Page 24 of The Dire Legacy

Lucky appears, takes the leg from Alpha, then disappears back into the smokey haze.

A hand and a part of a ribcage lay in a mangled pile of twisted metal. Hanging wires tug at my shoulders as I step carefully forward into the carcass of the plane.

There might be a first aid kit. They’re always handy.

Pain grips my chest. The last time I saw one was when I found Angie with that triumphant look on her face as it sat on her lap.

That was before I killed her.

Weird, there’s a pair of handcuffs and some sort of restraint still attached to this harness. Was this some sort of prison transport?

Blood paints the walls of the cockpit where the mutilated body of the pilot is propped. His gray bearded face is contorted in a frozen scream and is forever locked staring at the ceiling.

Some sort of instrument panel has shifted and cut off his lower legs, the messy stumps are pushed against his abdomen.

“Got another body here.” I don’t have to be loud, I know Alpha can hear me a half a mile away, even over the screaming of metal from him tossing chunks aside.

I can dig the legs out. It might be easier for Lucky to get them on his next trip.

There has to be something wrong with me. Not even a twinge of disgust as I yank on the booted foot.

It lands behind me with a thud.

My eyes must be deceiving me. Are there three more legs under the panel? One has the matching shoe of the first, but the other two are pale, smaller and wearing slim slippers.

And, completely perfect.

What?

Squatting down, I lean closer and focus my hearing. It’s hard to ignore the giant beast lumbering behind me.

There it is. A soft heartbeat.

A survivor!

Chapter 10

Hope

My bed is lumpy. If I shift my hips, it relieves some of the stabbing pressure on my spine.

I don’t remember my mattress having hard spots.

Fuck, am I back on the operating table? Is it my kidneys again?

Swimming through the darkness behind my eyes, a burning smell tickles my nose.

Did that bitch cauterize me?

One day, I’m going to kill—

Something grabs my foot. Both feet. The pokey thing rakes up my ribs and my eyes fly open.

Wires, rods and some sort of panel is directly above me where I’m wedged against the bars that wield a seat cushion.

Oh, shit. The plane.

My world moves again and the view expands. Light fills the back where the seats used to be in a blurry mixture of parts and pieces.

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