The Chosen Ones

by Lori Brighton

We didn’t speak as we hiked all day.

  Even when we stopped for a midday meal, not one person said a word. We merely settled upon the forest floor and ate our mixture of nuts and fruits in silence, food Will and his band had stolen from wagons headed toward the compounds. Like squirrels, they had caches stashed along trails and throughout the woods. Everything I learned about survival I filed away, much like they stored their food, for the day when I would leave. And I would leave. Tom might not have wanted to go with us, but I wouldn’t give up on my brothers and sisters. I would help them escape, even if I had to force them.

  Although I appreciated the food, I grew wary of the meal. I craved breads, pies, meats. I’d lost at least five pounds of fat since coming here, if not more. But I’d certainly gained muscle. I’d changed so much, I was surprised Tom had even recognized me. Except for my hair. Kelly had offered to cut it short, like hers, but I couldn’t, although most days it was braided down my back and out of the way. All the women had long hair at the compounds. It was my last link to home.

  We’d finished eating, and by some unspoken command had started forward once more. The further away I got from the compound, the more the entire situation seemed unreal, as if it had never happened. A nightmare. I certainly didn’t belong there any longer. In fact, it was pretty clear I never had. But I didn’t exactly feel as if I belonged here with these people either.

  Thane brushed by me toward the rest of the group ahead. He’d been surveying the area as he did every so often to make sure vampires weren’t following. Oddly enough, as I watched him move so confidently toward Will, I realized with some unease that if anything, I had more in common with Thane than anyone else. Neither of us truly belonged. The realization was disconcerting, to say the least.

  “Kelly,” I whispered, moving closer to her. She’d been trailing behind and I knew it was so I wouldn’t be left alone. As much as I appreciated her concern, my obvious exhaustion was a constant reminder that I couldn’t fend for myself. “Can we talk?”

  The men had no such worries about me falling behind and were further ahead, eager to get back to the group we’d left behind. I could only hope that Thane was far enough away to not hear.

  She glanced at me curiously. “Yeah?”

  “Thane’s love… if they killed her, how could he possibly keep working for them?”

  I supposed there was a part of me that didn’t believe the romantic tale in the least. Thane was pining over some long lost love, like one of the stories I’d read? Was he really capable of such emotion? Doubtful. I didn’t even know if I was capable of loving anyone anymore.

  She paused. “Don’t you get it?”

  The others were ahead, moving up a hill. We were almost to camp, and who knew when I’d get her alone for answers again. “He has the most difficult job of any of us. He has to pretend to be working for the very people he hates more than anyone else.”

  I found Thane’s broad shoulders as he started up the hill. The sun shone upon him, highlighting his body in an ethereal glow, making his dark hair shimmer. I’d always thought him so unreadable. But maybe he wasn’t. Maybe, just maybe, that coldness wasn’t indifference, but anger, pain, heartbreak, just like any normal human would feel.

  “He’s doing all of this for her?”

  “Yeah.” She looked as if she expected nothing less. “Of course. Why else?”

  How did I tell her that he didn’t exactly seem capable of love? “He cared for her that much?”

  She shrugged. “He is capable of affection, you know.”

  Perhaps, like always, I was being overly cautious. They did know him better than I did. “Forgive me.” I gave her a half-smile, the most I could manage. “But it’s hard to picture the man who rips heads from bodies without a second’s pause as loving and affectionate.”

  She laughed, sliding her arm around my shoulders. “I understand, but trust me, he’s one of us.”

  Trust. I’d never been good at trusting, and after all that had happened I was even worse now. But what did I know about love? Maybe Thane’s romance wasn’t so unbelievable because he was lacking, but because I was.

  “Come on. I’m tired.” She led me toward the hilltop. “I say we head to the creek and swim before supper.”

  “I can’t swim.”

  She stumbled, so shocked. “What?”

  “We only had a small, shallow pond and it was for the cows.” I wrinkled my nose, remembering the foul smelling water. “Not something to bathe in.”

  She shook her head in dismay. “Sweetie, that is definitely a weakness that can get you killed. Don’t worry, I’ll teach you.”

  After that jump with Thane from the castle and into the moat where I’d practically drowned, the idea of swimming wasn’t all that appealing. “Great,” I muttered. “Can’t wait.”

  Kelly laughed and said something, but I wasn’t listening. A tingle of awareness pricked my skin. Something I’d felt before. A warning. I pulled away, frowning, my gaze pinned to the top of the hill. “Will told them no fires, but I swear I smell smoke.”

  She grinned. “I’m betting I know who talked them into it.”

  But I didn’t return her smile. Instead, I started racing up the hill. Something was wrong. I surged upward, ignoring the burn of my exhausted muscles. My heart slammed wildly in my chest, screaming at me to hurry. Jimmy and the others had been left behind. Nothing had happened. Surely nothing had happened. They were well and I was overreacting.

  “Will!” I cried out, reaching them. “The smell.”

  “Fires?” Will looked at Thane. I didn’t miss the worry in his gaze. “Cooking?”

  You could see the smoke swirling up in wisps through the trees on the next hill, the wicked dance of red flames through the trees.

  “No, not cooking,” Thane replied. “Blood. I smell blood.”

  He didn’t explain more, but bolted forward so fast he was a mere blur. Will took off, followed by Kelly and Tony. I, of course, was the slow person behind them. As I huffed my way up the next hill, I knew something terrible had happened. The fear that pressed down on my chest like a lead weight had me stumbling.

  I heard Kelly’s scream first. A terror-filled cry full of pain and despair. I stumbled, falling to my knees. Must help. I dug my fingers into the dirt and shoved myself up to the top of the hill and toward the camp. The scenery before me had me freezing in horror. They stood there in a half circle, three beautiful ones, Bacchus at the head, amusement in his green eyes. Terror gripped me in its icy claws.

  “Hello, Thanatos.” Bacchus smiled, his hands folded demurely in front of his brilliant blue cloak. “I’d like to say that I’m surprised to see you here amongst this pond scum, but frankly I’m not.”

  Bacchus, the very vampire who had chosen me at my compound, the blood drinker who wanted me dead. For a brief, heart-pounding moment, I thought he had come for me. But no…he didn’t even glance my way. Not a speck of blood marred his clothing, but I couldn’t say the same for the other two. They were covered in red, made all the more noticeable against their white shirts. How had they found us?

  Desperate, I tore my gaze from them and scanned the carnage. Shredded bodies were strewn about the camp, Sam…Carla, others I didn’t recognize. Limbs tossed to the side like bloody tree branches, so much wreckage that I couldn’t identify the forms. The world around me wavered. I was going to be ill.

  “Your little letter,” Bacchus said, turning his gaze to Will. “That was actually from our camp.”

  Will’s face flushed, his hands fisted at his sides, and I could tell he was doing everything possible to keep from surging forward. But I wasn’t concerned about Will. No, it was the bodies that terrified me. They had to still be alive. Surely someone still lived. I saw Carla lying face down, dead, blood splattered across her back, matting her light brown hair. Her arm was torn from her body and lay ten feet from her. Sam’s legs gone, his body still, his eyes open and staring unblinkingly up at the sky. Bile burned a pat
h up my throat.

  “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.

  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.”