Chapter 17

One Hour Post-Culling…

I’m silent, mind reeling, as Spencer idles the boat alongside an empty dock. I glance around frantically for any signs of life, but this town, like the last one, is deathly silent. No movement anywhere that I can see. My heart sinks when I realize the likelihood that this town has been culled, too, is high.

“C’mon.” Spencer jumps over the side of the boat and onto the dock; then he extends his hand to help me. “We’ll take a quick look around, gather whatever supplies we can find, then get out of here.”

I nod, too numb to speak. If I had my way, I’d stay on the boat, but I’m way too freaked out to be alone right now, and truthfully, I worry about Spencer wandering around by himself. What if the Bittens are still here? What if Spencer is attacked? I can’t risk us being split up, or worse, something happening to him.

I slip my hand into his and intertwine our fingers. He gives me a grateful smile, relief relaxing some of the tension in his features. He gently squeezes my hand, and a tiny thrill wiggles up my spine. So not the time for that.

“Stay close to me, okay?”

“You don’t have to tell me twice,” I say, and he chuckles, though the sound is forced.

Right now, I’d give anything to go back to a couple days ago when I didn’t know anything about vampires, when just Spencer and I were on his boat, laughing and teasing each other. Kissing and growing closer. Will things change between us now that I know the truth? Obviously, vampires and humans can have relationships if his dad is a vampire and his mom is human. But how complicated is that? Will Spencer even want to bother with me anymore?

“This is why you asked me to come with you this summer, isn’t it?” I whisper as we make our way into the center of town.

“Yes. Like I said, we knew the Bittens were planning something like this. We just didn’t know when, and on the off chance they made their move this summer…” He glances down at me, his gaze full of love. “Well, I needed to know you were safe, and right now, the safest place is with me.”

My heart flutters at his confession, and at the look in his eyes. “What if I hadn’t shown up like I did?”

“I would’ve told you the truth sooner and begged you to come with me,” he says with zero hesitation. “And if you’d still refused, I would’ve stuck around to make sure you were okay.”

Warmth spreads through me.

“Either way, I needed to get you away from everyone else so we could reconnect. I knew that was the only way you’d ever truly listen to me and agree to let me help you.” He shrugs, the motion so quick I almost miss it.

No one—not my friends, not Reid, not even my parents—has ever been so adamant and concerned about my safety like Spencer is. My steps falter, and warmth is replaced with an icy chill. If these small lake towns have been culled, then that means our hometown probably has been, too.

“My parents,” I say, horrified. “My friends…” I stop and tug on Spencer’s hand so he’ll stop, too. “Do you think…?” I swallow hard, unable to voice my greatest fear.

Spencer frowns, and that small gesture is all the answer I need. A sob lodges in my throat, and tears sting my eyes. Did my parents or any of my friends survive the culling? If they did, where are they? Spencer said the Bittens are rounding up people, but what are they doing with everyone?

“I need to go home and see if my parents are okay,” I say, my tone bordering on frantic.

“We will. I promise,” he says, his words forceful. “But first, we need to see what’s happening elsewhere, and we need supplies.”

I jerk my hand free from his and curl my hands into fists by my sides. “We’re wasting time,” I say through gritted teeth. “It’s going to take us a week to get back home. By then, it could be too late.”

“It’s already too late, Ev.” He groans and rubs his hands over his face. “If our town has been culled, there’s nothing we can do about it.”

My jaw drops, and rage boils in my veins. “So, what? We’re just supposed to forget about everyone we know and love? I have family and friends back home.”

“And I don’t?” He points at himself.

“At least you know your father is still alive,” I shout back. “I have no idea if my parents are. Or if any of my friends are.” I cross my arms over my chest and tuck my fingers under my armpits to hide how badly I’m trembling.

“Look, when we get back on the boat, I’ll have my dad go check on your parents, okay?” His gaze is pleading, and I shift on my feet. “But all your friends are gone for the summer, remember? We have no idea how far the culling has gone. For all we know, it could be isolated to this area, but we won’t know that until we check it out.”

I glance away, anger, sadness, and resignation sitting heavily on my chest. I know he’s right, and I hate that he is.

“Standing here arguing isn’t helping, and we’re only wasting more time.” He spins on his heel and takes several steps before turning back. “Let’s go so we can get home.”

With a reluctant sigh—and an eye roll that would make my mother lose her temper—I fall into step beside Spencer. We scour the town for any living soul and come up empty. Thankfully, we don’t find any dead bodies this time, though I’m not sure if that’s good or bad. I have no idea what the Bittens plan to do with those they’ve rounded up, but I know it can’t be good.

I shudder.

Spencer yanks open the door to the local hardware store and nods for me to go in. The store, like everywhere else, is empty and silent. Tools are scattered across the floor, like whoever had been in here had tried to put up a fight. I rub my hands up and down my arms, but the goose bumps remain.

“Grab all the rope, tape, and knives you can find,” Spencer says. “And something to put them in.”

