Knights of the Apocalypse (A Duck & Cover Adventure Post-Apocalyptic Series Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page B

and crashed into the table. Key chains, shot
glasses, a bobble-headed devil—everything danced as the stick splintered
to pieces among the nicks and knacks.
    Erica slipped her
hand through the mug’s handle and rolled back. The ceramic memory exploded on
his cheek as she slapped the mug across his face. Blood and shards of
devil-kitten littered the ground as the man dropped cold.
    Another man swung for
her head.  
    She had no time to
move. All she could do was protect her head. Her arm went up as a reflex and
she winced as she caught the club across her forearm. It was going to hurt.
    The club folded
neatly over her arm as if it was built with a hinge.
    The attacker pulled
back the splintered stump in disgust. He dropped the broken stick. “These
things are terrible.”
    Erica shoved a
fistful of “I weed Durango” in his mouth and sent him sprawling back into the
crowd as the remaining three attackers lined up next to one another.
    Witnessing stupid
people get wise is one of the few pleasures in life. Watching realization break
across their faces as an epiphany moves slowly through their heads and they
catch up to the rest of the world is often cause for a celebration of the golf
clap variety. But as Erica saw the three men put the math together, she started
looking for a way out.
    They rushed her
together with the sudden idea that she couldn’t stop all three of them at once.
Two of the men grabbed an arm each and pulled her to the ground. The third man
jumped on top of her.
    Erica struggled to
get free but the weight was too much. Her arms were pinned. She thrashed about
and succeeded only in shaking the whistle down from her shirt. It came to rest
on her throat.
    The man on top of her smiled, picked it up and held it to her lips. “Want to
blow it again?”
    Erica turned away from
his hand and whatever made his hand smell. “Once is enough,” she said.
    The man laughed with
a twisted smile of broken teeth halitosis. It lasted only a moment. The
laughter turned to screaming as Chewy bit deep into his leg and dragged him off
the girl.
    The attacker turned
to free his leg and spotted the dog. He turned over and the scream of pain
turned to fear. There was a noticeable difference in his screams of pain and
screams of fear. He kicked at the mastiff with no measure of accuracy, and then
both of his legs were bleeding.
    The two at her arms
let go and scrambled back to the edge of the crowd. For a moment they looked as
if they would help their associate, but, after looking at their hands, they
stepped farther back into the crowd.
    Chewy bit into a fist
as the man on the ground tried everything to get free. Every limb that went
near the dog’s mouth came back red. After several bites, he stopped punching
and tried to calm the dog with pets and promises of dog treats.
    Erica stood and faced
the other two men. She placed the whistle in her mouth and took a breath.
    They knocked over
several onlookers as they ran into the crowd leaving their partner to his
struggle with the dog. For every foot he crawled, the powerful animal dragged
him back two through the dirt. “Help. Stop him. Stop him. Please!”
    “He’s a she,” Erica
said. “Heel, girl.”
    Chewy dropped the
man’s foot like a retrieved stick and took her place next to Erica.
    The man clutched his
hand to his chest and backed away as he struggled to his feet. He found his
limp and turned to run as best he could.
    Jerry punched him in
the face and knocked him to the ground before rushing to Erica’s side.
    She smiled and
scratched Chewy behind the ears. “Good girl.”
    “Now where’s
Christopher?” Jerry turned and scanned the crowd for a moment before spotting
the stupid hat. “Christopher!”
    The man ran like a
weasel—wriggling through a wall of knights that had been chasing the dog.
Erica pointed to Christopher and screamed, “Seize him,” assuming that’s how
things were phrased in a kingdom.
    The knights let the
man in the hat scurry off as