The Chosen Ones by Lori Brighton Read Free Book Online Page A

he
carried from his shoulder to his back, and all the while his gaze flickered
around the woods, always on alert. I’d underestimated his indifference. It
wasn’t that he didn’t care, it was merely that this life had become so natural
that it was a part of him…like his hazel eyes. “They can eat other things, but they
are sustained by blood.”
    “They eat blood?”
    “Those people at the compound
are basically like chickens in a coop.” He lifted a branch for me. I ducked
underneath, following the trail. I didn’t know how he knew the way. Everything
looked the same. Tree after tree. “They pick people at the compound based on
how ripe they are. Somehow they can smell the blood. Just like when you know if
an apple is ripe or not.”
    An image of Thanatos’ nostrils
flaring as his gaze rested on me flashed to mind. I hadn’t imagined that moment,
as I’d thought. At the compound he had sensed I was ready, and they had chosen
me. Chosen me to be their next meal. My head throbbed, beating in time to each
step I took. We’d thought being picked was an honored position. How stupid we’d
been. How clueless they still were.
    “When they come to the
compound,” I whispered, pausing. “They’re there to pick the ripe ones?”
    He nodded, watching me closely,
as if he expected me to go off the deep end once more. Although the horrors of
that realization washed over me in a sickening wave of nausea, I had no plans
to fall into the darkness again. I wouldn’t give them the satisfaction. There
were things I had to do first.
    “But we’re only ripe after sixteen,”
I added, trying to piece the clues together. No one had been chosen who was
younger than sixteen. I’d noticed that years ago. We all had. Which meant my
brothers would be safe for a couple more years. At least one good thing came
from this. “So they don’t kill children then?”
    He looked away, but not before I
noticed the sadness that flashed across his gaze. “They don’t typically feed
off of children, but that doesn’t mean they won’t kill them. They consider us a
nuisance, cockroaches to be smashed before we multiply.”
    My stomach clenched at the
thought. “We are the enemy.”
    “I don’t think they consider us
an enemy. They look at us more as animals, as…nothing.” We started up yet
another hill. I tried to keep track of the conversation but my head throbbed, my
body ached and my memories were a muddled mess. “When you reach their castle they
drug you so you sleep through the night. That way you won’t hear the screams,
you don’t see them feed.”
    “The food,” I said. Everything
was falling together piece by horrifying piece. “My friend Sally ate the cake
they had given us, but I didn’t. I was too nervous. It explains why she was
sleeping so deeply when I heard the screams.”
    He nodded. “They feed about once
a month, so we have that to be thankful for, at least. A few weeks in between
to regroup, and plan.”
    The sudden rustling of leaves startled
me so that I froze on the trail.
    “Just a squirrel,” Will said.
    Sure enough, the fluffy rodent
bounded through the forest moments later, his bushy tail flickering. I
swallowed over the lump of fear that clogged my throat. Just a squirrel. I had
so much to learn. As the animal disappeared, I found myself focusing on the
shadows. Who knew what was out there, watching, waiting. I pushed aside the
thought. One worry at a time.
    We started down a hill, but I
ended up slipping on the soft mud. Will was there…always there. His hand
clamped around my upper arm, keeping me from falling to my face. But the moment
we reached the trail below, he let go. Although I’d had little human contact
the last couple weeks, I was relieved when he released me. It felt too
confusing, too new and obtrusive. I crossed my arms over my chest, wondering if
I’d ever want someone to touch me again.
    “They have guards posted around
compounds and their city, protecting them from us.”