Matt Archer: Redemption Read Online Free PDF

knelt at the woman’s side and scooped her up. The man with her was merely banged up, so I jerked my head toward the back end of the Capitol building and started jogging, not waiting to see if he followed.
    The woman groaned and coughed. A trickle of blood ran down the side of her mouth. As soon as we got to the rescue team waiting at the edge of the building, I spit out the knife and asked the man, “Was she dropped?”
    “Yeah. One of those, um, pterodactyls picked her up and threw her. It came after her again, but a rocket caught it in the side.” He looked out over the lawn. “Harry got clipped in the arm.”
    I knew he was searching for his friend, but unless Will was really lucky, Harry was long gone. I turned to the paramedics. “Internal bleeding, fell from a height.”
    As I started back out to help Will, the man called, “Thank you, Archer!”
    I didn’t pause, but I did stumble a little. The man knew who I was. Oh, God, this whole thing was probably happening live on CNN right now.
    To my right, a little kid started wailing.
    I spun around, horrified to see a four-year-old boy crying with his fingers in his mouth. His mother was dead on the grass next to him. They were fifty yards away and there was a monster coming in from his two o’clock.
    I sprinted toward him, knowing deep in my gut I was going to be too late, when a slight figure stepped out of the trees and bent to pick up the little boy. Her brown pigtails swayed as she hefted him onto her hip.
    Oh, my God. Why was she out here? Why was she here ?
    “No!” I screamed. “Mamie, move!”
    She turned to face me, her expression made of stone. She cradled the child in her arms and turned to face the monster.
    She was about to die, and I couldn’t stop it.
     

Chapter Four
     
     
     
    The creature swooped down as I ran. I prepared to throw the knife, praying for a miracle. Mamie cocked her head and held out a hand. The ground trembled under my feet, then the monster pulled up suddenly, squawking like it was afraid of what it saw. With a high-pitched screech, it wheeled around and flew away.
    A miracle, right when I needed one. But what happened?
    I drew even with Mamie. “Thank God you’re okay. I can’t believe it flew away like that. And why aren’t you in the bunker? If you ditched Brent, he’s probably going crazy.”
    She didn’t face me right away, but I knew something was off by her tone when she said, “You need me out here.”
    Her voice was ice cold and the set of her shoulders told me she wasn’t the least bit afraid. Then she turned around.
    “Whoa,” I said, taking a step back. It was all I could do to keep from dropping my knife.
    Mamie’s eyes were glowing, like mine did during an eclipse. Except hers were bright blue. And scary. She looked like something out of a Marvel comic.
    “Uh, sis, the earthquake just now. Was that you?”
    She raised an eyebrow, like she was daring me to ask how she did it. “Yes.”
    I let out a low whistle. Her shamanic powers weren’t something I’d accepted too well. Not yet, anyway, and this new display of power blew my doors off, leaving them crumpled on the ground.
    “Yeah, okay,” I said. “So, um, it’s dangerous out here. Maybe you should take your new friend to the bunker before one of the monsters comes at you again.”
    “They won’t hurt me,” she said. “They don’t dare.”
    “Are you sure about that?” I asked, scanning the sky for threats. “They’re pretty bent on killing humans.”
    She gave me a wry smile, before kissing the little boy on the side of his head. “Trevor and I are going to find him some help.
    I noticed she didn’t answer the question, but now wasn’t the time to pry. “Did he tell you his name?”
    “Didn’t have to.” She pressed her check to his and he snuggled closer to her. “He’s hungry, tired and going into shock. After I drop him off, I’ll search for the rest. There are eight children out here with dead parents. I need to find