Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 83205 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 416(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83205 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 416(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
Aidy has no idea what's going on or why she's been dumped in the icy mountains. Corvak, however, is convinced this is all one big gladiator game, and one he's determined to win. To do that, they'll have to avoid all the others and survive by any means possible.
Why do they need this parasite anyhow...and why do their chests keep humming?
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
CHAPTER
ONE
AIDY
"Come with me if you want to live."
I jerk from sleep at the Terminator quote. I'm a movie buff, but that's a strange one to wake up to. Who's speaking? The voice is that of a stranger. I open my eyes, shaking off the last of my weariness, to see a big hand thrust into my face.
It's not a human hand.
The hand extended out to me has the wrong number of fingers. There are dark claws and vaguely gray skin, like I would imagine a monster would have. I bite back a yelp of distress and follow the sight of that strange hand up to—
Jesus Christ, I don't know who—or what—that is.
The stranger looming over my bed is as inhuman as his hand. He looks a bit like the beast from the Beauty and the Beast cartoon come to life, with just a color palette swap. He's got strangely shaped ears, a bushy mane, and big, wide, gray shoulders that look like they're covered in a downy layer of fur. His mouth has a few extremely prominent teeth that might not be teeth at all, but tusks.
He's also near-naked and it's cold as fuck.
I…don't know this man. What's he doing in my room? Why's the air conditioning so fucking cold?
As I stare up at the strange beast-man, hyperventilating, a snowflake drifts past. This…isn't my home. My frantic gaze flicks back and forth, noting my surroundings. I'm in some sort of metallic…coffin? A tube or a pod of some kind with lots of flashing lights and light padding underneath.
I'm practically naked. There's nothing covering me but a sheer white shift.
And I'm fucking freezing.
I cover my breasts in horror and swat his hand away. "Where are my clothes? Where are we? Who the fuck are you?"
The hand pushes into my face again. "I will explain everything. I know how this game is played. Those that do not escape right away will be killed."
"Killed? Game?" I squeak, terrified. "What game? And I can't leave. I don't have clothes—"
He glances off to the side, even as a snowy breeze ruffles his mane. He turns to look back at me, dark eyes intense. "Quick. Come with me. We have to go now."
I don't know what's going on—the last memory I have is fuzzy and somewhere warm with beige walls. This isn't Arizona. Arizona is warm and the sun is hard, unlike the watery sunlight here. This might not even be Earth, judging by the strange greenish tint of the sky barely visible past my freezing-ass coffin. Also judging by the big inhuman stranger holding a clawed hand out to me.
But I want to live. Whatever else is going on, I don't want to die.
"Don't look at me, okay?" I say as I sit up, taking his hand.
He scoffs. "You can worry about your naked body when we are safe."
Rude. But also, true. As I sit up, I look around and get the scope of my surroundings. This really isn't familiar to me at all. We're in a strange, snowy place with distant pink trees and jagged cliffs. Everything's covered in snow and looks highly dangerous. My coffin is in the valley between some of these alarming-looking cliffs, and mine is not the only one. I can hear the distant sound of sobbing, and as I watch, another coffin slides open.
What happens when all these people get out? Is it like the hunger games and we all have to fight for resources? I am most definitely not a fighter. I look at my new "friend" again. He says he knows how this game is played.
I put my hand in his and let him drag me out of the coffin.
The moment I emerge from the cocoon, the absolute cold hits me. I don't have shoes. I don't have a coat. The wind is the coldest thing I've ever felt, and my nipples immediately turn into rocks. I want to crawl back into the coffin, but the stranger is pulling me forward, dragging me along after him.
Two steps into the snow and I stumble.
He immediately moves to my side again, helping me to my feet. "We have to go."
"I c-c-can't," I manage, teeth chattering. "I don't have sh-sh-shoes."
He glances around again, makes a ferocious-sounding snarl in his throat, and then hefts me into his arms. A moment later, I'm tossed over his shoulder like a heroine in some fairy tale, and then he's racing away through the snow, heading into one of the narrow canyons. My vision bounces, but I see a large figure with a spear stalking between the coffins. Somewhere else, a woman screams.
Oh god. Oh fuck. We really are being killed. I clutch at the back of the gray stranger. "Don't drop me!"
"Never. I keep what is mine."
I must have heard that wrong. Doesn't matter. He's my ally right now. I try to remain still and quiet, even when my stomach threatens to spill its contents. I pinch my nose and close my eyes, willing myself not to barf despite being shaken like a bowl of Jello. Even though his body is warm against my front, the rest of me feels like ice as the wind rips against my skin, and I want to sob with how awful this is.