Free Devour: Death & Decay Book 1 by R. L. Blalock Page A

Liv some peace of mind after unceremoniously dispatching creatures that had once been good people.
    Creatures that perhaps could have once again been good people.
    Liv shook away the future of regrets that lay ahead if ever a way to reverse what had been done was found. She could hear Elli downstairs bawling. First, though, she needed to wash up. She wasn’t sure what transferred the infection, so she had to take every precaution if—not if but when —she came into contact with them.
    As she flipped on the light, Liv drew back from her own reflection in the mirror. Her hair was a knotted mess that looked more like a bird’s nest. Her eyes looked different. Haunted. They sat nestled in a dirty face. A speckled trail of blood dotted the left side of her face. There was more on her t-shirt. She pulled it off and inspected her skin. The droplets were small and there didn’t appear to be any breaks in her skin.
    Underneath the sink, among assorted toiletries, she found hydrogen peroxide and rubbing alcohol. The blood and muck came off easily with soap and water. Liv used the rubbing alcohol as a disinfectant. She scrubbed her face and her hands as long as she dared. Too much scrubbing might make them raw, causing them to become a pathway for infection. When she felt sufficiently disinfected, though not fully clean, she hurried back down the stairs.
    “Oh baby,” she cooed as she slowly opened the door. Elli’s cries had turned to desperate sobs. Tears stained her now red cheeks. She immediately stood and reached for Liv.
    “I’m sorry, honey.” She held Elli close. Elli’s tiny fingernails dug into her arms as her sobs turned to hiccups and gasps. “I had to make sure you wouldn’t get hurt, baby.” She traced her fingers lightly down Elli’s back.
    “Are you hungry, sweetheart?”
    Elli answered with a quiet, “Uh-huh.” Liv poured some milk into a water bottle from the cabinet. The refrigerator only had 2 percent. Most people didn’t drink whole milk, so Liv hadn’t expected to find any. She would have to find some other way to get Elli the calories and fats a growing child required.
    The milk was gone in no time, and Elli settled into a drowsy daze. After another thorough check, Liv picked one of the two upstairs bedrooms as their refuge for the night. As she closed the door, the dog reappeared, his tail wagging from side to side as he pushed past her into the room. Liv closed the door and pulled off her shoes. The bed beckoned to her, but Liv perched on the edge with one last task at hand.
    She pawed through the diaper bag looking for her phone. Colin needed to know they weren’t at the other address now. As she continued to scramble through the same items, she began to panic. The phone wasn’t there.
    That’s when it hit her. Right before going to bed, she had shoved it under the pillow. In her haste to escape Nate’s homicidal spiral of hopelessness, she had not thought to grab it.
    Liv lay back on the bed as her body began to shake, and tears flowed freely down her cheeks and onto the soft pillow. She clutched Elli close and let herself sob. She wanted Colin with her. She wanted to know he was alright. She wanted to know her parents were alright. She wanted the world to go back to the way it was when she had woken up that morning. She wanted to be home.
    The dog jumped up onto the bed and landed lightly at her feet. He collapsed against her back, his tongue gently caressing the back of her neck.

Day 2
6:35 am
    “Mama!” Tiny hands patted her face a little too hard to be gentle. Liv slowly opened one eye to find Elli a mere two inches from her nose.
    “Good morning, sunshine.”
    “Mama!” Elli squealed with delight. Liv yawned and stretched. Elli imitated, stretching her arms over her head and letting out a little groan.
    Soft light trickled in through the curtains. Liv blinked and looked around. Panic hit her like a train and Liv snapped up. Elli startled, grabbing fistfuls of Liv’s clothes