Against The Darkness (Cimmerian Moon) (21 page)

I run into
Jason’s waiting arms, but it isn’t at all like a romantic movie where the guy
and girl reunite at the end. When they hug each other and he turns her in
circles while they stare longingly into each other’s eyes. No. This is a little
more painful and scarier than that.

I see him,
Wade and Ian waiting for MJ, Jasmine, Jim and I to clear the area where the
aliens had us. Everyone calls out to us, screaming for us to run faster. Sheer
panic and fear makes me pump my legs harder. I don’t know what is going on
behind me; if we hadn’t gotten all the lizards or if a ship was barreling down on
our backs. I’m not going to turn around and look. I just focus ahead and run as
fast as I can.

Jason holds his
arms open, urging me on, and I concentrate solely on him as I go. I’m running
so fast that by the time I reach him I can’t slow down my approach. I run into
him, knocking him over, and topple on top of him. Before either of us can get
up, Wade grabs me by the arm and, as if I weigh nothing, hoists me over his
shoulder and takes off.

“We have to
get out of here. Those blasts are sure to attract some unwanted attention,” I
hear Wade say as he runs.

From my spot,
bouncing against Wade’s shoulder, I watch as Jason pulls himself to his feet
and follows us. I clench my stomach muscles to help against the pain in my
side. It’s a pain that I will live with. I want to get away from this place and
those things.

We don’t run
for long before we meet up with everyone else. When we reach them, I slide from
Wade’s shoulder. I’m not on my feet all the way before Mia has me.

“I was so
worried that we wouldn’t be able to save you,” she cries.

I hold onto
her. My legs are threatening to buckle underneath me. “I’m here.”

Mia hands me
my bag and sword. I never thought I would be so happy to see a weapon before in
my life.

“I’m happy to
have you back, Sinta, but we have no time to play catch-up,” Ken says. He
tosses my backpack to me. Jason helps to put it on my back. “We need to get as
far away from here as we can.”

“I agree,” Jim
says. He thrusts out his hand to Ken. “Jim Handler.”

Jasmine waves.
“Jasmine Parker.”

Ken nods at
Jasmine and shakes Jim’s hand. “Ken Chamberlain.” He goes quickly from person
to person and introduces everyone. “Now that the pleasantries are out of the
way, are we ready to leave?”

Jason adjusts
his own pack on his back. “Let’s get out of here.”

We move north
and we don’t stop for hours, making our way out of Knoxville and through
Corryton. Adrenalin is what I believe is keeping all of us going. We don’t want
to run into any more aliens. We follow the same plan as before, staying off the
main roads and traveling where there’s adequate coverage from the sky, which
seems more important now than ever before. We hear their space ships patrolling
the area, and I can only assume they’re looking for the humans that got away.

We’ve
confirmed something that Captain Powel had told us. The lizards aren’t as
mobile when it’s cool out. And the cool night air is our advantage. We’re
tired, but as long as we can put enough distance between them and us, we’ll
have a chance. We also learned something else. The lizards are not invincible;
they can be killed. Yes, horse bullets can take them down, but grenades can do
the job just as well.

It sure isn’t
pretty though. I have alien guts all over my clothes, but I refuse to freak out
about it. There’s no time for that. There’s nothing on me that a change of
clothes won’t take care of.

As the night
gives way to day, Ken begins to slow our pace to search for a hiding place. By
the time we reach Union, Tennessee and find a secure spot in the woods just
north of the islands, I basically fall and my eyes snap shut in sleep.

* * * * *

April 24, 2012: Day 32 – April 27
^th
, 2012:
Day 36

Ken keeps us going
at a grueling pace, even though we know they're less active at night we travel
both day and night. Ken says we can't afford to lose time and we can't afford
hurting ourselves in the darkness. He has us covering about fifty miles a day,
which might not be that bad over regular terrain, but we’re traveling across
hills and mountains. I understand his urgency. We lost Shayla and I was
captured, so no one, including me, complains.

Jasmine and
Jim have quickly assimilated into our close-knit group. Jim is more than
helpful, he expresses gratitude all the time. He and Ken seem to get along fine
and I get the feeling that Ken is more than happy to have another grown man
with us. We learn that Jim had gone into hiding with his elderly mother and, during
an episode of confusion, his mother had wandered off. By the time he found her,
so had the aliens, and the shock of seeing one had caused her to have a heart
attack and die on the spot. In his grief he hadn’t had time to try to get away,
which led to him being caught.

Unfortunately,
we also learn Jasmine’s full story. I think it’s unfortunate she tells it to us
because it just confirms in my head that she’s an idiot. I already knew she had
been dumped by her boyfriend and was left to fend for herself. But now I know
why.

She hooked up
with him only about two weeks before the invasion happened, meeting him at a
bar where he was performing. He was supposed to be some kind of up-and-coming
country singer, or so Jasmine had thought. The night she met him was the night
she’d gone home with him, and never left. In her mind, which she explained in
great detail, she was going to become his wife and become somebody real
important one day. To him, I believe, Jasmine had been nothing but a plaything;
he was never going to make her his wife. Which is why, when the aliens came, he
decided to cut the deadweight and save himself.

And I don’t
blame him.

It doesn’t
take me long to regret Jasmine’s presence within our group. Her entire demeanor
seems to change the minute she found out Ken was a Senator and Jason was his
son. Her snarky comments and callousness are replaced with compliments and
praise.

It doesn’t
take a rocket scientist to see what she’s doing. She’s listened to Ken’s
conversations about going to D.C., where he plans to rebuild the country. And all
the while her eyes are glazed over, leaving me to think she’s trying to figure
out a scheme to become someone real important once again. And, to her, that
means hooking up with the Senator’s son.

