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

with Leandro even if he couldn’t talk. “I knew you’d still be in there, Leandro. Next time, could you make it less wet?” She wiped the saliva from her face.

It was still dark outside. Ryder looked at the clock. She’d been asleep for a few hours, but she needed more sleep for tomorrow.

Ryder laid back and stroked Fluffy for comfort. The dream had felt too real. The fight had only happened a few hours ago, and because of that Ryder was replaying every image in her head, right down to the looks on Sergei’s and Yegor’s faces before she killed them. Ryder didn’t feel guilty for doing it since it had been them or her. Besides, she’d known those men for years, and she’d never call them friends. Ryder wondered if tomorrow she’d have to fight off some of her friends in the bunker.

What if someone she cared about couldn’t see that Ryder and her friends were doing the right thing? Some people had spent their whole life living in the bunker. Would they even want to be free? The worries consumed Ryder for a second, but she quickly squashed them with thoughts of setting the kids free. Most of them had never been outside the bunker. Their lives had been stolen from them before they’d even begun, just as Ryder’s had. If some didn’t want her help, that would be fine with Ryder. She was there to free those who wanted to leave.

Ryder closed her heavy eyes once again. Sergei and Yegor weren’t going to haunt her dreams anymore. None of the scum from the bunker would.

Only the thoughts of setting everyone free would play in Ryder’s dreamscape.

Carter heard a shuffle behind him. “Dude, you have to see this. It’s fucking crazy.” Carter was deep into The Empire Strikes Back. He loved the TV, and couldn’t stop watching it. Massimo had the best selection of movies he’d ever seen, which was easy to say since he’d never seen a movie before he’d met Massimo. The Fast and the Furious was his favorite. Massimo had told him that there were eight movies but that he only had the first one, and that the abandoned mall would have the rest. The abandoned mall sounded like the best place Carter had ever heard of.

Carter glanced over his shoulder when he realized the person wasn’t coming to sit with him. “Your loss. Close the door you’re letting a draft in.” He turned to see who it was. “Oh shit!” He jumped up from the sofa when he saw that it was Javier, and his eyes were glowing red. “Fuck fuck fuck!”

Carter was aware of the change before Javier, who looked at him blankly. Carter took advantage of Javier’s brief moment of confusion to look around for his axes. They were on the dining room table where he’d left them when they’d cleaned the table after eating. Javier stood between them, blocking him from getting them.

“Mad!” Carter yelled at the top of his voice, and the others jerked at the rude awakening. He also kicked the feet of the people closest to him.

Javier lurched toward Carter, but the couch blocked him. He banged into the couch, his mind so consumed by the need to feed on flesh that he didn’t register the idea of walking around it to get at Carter.

The others sprang to their feet, horrified that one of their friends had gone Mad.

Javier didn’t have any cuts or bites, and he didn’t have the awful smell yet. He looked very much like himself except for the glowing red eyes and slack, needful expression as he grasped fruitlessly for Carter. There wasn’t even any blood on his clothing.

Graham worked his way slowly around to Carter. “What the fuck happened to him? It doesn’t look like he was bitten.” He was right; there were no signs that he’d been bitten. Everyone glanced at one another, even more scared now.

The movement brought Javier to his senses, and he shuffled forward with his arms outstretched as he grasped for the nearest person to bite. The moment Javier moved they all rushed around to the table, stirring their Mad friend into action. Everyone grabbed their weapons quickly as Javier darted around the sofa to get them.

However, the Madness had Javier now, and he wasn’t going to stop even with everyone pointing their weapons at him.

“Javier, stop!” Willard had his knives pointing right at Javier. Javier paused for a brief second as though he recognized his friend, but that wasn’t the case. It was more that Koda was closer to him and weaponless.

Willard snagged one of the loaded guns from the table. He took the safety off and aimed at Javier’s head. “Javier, stop!” he cried again, to no effect. Willard sighed and steadied his hands.

“Don’t shoot him there,” Carter pleaded.

“Where would you like me to shoot him?” Willard snarked. “I don’t want him to suffer. He was my friend.”

Carter pointed at the TV. “I meant don’t shoot him there. I need to see what happens at the end of the movie.” He waved his arms to get Javier’s attention. “Javier, dinner is this way.”

The others looked at Carter as though he’d lost his mind.

“Here, Javier, there’s a good Mad…” Carter drew him away from the precious television one step at a time. “Come on, Javier. You know you want a bite of my tasty flesh. Koda’s all bones; you don’t want to eat him.” Carter moved closer to Javier, who pivoted and lurched at Carter since he was now the closest. Carter’s plan of getting him away from the TV had worked a little too well. Javier was in front of Carter within seconds.

Carter dodged Javier’s snapping teeth and shoved his grasping hands away.

“Duck,” Willard yelled.

Carter did just that. You listen to a man with a gun when he tells you to duck.

“I’m sorry,” Willard apologized as he squeezed the trigger and let the bullet fly into Javier’s head. Javier’s gaping mouth filled with blood