Lethal Seasons (A Changed World Book 1) Read Online Free PDF

was too young to know that story. “It will do,” he said gently. “Come. I have food and water.”
    He felt her wariness lose ground beneath her hunger. She was too young to be out in the world alone. Too sweet, too innocent. He'd find her brother and send them somewhere safe. Then perhaps it was time for him to move on.

Chapter 4
     
    “Children born in Year One showed signs of DNA manipulation. The virus had changed them. Eye color was the first change documented. The most common was an orange-brown, close enough to normal that most people didn’t notice it.”
    History of a Changed World , Angus T. Moss
     
     
    “Tell me about your brother,” Wisp said as he led her into the old brick building.
    “William,” she said.
    He saw the boy in her memory, brawny and angry, dark hair and eyes. There was another girl, almost woman. And hunters. Through her eyes he saw gigantic men in black with screaming weapons that sprayed bullets. William took her hand, and they ran. Through streets and alleys and backyards. They ran until they had to stop. William did not let go of her hand. He hid her and promised to return.
    “The rule is,” she said, watching as Wisp lit a small candle lantern, “wait a day, then walk north for a day.”
    “Whose rule?” Wisp led them down a level in the musty darkness. Lily’s anxiety level rose as they descended.
    “Iris. She said if we get separated. Wait a day, go north a day. That way we always know which direction to look.” He saw the young woman again in her mind, but wavering. A curtain went down. Lily would not ask about Iris. There was a question she didn't want the answer to. Pain forced the curtain in place, solid and aching.
    “Logical. And did you wait a day?”
    “Of course. I waited all night and ‘til the sun came up. William didn't come back. So I walked north all day.” Her confidence crumbled into sniffles. “It's been three days.”
    They arrived at his den. The bright light scattered her uneasiness. He'd rigged the solar generator for only this room. No one would see the lights from two floors below the surface.
    “You have train food.” Lily skipped over to stand before his larder. The white packets of Crunch and soft pouches of Stew-goo were stacked on some shelving he’d appropriated. He could feel her ache to snatch, but she looked back to him for permission. Good. She'd learned some lessons in the world. Food was money, power, survival.
    “I have fresh food, too.” He opened the cold locker and showed her the forest's bounty: strawberries, asparagus and cress. The look on her face said she had no experience of food that wasn't packaged. She had been too young when the world changed. She knew nothing else. Looking at her, Wisp realized that she was part of the change, too. Her eyes were the color of ripe cherries.
    He let her eat what was familiar. A small comfort in a trying time. Her eyes wandered the room, took in his books and blankets and stockpile of food. “This is a safe place,” she announced.
    “For the moment.” Even two levels down, he heard the storm when it arrived. A crack of thunder penetrated the brick and steel.
    Lily looked up. “Still safe?”
    “It's not the weather that would make this place unsafe.”
    The shadows in her eyes said she understood. Wisp felt sadness for her. It was a lesson he'd learned in his first year of existence. But human children shouldn't have to know that danger so soon.
    “How will we find William?”
    “Do you have anything of his?”
    She pulled a compass out of her pocket. Held it up to show him. He put out his hand. Lily froze. He saw the suspicion in her eyes. She wanted to trust, but doubted strongly. He felt her need, and the ache for resolution but the compass was precious. Too dear to share, unbearable to lose. And he was an adult, unreliable and dangerous in her estimation.
    Wisp spoke softly to soothe her. “I can sense him through things he has carried. Did he carry this all the