Losing Humanity: Book 4 in the Saving Humanity Series

CHAPTER 3

Rock crunched under Caleb's feet as he stepped onto the outcrop. The change in texture from soft sand to firm stone caused him to lose his balance, and he almost fell onto his face. He caught himself before going down and continued to run.

Yes! Finally! This is where we've needed to be for a long time!

His lungs burned for air, and his legs cramped with the effort to keep moving. He wanted to stop, but emotions spurred him forward. Pictures of Venger's angry face dominated his mind. He couldn't let go of the fact that the scavenger had punched him square in the jaw. He saw the other people pointing their guns in his direction, and anger flared anew through him. He set his jaw and drew ragged breaths between clenched teeth. Sweat dripped down his back, making him think of blood, which made him think of Jan and her hand. His legs pumped faster, taking him over the rocks before him to an unknown destination.

Don't think about them. They're history. Gone. You've only got yourself. Think about all that you can accomplish alone.

The voice in the darkness attempted to be encouraging, but the words had the opposite effect. He couldn't do anything on his own. But he obviously couldn't do anything with people, either. He wasn't like them anymore. He drank blood and healed from deadly knife wounds. He laid people out with one punch and could take a hit square on the jaw without going down. He broke the rules and violated people's homes.

He was a monster.

But at the same time, he couldn't live with the monsters. Well, he could, they wouldn't harm him, but that didn't feel right either. He couldn't imagine roaming the countryside, looking for humans to consume so he could survive. As tantalizing as drinking someone else's blood was, that wasn't who Caleb wanted to be. He still had a choice in that manner, he knew that much. When the opportunity existed for him to drink Jan's, he didn't take it, even though he could have—and it wasn't only because he was afraid of what she'd think of him. He honestly didn't want to. That had to mean he had some control.

Caleb's toe caught on a rock, causing him to stumble. He couldn't catch himself this time, and he went down. Throwing his hands out in front of him, he caught himself before hitting his face on a boulder. His hands slid across the rough surface, causing a burning pain to course from his palms into his wrists. His left knee slammed into the rock, sending pain into his thigh and hip. Sucking in a sharp breath, he turned and plopped his butt onto the rock. He looked at the sky, taking in deep breaths to provide his body with the oxygen it craved.

The sun was high in the sky, illuminating the world around Caleb and bathing him in warmth. He let it soak into his skin, drying the sweat that had formed from his run. With his eyes closed, he let his breathing and heart rate settle down to normal. When he felt calm, he lowered his head and took in his surroundings. Rocks covered in green and orange lichen surrounded him, as did some patches of brown sand. Every so often, small faded green and gray sagebrush poked from between cracks in the rocks. The area seemed desolate, isolated.

He turned to look over his shoulder at where he'd come from. He'd make it quite a ways from Sanctuary, and being in the mountains, he was able to take in the entire area. From his vantage point, he saw how the town was placed into the canyon and protected from the elements. He saw the buildings and the area where the spring originated; it was a bright green contrasting against a yellow backdrop. Every so often, the sun would catch the water and reflect into the sky with sparks. Sadness tightened his chest as he thought about the last time he'd been in the oasis with Jan.

Her smiling face dominated his mind's eye for a few seconds, then was replaced with a look of fear and tears. Her hand oozed blood. She reached for him, her eyes pleading for him to help her, but he couldn't. He couldn't save her. All he could do was get her to a place where Matt could chop off her hand.