I raise a brow but don’t argue. The sooner we get out of here the better, so I snatch a shopping cart and hurry through the story collecting everything I can find—rope, tape, hunting knives, tarps, flashlights, batteries, refillable water bottles, and ice packs. I also grab an armful of camouflage duffel bags. I head back to the front of the store with my haul.

Spencer is behind the front counter gathering an arsenal of guns and ammunition. I watch him with curiosity for several minutes, until he finally realizes I’m there. He glances from me to the cartful of stuff I’ve gathered.

“Nice,” he says with an approving nod.

“Um… can you kill vampires with guns?”

He laughs. “No, but a well-placed shot to the head or legs can really slow them down.”

“Oh.” I scrunch up my face. “So, how do you kill a vampire?”

Spencer freezes, then narrows his eyes. “I’m not sure I should tell you that.”

I huff. “Seriously? We’re in the middle of some epic vampire war and you don’t want to tell me how to kill the enemy?”

His lips twitch with an almost smile. “In case you’ve already forgotten, I’m a vampire, too. If I tell you how to kill my kind, what’s to stop you from killing me the next time you get mad at me?” He grabs two of the duffel bags and begins filling them with the guns and ammo.

I scowl. “Are you for real right now?”

He winks, and my cheeks heat. “Wooden stake to the heart, beheading, and fire.” He continues to pack the guns, then moves on to pack everything else. “Those are the three most effective ways to kill a Bitten. Borns, because we’re half human, are much easier to kill.”

“Right.” I nod like this is all so normal. “So, guns can kill Borns?”

“Yes.” He zips the last duffel bag and glances around. “Okay, I think we’ve got everything. Let’s get back to the boat.” He hefts four of the six bags and motions at the last two. “Can you carry those?”

“Yeah.” I grab them and quickly realize he’s left the two lightest bags for me. I’m not sure if I should be offended or grateful. “Wait. Shouldn’t we be stockpiling food and water? I mean, guns are good, too, I guess, but if we starve to death…”

“We’re not going to starve to death.”

I rush ahead of him to pull open the door. “How can you be so sure of that?”

He steps outside, and I follow. “Because we’ve been preparing for this day. Remember the old mall in Brookside?”

“Yeah. Didn’t that close down several years ago?”

“Yep.” Spencer walks at a brisk pace, but not so fast that I can’t keep up. “We bought it and have been remodeling to accommodate us.”

“What does that mean?” I adjust my hold on the duffel bags, which are bulky and difficult to carry.

“We’ve turned it into a Born stronghold with everything we need to survive this war. Food, water, blood.” His voice drops with that last word, but it rings loud and clear in my ears. “We have every accommodation.”

“How long have you known about this?” My breathing becomes heavy, and my steps are slower and sluggish. Thankfully, the docks come into view. Not much farther.

“A few years.”

“A few years?” I ask, shocked. Sweat beads on my brow, and I once again adjust my hold on the bags, shifting one onto my shoulder and cradling the other in my arms like a baby. “If you’ve known that long, then why are the Bittens just now attacking?”

“Their numbers have been steadily increasing.” Spencer glances behind him, and I do the same, fully expecting to see someone—or something—following us. But we’re still alone. “Still, I can’t imagine they have enough Bittens to pull off something this massive.”

We reach the boat, and I drop the bags. My arms are sore, and I shake them to get some of the feeling back. Spencer easily tosses his bags onto the boat, then does the same with the two I carried.

“They have to be working with others,” he says as he extends his hand to me.

I grab hold of his hand and step over the railing onto the boat. “Others?”

He jumps on behind me and unties the boat from the dock. “Think about it. If you were given the choice to be culled, killed, or align with vampires, which would you choose?”

The boat engine rumbles to life, and within minutes, we’re back on the lake, speeding away from the deserted town.

I stumble slightly and sink down onto the bench. “You think the Bittens are working with humans?”

“Makes sense. I mean, the Borns are. We have an entire army of humans who’re on our side.” He concentrates on driving the boat and only glances at me periodically. But each time he does, his expression is darker and more strained. “We’ve been slowly moving them to our stronghold so that they’d be safe from the culling. When we get home, that’s where we’re going, too.”

“No… We’re going to check on my parents first,” I say. “And I need to call my friends.”

I eye the satellite phone on the captain’s chair. Spencer said that phone is for emergencies only, but isn’t checking to see if people are alive considered an emergency? The more people we can gather the better, right?

“We’ll check on your parents, but you need to be prepared for the worst, Everleigh,” he says, his tone compassionate.

Until this moment, I haven’t allowed myself to think of the worst, but yet again, Spencer’s right. The possibility of my parents surviving the culling and still being home is highly unlikely, but I can’t not check on them. Nor can I shake the hope that they’re okay. As awful as the thought is, maybe this vampire war is exactly what they need to stop fighting and realize they still love each other.

I snort. Yeah, right. Nothing, not even the mass extinction of the human population, will ever ease the hatred between those two. I fall silent and try to mentally prepare myself for the fact that my parents are most likely gone, and I’ll never see them again. Tears course down my cheeks.