Arcadia (Book 1): Damn The Dead Read Free Page A

She knew if she tried to move, to straighten out, her insides would violently protest.
    She heard his belt buckle jingle loose.
    A foot pressed against her side.
    She cried out in pain.
    He rolled her over.
    She kept her knees up to her chest. Blood and tears mixed on her face.
    “You need to shut up,” he said. She couldn’t see his face. The available light was above and behind him and he was merely a shadow before her. His breathing was fast, labored. He was working himself up, eager.
    She bit her lip. “Sorry.”
    “That’s better,” he said. The man dropped to his knees. He grabbed her legs and pulled them apart.
    She offered no resistance other than a timid cry and turned her head to the side.
    When he climbed on top of her, Char did not hesitate.
    When she’d been kicked over onto her back, her hand unstrapped the knife. She had it in her hand.
    She punched the knife deep into his side and dragged it up to his first rib.
    He fell off her. The blade protruded from under his arm. He writhed, kicking his legs.
    Char forced herself up onto her knees, pushed herself up onto one, and then stood. The man screamed.
    Standing felt better than being balled up on the ground.
    Breathing was not any easier.
    The man continued screaming, rolling back and forth, covering himself in blood and dirt. “I’m going to die.” 
    Char ignored her pain as she took a few steps and stood over the man. She raised her foot in the air and brought the heel down on his skull. “You need to be quiet,” she said.
    This was not a good person.
    She was not a murderer.
    He had planned to rape her, she had no doubt. He would have killed her after, or worse, kept her around, just barely alive but useful for days, and then killed her. Either way, he’d of taken her life.
    She looked around, but the thicket and darkness that surrounded them made it hard to find her machete. There wasn’t time to search, not with him making so much noise.
    Her mind spun as her brain was pumped full of endorphins. She knew her pulse was fast. She thought about drawing her sword, but instead, forced herself to kneel down next to him. He couldn’t keep still.
    Being that he was alive, he was still a threat.
    She wouldn’t let her guard down.
    Not around this one.
    Char pried his hand off the knife with one hand, and grabbed onto the handle with the other. There was a wet sloshing sound when she yanked out the blade, and the man let out a curdling cry that pierced her ears. She thought she smelled the contents of food in various stages of digestion emitted from the long, wide wound, and nearly vomited.
    In one fluid motion, she reached across his chest and slid the blade across his throat.
    That stopped the cry, mid-scream.
    He lay still, finally.
    A moonbeam shown on his face. Blood filled and gurgled out of the corners of his mouth. He attempted to cough, to breathe, and to hang onto life. His eyes were locked on her. Rapid blinking ensued as the life behind the retina slowly clouded over, leaving a vacant look in his expression.
    The blood still oozed from his neck.
    It bubbled inside his mouth.
    She watched him until she was certain he was dead.
    It was when she smelled urine and feces that she knew it was safe to get up.
    Char went back to the horse. It snorted, as giant eyes strained to watch her every movement. Like her, the animal did not trust people. She unbuckled the belt on the belly of the horse. She didn’t want to leave him tied to a tree. The man’s death cries gave away their location. He would become an instant meal for not just potential infected, but also dangerous wildlife in the area. The mountains were filled with black bear, mountain lions, coyotes, and wolves. She removed the nylon halter and head collar as she pet his nose and whispered into his ear that everything would be okay.

 
     
     
     
    Chapter 2
     
     
    Char tried to follow the exact path she used back toward the ridge. She kept low, bent forward, and moved fast. There was