Taken Over (Book 2 The Ravening Series) (29 page)

   Then why the hell was I suddenly terrified
of
giv
ing
Bishop a fresh sample
of my blood
?

   Something primal and instinctual was clamoring against
my insides. I studied Bishop intently, but couldn’t come up with any reason not to give him blood when I had given it so freely before.
The antibiotics were keeping me safe
,
for
now, but what would happen when I came off of them? What would happen if he took a fresh sample and discovered that there was something wrong with me?

   Bishop
touched my arm gently, looking to soothe me, but I found no comfort in his kind gesture.
My hand trembled as I
squeezed his hand for a brief moment
. I couldn’t shake the nausea that twisted within my belly as I watched him walk away
.
I tried to convince myself that Bishop was right, that cross contamination
was t
he culprit, but it wouldn’t sink in. There was something else
, something savage
clamori
ng inside of me, and begging to be heard
.

   I couldn’t help but feel that it was the voice of truth.

CHAPTER 11

   I ran that night. I ran like I had never run before. I ran like the
hounds of hell were on my heels.
R
an like I could escape the clamoring terror thumping through my veins and
pounding
in my blood.
If it
was
my blood
anymore
. I
was afraid that
this strange entity
was inside me now
, that it had somehow gotten inside and
pump
ed and pulsed rapidly
through my veins. My blood, this thing that I couldn’t
escape
from,
t
his thing that
was the very life of me
, also felt like my enemy
now
.

  
It
was inside of me, pushing me faster, driving me onward
as it
tore at my insides.

   I wanted to s
hout
my horror and terror to the world. Wanted to fall to my knees and scream until I couldn’t scream anymore. But that would only bring
them
, and if they came
,
they would kill me.
If they came they would split me open
,
like they had that
boy
in the hospital
,
and poke around in
side
m
e
to see if they could find what made me different
to
o
. I wonder
ed
if they would
finally
be able to discover what Bishop was so desperately seeking.

   I stumbled, fell, but scrambled swiftly back to my feet. My knees ached from the impact, but I kept going, leaping and dodging and zigzagging around
the
obstacles in my way. My labored breathing was harsh in my ears, I fell again
as exhaustion claimed my legs. I
attempted to scramble back to my feet
,
but slipped in the lose leaves and plummeted back to the ground. I lay there, gasping, trying hard not to cry as my fingers dug into the earth.

   What was
wrong
with me?

   I didn’t mean what was wrong with my blood, but simply what was wrong with
me
. Why couldn’t I be like the others? Why couldn’t I put on a smile and at least at
tempt to fake
happiness? Was it because there really was something wrong with me?
Wrong with my blood?

   I shoved myself off the ground, refusing to lay there and be miserable. Refusing to be weak and
broken anymore
.
Th
e woods
w
ere
my place, this was
my
time. I would not allow it to be ruined, not now, not
ever
.
There was nothing wrong with m
e
. I had to believe that. There was nothing wrong with me other than a broken heart
,
wounded spirit
, and a body depleted of the essentials it needed
.
I saw better at night
now
because I was a part of the night now
in a way that I never had been before. I
could
hear better now because I had learned to listen better, because it was a sense I needed for survival
and I had honed it
. I was stronger and faster because I had be
en training,
I had lost weight and gained muscle, and
I had been fighting
.

  
I sat panting, m
y lungs burned, my legs ached from the
run, but it felt good. I
felt
alive
.
I
wasn’t trying to run from myself, wasn’t trying to escape something inside of me, I was simply seeking some kind of freedom from a world that terrified me now.

   And these moments were the only moments of freedom and solace I
had
.

  
I ached for Cade, longed for him fiercely. He wouldn’t have the answers to the fears and questions that plagued me, but his presence had always been comforting, reassuring; strong.
He’d always been so strong, so calm, so collected and cool even when I was breaking down and falling apart. He’d made me stronger.
He wouldn’t have the answers, but I knew he could ease the doubts, the fears, the crawling horror building within my belly. I closed my eyes
and lay down
. The ground was so cool, so blissfully
cool against my heated flesh.

   I could smell him; smell the wonderful scent
s
of wood and earth and spices he’d exuded. I could almost feel him; almost touch
the
hardened muscles beneath his smooth, soft skin. Those eyes, so black and beautiful they had seemed
as
endless
as the night sky
, seemed to stretch into an infinity of love and
understanding
. A tear slid down my cheek, I did not try to stop it. Aching loneliness spread through my chest, I did not try to push it away, did not try to rebury it. It felt good to grieve, I needed
to grieve. For the first time it actually felt good to think of
Cade
again
.
I
t brought agony with it, but it also brought a rush of joy so bittersweet that I almost laughed
aloud
with it.

   My arms shook as
I
pushed myself up. I
sat on the ground, my legs crossed before me as I
finally
c
aught
my breath
.
I opened my ears to take in the sounds around me, but I was
horrified
to realize
that the forest was quieter than normal.
Ri
s
ing
to my knees,
I
ca
ught
the faint sounds of animals moving about, but they were far
more remote and hesitant.
The breath froze in my lungs
as I slowly surveyed the woods
, looking for
the
danger
that must be lurking within
the dense cluster of trees
.

   I
frowned, uncertain and confused.
I shoved myself up;
my legs
still trembled
slightly from the exertion of my run
, but they were strong enough to get me out of here if I needed it
. My hands went to my waistband
, instinctively pulling out one of the guns tucked there. Something seemed to shimmer a
s
it
move
d
on
my right; I turned in that direction, leveling my pistol on the tree line. I waited breathlessly for a few moments but I didn’t see anything
more
.

   I frowned as I turned
in a slow circle
, searching for something lurking in the darkness
. My sense’s hummed as I strained to hear
,
or see
,
anything out of the ordinary
. Though both of those senses failed to detect anything
,
I was certain there was something there, something haunting me, stalking me.
I hated the fact that these creatures seemed to enjoy playing with their food
before pouncing
.

  
I swallowed heavily; my body was thrumming, fairly vibrating with tension and fear. I cursed my stupidity for having run this far.
No one
would even hear my gunshots out here. I was alone and I had no one to blame but myself
,
and my desperate need to feel something other than trapped and
broken
.

  
I spun to the left, my hands clenching on the pistol as
the rustle of leaves rattled through the trees. There was no breeze tonight; the animals had gone to ground
. My eyes narrowed, my hands began to sweat as I took up
a
shooters stance. I might be able to outrun one of them,
might be able to lose them in the woods,
but I wa
nted to know exactly
what it was that I was going to be outrunning.