Read Online Splinter (Whisper Walker Series) by London Cole - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: London Cole
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on my cloak and took off for the wall. I hoped I wouldn’t run into Drake on the outside.
Getting over the wall was actually easier this time. I didn’t run into anyone, and everything just went smoothly, which surprised me since it seems like any time you’re mad or in a hurry, nothing ever goes right.
The thing about the Ackspec’s traps is that they’re normally hidden. It keeps people like me from doing what I’m doing now. Unless however, you’re, you know, me.
I had learned about surviving through trial and error when I’d run away from my filicidal father. I’d roamed free in the wild for quite some time before Drake saved me that fateful day when he pushed me out of the way of the Sven guard’s bullet and instead, took it himself in the leg. None of this did anyone know, though. Not even Drake. As far as he knew, I’d simply gone straight from the Briln to the Sven. I’d never actually lied to him about it, he’d simply assumed something and I did nothing to contradict his assumption.
One of the things I learned very quickly when starving was that it was easier to get the food that someone else had caught than catch it myself. I’d learned how to find their traps, without getting stuck in one myself – most of the time. I’d take their catch and reset the trap. They’d never even know I’d been there or had taken the catch.
I didn’t do it often, now that I had a house and Drake. For some reason, it just felt good to do it every now and again. Kind of being a little rebellious or something.
I found a trap, after the first spot I looked was empty. The trap had been sprung, but nothing was in it besides a bloody foot. Yeah, a foot. Looked like the leg had been gnawed through, either by the trap-pee or something else that saw an easy dinner.
Took longer to find the next trap. This one was sprung and had a squirrel in it. A massive, very evil-looking black squirrel with fangs and a hissing disposition. I stuck my knife through its head and pulled the varmint-from-hell out of the trap. As I did, one of the catches on the trap bent to the side. I tried to get it bent back, but without any of my tools, I couldn’t do a very good job. Hopefully whoever owned the trap wouldn’t notice.
I set off to look for another trap, picking my way through the dense woods. Soon I was into an area I didn’t know very well. As far as I knew, the Ackspecs avoided it for some reason. They called it No-Man’s Land, or something.
I felt my skin tingle as I came up on an opening. Inspection revealed it to be rectangular in shape and severely overgrown. Roots were poking through the dilapidated concrete, crumbling it and showing rust marks from exposed rebar.
The doorway was dark, but I could see a faint light coming from ahead. Curious, I tossed the squirrel to the side of the door and stepped in, ducking an overhanging vine that threatened to knock me a good one if I wasn’t paying attention. I stumbled forward, walking slowly, fingers tracing along one wall for sake of orientation. I tripped a couple of times over rocks and chunks of random debris. At one point I think I got my foot tangled up in some animal bones, but wasn’t sure.
I got to the light, finding it to be a caved-in portion of the passage. It led to a square of once-cleared land, overgrown with vegetation. It was flat and had a busted up statue in the center of the square. I heard a voice.
Hurriedly, I flattened tight against the wall. I kept listening, straining to hear a direction. There seemed to be only the one, but it kept talking in different intonations. One second, hard and forceful. Then next it would speak softly and fearfully. Deciding I knew its whereabouts, I walked sideways, keeping a low profile.
Once out in the square, I crouched and made a mad dash for the statue in the middle – the voice I had heard was not far on the other side.
I peeked around the statue’s leg, what remained of it anyway. I saw a man, his back to me.
Getting over the wall was actually easier this time. I didn’t run into anyone, and everything just went smoothly, which surprised me since it seems like any time you’re mad or in a hurry, nothing ever goes right.
The thing about the Ackspec’s traps is that they’re normally hidden. It keeps people like me from doing what I’m doing now. Unless however, you’re, you know, me.
I had learned about surviving through trial and error when I’d run away from my filicidal father. I’d roamed free in the wild for quite some time before Drake saved me that fateful day when he pushed me out of the way of the Sven guard’s bullet and instead, took it himself in the leg. None of this did anyone know, though. Not even Drake. As far as he knew, I’d simply gone straight from the Briln to the Sven. I’d never actually lied to him about it, he’d simply assumed something and I did nothing to contradict his assumption.
One of the things I learned very quickly when starving was that it was easier to get the food that someone else had caught than catch it myself. I’d learned how to find their traps, without getting stuck in one myself – most of the time. I’d take their catch and reset the trap. They’d never even know I’d been there or had taken the catch.
I didn’t do it often, now that I had a house and Drake. For some reason, it just felt good to do it every now and again. Kind of being a little rebellious or something.
I found a trap, after the first spot I looked was empty. The trap had been sprung, but nothing was in it besides a bloody foot. Yeah, a foot. Looked like the leg had been gnawed through, either by the trap-pee or something else that saw an easy dinner.
Took longer to find the next trap. This one was sprung and had a squirrel in it. A massive, very evil-looking black squirrel with fangs and a hissing disposition. I stuck my knife through its head and pulled the varmint-from-hell out of the trap. As I did, one of the catches on the trap bent to the side. I tried to get it bent back, but without any of my tools, I couldn’t do a very good job. Hopefully whoever owned the trap wouldn’t notice.
I set off to look for another trap, picking my way through the dense woods. Soon I was into an area I didn’t know very well. As far as I knew, the Ackspecs avoided it for some reason. They called it No-Man’s Land, or something.
I felt my skin tingle as I came up on an opening. Inspection revealed it to be rectangular in shape and severely overgrown. Roots were poking through the dilapidated concrete, crumbling it and showing rust marks from exposed rebar.
The doorway was dark, but I could see a faint light coming from ahead. Curious, I tossed the squirrel to the side of the door and stepped in, ducking an overhanging vine that threatened to knock me a good one if I wasn’t paying attention. I stumbled forward, walking slowly, fingers tracing along one wall for sake of orientation. I tripped a couple of times over rocks and chunks of random debris. At one point I think I got my foot tangled up in some animal bones, but wasn’t sure.
I got to the light, finding it to be a caved-in portion of the passage. It led to a square of once-cleared land, overgrown with vegetation. It was flat and had a busted up statue in the center of the square. I heard a voice.
Hurriedly, I flattened tight against the wall. I kept listening, straining to hear a direction. There seemed to be only the one, but it kept talking in different intonations. One second, hard and forceful. Then next it would speak softly and fearfully. Deciding I knew its whereabouts, I walked sideways, keeping a low profile.
Once out in the square, I crouched and made a mad dash for the statue in the middle – the voice I had heard was not far on the other side.
I peeked around the statue’s leg, what remained of it anyway. I saw a man, his back to me.
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