A World Alone (Dead World Series Book 1) Read Online Free Page A

grumbles back, turning to her and pulling her into an embrace.
"You did a good job screamin' sweetheart. It's not our fault these
assholes didn't have anythin' good on em'."
    I can't stand to watch anymore. My eyes roll before landing on a pair of
emeralds, staring up at me from the floor. Their glow catches me off guard and
fills me with a sense of familiarity. All I want is to look away, but I can't.
    Until she blinks.
    I snap away from her gaze and turn my attention to my left shoulder instead,
trying to ignore the cooing babbles of my captors.
    " Psst , hey," she whispers at an octave lower than silence.
I look back at her, only to be painfully held by the green light of her eyes.
Her thick eyebrows pull together as she watches me grimace. I drop my eyes and
focus my stare on her small nose instead, painted with dirt and grime.
    "We can take them," she breathes.
    I pause for a second, deliberating the imposition of her statement.
"What?"
    "They think I'm weak, we can take them by surprise," she explains,
nodding her head towards the couple kissing at the front of the store.
"I'll take the big guy, you handle the bitch,” she pauses, looking back to
make sure I understand.
    "Got it?" she asks.
    I huff out a breath of amusement. "I like your spirit kid but my hands
are tied, so are yours, how are we supposed to do that?"
    "I don't know," she shrugs, "use your head." She doesn't
waste a minute. As the couple separates she jumps up from the floor and runs
towards them. Without hesitation she pulls her head back and slams it into the
nose of the boyfriend, snapping it out of place. The impact makes a smack loud
enough to imitate the sound of a gunshot.
    He goes reeling with a shout, dropping the gun in surprise; the gun they
took from me. The girlfriend sees the pistol clatter to the floor and dives
like a fox to pick it up. I stand up and move towards her, sticking my leg
in-between hers I use my other to sweep her down, knocking us both off our
feet. Her chin strikes the floor first, a bubble of blood bursting from her
lips as her teeth clack together.
    I untangle my legs from hers and stand up as quickly as possible, my side
throbbing from the collision with the floor. The girlfriend is sobbing, blood oozing
from her mouth, but still crawls towards the gun. I swing my boot and kick her
in the face, trying to ignore the crunch of teeth and squelch of liquid. She
stops moving.
    I look over to the girl. She's standing over the body of the boyfriend,
watching me, her green eyes innocently analyzing. I look away.
    Sitting down next to the body of the girlfriend I work to find the small
knife in her hand. Prying it from her grasp, I manage to position the blade at
an angle that lets me cut the wire from my wrists. Once it’s cut away, I stand
up and look down at the dark and bloody lines that are etched into my skin;
they burn ferociously as I rub at them.
    "Care to give me a hand?" the girl asks, her eyes settling on me
with no indication of leaving. Leaning down I snatch my car keys and the gun up
from the ground before I move towards the girl and cut the wire from her
wrists. "Thanks," she mumbles, as she picks her bag up from the floor
and begins stuffing all her belongings back inside.
    "My name's Stella," she says, swinging the bag onto her back.
    "I didn't ask." I turn to leave. I need to get away from her eyes.
    "Fair enough, what's yours?" she asks, rubbing her forehead and
wincing at the pressure.
    I stop at the door, my hand resting on its handle, a heavy sigh leaving my
lips.
    "Look kid, thanks for the help and all, but I'm gonna take off now, and
I suggest you do the same." I don't dare to look at her as I open the door
and step outside, walking towards my jeep. I need to get away from her.
    "Well hey, wait a second!" she calls, hitching her bag over her shoulder
and running out after me. "Maybe we could team up? I mean we make a pretty
good team, right? And you did save me earlier when you ran down