Underland(11)

“Den, take us home,” Remus commanded. He resettled himself on the bench near Kira. He stroked her dirty blond hair gingerly and then gripped her chin hard. “Creeper has a thing for blonds. He says the flavor is like sweet cream. You are his reward for winning the last game.”

She pulled her chin out of his grip.

His dull brown eyes narrowed in displeasure, his mouth pressed tight.

Den steered the boat under a bridge and down a dark corridor. There seemed to be less sewage and dead things floating in the water the farther they got from the city. White logs floated in the water, and Kira jumped when they twitched and slid underwater. They weren’t logs. They were albino crocodiles. The zeke boy sat on the side and continued to stare at Kira, but he didn’t seem as infatuated with her. He seemed more curious.

At least he wasn’t looking at her like a Big Mac.

They rode the boat downriver for five minutes before drifting to a stop in front of an iron gate. Den waved a flag and the large gate on creaky hinges slowly rose out of the water. He steered them right through the gate. Kira turned to see only one person operating the lift, but the key was attached to his belt. The sound of the gate lowering into the water made Kira’s heart pound faster. There wouldn’t be much time left.

She was right. They pulled up to a long dock, and onlookers came out of a large cement compound. Most looked like ordinary slaves, but she immediately spotted the fighters. They were well fed and muscled, with an air of determination and pride.

One stood a foot taller than the rest and had sunken eyes—must be Remus’s Creeper. He scanned the boat, his eyes ignoring Den. He studied the boy for a moment with a question in his eyes.

And then he spotted Kira, and a wild almost dangerous aura overtook him.

“Mine!” He growled and knocked his comrades back a few feet. The young zeke in the boat suddenly stood up in challenge, as if willing to battle to the death over fresh meat. Remus’s fighter grinned cruelly, but didn’t speak again.

Remus stood and pushed the new boy zeke down. He motioned to Den just as he was bringing Kira out of the boat. “I think I’ll save you from making a huge career mistake and buy your zeke.”

“No, I’d rather not sell.” Den spoke calmly, but Kira heard steel in his voice.

“If you want to continue to train for me, you’ll do what I say.”

Den picked up Kira’s chain and led her out of the boat. He just said nonchalantly, “Then I’ll have to find another gym.”

Remus blinked, clearly displeased that Den was so unfazed by the threat. Finally, he waved his hand at Den. “No, stay…for now. Creeper is the best zeke there is anyway.”

He turned to his salivating slave. “Yes, Creeper, this one is for you. Your gift for winning the last event. Now remember, there will be more where this one comes from if you keep winning. Can you do that?”

Creeper looked like he had problems dragging his eyes away from Kira. His body went tense with hunger, and he was salivating everywhere. “Yes, Master, I will keep winning for you.” He reached out to grab Kira’s arm and pull her towards his room, but she ducked.

Den pretended to trip and dropped her chain. Kira saw her opportunity.

She took it and ran.

***

Creeper smiled as it tore off down the tunnel. It had no idea that it ran toward the training grounds. His personal playground. Catching it would be easy—he was born to it.

Run, girl. Run.

He licked his lips. He imagined the smell of its fear and knew its adrenaline would taste, oh so sweet. With a cry of glee, he launched into an easy pace after his golden-haired prey.

His master yelled after him, “Creeper, stop playing with your food and eat it already!” Creeper laughed hysterically.





Chapter 5



Maniacal laughter followed Kira down the tunnel, the sound of it chilling her to the bones. She had no choice but to run faster—push herself to her limit. She hadn’t eaten in days and was tiring quickly. The bread they’d given her at the Gambler’s Market barely touched the gnawing hunger that constantly plagued her.

And there was one other problem. Kira didn’t know where she was going. She passed plenty of places to hide, but Kira wasn’t interested in hiding. Escape wasn’t possible at the moment, and this thing had been told to eat her. She had to kill whatever was chasing her.

Creeper, like the boy zeke, didn’t look like your run-of-the-mill bloody, dumb, stagger-walking zombie from Hollywood. The ones always obsessed with eating brains. The two zombies she had now seen were the opposite; they looked completely human, definitely weren’t dumb, and their speed was incredible.

Her muscles burned, but she ignored the pain to veer left down a corridor that opened into an old indoor vehicle graveyard. The cars and trucks spread across the large space like they were set up to be used as part of an obstacle course. Her first instinct told her to keep running, but there was opportunity here. She ran in a zig zag pattern and ducked between an old tour bus and a classic Mustang. Lying on the ground, she searched under the chassis for approaching feet.

Creeper laughed when he ran into the room. “There’s nowhere to run, my sweet, except into my arms.”

What a terrifying endearment. Kira strained to listen for movement but couldn’t hear anything over her own panicked breathing. With shaking hands, she covered her mouth to silence the sound. She almost missed it, the hollow sound of popping metal. He was crawling onto a car. From a high enough view point he’d be able to see her.