The Chosen Ones

by Lori Brighton

****

  My body and mind no longer felt like my own. Every time I thought I might be regaining control, it was torn from my grip.

  Desperately, I tried to think back and remember any other time when Thane might have used his strange ability on me. The jump at the castle, that night in the boat house, and today. Fortunately, I couldn’t think of any other odd moments. But it did little to ease my mind. How could he?

  I picked up a stick and pushed at the logs in the fire pit. Sparks took flight, floating high, glowing like the stars that were just barely visible in the evening sky. Thane hadn’t returned since our argument at the beach. Part of me wanted to hear what he had to say, part of me just wanted to hit him…hard.

  I leaned back in the wicker chair Grandfather had made and watched him through the windows as he paced back and forth in his living room. He was mumbling to himself. Not exactly a good sign. How could this man possibly be Raven? A leader of men? It seemed preposterous and dangerous that he was giving orders.

  The sudden snap of a tree branch alerted me to Thane’s presence. He strolled up the trail that led through the woods, his face emotionless, eyes guarded. He was dressed again and his hair had dried, the ends curling at his neck and against his scarred cheek. He didn’t wear the hood, but then I realized that he never wore the hood around me anymore. His gaze found me and I quickly looked away.

  But my lack of eye contact didn’t dissuade him. He settled in the chair next to mine and we lapsed into awkward silence. While I continued my assault on the fire pit, he merely sat there watching.

  “I apologize,” he finally said in an awkward way that made me wonder if he’d ever apologized to anyone in his life.

  “Swear you’ll never influence me again.”

  “I can’t.”

  I surged to my feet in outrage. “What?”

  “I won’t,” he said in a hard tone. “If I feel that it will save your life, I’ll do it again.”

  My anger boiled. “Because I’m so important.” I pointed the stick I held at the cottage. “Because of him, right? You had to save me because he’s my grandfather.”

  Thane didn’t respond.

  “What? Did you think I might have more influence over him?” I released a harsh laugh. “Bet you were surprised when the man treated me like he would anyone else.”

  “Jane, he would have killed anyone else. I don’t think you get that.”

  I hated how calm and rational he sounded. “He wouldn’t.”

  He surged to his feet, towering over me. “He would. Where do you think he got those skeletons?”

  I shivered. He was serious. Grandfather had killed those men merely so he could study their bones? “No, he…”

  But Thane was completely serious. My gaze went to the cottage window where Grandfather was most likely injecting some poor rabbit with our serum. I could no longer see him, and like the toddlers I used to watch in the compound, I worried he was doing something he shouldn’t.

  “I’ve only influenced you three times,” Thane said. “The night we escaped the castle, in that cottage by the pier, and now.”

  As if I should forgive him merely because he hadn’t had a chance to do it again. Slowly, I settled back in my chair, wondering if I could ever trust him. Just when I found myself softening toward him, something always put me back on edge. “Why?”

  He sat too, raking his hands through his hair as if flustered. “Out of necessity.”

  Angry, I laughed and dropped the stick. “Today was a necessity?”

  “We’re on an island, Jane. If you need to escape without me, you need to know how to swim. Even a boat can tip.”

  To say I was startled by his statement would be putting it lightly. The thought of being alone out there without Thane, terrified me much more than I wanted it to. “What are you saying? Are you leaving me here?”

  “No. Of course not.” There was a telling pause. “But you could stay, you know.”

  “Where?”

  “Here.” He studied the open clearing. “You don’t have to return to the mainland. Stay here, get to know your grandfather. You’d be safer on this island than the mainland.”

  The thought was tempting. Too tempting. I’d known a peace here that I hadn’t experienced in over a month. But being on this island wasn’t much different than being in that compound, was it? I was still trapped. I had friends out there in the real world, friends who were counting on me. Friends who might still be alive.

  “And would you stay too?”

  He watched me through those eerie eyes. “You know I can’t. Your grandfather is making plans even now to kill me and research my body.”

  Sadly, I believed him. I swallowed hard and looked back at the house. The windows were empty, but they glowed warmly from the firelight inside. Truth of the matter was, without Thane here, my unease around my grandfather would surge. “I don’t know if I’m any safer with him than with the beautiful ones on the mainland.”

  “You are.”

  So if I stayed, he would leave me then, just like that. As if we’d never met. Did he want me to stay? Was I a bother to him? The thought stung. “How long would I be safe here anyway? After all we have to face the real world soon enough, right?” I was babbling, but couldn’t seem to stop. All I knew was that the thought of being without Thane terrified me. “Besides, staying here would be no better than staying in those compounds and—”

  “Shhh,” Thane whispered, his gaze on the woods.

  Frowning, I started to ask what was wrong when he surged to his feet, his body tense, those hands fisted. I knew the look well by now. Well enough to know he’d heard something or someone. “What is it?”

