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

Adults and kids came out of the houses and headed toward them like a flock of birds.

“If he lives, he’ll be a good one to have in the gang,” Leandro commented, and Massimo nodded.

“Now what?”

Everyone in the group watched as people ran down the hill. Some fell as they ran but got back up, while others attacked.

“Some of them aren’t Mad. We have to help them,” Ryder shouted.

“You can squirm all you want. You’re locking us in,” General Murray demanded. He had George over his shoulder and was walking toward the exit. Terrier and the others had filled Murray in on the plan of locking themselves in until Ryder came to rescue them. He thought it was the dumbest plan he’d ever heard, but he didn’t have a better one so he went with it. Murray’s sympathies lay with the people who could get him out of this coffin.

Murray knew that Ryder wouldn’t be pleased to see him on Level Six. It was highly likely that Ryder would try to kill him, but he hoped he had a chance to do some good first.

Now that the chains had been removed from Murray, he would do everything he could to right the wrongs he’d committed. He knew it would never be enough, because he’d stolen so many peoples’ lives from them. He just hoped that he could make their pain a little less by helping them now.

“You can’t make me do it. I won’t lock us in here,” George screamed.

“We can open the door instead if you’d like, and throw you in with the infected,” Murray threatened.

George was shaken. “You can’t.”

Murray’s hand hovered over the control panel. “I can, and I will. You don’t deserve to live.”

George scowled. “You wouldn’t.”

Murray nodded. “Are you going to risk it?”

There was silence between the two of them as they waited to see who would make the next move.

“I’m going to tell Afana you made me do it.”

“Fine.” Murray didn’t give two shits if he told Afana. Murray had a few things he wanted to say to Afana about all the years he’d done his work for him while the vampire had stayed hidden.

“Get to work, then. And if you pretend that you override it, I’ll kill you myself,” Murray promised, although he wouldn’t.

Murray watched George closely as he began his work. Murray didn’t know what George was doing but pretended he did. He hoped that would be enough to prevent him from faking it.

After a few moments, George turned to General Murray and the others who were watching. “It’s done. You’ve basically just sealed our death warrants. I hope you’re happy with yourselves.”

Murray was. They were trapped down here. Peter and Terrier had sealed Afana’s ceiling entry, so there was no way Afana could get in here now.

“George is done,” Murray told Mama Lou.

George was apoplectic. “You’re a fool! All of you are fools!”

Mama Lou looked at George like he was something she’d stepped in. “Throw him down Tunnel Four, Murray. I’ve had enough of him.”

“It would be my pleasure,” Murray agreed.

George scurried back toward the locked exit door, but he had nowhere to go. “You can’t kill me. You need me to open the door. If I’m dead, you’ll be trapped in here forever,” George countered, which confirmed to Murray that he had in fact locked the door.

Murray wasn’t going to kill him, and he couldn’t let himself be consumed by anger. George hadn’t bitten his son, hadn’t infected him with the deadly disease. The man who had bitten Martin wasn’t in his right mind. Murray was free of Afana’s grip now, and vowed from this day on to do the right thing.

“Why do you want George to go down Tunnel Four?” Murray asked Mama Lou.

“So we don’t have to listen to his whining voice anymore,” Mama Lou replied.

“Will he be hurt?”

Mama Lou shook her head and looked quite annoyed. “No, and I’m actually insulted that you would think that.”

“Sorry,” Murray apologized. He realized that was the first time he’d apologized in a long time. He had a feeling he’d need to get used to it since he had a lot of people to apologize to.

“Come on, George, no one is going to hurt you. You can sit at the opening of Tunnel Four. Is that okay?” Murray asked Mama Lou’s permission.

She nodded. “Yes.”

George nervously stepped down the stairs and walked toward Murray. “I don’t like this.”

“Neither do the women down here. Maybe this will help you see how the women have had to live,” Murray told him, in the hope that it would help change the way George thought.

George shrugged his shoulders. He knew he had a free pass since he was the only person who could open the door. Murray didn’t like that he had all the power, but there was nothing he could do about it.

The two men headed toward Tunnel Four, George walking at his normal slow pace. Terrier, Mama Lou, and the women from the Level Six watched as he went toward the entrance.

Shane walked out of Tunnel Four. What the hell was he doing down there? He’d better not have hurt one of the women. “Why were you in that tunnel?” Murray asked in a panic.

Shane didn’t reply, just moved toward the group faster. Everyone could see Shane’s enraged glowing eyes now. He was infected!

Ryder wasted no time jumping onto the back of one of the unsaddled horses. She had a feeling Graham wouldn’t mind if she rescued him with it—and if she didn’t, he’d be dead.

Graham was swinging his axes as he ran down the hill.

“Remember, two taps,” Ryder yelled as she rode toward the men.

“That was my tip! And where are you going?” Carter asked.

“To get the last recruit,” Ryder told him.

Carter looked at the oncoming surge of people. “Can I come?”

“There’s no room for three of us. Go get your own horse. Remember, two taps!” Ryder yelled as