Live Free or Die Complete Series Boxed Set: Age Of Madness - A Kurtherian Gambit Series Hayley Lawson (ebook reader play store .TXT) 📖

His parents buried Olli and the skin, which Sergei had been planning on drying. They were scared that other people in the camp would find out, and told Sergei never to speak about it or it would bring shame to their family.

Sergei didn’t get it. Why would it bring shame to their family?

The hunters came back to the camp with their kill and the women skinned the animals they later cooked, and they ate. He wondered if it was because he wasn’t a woman. Why should they be the only ones who got to do what they wanted? At his young age, he thought he was already better at it than they were, and if they’d been able to see the skin they would have known that.

Sergei didn’t let the first incident with his parents stop him. He just didn’t show them his kills anymore. Sometimes he’d thought about it, like the day he killed a wolf and skinned him, but he hadn’t. It had become his secret.

Then one day, his sister Emily found him while he was skinning her cat. She screamed in horror at what he’d done. Sergei only knew of one way to shut her up, so he grabbed her around the neck to stop her screams and threatened to skin her like he had done to her precious cat. He wished he had, because as soon as he let her go she ran to the camp and told everyone what had happened.

His family had been banished to the edge of the camp, and his sister never looked at him the same way after that day. He didn’t care, because she had always been his parents’ favorite. They had even said he should be more like her. Why would he want to be like her?

He hated her almost as much as he hated cats.

His only regret was not showing the generals where Emily was hiding.

“Give it back,” Yegor demanded.

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Sergei asked.

“My magazine with the hot naked bitches in it.”

Sergei opened his hands. “I don’t have it.”

“Where is it?” Yegor asked, looking around for it and back the way which they’d come.

“I don’t know and don’t care. We’re here for business, not pleasure,” Sergei snapped, annoyed.

“I’m going for a shit,” Yegor told him as he wandered into the trees.

“Don’t go too far.”

After a few minutes, Sergei heard Yegor’s raised voice. He strained to hear.

“Back the fuck up,” Yegor warned.

Who’s he talking to? Sergei wondered. If there were any Mad around they’d hear him. Sergei ran in Yegor’s direction.

“Sergei!” Yegor yelled.

For fuck’s sake, is he trying to give us away? But Sergei could tell from the tone of Yegor’s voice there was something up.

Sergei ran to Yegor, jumping over fallen trees and weaving between others. To say he wasn’t expecting what he saw was an understatement. Yegor was fighting off a woman. His pants were around his ankles, and blood was oozing out of a bite wound on his thigh.

Yegor was yelling at the woman to stay away from him as he swung his knife at her, but the slashing blade didn’t get her. She just kept coming at Yegor. The knife was only preventing her from getting close to him.

“Help me!” Yegor yelled.

The woman turned toward Sergei, her eyes glowing red like Ivan’s. She was fucked up like he was. She was fucking Mad.

The woman ran at Sergei, but he had his knife ready and slashed her throat. She coughed and spit blood as she choked, and drops flew everywhere.

Then she took her last breath and fell heavily to the ground.

“Pull up your pants. I don’t want to see your scrawny little cock,” Sergei told Yegor.

“My fucking leg! She fucking bit my thigh. What the fuck is going on?” Yegor was in a full-on panic.

Sergei was wondering the same thing. He looked around quickly to see if there was anyone else near them. She must have been with the pack Ryder had been fighting.

Yegor ripped off part of his shirt and used it to bandage his wound. Then, squirming, he pulled his pants up. As he did the crimson blood seeped through his pants. The bite wound was deep.

Sergei grimaced at Yegor’s leg. “I better not hear about this all fucking day. Clean yourself up,”

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Terrier, Peter, and Mama Lou headed in the direction of the kitchen to see if Kari was still in there like Samantha had said she might be.

“I told you I checked everywhere,” Peter protested.

“One last look won’t hurt, will it?” Mama Lou reasoned.

As they walked to the kitchen, they saw Kari in Freddie’s arms, eating a piece of bread.

Everyone let out a sigh of relief. Freddie smiled at them and headed their way.

“She was wandering around, and I didn’t think it was very safe for her,” he told Mama Lou.

“Thank you. Freddie. You’re right, it’s not.” Mama Lou said as she got to them. “Kari, you really can’t be wandering around. We’ve been worried sick.”

“I’m sorry. I was hungry,” Kari told her between bites.

“Come on, let me take you back to Natalie.” Mama Lou held her arms out for Kari, but she buried her head in Freddie’s greasy shoulder.

“I’ll take her. Which room is it?” Freddie asked.

“Just over there. It’s okay, I’ll take her,” Mama Lou replied.

Freddie headed toward the door. “It’s not a problem.”

Mama Lou watched as Freddie walked to the children’s room with Kari in his arms.

They really needed to work on their security. They couldn’t have the kids roaming around on their own. It wasn’t safe. Maybe she could get Freddie to help out? she thought.

A bloodcurdling scream came from the women’s sleeping tunnel, and the three of them looked at one another and took off running in that direction.

Was it the disease or the killer? Either possibility filled Mama Lou with dread.

Mama Lou was behind Peter and Terrier, since they were faster. She glanced at Freddie. Why had he been down the kitchen tunnel in the first place?

“Mia’s dead,”