Rage's Story (Vanish Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

a teenager.
    “Sent to take care of you, Rage. You can’t run.”
    I sigh. He’s gone. They indoctrinated him. Mike’s gone, but his work in seducing the MC is complete. I got him too late. “How did you find me?”
    Richie snorts. “Nothing fouler than the scent of a traitor. Just follow your nose.”
    Suddenly, I feel his leg wrap around mine at the knee. He pulls it out from under me. We’re both going down. When we hit the ground, my shoulder nearly dislocates under his weight as he lands on top of me. For a moment, I’m pinned. He takes the opportunity to spit in my face. I shut my eyes. I feel his fist strike against my ribcage three times in quick succession. It’s enough to keep me on the ground as he stands. I swipe the spit from my eyes in time to see his boot swing into the same side as his fist struck me.
    Fuck. I roll to the other side, hoping to take his next blow to the back. But he’s not kicking again. His footsteps round my head and lead towards the pistol. I see his hand reach down and swipe it from the pavement. He raises the thing with his chin raised like he’s the embodiment of divine justice, readying his stance for the shot.
    Move, Wes.
    I roll along the pavement as fast as I can. He fires. I don’t know if he hit me, but I spin until I’m beneath him. My leg swipes through his shins and he drops to the ground alongside. One adrenaline fuelled punch to his forehead keeps him there. I hear the sound of his skull bounce against the ground. I can feel it reverberate through my knuckles. Why, Richie?
    I stand, but it’s a struggle. There’s a sting coming from my side. It must be the bruising. No. That’s the other side. I reach a hand over and feel a wet spot. I lift my shirt over my abdomen and see it. A small hole where it went through, the shot he fired as I rolled towards him. It’s close enough to the edge of my body I know it hasn’t hit anything, but I need this bandaged, quickly.
    I look down at Richie, he’s rubbing his hands against his face. He’s trying to come to, I can see the anger still lit in his eyes. With one hand cupping my wound, I bend over and retrieve the pistol with the other. It feels heavy in my hand, I listen to the metal drag on the asphalt as I manage to raise it. Catching my breath, I lift it before Richie. Checkmate, kid.
    “You sack of shit,” he mutters.
    “Don’t, Richie.”
    He doesn’t listen. He pushes himself off the ground and kneels before me. He launches and I fire. I watch his body throw itself like a ragdoll after the bullet rips through his head, the inertia keeps it going beyond his last thought.
    His face lays scraped across the gravel, his eyes lifeless, his expression still snarling. I’m sorry, Richie. Damnit. Why did you listen to them?
    After the shot, the crickets flood back into their symphonic collective, the night resumes. My panic dissipates, the pain settles in. Richie’s dead. Mike’s dead. I’ll be dead if I don’t patch this hole up. Where can I turn? I can’t stay here. Sirens will swarm soon, those gunshots couldn’t go completely unnoticed in this sleepy town. If no one else, the owner will return and make the call himself.
    Auna. She’s the only one. I have to lean on her now, on a look and a kiss, I have to trust her.
    Clutching my bloody side, I set off down the road back towards the Pussycat Lounge. I have to get there before close. Before Auna leaves, and before I’m dead.
     

 
     
     
    6.
     
    I stand in the same place, here at the edge of the light, where the pavement meets the mud. It started raining, my shirt is soaked through, made transparent. It doesn’t wash out the blood, which keeps pouring. I feel weak, but I stay on my feet, eyes fixed on the door to the club.
    Auna, where are you? There are only three cars in the lot, the light of the sign turned off thirty minutes ago. Even the bouncer left. Maybe she’s already gone, but I haven’t seen her in the stream of others who’ve trickled