Against The Darkness (Cimmerian Moon) (12 page)

“Six days
ago.”

“Wow, you guys
move fast.”

“Well, it’s
just the two of us, so staying out of sight isn’t a problem. We walked as far
as we could then, when we got tired, we would sleep for about two hours and
then get up and do it again. I’m exhausted, but I don’t think I could rest for
more than two hours at a time anyway.”

“Is that why
you’re up?”

“Mostly. And
it’s also my turn to keep watch.”

“How long do
you think it’ll take us to make it to Michigan?”

“It shouldn’t
take you longer than twelve to thirteen days.”

In twelve to
thirteen days I could be home with my mom.

I want to ask
him if him and his dad can maybe postpone their trip to D.C. and help us get to
Michigan. We have no chance of surviving on our own and he and Ken seem to know
how to handle themselves.

“Dad and I already
decided that we’re going to get you all to the Ohio border. It’s not Michigan,
but it’s close.”

I let go of
the breath I had been holding. “Thank you. I know I keep saying that. But we
need the help.”

“We couldn’t
let you guys keep traveling alone. Not with what happened back there.”

“They just
kind of ambushed us. We didn’t stand a chance. I don’t even want to think about
what…”

I want to say
“what would have happened to the rest of us,” but the words choke up in the
back of my throat, because I do start to think about it. Ian and Wade would
have been forced to “protect” the Tanners. MJ would’ve become a modern day
slave and there’s no doubt in my mind that the Tanners would have soon turned
their attentions to Mia, Shayla and myself, despite how they felt about race
mixing.

Jason puts an
arm around my shoulder, bringing me closer to him. Fire ignites across my skin,
making my nerve endings tingle. I take in a rush of air at the contact, as his
arm settles on my neck. Skin-to-skin we touch. My heart skips one beat and then
another, until it’s a fluttering mess. Air seems to vacate my lungs and,
without being able to breathe properly, I begin to wheeze.

“It’s going to
be okay. We won’t be running into them anymore.”

I struggle to
pull air into my lungs, but my chest won’t expand enough to let it fill the
spaces.

Oh, God I’m
going to pass out.

Tingles of
heat creep across my hairline and brow.

Am I
sweating?

I don’t need
the smell of new sweat to make me that more unappealing. I’m sure I already
reek. Just as the thought crosses my mind I want to scream out.

Crap.

I press my
arms to my sides and a little bit of me dies as I try to imagine how bad I
stink. Maybe I don’t need to breathe? Then he won’t smell my breath.

Stop this.
Whatever this is.

But pulling
away or pushing his arm off doesn’t register as options for me even though I
know that breaking the contact will probably stop the crazy storm of emotions
that’s raging within me.

I bring up my
legs and bury my mouth between my legs. “But what about people like them?”

“Huh? I can
barely hear you.”

Or smell me
either.

Bringing my
head up and breathing rancid breath into his face is also not an option. So I
speak louder, “I mean, we came across folks like you that were helpful and more
than willing to share information and tips.” I shake my head, rattling it
against my knees. “But the Tanners…I didn’t know people like them were out
there. We’re supposed to be fighting against the aliens, not each other.”

He lets out a
heavy sigh and I swear, even though I’m leaning down, I can still feel the heat
from his breath caress the back of my neck.

What does
my hair look like?

As if I wasn’t
freaking out enough, another random thought crosses my mind. I’m looking like a
plumb fool. The braid Mia put in my head a couple of days ago probably looks
ratty and dirty.

“It’s sad, but
people like the Tanners are opportunists.” He pulls his arm away and I feel the
void of broken contact.

Good.

But a piece of
me wants him to touch me again.

Get a grip
.

I take in a
few steadying, deep breaths, trying to control my breathing. I wish I could do
the same with my heart, but it’s working so hard and so fast I don’t think it’ll
ever recover.

“Are you
okay?”

I clear my
throat. “Yeah, I’m just…glad that it’s all over.” I lean away from him. Not so
much to where we’ll appear awkward to anyone watching, but enough so he won’t
feel comfortable hugging me again. I don’t know what happened, but I can’t let
it happen again.

