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A rumble sounded into the bizarre night. Ana glanced back in time to see the row of shuttles, humming and shaking before they moved backward, heading up to District One.
She bit her lip. They were on their own.
Her eyes found Declan’s tall form as he guided their load of prisoners down the path and she quickly fell into step beside him. They didn’t speak but the feel of him next to her was enough.
As they neared the large doors a new sound swept into the room; a weird, whistling noise. She glanced at Declan, but his gaze was firmly set ahead, his jaw tense, his mouth tight.
She kept pace with Declan, her gait relaxed, or as relaxed as a guard in the fucking pits of Hell was supposed to be. When she was finally able to see beyond the door, it took everything inside her to keep her mouth from hanging open.
Sweet motherfu—
“Do not look in their eyes.”
The sad souls in front of her, those prisoners on their way to a true hell, were eerily silent.
Ana was aware of movement on all sides, of the ghostly forms with gaping holes in their skulls where their faces should be. Of their maggot-infested hands and feet and the stench that followed in their wake. They floated just above the ground, and the god-awful sound that rushed from the holes in their heads was like nails on chalkboard.
“Keep moving,” Declan shouted, shoving the edge of his weapon into the closest body. It was a vampire, and judging from the scent of him, an ancient. The tall, thin male turned and Ana was astonished at the bald fear she saw.
A large body floated close by and the vampire turned to avoid it, but instead the creature moved quickly and the vampire was caught, his eyes bulging out as he stared into the depths of depravity.
He opened his mouth to scream and as the ever-present fog continued to swirl, thicker and faster, the wraithlike creature opened wide. A disgusting suckling sound came from its throat and Ana nearly gagged as it decimated the vampire’s face.
Declan forced her to keep going and she ignored the sound as the vampire’s limp body fell to the ground, its scream dying inside the wraith’s mouth.
Up ahead she saw several similar scenarios. “That is how these creatures are made,” Declan whispered. “Do not look at them.”
Her heart was beating heavily and sweat broke out along her forehead. It was a true testament to the stress level she was feeling considering it was fucking cold as hell.
Pun intended.
She let her left hand fall to her side into a fist and slowly relaxed, stretching her fingers. His hand was there, ever s
o briefly, but the touch gave her strength.
Ana kept her eyes averted, concentrated, and blocked out the endless moans and harsh noise that was around her. The wraithlike bodies continued to glide beside them, eagerly searching for new victims. They moved amongst the fog like phantom corps.
After several tense minutes the fog parted, the cold swept away revealing a dull gray chamber, much smaller than the first they’d arrived in. Ana took stock. The group had thinned somewhat; by her estimation it looked like they were missing at least a hundred bodies.
“What is the point?” she was truly bewildered.
“It is a way to cull the weak.” Declan muttered before stepping past her. She held her weapon at the ready, her eyes never leaving him, and watched as he consulted with several of the guards.
He motioned toward a dark tunnel to the right but by this point most of the prisoners were hysterical. One of the guards near the front blasted into the crowd, mowing down several of them. It was a sure way to get their attention.
“Move,” the demon shouted.
The line shifted forward and one pale, frightened face stood out. It was the young woman—the addict from the shuttle—and she stared at Ana, her entire body trembling.
Though her heart broke, Ana looked away. She couldn’t afford the distraction. She was aware of Declan and not much else as she followed behind, her gut twisting as the fear and the tension inside her escalated.
In no time the darkness swallowed her whole.
Chapter 27
The darkness, the absolute silence, lasted a mere five seconds. They were through the tunnel and spilled into what could only be described as controlled mayhem.
The lighting was harsh, sterile, and the room resembled a medical lab. It was filled with all sorts of machines, and monitors lined the sides. Several demons shuffled about wearing lab coats, their massive forms looking somewhat comical in such understated attire. They were in their true form and stood nearly eight feet in height.
