Page 53 of Marked for Extinction
“Beau, stop. This is Vik. This. Is. Vik,” I tried.
“Vik is dead,” Vik replied much to my dismay.
“Then who the fuck are you and what are you doing with Inés?” Beau growled, grabbing my arm and trying to pull me away from him. Other community members were getting closer, some of them listening to the conversation with wary eyes as their steps slowed. “Inés, did you bring a fucking bloodsucker here?” he accused.
“What? No—”
“All bloodsuckers are predestined for death by my hands. I am the Reaper and if you don’t take your fucking hands off her, it will be your blood next I come to collect.”
Oh, hell.
“Stop! It’s Vik. Trust me, guys, please. Just, let us settle in. We’ve been through a lot. Please,” I begged, mentally exhausted from all this power play between the men.
“Vik? Is that really you?” someone else called out. It was a familiar face. One I had seen around Vik before our capture. “Vik? It’s Amir. What the hell happened to you out there?”
Vik didn’t answer. His silence made the tension in the air thicker and everyone's unease rose.
“W-we need a medical check up,” I stated, trying to dull the awkwardness. I grabbed Vik’s hand and pulled him beside me. Beau stared at our interlocking fingers with pure hate.
“What happened to you guys? We sent out search parties but your trail ended somewhere along the southeastern woods.” It was Carson. Vanessa’s crush. He boldly stepped in front of the crowd with his large arms crossed, staring at Vik and waiting for an answer.
“That’s just it, isn’t it. We don’t fucking know what happened. One minute we were trekking between the trees, the next we wake up in a fucking dungeon of torture by some bloodsuckers!” Vik snarled.
I thought they were comrades. Why was he acting like this all of a sudden?
Carson’s and Amir’s nostrils flared at his admission. They both looked at each other as if silent communication was being done.
“How do we know you’re not infected?” someone cried out.
“Maybe we need to send you right the fuck back where you came from!” another person joined in.
The crowd began mumbling amongst themselves and goosebumps rose on my skin. My hand felt clammy and I was beginning to think we no longer had a home. That was, until an unfamiliar voice cut through the crowd, silencing them.
“I haven’t run across many men with that name. How do we know you’re not just using it as a cover up, the same way you’re using that mask of yours, hmm?”
Vik growled beside me.
When the stranger emerged, I was taken aback. Darting my gaze between Vik and the stranger, a new sensation of fear crept up. They looked alike. In fact, I would dare say they were related. They sported the same tan and nose.
The stranger’s face broke into an eerie smile that crinkled a forehead that was partially covered with very similar goggles to Vik’s. What was going on here?
“Vikram. It’s been a long time.”
“What are you doing here?” Vik barked out aggressively. In fact, the last time I saw him this angry was back when we were being tortured.
I tried to pull him back but instead, he pulled me behind him in a protective gesture.
“I do believe the question should be, what are you doing looking bedraggled and dragging an innocent woman around,Vikram.”
Vik lunged and pulled me with him while a couple of friends held him back. His face was a mere inches away from who I think is a relative. The stranger wasn’t phased. In fact, he looked like he expected the reaction.
What happened between these two?
“You know nothing about me!” Vik growled, jerking his body to try and lunge again while refusing to let go of my hand.
The stranger leaned in with a menacing smile, one that bordered on insane. “On the contrary, Brother. I know more than you think.”
That was when everything exploded.
