Page 26 of Camriel
“I’m glad it’s almost winter, rather than summer,” Victoria said as she tossed the empty cans into the trash can in the kitchen.“I’d fudging die from heatstroke if I had to run for two-hundred and forty miles.”
The thermal gear she was wearing grew downright hot after she’d been running for several hours.She needed to wash her clothes soon, but it would have to wait.She couldn’t exactly stop at a local laundromat.Some people had generators, but they required gasoline.It seemed like too much effort to set something like that up just so she could wear clean clothes.
“Everyone is filthy now,” Victoria reminded herself as she stuffed cans into her duffle bag.“No one cares if I stink,” she added, then snickered.Taking enough provisions for a couple of days, she let herself out through the front door and closed it behind her.
It was uncomfortable with the cans slamming into her as she jogged down the road.She stopped long enough to stuff some clothes in the duffle bag to cushion the load, then resumed her journey.
She’d only run a few miles when she saw someone standing in the middle of the road, waving her arms.
“Here we go,” Victoria said with an eyeroll.“I can’t even go one day without some kind of drama.”
“Help!”the young woman shouted when she saw Victoria approaching.“My husband is choking to death!You’ve got to help him!”She gestured at a nearby house.
Victoria knew when someone was acting, especially when they were this bad at it.“Really?”she asked in fake surprise.“Shouldn’t you be doing the Heimlich maneuver instead of standing out here?”
“He’s too big and I can’t fit my arms around him,” the short blonde woman lied.She flicked a look over Victoria’s shoulder, but the wrestler was already aware someone was approaching her from behind.
Spinning around smoothly, she tugged her reaping hook free from her belt loop and swung it in an arc.The blade sheared through the neck of the large man who’d been creeping up on her.He dropped the knife he’d raised to stab her in the back and fell to his knees.Blood poured from the gaping wound as he collapsed onto his face.
His accomplice screamed and turned to run.Victoria picked up the fallen knife and threw it at her.“Score!”she exclaimed when the weapon accidentally severed her foe’s spinal cord.
It seemed rude to leave the bodies lying on the road, so she dragged them over to the sidewalk.Taking a drink of water, she started running again, hoping no one else would try to waylay her.“I’ve had enough shiz for one day,” she decided.
Stopping when it became dark, Victoria was almost disappointed that she hadn’t sensed the strange man this time.She still didn’t know if he was a threat or not, but he seemed determined to at least speak to her.Maybe she should let him get close enough so she could sense his intentions.Or maybe that would be a really terrible idea.
One thing she was glad for was that she hadn’t had any more disturbing dreams.The aliens hadn’t shown up in her head, or in reality.She also hadn’t sprouted fur or howled at the moon yet.
Snickering, she chose a house to use for the night.She made sure no one was watching her before she let herself inside.
Chapter Fifteen
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RAHAB HAD RARELY LEFThis penthouse during the five days since the Soldiers of Chaos had returned to Earth.Xathan had been out scouting for information, coming back at night to fill him in.Phul and Lachial took small teams with them to get the lay of the land.Manhattan was relatively small, but it was still packed with people who’d been left behind after the Rapture.
Feeling restless, Rahab decided it was time for him to meet Oliver Giamano.He checked his reflection to make sure his suit was spotless and his hair was perfectly groomed.The suit he’d chosen this time was black, with a thin red pinstripe.His shirt was red to match the stripes.He looked strikingly handsome even to himself.
