Chapter 13 Tess #2
They should all be wearing masks, shouldn’t they?
Her mate was standing there as the plane lurched and descended and she wanted to scream at him to sit the fuck down.
Finally, they did, everyone scattering back to their seats at Danton’s insistence and buckling up.
Kal sat next to her and strapped on his mask before grabbing her hand.
She looked into his eyes and saw no fear, only strength, and love.
“We’ll make it, baby,” Kal said, his voice muffled. “We’ll be alright.”
The landing was so bumpy that Tess thought they were actually crashing. She was far from the window and relieved by that. She didn’t want to see the ground rushing up beneath her and even now she shut her eyes, squeezing Kal’s hand tight, his fingers clasped with hers.
The plane hit the ground with a bump so hard, everyone flew up a little in their seats and Tess’s seatbelt squeezed her stomach uncomfortably.
But thenoseof the plane hadn’t hit the ground.
They were flat and skidding along the ground.
It felt like a fast, but lengthy car accident, but they hadn’t crashed after all.
Tess still screamed as the plane bumped along and she opened her eyes to see buildings blurring by on one side and expanse of beach on the other, the ocean a serene and endless blue.
They had likely landed in the middle of some wide road.
The plane seemed to skid along forever and then Danton turned them slightly and it slowed and finally came to a stop.
Meanwhile, the body of the pilot, whom the men had killed, came tumbling out of the cockpit with the hard landing and was now lying on the floor, his slit throat gushing blood into the carpet.
“Is everyone alright?” Kiera said.
Everyone was in shock, having collectively come so close to death, and they all murmured that they were okay.
They took a few minutes to get their bearings and Tess unbuckled her belt and just sat, breathing and patting her stomach.
Kal took off her mask and she took a drink of water before hugging him tightly.
“What… happened?” She said shakily.
“He was against the new Council,” Loren said darkly.
“He was going to crash the plane with all of us in it. He had a parachute. He flew us so far west because he was supposed to meet a cell of Vampyrens who are like-minded. We lucked out stopping him.” Loren knelt in front of Tess, looking regretful.
“I’m sorry I put you in danger, Tess. What with…
” He nodded at her stomach, looking vaguely uncomfortable.
“I fought the Council Battle of Chicago while pregnant,” Tess said, getting to her feet. “What’s a little plane crash?” She patted his arm and Kal wrapped an arm around her. It took them a while to get the ladder down from the door and they all climbed down to the ground.
They had indeed landed in the middle of a wide road just off a sandy beach. The town around them looked like the kind of rich beachside neighborhood where wealthy families lived. Tess had to assume not many of them were left anymore, the town looking as bombed-out and decayed as most of Chicago.
Everyone looked to Cassie for help since she was the only human from California among them. They stood around in the street silently and Cassie tossed them all a nod before wandering off.
“Let me see if I can pin down a location!” She shouted back.
Kal stood behind Tess and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her neck.
He was kind enough not to say anything, but he could doubtless sense how panicked she was.
Who knew how far they were from Los Angeles?
They had some supplies, but not enough to last them more than a week at most. She rubbed her stomach, all the questions as to how they might survive this situation racing through her head.
Worst of all, she didn’t know this part of the country.
There might be rogue vamps in this area.
There might even be Lucian.
She didn’t even want to think about that.
“Newport Beach,” Cassie reported, jogging back from a gas station on the corner.
“How far is that from L.A.?” Mindy said, her arms slung around Alek’s waist.
“Well, bycarit’s probably an hour,” Cassie said, resting her hands on her hips. “But we don’t have a car at the moment.”
Loren looked to Danton tentatively. “What about the plane?”
Danton only blinked at him and then blurted a thunderous laugh. “I can’t fly that. We barely landed. I only have a passing knowledge of Vampyren aircraft. I don’t know these human planes at all.”
How will we get home? Tess thought. It was hard not to freak out a little. But all they really needed to do was find their people in Los Angeles. From there, they could figure out a way back to Chicago.
“There must be something we can drive around here,” Alek mumbled.
“We don’t know the area,” Loren said, sighing. “And it’s already nine. I say we camp on the beach and find our way in the morning. We can look for vehicles along the way, of course.”
“I doubt we’ll find anything,” Cassie said, sighing. “Abandoned cars get snapped up quickly. We might be walking to L.A. but eventually, I’m sure we’ll stumble onto a ride.”
On the bright side, they had all packed light, not expecting to be out of town for more than a few days.
There were some supplies from the plane and Danton and Alek carried the extra weight.
Now they shouldered their bags and made their way down the beach.
Kal took Tess’s duffle on her insistence.
At the sight of a long-dead Vampyren man lying in the middle of the street, they cast each other wary looks and walked around.
“This might be rogue territory,” Cassie said. “Vampyren who deserted their units but aren’t exactly excited by the idea of joining up with humans. That happened a lot in California.”
“Sounds like California,” Crystal said, smirking.
They walked down along the beach until they found a spot where the sand looked smooth and there was a fire pit.
The beach was quiet but Tess was no less on edge being in such an unfamiliar place.
What if those rogue Vampyren decided they were thirsty for her blood or thirsty for something else entirely?
She knew the men would fight to the death for them and they’d fight for themselves tooth and nail, but she’d been hoping they could avoid life-threatening danger just this once.
“What is that?” Mindy said. Her voice sounded strange; hollow and scared.
They’d walked down to the shore and now as they came around a stone wall dividing the sidewalk from the sand, they saw what decorated it; human and Vampyren heads hung from ropes nailed into the stones with iron spikes.
They all stood there, shocked into silence. Tess had never seen Vampyren do anything like that and why would there be both Vampyren and human heads? There were symbols too, painted in blood all over the wall.
You know what it is, she thought. She felt fear raise the hairs on the back of her neck as a salty wind blew her hair back.
You know exactly what it is.
“Lucian,” Alek whispered.
Loren looked one way down the beach and then the other. There was no one around. He wrapped an arm around Kiera’s waist and nodded westward. “Let’s keep going. Farther down. Wayfarther down.”
As if choreographed, they changed formation as they walked, the men walking on the outside of the women, except for Cassie, who walked up front next to Loren. Everyone brought weapons, just in case of an emergency like this.
Tess had a gun in her duffle bag and a dagger strapped to her jeans, but she still felt next to naked as she walked with the others. There was a feeling of anticipation among them all now as if they knew they were destined to fight the Lucian now.
It was just a matter of when.