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.Let the gamesbegin.Chapter OneIt was the noise that woke him; a dul buzzing droningsound behind him.Adam Bates cracked open an eyelid,regretting it instantly.Frog legs, he hurt.Of al the ways he’d imagined dying, this hadn’t evenbeen on the list.Who’d have thought it would end this way?The phone finaly stopped ringing, and he was blessedwith silence for a moment.Almost immediately it started toring again.Who the heck would be caling him at…wait, hehad no idea what time it was.His head was pounding, andhis entire body ached.Realizing he was lying on the floor,Adam gingerly roled over.What the heck?Suddenly, it al came back to him in a rush of clarity.Scott! He had to get out of here.Where was Scott? Asingle inhale told him he was alone.The scent of the humansurrounded him but it wasn’t strong enough to indicate hewas stil inside the apartment.Adam wheezed, puling himself up on the arm of thechair beside him.It was ripped, cotton stuffing escapingfrom the blood-stained fabric.How did that happen?Confused, he paused to consider his surroundings.Blinkingwhen his eyesight went fuzzy, he swiped a hand over hisface.His hand was sticky and red when he puled it away.Shaking his head, Adam groaned.His apartment had been trashed, kitchen chairs wereoverturned, rips and stains decorated the cheap sofa andarmchair.His tiny TV was on its side and busted open.Ohwel, he hadn’t been able to afford cable anyway.The bedin the corner of the one room apartment was rumpled, thecovers baled at the foot of the bed, the mattress pad nearlytorn right off.He had to get out of here.Now.Without pausing to consider his actions, he ignored theringing phone.The sound of it folowed him out the door,keys in hand.He stopped to lock the door and realized ithad been busted open.Frog legs.He turned and ran.Wel, hobbled realy.His knee ached something fierce.Scott might come back at any minute.He had to getout, needed to get out now.There was only one place hefelt safe…Wolf Creek.Rick’d know what to do.Adam panted, unable to catch his breath, stumbling inhis haste to run down the stairs.He tripped, missing severalsteps on his downward journey, and grabbed hold of thebanister with a shaky grip.Reaching the ground floor, hegasped at the pain in his knee.He had no idea what’dhappened to it, his memories of that afternoon were stil alittle hazy.He couldn’t do anything about it at the moment,but he’d about kil for an ice pack.Hurrying down the street, he kept his head down, notwanting anyone to stop him and ask if he was alright.Hewished he had a car or something that would make his getaway easier, but he couldn’t afford the payments, so hewas stuck walking.He only hoped he could get there in timebefore Scott spotted him on the road.Campbel Riverwasn't that big and he had no idea how long he'd been lyingthere.A warm trickle of blood ran down his face, sticky wet.Adam reached up his hand and wiped it away.The cutstung, a sharp bite high on his left temple, but at least hedidn’t have to worry about the blood getting in his eyes if hekept wiping it away.It would heal soon, anyway.It was hisleg he was worried about, but he didn’t have enough time toshift and heal it.Already it was throbbing, and he had a fulnight’s work ahead of him.At least he hoped he did.Adamdidn’t know what he’d do if the Black family fired him forbeing late.He had nowhere else to go.He couldn’t gohome.Not yet.“Stupid, stupid cat!”He shook his head, fighting back the tears thatthreatened to spil over.It was only the start of his second week at work, and already he was screwing up.Hecouldn’t afford to lose this job; it was the only thing keepinghis head above water at the moment.He’d tried to time this right, thinking to confront Scottwhen he knew he’d have to leave right away.Adam hadgiven himself ten minutes before he had to leave to walk towork, and now he was hopelessly late.He wished for a phone so he could cal work, but he’dhave to wait until he passed the closest convenience store.He wasn’t sure whether he needed to cal or not, but itdidn't hurt to let them know he was stil coming in to work.As he walked down the street, Adam hunched hisshoulders, ducking his head down.Right about now, he’dkil to be in comfortable surroundings, listening to the softwash of conversation among his sisters and his parents.He wanted to go home.He couldn’t though, not justyet.Angrily wiping away the tears that once again filed hiseyes, Adam sniffed, rubbing his cheek against his shoulder.He needed to distract himself from his homesickness.Itwouldn’t do any good.He’d left for a reason, and he hadn’treached his goal yet.He needed to prove to himself, and hisfamily, that he could stand up for himself.That he wasn’tgoing to just blindly folow his father’s dictates.“Right, cause you’ve done such a great job of takingcare of yourself so far,” he muttered, softly.He limped toward the gas station when he came close,making his way as quickly as possible over to the payphone.Digging out a handful of change from his pocket, he dialedthe number to Wolf Creek, tapping his foot nervously.“Wolf Creek Bar and Gril.”Adam jerked at the low, clipped baritone.He’d beencaught up in rehearsing his speech for Rick.Although thetwo men were brothers, Max was way more intimidatingthan Rick.Adam hadn't quite gotten comfortable around thebrusque werewolf yet.“Uh, h-hi, M-Max.It’s, uh, this is Adam.I, uh, didn’tex-expect you to p-pick up.”The voice immediately softened, the drawl becomingmore pronounced.“Hey, Adam.The place is pretty busy.I’m just helping Rick out since I was right beside the phone.Aren’t you supposed to be in tonight?”Adam nodded, sniffing when he realized the mancouldn’t see the movement.“Yeah, I’m a little late.I, uh,had a little…wel… C-could you tel Rick I’l be in soon? Ipromise I’m coming in; I’m just a little late.Wel, more thana little, but… Uh, yeah.Can you tel him?”“Sure thing.”Adam hung up the phone after saying his goodbyes,taking a deep breath.“You’re okay.Just breathe.” If hewasn’t careful, they were going to think he was the world’sbiggest chicken.He needed to get a hold of himself.Thiswas ridiculous.There was no need to be stuttering andstammering on the phone.He didn’t even want to imaginehow much worse it was going to be when he saw them al inperson.Halfheartedly wiping at his face, Adam continued walking toward the harbor and Wolf Creek Bar and Gril,making himself as smal as possible [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]