New World Rising Read Online Free PDF Page B

dragging the spikes against the ground as he moved.
    “You’re supposed to say ‘Polo’ little one or don’t you want to play with us?” The girl huddled further against the wall. “Don’t worry, we’ll be gentle…”
    The knife left my hand as the bloodthirsty crowd exploded with mirth. The blade flickered for an instant in the darkness before burying itself into the leader’s left eye. The ensuing chaos was instantaneous.
    The horde continued to laugh for several heartbeats before their leader’s screams reached their ears. When his massive body hit the ground, writhing as he clung to the handle protruding from his eye socket I leapt toward the ground. Calculating the fall, I landed lithely on my feet letting the momentum roll my body forward. But I had underestimated the force of my fall. I rolled out into the center of the alley, stopping in a low crouch as fourteen and a half sets of eyes fell upon me. My gun was drawn and firing before they could react. Darting to the side I ducked behind the dumpster as bullets began to rain down on us. Based on the screams I had hit a few more of the heathens. At least if I was going down I would take a few of the scum with me. A tiny hand grabbed my arm and I turned to meet two terrified brown eyes. I gritted my teeth. She was no older than I was when I was left alone in this city.
    Grabbing her petite body I pressed it into mine, shielding her from the onslaught of debris. The bullets were beginning to eat through the rusted metal. It wouldn’t be much longer before they could reach us. It took my ringing ears a second to realize the gunfire had ceased.
    Someone was still screaming in pain.
    “If you give us the girl, we might just let you live.” A female’s voice called this time.
    The child began to shake in my arms again.
    “Leave and you may not need an eye patch like your friend.” I called in a calm voice back to her. It was a farce, my only knife was gone and by my count there were only three bullets left in my gun.
    “You had better hope this bullet finds you first princess, I won’t be so gentle.” The woman’s voice echoed back.
    There was an odd, high-pitched humming coming from the mouth of the alley. Without hesitating I yanked the girl off the ground and ran for the corner where the drainpipe was. If I lifted her high enough there was a ledge barely big enough for a child to stand on, from there she could reach the pipe. At least she could escape.
    “You have to climb!” I screamed at her as I thrust her into the air. I felt her tiny feet scramble as her hands found their grip. The humming was getting louder, the tone nearly unbearable. The sound stopped just as she left my hands and my back exploded into shreds of fire where the heat-seeking bullet found me.
    I slammed against the wall before staggering backwards, but as I fell there was a second explosion from somewhere behind me. This was not the work of a gun. A brilliant white light swallowed the alley, searing my retinas. I blinked— at least I thought I blinked. It felt like my eyes were open, but I saw nothing. I heard nothing.
    I fell at an old angle, my limbs feeling disjointed from my body. Nothing moved, even my chest stilled as the pain seeped through my body.
    This was it.
    Hands found me, tugging and pulling at my limp body. The Scavengers were already upon me, stealing what little I had left in this world.
    A small part of me found peace. So this is how it happens, this is how I die. All of those years of wondering and now I knew…

 
     
     
     
    DEATH WAS NOT as I had expected it to be. I thought I would drift away, become nothing, and finally get the rest I never had in my damned existence called a life. Instead it smelled funny, like chemicals. And as time pressed on, awareness of my body came back to me. There was no pain, no sight, no sounds. I just felt like a useless body drifting in a sea of nothingness.
    I hated it.
    When my hearing began to return, I was actually