Darkness Fades (Darkness Falls Series, Book 3) by Jessica Sorensen Page A

farther into the pile of cars,
I draw out my knife. It puts its eyes up to the gap and watches me,
letting out a low growl. I keep going until I reach the end of the
gap and, when I turn around, the monster is gone.
    I tentatively stick my head out of the hole
and glance around. It’s silent, but it makes me uneasy. I lie there
for a little bit longer, clutching onto the papers and my
knife.
    Finally, after it’s been quiet for a while,
I duck my head out and fall to the ground, rolling out. I get my
feet back under me and stand up, brushing the dirt off my pants. I
let out a breath of relief before I hear a deep growl from behind
me, making my hairs stand on end.
    I turn around slowly and meet the eyes of a
beast much larger than the rest of them, the flesh rotting off and
falling to the ground. I start to bring my knife around, but it
dips its head towards the ground. Teeth pierce through my pant leg
and my flesh, sinking deep into my muscles.
    My knife falls to the ground as my legs give
out on me and I fall. The last thing I see is the monster watching
me.
    I know that soon I’ll become one of
them.

Chapter 15

    Everything hurts. Throbs. I don’t know where
I am.
    What happened? What’s going on? I
don’t know anything.
    Then my mind starts to focus and I let out a
small cry, almost by instinct. Oh God. I start to remember. The
feeling of teeth sinking into flesh. Am… am I becoming one of
them?
    My eyelids flutter open. I’m no longer in
the park, but in a dark room, lying on my back on top of some sort
of blanket that is spread out on the hard stone floor. How did I
get here? How long have I been unconscious? Am I changing now? Or
am I immune like with the vampires?
    I raise my arms up in front of me and check
them over then slowly sit up and inspect my legs. Besides the tear
in my jeans and the teeth gashes on my skin, I show no signs of
turning into an abomination. The bite marks on my leg is tender,
aching, and I can still see blood trickling out of it. They
haven’t healed yet. Not a good sign.
    In the corner of the room is a stack of
crates, and on top of it, my knife is lying next to the papers I
was carrying. I gradually get to me feet, scanning the room as I
carefully make my way over to it.
    I need to get out of here, find Aiden in
case I do end up changing and make sure he understands that he
needs to kill me before I do, and get the papers back to Mathew.
Although, if his attitude is the same, I have no idea how I’m going
to get him to agree to this and trust him to do it.
    When I reach the crate, I crouch down to
gather my things, my muscles aching in protest. I get the knife in
my hand when I notice movement from the other side. I quickly stand
back up and step back, trying to listen for the sound of a
heartbeat, wishing I’d hear one because it’d make this so much
easier, but deep down, knowing that’s not the case. The only noise
that I can hear is labored breathing and I’m not sure what it
belongs to.
    Moving vigilantly around the crate with my
knife in my hand, I peer down at the other side. The first thing
that comes into view is a hand, but it’s not a human hand. It’s
starting to rot, flesh peeling away. It looks like it belongs to
someone who is in the process of turning.
    I continue to round to the other side, but
then the hand rapidly pulls out of my sight as someone scurries
farther behind it. I detect that it’s a human form, though.
    “Back off, Kayla. It is not safe… I’m not
safe.” His voice is rough and scratchy.
    “Aiden?”
    There’s no response, but it has to be him.
It makes no sense, though, because I’m not changing and I was
bitten, too. I glance down at my arms, turning them over, my skin
still as pale and smooth. I’m not changing yet, but he is. Why? I
thought we were the same.
    I look around at the unfamiliar room again.
Why did he bring me here instead of taking me out of the colony
where we’d be safer? Or to the desert?
    “Did you bring me