Before The Darkest Hour

Five

Maggie

A full minute passes in silence, and the tension grows inside of the vehicle as we continue down the street. The wheels go over so many speed bumps, I'm beginning to think that they aren't speed bumps at all, and that thought brings on more nausea.

The back door of the armed truck is now closed, sealed shut with a steel sliding bar. I should feel safe knowing that nothing can get inside, but all I feel is unease. The men stare at us in that same hungry look I've seen many times before. My shoulders shake, and I try to avert my eyes at all cost.

"Stop," Jezebel murmurs.

My eyes slide over to her, where she sits beside Josh. He's nuzzling her neck, trailing his hand up her thigh.

Oh, God.

The other two men take off their headgear, and they look between us like they're trying to decide on which dessert they want to try first. My stomach churns. This is not good.

I clear my throat, and Josh lifts his head from Jezebel, giving me an annoyed look. I notice the way she scoots further away from him, her hand gripping his wrist to keep it from trailing any further up her skirt.

"So, where is your Commander?" I ask.

Josh looks at me as if I am stupid, and maybe I am. He laughs, his voice echoing against the metal walls of the truck. I hang on to Evelyn's arm tighter, but I try to keep the fear from showing on my face. I have little success.

One of the nameless guards plops down beside Evelyn, slinging his arm around her shoulders.

"He couldn't make it," Josh says, paying me no mind as he threads his hands through Jezebel's fine blonde hair.

Dread nestles itself deep inside my core, and my teeth begin to chatter again as chills rack my body. Fuck this. Today has been a living nightmare, and I'm just ready for it to be over. I sigh and close my eyes.

I have a strong suspicion that these men were going to take us to their base and have their way with us, and there would be nothing we could do to stop it. They had guns, and by the size of some of their biceps, they wouldn't even need to use them.

"Fuck that! What do you mean he couldn't make it? Where are you taking us?" Lyra shouts, pulling Alora against her chest.

God bless her. She was strong, and if anyone out of our bunch could survive this, it would be her. The girl had spirit.

"Here's the deal. We are going to take you back to our base, fuck you silly, fill your bellies with babies, and save humanity." Josh smiles his wicked smile, not a care in the world for our safety.

I knew this was a bad idea. I knew it, and yet, I ignored my instincts, and now we're going to have to go through something much worse than dying.

Alora starts to sob, her shoulders shaking as tears run down her face. Who could blame her? Josh just rolls his eyes, pulling Jezebel's hand away from his wrist.

"Listen, if you want to live, you'll do as we say. Don't you see? We don't have a choice. We are the last hope. The base is one of the only safe places left in the world. If you want out, all you have to do is say the word, and we can let you go right now."

"We would die out there," I say, just as another ear-piercing scream echoes from outside the armed vehicle.

Josh smiles. "Then I expect you to cooperate. You'll be fed and well nurtured."

His hand traces back up Jezebel's skirt, and she whimpers, her hand straining against his as she attempts to push him away.

"No, don't touch her!" Lyra shouts, just as the last masked soldier steps forward from his spot in the corner.

Lyra looks up at him, and her bottom lip trembles. He grabs her head and yanks it down to his lifted knee, the force sending a crack through the air.

Lyra moans, her hands going to her nose as blood seeps down her face and into her mouth. She collapses back down beside Alora, still conscious but stunned.

Wetness slides down my cheeks. Why were they doing this? They should have been out there trying to save people. They should be dead, like the soldiers from D.C.

The truck lurches to a stop, and my shoulder collides with Harpers as gravity pulls us back. She mutters something under her breath, hugging her arms to her chest. No one moves a muscle. Have we made it to the military base, or is something worse happening?

I look to Josh, my throat burning at the sight of his fingers moving underneath Jezebel's skirt. Her eyes are squeezed shut, her lips pressed together in a tight line. Finally, he pulls away and stands. He doesn't seem to be worried, so I guess the vampires taking us out are not in the playbook. At least not yet.

"Alright, everyone up. Move in a straight line to the compound. And remember, if you run, you'll die." Josh grins as the soldier who hurt Lyra moves forward, unlatching the back of the truck. He swings the door open and hops down, his gun already poised forward.

Josh claps his hands together. "Come on, now. We don't have all day."

My knees wobble as I stand, pulling Evelyn and Harper up with me. Josh motions us forward, an annoyed expression on his face. Jezebel stands beside him, her face stone cold. I grab her wrist and pull her away from him, and Josh smirks.

With Jezebel in my grasp, I move toward the exit. The soldier is standing just outside the door, pointing his gun toward a chain-link fence. I have to crouch down to hop out of the vehicle, but I make sure that Jezebel is the next to unboard.

Once she's down, I look around, surveying my surroundings.

Of course, we are smack dab in the middle of nowhere.

We stand in a massive parking lot, empty of cars. A chain-link fence wraps around the base, which has to cover at least a mile in four different directions. I don't see any other buildings in the distance, only dense trees and bush behind the fence and across the road.

All thoughts of escape quickly die. We couldn't survive the vampires without a shelter, and there definitely wasn't anywhere to hide out here.

"Follow me," the unnamed soldier says, and I do. Where else is there to go?

We are led to a small building, which looks no larger than a walk-in closet from the outside. It's exterior is chipped red brick, with dingy off white gutters lining the rooftop. He stops in front of the door, and I expect him to unlock it with a set of keys, but instead, he just tugs it open.

We all file into the building, and I realize it only seems small from the outside because it isn't a building at all, it's an entrance. The walls slope downward, and the floors do as well. The slight angle isn't enough to be considered a slide, but from this point of view it sure as hell looks like one. I'm dizzy just by gazing down the hallway, and I squeeze my eyes shut before reopening them again to center myself.

Two of the men enter the doorway, carrying all of our luggage in their arms. Josh trails behind them, pulling Jezebel's bag on its wheels. He's smiling from ear to ear, as if he's doing her a favor.

Once they're all inside, the door swings shut behind them.

Lyra's abuser turns a massive lock, like the kind you see during a bank robbery scene in action movies, sealing our fate forever.