Total pages in book: 44
Estimated words: 41518 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 208(@200wpm)___ 166(@250wpm)___ 138(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 41518 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 208(@200wpm)___ 166(@250wpm)___ 138(@300wpm)
She fled to the street, tears pouring down her face. Quickly, Ciel wiped those away and made herself stop. Losing water wasn’t an option. Who knew when she’d find more? Shaking her head, she wondered how people had just become savages?
Nearing the train station a couple of hours later, she looked down the road leading to the tracks. There was no sound, except for a few loud shouts. She hesitated for only a few seconds before continuing on the main street to the highway. It looked like her feet were the only thing she could count on.
A few hours later, she dragged her suitcase off the pavement and headed for a clump of trees to rest and cool off. After dropping to the ground, she looked at her hands and hissed. Despite swapping the suitcase between her hands, Ciel had blisters on her palms.
The sound of wheels on the pavement made her look up. A man weaved between the now stationary cars on a bike with a small trailer. Feeling apprehensive, Ciel scrambled on her hands and knees to hide behind a tree.
“I can see you, girl.” The man’s rough voice grated on her ears.
“I don’t want any trouble,” she called back.
“A young woman alone is the perfect victim. Give me everything you have, and I’ll leave you alone.” He swung his leg over the seat as he dismounted from the bike.
“What do you want with jeans and T-shirts? I don’t think they’ll fit,” Ciel tried to distract him with humor as she scrambled to her feet.
“Everything will sell to someone.”
“I’m not just going to give you my things because you’re a bully.”
“And I asked nicely. I have no problem hurting you if that’s what it takes,” he stated in a hard voice as he stalked forward.
“I just want you to leave me alone,” Ciel protested and abandoned the safety of the tree to grab the handle of her bag and started running. The large case bashed into her legs and calves as it bounced through the tall grass.
A strong yank on the suitcase off balanced her and Ciel fell backward, knocking the breath out of her lungs. He didn’t say anything else but simply ripped the handle out of her hand and lugged the suitcase up the hill toward his bike.
Silly!
As soon as she could gather herself, Ciel scrambled up after him. “You can’t take that. It’s got things in it I need.” She didn’t care about anything else.
“Medicine will sell, too.”
“No. It’s not medicine. Just let me get something from inside and you can have it,” Ciel begged.
“Too late.” He tossed the suitcase on the pile in the cart and jumped on the bike.
Rushing forward, she tried to pull the suitcase off the pile. A glint of metal made her jump back. Ciel stared at the man, who now wielded a large knife already stained with some dark substance.
“If I get off this bike again, it will be to carve you into a decoration that I will leave on the side of the road to bleed out. Is this how you want to die?”
Horrified, she stepped further back as her self-preservation kicked in. He wasn’t exaggerating. Silly popped into her mind. “Please, sir. I just want my childhood stuffie.”
“Time to grow up, bitch. Be thankful you’re still alive.”
She watched him pedal away. Dashing back down the hill, she grabbed the bottle of water she’d dropped in the grass. Unable to give up, Ciel followed him. I’m coming, Silly.
A dark cloud covered the sun and Ciel looked up, thankful for the break from the sun beating down on her. She’d lost track of the man a couple of hours ago. Unable to give up on reuniting with Silly, she kept walking.
When the cloud moved quickly, she glanced up. What the… Even her thoughts froze in her mind at the enormous beast circling above her. He’s not trying to land… Fuck!
Her heart skipped a beat as if excited, but her mind overruled that reaction. Pulling on the last of her energy, Ciel sprinted away toward the safety of the tree line next to the highway. She heard a heavy thump behind her and swore she felt the ground shiver below her. Reaching the bushes, she tried to dart through them.
“Ah!” she gasped and reeled backward, wrapping her arms around herself after the metal barbs of the hidden fence bit into her skin, ripping her T-shirt.
“Ciel. Stop!”
She whirled around to stare at a handsome man who strode forward toward her. “Where did you come from? I’m losing it. I thought I saw a dragon,” Ciel told him, hating the weak tremble she heard in her voice.
Before he could answer, she blurted, “I’m going to fight if you plan to hurt me.”
“It’s okay, Ciel. I’m one of the good guys. Your mother, Maureen sent me.”