Read Online Forsaken World (Book 1): Innocence Lost by Thomas A. Watson - Free Book Online Page A

face.
    Lance looked at Ian, who just shrugged. “Okay, Allie, but you can’t yell or scream no matter what happens, or the sick people will come after us,” Lance told her, rubbing her back. Allie just nodded as he moved her to his left side, wrapping his left arm around her, and grabbed the shotgun with his right.
    “If something happens, I’ll cover while you get her out, and I’ll follow,” Ian said, bringing his rifle up.
    Lance nodded. “If something happens, we meet up at my house. You know the alarm code,” he said as Ian led them out of the den to the living room.
    “I mean it, you little spawns of Satan. Get home now!” Mr. Oliver yelled outside.
    As they eased up to the windows, they saw Mr. Oliver in their front yard holding a golf club in one hand and a revolver in the other. “That asshole is in my yard,” Ian hissed.
    “We’ll let it slide today, brother,” Lance said, looking across the street to see seven kids of various ages trotting toward Mr. Oliver. “Hope he knows how to shoot.”
    “That man only knows how to bitch,” Ian said as Mr. Oliver raised his pistol. Bang sounded as Mr. Oliver pulled the trigger, lighting the area in front of him for a brief second. They watched the bullet hit ten-year-old Benny in the chest. He only stumbled back half a step then continued forward. “Benny didn’t even feel that,” Ian said.
    As Allie buried her face tighter in Lance’s neck, tears ran down all their cheeks. They knew these kids attacking Mr. Oliver and had played with them. Bang sounded as Mr. Oliver shot Benny again, hitting him in the shoulder and making him stagger for half a second. As he staggered, Mr. Oliver moved over, raising his golf club and swinging it down hard, hitting Benny in the head. Even inside, they heard the thunk of the impact.
    “He may shoot for shit, but he has a hell of a swing,” Ian said, wiping his face off as Benny dropped to the ground.
    Turning to the next kid, Mr. Oliver raised his revolver and pulled the trigger. Tony Jenkins, a friend of Ian and Lance, dropped as the bullet slammed into his face. “Have to hit them in the head,” Lance mumbled as Allie started whimpering. “Shhh, Allie,” Lance cooed, leaning his head over on hers.
    As Mr. Oliver aimed at the next kid approaching him, Ian shook his head. “I wonder if Mr. Oliver knows he doesn’t have enough bullets for the ones coming at him?”
    Bang sounded as Mr. Oliver pulled the trigger, dropping eleven-year-old Alicia Cooper from the next street over. “More are coming,” Lance said raising the shotgun and pointing out the side window down the street from Carrie’s. “He subtracts, and they add. Addition is going to win this round.”
    A scream erupted in the front yard, and they whipped their heads around to see Benny latched on Mr. Oliver’s leg. Raising his golf club, Mr. Oliver started whaling away, screaming in pain, as Benny pulled his head from Mr. Oliver’s calf. The tan pants turned dark around the area Benny had bit as blood poured out of the wound.
    “He’s getting side-tracked, forgetting the other threats,” Ian mumbled, watching the other kids close in.
    Squeezing Allie tighter as her body shook with quiet sobs, Lance shook his head. “Donnie is going to take him down,” Lance said, closing his eyes. Donnie was sixteen and lived two streets over. They had played basketball with him many times and liked him a lot.
    When Donnie was several yards away from Mr. Oliver, he lunged through the air, hitting the old man in the chest and taking him down. Lance closed his eyes as Donnie latched on Mr. Oliver’s neck. Hearing another bang, Lance opened his eyes to see Donnie roll off Mr. Oliver, and the old man lowered his pistol to Benny’s head, which jerked back as he pulled the trigger.
    Mr. Oliver used his golf club like a cane to get up, raising his pistol at Casey Emmerson. Inside, they barely heard the click as the hammer snapped down on a spent shell. Mr. Oliver