“They aren’t
coming back. People like them are cruel. They try to find ways to exploit
anyone weaker than them.”

“We’re not
weak. They just caught us off guard.”

“I didn’t mean
it like that. I meant that, since you all didn’t have any real weapons, you
were free game to them. If you had guns I’m pretty sure they would’ve let you pass
by without as much as a peep.”

“You’re
probably right. Wade is pretty handy with a gun. I’m sure he would have taken
care of them if he had a chance.”

The idea of Wade
being forced to kill someone makes a shudder run down my spine. That’s not what
he signed up for when we started our trek back home. It’s not what any of us
anticipated. But now, thanks to the Tanners, it’s most likely on everyone’s
mind.

“He said he
had hunting experience, so dad gave him a gun.”

I let out a
relieved breath. With a gun Wade can help them protect the rest of us.

“As a matter
of fact, we gave Ian and MJ guns too.”

For the first
time since we started this journey, I feel as though we’ll make it. A gun would
stop anyone who plans to do us harm in their tracks. But, most importantly,
guns will also stop the aliens from getting us.

I peer up, bad
breath be damned. “I want one too.”

He tilts his
head. “A gun? You?”

I straighten my
shoulders. “Since you’re handing out firearms, why not me?”

“Fresh out.”

The shoulders
I held so straight and tight fall into a slump. “Fine. But I’m keeping the
knife.”

“Sure. You can
borrow it.”

Borrow.
Yeah right
. Let him try to pry it away from me.

“So what’s the
story with you and the big guy anyway?”

I frown. Who
could he be talking about? Ian isn’t big at all. MJ is big but Wade is bigger.
“Wade?”

“Yeah him.”

I shrug. “He’s
my friend.”

“Back there it
looked like he was more than a friend.”

“I have no
idea what you’re talking about.”

He pulls his
lips to one side, as if in thought, and I notice how perfectly plump they are.
Pink and soft. I quickly glance away. I don’t need to be looking or thinking
about his lips. This isn’t the time or place.

“He was…concerned
about you. I thought you two were an item. I was just wondering. Everyone appeared
paired up, that’s all. I just found it interesting.”

“I was afraid
for my life, for everyone’s life. I’m not sure why that would be so interesting
to you.”

“High school
love always interests me.”

I smirk. “Is
that right?” I view him up and down. “I never would have taken you for the type
that’s interested in teenage angst. So what young adult stories do you read?”

“Why read it
when I can live it vicariously through my little brother? He tells me all about
his girl problems. I know way too much about teenage love, so much that I could
probably write my own stories.”

“How old is
he?”
Please let him be younger than me, please let him be younger than me.

“He just turned
fifteen.”

I feel better,
knowing I’m a couple of years older than his brother. I don’t want Jason to see
me as a little kid.

“How old are
you?”

“Twenty. And
how old are you?”

“Seventeen.”

“Jail bait.”

“Assuming
there are any jails left,” I’m quick to point out. Maybe a little too quick, I
think, just as soon as I say it.

He chuckles
softly. “Probably right. If there were any jails left we would have dropped
those bastards off.”

“Under the
jail,” I add.

We sit in
silence for a couple of minutes. It’s not at all uncomfortable, like the kind I
would expect to have with a stranger. A bird chirps in the distance and another
one answers. The need to get up and go back to my sleeping hole doesn’t grip
me. Now that I have my insides under control, I like it here with him. “So
twelve days, huh? That sure does give me something to look forward to.”

“It shouldn’t
take long at all.” Then he scrunches his face and pulls his brows together. “Wait
a minute. Tallahassee is only about four hundred miles from where we found you.
What’s taking you guys so long to travel? MJ told me those bastards only held
you all for one night.”

I give him a
sideways glance. “We started off with forty students and three adults. Our
teachers had to figure out a way to mobilize all of us. Which wasn’t
easy—we had someone who was in a wheelchair and a lot of ninth graders
with us. Our teachers were being cautions. They wanted to get us back safely.”

“Wow. I can’t
imagine trying to travel with that many people.”

