Ravenous (Book 1, The Ravening Series)

by Erica Stevens

CHAPTER 26

  I felt like swamp thing/idiot as I walked/wobbled toward the edge of the water. I also felt extremely exposed. We would only briefly be in the open and able to be spotted, but that moment was far too big for my liking.

  We had avoided the parking lot area, moving further down the shoreline to a more secluded spot. It was a further distance to the mainland from here, but we had all opted for a longer swim rather than longer exposure time. Molly, as the only one with experience, was the only one with her own tank. It would be better if she possessed it and was able to help out if something went wrong. Molly and Aiden were the only ones with compasses.

  My eyes lingered upon the rope tying us all together, except for Molly. I didn't like this, not one bit. Though the ocean was vast I could already feel a growing sense of unease about being trapped beneath its rolling waves.

  Aiden and Abby had been paired together in the front; Bret and Jenna were behind them, and finally Cade and I. Cade had the tank strapped to his back, though I had a feeling he would try and force me to take the mouthpiece far more often than I would need it. I only hoped he didn't hurt himself in the process.

  Knives had been handed out in case someone got into trouble and had to be cut away. In case they had to be sacrificed. I didn't have a knife, but then I wouldn't have been able to cut the rope and sacrifice anyone anyway, no matter what happened. I shuddered at the thought and shifted the bag of guns on my back. The weight of the guns was reassuring. They had been divided into three waterproof bags and given to the three of us without tanks.

  I wasn't too confident in this plan, but it was all we had. It had taken a half an hour for Molly to explain everything to us as quickly, and as well, as she could. It had been another half an hour before we found a secluded backyard. The falling ash had become thicker again and dawn was only hours away. We didn't have any time to try and formulate another plan.

  I didn't think there was one anyway.

  "Let's go."

  Molly easily slipped into the water, my entrance was nowhere near as graceful as hers was as I flopped, floundered, and fell into the ocean. I was thankful for the wetsuit as the chill of the salty water hit my cheeks and hands. I inhaled deeply before ducking beneath the waves. Though I was nowhere near lacking in oxygen, my lungs began to burn as panic tried to claim me. Cade was suddenly beside me, I couldn't see him through the murky water, but his hand grasped hold of my arm before stroking upward.

  His presence caused the burning in my lungs to ease a little. I held onto the rope as I kicked through the water. It hadn't been long, I knew that, but I felt as if we were making good progress, even if I couldn't see where we were going. Apparently Molly decided we were far enough down as she clicked on the light. I could barely see the dim glow, it briefly highlighted Aiden in front of me, and then it was gone as Molly turned it back off. There was a shifting in front of me, a small turning toward the right.

  Cade was beside me again, I didn't know what he planned until I felt the press of the mouthpiece against my lips. I tasted salt and water as I inhaled deeply, grateful for the fresh surge of oxygen filling my lungs. His hand lightly pressed over my mouth, looking to calm me as we continued to slip through the sea.

  This was going better than I'd anticipated, that only caused my uneasiness to spike. Everything had been so grueling up to this point; I had expected the same thing here. It made me anxious and tense, I was certain something was going to happen. Cade tried to force me to keep the mouthpiece, but I managed to give it back to him. For a brief time my fingers entwined in his, and then he was taking the air from me.

  We made our way through the water, the beam would flare briefly every once in awhile before going back out. Subtle adjustments would be made in our direction as Molly read the compass. Three sharp tugs on the line alerted me we were finally approaching land. Hope and foreboding shot through me. We were almost out of here, but there was no way to know what awaited us on the other side.

  Then suddenly I felt it, a rising up of the ocean floor beneath us. We began a steady ascent, swimming upward as we headed for land again. What were we going to do if they were awaiting us? Nothing, there would be nothing we could do. We couldn't get to the guns, we wouldn't have enough time to flee back into the sea, and even if we did, we wouldn't have enough oxygen to remain hidden for much longer.

  We’d done all we could, now all we could do was pray luck stayed on our side. There was a shifting to the left; I followed along until I felt my head break water. I rose cautiously and pulled the mask slightly up as I surveyed the rocky shore. Cade was beside me, his midnight hair was matted against his forehead, and the water had plastered his shirt to his chest. He pressed closer to me as the air hit my wet hair and skin, causing me to shiver.

  "This way," Molly whispered.

  We half swam/walked closer to the shore. The darkness was so complete I couldn't see if there was anything waiting for us. Molly pulled her flippers off and tossed them onto the shoreline. I tugged the flippers off and wiggled my toes in the sand as I took a brief second to enjoy the simple pleasure as the others ditched their flippers and tanks.

