Last of Daylight

9.5 'Always Be Prepared' Isn't Just A Motto For The Scouts

On their way to the other Progeny, Rayne and Tameka had evacuated most of the students—the remaining ones, anyway—to the football field, assuming the clawed beasts were guarding the perimeter. All the while, shrieks had ricocheted from North Hall.

The school's major artery pumped blood into the mouths of the invaders. The intruders craved this pandemonium. They lusted for the aphrodisiac of fear, the temptation of helplessness, and the enticement of adrenaline.

Now, the flow of human blood trickled, clotted by the Progeny. The unit made their way through the red-lit darkness, where Rayne counted twenty-two bodies. A girl was slumped against the next bank of lockers. She scrambled to check her pulse, but found her wrists were punctured. She was drained.

Beside Rayne, Sagan looked away. Tameka shook her head. Kyle carried Nikki on his back, stone-faced.

They kept moving.

John said, "I don't think I ever thanked you for sending Xelan to my house that day. But, yeah. Thanks, Callahan."

Rayne understood. If not for Xelan, Nox would have her already. No matter how many times Xelan warned her, this wasn't what she imagined the invasion would be like. Rather than meeting with Nox and resolving peace between them, there was only carnage.

Nox was insane.

She glanced at Sagan. Was she having similar thoughts about Korac? And how—

"Shit!" Rayne drifted on debris beneath her combat boots. The sharp remnants of a door caught her fall until she slid against her locker.

"Are you okay?" Tameka and Kyle cried at once, much to their irritation.

Rayne groaned as Sagan lifted her by the arm. She assured, "I'll be fine." There was no point in telling them about her hands. The broken glass bit into Rayne's skin like sharp gravel. "You get to your stash. I'll grab mine." She belted the sword she'd claimed from the first Icarus they'd killed in the Med Lab. Sadly, the last three were unarmed.

Tameka hesitated like she wanted to force the issue. Instead, she hopped over to her locker while mumbling, "Got it."

Kyle nodded at John. "I'll take these two to our lockers. We'll see you there." They headed further into the school with Nikki.

Rayne's hands reminded her of hamburger meat. The tiny chips coalesced into the tissue of her palms. There was no use in trying to pick those out. Rayne ripped the sleeves from her white blouse and gritted her teeth as she wrapped the wounds, glass and all. She hoped Tameka and Sagan weren't watching her.

Sagan gasped, pointing at Rayne's locker.

Rayne spun and examined the wooden cabinet under the dim light. Closer, she could see her machete was used to pin a folded sheet of paper to the door.

No.

No, no, no.

Tameka asked, "What is it, Rayne?"

With more effort than she'd expected, Rayne yanked the knife out. She said, "It's from my stash." With her back to Tameka and Sagan, Rayne opened the note.

Nox wrote it in blood. She almost rolled her eyes at how predictable it was, but, as she read on, a leaden weight sank in her gut.

It Still Won't Be Enough.

Icy dread calmed the storm in Rayne, suppressing any desire for Nox.

Behind her, Tameka sucked air through her teeth, and Sagan swallowed with an audible gulp. There was no sense in telling her best friends now that they'd read it for themselves.