AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Eva stood opposite him. She was dressed the same, but her hair was different, her warm-colored locks combed back into a messy bun. She talked with Sarah, but Krieger still caught her assessing him from the corner of her eye.
He nodded to her to indicate that he was fine. No pain echoed from his wound, only his strained neck. Sleeping against a glass window—bad idea.
Krieger bit into the meat as he looked around them. A light fog had settled in, shadowing certain areas of the land, and gray clouds hung low over the broken structures, warning of a coming storm.
He turned to Luke. “Where to now?”
Luke slung his pack over his shoulder. “Don’t know. She’ll tell us—”
Before Luke could finish his sentence, a gun cocked behind him. He reached for his weapon, and a strange voice rang out, “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
The Others?
Krieger’s hand moved with speed. He’d grabbed his pistol from his pants and had it trained on the stranger in no time. Worried, his eyes bounced between the stranger with the shot gun and Eva, but she held her gun with steady hands and an unwavering gaze on the newcomer.
The man had long black hair, brown eyes, and a severe problem with hygiene, if the heavy scent of garbage and body odor radiating from his direction was anything to go by.
His dark, dirty jacket moved around him as he took a step toward Luke, pressing the barrel of the gun into his side, just under his pack. “Who’s your leader? Is it the tall one?” The man’s chin tilted up toward him. “Or the dark one?” He indicated Derek.
Silence fell over the group as he used Luke as a shield.
Long Hair, impatient for an answer, shoved the barrel into Luke’s ribs, causing him to wince in pain.
Krieger’s finger hovered just above the trigger, noticing it felt natural to train a gun on a threat. Had he done this before?
Relief filled his chest as he thought maybe he knew what he was doing—if he just let instinct take over. Just because his mind couldn’t remember the steps didn’t mean his body had forgotten.
“Let him go, I’m their leader,” Eva said as she stepped forward, gun still in hand.
Krieger’s newfound relief slammed into his rib cage and crashed into his gut. She did not just address herself as their leader. How was he supposed to protect her if she deliberately sought out danger?
Long Hair shoved Luke farther into the group yet still kept him close. “No joke?”
Eva sighed. “What. Do you. Want?”
Derek’s finger looked twitchy on the trigger as Eva took a step toward the man. Sarah held her ground, gun positioned on the stranger as John’s eyes watched the fog around them, dagger in hand.
The man smiled. “Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Donald, and you are?”
Her eyes narrowed. “Your worst mistake.”
Donald laughed, filling the silence. “Original. Well, you see, I’ll be needing your supplies, and...” He looked Eva up and down. “You, if you don’t mind.”
She took another step in his direction. “I do mind.”
A knot had formed in Krieger’s stomach as unease washed over him. Someone was going to die. There was just no way around it.
Their enemy grinned and called out, “Boys!”
His men walked through the white haze, weapons positioned ready to fire. Over a dozen moved in on their group with hawk eyes trained on them. If they shot their weapons, they would not miss.
Eva showed no signs of concern. “A match, then.”
Donald’s face scrunched up, revealing deep wrinkles around his mouth and eyes. “With you?”
His men sniggered as Krieger shifted his weight. What did she mean by match?
Donald addressed his men. “Seems a waste of some pretty bounty, but what do you think, boys?”
