The Chosen Ones

by Brighton, Lori

  “Oh God, Oh God!” Kelly cried out as she clung to Tony, who stood there staring blankly at the ruins, as if he just didn’t understand the scene before him.

  “Letter?” Thane said, his voice calm, neutral. Death and blood were nothing to him.

  “From Raven,” Will whispered.

  “Yes.” Bacchus shrugged, his long dark hair billowing on the breeze. “The so-called Raven. We grow weary of your groups. You’ve become a nuisance, and we’ve decided it’s time to crush your little rebellions and be done with you once and for all.”

  “You can try,” Will seethed. “But there are way more of us than there are of you.”

  “Much like insects, but insects can be crushed by the hundreds.” Bacchus laughed. “Tell him, Thanatos. Tell him that in the end the more evolved will win. We always do. You see, you might have the numbers, but you don’t have the strength or the brains to overcome us.”

  “Perhaps,” Thanatos said, stepping closer, the red glow from the fire burning brightly in his eyes. “But you’ve forgotten, Bacchus, they have me on their side.”

  Thane moved so quickly I didn’t see it coming. He hit Bacchus with a thud that sounded much like tree branches cracking. They spun around, teetering toward us. I shoved Kelly out of harm’s way. Tony and Will surged forward, taking on the two guards. But I didn’t care about their stupid battle.

  Jimmy. Where was Jimmy? I ignored the sound of fists hitting flesh, ignored my own piercing fear, and searched for the boy. But the bodies scattered around the campfire were too big to be him.

  “Jimmy?” I leapt over a torso, the face too bloodied to identify. “Jim?”

  My foot hit a patch of blood-soaked leaves and I slid. I reached out, latching onto a branch and regaining my balance. I stood there in the middle of the chaos, while people fought around me. I stood there while people lay dead, not knowing what to do, how to help.

  Where was the boy? Frantic, I searched for Thane. He and Will stood in the middle of the clearing. One of Bacchus’ guards lay on the ground dead. Bacchus and the other guard were gone.

  “Will,” I cried out. “Jimmy!”

  Will shoved away from Thane and raced toward me. “Where?”

  “I don’t know! I can’t find him!”

  “Split up,” Will said, his breathing harsh in the quiet evening. “See if there are any survivors.”

  I spun around, searching through the trees, looking over the bodies, the blood. Jimmy. Where the hell was he? There, behind a fallen log peeked a small foot. With a cry, I raced forward. I didn’t pause as I leapt over the log and fell to the ground, right were Jimmy lay. His right leg was bent at an odd angle, but it was the blood soaking his shirt that had me choking on my tears.

  “Jimmy?” My voice cracked. I grasped his hand, his fingers slick and sticky with blood. His face was pale, so very pale. Afraid I’d hurt him further, I didn’t dare search for the injury. “Where, Jim? Where’s the worst of it?”

  “Jim?” Suddenly Will was there, falling to his knees beside me.

  Thank God, they would know what to do. I jumped to my feet, stumbling back, out of the way. “I can’t find the injury!”

  Thane knelt, his pupils flared, those eyes so odd they were almost frightening. “His chest.” Slowly his gaze traveled down the boy’s body, and I realized he could somehow smell or sense the wound when we couldn’t. “Back of his head.”

  “Thane?” Will whispered.

  I heard the unspoken question in Will’s comment. I didn’t know what he asked, but the entire world seemed to stand still as we all waited for his response. Thane lifted his gaze and I saw the look in his eyes…I saw the answer to Will’s question. Jim was dying. Kelly cried out, pressing her face to Tony’s shoulder.

  “No,” I whispered, shaking my head. It couldn’t be…it didn’t make sense. Jimmy was too young, they didn’t even like the blood of the little ones. He wasn’t ripe.

  Thane stood and gripped my arms, pulling me up against him. “Don’t make this worse for him,” he whispered in my ear. “Be strong for Jim.”

  I started to surge forward, intending to dress the wounds, do something, but Thane held me tight. All I could do was stand there within Thane’s grasp, watching while the life drained from Jim’s body, his blood soaking into the very dirt that cradled him.

