I plant my feet against the ground and tug back. "I"m fine. You run. I need to find Ryder."
"She"ll be fine." He reaches for my hand, desperate and anxious.
"She"s not immune to their bite." I put my hand behind my back. "One bite and she"s gone."
"I know how the virus works, Kayla. And we all risk getting infected." Another vampire cries and his gaze skims the shadowed land. "Even you."
"No, I don"t," I say and he shoots me a puzzled look. "It turns out Monarch put immunity in me too."
He gapes at me. "You were bit and you survived?"
"That"s why I can"t let them fend for themselves." I pause, a revelation suddenly revealing. "I think I"m beginning to understand why Monarch might have made me this way. To protect and save the innocent."
Aiden laughs sharply and it echoes the air. "Sylas is far from innocent."
"I"m not going after Sylas. Now, go to those rocks over there and get on top of them." I point to the red rocks, lining the horizon. "I"ll find Ryder and we"ll meet you up there."
He shakes his head stubbornly. "I"m going with you."
I know I should tell him to stay, but I don"t have time to crack him. I have to make a choice.
We sprint into the darkness as the vampires" cries quake our surroundings and our skin. I can"t shake the feeling that he"s running straight into his death.
"Because I messed up when I created him. I really did. And unless he changes his mind about his existence, he won"t survive."
Aiden pants heavily and his pace lags. "Where"d they go exactly?"
Glancing around, all I see is impending darkness. "They ran this way, but I don"t knowa where would they go? Or where would Ryder go, since she was the one running."
"They"re probably hiding." Aiden"s at a jog and he trips over a sage bush. "Which is what we should be doing, Kayla. We really should."
My lips start to part, but fasten shut as a cl.u.s.ter of vampires scurry toward us. The sky is virtually black and the vamps look like deformed outlines of humans. Yet, their drooling lips, rotting flesh, and bleeding eyes give away what they really are.
"Back up." I place my arm in front of Aiden and guide him back. "You don"t have any cuts on you, do you?"
"What?" He flinches at the vampires parading towards us. "Yeaha why?"
"s.h.i.t." I stagger backward as the vampires howl at the sky. "Run."
We spin and bolt, flying through the night at a pace only fear can instill. Aiden"s quickly running out of breath and so am I. Forcing my lungs to breathe, I keep racing for the rocks. When I peek over my shoulder, I see them following us. They are not as quick, unable to decide if they want to run from my scent or chase the smell of Aiden"s blood.
"Why are they coming after us!" He shouts, stumbling over a rock. "I thought they hated you?"
"They smell your blood." I slope around the back of a hill, power my legs up, and hurl myself onto the side of a cliff. My forehead smacks against the rough edge, and my skin splits. Blood leaks down my cheek as I climb up the cliff, sc.r.a.pping my hands and knees on the jagged edges. Aiden"s just below my feet, breathless and skidding, causing rocks to roll to the ground where the vampires have pooled together.
"Don"t worry, they"re not going to climb up," Aiden whispers as he grips onto a flat ledge. "They hate climbing."
"I"m not worried," I lie. "We"ll be fine." I heave onto the top of the cliff and roll on my back, winded and exhausted.
"Ahh!" Aiden lets out a painful scream.
I clamber over and peer down, my eyes widening at the blood flowing out of his hand. A stream raindrop"s to the ground and splatters on the vampires heads. The smell drives them mad and they fling against the rock. Some bounce back to the ground, but a few larger ones claw onto the side.
I reach for Aiden. He s.n.a.t.c.hes my hand and I drag him over the top. We land awkwardly and his blood soaks onto my jeans. As Aiden regains his breath, I scamper to the edge of the cliff. Some of the vampires are piled at the bottom shrieking and crying. But a handful awkwardly continue up the cliff.
I need a plan. I hurry to the other side of the rock and hunt for an escape route. It"s a far jump from one rock to another.
"We could climb down and sneak off," Aiden says and glances down. "Or not."
Vampires have overtaken the bottom and are searching for a way up. I do a quick circular sweep and discover we"re completely surrounded.
"Kayla, we need to get off this rock," Aiden says, panicking. "Or they"re going to trap us up here."
"They already have," I break the bad news to him. "Please tell me you have a knife on you?"
