Extinction by Heidi Lang & Kati Bartkowski

Author:Heidi Lang & Kati Bartkowski
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Published: 2023-09-12T00:00:00+00:00

26. CADEN

The tall, imposing chain-link fence that surrounded Green On! loomed above Caden in the eerie green twilight of the forest, the barbed wire at the top reminding him of monster teeth.

“We made it,” Nate huffed, putting his hands on his knees. He sucked in a long, tortured breath, then straightened, adjusting his chipped glasses. “I can’t believe we really made it.”

“Believe it,” Caden said, staring through the fence and into the compound beyond. The main building was still pretty far away; this must be the back of Green On!. A smaller building squatted near the fence like a giant concrete toad, ugly and unassuming. But something about it drew his eye…

He had the sudden strange sense that this place, right here, was the correct spot. The vents, and therefore the mouth of the vortex, had to be close by.

“I thought for sure we’d be eaten,” Nate continued, relief making him babble. “Or at least, gnawed on a little.” He paused. “Actually, to be more accurate, I thought for sure I’d be eaten.”

“While I what? Skipped on ahead?”

Nate shifted, looking uncomfortable. “I mean, I didn’t think you’d be skipping, exactly. Just running very fast.”

“We’ve already established that’s not a skill I have.” Caden glanced at Nate. Not even a hint of a smile. “You know I wouldn’t leave you behind, right?”

“Wouldn’t you, though?”

Caden frowned, not sure where this was coming from. He’d never been anything but nice to Nate. He’d thought they were friends, even. And then he realized. “This is about Rae, isn’t it?”

Nate shrugged and looked away.

“I don’t want to leave her behind either. Or Vivienne.”

“But you will.”

Caden opened his mouth to argue, then shut it again. Since leaving Ava and Blake, they hadn’t seen any other sign of human life in the woods. And Caden had looked; he’d kept his senses as wide open as possible, searching for any possible trace of his friends’ energy signatures. And nothing.

That nothing scared him more than he wanted to say. It might mean they were just out of his range. For all he knew, they’d made it back to the barrier and found Aiden on their own and were safely outside the forest.

Or they were dead.

He shoved those thoughts away. He had a job to do here. All of Whispering Pines—and the entire world beyond—was in danger. No matter how much he cared about his friends, he had to do whatever it took to stop this alien invasion here and now, or it could mean the extinction of all of humanity. Nate knew that.

Caden was suddenly furious. He curled his hands into fists at his sides, wanting to lash out. Nate with his suspicious looks and little judgmental comments. Didn’t he understand what was at stake here? Didn’t he know what Caden was dealing with?

“Let’s go,” Caden said, his voice harsh. He strode along the side of the fence, not looking to see if Nate followed. It wasn’t his fault that Vivienne had gone sprinting into the woods. And it wasn’t his fault Rae was in here too.

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