Strays Page 14

  Dakota grabbed Max’s hand and pulled her through the snow to the rest of the group. Everyone had stopped and it looked like their trip had come to an end. All the potential livable houses had gone. In fact, all the houses had gone. They had reached the end of the line. A bank of trees stretched across the land and a group of cars, almost as long as the stretch of wood had been abandoned before it. Written on several cars in red spray paint was: “Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter Here.” Dakota doubted he would ever get used to the stench of death. Car doors were thrown open and what was left of human carcasses were sprawled between the spaces of the cars. Mostly, they were covered with the snow, but those that weren’t were just awful to look at.

  Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter Here? What did that mean? Were there Strays in the woods? Once the sun was down, it would be the darkest place they could reside.

  “We could walk back,” Hank, who never talked, suggested.

  “What did he say?” Dakota said and adjusted his hearing aid.

  Curly turned to him and did something with his hands.

  “Walk back?” Dakota laughed. “Back to what?” There wasn’t a house they could possibly occupy for miles. “Through the snow?” Most of the snow had been blocked by the trees, so the wood was covered in a thinner bed of it.

  “What’do we do then?” Eric said, looking to his sister for answers, but Max was already looking at Dakota.

  “The sun’s setting so whatever we do we better do it fast,” Ginger said.

  “We’ll run through,” Curly said, looking up. He tightened the straps on his bag. “Yeah, that’s what we’re going to do.”

  “That’s smarter than just doubling back?” Mariana chuckled. “We don’t even know how deep this thing goes.” Her accent was hard to understand and made everything she said sound naughty.

  “Chances, baby doll.”

  “I’m not going in there.” Ginger shook her head, backing off.

  “I don’t care what you do.” Curly began to climb carefully over the cars. “Let’s go, Kota.”

  Dakota stepped forward to follow him, but Max grabbed his arm. “Are you serious? This is more dangerous than going back.”

  Dakota looked around. There was nothing else. “This is the only route.” They had been walking for hours and he was sure she and everyone else were tired and freezing and numb, but they had to do something. They didn’t have time to deliberate. Dakota shadowed his brother’s steps. He handed him the rifle to climb over the few cars that blocked their path.

  Sighing, Max signaled for Eric to climb over. Eric was less skeptical than anyone else. He had reached a stage in his life where he was playing a game of Follow the Leader. He couldn’t trust himself with his own life so he had to put his trust in anyone to stay alive. And since his sister was putting her trust in Dakota, he had to do the same. Max held her hand out for Dakota to help her over, but Curly grabbed it instead and pulled her forward. Her boots slid on the slushy surface and she collapsed into him. Snickering, he helped her stand.

  She brushed off her pants. “Thanks.”

  “How long until sunset?” Ginger asked, stepping up to Taddy, who grabbed her hand without question.

  He shrugged. “Not a meteorologist or whatever those guys’re called, but I’m going to assume less than thirty minutes.”

  “We can’t get through this damn thing in less than thirty minutes!” Mariana said. “No! No fucking way!”

  “Such little faith.” Curly laughed. “I don’t know how you people are still alive.” He took Max’s hand and took off with her through the woods. Dakota ran after them. This wasn’t smart, but smart wasn’t an option. They ran through the trees like the sunset was a mystical poison that would suffocate them all. Taddy, Dakota, Mariana and Hank were the fastest, but Dakota tried his best to keep pace with Max and Curly. Curly’s hand was crushed around Max’s as he dragged her along.

  There were Strays all over the woods, in the deep cover of the trees, blending within the mysterious shadows. They were there and they were waiting for the leaks of sunlight, which broke through the gaps in the trees, to dwindle away. Soon, the glamorous, rich colors of the sunset would be navy blue night. Dakota had visions of Strays descending on them like they were a herd of cattle waiting to be slaughtered.

  So far, there was no light at the end of the tunnel.

  My name is Dakota. I’m a vampire.

