Reclamation Read online

  "Who still has a light?" Darnell demanded.

  A light flickered from somewhere near the front of the group. A muscle twitched in Cade's cheek as his midnight gaze raked me up and down. His arm twisted within my grasp so that his hands seized hold of mine, he turned them over to examine my skin. A small tremor shook his hands before he steadied himself with a deep breath and his gaze came back to mine.

  "I'm fine," I whispered. "Not a mark on me."

  "Yes," he murmured but he didn't look appeased. Instead he looked as if he was about to rip this entire room apart as rigidity kept a firm hold on his muscles.

  "What is this?" Molly inquired.

  I tore my attention away from Cade to take in the room. There was barely enough room to stretch my arms out between the walls as the room was full of pipes and large pieces of machinery. "Appears to be a maintenance room," Lloyd muttered as he pushed through the remaining people in the room.

  Darnell clicked a lock into place as another crash echoed throughout the room. He remained leaning against the door for a second before straightening himself. "Is everyone here?" I asked.

  "All that are left," Private Frank Smith answered after some hesitation.

  I shuddered at the reminder of the loss of Liz and Mick, but one thing these past couple months had taught me was that there was never any time for the dead. There was only time to pick up and move on if we were going to survive.

  Lloyd moved further into the room and disappeared amongst some of the machinery. "You see anything Lloyd?" Darnell demanded after another crash shook the door.

  Those things were all too big to fit through that doorway, but it didn't mean their tentacles couldn't. My hands tensed on Cade's, I closed my eyes as I tried to control the rolling panic that swelled up my throat. I had been doing well until now; I had to remain that way if I planned to keep control of my sanity and not freak anyone else out. I just had to take it one breath at a time. We would not die in this cramped room, desperate, starving, and God only knew how far below the surface of the earth.

  "Lloyd?" Darnell called.

  "There's a door back here and some stairs that lead down." The steps led deeper into the earth. I opened my eyes to find that Lloyd had returned. Another crash echoed through the room, followed by an ominous splintering sound that caused my jaw to clench. "Let's go."

  I could do this. I didn't have a choice. I swallowed heavily, straightened my shoulders and followed Aiden as he shuffled forward. My brother stretched his hand back and I eagerly clasped hold of it. I didn't know where we were going but I was certain that it would only get worse before it got better.

  Chapter 4

  The stairs creaked and groaned like they were some prop in a B horror movie as we slowly made our descent. "What is this?" Jenna asked.

  "Must be some kind of passageway for the workers," Darnell answered.

  "Where does it go?"

  Darnell didn't respond to her second question. My grasp was so firm on the metal rail running beside the stairs that my knuckles ached and my palm was leaving a trail of sweat behind. The dim glow of the flashlights illuminated the damp concrete walls surrounding us. "We're not the first ones to come down here recently," Lloyd said.

  "How do you know that?" Molly inquired.

  "There's no dust on the railing or the steps."

  I frowned at the railing and then tilted my head back to look at the shaded light fixtures above us. They were coated with a layer of dust, and cobwebs hung from the ceiling in straggling, broken strands. Neither of those things was on the stairs or railing though.

  "There must have been survivors from the tunnel," I guessed.

  "Or the group split before the attack, and some came this way while others chose to stay behind," Cade muttered.

  "Or this only dead ends or leads to another trap," Lloyd said.

  I frowned at the back of Lloyd's head nearly half a flight below me at the front of the group. I knew we had to be practical, but I couldn't bring myself to think about what the consequences of his words implied. "Who brought Mr. Pessimism to the party?" Jenna retorted.

  Lloyd paused and turned to face everyone behind him. "I'm just being realistic. You all have to be prepared for what might be at the end of these stairs."

  When I had first met Lloyd his reddish hair, freckles, soft blue eyes, and glasses had made him appear younger than his twenty years. He'd been less jaded than the other battle hardened soldiers surrounding him. That youthfulness had vanished now as the lines around his eyes and mouth made him appear years older and more rigid than a steel beam.

  He had changed so much in the past six weeks, but as I looked at the group surrounding me I realized that we had all changed. It wasn't only the streaks of dirt, the tattered clothing, the scratches, bruises, or scars we had all acquired that had altered our appearances. It was the knowledge of what we'd seen and endured, and everything we had lost. Our eyes were haunted, our faces thinner, our bodies leaner and there was an aged wisdom to all of us, including Abby.

  Except for the soldiers, and perhaps Cade, none of us had had any knowledge of battle, much less any experience in fighting one. A gun had been a foreign object, and walking was something that the aliens had forced upon us when all modes of transportation had been barred. Now, most of us were at least decent with a gun, if not proficient. Walking miles upon miles had become a daily way of life, and no one complained about blisters or sore feet anymore. Hot showers and meals were a thing of the past. A cold rinse off, a can of peas, and a piece of meat were a new heaven that I often longed for. Homes had become temporary shelters that simply housed the relics of their former owners.

  We were all different. We were all more callous. I just didn't know if that was good or bad. We had to be more thick-skinned to survive and in order to keep our sanity. But did it mean losing our humanity in the process? In order to survive were we becoming more like the emotionless, cruel aliens that had driven us beneath the earth?