  Will took Jim’s hand. He didn’t cry, but smiled, a soft, gentle smile. “You’re going to be okay.” Jim’s lashes fluttered; he was trying so hard to keep them up. Even Jim knew, deep down. Will brushed the boy’s hair back from his bloody forehead. “Kelly, get a blanket.”

  But Kelly was frozen in grief and it was Tony who raced toward a pack that had been left behind by one of the dead.

  “Will, I heard them talking,” Jimmy muttered through bloodied teeth that chattered together as if he was freezing. He was going into shock, perhaps. I was certainly no doctor, but I had read enough to know some details.

  “Shhh, Jim, it’s okay,” Tony whispered, dropping to the ground and placing a tattered blanket over his small body. “Everything will be okay.”

  “No.” He frowned. “They’re going after him. Raven. They’re going to find him and kill him. It’s why they questioned us.” His lashes lowered as if speaking was too much. “They thought we might know where he’s located.”

  I wanted to demand he open his eyes, tell him he couldn’t possibly die.

  “The mythical Raven,” Kelly whispered. “This is all because of him?”

  She seemed angry and I didn’t blame her.

  “Turn him,” I whispered, spinning around in Thane’s arms and clutching his shirt. “I read about it in a book. You can turn him into a vampire, he can live forever.”

  “No one lives forever,” Thane whispered back. “And turning is a myth. We are born this way.”

  What was he saying? It was over? There was no chance for Jimmy? Slowly, I turned to face the truth. The entire world seemed to end in that moment. All good was gone. If this could happen to someone as young and innocent as Jimmy, there was no hope.

  “Will,” Jim whispered.

  Will leaned closer, his hand tightening on Jimmy’s. “I’m here.”

  Tears slid down my cheeks and dropped to the same dirt that held Jim’s blood. It was, in some way, as if I was accepting my own death. I knew, in that moment, that this battle would continue until we were all gone.

  “If you ever find my sister, will you tell her I missed her?” Jimmy whispered. “That I kept looking for her?”

  Kelly sank to the ground, utterly destroyed. I knew I too would have fallen to my knees if Thane hadn’t been holding me. Somehow Will managed to retain control when the rest of us were losing it, but I could tell, by the look in his eyes that he felt the pain more than any of us.

  “Yeah, I will,” he said, his voice rough with emotion. “We’ll find her, I promise.”

  “Thanks, Will.” He took in a shallow, trembling breath. “I’m tired. I’m going to rest now, okay?”

  Will nodded. “Sure, Jim.”

  Kelly bit her lip, but she couldn’t prevent the sob from slipping from her mouth. Tony’s jaw was quivering, his hands fisted, as if trying to hold himself back. And me…I was numb again. The nothingness crept slowly up my body, and I welcomed it. I didn’t want to feel anymore. I couldn’t. I wanted to sink back into that darkness I’d found those first couple weeks of escape. I wanted to never feel again.

  Jimmy’s gaze remained open as he stared at the blue sky just visible through the trees. We stood there around him, keeping watch, protecting him. We stood there and watched as he took his last shallow breath. And for moments after, we continued to stand there watching his still body, as if hoping it was all a mistake. Not one person moved. No one said a word. Even the forest had grown oddly quiet.

  Death was not peaceful and beautiful as I’d read in books. Nor was it dramatic as other novels had portrayed. It was quiet and numbing and blinding. It took all hope and left you with…nothing.

&nb
sp; Slowly, Thane released his hold on me, and knelt beside Jim. With a soft and gentle touch, he brushed his hand over the boy’s eyes, closing them. “Rest, little one.”

  Then Thane stood. I felt his absence keenly, leaving me cold and alone. My knees weak, I sank to the ground, watching as Thane walked away. I watched until he merged into the shadows, disappearing into the forest because it was preferable to staring at Jim’s body.

  “We’ll bury them,” Will whispered, his voice harsh with pent-up emotion. I’d never seen him look so lost, so desolate. It was the same look upon Kelly and Tony’s faces. The same look I knew I wore. “They deserve that at least.”

