Reclamation (Book 3 The Ravening Series) (18 page)

Hope filled her eyes as her hand fell upon my arm. "We could too, if you come back?"

Dreams I'd never had unfurled before me and I knew there was nothing I wanted more than to come back here and have a child with her. Nothing I wanted more than to start a family with her, to call her mine for the rest of our lives and to be able to love her freely.

"If I come back we
will
have a child," I promised her.

I couldn't resist kissing her again. Pulling her against me, I slid my hands through her hair as her mouth opened to my invasion. She was always so warm, so willing and giving. I'd never met anyone like her; I doubted they even existed as she gave her heart, body and soul freely to me with an eager acceptance that left me desperate for even more of her.

I felt the edges of her soul tickling against mine and the driving urge to grasp hold of it seized me. I fought the urge though as my hands slid over her silken skin. Though I was hungry, I couldn't take anymore from her, I'd seen the changes it had rendered in Rosemary and I couldn't take the chance that consuming more of her would have such an effect on me before I made it onto that ship.

She'd already made me more human by loving me, the beauty and strength of her soul was only going to continue that process.

Then she latched onto something within me. The breath left my chest as she began to taste me in pulling waves that shook me. My hands clenched in her hair, instinctively I wanted to pull away from the feeling of vulnerability the action aroused in me, but then pleasure swamped me as I gave myself over to her quest for more.

My heart raced as her fingers curled into my arms and she held onto me. Her breath was subtle against my lips as she opened even further to me. She was the most magnificent thing I'd ever experienced and I simply couldn't get enough of her. There was no doubt within me that I would gladly hand over my own life for hers.

Bishop slipped the leather pouch with the ten vials of poison he'd created safely into a pocket sewn on the inside of the shirt he held. "One drop of this stuff would kill a human but I have no idea what it would do to an alien without testing it on one of you first."

"Well let's just hope that it will be effective against them," I said.

"There's a syringe in here too, if you're able to get close enough to inject someone with it they should drop like a drunken sailor on leave." Bishop's gray eyes appeared even larger behind his glasses as he lifted his head to look at me. His ingrained curiosity was evident as he studied me. "I plan to try and find some more medical equipment to study Bethany's blood if I can."

Everything in me protested the statement, but there was nothing to hide anymore. "Ok," I said.

My gaze slid to her as she stood surrounded by Abby and Aiden. Bret stood slightly to the side with his arms folded over his chest. Jenna stood beside him, and though they weren't showing it around anyone yet, I'd noticed a subtle change in their scents when they were around each other now. A spike in their hormone levels that no human would have been able to detect but I knew it indicated that they had resumed their old relationship.

"There could be something in her blood that could help us, maybe," Bishop said.

I turned my attention back to the doctor. I trusted these people with the most important thing in my life, it was something I'd never done before, but as Bishop held my gaze I knew I was doing the right thing. They would all do what it took to keep each other safe. Even Lloyd, who was still sullen and resentful toward Bethany and me, was standing protectively behind the others with his rifle pressed against his chest.

I nodded as Darnell stepped beside Lloyd and they spoke softly. Darnell took hold of Lloyd's rifle before he came toward me. "I told you I'd give you something that could cause some damage to that monstrosity." Lloyd dug into his pocket and pulled out a grenade. "It's our last one so put it to good use by blowing those assholes out of the sky."

"I will," I assured him as I took it from him and slipped it into my pocket.

"Do you know how to use it?"

"I've got a pretty good idea."

"I've also got these for you." Lloyd pulled a small pack forward and pulled out an oilskin cloth from a pouch within it. He rolled the oilskin open to reveal a small pipe with a single fuse sticking out the end of it.

"You're going to have to be really careful with these," Lloyd told me. "I'm good with explosives but these certainly do
not
contain military grade materials. They contain a hodgepodge collection of whatever I could find in the nearby homes that could be used as an explosive. Too much jostling and these things could blow. I would suggest ditching them if you have even a little doubt that they'll be able to make it through."

He handed me a Zippo lighter and a small pair of scissors. "You've got about five seconds after you light it before it explodes. I normally would never make it so short but you guys are so fast that five seconds may be too long even. If you feel you need less time cut it shorter before lighting it."