By our second
day of traveling, she has become a permanent fixture at Jason’s side. In his defense,
he hasn’t done anything to encourage her, but Jasmine seems not to need
encouragement. But he’s not the only one who has a shadow. If Mia isn’t by my
side, Wade is. I haven’t been by myself since being rescued. Mia has taken over
the job of helping me with my wounds. She uses our bottled water to clean it
and one of our new shirts to bind it. But we both take care of MJ, making sure
that he’s never alone. Yeah, he needs time to grieve, but I want him to know
that he doesn’t have to go through this alone. Shayla was a friend to all of us
and we all loved her. While it takes him a while to open up to us, eventually
he gives in, knowing that we have his back.

By the third
day, I think Jason’s had enough of Jasmine because he seems to be going out of
his way to stay away from her. When she tries to talk to him, he limits his
answers to one- or two-word responses. But every time I think she’s going to
give up her pursuit, she just seems to become more determined.

Later that
day, while Jason and MJ are talking, true to her nature, Jasmine squeezes
herself alongside him, even when it’s apparent the path they’re on was clearly
meant for two. He and MJ try to continue their conversation but, not wanting to
be ignored, Jasmine doesn’t leave. The closer she walks to Jason, the more he moves
away until, finally, MJ begins to get pushed off the path.

Giving in, MJ shakes
his head. “I can’t risk breaking an ankle. I’ll talk to you later, man,” MJ says.
“There’s obviously not enough room for all of us.”

MJ trots
forward to where Ian is. I can see Ian shaking his head at whatever MJ has said.
Jasmine starts to talk to Jason. I can’t hear what she’s saying, since Ms.
Burgess and Mia are between me and them. I’m a little glad that I can’t hear
her, because the sound of her voice is starting to get on my nerves.

It must be
getting on his nerves as well because, after only about three minutes, he says
something to her and, while she’s wearing a shocked look on her face, drops
back, letting Ms. Burgess and then Mia pass him, ending up by me.

“Oh, my God.”

I raise a
questioning brow. “Is there a problem in paradise?”

“Whatever.
That girl is clueless.”

I can’t help
but to let out a chuckle. “No, she’s pretty clear on what she wants.”

He rolls his
eyes. “She’s very clear—on everything.”

“Really?” I
ask, suddenly wondering what “everything” means.

Jasmine turns
around to peer at us over her shoulder. He ignores her and so do I. After a few
seconds she frowns and looks away.

“She’s like a
lost duckling and, for some reason, she’s imprinted on me.”

“That’s what
you think it is? I think she likes you.”

“Maybe a
little crush. But I’m not taking her too seriously. A girl like her…” he lets
his voice trail off.

“What do you
mean, ‘a girl like her’?”

He leans to me
so that he can whisper. “She attaches herself to anyone that she thinks can
help her out.”

I open my eyes
wide and put my hand on my chest in mock shock. “No! You don’t say.”

He chuckles,
low and throaty. “I know her type. I can spot it a mile away.”

“I was getting
a little worried that you might get caught in her web of desire.” I say the
last three words in a pretend-sexy voice.

“I didn’t mind
her at first, but now she’s just wearing me down. The only time she stops talking
is when my dad gives her ‘the look’.”

“Wait, other
people get ‘the look’ besides me? Huh.”

“You haven’t
gotten that look in a long time. Well, since you’ve been back.”

I tilt my
head. He’s right. Since my rescue Ken hasn’t been on me like he was before.

“He feels
horrible that you got caught. He blames himself.”

“Why would he
do that? The building was clean, it was checked out. It wasn’t his fault.”

“That’s true, but
it’s still eating him up. We heard you guys screaming but we couldn’t do
anything. We all felt helpless, not just him.”

I nod. No one besides
Mia had really wanted to talk about what happened that day. She told me what
had been going on in the basement while Shayla and I were battling with the
aliens upstairs.

“There was
nothing that could have been done. If you would have come up, you would have
all been caught, and who would have rescued us?” I shake my head. “I don’t
blame anyone for what happened. I’m just happy you all decided to save me.”

“Did you think
that we wouldn’t?”

I fight against
the emotions and feelings that are rising as I remember that day, and I nod.

He puts his
arm around my shoulder and brings me closer to him. “Leaving you behind was
never an option.”

“Thanks.”

Jason and I
only get a few more minutes to talk before Jasmine steps to the side and lets Ms.
Burgess and Mia pass her, just as Jason had done, until she’s on the narrow
path with us.

“What are you
guys talking about?” she asks.

“Stuff,” Jason
responds.

I feel her
trying to push her way more onto the path but, unlike MJ, I don’t let her push
me out of the way. I’m determined not to let her squeeze me out.

“Hey, Sin, we’ll
pick our conversation up later, okay? I have to ask my dad something.” Before
Jasmine can object, Jason trots forward, catching up with Ken.

Jasmine and I
watch him leave. Pissed is the word that describes how I feel toward Jasmine
right now. This is the first time I’ve been able to say more than two words to
Jason since I’ve been back and here she is to ruin it.

An
uncomfortable silence hangs in the air as I will her to go somewhere else.

“We’re
friends, you and I,” Jasmine says.

“We just met,”
I reply bluntly. Adding Jasmine to my friend list is something I don’t want to
do right now.

“I know. But I
still think of us as friends.”

“Sure,
whatever you say.”

As if she
hadn’t really heard me, she continued on, “Friends don’t steal each other’s
boyfriends.”

I give her a
hard stare.
Where is she going with this?
“I’m not the boyfriend
stealing type.”

“I didn’t
think so.” She turns away from me. “And neither am I,” she adds, as if it was
an afterthought. “So, if I’m interested in Jason, you wouldn’t see any issue
with it.”