Taken Over (Book 2 The Ravening Series) (10 page)

   He held me tight to him, rocking me gently as he kissed my neck and cheeks. “I must go.”

   “Not yet,” I breathed. “Please just one minute more.”

   But it was too late; I could already feel him slipping away from me. Already feel him drifting toward a place where I would never see him again. I was acutely aware of the fact that
he would not be returning. Another sob wrenched from me, I struggled to retain my hold on him, but he was already gone beyond my reach. Forever.

***

   “Bethany, come on Bethany, wake up.”

   I struggled
to break
free from the realm of sleep clinging tightly to me.
I didn’t want to wake up, I knew what awaited me there, but it was impossible to fight the inevitable.
I opened my eyes to find Jenna kneeling before me; her bright green eyes shimmered with worry. I turned away from the sorrowful look in her eyes, unable to stand the
pity there as I angrily wiped the tears from my face.
I was ashamed that she had seen me cry, ashamed that she had seen me so vulnerable and weak.

   “Are you ok?” she asked softly.

   I glanced quickly around but I didn’t see Bret or Lloyd. “Where are they?”

   Jenna glanced over her shoulder. “They went to scout ahead.
” That was a relief; at least they hadn’t seen me crying like a baby over a dream.
“
Bret wanted to give you a chance to sleep a little more.
Bethany…”

   “I’m fine.”
I realized that was the first time I had said it and felt as if it might actually be true, or at least not a complete bold faced lie. Cade had been killed, I still lived, and there still was, and always would be, hope. I sat up straighter against the tree.

   Jenna rested her hand on my shoulder, stopping me before I
could rise. I frowned at her, unable to understand the sympathy in her eyes. Jenna had always disliked me, we had never r
un in the same circles, and her disdain of everything that I was had
always
been obvious. As had her desire for Bret.
We’d started to get along a little better over the past few weeks, I would grieve for her if something were to happen, but I wouldn’t exactly consider us friends.

  
“Why are
you being so nice to me?” I inquired
wearily
.

   Jenna sighed as she sat slowly beside me.
She dropped her chin to her knees for a brief moment before turning to me.
“I was mean to you in high
school,” she admitted. “I know that, but it was all so petty, and silly. And high school.” She snorted softly as she shook her head and dropped her arm over her knees.
“It seems so long ago, so pointless, and stupid.”

   “It does,” I agreed.

  
“God I was so foolish.”
She sat silently for a long moment
, her strawberry colored hair blowing lightly in the breeze. She tucked it loosely behind her ear.
She was far more delicate than I, with
pretty
features, and
a petite frame.
She’d been perfect in high school, the golden girl with her manicured nails, styled hair, and high priced clothes. It was not the same girl sitting beside me now, though I noticed her nails were a pretty pink color. I smiled over the simple, small gesture to retain something from her old life. I knew how she felt; I was clinging to as much as I could too, but everyday it seemed as if there was less and less to hold onto.
“It was so easy back then though,” she breathed.

   I thought back to those days, the ones where my mom was still alive, and I was dating Bret. The aliens had loomed over us
my entire junior year, but after the first few months a false sense of security had settled over us. Even while the aliens
had been
stripping us of our rights
, and our freedoms
. We had all been so foolish, so silly to even remotely think they meant well, but
hindsight was twenty
twenty
after all.
And there was no changing the past, but we could still change the future.

   “I’m sorry for the way I was back then.”

   My gaze slid slowly toward her, I struggled to keep my disbelief hidden. “It’s ok.”

   “No, I was mean to you and I am sorry for that. It was just that…”

   “You like Bret.”

   Her lips quirked as she smiled softly. “Yeah, I do.”

   “
And you were used to getting what you wanted.”

   She chuckled softly. “I certainly wasn’t used to losing a guy to someone like you. No offense.”

    I grinned at her as I brushed back a lose strand of hair. “None taking, I never understood it either.
We’re not together anymore, why haven’t you gone after him?”
   She shrugged indifferently, but sadness crept over her. “Cause he still loves you.”

