Darkness Fades

Chapter 5

For a second I don’t think I’ve heard her right, but as I replay her words over and over again, I realize that I did.

But how does she know?

I jump down from the ledge and land gracefully on the loose ground below. Nichelle drops her pack, squats down and then swings her legs over the ledge. She grasps the edge then lowers her body slowly over until she’s half way down and then lets go. She lands on her feet in the dirt beside me, her boots scuffing against the loose rocks.

“You seem comfortable moving around,” I tell her, knowing it’s a weird statement, but still. When Aiden was human he couldn’t maneuver around like that. If I didn’t know any better, I’d guess Nichelle was a Day Taker; however, she has a heartbeat.

She shrugs as she dusts the dirt and mud off her hands. “I have had years of training.” She stretches her arm back up in the direction of the ledge and grabs her bag.

Training? “Are you a Bellator?” I ask her as I start to hike to the bottom of the slope.

She gapes at me as she puts her bag back on. “A what?”

“A Bellator… they were the people who trained at my Colony.”

“Well, at my Colony, I’m called a Protector.”

It seems the same to me, and the idea that they have titles at Nichelle’s colony makes me question just how different hers is from mine, which makes me instantly put my guard up once more.

I try to keep quiet the rest of our journey down the hill. When I reach the bottom, I nod my head in the direction of the cave. “This way.”

She follows me as rain continues to drench us and the grey sky lights up with silver blazes of lightning. We don’t say a word to each other as we hike towards the cave. I’m getting tenser with every step, wondering if I should simply hit her over the head and knock her out to avoid any mishaps. However, before I can come up with a plan, Maci comes sprinting around the corner hill.

“Kayla!” she cries out. When she reaches me, she throws her arms around my waist. “I knew you didn’t leave us.” I stiffen because she just let out my secret; said my name. Before I can respond, Maci releases me and turns towards Nichelle. “And you found her.”

“Yes, I guess I did,” Nichelle says. I gape at Maci because it seems like she knows Nichelle.

“What do you mean, you found her?” I ask as the rain simmers down to a drizzle. “You knew Nichelle was looking for me?”

Maci nods her head up and down vigorously. “I did.”

I never know how to react to Maci’s strange behavior, so I don’t respond. Instead, I lead her and Nichelle around the hill to the flat area just below the cave. By the time we get there, the rain has stopped, though the thunder and lightning still echo across the sky.

Greyson is sitting in the cave’s entrance with a fire glowing beneath the shelter. He has what look like a dead lizard in his hand. He takes in Nichelle slowly as she and Maci follow me up the hill towards the cave.

Aiden and Tristan are right behind him, in the shadows of the cave, protecting themselves from the daylight that hides beneath the clouds and smoke. Aiden watches Nichelle suspiciously and then he finally steps out of the cave, drawing the hood of his jacket over his head and tucking his hands into the sleeves.

“Who is that?” He nods his head in Nichelle’s direction.

I sigh as I keep climbing. “It’s Nichelle. She says she’s from… another colony.” It sounds strange coming out of my mouth; I doubt anyone will believe me.

“There are no other colonies,” Aiden argues, taking a step down the hill, his boots knocking wet rocks and chunks of mud down the slope. “If there were, we would know about them.” Both him and Greyson eye Nichelle skeptically, their muscles raveled, edgy and on guard, which makes me uneasy.

Greyson stands to his feet, leaving the dead lizard on a rock. With his arms out to the side, he traipses down the hill to stop beside Aiden. “Aiden’s right. If there are other colonies, then why haven’t we known about them? It doesn’t make any sense.”

They take a few more steps towards us, meeting us at the center of the hill. Then Greyson and Aiden begin to circle around Nichelle with a dark look in their eyes like they’re going to attack her or something.

I turn with them, not sure why I’m protecting Nichelle, other than she hasn’t given me a reason not to. “Don’t even think about doing anything to her.”

Aiden pauses, his head slanting to the side. “Why not?”

“Because she hasn’t done anything to us,” I say with warning in my tone as I shoot him a look of caution. “And if you do make a move on her,” I challenge, “then you have to go through me.”

Aiden’s eyes unexpectedly light up, as though he likes this idea, and I remember that this isn’t the Aiden I first met. He starts to circle us again and Nichelle reaches to her side towards the leather pouch, taking out a small knife.

“I can protect myself,” she says, aiming the knife out in front of her. “I don’t need you to do it for me.”

I shake my head and move with Aiden, making sure to keep myself between them at all times. “No, you can’t. Trust me… he’s a lot stronger than you.”

“Yes, I can,” she argues. “Strength doesn’t outweigh skill.”

“Yeah, let her try,” Aiden insists with a look on his face that makes me want to slap him.

I probably would have, too, but Maci suddenly steps up between Aiden and me, tipping her chin up to look Aiden in the eye. “Nichelle’s telling the truth, Aiden. I’ve seen where she comes from.”

