Apocalypsis 02 - Warpaint by Elle Casey Read Free Book Online Page B

lie, but she needed to hear it.
    “I don’t want to live,” she whispered, the tears coming faster now and her chin quivering.
    I leaned over and looked right in her face, forcing her to look in my eyes. “If you can’t live for yourself, live for your people. They need you, Celia. Your mom wouldn’t have wanted you to abandon them like this.”
    She threw her good arm over her eyes, sobbing now. “I miss my mom.”
    I rubbed the shoulder of her injured arm, gently. “I know.” My voice had gone all wonky, so I had to clear it to keep talking. “A- hem . I miss my dad, too. We all miss someone. That’s why we have to stick together and not give up. We’re already too alone as it is.”
    After a while, she nodded. “I know you’re right,” she said tiredly. “I just don’t want to deal with all this shit anymore, you know? It’s just … too much. It’s too much for me.”
    “No, it’s not. You’re stronger than you think. Let me show you.”
    She dropped the arm covering her eyes. “Now?” She had stopped crying and was giving me an incredulous look.
    I smiled. “Well, not right this second. Get a little bit better, so you can at least stand on your feet, and then we’ll get started. I’ll work with you alone. Just you and me. Private lessons.”
    “What am I going to learn?”
    “A martial art called krav maga. I’ll turn you into a certified badass.”
    She whispered, another tear making its way down her temple, “But I only have half an arm.”
    “It won’t matter. I promise. We’ll adjust adapt. It’ll work to your advantage.”
    She scoffed at that. “Yeah, right. Now I know you’re full of shit.”
    “No, seriously. I’m going to let you in on a little secret. Don’t tell any of the guys. I’m saving this for the girls until we finish our guys-against-the-girls competition.” I waited for her head to nod in agreement before continuing. “Your biggest asset will be your ability to look weak. Any canner who sees you is going to see a victim, not the master of death I’m going to turn you into. You’ll totally be able to take them by surprise. And that’s all you need - one chance to catch them off guard.”
    She smiled weakly. “Master of death. I like that.”
    I smiled back. “I thought you might. So listen … can I ask you some questions? About the assholes who did this to you?” I gestured to her injured arm lying at her side, the stump ending at her elbow wrapped in white gauze.
    “Sure,” she sighed. “What do you want to know?”
    “Everything you can remember about the people who took you and hurt you - where they live, who was in charge, what they did, who else was around, their habits. Everything .”
    “Why? What are you planning to do?”
    “Isn’t it obvious? I’m going to go kick some canner ass.” I leaned in closer, giving her my most serious look. “And I’m bringing friends.”
    She smiled, closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep, but not before she said, “I like that plan.”
    ***
    I left Celia to her much-needed sleep and walked back to my hut with Coli.
    “What’d she say?” Coli asked when we were about halfway there.
    “She’s ready to go on living, I think. I promised her I’d help her learn to fight.”
    “How are you going to do that with her … you know … her arm?”
    “We’ll just have to adjust somehow. Remember what I said today? One of your biggest advantages in a fight?”
    “That guys will assume we’re weak?”
    “Yeah. What do you think they’ll assume when they see Celia?”
    “That she’s the weakest one of all of us.”
    “Right. Easy to kill. But by the time I’m done with her, she’ll be the strongest. She’s more motivated than any of you to get tough. Plus, I think she started out tougher than all of you.”
    I looked at Coli who had the hint of a smile on her face. As soon as she saw me looking at her, though, she stopped.
    Baby steps. Today, a half-smile. Next year, a hug. Or maybe just a full