Midnight Fire - Rise of the Dark Angel - Book One (25 page)

             
He hung his head, grateful for the hot spray trying to wash away his
tension. He didn’t think he’
d ever
be able to sleep again. He’
d never get that look on Phoenix’s face out of his mind. His sister’s innocence ha
d truly been destroyed that day
and he wanted to go back and protect her
,
making sure she never again would have to see
something so
horrific
. John
punched the wall in frustration
and swore as his knuckle
immediately
began to throb.

             
He wrapped the towel around his lower body and walked into the changing area and was startled to find Chastity sitting there. They stared at each other for a moment, neither of them speaking. He sat on the bench next to her, feeling comforted by her presence.

             
“I needed to be with you,” she finally spoke. John understood how she felt. He
didn’t want
to be alone that night
either,
but
being a guy
,
he d
idn’t want to admit
it
. “It’
s been a really bad day,” she finished.

             
“I’m sorry
,
Chastity
. Y
ou just escaped from that horrible place and then had to go back,” he said as he pulled her into his arms. John had no way of knowing she was far more concerned about his
well-being
. She was certainly sympathetic to the humans and their plight
,
but
John was her first concern.

             
“I want to stay with you tonight,” sh
e said, not knowing how she’
d feel if he rejected her.

             
“Good,” was all he
said.
He stood up and led her down the hallway
,
into his room. He didn’t even take time to change. Chastity had
never
desired
a human
before
John.
He was
amazing
in every possible way
,
from his muscled body, to his compassion filled eyes.

             
They reached his room
and as soon as the door shut,
he wrapped his arms around her
and lowered his mouth to hers. She was shocked by the desire
pooling
i
nside her
. He st
roked her mouth with his tongue
, while running his hands along her back
.

             
She knew
they’
d regret being too hasty in their relationship
but
she didn’t know where she was going to find the strength to pull away. He moved his lips down her neck and gently nipped the soft skin of her throat, causing a moan to escape her
mouth
.

             
Just as quickly as he’d pulled her into his arms, he released her
,
and took a step back. “I’m sorry
,
Chastity
.
We shouldn’t do this. I’m just so messed up right now
. Can you turn around so I can throw some clothes on?”
He
asked. She felt empty without his arms around her
but
she turned, giving them both a few minutes to pull
themselves
together.

             
She heard some rustling of clothes and then felt John’s hands slip around her. She placed her hands over his, which were resting on her stomach. “Thank you
,
John,” she simply said as she laid her head back against his solid chest. He stroked her stomac
h, causing butterflies to swarm
and
slowly backed up, sitting
on his bed, pulling her with him.

             
He turned her so she was sitting across his lap
and brought his lips back to hers. Kissing her
gently
made all his cares quickly
fade
away. He didn’t know how long they
remained
locked in each other’s arms
,
but
eventually they
laid
down
and he pulled her tightly against
him
.

             
She snuggled next to him
and
somehow he managed to drift off
.
I
nstead of
the
nightmares he
’
d been expecting
,
his dreams were filled with visions of the future
,
with Chastity by his side.

             
Phoenix and Sadie were collect
ing herbs and fruit for the day
. They were talking about some of their earlier, carefree days and ended up
wandering to
o
far
.
T
he weeks had been filled with sadness as they listened to the s
tories of the people they’
d rescued and all the pain
they’
d endured
that
t
hey both wanted to somehow try and escape the pain for a while.

             
It seemed to help them
as they
spoke and
go
t further from the cave. John, Brian and Jayden all warned the girls to stay close
but
they ignored them, feeling they had to escape their inner
turmoil
. They knew their sanctuary would be ending soon and it felt good to be outside
,
away from the realities of their world.

             
“Are you girls staying close?” John
said
over the radio, as if he knew they weren’t obeying.

             
“Yes
,
John, we’re fine. N
ow
,
you just worry about hunting. We have a lot more people to feed,” Phoenix said to her brother, a bit exasperated. He grumbled something and then there was silence.

             
“
He’s acting even more worried, now
,” Sadie said, sounding more like her normal
self than she had since they’
d seen the bodies.

             
“I know he loves me
and you
,
too
,
but
sometimes I feel so smothered,” Phoenix said.

             
“You wouldn’t know what to do if he wasn’t looking out for you,” Sadie said with a smile.

             
“How are you sleeping?” Phoenix asked, not wanting to bring anything sad
up
but
somehow not able to keep it inside.

             
“Brian’
s been with me every night and I think it’s the only reason I’m able to get any rest. I feel safe
r
when I’m in his arms,” Sadie said with a blush.

             
“I know what you mean. Jayden’
s barely left my side
and I’m
glad I met him because I don’t think
I c
ould’ve made it through all this without him
.
H
e
seems to make everything better
and makes me feel like I can still go on,” Phoenix agreed.

             
“Oh
my gosh
,
I can’t believe how gushing and pathetic we sound,” Sadie said with a giggle.
It was the first one in a long time, and it was a relief to hear.

             
“I know, I can barely remember
the days
of being disgusted with girls like us,” Phoenix added.

             
“We’re getting pretty far away.
Y
ou know
, they’
re going to kill us if they find out,” Sadie said as she realiz
ed how far from the camp they’
d gotten. It was even more dangerous than ever to be wandering
. The enemy wasn’
t happy about
their recent loss
and they’
d be
seeking
revenge.

