A chill began to make its way through her. A chill that had nothing to do with the cold day. Slowly, afraid that any sudden movement might draw an attack, Cassie placed the book down. She studied the woods, her eyes darting rapidly over the thick trees. Nothing moved amongst the shadowy interior.
The creak of the door caught her attention as Dani came onto the porch. “What are you doing?” she asked quietly.
“I was reading, but…”
“But what?” Dani inquired when Cassie broke off.
“But something’s not right,” she said softly. “We need to go back inside. Where are Chris and Annabelle?”
Dani glanced swiftly around the woods, fear flashed across her face. “Chris is playing a video game and I think Annabelle is still asleep.”
Cassie stood slowly, managing a wan smile as she edged slowly toward Dani. “Are you sure something is out there Cassie? It is daylight.”
“Not all of our enemy’s are the undead. Go on Dani, get inside.”
Cassie edged toward the door, nudging Dani lightly as she moved. In her pocket she felt her phone begin to vibrate. Keeping her eyes on the woods, she pulled it out of her pocket, relieved to see Devon’s name on the screen. She pulled it out, flipping it open. “Hello,” she said softly.
“Where are you?” the growled demand made her skin crawl.
“I’m at the cabin, of course,” she said lightly, trying hard to keep her fear from him as she focused on the silent forest.
“You need to get Chris and Annabelle, and get out of there now. Right now.”
Cassie shivered in fear. Melissa must be with him, she must have had a vision, and if Melissa had a vision…
Cassie shuddered again, her hand tightened around the phone. If Melissa had received a vision, then it was probably already too late. Cassie tried hard not to panic; Melissa’s visions had been thwarted before, it was possible this one could be stopped too.
“Devon,” she whispered terror choking her voice as his words completely sank in. Or, actually, his lack thereof. A sudden blooming knowledge dawned over her, encompassing her, leaving her hollow and shaken. She realized now that there was one name he hadn’t mentioned. Closing her eyes she took a deep, calming breath. “I love you.”
“Cassie…”
His words were cut off as she spun suddenly, launching at Dani. She realized only to late her mistake. She should have gone the other way, should have tried to get off the porch instead of confronting Dani head on. For Dani had been prepared for Cassie, whereas Cassie had not been prepared for her.
The jolt from the taser gun slammed into her shoulder, knocking her back a good five feet before she fell into the wall. Her body jerked with spasms as bolts of electricity pounded into her. Pain exploded through her, blood filled her mouth as she bit down hard on her tongue.
The jolts suddenly stopped. Cassie slumped to the ground, unable to move as her body went limp with relief. Her fingers clawed at the wood of the porch, she tried to form a coherent word, tried to get her body to move again, but her limbs simply didn’t want to cooperate with her frazzled mind. She couldn’t even gather her wits enough to feel the outrage she knew she should feel.
She could not summon the fierce sense of anger and betrayal that should be directed at Dani. An anger and hurt that would give her the power, and ability, to get up and moving again if she experienced enough rage. She didn’t even have the strength to wonder what the hell was going on, or how Dani was even remotely involved with this.
No, she could only sit helpless in her tortured, frazzled body.
Her eyes rolled as movement caught her attention. Figures began to emerge from the woods. Her head lulled to the side as four men reached the porch, climbing swiftly up the stairs. Dani handed the taser gun over to the first man, who gave her a brisk nod.
“Good job. The others?”
“They’ve been taken care of.”
Cassie uttered a garbled moan of pain as her heart constricted. Taken care of? What did that mean? Taken care of how? Fear for her friend’s safety gave her a new strength. She lurched forward, trying to regain her footing in a desperate attempt to break free. She had barely moved a foot before a fresh bolt of electricity slammed her backward.
Her legs kicked spasmodically, blood from her wounded tongue spurted from her mouth as a choked cry escaped her. “You were right, she is tougher than we’d thought,” another man said softly. “Two taser shots and she’s still trying to get up. Tranquilize her.”
Another cry escaped as they came at her, a syringe in hand. Cassie tried to get the strength to move, but her limp legs and arms refused to cooperate with her. Hands seized hold of her, pinning her against the wall. A shrill, unintelligible noise escaped her as the needle jabbed into her arm, and the plunger was pushed.
CHAPTER 14
Chris woke to the feel of tiny hands scrambling over him, then tugging at something. He groaned as he cracked an eyelid, surprised to find Annabelle kneeling before him, her delicate eyebrows drawn tightly together in frustration. He blinked in surprise, trying to figure out what was going on, and just what the hell she was tugging at.
His throat was unnaturally dry, painful. His tongue felt funny, and was that burnt hair that he smelled? He swallowed heavily, trying to wet his parched throat in order to find words. What had happened? His gaze darted to the video game he had been playing. The screen was still on, his car was crashed into a wall; a prompter asked if he wished to continue. The only thing he wished to do was figure out what the hell was going on.
Annabelle grunted in frustration and then jerked hard on something. Chris’s hand went with her. He glanced sharply down, surprised to see a rope falling away from his wrist. “What…” the word came out as a croak. He swallowed heavily as Annabelle’s sea colored eyes came up to his. The terror in her gaze was almost enough to make him lose his voice again. “What happened?”
Annabelle sighed heavily as she tugged at his other hand, freeing the last rope that had kept his arm in place. Annabelle sat back on her heels, studying him worriedly. “Dani happened.”
“Excuse me?” he choked out.
Annabelle nodded as she rose swiftly to her feet. She kept her hand on Chris’s arm as she reached around him, grabbing a can of soda from the table. She thrust it at him, studying him worriedly as he took a small sip. “How are you feeling?”
Chris shook his head, grateful for the drink. His mind was rapidly clearing but he was beginning to realize that he was going to wish that it hadn’t. “Where’s Cassie?”