. I watch as the Flesh Bag digs its fingers deep into his stomach, peeling him open like a child opening a Christmas package.
“Stop this,” I cry out and yank on my hand. “You can save him.”
“Why should I? You’re enjoying this too much.”
The blank, expressionless look on Cable’s face makes me fall still. I stare at him as Monroe gurgles, drowning in his own blood. I can hear the tearing and the snapping of jaws, but I don’t look away from Cable. I can’t because the instant I do I will feel the hunger return and I will long to join in.
“What is happening to me?” I ask.
“You are becoming one of us. Do not fight it, Avery. Instead, embrace it as your destiny and then we can be together.”
“No.” I feel a trembling begin in my legs and I rapidly shake my head. “I don’t want this. I won’t become a monster.”
“You are only a monster to them.” Cable steps closer and I feel the trembling intensify as Monroe’s frantically beating heart consumes my thoughts. “To me you are everything.”
“It’s wrong,” I moan as I double over and shove a finger down my throat to induce vomiting. Any taste, even as foul as that, is better than the sweet taste of Monroe’s blood on the air.
“Why do you fight it?” Cable sinks down beside me as I retch. “You did not even know the man.”
“Would that make a difference?” I look up through my messy curls at him. “Could you so easily kill someone you love?”
Cable thinks for a moment and I hum silently in my mind to try to cover over the sounds of eating. I refuse to look back at Hadley and Warren but I can’t imagine that they are doing well. Monroe was their friend and leader and I...I’m nothing more than a volatile beast in the making.
I lead them here. His blood stains my hands alone.
“I suppose that if I were to care about someone from my past I would give it a bit more thought,” Cable finally concedes, “but in the end, food is still food.”
“So it’s not about the need for revenge is it?” I say, wiping my mouth clean. The acid burning in my throat helps to ease the need. “You actually hunger for human flesh?”
Cable smiles. “Yes and then again no. It’s complicated.”
“Bullshit,” a voice yells from behind me and I force myself to look back at Hadley. She stands beside the remains of her friend with her shoulders pressed back and anger etched deeply into her face. “You like eating people. At least have the balls to admit it
.”
Cable releases his hold on my hand and approaches the girl. He steps over the torn ribbons of meat of Monroe’s legs and I force myself to look away.
A single grunt from Cable sends the Withered back into their ranks. Strips of bloody flesh dangle from their lips as they continue to chew.
“Those are bold words for a girl whose life I hold in my hands.”
“Fuck you.” Her muscles clench when Cable reaches out to take hold of her chin. Over her shoulder I see Warren crouched on the floor, his back hunched as he hugs his knees and rocks. At least Hadley has the courage to go out standing.
“Cable,” I call out. “You mentioned a gift.”
“So I did.” From his profile I can see him smile. “And this one nearly made me forget it.”
With a quick twist of his hands, he snaps her neck and drops her to the floor. He turns and steps back over Monroe and holds out his hand to me but I shake my head.
“Let me go to her. It is only right for me to pay my respects since we both know she will not get a proper burial.”
Cable hesitates but finally concedes with a shrug. I rush past him and fall to my knees at Monroe’s feet where Hadley fell.
“Avery?” Warren’s voice quakes so badly that it’s hard to make out my name.
“It’s going to be okay, Warren,” I say, placing a hand on Hadley’s. Inside her palm, I feel the bulk of the flare gun and slowly begin to pry her fingers open. “Just don’t move and don’t speak. I’ll find a way out of this.”
The instant the flare gun is free I palm it and rise. There is no way that I can search for the other two flares without bringing attention to myself. Tucking my hands behind me as I move to rejoin Cable, I shove the flare gun into the back of my pants and pull my tank free of my waistband to conceal it.
“Finish the other one,” Cable calls out before I have moved five feet from Monroe’s body
I close my eyes and walk away as the horde dive onto Warren. His screams will haunt me for years to come, but I accept Cable’s hand and walk away. I never said that I would find a way out for him. He should have known that wasn’t possible.