Aiden looks down at Maci with doubt. I seize the opportunity to leap forward, grabbing him by his jacket and shoving him backward, forcing him to stumble back into a large boulder on the hillside. “Stop it now. Just because you’re suddenly strong, doesn’t mean you need to be an asshole for no reason.”

A glint of anger emerges in his eyes as he rises to his feet, his clothes muddy. The anger vanishes, though, as he shakes his head, and the old Aiden surfaces. “Sorry, I don’t know what got into me.” He turns and heads back to the cave as if nothing happened while I start to think that I might have a real problem on my hands because Day Taker Aiden is very impulsive and erratic.

Greyson continues to watch Nichelle with interest, but he stops tormenting and circling her. “So, Nichelle, why haven’t we seen you or any others from your colony before?”

I get where they’re coming from… sort of, but I can feel Nichelle’s telling the truth, so they need to back the hell down. “Greyson, I’d be able to tell if she is lying, and she’s not.”

Tristan’s voice carries from over my shoulder. “Kayla’s right. Nichelle’s not lying. There are other people out there. The Highers just haven’t found them yet.”

We all turn in his direction. He’s wearing a dark grey hoodie, the hood pulled over his head, and his hands tucked up in the sleeves. He crosses his arms with a stoic look on his face, staying in the shadows on the hill.

I step towards him with caution, rocks slipping down the hill. I have to put my hands on the ground to get my balance. “What do you mean the Highers haven’t found them?” I question. “Are they looking for them? And how do you know this?”

“Of course the Highers are looking for them,” he says, glancing at the land over my shoulder. “How else will they keep themselves in control if they allow other colonies to exist? The Highers are greedy and they want to control the entire world, so they’ve been tracking down other colonies and eliminating them.”

I eye him over as I fold my arms. “How do you know all this?”

He shrugs. “Because you weren’t the only reason I was sent out here.” His blue eyes land on Nichelle. “The Highers also sent me to find others.”

Before I can react, he leaps down the hill and smashes into Nichelle. Their bodies crash together and they fall to the ground, legs tangled, arms gripping onto each other as they tumble down the steep slope. Dirt flies up from the ground as they punch and hit each other, kneeing each other in the gut. Nichelle even gets a handful of Tristan’s blond hair.

I dash down the hill after them as Nichelle lets out a shout and tries to take a swing at Tristan with her knife aimed out, but he knees her in the stomach and jumps on her, pinning her to the ground. He tips his head back with his hands around Nichelle’s neck as she struggles to breathe, kicking her feet up at him.

“Tristan stop!” I cry out as I slide down the hill towards them. Nichelle’s gasping for air as Tristan only tightens his hold. Before I can get to them, there’s a loud grunt and then everything gets quiet as Tristan slumps over.

Oh God. I know before I reach them what has happened, but when I get there, I still feel a little shock. Tristan’s body is on top of Nichelle, but not moving, and there’s a pool of blood on the ground next to them. My hand tremors as I grab his shoulder and flip him over, not surprised to see Nichelle’s knife sticking out of his chest.

Nichelle places her hands over her head and flips her body into a standing position. Reaching down, she pulls the knife from Tristan’s chest and wipes the blood off on the sleeve of her shirt. Then, with zero emotion on her face, she tucks it back into her pouch.

“I’m sorry,” she says. I can tell she’s on guard, worried I might retaliate. “But he would have killed me if I didn’t kill him first.”

I’m taken aback by the fact that Tristan is dead. I feel the slightest bit of aching in my chest, especially when I stare down at him. Yes, he’d gone bad since he’d been put out into the Real World, yet at the same time, I can’t forget the sweet, kind Tristan I knew in The Colony. Besides, he came back here and told Aiden about me being trapped in the cell. He’s done both good and bad stuff, which makes me feel conflicted about his death. I’m not sure what to do, how to react, although I feel like ramming my fist into Nichelle’s face.

“I’m sorry, Kayla,” she says, her expression softening. “I really am, but in this world, you can’t hesitate… it’s a matter of life and death.”

I understand that all too well, but I still can’t speak. Staring down at Tristan’s body, I struggle to sort through my thoughts on whether or not I should hurt Nichelle.

Nichelle walks back to Tristan’s body and squats down beside him. She reaches over and gently closes Tristan’s lifeless eyes then, standing back up, she glances over her shoulder at me.

“It wasn’t his fault he was that way. He couldn’t help that they changed him,” she says softly.

“You knew what he was?”

She nods. “I could tell the second he spoke, but still… I wouldn’t have killed him if I didn’t have to.” She walks up to me, stopping just short of me while she looks me straight in the eyes. “It’s why we have to stop this; stop all the changing. It’s time for people to be free instead of experiments. And you can do that, Kayla.”

I glance over at Tristan and then back at Nichelle, knowing she’s right, feeling it in my bones. I need to stop this; stop innocent people from getting hurt.

It’s time to save the world.