Free Eve of Man (The Harvest Book 2) by Anne Ferretti Page A

On the floor, left
behind in the frozen blood stains was the imprint of a large claw like foot.
From this he gathered the maker of the print was some sort of animal. A big
heavy animal. Kyle stared at that print for a long time having only an inkling
of an idea of how lucky he was to be alive.
    Madison and Zack could have told him.
    Kyle wasted no more time wondering about his visitor.
He had a long swim ahead and was anxious to get going. This feeling of urgency
stayed with him the entire day, which mercifully turned out to be uneventful.
The sea remained calm during the crossing, allowing him to make excellent time.
Once ashore he didn’t wait for the welcoming committee or take in the sights. Having
no idea if those things from the island would come after him, he decided to
follow the exact steps he took the night before. Entering the first building
with an open door, Kyle quickly looked around. A Terry’s Wilderness Room sign
perched above the fireplace in what turned out to be a diner or restaurant of
sorts. They would have foil and foil was a must have. He went into the kitchen,
snooped about for provisions before his eyes came to rest on the open freezer
door. What little light remained reflected off the aluminum clad door of the
freezer. As the reflection of light grew dimmer an idea grew brighter in his
mind. “I’ll sleep in the freezer,” Kyle announced to the room, nodding his head
thinking this made complete sense. An hour later, camped out in the freezer
wearing an aluminum hat, Kyle finished eating cold chili from a can. He was
beyond worrying about looking or feeling stupid. In the matter of survival he
would put on a pink tutu and dance in the street if it meant saving his life;
if by doing so meant the things from the island couldn’t find him.
    The night went without interruption, allowing Kyle
much needed rest. The next day he set out to search the town of Deadbear,
population one hundred fifteen. A number he knew would be closer to zero, if
not zero.

8 Reunion
    Luke sat at the side of Austin’s bed staring at the
man who was his savior and friend. Three weeks had gone by and the feeling of
helplessness was devastating. Austin had given and done so much for Luke, yet
here he sat doing nothing, except sitting; even the chair holding him up served
more of a purpose. Luke glanced at the heart monitor, still going strong. The
captain would survive this. He had to survive. “Don’t die man. We need you,”
Luke said. “I need you,” he added, his voice a mere whisper. He wasn’t ashamed
of how he felt about Austin. How do you repay someone who saves your life on
multiple occasions? Luke knew of one way, of one thing he would do should
Austin not wake up. He was going to hunt Eve down and when he found her he
would kill her.
    How he would do this hadn’t presented itself to him,
but Zack could figure that part out. It didn’t cross Luke’s mind that Zack
might not be as hell bent on revenge. When it came to matters concerning the
captain, Luke’s opinions were one sided. An enemy of Austin’s was his as well.
Could be the Pope, could be the devil; Luke would side against them all the
same if they were not on Austin’s side.
    Austin’s body twitched and a moan escaped his lips.
Every so often he mumbled something unintelligible. Luke thought he’d said
Roxanne on more than one occasion, but could never be certain. Austin still
wore his wedding ring. He’d never spoken of what had happened to his wife. Not
to him or Ed, and Luke didn’t think he would have shared this with anyone else,
if not them. Although, he suspected Zack knew a few things that maybe no one
else did. Things Austin confided in him for reasons that didn’t matter to Luke.
All that mattered right now was Zack figuring out what was wrong.
    The door to Austin’s room opened and German bounded in
ahead of Madison. The dog had taken up post outside Austin’s room and left only
when nature called. Colin had taken to feeding