  I was struck immobile by the aversion curdling through my stomach at the thought. We were still there for each other, we still protected and cared for each other but would we continue to do so? Just a little over two months had changed us into people that I barely recognized anymore. What would another two months do to us? What would more losses take from us? Would we still care for each other, or would each new loss make us less and less human until the only thing we cared about was ourselves?

  I felt weighted down by the questions and frightened by the lack of answers. There was no way to know what would become of us. No way to know if we would live or die, or if we would even be worth saving in the end. I certainly hoped we would be. We had to be stronger, remorseless, but if we were like the aliens in the end I would prefer it if we just simply died out ourselves. I felt that death may be less of a loss than the actual loss of our compassion and everything else that made us human.

  If I ever became like that then it would mean that Aiden, Abby, Cade, and every other person with us now would be dead. There would be no point in carrying on after that. I loved life, even this twisted version of it, but when there was no one and nothing left to live for, I didn't think I could continue to love it. It was a future I didn't want to think about, but it was a very real possibility and it could be waiting for all of us at the bottom of these stairs.

  Lloyd started moving again. Cade rested his hand on my shoulder and squeezed it as he sensed my sudden distress. "Door," Lloyd announced.

  "Large enough for two to go through?" Darnell inquired from the rear.

  "Yes. Frank and I will go!"

  We were stuck in the middle of the stairwell, completely trapped if there was something beyond that door. I leaned over the side of the railing but I could barely see Lloyd and Frank on either side of the door. There was no way I would be able to see what was on the other side of it. Frank nodded to Lloyd, twisted the handle and flung the door open. They disappeared into the void beyond.

  I leaned over the rail, bending awkwardly as
my feet came off the ground a little. Cade wrapped his hand into my waistband and held me against the rail as I leaned over even further. I held my breath in anticipation; the only sound I could hear was the loud thump of blood rushing through my ears. Molly and Justin, a young man in his twenties, were pressed firmly against the wall at the bottom of the stairwell.

  Mark stood behind them, his sons Sam and Matt were protectively pushed behind his body. They were the only family unit, besides my own, that had opted to stay with us when others in the group had chosen to leave after Ian's unexplained death. Mark, a man in his early forties, had decided that the benefit of staying with the guns and troops was better than the risk that one of us may be a killer.

  I was well aware of the fact that a few of them suspected Cade, and though they were right, I wasn't about to tell them that he had killed Ian, but he had only done it to save my life. They would understand that, but they would not understand that Cade wasn't like us, that he wasn't human and I worried that they would be scared of him and hate him. They may even try to hurt him. Maybe, after time, they would come to understand and accept him but I wasn't going to do anything that would risk Cade's life, or anyone else's.

  Matt held a hand back for Abby, who grasped hold of it. He was a year younger than her at fourteen, but he was cute with his light brown hair and twinkling brown eyes. The relationship between them had grown since we'd entered Boston. At first I'd thought I should be concerned, but I'd realized that although she was only fifteen, Abby was far older and wiser than her years. She knew what she was doing, but even still I was going to talk to her as soon as I got a chance alone with her. Aiden seemed to have come to the same conclusion as I'd caught him watching them closely too, but he had yet to say anything about it.

  "Bethany!" Cade growled.

  I realized that I was nearly flipped over the railing now as I strained to see anything outside of the door. I silently thanked his strength as I used my arms, and his helping hand, to pull myself back over the railing. I cast an apologetic smile at him that he returned with a raised eyebrow and an admonishing shake of his head.

  Lloyd half stepped back into the doorway. "It's clear," he announced.

  "Move out!" Darnell ordered crisply.

  Everyone trudged down the stairs and out the door. I was one of the last ones through and I stopped so abruptly that Darnell slammed into my back with a muffled curse. The force of his body rocked me forward but my feet remained planted in place. Cade stretched a hand back for me and frowned as he realized I wasn't beside him anymore.

  I finally managed to move by taking another step back into Darnell. "Bethany!" he barked from behind me. "Damn it, move." I stepped to the side to allow him enough room to slip by me. He gave me a disgruntled look that quickly faded. "Bethany?"

  I shook my head. My hands fisted so firmly that my nails dug into my palms. It was dark, so enclosed. So tight! The walls were within arm's reach and there was no way to know where the passageway went as shadows enshrouded it. The air was so heavy with moisture that my hair stuck to the nape of my neck almost instantly. The smell of it brought to mind images of crypts as mildew and the scent of decay hung heavily in the air.

  Darnell took a step toward me, but Cade moved in front of him. He took hold of my hands, but I couldn't get them to unclench even though my nails were digging into my skin and my blood was filling my clamped hands. Cade seemed to blend into the shadows surrounding him. He was part of the dark, I realized with a moan that didn't escape my clamped lips.

  Closing my eyes, I inhaled deeply. I could do this, I had to do this, but once it was over I was going to allow myself some time for the meltdown I was going to have at the end of it.

