Taming Lucca: Red Devils M.C. by Michelle Woods Read Free Book Online Page B

forty-five minutes. Even sixty years later, they had only found a way to kill them in the body if they hadn’t made it to their victim’s heart.
    The cities now filtered all the water , which was pumped into buildings, and homes even in the Slums had fresh water. She knew that towns outside the wall had to filter their water too, because nobody wanted to die of water poisoning. Although the fish and some animals that hadn’t died out from drinking the water filled with poison had found a way to live in harmony with the parasite, no human had ever been known to survive it after the forty-five minute mark. It really was too bad she couldn’t eat them she sighed. 
    She lay back on the grass allowing the cool water to sooth her ankle staring up at the trees that swayed back and forth above her. She watched the shadows they cast for a long time before finally falling into a fitful sleep. Molly awakened to a bird screeching near the rock she was lying beside. It was only a foot away, and she observed it hopping on the rock while calling out to another bird somewhere in the forest who answered. It was red, and had what looked like a mohawk on its head with a bright orange beak. It was truly a fascinating site, birds were rare in the city they saw a few seagulls, but even those were not common. She lay watching until the bird took off flying away in a beautiful display of color.
    Sitting up she checked on the swelling in her ankle she wasn’t sure, but felt that it had gone down a bit. Deciding that it hadn’t gone down enough for her to try walking yet she knew she’d have to stay here for the rest of the day. Maybe even the next day too she thought ruefully glaring at her ankle. She was really upset with herself for falling. If she’d only paid more attention sighing she opened her backpack, might as well eat some of the ration cubes, since she wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
    W hen she pulled out the cubes, she noticed that the bottom of her backpack was wet. Very wet. Oh no, she thought with growing distress, not the water please she begged. She pulled out everything finding two of the water bottles had been broken during her fall. She only had one left that was full, as well as the half empty one that she’d been drinking earlier.
    The ration cubes were n’t wet thankfully, but the map and her spare clothes were soaked. She used the rock nearby to lay out the clothes to dry.  Laying the map under a rock setting in a patch of sunlight near her legs she untied the bed roll, and spread it out. Scooting over on to it taking out a book, the man who sold her the backpack was using it as a wedge for his table she’d given him an extra credit for it, now laying down with her leg propped up she was grateful she had bought it from the man.
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    Molly shifted her pack the pack on her shoulder with an irritated huff. The last sign had read Fifteen miles to Devil Falls. She’d already spent two days at the clearing by the river now she was still six miles from the town of Devils Falls and she had just drank the last of the water two hours ago. She would have to stop to fill the two water bottles. She could see a diner called Devils beside the road about twenty feet up the road. It didn’t take long for her to reach it, but she hung back in the trees watching for about an hour.
    She wanted to see who was using the diner to be sure that she didn’t run into the bikers that had roared by a few hours ago. She’d been hearing more and more bikes going by in the last few hours , which worried her, she might be getting closer to their home base, she thought with a gulp of fear. As she waited watching she suddenly realized it didn’t matter, she was already parched, and without water there wasn’t a much of a choice. It was get more water or die from dehydration. She would have to take her chances, she thought standing and gathering her pack she walked towards the small diner.

Chapter 7
     
    Entering the