  “The water sounds odd.”

  Since I couldn’t hear the water from where we stood I took his word for it. “Odd? In what way?”

  He shook his head slowly. “It’s stopped.”

  My heart slammed wildly in my chest and I had to remind myself that the beautiful ones didn’t like water. Thane closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, as if trying to sense the world around us. For a few minutes everything was silent. I didn’t dare speak although I was dying to ask questions.

  His eyes popped open, glowing white-blue. “They’ve found us.”

  I knew immediately who he spoke of. Without pause, Thane raced into the cabin. I ran after him, my heart slamming erratically against my ribcage. When I reached the cottage, Thane had already told my grandfather.

  “On my land?” Raven demanded. He seemed angrier about the prospect of someone invading his privacy than the fact that they were beautiful ones out to kill us. With heated footsteps, he stomped toward the counters that made up his kitchen.

  “I’m not sure how many,” Thane admitted. “But they’re coming fast.”

  “Damn bastards growing more bold every week.” Grandfather knelt, pulling a case out from underneath the counter. “Was afraid this was going to happen. Had heard reports of them surveying the island from the mainland.”

  In other words, we weren’t safe here.

  “Why didn’t you tell us?” Thane snapped.

  But grandfather ignored him, turning toward me and tossing something. “Take it!”

  I caught the gun right before it fell. I was reminded only too well of when Will had given me that sword and I hadn’t a clue what to do with it. If only I had my sword now. “How does it work?”

  “See that little trigger? Point the gun and push that.”

  It seemed so simple.

  I held the gun by the tips of my fingers, afraid it would go off and I’d kill Thane or Grandfather or worse, myself. “Why haven’t they attacked yet? No offense, but they aren’t known for their patience.”

  Thane headed to the windows and brushed aside the curtains. Grandfather was rushing around the room, gathering a variety of supplies and stuffing them in a bag as if he was going to flee: food, a blanket, what looked to be some sort of small bow and arrow.

  “They’re just in th
e woods.” Thane let the curtain fall back into place. “They’re waiting for us.”

  “Waiting for what?” I demanded. The gun felt cold and heavy and unfamiliar in my hands. I’d seen how fast beautiful ones moved. Could I really shoot one before it got to me? Or would I end up shooting my foot instead?

  “Waiting for us to attack.”

  “How many?” Grandfather asked, holding out a gun for Thane.

  Thane took the weapon. “Ten, at least. I can’t take them all. Especially considering I haven’t fed.”

  It took me a moment for me to realize Thane meant he hadn’t fed on blood. Which meant he was weaker than normal. Unless Grandfather had a magic tunnel that led underneath the ocean to the mainland, we were in trouble.

  My grandfather started toward the door as if he’d done this plenty of times before. “Let’s go.”

  “We can’t just walk out there!” I snapped. What was wrong with him? Did he honestly think he could take on ten vampires? Had he not heard Thane? The man truly was insane.

  Grandfather paused, glancing back at me. “What choice do we have? Wait until they attack? This is my land, and I’ll go down fighting, if I have to, in order to protect it.”

  Yeah, completely insane. “He can’t be serious. Thane, do something! He’s walking into his death.”

  “Do we care?” he muttered.

  I parted my lips, intending to tell them both where to shove their stupid plans, when there was a sudden thump on the roof. I froze, my gaze on the ceiling. Another thump and another.

  “Three,” Thane said softly.

  “Oh God, they’re on the roof.”

  “Apparently they’re no longer waiting,” Grandfather whispered.

  The sound of shattering glass rang through the air. Shards burst around us. I dropped my pistol and instinctively I raised my arms to cover my face, but I was too late. I felt the sudden stab of a piece of glass hitting my shoulder. I stifled my scream, frantically swinging up my gun and pointing it at the broken window. A wad of burning material rolled across the floor, landing against the far wall. But I could see no one outside. Dare I fire anyway?

  Grandfather and Thane raced across the room, leaving me alone to make the decision. But as I stood there waiting for a vampire to appear so I could shoot, my arm began to tremble, the pain from the glass almost unbearable. Cursing, I lowered my gun, and slumped to the floor, my back somewhat protected against the wall.

  A triangular piece of glass had pierced my shirt and upper arm. “This is going to hurt.”

  Gritting my teeth, I gripped the edge and pulled it free. The sharp pain made me cry out, momentarily distracting Thane, who looked my way.

  “You okay?”

  “Fine.” I dropped the shard and stumbled to my feet as the blood trailed down my arm. I was more annoyed by the fact that I had somehow managed to get hurt once again, than the actual pain. I managed to make it to the kitchen. While Thane and grandfather put out the fire, I grabbed a towel from the counter and using my teeth, I tied it around the wound.