  I could barely breathe as we scrambled forward. The shore was rocky and rough beneath my bare feet but there was no way I was stopping to dig shoes out of the bag on my back. Cade's hand wrapped around my upper arm, I felt as if we were moving through quicksand as we slipped in the shifting sand.

  We were almost to the tree line when illumination blazed over us. Everything seemed to slow around me; we were mired on the beach, trapped like rats beneath the glow. Everything around me was acute and vibrant. The air seemed to shimmer like the air above asphalt on a hot summer day. I felt as if I could reach out and touch every particle. In those, the final minutes of my life, I was completely connected to the world, and the people around me. I could hear and see everything, I could feel the energy of the earth, feel the life force joining me to the ones I loved. Though they had always seemed noiseless, I could almost hear the hum of the engines as one of the ships moved over us.

  Then Cade was grabbing hold of me, wrapping his arms around me, and pulling me down beneath him. The earth rushed up to meet me; I spit and coughed as sand filled my nose and mouth. His hand in front of me was a deep bronze color in the dazzling light. I didn't know what he was doing until I saw the knife. Then, the rope connecting me to Aiden was sliced.

  Love bloomed in my chest as I realized he’d just freed my brother and sister. They would be able to make it, we never would. We were too far behind, too far away from the sanctuary of the trees.

  "Cade..."

  "I love you, Bethany."

  A sob ripped from me as my fingers dug into the sand. His lips were warm against my cheek as he kissed me. I turned into him, savoring our last moments together, taking comfort in the solid strength he radiated. I tried to tell him I loved him too, I always had, and always would. The words stuck in my throat though, I couldn't get them out.

  "Bethany!" Abby's scream echoed from the woods. Tears burned my eyes as I watched her struggling against Aiden's restraining hold. "Bethany!" I knew Aiden would keep her safe. Ever practical, ever stoic Aiden would save Abby because he knew there was no hope for me.

  Then another light blazed forth. A moan of despair tore from me as it illuminated the woods. My siblings weren't going to be able to escape either. They were as trapped as we were.

  I was so caught up in my despair I didn't immediately recognize the noise blazing out of the forest, erupted across the beach, and echoed through the night. Then, the sound pierced my foggy, distorted mind. I inhaled sharply, getting a mouthful of salty sand for my effort, but I didn't care as gunshots continued to ring out across the beach. Far more gunshots than anything our supply of weapons could have achieved.

  I lifted my head, wincing against the barrage of lights bursting from the woods. It wasn't another ship, but something else entirely. Cade was frozen above me, his muscles taut and rigid as they encompassed me. Then he was seizing hold
of my arm and pulling me to my feet. "Stay low!"

  I bent over as I labored through the sand sifting beneath my feet. I could barely see or hear anything over the gunshots and lights. Cade was grabbing for me when he tripped and fell. For a second I didn't understand what had happened, Cade was always so graceful and sure. Then I felt the brusque tug of the rope still binding us.

  I cried out as I was roughly pulled back and knocked off my feet. My fingers clawed uselessly at the beach, but there was nothing for me to grab hold of, nothing to stop my violent propulsion backward. I spun onto my back, horrified to find Cade halfway off the ground. One of those things was wrapped around his waist, tugging him into the air, and toward certain death.

  A scream tore from my throat. I lunged at him, trying to grasp hold of his hands as we were pulled backward. My heart hammered, I wasn’t concerned with my life anymore, but his. Another tentacle snaked toward me, but Cade was somehow able to turn and knock it away. I was tugged brusquely forward, lifted off the ground and awkwardly thrust back onto my feet. I stumbled and reached for Cade again, but he was getting further away from me.

  "Cade!" I screamed. Jerked forward, I was spun around before being slammed face down onto the beach as the rope joining us was pulled taut. The breath was knocked out of me, I could barely see as stars burst before my eyes. I strained to clear my vision as I fought to breathe again.

  I was drug toward the shore by the rope binding us. Somehow I managed to flip onto my back once more. Grabbing hold of the rope I tried to dig my feet in, tried to get some kind of leverage as I fought to keep Cade from being torn away from me. My hands caught fire as the rope tore across my palms but I refused to let go.

  My feet hit the water; I was plunged in up to my knees. I knew heart-stopping dismay as my eyes met Cade's. "Cade." His name was just a whisper on my lips, a breath even I barely heard, but I knew he somehow had.

  I was jerked to my feet again as Cade cut the rope.

  A scream of anguish swelled up my chest and tore out of me. "No!" I wailed as I fell into the ocean. I scrambled to my feet and crashed into the surf as I tried to catch Cade before he disappeared from sight.

  "No! Caaaaade!"

  I was so focused on him that I didn't see the other tentacle coming at me until it knocked me off my feet.