             
“Yeah, I’m getting a bit
creeped
out. L
et’s turn around and get
our
picking
done
. There are
so many more people to feed and we’
re going to be
dependent
on what’s outside.
O
ur resources are no longer enough,” Phoenix agreed. The girls turned to start heading back when they heard a rustling in the bushes not far from them.

             
They
both turned
and heard nothing further and gig
gled nervously
. They were keyed up
and realized they’d been pretty stupid
with their
own safety.

             
They picked up their pace
but
as they
turned a corner
,
four men stepped in front of them with evil sneers on their faces. Both girls were so stunned they stood motionless
,
not knowing what to do. They couldn’t fight off the men, who were much bigger than them and they probably couldn’t outrun them.

             
Phoenix said a silent apo
logy to her parents and brother
because the men didn’t look as if they were interested in capturing them. Both Phoenix and Sadie looked at each other with despair
filled eyes. Phoenix only had time to speak four words into her microphone before the men were upon them.

             
“John, I’m so sorry…” she said before the radio was yanked from her
hands,
roughly. She heard her brother’s voice yelling into the earpiece which was now lying on the ground. Sadie’s scream was cut off as one of the men clamped his hand down hard on her mouth.
             

             
“W
ell
…
well
…
well, look what we’
ve found
,
boys. This is an unexpected treat,” one of the men growle
d close to Phoenix’s ear. She’
d never in her life felt so much terror. The man
,
who
was holding her
dangerously tight,
leaned his head down and sniffed her hair,
sending
a shiver
of repulsion
dow
n her body. She prayed they’
d simply kill them. If there was anything she could do to save Sadie she would
,
but
she knew it was hopeless for both of them.

             
“I want the blond one,” one of the other men
sneered
,
sending another shudder through Phoenix’s body. She couldn’t possibly stand there
,
hearing
the cries of pain
coming from
her best friend. It would destroy her unlike anything else. The man turned her in his arms, removing his hand from her mouth so he could try and kiss her.

             
“Please
,
let her go, take me,” Phoenix pled with him. The man laughed and when she struggled in his arms
. She took a deep breath and brought her foot back kicking him hard in the shin. She then managed to get her arm free and punched him in the jaw, causing his breath to rush out. It took him a moment to recover and then
he brought his hand up and slapped her so hard
,
she nearly blacked out.

             
“You aren’t the one in control
,
little girl
.
I
t’s best if you remember that,” he
sneered
second
s
before
smashing
his lips
on
her. It was disgusting and
bruising
and she wished she could simply pass out. She struggled in his arms, making it hard for him to keep ahold of her. She could hear
Sadie crying out somewhere behind her
but
she couldn’t see what they were doing to her. She tried to scream
,
but
his lips were cutting off her sound.

             
“Hold her down,” the man com
manded someone
,
and she was thrown to the ground
.
H
er head hit so hard she
felt the beginnings of unconsciousness setting in,
but
as one of the men grabbed her arms and
someone else tugged
at her pants
,
she was
instantly alert
.

             
“No
…
no
…
no…” she
continually
repeated
, thrashing her body. There was no way she was going to make
it
easy for the
horrible
men. She hoped to make them mad enough to simply kill her.

             
“Do you want to die?”
One
of the men
shouted at her.

             
“Yes!
”
She
yelled back. Anything would be better than
having
the men touch her
. She’
d much rather die than be violated in the way she knew they wanted to do to both her and Sadie.

             
“Well
, you’ll get your wish when we’
re finished with you
,
and not any sooner,” one of the men sneered. She felt her pants rip and knew far worse pain than she could
possibly
imagine was coming. She continued struggling
but
she was getting exhausted and knew she wasn’t going to be able to keep it up for much longer. She hoped Sadie was stronger than her.

             
Just when she started to feel the cool air on her stomach she heard a yell
,
then her arms were released. She had her eyes tightly
closed
and was afraid to open them, afraid of what was
coming
next.

             
“What the hell?”
One
of the men hollered,
his own
tone filled with terror. She finally opened her eyes and couldn’t believe what she was seeing.
It couldn’t be real. She must’
ve passed out and was seeing what she wished to see.

             
She stared in shock at the scene before he
r, too afraid to move a muscle i
n her body. She knew she should grab Sadie and start running
,
but
she couldn’t
command
her muscles to move.
The men were all
lying
dead on the ground
,
and Jayden and Chastity were looking down on her and Sadie
with caution
.

             
Chastity
looked terrifying
, nothing like the
girl
she knew
.
Jayden
was the scariest thing she’d ever seen before.
His
eyes were glowing
and there was such a fierce look of anger in
his expression,
Phoenix knew she wouldn’t want to be
on his bad side
.

             
Both
he and Chastity
turned aroun
d
for a moment
,
and
Phoenix turned her head toward
Sadie, who was looking at her and sobbing
,
only a few feet away.
It looked as if the men
hadn’t been able to get her
clothing off
, which
Phoenix was grateful for.

             
“Are you okay?” Phoenix finally managed to whisper to Sadie, who only nodded. Both girls
turned their faces back toward
Jayden and Chastity. They turned around and their features were once again composed
,
but
Phoenix didn’t think she’
d ever be able to get that image out of her head
of their fierce expressions and
Jayden’s glowing
eyes
.

             
“Phoenix
,
I’m sorry you had to see that
,
but
I couldn’t let anything happen to you,” Jayden said as he dropped to his knees and pulled her into his arms. He lifted up her stiff body and pulled her
close
to him. She didn’t know what to think. Had she imagined the entire thing? As she looked at the dead bodies around them she knew it had been real.