Life After Dark: Book Two of the Dark Series

Chapter 135

~ Timoria: Rage and Fear ~

Carrie and Tommy slipped onto the boat with alarming ease. A look passed between the two as they silently acknowledged that perhaps it had been too easy. With hand signals and gestures, Carrie indicted that she would take the lead. Tommy's eyes darkened as he silently disagreed, but one look into her eyes, and he knew that she was determined. He allowed her to move in front of him and remained quiet as he followed her down the narrow hallway.

As they reached a dead-end, three options were presented to them. A stairway was directly in front of them, and open passageways were to their right and left. Both decided that they would probably find nothing upstairs so that left choosing between the other two.

"I'll go this way," Carrie whispered, pointing towards the right. "You can check back that way."

"I can't let you go alone," Tommy whispered. "We can check both together."

"We'll waste time doing that," Carrie told him. "This way is faster."

Tommy drew a long, hard breath. Her reasoning was good, but to leave her alone wasn't something he felt he should do. Despite the quiet, he didn't feel like they were completely alone. He almost felt as if they were being watched. Frowning, he whispered, "They're watching us, Mrs. Jensen. Are you sure you want to do this alone?"

"I don't want to do this, but we don't have a choice," she said softly. "I can feel their eyes, too, Tommy, but what else can we do?"

"We can go together," he said.

"Okay," she said, "we can go together, but we have to move quickly."

"Agreed."

First, they searched the passageway on the left. Finding nothing, they quickly searched the other passageway. All the rooms were empty. They went back to the end of the initial passageway and decided that maybe they'd find something if they followed the staircase. This time, Tommy insisted to take the lead and Carrie was close behind him as they ascended the steps.

At the top of the staircase, they discovered a single door. Tommy's hand closed over the knob. He slowly turned the knob and found that the door was unlocked. He pushed the door and it opened to reveal an elegantly decorated sitting room. Carrie joined him on the top step and looked over his shoulder. He looked at her and she nodded at him. Together, they went inside.

~*~

"Where does this lead?" Dawn asked quietly. Her eyes had adjusted to the darkness, and she could clearly see Lucky as he diligently led the way. One hand still held on to his and the other lightly caressed her unborn child, trying desperately to calm the restless movement that frightened her so.

"It leads to the other side of the island," he told her. He glanced over his shoulder at her. She granted him with a faint, tight smile. He frowned as he noticed that instead of disappearing in the coolness of the cellar, the beads of perspiration had increased on her forehead. He asked her, "Are you okay? We can rest for a few minutes."

"I'd like that," she said. She released his hand and wiped at her damp forehead. Lucky reached inside his knapsack and handed her one of the bottles of water he had confiscated. She took it and greedily gulped the liquid down. The water cooled her off and after she had her fill, she handed the bottle back to him. "Thanks."

"No problem," he said. He raised the bottle to his lips and swallowed a few gulps, too. As he replaced the top and put the bottle back inside his bag, he watched her. He noted how her hands moved over her abdomen and a terrifying thought came to him. "Are you having pains?"

"Huh?" she asked, nervously.

"Dawn, are you in labor?" Lucky asked, trying hard to keep fear from his voice. He went to her and placed his hand over hers. He felt movement inside of her. He looked at her for confirmation.