New World Rising Read Online Free PDF Page A

except for the small fire burning in the center of it.
    “Don’ ya dally girl.” A rough voice spoke in broken English from the shadows. “Pull up da rope.”
    My skin crawled as it did every time I came in contact with The Healer. I hated pulling the rope ladder up and trapping myself in this metal dome with her. As much as I detested it, trading with her meant playing by her rules and I needed those antibiotics.
    Her faded eyes scanned my bag as I closed the hatch. “Whatcha go’ for me today?”
    Without saying a word I pulled the tote from my bag and dumped its contents out on her table. My portion of the food was already carefully stowed at the bottom of my bag.
    Her eyes widened as they took in my offerings. “Ya mus’ be in need of sometin big. An from ya limpin I say ‘is ya leg.”
    “I need some of your antibiotic salve, preferably a double batch this time.” My hand rested on the holster as I waited for her response.
    “We may ‘ave a deal.” She began moving about the room gathering things in her withered hands. “Set ya self on the table an let da Healer look.”
    Keeping my eyes on her, I carefully sat upon her cluttered table avoiding what looked like entrails. Dropping a pile of jars and rags next to me she yanked up my pant leg with surprising speed for an old woman. My fingers reflexively twitched toward the hilt of my knife.
    Clucking her tongue, she peeled back my bandage, pulling some of the scabbing skin with it. I sucked in a sharp breath.
    “Dangerous world deez days.” She muttered before smearing some rotten smelling cream over the raw skin. While the stench burned my nose, the pain in my shin was almost instantly relieved. I sighed with pleasure.
    She grinned a gapped smile at me. “See da ol’ Healer knows.”
    Her hands wound a new bandage over my leg, and then began collecting the jars intended for me. “Leave dat on for thirty time, den apply dis.”
    I pulled my pants over my leg and took the jars from her, placing them in my now nearly empty sack. With impressive strength she pulled open the hatch and kicked the ladder down.
    Before descending I tossed her one of the romance novels. “For your troubles.”
    She grinned, “I see ya soon, I sure.”
    Hastily, I retreated down the ladder. The second my hands were free of the rough rope it rose back into the hatch. I took a deep breath of fresh air as I watched the hatch close. We both got something of benefit and no one died. It was a good trade. With my feet back on solid ground, the medicines clinking in my bag and the hatch door closed, I finally took my hand off my gun.
    Without looking back I headed for the nearest building, knowing the back corner’s drainpipe was still intact.
    My leg felt amazing as I sat on the edge of the rooftop. The searing pain was nothing more than a dull ache now. While The Healer was not my favorite merchant, she definitely knew her stuff. Casually, I leaned back against the behemoth gargoyle perched on the side of the building, letting my feet dangle precariously over the edge. The sky tonight was clear; even a few stars could be seen through the atmospheric haze. I checked my pocket watch. There were still two hours until sunrise and I could easily be at the school within twenty minutes.
    I picked up a piece of rubble and chucked it into the open space before me. As always my curiosity sparked as I watched the sky crackle and pop when the rock collided with the invisible force field. While the city of The Sanctuary was protected within the great iron walls that stood as high as most buildings, there was also some kind of force field above that. I used to think about jumping off a building to try and clear the metal walls below, but after witnessing a bird fly into the force field, that thought quickly died. The invisible electrified fence shocked the poor creature, sending its charred remains plummeting back towards the earth. The Wall wasn’t merely a man-made barricade, but an