Through Glass(54)

I paused, letting the confusing regret wash over me before pulling myself to standing, my head spinning with the movement. I clung to the rail for support, regulating my breathing as I waited for the dizziness to subside. Leave it to me to get a head injury bad enough that I wouldn’t be able to escape. I closed my eyes and exhaled, pulling the rail from the creature’s neck slowly in an attempt at silence. I tugged hard as the rail stuck in the sharp feathers of the creature, one big pull letting it free with an odd grinding noise.

I froze, sure that whoever had put the kindling on the fire had heard the noise. I gripped the rail, ready for an attack, but hoping to escape before one became necessary. I could already feel my muscles protesting at holding the heavy rail, my head still spinning from what I was sure was a pretty bad concussion.

I needed to get out of here.

I turned from the corpse of the thing in search of my backpack, expecting it to still be upturned, but instead found the contents placed nicely inside with the zipper shut up tight.

Whoever was here had gone through my things, too. Even through the pain that continued to surge through my head, I could vividly remember dumping everything out in my mad dash to ignite a fire. I remembered pawing through the pile of my meager belongings as I searched for the lighter, passing out before the blaze had fully caught.

My privacy had been invaded by what, I didn’t know, but I already knew I couldn’t trust them. I couldn’t trust anyone. I gripped the rail tighter, letting the end lift itself a bit, preparing for a strike to ward off whatever else was here.

I let out a shaky breath and moved forward—toward the backpack—my feet slow and deliberate as my eyes continued to scan the bubble of darkness that I was surrounded by.

I knelt down slowly in an attempt to be quiet, to keep whoever was here unaware of my activity. I was about half way down before my head decided it didn’t want to be stealthy and my body fell to the side, the rail clattering loudly as I collapsed. I clenched my teeth as I kept the groan restrained, my arms shaking as they pulled me back to sitting. I scanned the space around me, waiting, expecting a monster to burst out of the darkness at any minute.

There was only silence. I might still have time. I held the rail tight in my hands, my fingers gripping the zipper as I slowly pulled open the bag. I could simply take it and run, but if I went and the lighter was gone, I was little more than a sitting duck. Besides, I wasn’t sure I could run without collapsing again.

I stuck my hand in the bag while my eyes still shifted around me as I blindly searched for the small box. My heart relaxed a bit as my fingers moved over pictures, clothes, the canvas of Cohen’s painting. The precious things I had chosen to take with me were still intact, but that was all. There was no lighter.

“No,” I hissed through clenched teeth, keeping my voice low as I continued to riffle around the bag. I knew it was pointless; I had already established that the lighter was gone.

I zipped up the bag and threw it onto my back, content to do the next best thing, grab a torch and stumble away.

“Oh, good; you’re up.” I jumped at the feminine voice, my fingers tightening around the rail as I came to face whatever had taken my lighter. My weapon lifted to meet her face as my eyes focused on the tall girl who had just walked into the ring of firelight.

She looked human, but then again, so did Sarah. She smiled like a human, dare I say it, smelled like a human. However I couldn’t stop the fear and anger that built up. I didn’t trust this woman. I didn’t want her anywhere near me.

My teeth clenched as I stared into the girl who had spoken, the rail a warning between us, yet she didn’t even seem to notice. The girl walked right into the circle of light, clicking her flashlight off as she moved to sit down next to the fire.

She was about my age, maybe a little older, and didn’t look nearly as battle worn. Her clothes fit nicely, her smooth, clean hair pulled into a high ponytail. Even her skin was flawless. She folded her legs as she sat down, pulling two silver cans from the massive pockets of her pants.

“You had a pretty bad head injury, but the bleeding stopped quickly enough, so no worries. The last thing you would want would be to bleed out when you are out here.” She laughed, still oblivious to the blood covered rail I had pointed at her. The fact that she didn’t care only made me more on edge. I wanted a reason to trust her or to kill her and she wasn’t giving me either. I wasn’t sure which scared me more.

“You are going to want to rest, though, we will need to get back before too long,” she said simply before her eyes shifted and she finally seemed to notice the warning that I had pointed in her direction. “You can put that down. I’m with Azul. We weren’t expecting anyone for another month, so you can imagine our surprise when your fire showed up on our scans.” She smiled at me, the look obviously meant as a good show of faith. Any other time it would have, but I didn’t trust this.

I had just seen my best friend turn into a monster right before my eyes. I had seen the black blood drip from her wrists, seen the spines erupt from her face. I had no guarantee that this girl, whoever she was, wouldn’t do the same.

As much as I wanted to believe she was nice—she was human—as much as I prayed to find other survivors, right then, I couldn’t trust her.

“Show me your wrists,” I managed to stutter out, my voice weak and shaky from so much neglect.

The girl smiled again and uncoiled herself to stand before me, that smile back in place.