Page 18 of Lower World
“Veronica!”
My body jolted upright, my shout bouncing off the wooden planks around us. Alice was curled around me, rocking me as I sobbed into her shoulder. My human friend was smoothing her hand over my head, murmuring soothing nonsense while I held onto her as if she was the only thing stopping me from bursting into a million pieces.
11
“Stay here and guard the human while I scout the area first.”
Dominic tossed Johnathan’s body like a trash bag to the side and disappeared among the trees when we reached the safe house, which was no longer safe if you asked me. It was the first thing the shifter said to me after my meltdown from the nightmare on the train. While I sobbed my heart out, he sat across from us, clenching his fists as his eyes burning with fury. Whether it was aimed at my slobbering mess or the Syndicate, I wasn’t sure.
Alice huddled closer to me, and I tucked her at my back in case there were goons waiting for us to return, while my head moved from side to side watching for a shift in any shadow. Lack of sleep combined with the blood loss messed me up pretty good, to the point I had no control of my body. I’d been able to block out any night terrors for years. Even the ones from the cages that used to wake me screaming and shaking like a leaf. Apparently, I couldn’t stop Veronica’s death from taunting me. Not that I didn’t deserve it.
“You’ll be okay as soon as we get inside, Brooklyn,” Alice murmured, clutching my grime-covered shirt and poking her head to peek around me.
“I’m okay now.” Glancing down at her, I even offered her a strained smile.
“Right.” Rolling her eyes at me, she jumped when a branch snapped from somewhere to the side.
“A rabbit.”
“You know how freaky it is that you actually know what kind of animal did that?” Squinting up at me to see me better without her glasses, she grinned like a loon. “I wanna be like you when I grow up.”
“You are a grown woman, Alice.”
“You’re missing the point, Robocop.”
“Why do you keep rolling your eyes?” Ignoring her snarky comment, I focused on the trees again, straining my ears so I didn’t miss a sound.
“Because you are an amazing person, Brooklyn, whether you want to admit that or not. If I can say so myself, you are the type of a friend every girl dreams of when we think about times when we grow up, and also the type of woman we all hope to be.” My eyebrows crawled up to my hairline when I looked back at her, and my mouth opened and closed, not knowing what to say to that. “Close your mouth, it’s the truth. You are loyal and brave. You’ll protect those weaker than you or the ones you care about with your last breath. But when it comes to simple things like joking, or even having five minutes of down time to simply enjoy life, you act like a robot and you don’t know what to do with yourself. It seems as if that’s as foreign of a concept to you as shifting into an animal or drinking blood is to me. It’s quite sad, to be honest.”
“In my world, you can’t afford joking or to have down time. This is not a movie or one of the books you’ve read,” I murmured under my breath, but what she said triggered that deep need I’d always felt to be part of her world. “And I’m not all that you make me out to be. Don’t mistake me for something I’m not, Alice. Veronica thought I was different, that I was better than the rest of our kind. The cost for that was her life. Now it might cost you yours too, just for knowing me. I’m the same monster as those that are after us. Never forget that.”
“Do you hear yourself when you talk?” Snorting, she shook her head at me like a disapproving parent. “First of all—”
“It’s all clear.” Dominic appeared a couple of feet in front of us, rolling his shoulders, his hair sticking out in all directions.
The way he was twisting his upper body like he was making sure his skeleton fit properly under his skin, along with the fact that I didn’t hear him approaching, told me he just shifted back to his human form. His narrowed and intent gaze on me said he also heard at least half of the conversation Alice and I had in his absence, as well.
“Let’s go.” I was moving before I was done talking, avoiding any comments Dominic might want to add, my feet eating up the distance to the house.
“Come on, cat.” Alice rushed after me, her feet rustling the leaves on the forest floor. “As I was saying. First of all”—She was skipping like a child keeping in step with me—“you are nothing like those after us. Second, believing in you and recognizing that you are an amazing person was not the reason Veronica lost her life.”
“You know nothing. Do not speak of her, Alice. Let it be.” I didn’t mean to sound harsh, yet I did. Flinching at my tone, I didn’t stop.
“Don’t you dare shush me, Brooklyn.” She went as far as poking me in my side. Dominic chuckled, the jerk. “Those dishrags from the Syndicate took her life because they are evil incarnate. Not you, or her friendship with you. Plus, they can all kiss my ass for real. You and Dominic will protect me. I’m not afraid of them.”
“Unless it is me that kills you, human,” Dominic growled from behind us. “You talk too much.”
“Every circus needs a monkey, saber tooth.” Alice snickered, oblivious to everything around her. I couldn’t fathom the trust she placed in us. In monsters from her worse nightmares, of all things. “I have no problem being the monkey in our circus since the two of you are no fun at all.”
“The human thinks this is an adventure of some sort,” Dominic muttered low enough that only I could hear him.
I agreed with that statement but didn’t voice it.
From the corner of my eye, I watched Alice. Since her glasses were gone and barely any light penetrated the tops of the trees, I had no doubt she couldn’t see anything in front of her. Yet with her fingers wrapped around my upper arm, she stepped forward confidently, trusting I would lead her on the right path not to get hurt, a wide smile stretching her lips. A tight band wrapped around my lungs, restricting them from expanding enough for me to take a full breath. I couldn’t let anything happen to her. I just couldn’t.
When the house came into view, it gave me pause. From the outside, it didn’t look like much. The faded red rooftiles were gray under the moonlight, a few of them missing here and there. One of the windows to the right was gaping open with broken shards sticking around the frame. The front door was fully missing, and the ground in front of it had a darker color than the rest of the dirt from all the blood spilled there. No shrubs or flowers were to be seen in the empty land where it sat, resembling a long-forgotten home of humans from the past.
“I think we have enough salt in the house for what we need.” As soon as we were close enough, Alice rushed inside the house, her hand outstretched in front of her. “If not, we will have to fix the car and run to the nearest store.” I stopped, watching her disappear inside.
