Anywhere But Here (The Starborn Ascension) Read Free Page B

shattered window and see a herd of greyskins chasing the SUV, and all the others chasing the smell of blood.  
    After today, there will be nothing left of Lucas. In the same way, I feel there is nothing left of me.

Chapter 2 - Remi

    “Remi,” Gabe calls out to me as I walk toward my apartment. The sound of his voice makes me grin, but I quickly make my lips fall into a straight line before I turn to look at him. I hate that my heart skips a beat when I see his face. It’s a feeling I don’t want or need, but it’s there regardless. He has shaggy, brown hair that falls down the sides of his cheeks. His strong jaws are covered by several days of stubble and it suits him. His blue eyes never leave mine as he walks toward me carrying a rifle slung over his shoulder.
    “You aren’t here to arrest me, are you?” I ask as he walks toward me. The sound of my voice comes across as flirtatious, but I don’t mean for it to. He is very handsome, but I decided a while ago that love was out of the question for me - at least until someone finds a cure for this greyskin problem.  
    “I don’t really have that power,” Gabe says.  
    “You have a gun,” I answer back to him as I start walking again. He keeps the slow pace next to me. “That’s already a lot more power than I have.”
    “I guess,” he says. “But I’m not too sure Paxton would approve of me arresting people. He might take my gun away.”
    “Just like he took mine,” I say. This time my tone is whatever the opposite of flirtatious is…angry? Turned off? It is still a sore subject with me even though I have been without a weapon for nearly three months.  
    I’ll never forget the feeling I had that day. The mixed emotions were like being on a roller coaster. First, the elation I felt at finding Crestwood nearly overwhelmed me. I had been through so much crap it was ridiculous. I know my story can’t be much different from a lot of people’s, and there are plenty of others with a worse history than mine, but it didn’t matter. Seeing the town felt like the best thing that had ever happened to me.
    The guards let me in, but then they took my gun and knife away from me, and then frisked me. Gabe had been part of the welcoming committee and I remember hating him for it, but now I know he was just following the rules of Crestwood. Then there was the meeting with Paxton, Crestwood’s leader. You talk about a guy with an authority complex. I had already been questioned by the guards, but Paxton came in with some questions of his own.  
    I had been in some holding cell for the better part of the day. I didn’t complain, though. I was safe. Or at least I felt safe. There was a mirror on the wall across from me. My long, dark hair was in tangles, and my skin looked dark from being out in the sun so much. My green eyes looked paler than they had three years ago. Maybe that was because of the endless nights where I did nothing but cry for the first year. I used to think that my nose was too long and pointy, but such a dumb observation didn’t matter to me anymore. What struck me the most was how skinny I looked. My skin clung to my bones so tightly a small cut might have split me wide open. Just from seeing my reflection, I couldn’t imagine going back out into the world. My biggest fear was that someone was going to tell me that I couldn’t stay, and when Paxton finally came into the room, I just knew this would be the news.  
    He sat across from me with a folder and pen in his hands. He had a nicely trimmed, black beard and dark hair. I remember thinking he was so tall that he had probably not encountered too many people that were bigger than him. He wore a flannel shirt and jeans, so I hoped this meant he wouldn’t be a complete jerk.
    He sat back and crossed one of his legs over the other, ignoring the folder and pen on the table in front of him. My eyes went to Gabe who stood next to the door, and then back to Paxton when he spoke to me.