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

“Let’s go this way,” Carter said.

“Cool. I’ll follow you. That way, you can’t blame me if we go the wrong way. Wait, where’s Fluffy?”

Fluffy was missing. They looked around for him but couldn’t see him. Ryder was sad that he’d gone without at least letting her give him one last pet. Then she saw his white fur coming through the trees. “Oh, I guess he went for a leak.”

“A leak?” Carter asked.

“Yeah, you know? A piss.”

“A leek is something you eat,” he told her. “What the fuck has that got to do with taking a piss?”

“Not that type of leek, a leak. It’s another way to say, ‘take a piss.’”

Carter shook his head. “Has everyone in the bunker had their sense of humor removed?”

Ryder arched her back a little, seeing Fluffy appear behind Carter. “Are you going to be this annoying all the way?”

“I’d say I’m more charming than annoying. Wouldn’t you agree, Fluffy?”

Fluffy growled, and Carter scowled at the wolf.

Ryder grinned. The pack was coming together.

Mama Lou and Terrier did a sweep of Level Six to see if anyone else had the same disease as Vera. That meant checking all the rooms.

Most of the men weren’t thrilled with Mama Lou and Terrier interrupting their privacy with their women. Over the years, some of the men and women had coupled up and built normal relationships. Well, as normal as anything could be inside the bunker. Some pairs were like boyfriend and girlfriend, while others were like married couples.

Whether a couple was just talking or deep in the throes of bunker love, none of them took kindly to the unwelcome intrusion. Mama Lou had been forced to smooth a lot of ruffled feathers before she could explain what was going on in the rest of the bunker.

Most people reacted with fear and got their clothes on. A few didn’t give a shit and carried on.

When people did come out of their rooms, all of their faces registered shock at the scene above them. The glass floor was empty of people. There was an eerie silence in the bunker as if no one were left alive. It had never been this quiet.

People approached Mama Lou and Terrier from all sides, begging for answers. They filled in the worried people as much as they could, which wasn’t much.

Some of the men ran for the exit and failed to open the doors, as everyone before them had. Mama Lou knew that the men who tried to run had just been down here to get their dicks wet. The men who stayed actually cared about the women they were with. These were the ones who would help her fight against anyone who the disease turned into a monster.

Mama Lou wasn’t foolish enough to believe that no one else down here was infected. She had lived too long and seen too much to be an optimist. She just hoped the next person who turned wouldn’t be one of the other women.

Or even worse, one of the kids.

The thought scared her, which wasn’t easy to do. She placed her hand on Terrier’s arm. “We need to check on the children.”

He nodded. “I’ll lead the way.”

The crowd of people parted before Terrier’s massive frame, and he carved a path for Mama Lou through the masses. When they got outside the kids’ room, he paused for a moment to steady his breathing because he didn’t want to worry the children. He glanced at Mama Lou, and she nodded, so he opened the door.

Natalie had the kids sitting in a loose circle, singing songs and playing the wooden instruments Terrier and Ryder had made for them. Relief flooded through him. The terrible, off-key singing and generally awful playing had never sounded so good. It meant they were all right.

The kids stopped singing and ran for Terrier, tugging at his leg and pulling him with them into the room. Then they looked past him.

“Where’s Ryder?” one of the kids asked.

He forced a smile. “On a journey to a faraway land.”

“Oohs” and “aahs” came from the kids.

“Class, please let Terrier have his leg back,” Natalie chuckled as she came over to them.

Terrier had always liked Natalie. Like Ryder, she had been taken from her home when she was just a child, over fifteen years ago. So, Terrier had known her for most of her life, and he’d watched her grow up. She had long brown hair, which was back in its orderly braid after Shane’s assault earlier. Her frame was tiny, and her pregnant belly was big and round.

Her brown eyes rested on Terrier, and her pale skin made her eyes look even darker. She smiled at him like his mere presence made her feel like everything was going to be all right.

He hoped she was still smiling at the end of all this.

“Children, we all want to hear Ryder’s story,” Mama Lou told them. “No doubt it will be a very interesting one. But I need to steal Terrier away from you.” The children’s cries filled the room. “Hush now. I'll let him come back and tell you all about Ryder’s adventures once we are finished. I need to steal Natalie for a moment, too. Please keep playing with your instruments as loud as you possibly can. I want the music to reach everywhere, fill the entire level.”

The kids were happy. Natalie, on the other hand, shook her head. She knew that the rest of the day was going to be very long. She needed to get them back in their beds. The advisors’ announcement had scared them just as they were falling asleep.

The three of them left the kids’ room and closed the door behind them. They could hear the musical instruments blasting behind the door, just as Mama Lou had asked.

“What’s going on?” Natalie asked, her hands cradling her belly. “First, Afana comes down here. Then, the alarms sound. Something bad is happening, isn't it?”

Mama Lou clutched