Taken Over (Book 2 The Ravening Series) (24 page)

   “Shit,” I hissed through clenched teeth.

   “Bethany?”

   I shook my head, shrinking away
from Bret’s hand as it landed on my shoulder. I could feel
the
hurt that the sting of my rejection inflicted upon him
,
but I was so buried beneath the swirling misery of my own pain that I couldn’t acknowledge
,
or
ease
,
his. I inhaled sharply, slowly reigning in the surge of emotions that had
threatened to
disintegrat
e
me. It took me a few more moments
,
but I was finally able to regain enough control to
open my eyes.

   “Are you ok?”

   “I’m fine.” I d
idn’t look at Bret, I simply couldn’t right now. It was
too
hard, it was all
so
hard, but there was always hope
I forcefully reminded myself
. There would always be hope for mankind
,
and we were a big factor in helping to aide in that hope. I had to keep it together, I could lose it later; I could grieve when we returned to everyone because that was what I needed. I had been trying so hard, struggling so much to keep in control that I
had not allowed myself to
grieve
for all of my
losses
.
And I had to grieve if I was ever going to regain some control of myself
, if I was ever going to truly begin to move on
.

   As much as everything inside of me revolted a
gainst losin
g control, I knew that it was slowly starting to happen. I just had to keep it together until this mission was over, and then I would find a nice secluded spot and cry until I couldn’t cry anymore.
After that
I would cry some more and maybe, just maybe, I wouldn’t feel so dead inside.

   Though I knew there was no way that I would ever
feel
fully alive again.

   I inhaled sharply and straightened my shoulders. We had to get moving, I wanted out of this damn place as soon as possible. I slipped my pack onto my back, easing it gently over my wounded shoulder. “Looks like a bunch of damn vultures came through here,” Lloyd muttered.

 
“Survival of the fittest.” They couldn’t hide their relief as they focused their attention on me. Apparently the precipice I had been teetering upon had been clearly visible to them,
judging by the looks on their faces
my control had been closer to snapping than I
’
d realized. “We should go.”

   I avoided Bret’s hand as he reached for me, dodging him swiftly as I made my way to the
ruined
door. Lloyd st
o
pped me
before I could duck back under the twisted frame
. “Are you going to
be ok?” he inquired so quietly that even I could barely hear him.

   “I’ll be fine.”

   His eyes were
bloodshot, there were shadows under
them
,
but he was far more alert than his bedraggled countenance
suggested.
“This is not the time to fall apart.”

   I shot him a hard look
, angered by his words, but angrier at myself for allowing them to catch even a brief glimpse of my weakness
. “I’
m
fine.”

   I slipped out of the doorway, wanting to escape more than anything at the moment.
I kept my gun by my side as I moved. “Slow down,” Lloyd hissed behind me.

   I didn’t want to slow down, I wanted to run, wanted to bolt down the halls in search of something, anything other than this unending quiet and l
ingering
agony. I slipped around a corner, freezing instantly as a strange noise reached my ears. It wasn’t buzzing this time, not flies, but a soft ding that rang out every ten seconds or so.

   “What is that?” Jenna asked quietly.

   “The elevator.” Lloyd pushed past me, keeping low as he swept down the hall before poking his head around the corner. He tried to shove me back again, but it was too late I had already seen what was causing the elevator to
repeatedly
open
and
clos
e
. My hand flew to my mouth; vomit surged up my throat as I took a stumbling step back. I could feel the blood draining from my face
, for a moment I thought I was going to pass out.

   “Just a boy,” I breathed trying to shake the image of the mangled body from my mind. He
was
so broken, so twisted and mauled. Hardly recognizable as a human except for his small Nike sneakers
, his close cropped flaxen hair
and the bloodied stuffed bear by his side. “Why would they do that?”

    Lloyd grasped hold of my shoulders as he pushed me back. “Monsters.”

   “H
e wasn’t one of the frozen ones,
”
I realized.

   “No.”

   I shuddered in revulsion; I was trying hard not to throw up. Jenna had retreated, her eyes were haunted, lost, and she hadn’t even seen the broken body of the child. “We need to get out of here.”

   Lloyd’s eyes were hard. “Yes.” He pushed me back further, nudging me toward another long hallway. “Find some stairs.”

CHAPTER 9

   I tucked the bulky microscope under my arm. It was
heavier than I would have liked and would soon become tiresome, but I had finally found my prize and I wasn’t ready to relinquish it. Not yet anyway. We had come so far, struggled so much, all for this
,
and a few other supplies. It seemed so insignificant as I adjusted it under my arm, but it could be mankind’s salvation.
Bret and Jenna were busy scooping up vials,
petri
dishes, and microscope slides. Lloyd’s hand was resting on the hematology analyzer.

   “
This thing’s going to be a pain in the ass to carry,
”
he mumbled as he studied it from all angles.

   “We need it,” Bret responded.

   I glanced
at all of the equipment, there was so much of it, and so few of us. Bishop had explicitly requested the microscope, analyzer, and
other supplies but I
wanted to
take everything.
I was afraid
that if we left even
one
thing behind
,
it would turn out to be the
one
thing we needed most. And there was no way in hell that I was ever coming back to this place again.

   I considered getting rid of the cereal in my bag to make more room for supplies, but quickly discarded the notion. There was no telling when we would find food again. We would have to make
due
with
what
room we had.
Lloyd awkwardly lifted the
smallest
analyzer
in the room
; he looked completely annoyed by the bulky piece of equipment
as he pushed it into his large pack
.
It didn’t fit well, and he wasn’t able to completely zip it closed, but it was still better than having
his hands occupied with
carry
ing
the thing.

   We spent another ten minutes grabbing and packing away as much as we could.
I
knew
we were leaving something behind
,
but there was only so much we could take, and only so long we could stay within these haunted walls.
I
hated th
is place
.

  
We made our way slowly back out of the building, far more subdued than we had been upon entering. Far less optimistic
,
even though we had
nearly
succeeded in our mission. Lloyd radio
ed Darnell
;
they arranged a meeting place in four days. I thought I should feel more joy over being reunited with my brother and sister
,
I found none.
In my mind
I could still hear the distant ding of the elevator opening and closing on the ruined body of the small boy.

   The
rancid
smell of that place clung to me. The blessed sting of a hot shower would feel wonderful right now,
but that was a pipe dream
,
and one that I didn’t expect
to have come true anytime soon
.
I settled against a small maple, drawing my knees up to my chest as I rested my chin on top of them. I had volunteered to take the first watch; I
’
d spent most of the day unconscious after all.

   It wasn’t long before Bret’s soft snores started to fill the air. I sat for
awhile, trying not to think
,
yet unable to
shut my mind off
. My mind wouldn’t stop running, tripping,
screaming
along at full speed. Unable to sit still any longer I bolted to my feet. Barney opened one eye to watch me for a moment before yawning and drifting off to sleep again.

   I paced anxiously through the woods, moving in a small circle through the trees
. I felt like a caged tiger, antsy, trapped, cornered in a place that I didn
’
t want to be. I was beaten, battle weary, every part of my body ached.
I wanted it all to end
, but there seemed to be no end in sight.

   I fought against the depression and hopelessness threat
ening to bury me within their rolling grasps, but for a moment the futility of the whole situation
overwhelmed me. Even if Bishop could find
some miracle cure within my blood, how did we defeat them? They knew all of our weaknesses and we knew none of theirs.
The
ir creatures
could be killed with bullets, but it took a lot to take
one of them
down, and it was nearly impossible to take down two or three of them
at a time
without losing people in the process.