He takes a small one out of his pocket and hands it to me. "Where"s yours?"
"Sylas has it." I dash to a large boulder, take a deep breath, and shove hard. "A little help," I grunt.
Aiden rushes over and pushes the rock. Together, we get it to slowly roll forward. It picks up speed with distance and finally takes off on its own, crackling toward the cliff.
"Brace yourself." I sprint after the rock. It sails off the side and smacks down on the vampires. Only a few fall. They shriek as their bodies break against the earth. The remaining ones are as tough as nails, eyes bleeding profusely as they corner in on us.
"Do we have a backup plan?" Aiden asks as he ties a piece of his torn shirt around the cut on his hand.
My eyes skim our surroundings and a hopeless feeling consumes me. As the vamps reach the top, the feeling multiplies.
"Stay behind me," I hiss at Aiden as I slink back from the vampires heaving over the ledge.
His eyes are wide and his heart rate is fierce. His hands fall to his side and he stands frozen in horror.
"Aiden!" My voice is sharp and it cuts through his daze. "Get behind me. Now."
He shakes his head, unblinking. "No, it"s me they want." He steps toward the vampires.
I shove him back. "Don"t do anything stupid."
A shriek crackles at my back and I whirl, knife out, ready to battle. A vampire closes in, eyes oozing with murder. Tilting its head to the side, it contemplates whether to eat me or not. Its shoulders twitch and its lips coil at the smell of Aiden"s blood all over me.
I inch away, until my back b.u.mps against Aiden. He faces the vampires on the other side of the cliff. I reflect back to my Bellator training. I may be weaker now, but there has to be something I can use. Steadiness, gracefulness, calmness. I take a deep breath and poise the knife in front of me. My eyes focus on the vampire. It attacks me, fangs snapping. I swipe the knife, gashing its chest.
Blood and pus ooze from the wound. It lets out a shrill cry and shrivels to a pile of bones. I smile, until more proceed onto the top of the rock. I check over my shoulder and flip us around, stabbing a vampire who was just about to bite into Aiden.
The tip of the blade ends up in the vampire"s eye. I quickly jerk it out and aim for its heart. But it knocks my hand away and shoves me to the ground. The knife slips from my fingers and Aiden scrambles to get it. A vampire catches his ankle and points its teeth at his leg. I swing my leg over and kick it in the face over and over again with the heel of my boot. It releases Aiden and directs its attention to me. I jump to my feet, but I"m slammed from the back hard. I feel its teeth enter my neck. My veins ignite with fire and my eyelids want to shut. But I won"t give up.
I"ll never give up until I die.
I ram my elbow into its skull and break free. Then tackle one about to devour Aiden. We roll to the ground and its decaying flesh presses against my face. I fight to trap it down, grabbing its arms and pinning them to the side. But my energy drains. My head bobbles forward, my chin smacking into my neck. The vampire strikes me across the face with its head and I soar to the side. I blink up at the dark sky, dazed from the bites.
"Kayla!" Aiden yells, fearing I"m dead.
I roll over and push up. After a few stumbles, I gain my balance. But they"re everywhere. Next to me, in front of me, climbing over the rocks. Three have Aiden trapped at the edge of the cliff and he"s either going to fall or be bit.
I shake my heavy head and move for him. My steps are sluggish and blurry colors and shapes have overcome my vision. I"m struck from the side and another bite enters my neck.
"Listen to me, Kayla," Monarch says. "No matter what happens, you can"t give up. Sometimes it"ll seem impossible, but you can make it through anything."
I roll over, searching for Aiden, but smoke envelopes everything. It tastes and smells like silver. I wonder if I"m hallucinating. But Sylas" face appears above me and he lifts me to my feet.
"Did you get Aiden?" I cough.
"Ryder did." He hacks from the silver laced in the smoke and he pulls the collar of his shirt over his nose and mouth.
We run, hopping over unconscious vampire bodies and lower down over the ledge. Sylas stays to the side of me, and has to catch me more than a few times. When my feet touch the bottom, he takes my hand and we run, through the smoke as fast as we can.
