Edge of Mercy (Young Adult Dystopian)(Volume 1) (The Mercy Series) Read Online Free PDF Page A

break free.
    “Stop it, right now!”
    Out of nowhere, one of Peter’s wild elbows caught me in my mouth, and I fell to the ground, stunned. I reached a trembling hand up to my stinging lip and pulled away a red-coated finger. The metallic tang of blood seeped into my mouth. Probing with my tongue, I felt the cut in my bottom lip and grimaced as it began to swell.
    I glanced up at the two boys and listened to a few foul words flying almost as fast as their fists. My gaze drifted past them to see if anyone else was concerned.
    Finally, I saw Thomas and one of the older soldiers who patrolled the field jogging toward us. I think the guard’s name was Jack or Jake or something like that, but the only thing I cared about was somebody finally coming to break up the fight.
    Without any more than a snarl, the soldier wrapped his fist in their jackets and yanked them apart. Before they could scramble back together, Thomas pushed Zeke back with a grunt, and the guard grabbed Peter’s elbows, not that Peter was struggling too hard to get back into the fight.
    Peter’s whine filled the air. “He attacked me!”
    The guard’s voice carried deep and gruff. “I don’t care who started it. The Council will decide your fate.”
    The Council. Always the Council. They both stopped their struggles and hung their heads. Consequences from the Council could be unpredictable. They might give them extra chores, or they might decide they posed a threat to the community and needed to be an example for all. Since I’d been a part of the community, one man was given a backpack full of provisions, a map, and sent away because he’d been caught stealing food. It hadn’t been his first time. I don’t know what became of him, but the thought of losing Zeke in the same way scared me more than I cared to admit.
    The soldier walked away with Zeke on one side and Peter on the other, and I didn't know if I should follow or turn back to my work. In the end, it didn’t matter. Just as I stepped toward the group filing toward the edge of the field, we all froze, an unusual noise filled the sky. A loud honking sounded in the air. All the workers around me stood straight and looked upward. Over the trees from the north, long-necked birds flew in a V shape over our heads—geese. I hadn't seen animals in so long, I stood there with my mouth open, watching as the sight of something so rare reminded me that perhaps we weren't the last living creatures. Maybe a humongous city where the Draghoul didn’t exist and humans once again ruled the day and night really existed.
    Two loud cracks rang out and one of the geese fell from the sky. I swiveled my head and watched as another soldier across the field lifted his long rifle and fired. A few more shots rang out. I stared, narrowing my eyes, as he lowered his weapon. Surely the weapons were kept for protection, but it had never occurred to me the soldiers would be so accurate with their guns. As far as I’d known, they never shot them. Now a few soldiers jogged into the forest, and I returned my gaze toward the sky, spying the scattered geese, flying on with loud, stressed-out honks.
    A few minutes later, the soldiers emerged from the tree line holding four large geese above their heads. Cheers erupted from the workers in the field, and I had to admit I was excited to taste something other than warm grainy mush and boiled vegetables. Tonight the community would feast, and excitement bloomed in my chest to be a part of it.
    I watched as the soldiers left the field and Zeke and Peter followed behind them, their arms wrapped around each other and huge smiles on their faces. Boys were so strange. Moments before, they'd been at each other’s' throats. Now all was fine again because they'd get meat in their bellies.
    I turned back and walked to the far side of the field where I’d worked before and bent to pick up my hoe, deciding to continue where I left off. Zeke would be okay, I was sure now. He would have a few