Ravenous

   The light blazed momentarily brighter, I became painfully aware of the fact that the screams had stopped. The silence, either from the lack of noise or from the suffocating quality of the light, was profound. And horrifying. I shivered, Cade held me tighter. The light faded.

   I remained frozen, too stu

   I couldn’t take it anymore, my eyes flew open. It took a moment, but slowly they began to adjust to the dark morning. At first all I could make out was the plant wrapped around us. I could not identify it immediately, but its size, look, and smell made me think of juniper.

   Cade slowly unraveled from me. I froze, unwilling to move as he crept forward. The bush was large, but not large enough to keep him hidden for much longer. Sound suddenly flooded back in, the world came to screeching, abnormally loud life again as he lifted some of the lower branches and peered out. I winced against the abrasive sound of the plant as the branches grated against each other.

   I could see nothing, but I caught the small slump of his shoulders. “I think it’s safe.”

   His voice was soothing, surprisingly gentle against the stark clamor that pounded against my eardrums. “Think?” I winced, my voice was nowhere near as calming. He nodded. “They also thought the bridge was safe.”

   “You didn’t.” No I hadn’t, but that didn’t do anybody any good right now. Especially not Aiden and Bret. My heart ached, I wanted to cry; I wouldn’t. “I think the bridge was booby trapped somehow. I don’t think the aliens are around here right now. But if I’m right, what just happened is going to bring them here, in droves.” I looked at him questioningly. “I saw no ship; there were none of those creatures around. Nothing happened until the first group made it off the bridge and onto the highway. I think the trap was set to lure in as many people as possible before it was released, just in case an escape was attempted in groups.”

   I sat back, appalled by what he was saying. Sickened by the endless depths of cruelty the aliens possessed. “We either go now, or we wait until morning Bethany. When it’s light out.”

   Translation, when they would be able to see us better. I swallowed heavily and nodded. I didn’t want to stay here a moment longer, especially if he was right and what had just happened was going to bring them here. “Now is good.”

   I barely caught the brief flash of his gaze as he turned slightly back to me. His jaw was clenched in determination. I was more than just impressed by his resilience, his charm, his warmth. I was awed by it. He had lost so much in his life, endured so much, and yet he wasn’t going to quit. Not even now, when things seemed far bleaker than they had only ten minutes ago. There was a good chunk of me that was completely ready to cave right now.

   I had lost too much in these past couple of days; I could hardly breathe through the loss crushing me. My mother, my brother, my boyfriend, it was too much. Maybe Cade was able to carry so stalwartly on because he had not suffered such harsh losses as recently as I had, but I knew that was not the reason behind his determination. Cade had lost a lot in his life, maybe not as much as I had, but he had also experienced great pain and hurt. He was just as confused as I was, just as frightened, but he was going to forge on.

   The only difference between us, I realized now, was that he truly believed we were going to survive all of this. I did not. The realization was shocking, a little depressing, and yet a little reassuring. He believed that we were going to survive, and I found that I believed in Cade. I may not have faith that we would survive this, but I did have faith that he would do everything in his power to help us survive.

   “Come on Bethany.”

   He grabbed hold of my hand; his long fingers strong in mine as he pulled me out from under the bush. “Abby?”

   “She made it into the woods.”

   I glanced around, but we were on the backside of the rotary, I could not see the bridge from here. I wasn’t sure I wanted too. Cade rushed swiftly forward, bent over as he darted into the middle of the road with me in tow. I felt exposed here, vulnerable. I held my breath as I waited for the awful light to blaze forth, for our death to come, but it remained dark and still. Cade held tight to me as we plunged into the woods. I took my first easy breath as relief rushed through me, but I knew we were not clear yet. We had to find somewhere safe before full daylight set in.

   Cade continued to tug at me, pulling me forward. But I had to look. I had to know. I pulled my hand free of his. “Bethany!” he hissed.

   I scrambled through the woods, tearing at the leaves and dirt as I stumbled back up the embankment we had just plunged down. I nearly fell over as I skidded to a halt near the road. I had expected the bridge to be gone; I had expected desiccated remnants of the once proud structure. Instead, I was struck by the fact that it looked exactly the same. The lights were still glowing, but in the growing day they were far dimmer. It was serene, still and peaceful. I did not see human body parts or guts like I had expected, but I felt certain that if I crept closer I would find some blood. Of course there would be blood, there hadto be. Humans had once stood there, and now they were completely gone. There had to be some remaining evidence that they had existed.

   But I saw no sign of them in the growing day. My brother had completely disappeared. My heart lumbered to pump the blood through my veins. I felt it chugging painfully along to keep me alive, but it was having great difficulty with the task.

   “Bethany.” I turned back to Cade. Abby and Je

   I bit on my bottom lip as I nodded to him. I knew we had to go, but I didn’t want to. I didn’t even know where we were going to go, or what we were going to do. And I was not ready to leave Aiden and Bret behind, even if they were already gone. I glanced back at the hated bridge. Our lives were rapidly unraveling, but at least we still had them. For now.

   Motion to the right caught my attention. My eyes narrowed on the IHOP restaurant. There were woods behind the building, and in the shadows of those woods, there was movement. I took a step forward, straining to see what was moving around over there. Aiden suddenly appeared at the edge, his hair was tussled and standing on end, he looked beaten, but he was there.

   “Aiden,” I breathed.

   “What?”

   Abby, Cade, and Je

   “You can’t go out there,” he said softly.

   Abby looked like she was going to protest but thankfully she thought better of it and remained quiet. Molly appeared behind Bret. It seemed that she had taken the worst of whatever had happened to them. Her clothes were torn; her long reddish hair was a frizzy, crazed mess around her dirt streaked face. It looked as if she had received a giant shock, or been through a fire of some sort.

   I did not see the man that had been with their group. I didn’t know if he was staying hidden, or if he had been lost like the others. Aiden pointed behind the building, toward the road that ran under the bridge. He began to make motions like he was doing something, but I couldn’t quite figure out what it was. “Is he pumping gas?” Je