Twisted World: A Broken World Novel by Kate L. Mary Read Free Book Online

through me since I’d had almost nothing to eat today.
    Jackson took my second empty glass before handing me the moonshine. “That’s Dragon, the champion. He does the introductions when he isn’t fighting. This is his place.”
    I studied Jackson out of the corner of my eye, wondering how he knew that. He’d never mentioned to me that he came to see the fights, but it was possible. He had other friends—the kids of council members—and I knew he went out without me at times. It was still hard to picture him hanging out in a place like this, though.
    “He looks like a dragon,” Charlie said before I could ask Jackson if he’d been here before.
    He chuckled as he handed the waitress a wad of credits, and I wasn’t sure if it was the buzzing in my head or not, but I swear his gaze slid over Charlie like he was imagining her naked.
    The waitress’s eyes lit up when she took the credits from Jackson, and based on the way she bounced back through the crowd—with every eye glued to her ass—I guessed she’d just earned more in one tip than she would have the whole night otherwise.
    “Welcome!” Dragon’s deep voice cut through my thoughts and I found my eyes once again glued to the ring.
    The man was facing the other way when he finally stopped spinning, giving me an excellent view of the tattoo on his back. It stretched from his shoulder blades down to his waist, disappearing into his loose-fitting pants. True to his name, it was the image of a dragon with its wings spread wide, almost like it was preparing to take flight.
    “Tonight we have a special guest, all the way down from the DC prison system.”
    The crowd went wild, some people cheering while others hurled boos and insults through the air. Something moved to my left and I turned just as the crowd parted and a couple burly men pulled a cart forward. On top of it, chained to a post, two zombies snarled and jerked, trying to get at the people gathered in the room. The closer they got to the ring, the louder the crowd roared, cheering and throwing things at the zombies as they passed.
    I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. “I hate this part.”
    “Don’t worry.” Jackson put his hand on my leg, two inches north of my knee, and for once I let him. “They’re required to have the vaccine behind the bar just in case someone is bitten.”
    “What about the fighter?” I asked, craning my neck to get a better look at the zombies even though my stomach flipped uncomfortably. “He could get infected from just a scratch.”
    “One injection a week has been proven to work in most cases.”
    Most cases? Sounded like an awfully big risk. Of course, Jackson would know. Not only was his dad the Regulator, but he’d been director of the CDC when the initial virus broke out. He had several medical degrees to his name, and extensive knowledge when it came to how viruses worked. Plus, he was a genius. Something Jackson had in common with his father. He’d started an apprenticeship at the CDC at the age of fifteen and hadn’t looked back. Jackson, whether he chose to follow in his father’s footsteps as leader of the new government or not, would be a great man one day. I just hoped he chose to be a good man, too.
    “A lot of good it will do if these assholes are carrying the mutated virus,” I said, even though my knowledge of how this all worked was child’s play compared to Jackson’s.
    The whole thing made me uneasy. Why people liked watching something this sick I’d never know, but it took a twisted kind of person to really enjoy something like this. Suddenly, I found myself wondering how the hell I had ended up here in the first place.
    Jackson squeezed my leg. “It’ll be fine.”
    I was too focused on the zombies to push his hand away, even if it had now snaked up to my thigh.
    The beefy men had finally reached the ring, and I leaned forward when they unhooked the zombie’s chains. The creatures fought their handlers as they were dragged forward,