   “But…”

   “It’s ok. I think he’ll come around one day, or I’ll move on. If we can ever find some cute survivors somewhere,” she added nonchalantly.

   “Jenna…”
   “Right now
we all need each other. I understand that. When all of this first happened
,
I didn’t get
tha
t. I kept waiting to wake up, kept waiting for the punch
line
, kept waiting for it all not to be real
. But there is no punch
line
,
and all we have is each other. Trying to get Bret to notice me is no longer a priority.”

   I stared at her for a long moment, startled by how much she had grown up in these past few weeks. How much she had changed. But then, she had lost both of her parents in the attack. She didn’t say it, but I knew that she
retained
some hope they were still alive. Not that I blamed her
.
S
he hadn
’t
seen either of them die, didn
’
t even know if they had been frozen
,
and if Bishop’s
blood type theory
was correct then
at least one of her parents
, perhaps both,
had escaped
The Fr
eezing
.
T
here was still a chance they might be alive.

   “If there is one thing I’ve learned
,
it’s that
we don’t know how much time we have left. It could end today for all we know. Getting Bret to notice you may not be a priority, but I would at least tell him how you feel. I love Bret, he’s a great friend, but he can be a bit obtuse about some things.”
   “You mean like his firm belief that you will eventually get over Cade.”

   I tried to cover up my involuntary
flinch over Cade’s name
, but I knew she had seen it. “Yes, like that.”

   Jenna heaved a long sigh, forced a small smile, and climbed slowly to
he
r feet. “You’re right about not knowing how much time is left, but Bret needs time to come to terms with losing you.
I also need time.
We’ve lost a lot, this isn’t our world anymore.
”

  
“No, it’s not.”
I took hold of the hand she offered me, squeezing it tightly
. I’d lost all my friends, I didn’t know what had become of one. But I’d just found a friend where I never thought I would and I was not surprised to realize that Jenna would be a good friend.
“I’m glad we had this talk.”

   She grinned at me. “Me too.”

C
HAPTER 4

   It was harder moving through the dark, especially without a flashlight, but I felt strangely safer with only the moon and stars to guide us. It was stupid to
feel that way, we had been attacked more than once at night, but I couldn’t help it.
Though it was harder to see, we made surprisingly good time and
reached the
edge of Plymouth before
daybreak.

   Lloyd consulted the GPS. “
W
e
can
cut
through
Myles Standish
;
use
the
state forest
as cover
.
I
t’s only seven miles
but the terrain will slow us down.
”

   “And we’d…”
Jenna pondered softly, her eyes distant.

   I frowned at her
, but it was Bret that asked the question. “And we’d what?”

   Jenna bit on her bottom lip, her shoulders were set tight, and then they slumped. “I might as well tell you,” she mumbled.
I bristled, disliking the fact she had kept anything from us
,
especially after
our talk
earlier. “I
wrote
a note for my parents before I left. I told them that I would try to meet them in Plymouth at my Aunt Lucy’s house. If they’re still alive…”

   Her voice trailed off, the underlying hope beneath it nearly palpable. “Then they would go to your Aunt Lucy’s,” I finished
for her
.

   “Yes,” she breathed, tears shimmering in her bright eyes.

  
“Where
do
es
she live?”

   “S
tate road, it’s only four miles from the hospital, but…”

   “It’s on the opposite
side
of where we are,” Lloyd finished for her, his eyes narrowed on the display screen.

   “How opposite?” Bret inquired.

   “It will be five miles from the tip of the state park,
apparently
another four to the hospital after that,” Lloyd answered, his eyes narrowed on Jenna. His annoyance and impatience w
ere
evident as he stared hard at her, hoping that his military cold look would cause her to cave.
Jenna shifted nervously, looking guilty and frightened, but she show
ed
no
sign
s
of backing down.
And I didn’t blame her. If I thought there was a chance my mother was still alive, I would do anything I could to get to her.