Page 98 of Remnants
He smirks back. “Humor me, then.”
We follow Aiden inside, careful with our steps around the slippery rock and fauna. The sound of waves is somehow louder in here, like an echo chamber of the ocean and dripping water. Its dull roar fills my head, making it difficult to listen for anything else that couldbe inside.
Darkness closes in at our backs once we’re deep enough in, and I squeeze Dane’s hand tighter. I may not be able to go far, but I’m still not a fan of pitch black. The two lights are small but bright enough to illuminate the immediate vicinity around us. It’s enough to keep my demons at bay, to hold them back at arms-length even as they scrape and claw at my mind, fighting for a way in. Solitary. The water tank. That voice…
“If you need to leave, we will,” Dane whispers. “But I’m right here, and I won’t let go.”
I nod, shifting so my whole arm is pressed to his as I breathe in slowly. He knew. He remembered what the dark does to me, and that’s why he’d told me to stay close. I thought I’d grown enough in the last few weeks that I’d be better, but I guess there’s no rushing it.
A foul smell slips through the salty air, making my nose scrunch. It comes and goes, sometimes smacking me in the face and then disappearing seconds later so my lungs are filled only with salt and brine.
Something shifts beneath my foot, my boot sliding over the ground until it catches a rock, and I fall forward. Dane bands an arm over my chest, and another hand—Aiden’s—grasps my arm before I land face-first. “Shit,” I curse under my breath, my heart ricocheting in my chest. They help me upright, and I glare over my shoulder at whatever made me lose my balance.
“I see something,” Aiden murmurs, his voice distant as if he’s continued ahead while I’m squinting in the light at the odd littlething on the ground. It’s a few inches long and narrow from where I can see some of it sticking out beneath a rock. I squat down to get a closer look, but something about it is making me question what I’m seeing.
Is it the color? Or maybe the texture…
I’m sure it’s just an odd sea plant, something that got swept in with the tide. When I pinch it between my fingers, I suppress the shudder of disgust at the squishy feel of it while raising it before me. The light from Dane’s gift shifts away before I can really see it.
“Aiden, wait,” he calls out. Dane tugs on my hand, encouraging me to stand. “Come on. He’s gone too far ahead without us.”
I let him pull me up, jogging a bit to catch up with Aiden, who throws his arm out to stop us when we get there.
“What—”
“Shh,” Aiden demands, short and sharp to stop Dane. The flashlight sweeps over a massive pile of…bodies.
Oh.
Fuck.
I look at the thing still in my hand, using Dane’s glow to see it clearly.
A finger.
I’m holding a fucking finger.
I drop it in a rush, cursing and scraping my hand down my pants as if I can wipe it clean.
The stench of death is unmistakable now, even as the smell of the ocean tries to overpower it. I cover my mouth with the back of my hand as my stomach rolls, bile burning my throat and nose.
“Fucking hell,” Dane growls, stepping back and bringing me with him. “Have we seen enough?”
“—here!” Kell’s deep voice echoes through the cave. “—up! Up! Up!” His voice bounces back and forth, his last words eclipsing the first part of whatever he’s saying.
Aiden swings around. “Go!”
We turn, but movement behind Aiden makes me stumble. Dane tugs my arm, but I don’t stop looking past Aiden. I don’t let my eyes leave that one spot IswearI saw something move. Something among the dead.
Aiden follows my gaze. “What?”
“I…” Shit. Am I imagining things because I know Royce is nearby? Are my eyes just playing tricks on me? Fooling with me in the dim lighting while my heart gallops in my chest? “I thought I saw—” There! A twitch. The smallest jerk of a hand. My breathing stills. The hand slowly flexes, and then another begins to move. And another. “Aiden…” I gasp on an exhale, but his eyes are trained on the pile like mine.
He swallows. “Run.”
Dane and I move in unison, throwing ourselves toward the entrance while still holding on to the other. The wet stone works against us the faster we try to run, the uneven and rocky terrain tripping our feet and scraping our shoes. Groaning and pain-filled cries rise behind us, echoing deep in the belly of the cave and flooding my ears, sending a flash of fear through my veins.
A stupid rock hits the tip of my boot, its sharp point snagging me back as my knees crash down, scraping against the rough surface.I snap my teeth together to restrain the cry of pain that tried to fly from my throat. Dane yanks me back to my feet and pulls me forward, the light from his fist more of a blinking guide as he swings it forward and back.
