Tankbread 02 Immortal Read Online Free PDF

know what this means?”
    Jirra opened his eyes. His breath came in shallow pants. “I can’t see...” he whispered. Else leaned over and let the black blood drip down Jirra’s chest as she held it close to his clouded eyes.
    “Sea People...” Jirra whispered. “Sea People. They come in boats. Sometimes they trade. Mostly they take.”
    “Could they have taken my son?” Else tossed the severed arm into the water.
    “Coulda.” Jirra tried to shrug.
    “Where do I find the Sea People?”
    Jirra moaned, his eyes rolling. Else slapped him hard across the face. “Where, Jirra? Where are they?”
    “Big boat . . . like a cloud on the water . . . out there on the sea.”
    Else stood up and stared out into the darkness. She could hear the hiss of the waves. The books told her the sea went all around the world. She wondered if there was any place free of evols.
    Gathering Jirra’s dropped spears, she laid them in the boat next to him and the wailing baby. Else pushed the boat out and climbed in. Dropping the machete in the bottom of the boat, she took up a paddle and steered the boat into the current. The river grabbed them, driving them towards the sea.
    “Help me paddle!” Else yelled over her shoulder. Jirra stirred and fumbled for an oar. He started singing again, a low and chilling sound that made Else’s skin crawl. As he sang, he paddled, dipping the oar into the dark water and pulling them straight.
    “Gotta hit the waves head on,” Jirra said. “We get turned around, we all gonna drown.”
    Else gritted her teeth. Lowanna cried and wriggled between her feet. The land was ending on either side of her. She felt a sickening sense of the world opening up and she was falling into the darkness.
    “Keep her straight!” Jirra yelled.
    Else dug her paddle deep, pulling against the water as it foamed. The stink of river mud and salt clogged her nostrils. The sea goes on forever , a small voice in the back of her mind said. It goes on forever and you will never find your way back to land . “My baby is out there,” Else said to the heaving waves. The nose of the boat rose up and crested. Else’s paddle swept through open air and she overbalanced. Slamming her hand into the floor of the boat, she braced herself as the bow dropped and hit the water.
    “Paddle!” Jirra yelled. Else pulled herself up. Scrambling with her oar, she swept it through the water and they surged up the face of the next wave. Else was ready when they broke through this one. The entire skiff was airborne for a moment and then with a sickening fall they dropped. Lowanna howled as the shuddering blow of the wave hit the bottom of the boat.
    “One more!” Jirra shouted and they rode the sickening slope up the third wave. Cold water burst over the bow. Else tasted mud, not salt. The river had pushed itself out into the vast sea like a cold steel dagger stabbing deep into a warm body.
    They paddled on, pulling themselves through the water. The waves slid under the skiff now, lifting the small craft and rocking them in a longer motion.
    “How far to the ship?” Else glanced over her shoulder. Jirra had slumped forward, his paddle trailing in the water. “Jirra?” Else twisted in her seat.
    “Unngh . . .” Jirra moaned and his head twisted. His dark skin had gone as grey as the white ash of mourning he smeared himself with. Else dived for the machete. The dying man lunged at her in the same moment. She jammed her right arm under his jaw and scrabbled for the knife handle, his teeth snapping at her, black saliva dripping over his bloodless lips.
    Else lifted the machete. Jirra’s hands clamped on her arm and he pushed her back. Else hissed and swung at the zombie’s head with the machete, striking him a glancing blow. He grunted and his teeth sank into her forearm.
    The effect was immediate. The zombie’s eyes went wide and he pulled back. His back arched, contractions popping his joints as every muscle in his body clenched. Else pulled