Read Online Awakening the Mare (Fall of Man Book 1) by Jacqueline Druga - Free Book Online Page A

vibrate, and it was
so loud it was deafening.
    “Tanner,” I called out. “Tanner!”
    The pipe moved violently, and thick slimy
saliva oozed down the pipe and landed on the floor.
    “Tanner!”
    “What?” he replied groggily.
    “Is this happening or am I dreaming?”
    He sat up, rubbing his face. “You’re not
dreaming.”
    “Look at this pipe, Tanner. Look.” I motioned
upwards to the shaking pipe.
    With a groan, Tanner stood. He walked to the
table and lifted an object that looked like a gun. I knew it wasn’t
a gun, though, it had a longer front. Tanner placed a short arrow
in the front barrel of the weapon, pulled a switch back on top, and
walked over to the pipe.
    “He’s going to rip it from the roof,” I
said.
    “No he’s not.” Tanner looked up. “Man, he’s
relentless.”
    A line of ooze dripped onto his face. After
swiping his hand over his cheek, Tanner calmly aimed into the pipe
and fired the weapon. The arrow shot fast from the barrel and
straight up the pipe.
    The Sybaris screamed and I heard the deadened
thump.
    The pipe stopped moving and instead of
saliva, a thick black liquid dripped to the floor.
    My hand shot to my mouth, the odor was foul
and rotten.
    “Gross.” Tanner moved to a cabinet in the
kitchen, reached in, and grabbed a canister. After lifting the lid,
he sprinkled some sand like substance on the floor. “Don’t touch
it.” Placing the cap back on the canister, he didn’t return it to
the cabinet, he set it on the counter.
    Whatever he sprinkled on the black stuff took
the edge off the smell.
    “He’s not getting in,” Tanner said
confidently. As if what he had done was nothing, he walked back
over to the table, laid down the weapon, and returned to his
sleeping mat.
    Even though he hit one of them, the noise on
the roof continued. Just as loud and just as strong.
    “What about the rest of them?” I asked. “We
are being attacked.”
    “No we’re not.”
    “Then what do you call it?”
    Tanner lay down. “Normal.” He closed his
eyes. “Try to sleep. You’ll get used to it.”
    I was astonished and shocked at his reaction
and attitude about the situation. My question of ‘how could they
sleep’ was answered right there and then by Tanner. They were used
to it.
    They were used to the noise, the heat,
everything. To them, this was normal.
    I had to wonder if I would ever be able to
get used to it. As I listened to the savage beasts try diligently
to rip through the structure to get to us, I doubted it.
    I did know one thing for sure, I wasn’t going
to be able to sleep.

18. Last Leg to Angeles

    My body finally succumbed to exhaustion and
at some point I fell asleep. Not for long though. The ‘squeak’ of
the metal shutters and the entrance of bright sunlight into the
shop awakened me.
    “Morning,” Marie said. “How did you
sleep?”
    “Not much. Well when I did. Thank you.”
    “How are you feeling? How’s the arm?”
    “Sore, but I feel fine.” I rose to a sitting
position and was beginning to stretch when my attention was drawn
to Snake, who was in the kitchen area.
    “What the heck?” He kicked his foot about the
floor. “How did we get Sybie blood on the floor?”
    “Me,” Tanner answered. “I had to shoot one
last night. He was pulling at the pipe pretty bad.”
    “Wow, I didn’t even hear it,” Snake said.
    “Me neither,” added Marie.
    I made my way to the table where they were
seated. “It was hard for me to sleep with the Sybaris above us.” I
pulled out a chair and sat.
    “You’ll get used to it,” Marie told me. “As
long as you are in a safe place, don’t give it a second
thought.”
    “It was scary for me. I haven’t been around
them in quite some time.” I accepted the bowl of food she presented
me and this time I recognized it. Toasted oats and nuts mixed with
dried fruit. It was sweet and delicious. It was my second day with
my new companions, and I vowed inwardly that I was going to listen
and be smart. Try