Total pages in book: 145
Estimated words: 135792 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 679(@200wpm)___ 543(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 135792 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 679(@200wpm)___ 543(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
But did either of them know where the fucking fence was after navigating the endless heaps of scrap, which all looked the same? That was a question for the near future. For all Liv cared, they could stay hidden in some narrow passage until morning.
He swallowed the bitter taste of fear as he stepped off the bus before offering Knox his arm for support, just to make it easier on him.
Knox clutched his sweaty hand with his own and their eyes met in a silent exchange filled with despair. But then Liv spotted movement to the side.
Above Knox’s head.
His gaze settled on the roof of an elongated shed revealed by the glow coming from the death pit at the front of the bus.
He wasn’t ready for the sight that made him bite his tongue to keep in a scream.
A man was crouched on the steel slope and stared right at them through large goggles reflecting the nearby light. He was reminiscent of an ancient warrior, with a spear pointing upwards and one hand resting between his feet for balance. In the sparse light, Liv could only get the general shape of him, but his insides shriveled at the sight of the spikes growing out of the pauldrons on the stranger’s shoulders.
For a few seconds of absolute stillness, Liv was starting to think the man was some fucked up version of a scarecrow, a freaky sculpture, which in the light of day couldn’t pass for a human, let alone frighten him.
But then the junkyard ninja creep reached to his belt.
Knox pulled on Liv’s arm as soon as the man put a horn against his mouth and blew, sending a deep, bone-chilling roar through the air.
Liv’s hand squeezed Knox’s, and he broke into a run, no longer trying to creep around but instead heading for the gravel road he spotted between a pile of three cars and the random scrap they’d passed earlier. Metal cried out as they stepped on it without care and bolted at full speed.
Now that they had left the murderers and their high-beam flashlights behind, the path ahead was so dark Liv could barely see it. Still, there were lots of places where he and Knox might hide. If he could only spot a clear passage off of the road, they could—
The headlights of a roaring truck revealed the uneven road under their feet, turning the dusky gray of the world into a scenery of high contrast, where Knox and Liv both had shadows the size of streetlamps. The vehicle stormed after them, noisily crunching gravel with its wheels and speeding their way so fast Liv feared the men intended to run them over, but just as he spotted a crevice that might offer shelter, a series from a machine gun tore through the air and made Liv and Knox drop to the ground while dust from the road spun around them in a gray cloud.
Despite the instinct to stay down, Liv tried to crawl away on all fours. But when he looked back to make sure Knox was following him, he saw him on his knees and with both hands up. The menace with the spear stood behind him, pointing his weapon at Knox’s back as if he were about to harpoon him.
“Go! Fucking go!” Knox yelled as the truck stopped behind him with a screech of tires.
Liv could have made it. Maybe.
But only if he were a different man, because the moment he saw his best friend, the friend he shared everything with, so broken, with that fucker’s spear at his nape, self-preservation became the last thing on his mind.
Like a wild animal ready to defend its mate, he charged at the crazy bastard, grabbed the spear and shoved at it so hard the metal rod making up the grip hit the masked madman in the goggles.
He’d killed for Knox, and while it left him with nightmares, he would not hesitate to do it again.
“No, you first! I’ll hold them off!” he yelled, wrestling the bastard for the spear. The beastly guy rumbled under the leather mask, but before he could have made good on his wordless threat, Knox grabbed his foot and toppled him. They were both about to make a run for it when the truck doors opened and someone cocked their gun even before stepping out of the vehicle.
“On the fucking ground! Now!” yelled a new voice as the mountain of a man approached them, with the headlights glowing sharply behind him.
Liv sought out Knox’s gaze, and when he saw its blue shade dimming in resignation, his chest ached as if the masked man had cut his friend open. He wanted to touch his chest and check, but Knox laid in the dirt, making Liv’s head spin with desperation he couldn’t contain.
This wasn’t where their story would end.