Page 23 of Hunted By Fae

But I understand better now, the silence that has them hushed at the nose of the camper, the stagnancy that has stiffened them all and rooted them to the spot—

It isn’t the radio transmission.

It’sthat…

I drag my gaze over the horizon.

Beyond the campsite, the earth drops into a canyon, then boulders into lumpy dried lands that stretch on as far as the coastline. With binoculars, the rippling blue of the sea looks close enough to touch.

The view is the reason we even chose this campsite. But that view is gone.

Darkness is rolling in.

A cloud, they called it.

That’s what the radio said.

Dark cloud.

This…

This is a cluster of thick, dense clouds and smog and shadows, fuelled by rolling, tumbling energy.

It barrels and chugs through the horizon.

It is smoke, it is steam, it is cloud, it is darkness.

It is everything—all consuming.

And it is tumbling right for us.

I am distantly aware of a tear falling down my cheek. My fears, my worries of the blackout—confirmed.

My breath releases in a tremble, and it shatters the stiff silence rooting us all in place:

“Go.” A guttural command that utters from me.

A blur, Ruby jerks back into the driver’s seat and rolls up the window; Ramona and Louise turn on their heels and barrel for the door. But before they can reach it, Tesni has tilted towards me and snatched a fistful of my t-shirt.

There is nothing kind about the way she hauls me into the campervan first.

My shins hit the step, hard enough for a wince to hiss through me. Teeth gritted, I’m grabbing at the railing and hoisting myself up.

Not a heartbeat later, Ramona and Louise are shoving inside after me.

Tesni’s grip shifts to my forearm, tearing and pulling at my flesh, and she yanks me out of the way. Before I’ve even righted myself, the door slams shut behind me.

The camper shudders with the slam—and chugs to life.

“Someone better get up here,” Ruby’s squeaky voice hitches, and her hand hits the gearstick. “I amnotdriving alone!”

No hesitation, both Louise and Ramona run up the camper to the front, squeezing through the narrow hall.

Tesni makes no move to follow them. She watches them slip into the seats, but her mind is elsewhere behind those vacant eyes of hers.

I lower myself onto the edge of the bed. My shins ache against the movement, surely bruised behind the denim.

The camper jolts into movement.