  “Why bother?” my grandfather mumbled, looking at the charred floorboards. “They won’t let up.”

  As if in response to my grandfather’s statement, another window broke and another pile of burning weeds raced through the room. It hit the curtains on the opposite wall. They burst into flames.

  “Go,” Grandfather growled. “Go out back to the pier. I’ll hold them off. Use the rowboat.”

  “We can’t leave you,” I cried out, racing toward the curtains to put out the fire.

  Grandfather grabbed my arm, jerking me to a stop. “You’re a good girl, Jane. A smart girl and I’m proud to have you as my granddaughter. You can find a way out of this, I believe in you. Trust him. You need someone strong, you need someone on your side.” He looked up at Thane. “You’ll take care of her?”

  Thane nodded. He always had taken care of me. That wasn’t my worry. My worry was for the old man who had lived here alone. Smoke had me coughing into my sleeve and I realized the fire was getting worse. The flames had leapt from the curtains to the boards on the wall, destroying the cottage my grandfather held so dear. Soon, they would make it to the bookshelf and the novels he had painstakingly copied. Grandfather was right, the vampires were never going to stop. And just like in the decayed city over a month ago, they were going to smoke us out.

  “Get the bag” Grandfather said, releasing me. “It has supplies.”

  Thane grabbed the sack and tossed it over his shoulder.

  Grandfather raced into the back room. “Hold them off until I get the serum.”

  Thane moved to the windows, that pistol in hand. “Grab your gun and protect the back of the house. Make sure it’s clear.”­­

  I raced across the room, dodging the two chairs where we’d sat in front of the fire while my grandfather had told us stories about the past. Near the broken window, I scooped up my gun. Thane had covered the front. They wanted me to protect the back, as if I could. Using the butt of the pistol, I broke the glass in the back window. I searched the water outside, the pier beyond, but saw no one. That didn’t mean they weren’t there. I could practically feel them lurking on the roof, waiting to pounce.

  “Here.” My grandfather came running back into the room, the hobble making his gait awkward, and once again I was aware of how fragile he really was. “Take it.”

  He stuffed the case into another sack and threw it to me. I caught it, holding the bag tightly to my chest. I didn’t understand what was going on, but that wasn’t new. The fire had made its way up the wall and the smoke was growing thick. They were merely waiting for us to come stumbling out in surrender.

  “I’d say three on the roof,” Thane said. “Seven out front.”

  Grandfather nodded, pulling a rifle out from underneath the counter. Perhaps he had some magical beans under there as well. He could build a beanstalk and climb out of this mess. The ridiculous story was preferable to what I knew would happen.

  “What do you want me to do with the serum?” I wasn’t a doctor, I wasn’t a scientist, I didn’t know what I was doing and I certainly couldn’t save the world like he wanted me to. Yet, here he was, entrusting me with the vaccine that would save the human race.

  Grandfather gripped my shoulders and pulled me close, the cold rifle between us. “Go now. You have to go. I can’t make it, and I’ll only hold you back and we’ll all be caught. You are young, you can escape.”

  “We can’t leave you!”

  “Yes, you can,” he snapped gruffly. “It’s the only way. Don’t be stupid. There is no room in this world for weakness, and caring too much is a weakness.”

  If he meant to hurt my feelings, it didn’t work.

  “I’ll hold them off,” he insisted. “The guns might not kill them, but they’ll keep them back while you escape.”

  Thane took my hand, the sack of supplies he carried slung over his shoulder. “We have to leave now.”

  Grandfather pointed his rifle out the window toward the pier, the smoke billowing up in the background practically consumed him. If the vampires didn’t get him, I realized the smoke would. He couldn’t stay inside with the fire. Where would he go?

  “Out the back,” he demanded. “Take the boat and go.”

  My eyes watered as I stood there. I told myself I wasn’t crying, I didn’t cry anymore. No, the tears were from the smoke. Thane jerked open the back door and pulled me outside. I didn’t even have time to say goodbye. And suddenly we were gone. I didn’t dare look back at the window. The gunshots that went off told me he still lived.

  “Keep going,” Thane demanded, shoving me in front of him. “Don’t stop.”

  We raced down the pier, our feet thundering against the floorboards, the sack Grandfather had given me thumping against my back. It seemed to take forever to reach that small rowboat, and all the while I was completely aware of how important it was to get that serum to the mainland.

  “Un
tie the boat,” Thane said.

  It was only after I’d taken a few steps that I realized he wasn’t following. I paused, turning to find him. Thane stood in the middle of the pier, gun raised. A vampire jumped from the roof and at the same time Thane fired his weapon. The bullet hit the animal in the head. He cried out, falling to the shore.

  “Go!” Thane snapped, tossing me his bag of supplies. “Untie the boat!”

