by Laurèn Lee
The Wild Ones
Collision Course Book 2
Laurèn Lee
R.K. Gold
Copyright © 2018 by Laurèn Lee
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
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Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
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About Laurèn Lee
About R.K. Gold
Also by Laurèn Lee
Also By R.K. Gold
1
A fierce, disheveled tiger with matted fur approached two girls, rigid teeth bared and neon drool oozing from its open mouth. It stood taller than any tiger the sisters had ever seen in pictures.
Lexa shoved Ivie behind her and pulled her dagger from its sheath. “Stay back, Ivie!”
Dozens of abandoned buildings and empty exhibits surrounded them. It was the ghost of a bustling urban center now deserted and forgotten. Skyscrapers kissed the sun and what windows remained in the buildings sparkled too. Weeds and vines intertwined in the cracks of the concrete. Engorged vultures soared overhead, circling the girls with knowing “caws.” The tiger stepped closer and closer, its growl echoing in the silence of the dead end.
“What are you going to do? It’s going to kill us!” a meek voice called from behind the older sister.
“I’ll handle this. It’s not like I haven’t done it before,” she promised.
“That was a cougar. This is a tiger!”
“Shhhhhh!” Lexa hissed. She pushed her younger half farther away and returned her gaze to the beast before her.
The tiger sniffed as its eyes grew wide. Lexa swore the animal licked its lips and winked while it stood mere feet away. She clung to her dagger as though her life depended on it. And, it really did.
“Get out of here, you beast!”
The tiger roared, causing Lexa to flinch, but only a fraction of an inch. She stood her ground and took a step toward the overgrown cat. She swiped her dagger at its throat, and the tiger sidestepped her attack.
The tiger pounced, missing Lexa by a hair. Ivie screeched, but Lexa stayed focused, her eyes glued to the tiger. In the distance, a wild elephant crooned toward the sky, sending the small birds overhead fluttering about. The ominous clouds in the distance scurried forward.
“I’m going to kill you,” Lexa whispered, now baring her own teeth.
The tiger, to the surprise of no one, stood on its back legs and towered over Lexa.
Ivie cowered against the decrepit building behind her as tears poured down her cheeks, leaving streaks where the dirt covered her face.
“I’m not afraid of you!” Lexa howled back toward the beast. The tiger, still on its hind legs, licked its lips again. Lexa knew it was now or never to make her move. She crouched down and flung her body toward the legs of the tiger. She swiped her dagger against the cat’s ankle, slicing through muscle and tissue. The tiger dropped to the ground, a cry of agony erupting from behind its teeth.
Lexa wounded the beast, but they weren’t safe yet.
“Let’s go, Sissy!” Ivie said.
“Not yet. If I don’t kill it now, he will hunt us. He will follow us until he can attack again. I have to finish the job, Ivie. Just stay back.”
Ivie nodded her head and pulled her knees to her chest. She wrapped her arms around her knees and wished she could disappear. But if she had to be in harm’s way with anyone, there was no one she’d rather face it with than her big sister. Lexa made it her job to protect Ivie, no matter what the cost.
Vultures circled the sky lower and lower. The smell of blood wafting into the air enticed them to soar closer to the carnage. Lexa wielded her dagger, her knuckles white from gripping so tightly. The tiger lapped its wound but kept one eye on Lexa.
“What are you going to do?” Ivie called out.
Lexa bit her lip and furrowed her brows. What would she do now? Sure, she injured the tiger, but it was still four times her size. How could she kill a beast that would swallow her whole without a second thought?
Then, the ground trembled. Lexa stumbled back and hovered over Ivie.
“Is it an earthquake?” Ivie called over the earth rattling beneath them.
“I don’t know! Hang on!”
For an moment, the tiger lost its ferocious gaze and gawked around in fright. If there was one thing that could frighten an animal, it was a force of nature bigger than themselves.
The rumbling grew closer and louder. Lexa knew then it wasn’t an earthquake, but a herd of some kind of animal headed toward them.
“It’s a stampede!” Ivie cried.
