I shrug his hand off and lower my feet over the edge. “Then go. I can get Maci by myself.”
Aiden steps up in front of me when I’m halfway over the side. “Wait.”
“Why?” Dirt and rocks scratch at my palms, but I barely feel it.
“I’m going with you,” he says, crouching down in front of me. “You might need some help.”
“I need you to go with Nichelle and Greyson,” I say, pushing my way back up over the ledge, holding my weight on my arms, my feet hanging below me. He starts to argue, but I cut him off. “First of all, I’m the only one in this group that is immune from the vampires. It makes no sense for the rest of you to risk yourselves.” I lower my voice. “And I need you to help watch the others in case the vampires try to attack them.”
He shakes his head, annoyed. Cries echo around us, multiplying as more and more vampires wake up.
“I’ll hurry and get Maci then meet up with you guys.” I look over at Nichelle. “Can you tell me where the hiding spot is?”
She squats down in front me. “Just stay on the trail and when you get to the bottom there’s a large rock to the right. There’s a trail hidden behind it that leads to the side of a hill that has several caves in it. I think one of them may be large enough for all of us to climb in until morning.” She stands back up and dusts the dirt off her hands.
“Okay, I’ll be there as soon as I can,” I tell her, unsure how true that really is, especially because I’ll be bringing Maci back with me.
She starts to walk away, but stops and reaches into the leather pouch, pulling out a knife. “You may need this.” She hands it to me.
I balance my weight on one arm and take it from her, slipping it into my back pocket; ready to go, ready to get to Maci. Help her. She needs my help.
Aiden moves closer to me, still seeming pissed. “I don’t like leaving you alone.”
He’s getting on my nerves and slowing me down from getting to Maci. “I’ll be fine, now go.”
He reluctantly stands up as the rest of them head off down the trail in a line. I lower my feet, pressing my boots to the side of the hill, then dig my fingers into it and rapidly scale down the side like a lizard.
When I finally plant my feet on the bottom, I rush over to Maci’s side and kneel down, feeling sick to my stomach at the sight. She’s lying face down in the dirt; her arm is kinked at a weird angle, a bone protruding through the skin. Blood drips down her arm, forming a small pool of blood around her and the rocks below her.
I lean down and listen to see if she’s breathing. I hear her take a breath, but it’s small and weak. Still, I let out a sigh, relief swelling within me because at least she’s still breathing; she’s alive.
“Maci, can you hear me?”
She lets out a groan, her eyes opening up. “Kayla?”
“It’s going to be okay.” It feels like I’m lying to myself, though.
She tries to push herself up, but gasps from the pain and drops back down to the ground, her face twisted in pain
“Kayla, is that you?” Her voice is quiet and shaky, her hair is covered in dirt and fragments of rocks and her shirt’s stained with blood.
I need to help her. Somehow. Get her out of here and heal her.
As I’m figuring out what to do, I hear what sounds like approaching footsteps coming from behind me. I whirl around and scan the black land and rocks behind me, but I don’t see anything. Still, I’m running out of time. Vampires will be here soon, especially when they catch the scent of blood.
“Maci, can you move at all?” I ask, gently trying to help her turn over.
“I think so, but I need some help. It hurts.” She’s on the verge of tears.
“Hold on, okay… I’m going to roll you over, but you need to try and be quiet. Don’t scream.” She nods and then I place my hands under her arms and vigilantly roll her to the side.
She bites down on her lip and winces, stopping herself from crying out as the pain gets to her. I can smell the blood and it worries me, especially because she has more wounds than I thought. There’s a large gash across her forehead that looks fairly deep, blood is streaming down her cheek. I rip a piece of fabric from the bottom of my shirt and tie it around her head to try and slow the bleeding down. Then I unwrap my jacket from around my waist and gently wrap her broken arm with it. I take the sleeves of the jacket and loop them around her neck then tie them in the back, securing her arm against her chest.
Her eyes start to drift shut. That worries me as well.
“Maci, you need to keep your eyes open,” I say. She blinks at me. “We need to find a way to get you out of here…” I look for the best way out. Vampires have emerged and are crossing the land. Everywhere. There’s only one option and that’s up. Dammit. “Maci, you’re going to have to climb onto my back and hold onto me with one arm, so we can get out of here. We’re going to have to hurry, okay?” I’m not even sure she can do it, but I have to try.
She nods and I turn around, putting my back towards her. She reaches around my neck with her good arm and grasps onto me, her grip weak.
“Now make sure you hold on tight, okay?” I sense how scared she is and how much pain she’s in. I can also feel her starting to fade. I put my hands behind my back so I can hold onto her legs then freeze when I see movement in front of us.
A group of vampires, salivating from the mouth and bleeding from the eyes, creep out of the shadows of the rocks around us. Their flesh is peeling, their eyes hungry as they snap their teeth, surrounding us. I need to get out of here. Now.
“Hold on tightly,” I tell Maci and then, with one swift spring on my toes, I launch myself onto the rock, only letting her go at the last second.
She grips onto me, but I can feel her grip loosening as her arm begins to slide from around my neck. I dig one set of my fingers deep into the rock, feeling it scrape at my flesh, but I don't feel pain since I quickly heal. Then I push my boots against the surface, baring my weight on them, before I move my other arm around my back to hold onto her legs tightly. The vampires shriek, overlapping the sounds of thudding as they ram their bodies against the cliff side. One of their teeth grazes my boots and I lose my balance. We start to slip back down the hill, however I plunge my fingers and toes deeper into the rock and manage to get us to a stop just before we reach the vampires. I begin to scale up again when one of their rotten hands wraps around my ankle. I slam my boot into its face, but it continues to keep hold of me, dragging me downward, sniffing the air with the scent of Maci’s blood. It won’t let go.
I search frantically for an escape; some way out of this where they won’t devour Maci. There’s a lip on the rock nearby and I start to claw sideways towards it, while the vampire works to pull me down, using my body like a tug-o-war rope, but I get my top half over there.
“Maci, climb on it,” I shout.
She shakes her head, holding onto me tighter. “No, I’m too scared.”
The vampire jerks on my leg again, but I keep ahold of the rock. “Maci, please. I know your brave and I need you to do this for me, otherwise this is going to end badly.”
She pauses then I feel her hold loosen. She shifts and begins rolling onto the lip. I hear her groan, but I don’t have time to see if she’s okay. It’s time to kill, so I let go.
Falling into the midst of the howls and decaying flesh, I land gracefully on my feet, and with one swift movement, I retrieve Nichelle’s knife that she’s given me. I waste no time, slicing the face of the first one I come across. It howls out into the night and then the rest of them start to hover away, my scent frightening them as they deliberate whether to flee or feed. They inhale the air, blood dripping from their wounds. Their backs are hunched over and one of them dares to take a nip at me. I realize the scent of Maci’s blood is overriding their fear, and without much more hesitation, they charge.