Whats going on? I had been so caught up in everything that I hadnt noticed Aidens appearance in the room. His hair was rumpled from sleep, his eyes were slightly swollen, but there was a keen edge in his gaze that was slightly unnerving. Are you ok? he demanded of me, his attention honing in on Cades hands on mine.
Im fine. Everythings fine, I managed to reassure him.
He glanced at Bret, then at Cade, before finally settling on me again. Cade had been his friend once, but that had been years ago. Bret was his best friend now; I knew where Aidens loyalties would lie. I didnt want him put in the middle of this. Better be, he said softly. Abby, Molly, and Jenna are awake too.
Good, we need to figure out what we are going to do.
Didnt Bret tell you?
I glanced back at Bret, but he wouldnt look at me, his gaze was focused on the far wall. His jaw was locked tight, his arms folded over his broad chest. I ached for the hurt I saw in him. Swallowing heavily I turned my attention back to Aiden. No, I said softly.
The rental store down the road does have scuba gear.
I frowned in confusion. But you said that was a bad idea.
Its the only one we have now. The fact that we have to get to the mainland has not changed Bethany. We cant stay on this side. Theyll find us. My hand tightened around Cades, I needed his strength. I knew I should let go of him, knew that I was only hurting Bret more, but I couldnt bring myself to release him. I was a truly awful person. Cades hands wrapped around my arms, he pulled me a small step closer to him, his attention still half on Bret as he listened to Aiden. We have to do something Bethany.
Though Aiden was trying to keep his face expressionless, confusion and shock blazed from the eyes rapidly flickering back and forth between the three of us. He focused on me, shook his head, opened his mouth to say something, and then clamped it shut again. He hissed something under his breath, it was so low that I couldnt make it out, but Cade pulled me even closer to him.
I know we do, I muttered.
Its getting dark now, we should be going soon.
I couldnt wait to get out of this apartment, and to put some space between Cade and Bret. But the thought of being outside again, of being completely exposed to those creatures
once more, caused a cold chill to run down my spine.
CHAPTER 16
I turned the scuba tank over in my hands. I had no idea what the hell we were going to do with these damn things. What the hell were we thinking to even attempt this incredibly crazy idea, even if it had been my crazy idea? Drowning was not one of the ways I wanted to go out, but then again neither was getting my blood drained by some crazy freaking spider/tick/octopus/jellyfish like monster.
Both options sucked, but I preferred to give my body over to nature than the aliens any day. There might be some kind of manual or something around here, Aiden muttered, biting on his bottom lip as he wandered behind the counter. A video even.
A video? I inquired dryly.
DVD maybe.
I rolled my eyes as I shook my head. Only Aiden would think that he could play a DVD and know what to do, or that there even was a DVD on the basics of scuba diving. But then again, for all I knew, there actually might be one. Abby was holding up a set of flippers, studying them carefully as she flapped them in the air. We had lived on Cape Cod our entire lives, but strangely enough my siblings and I had never donned a set of flippers before.
We do have Molly, I reminded him.
Aiden shrugged absently. Would still like to learn as much as possible beforehand.
I followed Aiden behind the counter, holding the flashlight for him as he rummaged through the shelves. I didnt think he had a shot in hell of finding a video, but I didnt say that to him. I figured he simply needed something to distract him from what we were going to do. Heres something.
What? I asked in surprise.
He pulled out a stack of papers and fluttered them in the air. Its a manual. Well that might be helpful, I thought silently. Though, I was pretty sure that reading about scuba diving wasnt the best way to learn how to do it. It was better than nothing though, that was for sure. He sat back on his heels, flipping through the pages. It will help.
He put it on top of the counter as he stood up. Cade and Molly came around from where they had been exploring the back of the store. Theres a room back there, but it has windows. We either leave tonight for the mainland, or we go back to the apartment, Cade informed us briskly.
Hed been on edge since wed left the apartment. The strange thing was that I didnt think it had anything to do with what had happened with Bret, but with something else entirely. He was pale again, his mouth pinched once more. I wondered if perhaps he hadnt slept like the rest of us. I worried about him, afraid that he was going to make himself sick with lack of sleep and nutrition.
I didnt like the idea of staying here, or going back outside. Unfortunately we didnt have a choice. I want to read this, Aiden replied, tapping his fingers on the pages before him. Maybe we should go back to the apartment till tomorrow night then.