Cry For Tomorrow Read Online Free PDF Page A

this. I’m afraid this isn’t just a raid.” He grabbed my hand and tugged at it, trying to get me to follow him. “Halie! Come on, we really need to get out of here, ‘cause things are about to get really nasty.”
    I managed to nod my head, and I really did try to follow him, but I couldn’t seem to make my feet move—and then it was too late to run without being spotted.
    “Oh damn, I was afraid of something like this. Get down! ” Jake jerked me and the snarling dog down behind the barrier of trash cans.
    “They’ve brought in a Reaper! ” Jake gasped.
    I didn’t need Jake’s warning, I could feel the hair on my arms and at the back of my neck prickling and the throbbing pain at my temple that told me what was riding the hover-cycle bearing down on us long before my eyes could confirm it. With every fiber of my being, I wanted to run away, but I could only stare, mesmerized, at the big, black cycle swooping into the light of the bonfire.
    The hover-cycle spun to a stop that left the rider’s back turned to us, but it was easy to see that he was huge. Dropping his feet to the ground on either side of the cycle, the rider turned so that the firelight reflected against the black leather clothing he wore, but the dull, platinum-grey of his helmet and matte-black visor shrouding his face seemed to swallow the light.
    “He must be seven feet and weigh-in at an easy four hundred pounds,” Jake whispered faintly, “and I’ve never seen anything like that sword strapped across his back.”
    Still straddling the rumbling machine, the giant reached up with both hands and jerked the helmet off his head. Shaking back the mane of thick, raven-black hair that had tumbled from the helmet in ebony waves, he slowly turned his head and surveyed the cluster of freaks trapped within the circle of bikes.
    The biker to the giant’s right leaned over and spoke to him in a hushed voice. When the biker stopped speaking, the giant removed his dark glasses and turned his head so that his face was exposed to the light of the bonfire, revealing a visage more horrible than the worst nightmare I’d ever had. Dominated by large, bulbous eyes with bright red irises outlined in bruises of purple and green, his face was heavy-boned with a square jaw, hollow cheeks and a complexion as ashen as a corpse.
    “We really need to get out of here,”Jake whispered in a quivering voice, “that thing’s not even human!” He dropped back into the shadows and tried to draw me with him, but I couldn’t move.
    Some part of my mind was shrieking at me for having been foolish enough to look into the black depths of the giant’s bloody eyes. I wanted so very much to break that horrible contact.
    “ Halie!” Jake jerked insistently on my arm until I finally blinked and focused my eyes on him. “Are you okay?” he demanded anxiously.
    “Y-yeah, I guess.” I nodded uncertainly, but I couldn’t seem to stop shaking. I’d never been this close to one of the dreaded assassins before.
    Almost as if he’d heard my thoughts, the reaper’s head swung in our direction and his evil gaze focused on our alleyway. Still shaking from my first eye contact with the ghoul and terrified that we’d been seen, I gave in to my fear. Jerking my arm from Jake’s grip, I stumbled to my feet and tried to run— and tripped on the dog suddenly pressing against my knees. Unable to catch my balance, I fell to the ground, frantically trying to free myself from the tangle of feet and furry animal. I’d nearly escaped when Jake’s surprisingly strong arms tightened around me.
    “ Easy Halie, he didn’t see us. We’re okay.” His whisper was urgent and breathless as he struggled to keep me from running. When I finally stopped fighting his greater strength, Jake dared to loosen his grip, but he kept his arms around me, holding me down and out of sight.
    “Th-thanks,” I stuttered when I’d regained enough control to keep my voice from shaking. Tightening my arms