Free Conceived in Blood, A Post-Apocalyptic/Dystopian Novel by Linda Andrews

head-butted him and raked her heels down his shins.
    His hold loosened.
    Pressing her advantage, she stomped on his instep.
    He swore under his breath.
    She stopped. Christ, it was Mr. Talkative.
    "Don't make a sound or we're both dead."
    “‘Viders?” The word was acid in her throat. There was still a chance she’d been mistaken about her dead stalker’s identity.
    "Yeah, twelve o’clock." He jerked his head toward a clearing.
    She eased her left boot forward. Peeking down, she spied her glasses. That should snap under her weight. She kicked it aside. She crept closer.
    He pantomimed her movements. The clearing came into view.
    As did the girl's body splayed in the center.
    Bile surged into Sera's mouth.
    The scene told the grisly story. A bloodied rock lay in a crimson pool near the girl's crushed in skull. A boy, maybe eight years old, lay face down in the mud. Sunshine beat down on the pale scalp. An arrow with black fletching stuck out of his back.
    Blood pounded in her ears and her vision narrowed. Who the hell had shot a child in the back? Kids were for protecting, not murdering. She stretched out along the ground.
    He lay next to her.
    "Stiletto?"
    Oh, God. It was another boy. Would this one die too? She had to do something. Her muscles twitched. She had to wait for an opportunity to strike. She released his arm and relaxed.
    "He's around here somewhere."
    Another man? Sera strung the new information together. Was the man a murderer or a friend?
    "I just hope he hasn't finished his tribute." The man again. Closer. "If you're gonna learn how to keep 'em in line, it's best you learn from family."
    The man next to her parted a few branches until a thin green screen separated them from the clearing. "Watch."
    "Pa's already been teaching me." The boy stepped from the shadows. He blinked at the bright light before shielding his eyes. Scabs dotted the pale skin where his hair had recently been shaved off. In his left hand, he held a short pole attached to a shiny scythe. "I've practiced twice on our dinner."
     "Twice, huh?" His companion stood on the edge between shadow and light. A hulk of a man with no discernible features.
    Fear trickled down her spine. Something was not right.
    "Yep, I gots to keep all the hair, too." The boy fingered his black woven belt before wading into the tall grass. "Stiletto said I could practice on his tribute."
    "You best hurry up then." Light winked in the darkness before the man emerged. His close-set features reminded her of a weasel, but his stealth was pure sidewinder. Knives of various sizes were pinned to his multicolored shirt. The man held his right arm stiffly at his side. It trembled with each step he took.
    "We got good tribute this time, didn't we, Uncle Titan?" A happy smile curled the boy's lips.
    "Yep." Titan nodded. Something glinted in the man's right hand. "But it wasn't without incident."
    The man next to Sera sucked in a breath. What had she missed?
    The boy shoved aside a branch and ducked under it. He frowned at the girl's body. "Stiletto done killed her already."
    Stiletto killed her? Sera shook her head. No, that can't be right. Stiletto was a boy. Boys don't kill.
    "That's right." Titan charged, reaching his nephew just as the lad turned. An arrowhead grew from his hand. He drove the tip into the boy's throat. "Then the raiders got him."
    The nephew coughed blood, clawed at the arrow.
    Sera tried to rise but a firm grip held her in place. She closed her eyes. This couldn't be happening.
    "You shouldn't have gone off to have your fun." Titan grinned. "The raiders couldn't resist."
    The nephew sagged and the arrow's shaft snapped under his weight.
    Titan tucked the broken piece into his belt. "Your daddy should have shared that bitch dame of yours. But no, he had to hoard his tribute, no matter how many times I offered to trade."
    She pressed against her rescuer’s body as Titan stomped closer. He couldn't see them, could he?
    "Now, I'll have the bitch and her