The Chosen Ones (16 page)

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.”

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 just 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.