Broken Wings (Cruel and Beautiful World, Book One 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

because when a guard's wristband was removed it signaled desertion. A horrible infection would take over their bodies, killing them within minutes. Black veins were already moving up his arms.
    With the wristband in hand, Deryn ran over to the closet. She was just about to grab her coat when she noticed how tattered it was. She would definitely stand out in a crowd wearing that. So instead she grabbed a simple black one and put it on. She reacted a bit when she realized it smelled like her . Soren's wife and the person she hated most in this world. Elvira.
    Once the coat was on, she stuck her knife and the confiscated wristband in her pocket. She opened the door and sprinted outside, forgetting all about her wounded ankle and not stopping until she was off of the property.
    Pulling the coat's hood over her head, Deryn looked in every direction before walking into the night. She headed for the gate to Middle City, where she would find someplace to get lost in.
    The streetlamps lit the way for her like a golden path, giving her hope for the first time in years. It was like they were leading her, guiding her towards what she desired most. To be reunited with her family and friends.
    With her father. The man who'd risked everything for her.
    With Talon. The brother who'd always looked out for her.
    And with Dakota. Her sweet Dakota who'd probably blamed himself for her disappearance. Hopefully, they were all together and still fighting. For her. For everyone. For their future. And, above all else, for their freedom.
    Chapter Four
     
     
    Several nights later, Deryn lingered outside of a bar in one of the grimier parts of Middle City, trying to stay with a crowd. She had initially hid under bridges that were built over their filtered water source or in dark alleys when it became late, but then the guards started searching those kinds of places for her, almost catching her nearly half a dozen times.
    As Deryn stood there, an intoxicated woman stumbled into her without any sort of apology. She pretended to help her catch her balance, while slyly slipping off her citizen wristband. These ones were not burrowed into people's skin like the guard wristbands, so it was easy to take.
    Once she had it hidden in her sleeve, she walked to the small market on the corner and put it on her wrist. Citizen wristbands were connected to their owners' bank accounts, so she was able to use it to buy a little food and some medicine to soothe her insides. The one praise she gave Utopia over the outside world was their medicine, which was much more advanced. No physicians had been in the first wave of people to become Outsiders, and those who considered leaving later were the first to die by the 'toxic air' leaking in from the outside. Her people had to teach themselves and they still hadn't gotten it quite right. Of course, the best medicines in Utopia were not available for purchase in stores.
    Deryn swallowed the medicine before eating the small amount of food. She didn't want to use too much of someone else's money. President Saevus had really cracked down on the rules over the years, starting with the wristbands. They tracked everything their owners did and were checked by the guards daily. A large purchase at a market late at night would not go unnoticed, but a small one would most likely be ignored. There was no freedom anymore. For anyone.
    She had found two gates to Outer City over the course of the last few of days, but security had been heightened since her escape and she was unable to get through before they were thoroughly checking everyone's information with twice as many guards as usual. No one was told why this was being done, which Deryn could only assume was because the president didn't want her father or the other Resistance members to catch wind of her escape.
    So it seemed, for now, Deryn was trapped in Middle City, unsure of what to do next.
    With the food down, she waited a few more minutes for the medicine to take effect. As soon