Cassie glanced over to where Patrick and Joey remained tied. They would be the main reason that the monsters came back, but they would have to get through all of them in order to kill those two. Cassie wasn’t so sure she wanted to put up a fight in order to protect them. “Cass.” She turned back toward Annabelle, hating the pity and sympathy in her bright sea green eyes. “They’ll be fine.”
“Yes,” she breathed, not at all convinced.
Annabelle squeezed her hand gently before slipping silently into the shadows. Cassie returned to staring out at the dark night. The moon danced across the snow, casting bright light off of its white surface. Stars twinkled in the sky; they were bright hopeful lights against a curtain of black night. The skeletal branches danced and swayed in the gentle breeze that wafted through them.
Julian and Devon had to be freezing out there. A shiver raced down her, she rested her fingers against the board on the window. She desperately wanted to go out there, to search for them herself; she hated feeling helpless and alone. She hated feeling this torn and adrift in the world.
Then she saw it, a darker shadow amongst the night; a figure amidst the woods. Cassie’s heart turned over, thumping with a mighty heave that left her breathless. The darkness caressed his hard body; the moon lit his black hair. Though she could not discern his features, he was the same size and shape as Devon. His hair was the same dark color. Devon would not have gone far from them, she knew that. He would not have left her alone.
And she was not going to leave him alone.
Spinning on her heel, she fled toward the door. Chris jumped toward her, trying to block her before she could get her hand on the knob. But she was faster than he was. Throwing the lock, she tossed the door open. “Cassie!”
The wind hit her, the chill of it blasted against her, but it did not slow her. She plunged into the night, needing to see Devon, to hold him. To ease the ache that burned in her bones and muscles. She plunged across the street; her breath blew out in bursts of steam in the frigid air. She pushed herself faster, harder.
She was halfway across the street, when he emerged from the shadows. Relief filled her, then confusion and surprise. She sprinted forward a few more steps before true realization sank in. This man was not Devon; he did look oddly like him with his dark hair, and sleek build. Even some of his features resembled Devon’s. His cheekbones were high and defined like Devon’s, his mouth full, but his nose was slightly bigger, and his face thinner. He was slightly shorter, stockier, but the differences were so small that she had not immediately picked up on them. His eyes though, it was his eyes that confused her the most. They were not the same bright emerald color as Devon’s, they were a darker almost forest green, and they were crueler, with an edge of malice that finally slid her to a halt.
She stared at him, her mouth wide open, and shock hammering her heart against her ribcage. He and Devon were so alike, and yet so different. Who the hell was this guy?
She shook her head, taking a step back as terror filled her. She didn’t know who he was, but it was more than apparent that he was not on her side as evil and hunger radiated from him. Yet, he did not appear to be one of the creatures either as his eyes remained clear and he did not appear half crazed. Malevolent yes, but half crazed no. She took another step back, swallowing heavily. She wanted to turn and flee, but she instinctively knew that she would not get away.
“You must be her,” he purred.
Cassie frowned as she took another step back, trying hard to keep her terror in control. Who the hell was this man? She knew what he was, but who the hell was he that he thought he knew her? And why was he staring at her with such malice when she didn’t even know him?
She took another small step back, trying not to draw his immediate attack. She could sense his power, his strength. She could feel it thrumming from him like a tightly wound guitar string. Taking another step back, she tried to breathe through the lump of fear in her throat and the tight constriction in her chest.
A small, cruel smile twisted his lips. Lips that weren’t as full as Devon’s but the upper one was stiff like Devon’s, while the bottom was soft. Confusion continued to twist through her. The similarities were so striking, so fierce. Yet so different. There was no softness in his gaze, no love, no humanity.
She took another step back, but knew instinctively that it didn’t matter what she did, he was going to come after her anyway. “Pretty.”
Though the word was barely a soft hiss, Cassie heard it as clearly as if he had been standing beside her. She shivered, suddenly certain that he could be beside her in an instant. Her skin crawled as if he had touched her, crawled as if he were already next to her.
The corners of his eyes crinkled as his smile widened. “This is going to be fun.”
Cassie’s hands clenched as she prepared herself for the attack she knew was imminent. Then she felt the ground begin to rumble, felt the earth shake and tremble as it lifted and shook with mighty waves. A fissure sprouted in the street, zigzagging rapidly toward her as the pavement cracked and heaved. A startled cry escaped her as she jumped out of the way of the rapidly growing hole in the middle of the street.
She wanted to turn and flee, but as she took a step back, her foot came up against the edge of another hole. She glanced wildly around, terrified to realize that a large hole had formed around her. A hole she was beginning to realize she could no longer see the bottom of. Dirt and pavement fell into the widening gaps; it clattered as it bounced off the sides of the dirt and rock.
Chris, Liam, Melissa, and Annabelle skidded to a halt at the edge of the hole. They stood, gaping at her across the widening five foot gap. Behind them, she could see Dani and Luther gathered at the edge of the store, watching in horror as the earth gave another mighty heave. Cassie stumbled, falling as she lost her balance. A small cry escaped her as her hand fell into one of the ever growing pits, and her leg skidded off the side.
“Cassie!” Melissa screamed.
Terror rushed up to replace her shock. For the first time she realized that the earth may just swallow her whole. She scrambled away from the edge of the growing cavity, knocking more rocks and pavement away, causing her small shelf of safety to become even smaller.
“Cassie!” Chris was kneeling before her, stretching his hand across the widening breach. “Reach for my hand!”
She gathered her legs beneath her. Kneeling, she leaned forward as she reached for his questing hand across the gap. Her fingertips were just centimeters from his, just within reach. She stretched herself as far as she could, but it was not enough. Frustration filled her; helplessness consumed her as her small plateau began to shrink.