Read Darkness Fades (Darkness Falls Series, Book 3) for Free Online Page B

running
out.

Chapter 7

    Because I no longer need to sleep, I just
listen to the breathing of those around me, watching the entrance
to the cave until morning comes. My only company is the darkness
and the shrieks of the vampires outside.
    I’m pretty sure Aiden has listened to my
conversation with Nichelle during the night, but he has stayed
quiet in his corner and hasn’t budged since we quit talking,
leaving me alone with my thoughts.
    Eventually, the shrieks of the vampires
start to fade, and I assume that the day is starting to break, so I
stand up from my seat on the floor of the cave. Raising my arms up
above me, I stretch my stiff limbs, preparing for my journey. The
rest of the group starts to stir as I walk over to the cave
entrance and roll back the rock that covers it, letting the
sunlight spill in and fill up the cave.
    I step outside, staring at the vacant land
while breathing in the fresh air, wondering if there will ever be a
time when people can look at the view when the sky is dark.
    “So you’re simply going to leave with
Nichelle and abandon the rest of us?” Aiden asks, walking up behind
me. I know he’s angry at me because I’m leaving, because I trust
Nichelle and because I won’t tell him that I love him when he wants
me to. Desperately.
    I turn around and look at him; I mean really look at him. He has his jacket wrapped around him,
his hood over his head and his hands tucked in the sleeves. I can
barely see his face in the shadows, but I can tell he’s upset and I
feel sorry for him. He didn’t want to change into what he is now,
but he did it because he thought it was the only way to save me. He
cares for me that much. I’ll never feel the same way about him,
though. At least, I don’t think I can.
    I don’t know why I do it, other than it
feels like an impulse, as well as the right thing to do. I reach up
and gently touch his cheek, causing his body to shudder. “I have to
go, Aiden. This Mathew may know the answers to finding a cure.”
    His eyes soften. “I thought you and I had
the answers up here,” he taps the side of his head, “locked away in
our memories.”
    I sigh and remove my hand from his cheek.
“We’re supposed to. The papers that Sylas and I found might have
had what we needed to help us, but they’re lost and this may be the
only chance we have to save the world.”
    “And what if you’re wrong.”
    “Then at least I tried.”
    Nichelle walks out of the cave, ready to go,
her pack slung over her shoulder. Her hair is pulled up behind her
head and she has a jacket tied around her shoulder. She glances
back and forth between Aiden and I with a curious look on her
face.
    “You ready to go, Kayla?”
    I nod, watching Aiden as he backs away from
me, his eyes glinting with rage as he stares at Nichelle. There it
is again. The anger. Something I never really saw in him before he
changed. When he notices me staring at him, he pauses, his lips
parting like he’s going to say something, but Maci and Greyson step
out of the cave and he snaps his mouth shit.
    Greyson is carrying what little gear the
group has and Maci skips over to the side of me, her red hair
blowing in the breeze.
    “Are we ready?” she asks me, her eyes
sparkling with excitement.
    I’m confused. “Umm… Maci, you aren’t coming
with us.”
    She looks at me with a smug expression on
her face; it throws me back a little. “Yes, I am.”
    I glance over to Nichelle, who shrugs her
shoulders. “I didn’t tell her she could go.”
    I crouch down in front of Maci so we’re
eye-level. “I know you want to come, but it’ll be faster if I go
alone with Nichelle.”
    She shakes her head in protest. “No, I’m
going.”
    I glance over to Aiden for help, but he aims
the same smug look at me and I can tell that I’m going to have to
fight this battle on my own.
    Sighing, I stand back up and pat her on the
head. “Somebody has to take care of Aiden. If he goes into the
sunlight, it’ll hurt him. I