Redemption (Night Marchers #2) Written by: Rebecca Gober and Courtney Nuckels Read Online Free PDF Page B

I get my hands on them Emma!"
    I have never seen Tristan this worked up
before. In this instance it makes me rather pissed off! He doesn't
know Kai or Adam...he doesn't know what happened. I calm down when
I think of that fact. He doesn't know so it's understandable that
he’s upset. I still try to make him understand though that it's not
their fault. " First of all, they are not idiots! Adam only
relayed to me the research he found and Kai, he didn't want
me to go after them Tristan. In fact I had to sneak away from him
to go after the Night Marcher on my own. And in the end Kai saved
my life. He took my place !" I yell the last part out so
loudly it bounces off the cave walls repeating itself several times
in a muzzled expression. I look away now, tears flowing again. I
can't bare it, thinking about how Kai sacrificed himself for me. I
relive it in my mind over and over, and each time hurts as much as
the last, if not more.
    Turning to look at Tristan I see that he is
speechless and a little confused. I can't take it. I can't take
being here right now. I can't take looking at Tristan and seeing
the questions in his eyes. I can't deal with this. Before I break
down entirely I turn on my heal and run with all of my might away
from the cave and away from Tristan who calls after me. Away from
my thoughts and the pain that I feel when I think about Kai. The
rain hasn't let up any but I don't care. I run through mud and
water puddles, splashing my shoes and pants with muck. The rain
soaks my drying hair again and sends water droplets streaming down
my face and into my eyes. It doesn’t matter though, because running
feels good; it’s the one thing in my life right now that I can
control. Even though every breath sends needles of shock through my
chest it feels amazing. Like if I can just keep running, I will
eventually run off all of my worries and anxieties.
    "Emma! Emma, please!" I can hear Tristan
pleading to me from a few yards back. Guilt finally catches up with
me as I think about how I'm making him chase after me in the rain.
We had finally started to dry up by the fire and now the two of us
are soaked to the bone once again. As if I don't have enough guilt
weighing on me, now I could cause one of us to get sick from being
out in this weather.
    I stop running abruptly. My breathing is
labored as I try to calm my heartbeat down. The air has turned cold
and my breath sends smoke signals drifting into the night sky.
Standing still sends my body into shivers, but I don’t seem to
notice. I just stand there numb, emotionally and physically.
    I slowly turn towards Tristan who is still
calling my name. Instead of waiting for him to catch up to me, I
meet him half way. In an accepting silence, Tristan puts his arm
around my shoulder and leads me back through the woods to the cave.
The rain pelts us so hard on the trip back that I walk most of the
way with my head down and my eyes closed. Feeling depleted, I just
allow Tristan to lead me, trusting that he will get me to where I
need to go.
    Back in the cave we wring out our clothes the
best we can, then sit next to each other in front of the fire. Both
of us lean our backs against the wall and stare silently at the
flames. Personally, I've seen enough flames to last me a lifetime,
but there isn't much else to stare at since Tristan and I are
avoiding looking at one another.
    An hour passes, all the while, the silence
continues. The pounding rain and the crackling fire that Tristan
has kept going, by periodically adding wood, is beginning to lull
me to sleep. Just as I close my eyes and nearly submit to sleep, I
hear Tristan break the silence. "Emma?" He whispers.
    "Yes?" I say groggily. We both continue to
avoid eye contact. Subconsciously, I'm sure we both are aware of
the conversation that we would eventually need to have.
    "Kai...Is he," I can tell Tristan is
considering how to word his question and is trying to tread
carefully. "What is he to you?"
    "What is he to me?" I ask