Rationally I knew that the trash heap didn't have thoughts, and wasn't actually on the side of the aliens, but right now it seemed as much of an enemy to me as the monsters stalking us. I was convinced that it was doing everything it could to make sure we remained here to nourish it.
The garbage released us so suddenly that I nearly falling to my knees as the waste gave out and pavement rushed up to meet us. “This way,” Cade ordered as he released me and dashed toward the right.
I didn’t know where we were going; I'd never been here before and I did not want my final resting place to be here. A giant warehouse loomed in front of us; one of the massive garage doors was open to reveal the gloomy interior. I balked against going inside as Cade plunged into the darkness. The last thing I wanted was to be trapped and killed amongst the giant walls.
“Bethy,” Abby breathed when I hesitated. “Bethany please.”
Fear of imminent death outweighed my fear of being trapped within the cavernous building. I ran through the open doorway as Cade began to pull some ropes, rapidly lowering the massive garage door. “Wait!” I gasped.
“It has to be done." His jaw was clenched, a muscle jumped in his cheek as his face became florid. He'd been lowering the door so rapidly that I hadn’t realized it was heavy and he was struggling not to let it crash down. It settled into place with only a small clatter of metal on pavement. “This way.”
“How do you know where we’re going?” Abby inquired.
“I don’t,” he responded bluntly.
I shuddered at Cade’s words but followed behind as he led us through the building. There were small windows up high in the lofty walls, but they didn’t illuminate much of the cavernous structure. The stench of decomposing trash lingered, but I saw no sign of it within the building. The four of us had brought that scent with us, a scent that would be easily traceable within these walls. If I thought it would help to rid ourselves of our clothes, I would have gladly stripped from the offending garments, but the revolting odor was engrained into our skin and hair by now.
There was an area that had steel piping around five gaping holes in the ground. I leaned over the pipe railing to peer into the shadowed depths. Something glinted within the sunlight, but I couldn’t quite make out what it was. “Recyclables,” Cade explained.
That was why this building didn’t reek, I realized. Unfortunately the fact that this was where the recyclables were brought did little to aid our cause. Cade moved past the bins and toward the back wall. Abby’s grip was nearly bone cracking as Cade vanished. Jenna followed behind and then Abby and I slipped into the small back room.
It appeared to be the worker's break room as there were two tables with five chairs crammed around them. A microwave, TV and radio, and four different vending machines were against the wall. Cade stopped, his head tilted to the side as he studied the machines. Moving swiftly he tugged his shirt over his head and wrapped it rapidly around his hand. It was the worst time possible, but even so I couldn’t help but admire the flex and play of his lean muscles, and ridged abdomen, as he stalked toward the glass fronted machine.
I didn’t quite process what he intended until he began to knock out the glass. I winced as glass trickled to the ground. It sounded as loud as gunshots to me, but I tried to assure myself that it wasn't nearly as loud as I thought it was. That, in fact, it was relatively quiet considering the circumstances.
He grabbed hold of the bag of guns and dragged it toward him. Releasing Abby's hand, I hurried to help him as he unzipped the bag and began to stuff it full of chips, cookies, and candies. It wasn’t the healthiest assortment, but it was much better than starvation.
Cade zipped the bag closed and sat back. I knew I should stop admiring the smooth flex and play of skin over his lean muscles, but I couldn’t tear my gaze away. There was no smug male pride in his gaze as he caught me admiring him. Instead, a fierce hunger blazed to life with such intensity that I found I couldn't breathe. In fact, I couldn't recall anything except for him.
It was the feel of Jenna’s gaze on me that finally tore my attention from Cade. I didn't look at her as I ducked my head and turned back toward the doorway we had come through. I had to force my thoughts away from him as I strained to hear anything, but it was alarmingly quiet in the large building. Too quiet.
Maybe I had only imagined that something was moving toward us over the garbage heap, but I didn’t think so. I knew what I'd seen, and the complete lack of animals was impossible to ignore. Animals knew things we didn’t and had instincts that were far more honed than ours. I was beginning to suspect the aliens had the same effect upon them that an earthquake would, and that they were fleeing before we even knew the monsters were near. I wasn't about to ignore their more finely honed instincts in favor of my less than perfect ones.
“Bethy.”
Abby’s whisper alerted me to the fact that we were ready to move on. Thankfully Cade had donned his shirt again and was now toting the bag. Jenna had disappeared from the room, but Abby and Cade were impatiently waiting for me by another door. Cade ushered me quickly into the room. The room was thrown into complete darkness as he closed the door behind us. Terror erupted through me like a bursting dam; I took a stumbling step back as the overwhelming urge to flee encompassed me. I could feel the walls closing in on me, crushing against my sides and robbing the air from my lungs.
CHAPTER 21
“Easy.” Cade’s breath was warm against my ear as he whispered the word. His reassuring presence gave me a small measure of comfort. I was at least able to keep myself from screaming or running away as I ripped my hair out. Then, to my dismay and relief, illumination flooded the room. Abby was standing by the door, her hand on the switch.
“Abby…”
“It’s ok; there are no windows in this room,” Cade assured me.
I glanced rapidly around the room, not feeling at all relived as I took in the cramped, dreary space. It was a small bathroom with a urinal and a toilet. The sink was yellowed and didn't look as if it had been cleaned since the seventies, the mirror was cracked, and I was certain that it was only the stench of us that was blocking the stench of this room. For some reason, that I didn’t even want to begin to fathom, there was a large drain in the center of the room.
“It’s like we’re stuck in an unending dirty, stinky hell,” Jenna muttered.
I silently agreed.
“We can’t stay in here. It’s a dead end,” Cade said.