I studied the deceptively innocent looking soldier as he folded the oilcloth and tucked it into another pouch that had been sewn into the inside of the shirt. He'd been resentful after learning the truth but as he handed me the shirt I realized that he hoped for my return. It was a strange realization as I thought Bethany was the only one that had any real concern for me, but as I looked at the group I saw the strain on all of their faces. Abby and Jenna even had tears in their eyes. Perhaps, if I somehow made it back, these people could become my friends. Or perhaps they already considered themselves my friends and I had never realized it. Either way it wouldn't matter unless I returned.

"Good luck and don't blow yourself up first," Lloyd said to me.

I forced a smile to my face, I didn't feel as distant and cold as I had before tasting Bethany's soul, but I wasn't entirely sure what was changing within me yet either. "I'll try not to." I assured him before turning away from him. I slid a t-shirt over my head and turned as Bishop held out the black button up shirt to me. I could feel the weight of the pouches against my chest but the baggy black shirt hid them well as I slid the buttons into place.

Bishop nodded his approval. "You can't even tell they're there."

"Good."

Taking a deep breath, I turned to Bethany. This was going to be the worst part. Bethany forced a smile as I walked over and took hold of her hands. "I promise as long as I draw a breath I will try and come back to you."

Her hands clenched around mine. "I'll be here."

I clasped hold of her cheeks as I bent and kissed her forehead. "I love you," I whispered in her ear.

Her hands clenched on my arms. "I'll always love you, always."

I reluctantly released my hold on her but her fingers dug into my flesh. "Bethany..."

Her eyes were closed as her hands slid away from me. "Be careful, don't do anything to get yourself killed, if you can't succeed then come back and we'll figure out another way," she gushed out.

There was no other way; this was the only chance we would have to defeat them, if we failed in this than all hope for humanity would be lost. I didn't say this to her though, I couldn't take away this bit of hope she had. Unable to resist, I kissed her quickly again before tearing myself away from her.

"Stay safe Bethany, don't do anything crazy."

"Never," she replied with a fleeting smile.

I didn't look back as I turned and walked away, but I caught the scent of her tears as I made my way out of the small clearing. It took everything I had to keep walking, to keep putting one foot in front of the other instead of turning back and refusing to let her go again. Darnell fell into step beside me and Bret appeared on my other side as we moved further into the woods.

"Are you sure about this?" Bret asked.

"Can you think of another way?" I inquired.

"I mean are you sure about leaving her? With the way that she is now and the changes she's gone through?"

I stopped walking and turned to face him. Bret almost walked into me but managed to catch himself in time. "She's the same girl you've always known; she's just stronger and faster."

"With a taste for blood."

"She's controlling it and she will continue to do so. Do you think Bethany would ever purposely hurt someone?"

Bret's eyes flickered behind me and his shoulders slumped. "No but she's so different and without you to lean on..."

"Bethany is far stronger than she, or you, ever gave her credit for. It's time you started to realize that because she's going to need all of her loved ones in the coming days."

Bret's eyes widened as realization set in. "You don't plan on coming back."

"I have every intention of trying to make it back here."

"But you don't think it's possible?"

"No, I don't."

Bret's gaze went back to where we had left the others. "It almost destroyed her when she thought you were dead the last time."

"She knows what my leaving means this time." Bret swallowed heavily as he turned back to me. "It's the only way I can give her a chance to live, the only way to give her the life she deserves. It will be a difficult one but she'll at least be
alive
. It's all I've ever wanted for her."

Bret stared at me as if he were seeing me for the first time. "You're not who I thought you were."

"I've never been who you thought I was."

Bret released a snort of laughter. "Very true."

"We should go," Darnell interjected.

I glanced up at the setting sun and nodded my agreement. Most of the others from the group we had left the tunnels with had moved inside the gated compound, but others, like Arlene, were still wary and remained sleeping outside of the gates at night. Arlene was now standing by the group that had been gathered within the gates to make the journey. Her head tilted toward us as we approached but she didn't speak and the firm set of her mouth told me she still wasn't pleased with our decision.

"Are you sure there is no way they can trace you back to this location?" she inquired.

