The Dead Saga (Book 3): Odium III by Claire C. Riley Read Free Book Online Page B

to let us take it.”
    The person inside slowly backed out of the truck. Though we were close to whoever it was, it was too hard to make them out. The fine rain was coming down harder, creating a light mist between us. I thought it was a woman, and when she cackled like a real live Wicked Witch of the West, I knew it was a damn woman.
    “She just cackled at us!” Nova snapped in annoyance. “Like a witch!” she said incredulously. “I hate witches.”
    “Well she is old,” I offered to Nova.
    And she was. Long, dark gray and white hair was held up high on her head in the form of a knotty bun, and her face held more wrinkles than a rumpled old blouse, yet I bet she was attractive once upon a time.
    “That’s kinda creepy!” I yelled to the woman, whose only response was to cackle again. I looked across at Nova and saw her grimace.
    “If you do that again, I’m going to shoot you in the forehead!” Nova yelled to the woman. “And Nina?”
    “Yeah?”
    “It’s totally my truck.” She laughed and took off after the crazy, cackling woman who had just turned tail in the opposite direction.
    I stared after Nova in annoyance before chasing after both her and the woman. My feet splashed through the mud, the dirty, freezing cold water soaking through to my socks.
    “Goddamn it,” I muttered to myself as I ran, feeling the water squelch between my toes. “Goddamn it!” I said louder as I slipped and almost fell on my ass. I realized I couldn’t see Nova anymore and I slowed to a jog, looking around me at all the tents for movements or noise. We still hadn’t checked out all of these, so for all we knew there could be deaders inside. I stopped running and turned in a full circle to check my surroundings fully.
    “Nina, up here!”
    I looked up, the rain pelting my face and dripping into my eyes, and I saw Nova climbing the steps to the top of the outer perimeter of the city. “Get your ass up here!” she yelled down to me with a gleeful whoop and carried on running.
    This was Nova at her best—free and chasing some bad guy (or woman) down. This was what she lived for now.
    I ran around the back of some of the old makeshift homes and found the steps before following her up the side. The steps were slippy from the rain and moss, which had started to cover them, and my own words came back to haunt me as I almost twisted my ankle and fell off the edge. I swear I heard Nova laugh at me and I cursed at her and everything else in this godforsaken world under my breath.
    I reached the top and was grateful that the platform had a handrail going around the entire perimeter—not that it looked even vaguely sturdy, but it was safer than it not being there. Nova was off to my left, still following after the crazy cackler, who—lo and behold—was still cackling, like we were playing tag and it was all fun and games. I grumbled and followed them both.
    I finally caught up to Nova, noticing that she wasn’t even a little bit out of breath, where I was panting like I had been running for miles. She paid me no mind as her eyes stayed focused on the woman, but I heard the low chuckle in her throat.
    “Fuck off,” I sniped back. “I’m just a little out of shape is all.”
    “How is that even possible?” she murmured to me, her eyes staying focused down the barrel of her gun that she had aimed at the woman. “In these times, I mean. It’s not like we don’t have to run for our lives every single day, Nina.”
    “Blah blah, can you just shush your damn face and focus on the matter at hand, please.”
    “Someone’s a little touchy today.”
    “I’m sick, okay?” I turned and glared at Nova, watching as her cheeks rose in a grin.
    “What did you take from our truck, crazy pants?” Nova yelled to the old lady.
    The old lady backed up until her feet found a gap in the fencing near the edge of the ledge. “I’m not crazy!” she said, actually sounding hugely offended. She burst out into her now-infamous