“Abby? Bethany?”
I jumped slightly, spinning in the direction the voice had come from. “Aiden?” I whispered in surprise.
He stepped out from behind a tree, his eyes wide as he stared at us in shock. I knew we looked awful. Our clothes were caked with muck; Abby’s delicate features were streaked and coated with dirt and slime. Her dark brown hair was now black, and a tangled rats nest. Jenna’s strawberry hair was also far darker; she’d placed it into a braid before going into the dump so it was not the tangled mess that Abby’s and mine was. My own honey hued hair was a dark, snarled, filthy brown.
No wonder Aiden was having a hard time recognizing us beneath the layers of filth.
I couldn’t stop the smile that spread over my face at the blessed sight of him. He still appeared slightly singed, or shocked, from whatever had happened to him on the bridge. His light hair was standing up, and burn marks marred the fair skin of his arms. But he was cleaner than we were, and I was certain he smelled far better.
Abby let out a delighted cry and raced toward him. Aiden grinned brightly at her as he held out his arms to receive her. I followed behind her, but by the time I reached them, Aiden was already pulling back, a disgusted look on his face. “Holy crap Abby you smell awful!” he gasped.
I halted in midstride, unable to stop the burst of laughter that bubbled out of me. He turned toward me, holding his arms out. “I don’t smell any better,” I assured him.
“I don’t care.”
My laughter ceased as I stepped into his warm, welcoming embrace. Though he was brave enough to hug me, it did not last long, and Abby and I left a sludge mark on the front of his shirt. “Are you ok?” I asked softly.
“Yes.”
“Bret, Molly?” My voice squeaked, I could barely breathe as I awaited his answer.
Aiden grinned at me. “They’re fine,” he assured me. “Bret’s on the road across from the gas station, Molly’s on the road next to it keeping watch for you guys.”
Cade and Jenna had edged closer, but remained slightly behind us. “What happened?” Jenna asked quietly.
Aiden’s eyes darkened, anger and sadness crept over his features. “I don’t really know; we were almost to the bridge when all hell broke loose.” His gaze moved away from us, he seemed to be focusing on something that neither of us could see. “That guy that was with us, he was in the front. When that light hit him...” Aiden’s voice grew taut; a slight tremor shimmered through him. “The edges of the light seemed to set him on fire, from the inside out.”
My heart was hammering, my mouth dry with horror as he uttered the words inside out. Instinctively I sought out Cade and seized hold of his hand. “The fire actually came from his mouth.” Aiden shuddered; his eyes came back to us. “I could feel it creeping up inside of me. I could feel it licking against my organs, burning its way through me. Thankfully, whereas the others had been trapped by the light, we were not far enough into it to be completely ensnared by it. The three of us were able to break free, able to run. I didn’t even know where we were until we reached the other side of the IHOP.”
Abby threw herself back into his arms, clinging tightly to him. I released Cade as I made my way to them, wrapping my arms around them both. “Thank God you’re ok,” I whispered.
“You too,” he said with a small smile. “And from the looks of you it doesn’t seem like you had a very easy time of it.”
“It was awful,” Abby agreed.
“Let’s go find the others and you can tell us all about it. We’ve found a place to stay for the past couple of days. I’ll take you there before going to retrieve them.”
***
The shower had been lukewarm by the time I got to it, but I didn’t care, it was still wonderful. I scrubbed myself so ferociously that my skin was red and chapped by the time I was done. I lathered conditioner into my hair hoping that it would help untangle the horrific mess my hair had become.
We had managed to dig up some clothes upon entering the basement apartment, but they were all men’s clothes. I didn’t care; I would rather have walked around nude then put my disgusting dump clothes back on again. My old clothes were sitting in a trash bag now, but I could still smell them. Either that or the stench really had permeated my skin forever. Just the thought made me scrub myself again, it was becoming painful to do so, but I didn’t care anymore. I just wanted the smell to go away.
Wanting to save at least some warm water for Cade, I finally tore myself away from the spray of the shower. I dressed in the loose fitting tee and oversized pants. Using a belt I cinched the waist and rolled the bottom of the jeans up. It took me a long time, a lot of hair, and a lot of wincing and cursing, but I was finally able to untangle my hair so that it fell around my shoulders and back again.
I didn’t pick up the trash bag with my clothes in it; I couldn’t bring myself to touch it, but opened up the door and kicked it out. Much like a soccer ball, I bounced it back and forth between my feet as I made my way down the dark hall before kicking it next to the other two bags sitting by the bulkhead in the small galley kitchen. There was no stove but a hotplate sat next to the microwave. The apartment was sparse; it seemed as if a college student had lived here. I didn’t know if the home above had been his parents, but the entrance into the house had been blocked off. The bulkhead was the only way in or out.
The basement had no windows, but we had only turned on one light upon entering. The light was in the far back, in a small living room with a battered sofa and a ratty armchair that looked entirely inviting. I slumped into the chair, surprised by how comfortable it was considering that stuffing was popping out of the arms. Cade slipped down the hall, moving swiftly toward the shower.
I drew my legs up onto the seat, closed my eyes, and passed out.
I didn’t know how much time had passed when I woke up again. It was impossible to tell time in the windowless room. My legs were cramped, my neck ached from sleeping at such an awkward angle, but I felt better than I had earlier. “You’re awake.”
I started, blinking slightly in surprise. I hadn’t realized that Bret was on the couch until he had spoken. I winced as my legs protested against me straightening them and my neck screamed in twisted agony, but I was slowly able to unravel myself from my cramped position. “I didn’t see you there. Where is everyone?”
“Bedroom down the hall. How are you?”
I swallowed heavily. His tone sounded off, dull, flat. There was something wrong, and I was afraid I already knew what it was. I had been an idiot to fall asleep before I’d had a chance to talk to him; it seemed as if Jenna had beaten me to it. “Ok.”
“From what Abby said it sounded like you guys had a rough time out there.”
“It could have been worse. Far worse.”
I tried to make him out on the couch, but it was too dark in the room. There was definitely something off about him, but I wasn’t sure if Jenna had talked to him, or if he was just as exhausted as the rest of us. I swallowed heavily. If Jenna hadn’t spoken to him, then I had to now. There was no point in dragging this out, no reason to cause him more pain than I was already going to. I couldn’t keep up this charade, and I had a feeling that Cade wouldn’t allow it to continue for much longer. If I didn’t do something, I was certain Cade would.
The couch groaned slightly as he stood up and came slowly toward me in the dark. Guilt and self hatred flooded me as he knelt before me and took hold of my hands. I wanted to pull my hands away, but he leaned forward and kissed me before I could react. My head spun, I wanted to recoil from him, but I couldn’t bring myself to be that cruel. Bret didn’t deserve that, he didn’t deserve any of this. There was no spark in the kiss, no desire, but it was comforting, familiar, and sweet. I allowed him to kiss me for a moment longer before I slowly pulled away from him.