It was hell, I
want to tell him. The teachers had a hard time trying to keep everyone together
as a group and an even harder time at trying to keep everyone quiet. Frankly, I
was surprised it took as long as it had for the aliens to find us. We were like
a herd of elephants trampling northward.

He’s silent
for a minute, I think trying to figure out how to ask the inevitable.

“You’re short
about thirty people. What happened to them?” he finally asks, breaking the
silence. “I’m sorry. I know I probably shouldn’t ask, and if I’m making you relive
some painful memories you definitely don’t have to answer me.”

“Aliens. About
fifteen days into it, we got attacked by aliens. I’m sure they must have
thought they hit the jackpot, all those kids, free for the taking, with adults
too old to really fight back.”

He hissed in a
breath. “How many got away? Surely there had to have been more?”

I shake my
head. “Just us that we know of. After it happened, we got to a safe distance
and hung around for a couple of days, waiting to see if we could find anyone else.
But no, nobody so far.”

“We passed a
lot of aliens. There’s seems to be more in Texas and Alabama than we’ve seen
here.”

“I’ve only
seen them on television. They’re scary—monstrous.”

“Wait. I
thought you said…”

“No, I wasn’t
there. Wade and I were scouting a route for the group to travel later that
night. We almost made it back to camp though. If Wade hadn’t sprained his ankle,
we would have been right there with them.”

“I’m so sorry,
hon. You guys went through all that and then had to go through another hell
last night.”

I can feel a
tickle of a tear down my cheek and sadness trying to settle in my heart. I
shrug, trying to stay strong and not give in to the urge to cry. “I’m sure
everyone will have their own story to tell after all of this is over.” I say
those words “after all of this is over” but I don’t really believe it. I don’t
believe that this will ever truly be over. At least not in my lifetime.

“If you weren’t
there, how did the blood get on you? Did the Tanners do that to you?” He
indicated to my shirt. “Did those bastards touch you or the other girls?”

I don’t have
to cast my eyes down to see what he’s talking about. With no change of clothes
or no way to properly clean the ones we have, the blood stains are still there.
“No. They left us alone.”

“But the
blood?”

“Ms. Burgess,
Ian, MJ, Shayla and Mia ran into us. Mia was covered in blood.” I pick at my
shirt. “This is from her, when we were hugging each other.”

“At least you
didn’t have to go through seeing that.”

I look up to
him. The tears that I tried to hold back flow over the brim of my eyes. “I didn’t
see it, but I feel…” A hiccupping sob breaks from my throat. “Guilt…so much
guilt. For not being there with them. And I know I shouldn’t, but I’m so
relieved that I wasn’t there and it just makes me feel like dirt.”

“Why? You
should
be relieved that you weren’t there. Who knows if you would’ve escaped with your
friends? They could’ve been wearing your blood instead of someone else’s.”

He’s right,
but I still can’t shake the guilt I have in me. And because of this the tears
don’t stop flowing.

“You’re going
home. To your family,” he whispers in a calming voice. “I’m sure they’re
waiting for you.”

“My mom…she’ll
be waiting for me.”

“And I’m sure
your mom will be grateful that Wade’s weak ankles saved her baby girl’s life.”

I can’t help
but chuckle at what he’s said. “Wade does not have weak ankles.” I wipe the
tears from my cheeks.

Jason shrugs.
“Whatever the reason, I’m sure she’ll be grateful just the same.”

Before I can
say “thank you”, yet again, Ken comes from behind one of the boulders with a
backpack in one hand a rifle in the other. His salt-and-pepper hair doesn’t
have a strand out of place. Even his clothes, which consist of heavy work pants
and a button-down flannel shirt, appear as though he just put them on fresh
this morning, even though I know differently. He looks like a man in power even
against a backdrop of the collapse of modern society. He appears how I would
imagine my dad is looking to someone in Japan—as though he still has all
the answers.

“If the two of
you were talking any louder I would think you were trying to get the aliens to
find us.”

Jason glances
up at his father. “Good morning to you, too.”

Ken rolls his
eyes at Jason. “Did you eat yet?” he asks me.

“Yes, sir.”

