Defending No Where (The No Where Apocalypse Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page B

him for dinner,” she said, her words scarily calm for someone who’d just killed a guy.
    She glanced back at the cabin, frowning for a moment. “I hope Libby wasn’t looking when I stabbed him,” she added, pushing away from my embrace. “Ah, whatever. She needs to learn how to survive.”
    She grabbed one of the drifter’s lifeless arms and stared up at me. “Are you gonna help me? Or are you going to make me do this all by myself? I’m just a girl, ya know.”
    I felt my head moving from side to side. Though she had solved one problem, a bigger one still loomed.
    “What are we going to do with that device around Libby’s throat?” I asked, grabbing the loose arm. “You didn’t think this through, Violet. We got a real problem.”
    Dragging the corpse over the road, she laughed at me. “Oh ye of little faith,” she responded. “That’s not a problem,” she shrugged, “not much of one.”
    Given the sobbing I could hear from inside the cabin, Violet was sadly mistaken. We had a huge problem, and the only one who could solve it was dead at our feet.

    Back inside the cabin, I crouched next to Libby. While she was attempting to be brave, her tears suggested otherwise.
    I inspected the device, not liking what I found. It was already tight, far too tight to flip over and render harmless. Furthermore, I could see the tension in the springs, ready to snap at the first wrong move.
    “You have to get that off of her,” Daisy whined into my ear. “Please, Bob. Get it off.”
    I turned and smiled at the terrified mother. “I’m working on it. Just need to figure it out. Don’t want it going off and hurting Libby.”
    Lettie leaned in, studying the device. “Those prongs look like they’re off a squirrel or opossum trap of some kind,” she said. “If they can kill a varmint…”
    Yeah, thanks, Lettie. No sense in sugarcoating an already dire situation, I thought. Beside me, Daisy’s crying intensified.
    “Maybe we can put pieces of wood under each jaw, and work on it that way,” I suggested. No one dared offer their opinion, so I thought aloud. “Or maybe we can bend them back. That way when they go off they won’t dig into her skin…too badly.”
    “And what happens when they snap while you’re playing with them?” Daisy asked in an appropriately tense tone.
    I shrugged, mostly to myself. “Yeah, there’s that possibility.”
    Violet pushed her way in close, touching the jaws with her fingers. She used a much less delicate touch than I had.
    Straightening next to me, she crossed her arms. “It’s a ruse,” she stated. “From what I see, it won’t go off.”
    For all it was worth, she sounded confident. But I sure didn’t feel that brave.
    “I say we try the wood option,” I suggested, searching the room for agreement. Still, my housemates didn’t look convinced.
    Pushing me aside again, Violet leaned in closer. “Cut the tips off,” she stated. “Then we can do whatever we want with the rest of it. But I’m still betting the thing won’t trip.”
    Lettie placed a hand on my shoulder. “You got a wire nippers?” I nodded. “Then I agree. Cut the tips off that damn contraption. That way it will just pinch if it goes off.”
    Beside me, Daisy sucked in a short breath, her face filled with horror.
    “Little pinch ain’t gonna kill her,” Lettie added, rubbing Daisy’s shoulder.
    I waited for Daisy to decide; it was her child who was potentially in harm’s way after all. Finally, after a long, silent deliberation, she nodded her agreement.
    “I’ll get the nippers,” I said, heading for the pantry.
    “It’s not going off,” Violet replied in one of her snotty tones. I saw her smile at Daisy, uneasy. “At least I don’t think it will.”
    Great. Now I was taking Libby’s life in my hands on the advice of an almost -certain teen. Wonderful.

Day 1,014 - continued

    Carefully, I applied pressure to the nipper handles. But the wire refused to cut. Moving it further into