Highway To Armageddon Read Online Free Page A

else. I swing my armored right leg
directly into his crotch. Big Daddy screams in excruciating agony and leans
forward. My right fist shatters his nose, splashing blood all over my brand new
glove. Big Daddy falls backwards like a chopped down oak tree. Dorothy and
Sally stare at me in wide-eyed wonder.
               
At first the girls smile, as though they can’t believe I actually took down
their hated tormenter. That brief moment of happiness soon gives way to fear.
Dorothy gasps and hugs Sally to her chest, as if she’s trying to shield her
from danger. I look up and soon see why. Three bling-wearing thugs appear out
of a back alley and rapidly approach us, their guns aimed directly at me. I
take it they’re friends of Big Daddy.
               
I turn back to Dorothy and Sally. They’re shivering uncontrollably. I open up
the cube-shaped buckle on my belt and grab all my remaining gold coins. I
thrust the coins into Dorothy’s hand. Her eyes widen even further than they
already are.
               
In a rapid-fire whisper I say, “Go to the train station and purchase two
one-way tickets to Sanctuary 7.”
               
Sally gasps. “Sanctuary 7? But we can’t afford to…”
               
“Lance and I live there,” I interrupt curtly. “Tell the guards you’re our
guests. The password is Stalingrad. I’ll meet you there.”
               
“But…,” Dorothy starts to say, but she’s cut off by the sound of bullets
nicking pavement.
               
I shove the girls out into the street. “Go! I’ll be fine!”
               
Dorothy and Sally look at me one last time before stumbling toward the train
station. I turn back to face my attackers.
               
All three thugs begin firing at me. They’re so drunk and drugged up that they
miss me by a mile.
               
With that being said, they are using lethal force. So I respond in kind.
               
I whip out my pistol and fire at the thug in the middle. He drops like a rock.
               
I turn to the thug on the left and fire off another shot. He clutches his
shoulder and falls to his knees.
               
I barely have time to face the last thug when a bullet slams into my chest,
right above my heart. My armor deflects the bullet fragments, but the force of
the blast knocks me on my back. Unlike last time, I don’t lift my head. I crack
my skull on the pavement.
               
An ocean of pain washes over me. My vision becomes blurred and tears stream
down my cheeks. I fight the urge to black out. If I do, I’m dead.
               
I just begin to regain my bearings when two massive arms wrap around my waist.
I’m hoisted into the air, above someone’s head. I’m so out of it I don’t
realize who my attacker is until he speaks.
               
“I can tell you’re gonna be a lot harder to break than I thought,” Big Daddy
snarls.
               
I fumble with my utility belt. All I need is one good weapon: a taser, a gas
grenade, anything . Unfortunately I’m too dazed to think clearly. My
fingers don’t work properly, as if the neurons in my brain aren’t firing
correctly.
               
Big Daddy lowers his arms back, preparing to throw me.
               
“I may not be able to break your spirit, but I can certainly break your back.”
               
I wildly flail my arms and legs, but it’s to no avail. Big Daddy propels his
arms forward and I fly through the air, straight toward the pharmacy’s
plate-glass window.
               
I only have a split-second to act. I spin around in mid-air so that my armored
back faces the window. I also clasp my hands behind my neck. An instant later I
crash through the window. Thousands of jagged shards of glass rain down on top
of me as I slam onto the pharmacy’s hard linoleum floor. I bounce once and