The vultures soared away, and the miniature green dinosaur-like lizards scampered away, too. The tiger sniffed, trying to sense exactly which direction the herd traveled from. The orange and black beast turned its back to the girls, facing the cloud of dust and rubble approaching. Ivory horns pierced through the haze and grunts reverberated against the abandoned buildings.
“The rhinos are coming,” Lexa whispered, barely audible above the stampede.
Ivie clung to her sister, inadvertently digging her jagged nails into Lexa’s arm. She didn’t notice, though. Lexa’s mind was too preoccupied with what was going to happen next. Would the rhinos crush them all? Would they pass by without leaving a scratch? Or would she and her sister be able to escape? And if they did manage to escape, would the tiger follow their lead, only to attack them once again?
The tiger backpedaled, and Lexa could nearly pet the cat if she desired. However, once the herd of twenty or so rhinos approached, she lost all nerve to end the predator before her. There was a bigger problem in their midst. The rhinos slowed their run to a jog, then the herd halted before them. A rhino, black as night, stepped toward them and in front of the others. He stared intently at the tiger, and the tiger returned its gaze with a distinct roar.
The rhino stomped its humongous feet against the ground, warning of its approach. The tiger stepped back again, bumping into the sisters. Everything became clear all at once for Lexa: the rhinos weren’t here for them, they were here for the tiger. She grabbed Ivie’s elbow and stealthily sidled against the shed to their backs until they stood at stage-left of the animalistic theatre about to begin.
The king rhino padded its feet again and cried an empty, yet threatening call to the sky. In the next instant, the black rhino galloped toward the tiger, and before the cat could scurry away, the rhino impaled the beast in one fell swoop.
Lexa noticed the light flicker from the tiger’s eyes, and for a brief moment, felt sorry for the cat. That regret faded as quickly as it came, though, and it didn’t take long for relief to set in. The tiger was dead, and that was one more predator who couldn’t pursue them. One less obstacle in the game of survival.
Lexa turned around and read the sign behind them, covered in vines and dust from years and years of neglect: “Green Acres Zoo.”
“That was close,” Ivie said.
Lexa scolded her little sister. While they made it out alive this
time, she wasn’t so sure they’d have luck on their side the next.
2
Lexa and Ivie sat below the tattered zoo sign, and for the first time that day, each of the sisters breathed a sigh of relief. Lexa took her steel water bottle out of her knapsack and shook it furiously to test the levels inside.
“We’re almost out of water for the day,” she observed.
“I’m so thirsty, Lexa.” Ivie winced and swallow hard.
“I know. I am, too.”
“Are you mad at me?” Ivie asked, as quiet as a mouse.
Lexa looked over to her younger sister and grinned. “I could never be mad at you, little girl. I love you so much.”
“Even though I almost got us killed today?”
Lexa pulled Ivie into her lap and hugged her tightly. “I’ll always love you, Ivie. No matter what trouble you bring into our lives. I wish it would be less trouble, but still. You’re my sister, and I’ll protect you no matter what.”
“I just wanted a day to explore and have fun,” Ivie sniffed. “We’ve been cooped up in our tents for so long, I forgot what it was like to walk and play.”
Guilt as heavy as a boulder sank into Lexa’s gut. She promised to always protect her little sister, which often meant over-protecting her.
“I know it’s been tough lately. We just gotta keep our heads down until we know for sure those gangs aren’t close.”
“How long will that be?” Ivie asked, tapping her foot desperately.
“I wish I had an answer for you, little girl, but I just don’t know. What I do know is that we have to be careful. Today was probably a mistake.”
“I don’t want to stay in our village forever, Lexa. When can we leave and look for Paradise Lake?”
“We don’t know if that place even exists. We have to stay and help the others.”
“Why can’t it just be us against the world?” Ivie asked.
“Because it shouldn't be that way. It doesn’t have to be that way. We have to be there for the others,” Lexa reminded her.
“But they’re not always there for us!” Ivie crossed her arms over her chest and stuck out her lip.
“A lot of them are sick, Ivie. They can’t go out and search for supplies like we can.”
“It’s not fair!”
“Life isn’t fair, babe. I know this, and you know this. If life were fair, we’d have all the water we could drink, and no one would fear for their lives going outside.”
