Dusk Territories: Always Burning Read Online Free PDF Page B

was an ill-attempt at a moustache, which appeared to be nothing more than a green patch of fuzz. His chin, sharply gaunt as the rest of his body, had faired a bit better with facial hair, but not by much. He stared at Crisium, green eyes narrowed and a weak smirk creeping up on the corner of his thin lips. “Cris.”
    Crisium stood stiffly. “Wood,” she said from the side of her mouth.
    Wood kept his grin as his bare and skeletal feet guided him down the metal stairs.
    Graham could basically hold the awkward tension between the three. They didn’t like him. He was hard to look at, yes. But there felt like another story was being told.
    “Wood, ya heard of clothes?” Crisium grunted, backing up.
    “Yeah,” Wood said distractedly. “I’ve heard of ‘em.” He paused, his attention caught on Graham. “And what have you brought us.” His voice tone, oddly normal despite his appearance, held no change. It was akin to him asking, what did you bring from the store? The skinny man, almost sleepily, tilted his head to look pass Tyrus.
    “Brought your uncle a person to see, Wood,” Tyrus explained tersely.
    “Aren’t we all family here?” His two fellow members gave Wood a cold and silent reception. Wood didn’t grin this time. Instead, he lost all of his expression, leaving a void. He calmly pushed Crisium from his line of sight, receiving a sneer from the woman in return. The sounds of his feet against the dry land sung as he closed the gap with Graham. It wasn’t long before the tall man loomed over the shorter soldier. “You’re a new one.” He laughed, “Can it speak?” The legitimacy in the question was blunt, like a hammer crashing into Graham’s head, to say the least.
    “He can,” Graham said, unfazed. Wood, as they called him, hardly seemed like the taunting type. However, Graham wasn’t going to fall for it even if he was. They stared at each other for a moment, feeling each other out like men in the same territory would. A part of Graham felt the need to throw him over his shoulder, but suppressed it. He was here to make a somewhat good impression. This went on for a few seconds before Wood arched an eyebrow and backed up.
    “Ah—“Wood nodded, detaching himself from the wordless confrontation as though bored with it. “No offense, but thought it was important to check.”
    “How responsible of you, Wood,” Crisium said, sarcasm dripping from her voice.
    “Best damn security ever,” Tyrus added.
    Despite the disdainful comments, Wood gave an almost genuine laugh. The young man turned on his heels and back up the stairs of the truck. “Follow me—“he reached for a name.
    “David Graham,” the corporal said with a nod.
    “Follow me, David,” Wood stopped again, watching the other two people follow Graham up the stairs. He put out his hand, making a n ahem sound as though the two were children caught doing something they weren’t supposed to do. Both of their faces flared with anger. “Crisium, Tyrus, Uncle told me to tell you when you got back to check on truck three or four. I don’t quite remember. Check on both.”
    “Great selective memory you got there.”
    Wood nodded knowingly at Tyrus’s response, scratching the stubble of his cheek. “I just don’t care enough to remember small things. Go. Go. Make yourself useful.”
    Crisium opened her mouth to say something, but was quickly taken aside by Tyrus. “We better get going on helping those trucks, David. We’ll get to talk a little later. Come on Cris, before you say something.” Tyrus urged the woman on. It took almost all of his power to drag the woman away. A fight was about to happen over Wood’s words. Wood hardly even noticed. That, however, made Crisium even angrier. If Tyrus wasn’t bigger than she was, the next phase would have been Wood and herself tumbling on the ground, fist flying.
    There was one-sided animosity there, and it crashed like waves.
    Graham shook his head. “Are you trying to get her mad