Glory (Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

to get a better look at the man standing in front of her. He was big. Tattoos spread across his forearms. Sticking out the side of his mouth was a toothpick.
    "Thank you," she said. She was still a bit shaken and tired. She stood up slowly and brushed her clothes off.
    "Looks like you had a pretty rough time escapin'."
    "I made my way through the forest," she explained.
    "Your face is all fucked up."
    Claire lifted her hands to her face and touched her skin. It was painful. She pulled her fingers away. They were covered in blood.
    "It's too bad too," the man continued. "You're a pretty hot piece of ass."
    "What?" she asked, unsure if she had heard correctly.
    The man laughed. "Oh," he said. "No reason to be all modest. You're fuckin' hot and you know it. Must drive the college boys wild."
    Claire couldn't respond. She wanted to leave and turned to do so.
    "Where do you think you're goin'?" the man asked.
    Claire turned back around. "I was going to try to get back home," she lied. She had no intention of going home. But she didn't want to stay here any longer, either.
    The man shook his head. "No," he said. "That's not a good idea. Too dangerous."
    "I'll be okay. Thank you for your help."
    The man laughed again. "Thank you? Is that all? Tha t thin g there was gonna kill you and I stopped him. And all you're gonna give me is a 'thank you'?"
    "I don't have any money."
    The man laughed once more. "I don't want your money. Wouldn't do any good, anyway. I think this disease...or whatever it is...has happened all over the world. Already seen a bunch of 'em along the road. Fuckers crashed into my truck. Had to shoot 'em all. So, no, your money won't do any good anymore."
    "Then what do you want?"
    The man smiled. "You know what I want," he said.
    Claire did. She could see it in his eyes. He lowered his gun and aimed it at her.
    "Now," he said. "Don't try to run. You're comin' with me. You can thank me later. Properly."
    Claire wanted to run, but she knew that this man would pull the trigger without a second thought.
    "Now get over here."
    Claire did. Slowly. She didn't know what other choice she had.
    The man wrapped his arms around her. He brought his face right up next to her.
    "Fine piece of ass," he said. "I'm gonna enjoy fuckin' you."
    Claire closed her eyes and fainted.

Chapter 4
    When Adam finally moved, he was feeling a bit better. Though not much. He still didn't know what had happened outside, but he was sure that there had to be an explanation.
    He thought about going to the window again. Instead, he picked up his cell phone once more. It had been laying beside him. He diale d 91 1 and waited. He was hopeful that he'd get through to someone this time, even though somewhere in his mind he knew that he wouldn't. He didn't even get a busy signal. The phone was simply silent.
    "Hello?" Adam said into the dead phone. "Is anyone there? Can anyone hear me?"
    There was no reply. Adam tried again, but knew that it was pointless. He put the phone onto the table and stood up. He looked at the window.
    Adam didn't necessarily want to look outside again. He was worried that he'd see more fighting, more killing, more blood. At the same time, he wanted to know if those things were still going on. He might even find the reason it had all happened.
    He walked to the window. Slowly. But his room was small and didn't take him long to get there. Not as long as he had wanted. Not as long as he needed to prepare himself. He steadied himself and looked out.
    Below him, the street was covered in bodies. All dead. Several limbs were torn from their owners. An arm here, a foot there. Underneath it all was blood, large pools of it. More than he could have ever thought possible.
    Adam felt as though he was going to be sick, but he held it down and kept looking around.
    Aside from the bodies, the street was a mess. Car windows were smashed. Building windows too. His favourite restaurant over on the corner looked destroyed; as did most of the shops.