Read Online Betrayal: Society Lost, Volume Two by Steven Bird - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Steven Bird
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o’clock.”
“You had the manpower to escort me to your home, but you didn’t have the manpower to bring the children to me?”
“It’s complicated,” he said, pausing to gather his thoughts. “There is a lot going on these days, to say the least. However, I think it is important that you hear what I have to say, so if you don’t mind, I’d like to get on with it.”
Crossing her arms in protest, she said, “Go ahead.”
“What I was trying to say,” he said as he finished his glass of wine, “was that our little community here is about as safe as it gets these days. We’re basically still a fully functioning town, with all of the things people need not just to survive, but to thrive. We are missing a few things, though. We could use someone like you to help out in the school, or at city hall. Just because the world is falling apart around us, doesn’t mean we can’t adequately keep up with the administration of our town. If you are willing to stay, we can provide you with a home, with food, with medical care, and school for the children. You’re just not going to find that level of security for yourself or the children anywhere else out there, I’m afraid. And if you insist on leaving with those kids, well, I’m just not sure I would feel comfortable letting you put them at risk out there on your own.”
“Letting? What are you saying?”
“I just want you to know that you have options now. You don’t have to be out there where who knows what will happen to you.”
Attempting to process the myriad thoughts swirling around her head, Leina stared at the large, finely crafted bookshelf that spanned an entire wall in the room as she noticed him once again pick up her glass of wine, handing it to her, saying, “I apologize that this conversation got off on the wrong foot. Let’s start over. Let’s just relax and discuss what we have to offer you and the children while we wait for them to arrive.”
Reaching out to take the glass against her own better judgment, Leina acquiesced, taking a seat on a leather chair next to the bookshelf. I’m listening,” she said, taking a sip of wine.
Chapter Twelve
His head throbbing in pain, the man awoke to find himself face down on the back of a horse, his feet hanging off one side, his head and hands over the other. Struggling in a panic, the man soon realized that his hands and feet were bound together by a rope extending underneath the horse’s abdomen. Unable to see due to the cloth bag over his head that was tied securely around his neck, the man’s struggles did nothing but increase his pain, and to cause him once again to slip off into the dark and silent prison of unconsciousness.
~~~~
Being nearly drowned by a face full of water, the man coughed and gagged, trying to expel the fluid from his mouth, nose, and lungs. Regaining his composure, the man looked around the room to see that he was tied securely to a chair in the center of a room, illuminated only by a few rays of light that shone in through the gaps in the dusty, old curtains.
His head still throbbing with pain, the man closed his eyes momentarily to regroup, when he heard the gritty voice of the man he had encountered the night before.
“It’s about time you woke up,” Jessie said as he walked behind the man, slowly drawing his knife across a stone just as a butcher would sharpen his tools before processing a properly aged carcass. His boots causing the old, wooden floor to creak with each step.
Shaking his head to clear the water from his face, the man coughed again and said, “What... what the hell? Who are you?”
“I’m just a man looking for answers,” Jessie replied as he stepped around into the man’s view, his hat pulled down low with his head tilted down to obscure his face, slowly working the blade of his knife to perfection.
His eyes locked on the blade, the man nervously said, “What kind of answers?”
“Why were you out there in the dark?
“You had the manpower to escort me to your home, but you didn’t have the manpower to bring the children to me?”
“It’s complicated,” he said, pausing to gather his thoughts. “There is a lot going on these days, to say the least. However, I think it is important that you hear what I have to say, so if you don’t mind, I’d like to get on with it.”
Crossing her arms in protest, she said, “Go ahead.”
“What I was trying to say,” he said as he finished his glass of wine, “was that our little community here is about as safe as it gets these days. We’re basically still a fully functioning town, with all of the things people need not just to survive, but to thrive. We are missing a few things, though. We could use someone like you to help out in the school, or at city hall. Just because the world is falling apart around us, doesn’t mean we can’t adequately keep up with the administration of our town. If you are willing to stay, we can provide you with a home, with food, with medical care, and school for the children. You’re just not going to find that level of security for yourself or the children anywhere else out there, I’m afraid. And if you insist on leaving with those kids, well, I’m just not sure I would feel comfortable letting you put them at risk out there on your own.”
“Letting? What are you saying?”
“I just want you to know that you have options now. You don’t have to be out there where who knows what will happen to you.”
Attempting to process the myriad thoughts swirling around her head, Leina stared at the large, finely crafted bookshelf that spanned an entire wall in the room as she noticed him once again pick up her glass of wine, handing it to her, saying, “I apologize that this conversation got off on the wrong foot. Let’s start over. Let’s just relax and discuss what we have to offer you and the children while we wait for them to arrive.”
Reaching out to take the glass against her own better judgment, Leina acquiesced, taking a seat on a leather chair next to the bookshelf. I’m listening,” she said, taking a sip of wine.
Chapter Twelve
His head throbbing in pain, the man awoke to find himself face down on the back of a horse, his feet hanging off one side, his head and hands over the other. Struggling in a panic, the man soon realized that his hands and feet were bound together by a rope extending underneath the horse’s abdomen. Unable to see due to the cloth bag over his head that was tied securely around his neck, the man’s struggles did nothing but increase his pain, and to cause him once again to slip off into the dark and silent prison of unconsciousness.
~~~~
Being nearly drowned by a face full of water, the man coughed and gagged, trying to expel the fluid from his mouth, nose, and lungs. Regaining his composure, the man looked around the room to see that he was tied securely to a chair in the center of a room, illuminated only by a few rays of light that shone in through the gaps in the dusty, old curtains.
His head still throbbing with pain, the man closed his eyes momentarily to regroup, when he heard the gritty voice of the man he had encountered the night before.
“It’s about time you woke up,” Jessie said as he walked behind the man, slowly drawing his knife across a stone just as a butcher would sharpen his tools before processing a properly aged carcass. His boots causing the old, wooden floor to creak with each step.
Shaking his head to clear the water from his face, the man coughed again and said, “What... what the hell? Who are you?”
“I’m just a man looking for answers,” Jessie replied as he stepped around into the man’s view, his hat pulled down low with his head tilted down to obscure his face, slowly working the blade of his knife to perfection.
His eyes locked on the blade, the man nervously said, “What kind of answers?”
“Why were you out there in the dark?
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