The smoke"s thick and I don"t know where we"re heading. All I can hope is that he does. Eventually the smoke lifts and the dark desert land clears into view. We curve to left and tuck ourselves into the hills. I limp to keep up with him as he weaves around a maze of rocks. At the end, is a small, narrow cave where Aiden and Ryder are huddled in the corner, a tiny flashlight the only source of light in the dark cave.
Aiden"s arm is sc.r.a.ped raw and his cheek is sliced open. Ryder is doting over him, turning his head from side to side.
"None of these are bites right?" Ryder panics. "They"re just cuts?"
Behind me, Sylas effortlessly rolls a boulder in front of the entrance, shutting out the outside world. Then he faces the corner and hacks the remaining silver from his lungs, spewing all over the ground.
"I"m fine," Aiden rea.s.sures Ryder and gives her hand a soft pat. "They"re not bites. Just cuts." His eyes drift to me. "Are you okay? How many times did you geta bit?"
I cover the one on my wrist. "Only once. And I"m fine."
Sylas sweeps my hair to the side and his voice is m.u.f.fled. "There are two on your neck." He uncovers my hand. "And that one makes three."
"I"m fine," I promise. "I just need to sit down for a minute."
He watches me hobble to the wall and slide to the ground. I let my head fall back, still feeling his eyes on me, as if he"s waiting for me to turn into a flesh eating beast. I wonder if there"s a limit of bites I can endure before my body gives up on protecting me. I wonder what it feels like to turn. Of course, it doesn"t matter if I turn because I know Sylas will kill me. But he"ll have to go up against Aiden, who"s already envisioning ways to save me.
"I"m fine," I repeat. "It just took a lot out of me."
Ryder wipes the blood from Aiden"s cheek with the sleeve of her black shirt. "I"m lucky I took a silver grenade with me. Otherwisea" her m.u.f.fled cries congest the cave.
Sylas checks my neck again. "Are you sure you"re okay?"
"I just need to sleep," I lie. Then I rest my head on the dirt. "I just need toa" With no restraint left, the darkness sucks me away.
Whether I"m changing or dying, I don"t know. I only hope for the latter.
Chapter 11.
My feet rise to the sky as I swing back and forth. A gentle breeze lulls through my hair and the warm sun kisses my cheeks. The green gra.s.s stretches before me and the vibrant trees dance.
"Higher!" I shout and laugh, throwing my head back. Someone gives me a gentle shove and I launch toward the sky. Another laugh escapes me and someone chuckles from behind me.
"I"m glad you"re so easily entertained," Sylas whispers in my ear.
I laugh again and he spins the swing so I face him. He slides his hands up the chains and holds the swing still. He"s maybe thirteen years old, and his dark eyes are livelier. His hair"s a little longer and his legs are a little shorter, but a devious look still guises his face.
"Why are you so nice to me?" My hands hook the chains. "You"re not nice to anyone else."
He considers this. "I think it"s your smile. It wins me over every time."
I let my smile broaden. "I think it"s because you like me."
His eyes flash in the sunlight as his forehead creases over. "Don"t let him take that from you. Ever. Okay?"
I nod. "I won"t."
He laughs to himself and then gives the swing a whirl. I let my legs soar out as the world spins and I think about what it would be like to fly away from this horrible place that takes away my mind, body, and spirit.
"You know what," I say. "I think it might be my birthday today."
"I was waiting for you to remember." He stops the swing again. "Close your eyes," he instructs. I hesitate and he adds. "I promise I won"t hurt you."
"I know." I shut my eyes and hold my breath, my heart leaping in my throat.
Sylas" heart is steady as he fumbles around. "Okay, open them." A bright red object rests in the palm of his hand.
"What is it?" I wonder curiously.
He takes my hand from the chain and sets the red object in it. It"s fragile and soft against my skin. "It"s called a flower," Sylas says proudly.
I touch it gently and the texture reminds me of powder. "Where did you get it?" I sniff it. "It smells good."
His grin expands. "Now what would be the fun in telling you?"
I frown. "Sylas, if you keep wandering off, Monarch is going toa""
He puts his finger to my lips, shushing me. "Quit worrying about me."
"Sylas! Kayla!"
Our heads snap over to a brick building. A dome tent canopies the front and under it stands Monarch. His anger burns as he stomps over, red faced and ready to scream.
I vault out of the swing and step protectively in front of Sylas. "It"s my fault. I made him come out here with me."