The Forge of Darkness (Darkness After Series Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page A

Tommy liked this duty much better than cutting wood, and he looked forward to making the rounds each afternoon, usually at a leisurely pace.  
    Today, like most days, he had David Green tagging along. When Tommy had first met David he looked like he’d been wallowing around in the mud for days. His hair and bare feet were caked with it and his clothes were filthy and torn. He had a wild look about him and didn’t seem to know what to do or how to act when Mitch first brought him to the house. Tommy had been shocked to learn soon after that David Green had actually been April’s fiancé before the lights went out and that he was the father of her little girl. David didn’t know any of this though; because he’d been hit so hard in the head he didn’t remember anything about his past.  
    Tommy figured that was probably a good thing too because it quickly became pretty obvious that April was more interested in Mitch Henley than David Green, even if she did have a kid with him. It was also pretty obvious that Mitch was just as infatuated with her, and Tommy sure couldn’t blame him. It was all he could do to keep his eyes off her ever since that first day he’d met her down on the creek. April was one of the prettiest girls Tommy had ever seen, and not only was she pretty; she was tough too. He saw that real quick with the way she carried herself in the woods and also around the farm after they got there. Tommy knew all he could do was dream about having a girl like April though. She’d never take an interest in a shy 40-year-old country boy that had always been nervous around pretty girls and women. Tommy had never even had a real girlfriend and he had certainly never been married. He hoped he would one day, but with the way things were, it seemed less likely than before. But sometimes when he was making the rounds, especially out by the road, he daydreamed about finding another girl like April—but one that was lost, alone and afraid, and looking for a place to stay and someone to protect her. Tommy was sure that if he found a girl like that she would agree to marry him, because things were different now and the things he knew how to do like hunting and chopping wood were useful.
    This had been on his mind again today, interrupted briefly when he and David ran into Benny and the two kids out looking for a Christmas tree. After talking with them for a few minutes, he was on his way again, slipping back into his daydreams as David followed close behind, carrying the long sharpened stick he’d fashioned into a spear. David acted like a little kid in some ways, always wanting to play games or pretend, and Tommy knew it was because he didn’t know where he was or even who he was. With no concept of the past, he didn’t know things were different now than they had always been, and having nothing to compare it to, he had no grasp of or worry of the future either. David Green was living in the moment, just as happy as he could be most of the time, no matter what they were doing. Tommy figured if carrying a spear made him feel good, then that was all right too. He probably didn’t have any business toting a gun and besides, Tommy felt like he could handle any situation they might encounter right by himself with his trusty .308.  
    They were headed down the path that led to the back of the property, near the creek, when Tommy heard the first rifle shot. There was no doubt in his mind where it came from—somewhere back from the way they’d just come—out in the direction of the road. Tommy knew his daddy didn’t have a rifle with him. He’d just seen him and like always, he had that 12-gauge pump slung across his back. Mitch’s little sister had her .22, but what Tommy just heard was no .22. When two more shots followed a few seconds later, Tommy knew what he had to do.  
    “Come on, David. We’ve got to get back up to the road and see what that’s all about!”

    * * *

    Benny Evans took great care as he slipped