Zone Zero (Book 1 of 3)

Chapter 23

I wake with a jolt and realize instantly that I am in the car again. Alex is in the driver's seat and the night sky is fading and making room for the sun to soon rise.

Alex notices that I am awake but doesn't speak. Instead he focuses on the drive ahead and I watch silently as he speeds through the empty streets at an alarming rate. He obviously has a deadline that he has to meet that mustn't be going too well right now.

I lean my head against the cold glass and watch as the world flies by us in a haze as I contemplate who Cail must be. Could he be the vampire King? Do vampires have a King? So many questions and not one I would dare ask aloud right now.

Minutes of silence drag on and neither of us do anything to change them. He is feeling tense almost as though he has lost something. Maybe he is troubled because of me. I try not to think about it and continue to stare into nothingness.

The sun makes its debut in the morning sky and abolishes what is left of the darkness and I can't help but smile a little. For all I know this could be my last sunrise. I now understand fully what it means not to take each day for granted. You never know what may be lurking around the corner.

A thought pops in my head suddenly and I swing my face toward Alex and break our shared silence.

"Don't vampires burn in the sunlight?" I don't even think before I ask.

"Not exactly. We have to be in the sun for a very long time for it to kill us but it does hurt for any longer than 5 minutes or so. That's why we stick to the shadows and mainly only come out at night." His answer is explanative but cold. Almost as though he were angry with me. For what, I'm not certain.

I continue to gaze out the window until I see it in the distance. I am not sure at first so I sit forward in my seat to get a better look. It can't be. But it is! It's the wall to Zone Two! It's not possible. Why would Alex bring me here?

I snap my head toward him and stare at him puzzled as a faint smile colours his face only to be gone a second later.

We close the distance in remarkable timing and I can feel my overwhelming joy bursting at the seams.

The car begins to slow a few hundred meters away until it comes to a complete stop and Alex turns off the ignition.

I am still studying him waiting for him to say something but he doesn't.

"I don't understand." I gasp as tears well in my eyes. All I can think of is going home and I know that Alex can hear that.

"I asked myself what did you want from me last night and I heard you thinking that you wanted to go home. You dreamt of it vividly and I saw just how much your brothers mean to you." Although Alex seems distant as he speaks I know that he is struggling. I can feel his fear.

"You are letting me go home?" A few tears roll freely down my face now at the thought of freedom being restored to me.

"Yes. You deserve to be happy, Evie. You deserve a life full of dreams and ambitions that come true for you." He finally turns to me as he speaks and brushes my cheek; his signature move. "I want you to be happy."

With those words the tears begin to flow more fluently and I don't bother to hold them back. He already knows how I feel so no point in hiding it anymore. This is what I want and this is how I will be happy.

I throw my arms around his neck and hold on tightly. This will most likely be the last time I ever see him and I don't ever want to forget his face or his touch.

"There is one last thing though, Evie. You can't remember me." His voice breaks as he speaks and I pull away swiftly and show how confused I am.

"How could I forget you?" I say in a half sarcastic tone.

"I have to make you forget. No one can know that I have let you go and the humans can't know that I was the one that had you. I have to erase everything."

I sit back in my seat and feel a suffocating pain overwhelm me in less than a second. I don't know how to react to it all. I am getting exactly what I wanted; I am going home. But I am losing something I never thought I wanted. I am losing Alex and the experiences that he has given me.

I shake my head in disbelief hoping that he will take it all back and let me go on as I am. Please let this be some sort of cruel joke.

"I don't want to forget you." More tears fall but this time they aren't from joy.

I truly don't want to forget Alex. Although our time together has been short and rocky to say the least, our bond has managed to grow substantially and I know that he doesn't want to do this just as I don't want him to.

Alex faces me and places a hand on each side of my skull. If he squeezed tight enough, the sheer strength of him could crush my bones but I know that I can trust him. Something inside me tells me not to be afraid.

I shake my head softly and tremble at the thought of what is about to happen. I don't want to forget all that I have learned and all that I wish to learn about Alex. I want to remember him until I die.

"Please don't make me forget Alex. I don't want to."

I can't stop the tears even if I tried and I am sure that if I did try it would make the pain grow even more.

Alex leans closer to me and gives me my last kiss. I know that this is the last time that I will ever see him so I don't hold back. I hold him at his wrists and kiss him deeply. I invade his mouth with my tongue and make it the best kiss of both of our lives. I need him to know what this means to me, him bringing me home. I also need him to know how much I will miss him even though I won't remember.

He pulls away quickly and stares deeply into my eyes almost as though he were looking past them. I take in a few deep breaths and let him do what he must.

"I'm sorry Evie, but I have to."

Famous last words.