  The Strays’ snarls and hungry growls sheathed them like the natural chirps of crickets. The sound had become so familiar that Dakota wasn’t sure whether or not he was supposed to fear it anymore. What he feared, when he looked over his shoulder, was the terrified expression on Max’s face. Her blue eyes were like night and panicked and already watching him, as if she had been waiting for him to find her.

  My name is Dakota…

  Why had they been born in this time? Had they been predestined to live lives in which they were constantly fighting, constantly afraid, constantly hungry? It was unfair and Dakota wasn’t sure how much more of it he could handle.

  He didn’t know what they would find on the other end, but he would worry about that when they got there. He ran, so fast and so long that his legs burned. It was hard enough moving through the snow, but being forced to run at high-speed for his life was torture.

  “Run!” Taddy shouted, as if they weren’t already in that process.

  “Taddy.” Ginger choked on her words. She couldn’t breathe and the cold air rushing into her lungs made it no better. “I can’t”— she coughed— “I can’t run this fast.” She coughed violently, and fought to keep up with her own feet.

  Max looked frantically around for Eric, but when she found him holding Mariana’s hand she was relieved. The sky’s radiant colors were nearly gone and everyone was beginning to panic. They weren’t going to make it out before sunset. They ran for a few more minutes and Dakota still couldn’t see an exit. For all he knew they could be going in circles. But none of that mattered… because the sun was gone.

  The sun was gone.

  Nineteen

  Dakota

  ●

  I had welcomed the sun… burning on my skin… and into my eyes… and the dry, sweet taste of the heat that waved nearly invisibly around me, circulating, my eyes open…

  Strays descended on them like ravenous, feral wolves, their clothes so dark that their pale skin was translucent. Dakota heard Mariana scream and saw her crash to the ground, before he was thrown sideways. Another scream came from somewhere, but he wasn’t sure it was from Max. As the Stray used his right arm as a chew toy he searched the trees for her. But they were everywhere. Tattered, black robes and trench coats filled his peripheral. He couldn’t even spot Curly.

  “Eric!” Max screamed. “Eric!”

  He couldn’t make out Eric. It was impossible to see through anything, until the bullets ascended upon the night. It was like everyone had simultaneously been transported into a warzone. Dakota was literally fighting for his life as he struggled to position his gun in a way that he could shoot the Stray that was attacking him. Another one grabbed him by his shoulders and lifted him. Their blank eyes were enough to give the average person a traumatic fright, but Dakota was just staring into the blankness of a future that could possibly be his; especially since he hadn’t fed in a while. The only reason he had the strength he had now was so that he could get Max somewhere safe like he had promised her.

  Since he was up on his feet now, he could lift his gun. He shot the first Stray that had knocked him down and swiftly turned to shoot the one that had pulled him up. The thing had bitten into his shoulder, which burned from the cold air. Cold fingers, numb toes, and they had to put up with this shit, too?

  “Dakota!” Max screamed.

  Curly was shooting somewhere and he was sure Taddy had shot off his gun, too. He could make out Curly now, but he couldn’t see Taddy or the others. Mariana was still on the ground where she had been knocked down, motionless. He started to go to her, but before he could get
anywhere close three Strays all at once crowded her and tore into her. Dakota froze. He hadn’t seen it before. Nothing like it. They were monsters. He couldn’t be one. He couldn’t be one of them.

  “Dakota!” Max screamed and her hand on his shoulder brought him back to reality. She yanked him back. “We have to run!”

  The gunshots had scared some of them off, but those who hadn’t been scared away fed on the bodies of… he didn’t know yet.

  “Ginger!” Taddy shouted.

  Where was he? Dakota couldn’t see him… or Curly.

  “We have to run!” Max repeated and pulled him along. “Look!” She pointed to a cobblestone pathway emerging from the dirt, slightly covered in snow. Dim street lamps lit a quiet, empty street. “Come on.”

  He clenched her hand and took off with her. He was a lot faster than her, but she had always been a fast runner. She kept his pace as best she could.

