Page 39

11

Bianaca

Gluttony.

My mind raced, struggling to assemble what I knew of that word.

It meant…excess, right? A form of greed?

My heart raced in trepidation as I stood at the edge of the parking lot and stared into the abyss before me. It was so dark, I couldn’t see my hands in front of my face. I couldn’t remember a time I’d ever experienced such intense, absolute darkness, where not even a sliver of light could be seen.

The sloshing of blood in my head was so loud and deafening that I nearly missed Heath’s next words. “Hold hands, everyone. We need to stay together.” He moved to stand in front of me and extended a hand, but before he could make contact, Aiden moved between us. He cast Heath an almost incandescent glare before placing his hand in mine.

Heath, appearing relatively unperturbed, flashed that disarming grin of his.

“Did you want to hold my hand, Aiden?” he taunted, and for a brief moment, I saw something in his eyes I didn’t think he wanted us to see. Something dark and malevolent that had every hair on my body standing at attention.

Anger.

“No,” Aiden bit out, thrusting his hand forward for the stoic class president to take. “I just didn’t want you holding hers.”

“Careful.” Despite the smile still crafted on his face, I could hear the words for what they were—a warning. “Your jealousy is showing.”

“Fuck off,” Aiden hissed.

Kace held my other hand, and Beau gripped his. Behind him, Tanner stood with Maria, Kelly, Caleb, Brett, Travis, and Sev. I noted with grim amusement that Kelly was in between Sev and Caleb, as if the men didn’t trust any of us with her wellbeing.

“Remember!” Heath called back to us from where he stood at the front of the line. “Don’t travel off the trail. Go straight into the light, you hear me? And whatever you do, don’t release anyone’s hands.”

“We’re not fucking kindergarteners being led to the lunchroom,” Aiden seethed. “Can we just go?” Despite his strident words, his hand was bruising and tight in my own, his palm slick with sweat.

He was terrified, but he would never let anyone see it.

I gave his hand a reassuring squeeze, one he didn’t return, and took a deep, calming breath.

“Don’t let go no matter what you hear or what you see, understand?” Heath repeated, unleashing the hurricane force of his stare on me. Somehow, that one eloquent look was able to bolster my resolve more than a thousand speeches would’ve. I gave him a nod to tell him I understood, that I wouldn’t be stupid, and he nodded back, his expression grave.

And then, he stepped forward.

There were no words capable of describing the darkness I ventured through, my hands captured between Kace’s and Aiden’s. Each step I took led me farther and farther away from the parking lot, until the streetlight appeared like a distant star on the horizon. A darkness as black as pitch closed in on me like one of those rooms that steadily shrunk the longer you were in there until it eventually crushed you. Terror inflated my lungs like helium in a balloon until my breathing turned erratic and out of sync with the rapid pounding of my heart.

Still, I forged on, one foot after the other, as all around us, growls, cries, and screams echoed through the barren wasteland.

The floor beneath my feet was relatively smooth, though when I glanced down, I saw nothing but darkness. It made me wonder if I was actually walking on something or if instead, I was floating in midair.

Panic percolated in my stomach, threatening to expel the granola bar I ate earlier, as my heart migrated into my throat.

Oh god.

The light in front of us guided us forward like a beacon—a lighthouse leading sailors home in the midst of a fierce storm.

When we finally set eyes upon the building, I released a sigh of relief, my muscles loosening.

“Where are we?” Kelly’s voice was a mere whisper, though I couldn’t help but want to echo her question.

It appeared to be a convenience store, with a black and lime-green roof that curved out over seven thin pillars. The parking lot was empty, not a single streetlight to be seen, but the inside was bright and almost cheerful. I could just make out the stark white tiling and shelves as artificial lights flooded the street from the windows.

“It’s a convenience store,” Aiden said, rather unhelpfully. Despite us being out of the darkness, neither Kace nor Aiden released my hands. “I have a feeling there’d be gas pumps here normally.” He nodded behind us, where the darkness swallowed up the majority of the parking lot.