  My hands uncurled. Cade's eyes narrowed and blackened at the sight of the blood trickling from my self-inflicted wounds. I reached out to try and calm him but he took a small step away from me. There would be no comforting him right now. In fact, I was only agitating him more. I closed my hands and pressed them against my side to staunch the blood seeping out.

  I knew he was dying to get away from me but he stayed by my side. "I'm ok," I breathed.

  He managed a feeble smile. "You're strong Bethany."

  "So are you Cade."

  His eyes lit with amusement. "Like a rock," he said with a wink.

  I couldn't help but smile at him as some of the tension in my chest began to ease. For a moment I could almost believe that we weren't trapped here, that he was human, and that none of this awfulness had happened. I could almost believe that I'd simply caught him watching me in the hall once more, but this time I'd actually had the nerve to smile at him instead of shyly looking away.

  Then motion behind him caught my attention. The moment faded as I realized that everyone was waiting for us, and that all of them were watching us with a mixture of curiosity and suspicion. I took a deep breath, wiped my hands once more, and stepped away from the wall I had plastered myself against.

  "Well let's see where this goes," Darnell said as he propped his gun against his shoulder.

  Cade's fingers wrapped through mine. An electrical current rushed up my arm from where we touched as we made our way cautiously down the dark hallway. It became so restricted in some areas that Cade and some of the others had to turn sideways in order to fit through the winding passage.

  "What is this?" I heard Abby breathe from ahead.

  "Boston's an old city; I imagine there are thousands of tunnels and passageways we don't know about." Bret's answer was muffled by the concrete wall nearly pressed against his face as he slid sideways.

  "Opening!" Lloyd called back.

  The breath I didn't know I'd been holding exploded out of me. We stepped onto a platform and fanned out as everyone moved to the side to make room for each other. My eyes widened, my mouth parted on a small puff of air. "What is this?" Jenna whispered.

  I stared at the tracks, faded posters, and broken signs in awe. I could barely make out the colors and lines on one sign and had no idea what it was supposed to be. Another sign boasted the faded picture of women in bathing suits drinking beer, and yet another advertised a luxury car.

  "It is part of the T line, or it was," Bret said slowly.

  "It's nothing like I remember," Jenna breathed.

  I'd never seen the commuter line that ran through Boston and the surrounding towns and I definitely never would have come here willingly. The station we were standing in was shaded and dirty, but I could picture how different it must have been before the aliens had banned all forms of transportation. I could almost see the people pushing and shoving, jostling about as they tried to get through the daily grind of their lives.

  The thought made my skin crawl but at the same time I was filled with amazement. I would have hated being surrounded by all those people, but it would have been wonderful to have the simplicity of the every day, average life once more. It would have been breathtaking to see the train arrive through the underground tunnel and to watch the people move about with the confidence that came from their routine. There was so much that we had all taken for granted, and now it was gone.

  "The stairway is blocked." Lloyd was standing by a pile of rubble as he surveyed it. I hadn't even realized that there had once been a stairwell there until now. It was obstructed by concrete and rock that blended seamlessly into the darkness.

  "Did the survivors do it?" Frank inquired.

  "Doesn't look like it. The walls look like they were exploded inward."

  "To keep people out?"

  "Or to keep them in," Molly breathed.

  I shuddered at the thought. We didn't have many supplies left, if we couldn't get out...

  My gaze slid to Cade. His shoulders were thrust back and his eyes narrowed as he stared at the wall of debris. "Can we dig our way out?" Darnell inquired.

  Lloyd shook his head. "Even if this was just one flight of stairs, and not two or three, it would still take at least a week."

  At most, if we were conservative, we had enough
supplies for a week. We didn't have the supplies it would take to fuel us digging through that rubble though. Sweat trickled over my arms and forehead. We were trapped like rats in a maze. It was no surprise those things just hung around in the tunnel up there, they must know that there was a good chance we would reemerge.

  "It looks like we're heading for the tracks then," Aiden said. He was staring at a faded poster with squiggly colored lines going across it. I moved closer to him as he wiped the dirt and dust off the glass plating. It appeared to be a map of some kind as he traced one of the lines and nodded to himself before stepping away. "Right now we're on the junction of the red and green line, but if we go down a little bit we can meet up with the orange line. That will either take us out or hook us up with the blue line."

  Everyone stared at him like he'd just started speaking French. "Which means?" Bret finally prompted.

  "Both those lines lead out of the city and are the only routes that won't have us backtracking into territory we already know is deadly."

  "And if they're blocked?" Lloyd asked.

  Aiden ran a hand through his tussled hair and shook his head. "There are no other options, at all, unless you want to go back into that crap up above. We have the orange or the blue line."

  No one spoke as they absorbed the full impact of his words. Cade was the first to recover. "Which way?"

  "I'm pretty sure it's right."

  "Pretty sure?" I asked.

  "It's really faded Bethy and I don't know the T routes. I can't pinpoint where we are exactly but I'll know within the next hundred yards. If we make it to the next station and it's the wrong one we'll just have to turn around."

  "We'll be fine," I assured him.

  He nodded, but his eyes appeared distant and unfocused. "We'll be fine."