  “We never bury,” Tony said. “We run.”

  Will raked his hands through his hair as he stood. “I’m tired of running.”

  A shiver of warning whispered through the numbness. I lifted my gaze and found Tony staring hard at me. I knew he blamed me for this. He knew about the note from Raven, but he still thought Will had gone to that compound to impress me. I hoped he was wrong.

  “Hurry, bury them all,” Will said, starting back toward the camp. “We leave as soon as possible.”

  “Where are we headed?” Tony demanded, going after him and leaving Kelly there, sitting upon a pile of damp leaves next to me.

  “The sea.” Will paused, his back to us. “It’s time we find Raven and put an end to this once and for all.”

  Chapter 10

  We walked for days in search of the mythical Raven, who supposedly knew more about vampires and the rise and fall of our world than anyone. A mythical man who gave orders that everyone followed. For those two days I welcomed the movement. Walking made it easier to deal with the graves we had left behind. Made it easier to forget that Jimmy wasn’t with us. Easier to realize it was only Kelly, Tony, Will, Thane, and me left. We stopped only to sleep, taking turns to keep watch. But we didn’t stop for long. None of us wanted to spend too much time at rest. When we paused, the memories came flooding back.

  “Today is Sunday,” Kelly whispered next to me as we trudged up yet another forested hill.

  She didn’t need to say more. I understood which Sunday she meant. The first Sunday of the month. The day when everything would change for those unlucky few who were chosen. Sunday, a month ago, I’d been picked.

  Sunday.

  Perhaps Tom would be chosen. Maybe my sister. Dead by tomorrow. I shoved the thought aside, closing that door tightly. I couldn’t think about what would happen. I was already close to tumbling back into that dark pit, constantly on the precipice of madness. It would drive me over the edge.

  “We don’t ever say a word,” she continued, plucking a needle from a fir tree as we followed a deer trail. “But we know. We always know.”

  And I had a feeling I would know for the rest of my life. A life that would be a constant struggle. This war against the beautiful ones wasn’t so we could have a better life, it was a battle for life. A fight to survive. Pure and simple. Kill or be eaten.

  The ground sloped gently uphill and we followed the path, weaving our way around bushes with biting thorns, barely noticing when they pierced our jacket sleeves and scratched our arms. A cool breeze raced through the trees, rattling the branches above as the sky in the distance threatened storms.

  The ground had been slick with pine needles, but my footsteps were sure. Funny how my body was getting stronger, yet it seemed as if my mind had only grown weaker since Jim’s death. I wasn’t even sure if I was still human any longer. I certainly didn’t have the emotions I’d had back at the compound. It was like I floated through life, not really feeling anything.

  “How long have you been out here?” I asked Kelly, as I swiped away a cobweb that clung to my face. “On the run?”

  She shifted her bag from her back to her shoulder and ducked under a low-hanging branch. “Don’t know. I suppose about three years now.”

  I followed her, ducking low. She hadn’t seemed much older than me, but now I wondered about her age. For three years she’d been out here. How many had she seen murdered? Had she ever once thought about helping her family and friends back at her compound, or did she assume they were dead?

  “And Thane?” I glanced at the man who walked ahead with Will and Tony. They only spoke to make plans, walking most of the time in watchful silence. “He saved you?”

  She nodded. “Yep. Same as everyone else. I took the bait, I read the books.”

  “What about Tony?” The guy had been glaring daggers at me ever since the attack at the camp. “No offense, but I can’t imagine him reading much.”

  We started up yet another hill. The air had changed somehow as we’d been walking. I’d noticed it this morning, although hadn’t been able to put my finger on what exactly it was that had changed. It was cleaner, yet more humid, with a scent that I couldn’t identify. Rain, perhaps? I glanced warily at the dark clouds on the horizon.

  “No, Tony doesn’t like to read,” Kelly said with a quick smile. “But he’s curious, and he would take the books and flip through them. And that’s really what it’s about…who wants to know more? Who isn’t content being told what to do, living in their fenced-in world?”

  Who would take the bait? Although the four of us—Will, Tony, Kelly and Me—were rather different, we all had curiosity in common.