  A flare lit the forest in bright red, another in orange. Shrill screeches from Strays signified time. The flares had given them some time. Dakota found Curly closer to the end of the woods, loading another flare. Eric was beside him, holding a wound on his arm. He still couldn’t see Taddy or Ginger or Hank, but Darcy rushed past Curly. He grabbed Eric’s shoulder and dragged him with him.

  The flares faded back into night just as Dakota and Max broke through the trees. Max stumbled and fell forward into the snow. It barely broke her fall. Curly was the one to pull her back up. Another flare—they didn’t know who had fired it—blasted into the sky and popped into bright, burning orange.

  It burned bright for several seconds. The world was still for those seconds. Dakota knew there were more Strays, sitting back, waiting. But there was nowhere else to go. They had reached a road, quiet, but endless. It traveled for miles in either direction. The only buildings in site were the ones on the water, but the only way to get to the water was to jump over the silver railing that had once protected cars from going over the bridge. They would have to…

  “Jump,” Dakota said, staring up at the flare, which was coming down quickly. It would hit the water but the light would be gone. “Now. Jump.”

  “What’re you talking about?” Max grabbed his shoulders.

  Taddy burst through the trees, towing Ginger. No Hank, no Mariana, no Darcy. Ginger was hysterical and fighting Taddy to go back in. “He’s in there!” she screamed.

  They wouldn’t have to worry about anyone being in there because pretty soon the Strays would be out and they would all be dead. “Everyone’s going to jump!” Dakota yelled. “Into the water. Now!”

  “What?” Eric stepped toward the edge. “It could be frozen.”

  “So what?” Curly stepped back to give himself a good run. He ran to the railing, grabbed a hold of the icy metal and jumped over. Dakota was relieved to hear the water splash, although he couldn’t imagine cold pinching every morsel of skin.

  “Welp, not frozen. Go.”

  “Come on, Max.” Eric held his hand out.

  “No, wait.”

  Taddy didn’t wait. He didn’t let Ginger wait either. He pulled her with him over the edge so fast that he might have hurt or broken her left ankle. The growls of the Strays were coming closer. The light of the flare was gone, so they didn’t have time for chit chat. Every decision they made, every decision they would ever have to make for the rest of their lives had to be rash. They no longer had the luxury of being gradual. And Dakota didn’t know if the Strays would refuse to jump, but he had to believe that there was some way out of this.

  “They’re coming,” he said. He could smell them in the air. “Jump.”

  “Max,” Eric whined. “Come on.”

  “I’m scared.” Max cried. She was tough, pretended to be. She was supposed to have an intrepid attitude when she was surrounded by so much danger, but she hadn’t signed up for this. She didn’t know what the hell was in that water. There would be more Strays down there waiting for her. She could die on her way down. Hell, the cold could kill her. How far down was it? “I’m scared, Kota.”

  Dakota touched her cheek with the tips of his fingers. Because if they didn’t make it out of there alive… because if this was the last time he would see her face… or dream of the dance… he was going to kiss her Goddamn it. He had lost his sunglasses somewhere back there, but he wished he had them now. He needed something to hide the terror on his face. He grabbed her head and pulled her close. “Get your stubborn ass into that water or I’ll kill you.” He jokingly coerced, smiling. “Do you understand?” He kissed her cold, swollen lips once, twice. “Do you hear me?”

  “Yes,” she said and went in to kiss him again, to really kiss him, but he pulled back, because he didn’t have a choice, because Strays were there and he was the one with the gun.

  My name is Dakota Reagan...

  My name is Dakota…

  My name…

  Eric snatched Max’s hand before she could go after Dakota, who had turned and began to fire ammo into the cluster of Strays coming for them.

  “Wait!” she screamed when Eric yanked her. “Wait!”

  But he wouldn’t let her go and she was a little confused by his strength and where the hell it had come from. His adrenaline must have granted him temporary power. Power enough to hurt her arms, power enough to push her over. He jumped after her.

  Twenty

  Max

  ●

  My name is Maxxy Alina Twillish.

