Page 30 of Desperate Bargain

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Trent:Honestly, I don’t mind the kids.

Cole:Then why are you hesitating? I know you’re young, but I hadn’t figured you to be stupid.

Trent:Because this whole repopulation thing just isn’t for me. Why bring babies into a world so far gone?

Cole:We make them because the world is so far gone. We make them because they are the only thing that can ever get us back to what we were.

Trent:And what if we were shit?

Cole:Then we make something better than what we had.

I exhale in frustration,trying to figure out why the hell this has to be so damn hard.

Cole:Look, if you want her, she’s yours. She’ll have good company, and the littles here would love more playmates.

Trent:I don’t know how much she’d enjoy their company.

Cole:Why do you say that?

Trent:She speaks Korean.

Cole is silent for a time,but I know what he’s thinking.

Cole:She the one that attacked Blake?

Trent:Yes, but in her defense, as Blake himself has said, she let him live and made sure the dead couldn’t get him.

Cole’s laughtersounds through the receiver, and I find myself chuckling too. Suki is going to be an instant celebrity, and not just because of what’s between her legs. What she did to Blake took balls.

Cole:Bring her in. I can’t wait to see the reunion.

Trent:Can I have a few more days? So I can sort my head out.

Cole:Fine, but just a few. You know the rules.

ChapterTwelve

HE’S MINE

SUKI

Outside, it’s storming, causing my worry to grow.

The rain seems to invigorate the dead, giving them life anew. On top of that, it brings with it the dirty stench of a million unwashed bodies, though I must admit, the smell has gotten better. Perhaps because of the people I’ve seen burning the bodies.

I look out the window, hoping for signs of Trent. There’s a rager rushing out from an alley, slipping on the slick cement. Still, he’s relentless, chasing after nothing as feverishly as a cat chases a mouse.

There are millions of creatures like that roaming the streets. Waiting for one small misstep from their human prey. There were whispers that this was all caused by a virus, but there were other theories. I heard the maid say it was all caused by alien fungi, but that seems outlandish. Sometimes I wonder if we pissed off the gods.

It was rare that I ever addressed Ji-hoon, but since he was a pharmaceutical scientist, I decided to casually ask if he’d heard anything about what was happening.

He chuckled darkly and told me to mind my worries.

Shortly after that was when he never returned.

A muffled sound comes from the hall. It doesn’t sound like Trent, so I pray it is rats and not some person seeking shelter.

The sound grows. I try to ignore it, figuring it must be my imagination, but soon, the muffles turn to angry shouts.


Tags: L.J. Anderson Paranormal