"We wouldn't be going if there was," Jessica assured her as she slid a knife into her belt and took the other knife that Leo offered her. I recognized the look in Leo's eyes and had to force myself not to glance back toward where I'd left Bethany. I wouldn't be able to see her from here anyway and looking back was something I wasn't going to do.

"That doesn't mean they couldn't find us at any time," Rosemary told her.

Rosemary stepped forward and handed another knife to Betty, a small brunette girl with a compact body that would have been better suited for a twelve year old boy. She was quick though and far more agile than what I'd expected upon first seeing her. She slipped the knife into the holder at her side and turned toward Art, the man hovering anxiously beside her. I turned away from their goodbye and stepped beside Jessica as Leo turned away.

Craig, a large man with hair even darker than mine and skin nearly as dark, bent low to kiss the small blond woman, Jodie, standing at his side. Craig appeared to be nearly thirty and I assumed Jodie was about the same age, but her small stature made her appear much younger. Steve, a small Mediterranean looking Tintagelian was hugging Leighann as they exchanged their goodbyes.

Jessica handed me a large plastic bag. "You'll need it later." I took it from her and shoved it into my back pocket. "Does Bethany know?"

"Know what?"

"That we most likely won't be coming back."

"She knows. Does Leo?"

Jessica's eyes traveled to the young man gathered with the others. "He does."

The first splash of color began to streak across the sky as the sun started to set. The filling station that Jessica had shown us on our test run three days ago was almost a hundred miles away. It would take us less than an hour to make it there but I was eager to get this over with. I remained immobile though as I hid my impatience and waited for the others to say their goodbyes.

The last streaks of pink were fading from the sky when we finally made our way into the woods. It was freeing to run again, to move, to do something other than think because all of my thoughts only brought me back to one realization. I'd just left behind the only person I'd ever loved.

If I thought too much I would go back to her. I didn't fear death; it was simply a fact that it would happen one day and it wasn't something that I thought about often. The imminent threat of death didn't make me want to turn back, but even now I could feel the pull of Bethany trying to lure me into returning to where I belonged. I could sense it in the others too as they didn't slow, but there seemed to be a heavier weight upon them as their shoulders slouched and their mouths became more pinched with every step they took.

It was refreshing to feel the wind whipping past me as I concentrated on avoiding the obstacles in my way. My heart raced as we rounded the top of a hill and the filling station came into view. Unlike the encampment we had just left behind there were no humans here but only a simple train station looking platform that was a good ten feet off the ground. The tangy smell of blood wafted up from the valley the station was nestled in below.

I'd seen it before but even so I felt the hunger within me stirring to life. It wasn't a part of myself I was proud of, but I wasn't ashamed of it either. It was who I was, a predator, one that ranked even higher on the food chain than the humans that had mistakenly thought themselves at the top of it.

I slid over top of the hill and behind an outcropping of rocks. Settling behind a large boulder I rested my hands on it as I rose to look into the valley. Jessica's shoulder pressed against mine as she stood up beside me. From our vantage point we could see some of our kind walking a patrol around the ten foot high fence surrounding a few acres of the land below us. Actual buildings had been erected; they weren't hastily assembled shacks but rather they were elaborate creations with roofs that wouldn't leak and floors that weren't dirt.

"Are you going to tell me how we get on the ship now?" I asked.

She'd kept her secret to herself until now, but I didn't doubt she had a way onto the ship just as I didn't believe she would betray me. I'd seen her love for Leo and I knew that what was driving her to get on that ship was the same thing that was driving me.

"It's not fun, even for our kind," she answered.

I didn't like the sound of those words but I'd never expected this to be fun. She gave me a secretive smile and nodded to the left. Creeping out from behind the boulder we carefully made our way through the woods and around to the side of the platform. Jessica put her hand up to halt us. I knelt down as I surveyed the fence and the land sprawling out beneath us.

The ground shook as a Seeker full of blood approached the platform on its spiderlike legs. From its lower midsection a single, its main spindly tentacle slid out like a worm from the earth and into a metal tube. Like a person pumping gas, the blood pumped out of the creature and into the waiting canisters that would be transported back to the ship.