After [A Journey of the Twins Novel] Read Online Free Page B

she would have noticed two battered and angry men watching her as she disappeared, vowing revenge for what they considered an extreme injustice done to them.
    "She will pay, don't you worry none. She will pay,” the burly man muttered as he watched her go.
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Chapter Two
    Drayco moved away from the section of the city where he had killed the old man. He did not want to be in the vicinity when the body was found. People were curious. They asked too many questions, questions he did not want to answer.
    The old man's blood had helped, but at such a price. He remembered the many times he had not satisfied his need and how he had nearly died because of it. The thought of killing never sat well with him. Unfortunately, there was no option if he wanted to survive. He was worried, though; the thought of killing was getting easier.
    Will this ever stop? Why did this have to happen to me?
    The sun was reaching its orange rays over the horizon as Drayco made his way through the ruins. He was a tall man with a darkness about him, a darkness that made most people think twice before approaching. The sword swinging from his hip helped. He did not mind. It made it easier to avoid unwanted company.
    The road he walked on lay broken and overgrown, grass sending out ever reaching tentacles to take back what was once its territory. It ran through a big city, the city he and his family had called home. That was before the virus made a complete mess of everything, before chaos ran rampant. The monuments and statues that had brought so many tourists now lay in ruins. The White House destroyed.
    The towering buildings reminded him of the haunted houses he used to enter at Halloween. Rundown stores with broken windows were everywhere. Dirt covered the glass panes that had somehow survived intact, hiding the contents inside from view. What used to be automobiles was nothing but piles of rusted metal, abandoned where they sat.
    When the virus had been in full swing, some made a mad rush to get out of the city, while others simply hid in their homes. The people fleeing blocked the roadways with their many cars, making it impossible for emergency personnel to get to the dead and dying. Some tried to carry their worldly possessions with them after abandoning their vehicles. They were forced to drop everything after the items became too heavy.
    In the end, the virus found them. No one could outrun it.
    Looting increased dramatically during the first few weeks. People grabbed televisions, clothes, jewelry, and any items they thought were important. Most were found dead with the “important” things lying next to them. The police, or what was left of them, were unable to keep up. They were too busy trying to survive, like the rest of the world.
    Descendants of survivors still lived in the city because they had nowhere else to go. Their ancestors had not left, and neither would they. They felt safe in the familiar environment.
    Drayco looked at the different buildings as he walked down the road. One would catch his interest and he would enter, finding nothing of use. Looters, both past and present, had done their jobs well. Even though he needed blood to stay alive, he still needed to eat the same as any other person.
    A rundown store stood at the corner of an intersection. A light breeze made the worn and weathered sign dangling in front swing around in a circle. The hinge squealed with every turn. The noise caught his attention; the message on it drew him closer.
    "Groceries. I wonder if anything might have been missed this time.” Shrugging his shoulders, he added, “Won't know unless I look."
    The door for the dank and dusty building was jammed with pieces of fallen concrete. He peered through the broken window and saw a few canned goods and other items thrown all around. At one time, it had been a grocery store; now, it was nothing more than a trash heap. The looters had ruined everything in their haste to get “the good