The Awakened (35 page)

I was worried. Everything seemed to be coming to an end, a conclusion. We found what we were looking for. Sanctuary was real, and it was a place where we could be together and be safe. I was tired of watching people die, and I was tired of being hungry and running for my life. I was ready to stop.

But Sekhmet had left me wary of trusting anyone in the world besides Ash. Razi Cylon was evil. She had wanted to better the world but had gone about it the wrong way. She forced me into her world, examined me, pushed me and used me. She kept Ash hungry and cold, and she had treated Liam like a toy.

My heart squeezed painfully at the thought of Liam. I had no idea where he was now or if he was even alive, but I had to hope. I would always hope that he would be okay and that he would make it to Sanctuary.

“Hey there, beautiful.”

I sat up and looked down at Ash. He had his hands buried deep in the pockets of his jeans, and I could see a small sliver of skin peeking out between the white hem of his shirt and pants. “Hey,” I answered.

He grabbed the edge of the truck and hauled himself into the back with me. His face contorted as he did so, his hands going to the bandage underneath his shirt. The truck bed creaked as he made his way over to me and sat next to me. I slid closer to him, his arm falling across my shoulders. It felt so weird from him to be close to me as he was nuzzling my neck, yet it felt like it was supposed to be like this all along. “Are you okay?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know,” I admitted. There was a bit of movement out of the corner of my eye, and I jerked. A butterfly flew across my face, passing over the truck, and continuing on its way. I sat back, trying to calm my heart. “Well, maybe, I’m not okay.” I looked up. His eyes met mine, unwavering, so trusting. “But I will be.”

“Yeah, yeah, I think you will be,” he said, his other arm coming up to wrap around me, pulling me tighter to him.

“What do we do now?” I asked him. “Sanctuary?”

He paused for a moment, the gentle rise and fall of his chest soothing to me. I pressed my cheek against him, more than willing to just fall asleep there. “It’s what we came to Colorado for,” he finally said.

“What do you think we should do?” I pressed him, feeling anxious.

“Zoey,” he said. I pulled back and shifted myself so I could look at him. “I trust you. You’ve gotten us so far already, farther than anyone else could have. I think we should go to Sanctuary, but the decision is ultimately up to you. I’ll follow you wherever.”

My lips came down on his, hard and fast, and he responded eagerly. After a few moments, I pulled away, my breathing heavy. “I think we should go too,” I whispered. My hands were wrapped tightly around his neck, and I was breathing everything that was him, everything that made him Ash. “I just want you to be safe.”

He smiled, and I felt the pull of his lips against mine as he did so. “Okay, we’ll go,” he whispered back. “We’ll be safe.”

I barely let him finish when I pulled him back to me. I had waited way too long for this, and now that I knew, now that I would never question it again, I didn’t want to ever have to waste a moment with him. I could feel a laugh in the back of his throat as he responded, but I didn’t pause, not even for a moment. I climbed in his lap and swept my tongue along his jawline, causing him to shudder underneath me. His hands were at the hem of my shirt, his fingers spread against my bare back.

“I love you,” I said, hurriedly, pulling at his shirt.

“I love
you,
” he said, pulling me closer to him. I felt him harden underneath me and a wave of pleasure swept through me. My fingers fumbled at the button of his jeans, and he laughed. “Um, Zoey?”

“What?” I said, as my lips found their way down his neck.

“Ah, uh,” he groaned, his eyes closed. A small smile escaped my lips, and I rolled my hips into him. He let out a low growl and grabbed my arms. “Zoey,” he pleaded.

“Ash,” I teased him, running my hands through his hair. He needed a haircut, but I liked the longish look on him. He reminded me of some of the emo boys I had been obsessed with my freshman year of high school, and it only turned me on more.

“Zoey,” he said, his voice low against my cheek. “As much as I would love to continue this, maybe we shouldn’t do this in the truck bed, in Bert’s truck bed within easy viewing of his front window.”

I pulled back, my face flushing. “Right. You’re right. That was dumb.”

His arm reached out, catching me around the waist. That wide smile was across his face, cocky and charming, and I found myself leaning toward it. “Never dumb,” he said, shaking his head. “Let’s go continue this inside, okay?”

I nodded, eagerly. “Okay.”

We stood up, walking carefully across the truck bed. Ash jumped down and reached up for me. I stuck my tongue out at him but let him help me down. His hand immediately reached for mine, and we crossed the lawn together and went back in the house.

Bert still sat at the table in the kitchen, looking as if nothing had passed in the last hour. The puzzle book was already in his hand again, and his pencil was poised above the open page, a crease of concentration on his forehead. He glanced up as we came inside and said nothing.

“We’ll go,” Ash spoke up for the both of us.

He dipped his head, his eyes returning down to his book. “We’ll leave in the morning.”

Ash nodded in response and pulled me down the hallway, back to the room that we had been in before. He shut the door and turned the lock, and I felt a nervous giggle escape my lips. He raised his eyebrow as he spun around and pressed me up against the locked door. His hands came down below my butt, and he lifted me. My legs automatically wrapped around him, my hands gripping his arms tightly. “Something funny?”

