Judgement: The Undergrounders Series Book Three (A Young Adult Post-apocalyptic Science Fiction Thriller) Read Free Page B

ferns. I stiffen at more rustling sounds behind me. It sounds like someone is closing in on me. Heart pounding, I dive beneath a thatch of ferns and lay there listening to a flock of scolding crows in the tree above. For a long time, I don't move. I scarcely dare to breathe. I can't hear any rustling in the undergrowth anymore. Whoever was following me must have gone in a different direction. Cautiously, I relax my stance and stretch out my cramped limbs.
    A cold drop of rain trickles down a fern frond and splashes on my face. I shiver and wriggle backward out of my hiding place. A wiry arm snakes around my neck, but before I can scream, a hand closes over my nose and mouth. I kick and flail, but the hand squeezes tighter, and my movements weaken as the air leaves my lungs.
    When I come to, I'm lying on my back. I frown, wondering why I can hear the sound of rain when it's not raining on me anymore. I turn my head sideways and suck in a breath. Rain peppers the glass I'm looking through and slides down the other side of it like meltwater. Green fronds swish up and down the filthy glass like windshield wipers. I feel like a fish in a bowl. I blink. Am I hallucinating?
    I close my eyes and swallow. My throat is dry like sandpaper. What happened?
    "Are you okay?" a gravelly voice asks.
    The arm around my neck! My eyes fly open. I jockey myself up on my elbows and stare at the sallow-skinned, statuesque woman towering over me. "Who are you?" I ask, throwing a darting glance around. We're in an old camper van, and by the looks of things, someone's been living here for a long time. The seats have been reconfigured to accommodate a wood stove in the center. Dried meat hangs from hooks in one corner.
    The woman gives a wry grin. "It may not look like much, but it's home." I'm Lou Perinsky."
    "Derry Connelly." I maneuver my way to the edge of the seat, eying her warily. "Do you want to tell me why you kidnapped me and almost suffocated me?"
    "Yeah, about that." She reaches behind for a jug of water and hands it to me. "There were a couple of Rogues hot on your tail. One of them was staked out not far from your hiding place and you were about to crawl right out into his line of sight. You were too feisty to reason with, so I did what I had to do to keep you quiet."
    I glug the water while I study Lou's weather-beaten face framed by wispy gray hairs spilling from a loose braid. No tattoos, so she's not with the Rogues. And a mountain woman wouldn't live in an abandoned van. She must have come from the city.
    "How long have you been here?" I ask.
    "Since the meltdown. I fled the city once the evacuation order was issued."
    I rumple my forehead. "There was an evacuation order?"
    "Day of the meltdown. The world government said there was unidentified thermal activity. Everyone was supposed to assemble on the east side of the city, get on buses."
    My jaw drops. "Did they get out?"
    Lou shrugs. "Not everyone believed the threat was real. I did my own thing and headed north into the mountains. No way I was getting caught up in some cattle transport to a government camp."
    "Going it alone was risky too," I say, looking around the cramped space. "You'd have been safer in a bunker, and more comfortable."
    Lou presses her fingers against the glass and stares at the raindrops. "Long as I don't have a snout and claws I'm not living underground."
    I laugh. "I can relate."
    Lou turns and smiles at me. I'm fascinated by her cheekbones. She's a beautiful woman even at her age which I'm guessing is around fifty.
    "You must have been lonely at times," I say.
    She purses her lips. "I bumped into Undergrounders hunting here and there. Got my fill of their griping."
    I scrape a few loose strands of hair out of my face. "Speaking of Undergrounders, my friends will be looking for me."
    Her face creases in concern. "If the Rogues didn't get to them."
    "They're trail riders, familiar with the woods. I'm willing to bet they evaded the Rogues' patrols."
    Lou jerks