  Juggling both bags, I raced the last few steps to the boat and dropped to my knees. With frantic, trembling fingers, I somehow managed to untie the rope while Thane shot another vampire. My grandfather’s bullets still peppered the air, each blast making my heart jump into my throat. But I craved the sound as much as it frightened me. Each blast meant he still lived.

  Suddenly, Thane was at my side, tossing the gun to the bottom of the boat. “Empty.” He grabbed my gun. “Go! Get in.”

  He picked up the bag with the serums and handed it to me. It was as I was catching the second bag that I saw the blur of a body. I didn’t have time to cry out a warning before Thane was hit. They fell to the pier so hard that even the water around it trembled.

  “Go, Jane!” Thane cried out as they rolled across the wooden planks. Frantic, I grabbed for the paddles and tried to surge away from the dock.

  The vampire’s hands were around Thane’s neck and I could see another blood drinker jumping from the roof.

  “Thane!” I cried out in warning.

  Somehow Thane managed to point my gun and shoot the vampire coming at him, while the other still pinned him to the dock. The vampire stumbled to the ground, blood spreading across his chest.

  “Start rowing!” Thane gasped.

  He wanted me to leave him behind. Damn him. Didn’t he understand I couldn’t survive this world without him? He swung his arm upward, his fist connecting with the vampires chin. His head snapped back, and he fell to his side, dangerously close to the water and my boat.

  “Leave!” Thane demanded.

  “Fine!” I snapped back. “But if you die, it’s your fault!” I gripped the oars and tried to row, but the pain in my shoulder was almost unbearable. The boat turned, hitting the pier with a thud. Thane and the vampire he was fighting lost their balance, toppled over, and hit the water.

  “Great.” With my feet, I reached out and pushed away from the pier sending the boat back, away from the dock.

  I used the momentum to push with the oars. They cut through the water slowly, resisting and tugging at my arm muscles. The need to get the serum to the mainland fought with my desire to find Thane. But I knew Thane wouldn’t want me to stay, and he sure as heck wouldn’t put me above the safety of thousands. I gritted my teeth and kept pulling on the oars, using the strength and weight of my body. But the entire time I crept into the open ocean, I kept my eyes on that rippling water where Thane and the vampire had disappeared. Where was he?

  “Come on, come on…”

  Suddenly, Thane burst through the surface of the water, gasping for air only a few feet from the boat. Startled, I cried out. But my surprise quickly gave way to elation. Somehow he’d survived once again.

  “Keep going!” He gripped the side and pulled himself up, making the boat tip dangerously toward the water’s surface.

  Soaking wet, he fell into the bottom of the boat. As he lay there for that brief moment, breathing heavily, I noticed the blood soaking his gray shirt. He’d been injured.

  “You’re hurt.” I started to reach for him but he shoved me away.

  “We don’t have time.” He took my seat, and grabbed the oars.

  I shuffled out of his way and settled at the back of the boat. With one pull of the oars, Thane sent us skidding through the water at a speed that would get us to the mainland within minutes. Water splashed against the sides, soaking my clothing, but I barely cared.

  I turned, watching the cottage as it burst into flames. It was only then that I realized the gunshots had stopped. My heart fell to my feet, my body heavy. “I’ll never see him again, will I?”

  He pulled at the oars over and over, a continuous movement that sent us practically flying across the water’s surface. “He knew what he was doing when he sent us away.”

  The sadness I felt was unexpected and crippling. I drew my knees closer and stared at that burning house where my grandfather had lived for so many years safe and protected. Perhaps if we hadn’t arrived, the beautiful ones wouldn’t have come after us. And perhaps if I hadn’t been so eager to save the others in the compound, Jimmy wouldn’t be dead.

  “Why did he do it?” I whispered.

  “To save your kind, to save the world.”

  I turned away from the house and faced the mainland. It was getting closer, but still too far away to see detail. More beautiful ones could be waiting there for us. Would we ever be safe?

  I took in a deep, trembling breath. Grandfather was gone, but we still had a job to do. “He wants us to take the vaccines to Will?”

  He laughed. “Will is just an insignificant player in all of this.”

  I glanced back at the cottage once more. As the fog from the ocean covered the island and only the eerie dark smog of smoke could be seen, I still stared. Even though Grandfather had left us to rot in that compound I still hoped he had died quickly, as painlessly as possible. “Then who do we take the vaccines to?”

  “Raven.”

  “But…” I jerked my gaze toward him. His face was all stoic seriousness as he continued to row. “My grandfather…”

  Thane shook his head. “He’s not the real Raven.”

  For some reason it was easy to accept. Although the truth surprised me, the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. The real Raven was a leader, not some old man who hid out on an island. “So who is Raven?”

  Thane met my gaze, water trailing from his hair and down the harsh planes of his face. “Good question.”