HAVEN ✓

Forty-Five

Maybe it is the sensation of soft cotton gliding along my skin, or perhaps it's the subtle but sharp scent of pine in my nose that brings me out of sleep. I sigh, content to inhale my favorite fragrance in the world. Finally, I exhume my face from Luke's shoulder and rub the crust from my eyes. When I was a little girl, I used to think the itchy flakes were a result of crying in my dreams, and I would wake each morning unable to remember the melancholy my mind had fabricated.

Blinking, my eyes rove the slumbering form beside me. The blanket is bunched around his waist, bare chest rising and falling with each soft breath. He must have been exhausted. Luke's face is unguarded, peaceful—such a contrast to his usual intensity. The set of his brow has smoothed out to gentle arcs, his jaw slack with abandon. This side of Luke--this vulnerable, trusting Luke—is quickly becoming one of my favorites.

I reach to pull the soft cotton blanket higher onto him before settling back in his warmth, but a loud, frantic rap on the door wakes him with a jolt.

Luke grumbles, his voice crackling like dry bones. "What is that abhorrent noise?"

"Wake up!" a voice shouts, rapping again with such force that the door shakes in its frame. My skin comes alive. "It's an emergency!"

Luke and I fling off the covers in unison, jumping to our feet in quick succession. My mind conjures all the most horrible probabilities. Have the Herald soldiers come back? Was there a Skinwalker attack? I follow Luke's long stride to the door as he reveals a dark-haired young man, barely older than Luke himself. The whites of his wide, frightened eyes stark against his dark skin.

"You have to come quick," he says out of breath. When his gaze slides to me, a tingle creeps up my neck at the fright in his eyes. "Miss, your brother needs you."

The tingles turn into full-blown gooseflesh blanketing every inch of my skin. Making a mad dash to my room in seconds, I pull into a pair of dark brown breeches and a t-shirt that is the slightest bit too loose in the shoulders, not caring for the wide open door.

Meeting them at the stairwell, I try not to hyperventilate. "What happened? Is Rhett okay?" I ask, desperate for an answer.

"It's better if you see for yourself." The man leads us across campus in a flash.

Since we went to bed hours after dawn, Luke and I slept through most of the day. Now the fading daylight illuminates the horizon, and I recognize what we were facing when we arrive.

Shreds of cold fear race one another down my limbs and up again. Just a sliver of the electric fence can be seen from the research building, but it is enough.

The piles of bodies from yesterday are molehills compared to the mountain of Skinwalkers on the fences tonight. Their gangly, pale limbs writhe as they climb atop one another, fighting for a spot at the top. The sight of their undulating flesh threatens to evacuate the contents of my stomach. Their screams reverberate in the breezeway between the buildings, mixing with the symphony of electricity humming and crackling.

"Where is my brother?" I tear my eyes from the horrific sight and start for the research lab, but the young man grabs my arm.

"Not there. He's close to them, almost at the southern gate." He points to the horde of Skinwalkers scaling the electric fence.

Luke makes a strangled sound. "Is he crazy? If the system overloads and the palisades fail, there will be nothing holding them back!"

Heart thumping against my ribs, I bolt toward the gate. Luke's footsteps are only a second behind mine.

"There!" I shout over the cacophony, leading Luke toward where Rhett and Miles stand, only inches from the sizzling metal.

Then, the smell hits me. The stench of singed flesh burns my nose and bile stings my throat.

"What are you doing?" I shout in disbelief, trying not to gag. Jerking Rhett's shoulder, I pull him away from the electric fence.

His eyes widen when they meet mine. "Soph, I think we've done it. We only have to test it." He lifts an oddly shaped canister with a handle. "I have to make sure it works."

"Better make it fast, bro," Miles says, his voice tight. I glance at him, following his eyes to the growing mountain of monsters. "I don't know how much longer this barrier will hold up."

Only then do I notice the way Miles clutches his shoulder. Angry jagged claw marks score his skin, the dark green of his uniform ripped in a way that makes my insides twist.

Luke's tension rolls off of him in nearly tangible waves. "What's taking so long then? Why not just shoot the dang stuff at them?"

Rhett groans in frustration. "I can't seem to get close enough. The range on this atomizer is only two to three meters. For the dispersal of the vaccine to work, it must be inhaled within those parameters. With the Skinwalkers disrupting the palisade's current, we can only get so close before one of them swipes at us."

As he speaks, the hum of electricity fades quietly, taking the rest of my peace with it. Then, long talon-tipped fingers shoot through a gap in the fence, as if prompted by the hiss and crack of the surging power. The Skinwalker shrieks, arm jerking wildly as it swipes through the air just feet from where we stand. My friends all jump back, and the creatures follow them along the fence, desperate to taste their flesh.

Then just as it died, the fence powers up again, sending the Skinwalkers flying back toward the forest. I watch them pile onto one another again, and an idea hits me.

I whirl to Rhett with an outstretched hand. "Give me the antidote."

Three pairs of eyes blink at me.

"We don't have much time, so hand it over," I say impatiently.

Rhett still doesn't make a move. "What exactly are you going to do?"

I bite my lip. "I have a theory. Remember how Dr. Tabb said the Skinwalkers recognize me? As one of their kind?"

Miles huffs, not impressed, and Luke crosses his arms.

"We share DNA, Rhett. When you three moved, it followed. It's not interested in me." I take a breath, forcing my heart to beat steadily. "So I'm the only one who can go out there untouched."

"No!" Both Rhett and Luke cry in unison.

Miles shrugs his uninjured shoulder. "Well that was unanimous. It's not happening."

"It is happening, and it's not your decision." I swipe the atomizer from Rhett, flipping the canister around in my hands. "Now how do you use this thing?"

Luke steps closer, shadowing me with his height and broad-shouldered build.

"You are not stepping a toe outside of this fence."

Rhett passes a hand over his hair. "What's more is that even if you are outside, there is no guarantee that they won't tear you limb from limb before you get to the bulk of the horde. If you set it off too far from the largest group..."

"It will be for nothing," Luke finishes. "And I'm not risking your life for two or three of those monsters."

Frustration wells up within me, and I resist the urge to stomp my foot. "What other option do we have?"

Miles drags a palm down his face. "How many circuits does this electric fence run on? Is it possible to shut a section of it down? On purpose?" He looks from Luke to Rhett. "If it's a closed system, then maybe we can funnel the Skinwalkers in through a small gap. Once they all are in range, Sophie can blast 'em without having to go outside."

"You're saying you want to let them inside?" Rhett exclaims, his eyebrows nearly kissing his hairline.

I exchange a weighted glance with Miles. "It just might work. If we time it right."

None of us moves until Luke places a hand on my elbow. I meet his stormy eyes. "You're serious about doing this, aren't you."

I inhale the bravery I've always lacked, the smell beginning to be familiar. I have to do this. For Luke. For the Outlanders. For myself.

Finally, I nod. "And nothing can sway me otherwise."