I shook my head, feeling my heart beat rapidly in my chest, threatening to burst out of my ribs.

“Good,” he said, in a low voice. His lips came down on mine, and I found myself eagerly kissing him back, low whimpers escaping my lips in between kisses. My shirt was off and tossed to the ground before I could even protest. Goose bumps rippled across my skin as the soft cotton of his shirt rubbed up against me. He was still hard from before, and he was moving against me, causing me to pant in between kisses.

“Let’s go to the bed,” I suggested under my breath. He grinned and carried me over to the bed. I fell back on the bed, with his body lying next to me. I brought his face back to mine and rolled on top of him, catching him by surprise. His hands came up to my hips and thrust himself upward into me. I gasped in surprise, and a chuckle went through his body. “Something funny?” I parroted his words back to him.

He sat up, propping himself on the pillows, pulling me along with him so that I was straddling his lap. “Never,” he whispered.

I smiled down at him before covering his mouth with mine.

I WOKE WITH A START
the next morning with only one word on my lips.  “Sanctuary.” I looked over and was unsurprised to find Ash lying awake next to me. He looked over at me and gave me a nervous smile. His hand reached for mine, and I immediately grabbed it.

“You ready to do this?” he asked, his voice full of sleep. He cleared his throat, sitting up. I watched as the blanket fell to his hips, revealing his naked chest, and I felt a deep ache at the sight of him. I placed a palm over his warm chest, right above his heart, and smiled.

“You know, you have got to stop ogling me like this,” he yawned. “I’m starting to think you love me only for my body.”

I shrugged. “Well, at least the truth is out now.”

He laughed. “Are you ready to do this?” he asked again.

I nodded, feeling the anticipation build in my stomach. “Yeah, let’s do this.”

We moved slowly, despite our confident words. I took my time in the shower, reveling in the water that came out of the spout. It wasn’t hot, not like that showers had been back at Sekhmet, but it was warm enough. I felt more comfortable in this shower though. I didn’t have the overwhelming feeling that someone was watching every single move I made. I stayed in the shower, longer than was necessary, wincing at the wrinkles that sprouted across my fingers and toes from being under the water too long. I dried myself off and slipped on a nondescript black shirt and a pair of jeans. I had never asked Bert where he had gotten clothes that had fit the two of us so well, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear the answer.

When I returned back to the bedroom, Ash was sitting on the bed, fully dressed, his hands clasped tightly together in his lap. He was staring at them, his brow furrowed, lost in thought. I paused in the doorway to study him. I leaned against the doorway, and the floor creaked underneath my feet. His eyes shot up to meet mine, and the left corner of his mouth tilted up for a minute. He stayed sitting for a long moment before standing up and walking toward me.

“Let’s go,” he said, taking my hand and pulling me out the door.

THE DRIVE TO SANCTUARY WAS
short, maybe only an hour, maybe two. I kept my hand clutched in Zoey’s the entire way there. I was trying hard to keep up a strong appearance for her, but I was terrified. Her face remained calm, her eyes staring out the window at the blur of trees and empty homes. I watched her, unable to tear my eyes away. I had been in love with her for as long as I could remember, and all I wanted to do was protect her and keep her safe from all the bad things in the world. I had to remind myself how incredibly strong she was, how capable she was.

She shifted in her seat, and I felt myself fill with warmth as she turned those wide brown eyes at me. They were beautiful, dark, nearly the color of milk chocolate, framed by the thickest black eyelashes I’d ever seen. Sometimes I just wanted to lean into her, just to feel those eyelashes against my skin as she kissed me. She was beautiful, and I wondered if she even knew how beautiful she was.

I couldn’t help it as a smile spread across my face. She beamed back up at me and squeezed my hand tightly. My mind flashed to the night before, the way our limbs had tangled together, the way her face had looked when I made her feel good. I leaned over and pressed my lips tight against her forehead.

We had been driving straight on a lonely highway for ages before Bert finally pulled off and took a series of turns. He led us up a long, windy road where we passed a sign that read “Mesa Verde National Park.” There was a ranger station at the entrance, but it remained empty, and there was something almost haunted about the sight of it. My eyes were glued to it until it passed out of sight. I shifted back in my seat, feeling the warm leather of the seat sticking to the fabric of my jeans.

I didn’t know how long it took us to drive up the cliffs, but eventually Bert pulled to a stop. There was nothing around us but trees and the hard red and white rock of the cliffs, and I looked up at Bert, curiously. “This is the best way to get to the entrance.” He took out a piece of paper that showed a roughly drawn map scrawled in red pen. He handed it over to me, and I studied it. Zoey leaned over, pressing her cheek against my arm as her eyes roved over the paper.

“It should be simple enough,” Bert said, his fingers tapping the worn brown steering wheel. He looked at the two of us. “Should only take you a couple hours, at the very most. It’s not very hard to find, but this is the most direct route.”

