Half Blood Read Online Free PDF Page B

pitiful life and wasn’t that the most depressing thing ever. The carpet was worn through in some spots, the holes made bigger by the rats that shared the space. An old couch she found out on the footpath when she moved in took up most of the space; her twin mattress on a cheap iron bed frame took up the other half. And in the far right corner was a small bathroom, the only place for any real privacy in that hellhole.
    Dumping her bag onto the floor next to the door, she stalked around to the couch and sank down into it as she turned on her tiny TV. The news had just started, the headlining story the same as it had been for the past two weeks—the rapist was getting a fuckload of coverage. The report was on his latest victim—a sixteen year old girl snatched while walking home from the library last night. Indi switched the TV off in disgust. Hell was his favourite hunting ground and she hated that there was yet another man out there that wanted a piece of her. The cops had no leads either. All she knew was that if he came after her one night, she would make sure that he wouldn’t be able to walk, talk or fuck ever again.
    The shrill buzz of her doorbell rang through her small apartment. ‘What?’ she barked into the intercom. She’d found it was better to shoot first and ask questions later in a neighbourhood like Hell.
    ‘Indi? It’s me,’ her best friend replied. Her voice came out tinny and thin. Indi pressed the button to buzz her in and paced around her apartment. Beth was early. The knock on her door came a minute later.
    ‘What are you doing here so––’ she began to say, but stopped when she realised it wasn’t her best friend standing in front of her. It was her neighbour from across the hall.
    ‘James?’ she asked; the thrill of fear licking up her spine. His sheer size and fondness for football reminded her of the first guy who had gotten his claws into her. James was standing with his shoulders rolled forward so that he looked smaller than his actual six-foot-six height. His dark hair was cut short making his dark blue eyes rimmed with gold around the pupil stand out on his handsomely angular face.
    ‘In-In-Indigo,’ he said warily, his nearly debilitating stutter almost swallowing his words to a point past incomprehensible.
    ‘What are you doing here?’
    ‘I-I w-was just g-going out t-t-to the sh-shops. D-Do you n-n-need anything?’
    ‘Ah, no. Thanks,’ she replied, trying not to look at his face. She focussed on his chest instead. Not ideal when you’re trying to be tough, but good enough.
    ‘O-o-okay,’ he stuttered before leaving. ‘Good-good-goodnight,’ he called over his shoulder.
    She closed the door and leaned her forehead against the cool wood before there was another knock vibrating through her skull. She opened up the door, greeted by the smell of the Italian food Beth had brought around for dinner. Indi’s mouth watered. She hadn’t eaten a proper meal in two days—not after she had to pay her rent and phone bill in the same day.
    ‘Indi!’ Beth said, throwing her arms around Indi’s neck in a hug. Indi tried not to pull away from her straight away.
    ‘Hey Beth. How are you?’ she said into her ear.
    ‘I’m good,’ she replied, pulling out of the hug.
    ‘What ingenious lie did you spin to get away this time and how long do you have?’
    ‘I told my mother I was going to a bible study group, so I’ve got a couple of hours max.’
    ‘We better make it count then,’ Indi said, closing the door behind them. Beth was already rummaging through Indi’s poorly equipped kitchen looking for clean plates and cutlery.
    ‘Indi, when are you going to wash up? I can’t find one clean plate.’
    ‘If you think it’s so important, knock yourself out,’ Indi replied, settling down onto the sofa.
    ‘That wasn’t what I meant,’ Beth muttered under her breath without stopping her search.
    Glancing over in the general direction of the kitchen, Indi said, ‘I don’t