“Good, wake up
the others. We’ll need to get moving as soon as possible.”

As Ken goes
into the woods, on the path I had used earlier, I push myself to my feet and
wipe the dirt from my butt.

“Your name is
Sinta right?” Jason asks.

I nod. “Sinta
Allen.”

“Nice to meet
you properly, Sinta Allen.”

I can feel
prickly heat making its way from my neck to my face again. The last thing I
want him to see is me blushing so I turn to walk away.

“That’s rude,”
he says, with a laugh in his voice.

I whirl around
to face him, but keep walking backwards, trying to put as much distance as I
can between us. “Nice to meet you too, Jason.”

“Jason
Chamberlain, but remember, we’re friends now. Call me JC.”

I raise a
brow. “I’m not one of your frat brothers remember?”

He gives me a
bright, dimpled smile, one that I’m sure would send any girl, including me, into
a hormonal frenzy. “I don’t mind.”

“I think I’ll
stick to Jason.” I duck out of his view. Nothing good can come from crushing on
Jason Chamberlain. I know his type. He’s a rich kid, like Ian and his friends.
Shayla asked me why I never tried to get with one of them and I hadn’t told her
the truth.

Rich boys use
girls up and toss them aside.

I know this
because my dad is one and that’s exactly what he did to my mother.

I shake the thought
of Jason and his flirty ways, his smooth words and dimples from my mind.

C’mon,
Sinta Allen. Snap out of it girl.

Ken is ready
to go and, since he’s agreed to take us to Ohio, I don’t want to keep him
waiting.

I wake
everyone else up. No one grumbles, even though I know they’re tired. We’re all
tired. We’ve only slept for five hours and that’s only the girls. The guys have
slept even less. They’ve been rotating one-hour shifts at watch. We have never
slept until noon before, but we had also never gone through anything like we
did last night, and we also never walked all night long before.

As everyone
gets up and takes care of their business, I wonder if that’s why Ken had an
attitude when he came to Jason and me. He’s just used to their being by themselves.
Two strong men could travel faster and lighter alone. Chance had them happening
on six kids and an injured adult. We were holding them up, and I don’t want us
to slow him down so much that he reneges.

After I let
Mia put another bun in my hair, twisting it so tight my eyes feel like they’re
pulled back into my scalp, she goes to relieve herself, taking Shayla with her.

I find Wade,
MJ and Ian munching on the homemade jerky Ken has passed out to them. MJ is
sitting on the ground, with a piece of jerky hanging out of his mouth, tying up
his gym shoes. Ian is on the ground across from him, relaxing. He’s sporting a
fresh new black eye from his fight with Jon-Jon but, other than that, he looks
fine and he and MJ aren’t at each other’s throat, which is also a plus. Wade is
standing and leaning back on one of the boulders.

As I walk over
to them, Ian glances up to me and holds up his jerky. “Have you tasted this,
Sin? I don’t know if it’s as good as I think it is or if I’m just starving.” He
ends his sentence with another bite and a moan.

I go over to
lean on the boulder next to Wade. “Yeah, Jason gave me some earlier. I pretty
much molested mine. It was kinda obscene now that I think about it.”

MJ makes a
choking sound and Ian chuckles.

“It’s good,
but my dad can make homemade jerky that’ll have you selling your first born
child for,” Wade says.

Ian shakes his
head. “Man, don’t tempt me with promises you can’t keep. Let me enjoy this
because, right now, this is the best tasting thing that I’ve ever had in the
world.”

MJ finishes
his shoes and lifts his jerky high in the air. “Here! Here!”

Ken passes us
as MJ is raising his jerky. “Glad you like it boys.”

“Thank you for
sharing it with us, sir,” Wade says.

“My pleasure.
Be ready to break camp in five,” Ken says as he leaves, making his way to where
Shayla and Mia are coming out of the woods.

I wait until I
think he’s out of earshot. “I think we might be holding them back,” I say in a
whisper. “It’s nearing twelve-thirty and we still haven’t left camp yet.”

MJ frowns.
“That’s because we’ve been walking all night. We didn’t even stop until seven
this morning.”