The Chosen Ones

Chapter Nine

Chapter 9

We didn't speak as we hiked all day.

Even when we stopped for a midday meal, not one person said a word. We merely settled upon the forest floor and ate our mixture of nuts and fruits in silence, food Will and his band had stolen from wagons headed toward the compounds. Like squirrels, they had caches stashed along trails and throughout the woods. Everything I learned about survival I filed away, much like they stored their food, for the day when I would leave. And I would leave. Tom might not have wanted to go with us, but I wouldn't give up on my brothers and sisters. I would help them escape, even if I had to force them.

Although I appreciated the food, I grew wary of the meal. I craved breads, pies, meats. I'd lost at least five pounds of fat since coming here, if not more. But I'd certainly gained muscle. I'd changed so much, I was surprised Tom had even recognized me. Except for my hair. Kelly had offered to cut it short, like hers, but I couldn't, although most days it was braided down my back and out of the way. All the women had long hair at the compounds. It was my last link to home.

We'd finished eating, and by some unspoken command had started forward once more. The further away I got from the compound, the more the entire situation seemed unreal, as if it had never happened. A nightmare. I certainly didn't belong there any longer. In fact, it was pretty clear I never had. But I didn't exactly feel as if I belonged here with these people either.

Thane brushed by me toward the rest of the group ahead. He'd been surveying the area as he did every so often to make sure vampires weren't following. Oddly enough, as I watched him move so confidently toward Will, I realized with some unease that if anything, I had more in common with Thane than anyone else. Neither of us truly belonged. The realization was disconcerting, to say the least.

"Kelly," I whispered, moving closer to her. She'd been trailing behind and I knew it was so I wouldn't be left alone. As much as I appreciated her concern, my obvious exhaustion was a constant reminder that I couldn't fend for myself. "Can we talk?"

The men had no such worries about me falling behind and were further ahead, eager to get back to the group we'd left behind. I could only hope that Thane was far enough away to not hear.

She glanced at me curiously. "Yeah?"

"Thane's love... if they killed her, how could he possibly keep working for them?"

I supposed there was a part of me that didn't believe the romantic tale in the least. Thane was pining over some long lost love, like one of the stories I'd read? Was he really capable of such emotion? Doubtful. I didn't even know if I was capable of loving anyone anymore.

She paused. "Don't you get it?"

The others were ahead, moving up a hill. We were almost to camp, and who knew when I'd get her alone for answers again. "He has the most difficult job of any of us. He has to pretend to be working for the very people he hates more than anyone else."

I found Thane's broad shoulders as he started up the hill. The sun shone upon him, highlighting his body in an ethereal glow, making his dark hair shimmer. I'd always thought him so unreadable. But maybe he wasn't. Maybe, just maybe, that coldness wasn't indifference, but anger, pain, heartbreak, just like any normal human would feel.

"He's doing all of this for her?"

"Yeah." She looked as if she expected nothing less. "Of course. Why else?"

How did I tell her that he didn't exactly seem capable of love? "He cared for her that much?"

She shrugged. "He is capable of affection, you know."