  “Curiosity killed the cat,” Sally used to say.

  How ironic.

  “We’ll stop here,” Will called out.

  The guys had paused in a clearing where the trees gave way to clear space along the edge of what looked to be a cliff. But it wasn’t completely empty. Some sort of building, half decayed, lay in rubbled ruins.

  “What is that?” I asked, taking in the jagged edges where the brick had broken away, gaping spaces that could only be windows, a large rectangular open door… “Looks like a home.”

  “It was.” Kelly and I quickened our steps, eager to rest, if even for an hour or two. Blisters stung the heels of my feet and my calves were cramping from exertion. How I looked forward to the day when I was as fit as the rest, and wouldn’t hold them back. They could have covered twice as much if it weren’t for me, or so Tony had muttered in passing yesterday.

  “The blood drinkers burnt down most of the houses left behind by our kind,” she explained, dropping her pack. “But there are a few remains…like this one, which were made of brick and didn’t burn.”

  Kelly moved into the home and began unloading her bedroll, but I was too interested in the unfamiliar scenery around me. I started through the doorway. Weeds grew in abundance and the roof was no longer above. Because of the height it looked as if it might have been two stories.

  “It won’t protect us much, but at least it’s something,” Will said as he set his own bag down and began to unpack.

  I moved through the house and out the back door. Surprised, I suddenly found myself on the edge of the cliff. The closer I got the more the world seemed to tilt off balance; the sheer drop made me dizzy. I jerked my gaze from the swirling grayness below and focused on the horizon. I could barely tell where the blue sky ended and land began. Except…there was no land. I dropped my gaze again, prepared this time for the dizziness. What was that below, shimmering, sparkling under the setting sun?

  “You okay?” Will asked.

  “What is that?” I whispered, pointing to the swirling mist.

  He smiled for the first time since Jimmy had died. “The ocean.”

  Stunned, I refocused on the sparkling water, so blue that I couldn’t tell the difference between land and air. It was so much more than I could have imagined. I stepped closer and looked below, way, way below. The waves crashed against the side of the rock and splashed back, water droplets exploding in the air. The world around me spun. A piece of rock broke, tumbling down…down. My balance suddenly off, I wavered.

  Will gripped my upper arms and pulled me back. “Careful.”

  For a brief moment I rested against his solid form, taking comfort in his presence. For jus
t a short moment I reveled in his strength, the feel of another human pressed to me. And for that brief moment I felt again: felt human, felt alive, felt whole.

  But I didn’t want to feel. I shrugged off his hold, letting the numbness fall around me, taking me under, much like the waves crashing below. I couldn’t feel again, couldn’t let the emotions take over, or I knew without a doubt they would destroy me.

  To cover up my unease, I nodded toward the water. “He’s out there, Raven?”

  “See the island?”

  I followed where he pointed. Just through the haze I could make out a cropping of trees on a mound of land. “Yeah.”

  “That’s where he supposedly lives.”

  “And how are we getting there?” Dubious, I turned to face him, not realizing how close he stood. We were mere inches away and his warm breath brushing across my lips made me wonder about that kiss. Did he ever think about what had happened? Did he regret it? Maybe it was some newbie initiation. I brushed aside the ridiculous thought. We had more important things to worry about, and my first kiss was no longer meaningful.

  “We’ll figure it out tomorrow.” He turned toward the rest of the group, dismissing me. “Camp?”

  He always asked, although no one ever disagreed with him. I suppose it made it seem more like a democracy if he asked for our opinion. Truth was Will had been born into this reality, he knew more than any of us. And we all trusted him with our lives.

  Thane, on the other hand…

  I glanced at the man who met Will in the doorway of the house, always quiet, always letting Will take the lead. His hood was up, his face hidden as he talked with Will. Was he ashamed of his scar? I couldn’t imagine him caring what anyone thought about his features. Still, wondering about Thane was preferable to wondering who would die next.

  Tony and Kelly had dropped their packs to the ground in the middle of the decaying building, and were going about making shelters.

  “We’ll stay for a couple days,” Will said. “Rest.”