I nodded, slipping the map into my pocket and grabbing the pack I had brought from Bert’s house. It had a few articles of clothing in there, some snacks and water bottles, and the book I had found amongst the shelves at Bert’s house. As soon as I’d seen the familiar title,
The Mists of Avalon,
I knew I had to grab it. It wasn’t her copy, but the book was important enough to Zoey to bring it across the country with her, and I wanted to have one for her, always. Zoey slid across the seat and pushed the creaking passenger door open. She hopped down and turned back to me. I slung the pack across my shoulders and climbed out after her.

Zoey turned back to the truck, her eyes bright and wide. “Thank you, Bert, for everything.” I could hear the emotion in her voice and knew how hard it was for her to show it. “Take care of yourself, okay?”

Bert smiled at her, a full smile, and I was taken aback. I hadn’t seen a smile like that from him the entire time we had been at his house, and believe me, I had tried hard to get one. He was quiet, stoic, kept to himself and definitely not quick to smile. I saw the way he looked at Zoey and knew that there was a part of him that had quickly come to care for her. “You take care of yourself, Miss Zoey,” he spoke. He looked at me. “Take care of each other.” He turned the key in the ignition, and the truck fired back to life. With one last glance at us, he turned the truck away and began the slow, winding drive back down the cliffs.

We trucked through the forest for what felt like an eternity, the sun beating down on us. Zoey stayed quiet the entire time, never complaining, even as she drained the water bottle I handed to her. Every step was like a burning flame in my ribs, but I pushed forward. Bert’s map was a drawing of landmarks; turn left at a boulder in the rough shape of a bear, things like that. We were looking for a gap in the cliffs, something most people wouldn’t notice but would be marked by a single symbol.

Zoey halted when we reached the ruins, built right into the side of the cliff. They were old but incredible, and the two of us paused for a moment to take them in, to wonder about the people who had once lived here. I was mesmerized at the sheer size of the dwellings, cut out of the cliffs, high above the forest floor. We stared at them for a long time before Zoey tugged on my arm, a strange look on her face.

“I think I found it,” she said, her voice low.

She led me closer. Hidden just beyond some of the dwellings was a crack in the cliff just large enough for a person of decent size to squeeze there. I had to wonder if people actually used this entrance all the time. There was no way. There had to be an official entrance. For now, though, it seemed that this would be the way we go. Right above the entrance, two large circles were carved, intertwining, almost like a Venn diagram.

“I’ll go first,” I heard myself saying. I took the pack off my shoulder and handed it back to her. She had her arms folded tightly across her chest as she watched me. My body was pressed tight against the stone as I turned sideways and pushed my way through. I was grateful, for the first time, for all the weight I had lost in the past months. I blinked a few times, trying to adjust myself to the darkness that was on the other side. I didn’t hear anything, but this had to be the right way. No more than a hundred yards away was a light.

“Well, I think I just lost about twenty pounds squeezing through there.” I heard a light laugh coming from the other side. “But it’s safe.”

Zoey came squeezing after me, a look of panic on her face as she took in the darkness around us. She steeled herself, her hand reaching for mine. I thought for a moment that she might falter, but instead, she pushed her shoulders back and started walking toward the light.

When we reached it, we realized it was just the first in a series of overhead lights, lighting the way down a tunnel. We continued to follow them, like a trail of lit up crumbs, leading back home from the witch’s house. Soon, the dark crumbly cliff walls disappeared, and we found ourselves in a hallway, not unlike the one at Sekhmet. I felt my heart slam into my chest as I began to spot the cameras dotting the hallway, every few yards or so.

“I’m scared,” Zoey said, her voice so soft that I was unsure if I had even heard her correctly. I wanted to pull her toward me, wrap her in my arms and never let her go. I knew what it meant for her to admit that.

There was a loud bang, and the sound of a door opening. It echoed down the hallway toward us, overwhelmingly. We both stepped closer to each other, stopping in our tracks, afraid to move.

It had been no longer than a minute or two when I heard it: footsteps, light and unhurried, heading down the hallway toward us. I took a step forward, subtly placing myself between Zoey and whoever was coming toward us. She didn’t notice. Her eyes were focused on the space in front of us, waiting to see who would appear.

Eventually someone came within our eyesight, and we both looked at each other quickly before turning our eyes back to the figure. It was a woman, I noticed as she came closer. She was small, almost as small as Zoey, dressed impeccably in a blazer and skirt, reminding me of the women I sometimes saw on political shows. She had dark black hair streaked with gray, and I placed her around my parents’ age, forties, maybe fifties. She had a pleasant look on her face, not quite a smile but still welcoming. She stopped about six feet in front of us.

“Hello,” she said, her voice strong and deep in the cavernous hallway.

I went to speak, but the words were stuck, and I was grateful when Zoey spoke. “Hello,” she said. I felt her nervousness in the shaking of her palm against mine, but her voice was clear and steady. “I’m Zoey, and this is Ash.”

The woman smiled wide and swept her arms out in greeting. “Zoey. Ash. Welcome to Sanctuary.”