Kymiera by Steve Turnbull

Author:Steve Turnbull
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: manchester, dystopian, female protagonist, whedon
Publisher: Tau Press Ltd
Published: 2017-11-07T05:00:00+00:00

Episode V: Reasons

Chapter 1

Dog

He resisted the temptation to lick Mr Mendelssohn’s face. Apart from anything else, it was dirty. Everything was covered with the dust that hung in the air and made every breath like an attempt to eat bricks.

He could hear nothing, except a high-pitched whine which seemed to come from inside his own head. There was nothing to smell except the dust, and there was very little light. The lack of senses was disorienting. He climbed off his boss. That was when he noticed the gash across Mendelssohn’s head.

Then he remembered the girl. What had his boss said just before the explosion? Chloe Dark? How did he know her name?

Didn’t matter. Where was she?

The whining in his ears grew louder. Dog pushed himself into a crouching position, turned and stood. If this was an attack on Moses, someone might be coming in to mop up anyone who was left.

No need.

The place was a wreck. Bodies of the punters lay strewn across the floor, like grass blown flat by the wind. Pieces of wood and masonry had been added as a random topping. There was movement, someone sat up. Hands moving, trying to escape from under timber and stone.

What had happened to Mitchell?

He had been standing. There had been shots. He’d fired into the cage. That’s what Mitchell did. He killed freaks. Had he shot the girl? Had he had time?

Dog looked around at the debris near him. The toppled table had prevented the faster-moving projectiles reaching them. A metal strut had pierced the wood and torn a hole a foot long before it had come to rest. It was just hanging there above Mr Mendelssohn’s head.

The cage?

The body of Crabfish lay on the floor of the cage. He couldn’t see the girl. It was dark in here and the flickering of the fire starting up on the far side did not provide reliable light, but it was growing and soon would.

His ears popped and he was hearing as if underwater. Moans, cries, the snapping of burning wood, all muffled but there. Where was the girl?

Picking his way across the uneven floor, avoiding the pile of bodies in the middle, he made his way to the cage. A movement caught his eye and he looked up. She was clinging to the bars at the top and hanging with her head upside-down. She was looking directly at him.

Dog glanced guiltily across to where he had left his boss. He should help him, but the girl drew him. Another one like him, someone who smelled like him, one of his real pack.

And then she was on the ground directly on the other side of the bars from him. The white stripes they had painted on her face were spattered with blood and dust. She had two long protrusions from her back that moved as she did: bending and balancing like additional arms. She was one of the unlucky ones, like freak-boy. The ones who couldn’t pass for human. At least Delia gave the impression of being normal looking.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.