  I fear what I can’t see…

  We fear what we don’t see…

  We fear what we don’t see…

  Max couldn’t scream. She could hardly even breathe. She hadn’t counted the seconds between being pushed and hitting the water, but she hit it so hard that she thought it might have been frozen after all. No, it wasn’t frozen, she realized when she surfaced and the sting of the cold air made her throat instantly sore. The water was freezing, so cold that it took her breath away.

  “Eric?” Her voice came as an involuntary whisper. She couldn’t scream if she tried.

  “Max.” Curly wrapped his arms around her waist. “Let’s get you out of the water.” His teeth chattered.

  “Where’s—Er—my brother?” She couldn’t breathe. The cold numbed her from her toes to her shoulders. Her muscles were beginning to lock. “My brother?”

  “Ginger’s getting him out of the water. There’s a shed. Taddy cleared it.”

  “Where’s Kota?”

  He didn’t say another word until they were out of the water.

  “Where’s Dakota?” Max repeated, shivering to her core. “Hm?”

  She was pulled into the shed with little protest. Her body was so cold and numb that she felt tired. She was exhausted. Had she hit her head?

  “Hm?”

  “We have to get out of these clothes.”

  Conveniently, the shed was packed with old bags of garbage, dried leaves and dirty clothes. Taddy and Curly dropped from their wet clothes without argument and changed into the less filthy of the clothes. Eric changed in front of the door, feeling the need to guard it. The brown shirt he found was dry and wrinkled and smelled of fish. The tan pants had dirt stains on the front. Curly tossed Max a pair of men’s jeans.

  “Get out of those wet clothes.”

  Max came to her senses as she began to undress. Her eyes shifted from Eric to Curly to Taddy, who was helping a distraught Ginger undress. No Mariana. No Hank. No Darcy. No Dakota.

  “Where’s Kota, Dante?” she asked again, pulling a gray t-shirt over her soaking wet bra. Even her breasts had gone numb. “Where is he?”

  “Did everything get wet?” Curly checked his bag. The clothes were wet and his papers were soaked beyond repair. “Damn it! Godda—fuck!”

  “Where’s Dakota?” Max screamed when no one would answer her. “Hello? Where is he?”

  “He didn’t jump!” Eric responded. “Keep your voice down, Maxxy.”

  “What do you mean he didn’t jump?”

  “He didn’t jump. Stra
ys came.”

  She was still shivering when she walked to Eric. “Then he might have jumped after us.”

  “How long do you think we were in the water?” Curly stood, squinting.

  “It doesn’t matter. He could’ve jumped. We can’t just leave him out there.”

  “Kota’s smart. If he got away he’ll know to hide out until morning.”

  “If? We have to check!” She pushed Eric out of her way and went to open the door. Her fingers were red and numb, and the blood rushing back into them was causing her physical pain, but she could only think of Dakota. He was supposed to jump. He was supposed to jump like everyone else. Why hadn’t he jumped? Curly snatched her back before she could unlatch the lock on the shed. “He’s your—let go of me!” She yanked away from him so roughly that she stumbled and crashed to the floor. She rolled over onto her back and sat up. She was exhausted and hungry and couldn’t believe how still Ginger had gone or how she stared blankly ahead with tears strolling down her moistened face, or how Taddy carefully covered her bare top with a dark blue Easter t-shirt like he genuinely cared for her.

  “Dakota… is strong.”

  “He’s your brother!” Max cried. “There were a million of them and one of him. You’re just going to leave him?!”

  “You don’t think I’m worried? I’m scared, too! But I know he’s strong and I know that if those Strays didn’t get to him, he’s going to find somewhere safe to sleep for the night and he’s going to be fine. We can’t do anything until the sun’s up, Max.”

  “No, that’s bullshit.” She stood to go to the door again, but her body was exhausted with movement. Her knees buckled and sent her to the ground. “Aw! Ah.” She managed to stand just long enough for Curly to grab her from behind and pull her away.