Ivie turned and maneuvered herself in Lexa’s lap to face her now. “Why do people want to hurt us? Or kill us?” She whispered the second question.
“Some people take survival of the fittest too far, I think. I’m not really sure. I know I would kill someone if they touched you.”
“Why can’t we all get along? Why do so many people have to die?”
Lexa pulled her sister even closer and rested her chin atop her mousy, brown hair. “It’s a cruel world. But, no matter what happens, we have each other. That’s the most important thing, okay? You have me, and I have you. Always.”
The sisters sat there for what felt like hours, holding each other, refusing to let go. While loyalty was rare in this day and age, so was love. But Lexa and Ivie loved each other more than words could ever describe. Their bond couldn’t be broken. Not by man, or by nature. The only way to ever disconnect the sisters would be through death.
“Can you tell me a story?” Ivie asked.
“Sure, little girl. What about?”
“How about a fairy tale?”
“Hmmmm,” Lexa scratched her head. “Okay, I think I’ve got one.”
Ivie rested her head against Lexa’s shoulders and smoothed away her big sister’s long, tangled honey-blond hair.
“Once upon a time, there were two sisters—”
“Like us?” Ivie interrupted.
“Just like us. They lived in a castle far, far away—”
“What kind of castle?”
“I’ll tell you if you ever let me finish a sentence!” Lexa teased.
Ivie pretended to pull a zipper across her lips and giggled quietly.
“Ahem. Where was I? Oh yes! These two sisters lived in a castle a long ways away. The castle, which stood tall enough to greet the clouds, was surrounded by clean, drinkable water. The older sister, uh, Alexis, took care of her little sister named—”
“Can I be Annabella?” Ivie interjected, yet again.
“Yes, you can.” Lexa ruffled her hair. “Alexis took care of Annabella, and they went on such fun adventures every day! On one particular day, the girls traveled into the forest. They heard a ruffling sound and came across the most beautiful creature.”
“What was it?” Ivie asked with a sparkle in her eye.
“It was a unicorn!” Lexa said.
Ivie gasped and erupted into another fit of giggles. “More, more!”
“Well, the sisters thought the unicorn was so beautiful, and they wanted to bring her back to the castle. So, little Annabella rode the rainbow unicorn—”
“She’s rainbow?!”
“Duh! So, she rode the rainbow unicorn all the way back to the castle. They arrived just in time for Annabella’s tenth birthday party! The sisters, the village and their unicorn stayed up all night dancing, eating and playing. They lived happily ever after.”
Then, a look of profound sorrow crept into Ivie’s eyes. “I wish that story was real.”
“I know. But, it’s fun to think about, right?”
“Yeah, I guess so,” Ivie trailed off and gazed into the distance.
“Hey! I’ve got something for you,” Lexa said.
“What’s that?” A hint of excitement pushed out the melancholy within Ivie.
Lexa reached into her worn leather knapsack and fished around for something in particular. After a minute or two of rummaging, she pulled out a tiny knife.
“You’re giving me a little knife?” Ivie asked incredulously.
“No, hold on.”
Lexa stood up and hobbled over to the dead tiger, which lay motionless and bloody.
“Sissy, what are you doing?” Ivie called out.
“Gimme a minute!” Lexa gave the silent beast a swift kick, just to make sure it was truly dead. She grasped her knife and opened its jaw. Ivie couldn’t see what Lexa did, as she made sure to block the tiger from view. Five minutes later, Lexa returned to the corner where Ivie kneeled impatiently.
“What is it? Tell me!”
Lexa handed her sister one of the tiger’s teeth.
“Oooohhhh. This is cool!” Ivie cooed. “I can add it to my collection!”
“You sure can. And, just remember, when life gets tough, we’re tougher.”
Ivie dove into Lexa and wrapped her arms around her big sister. “Thank you so much!”
“Of course. I wish I could give you something better.”
“No! I love it,” Ivie said.
“Good. Happy birthday, little girl. Ten is going to be a good year, I promise.”
3
“Hey, kiddo,” Lexa said. “You ready to go back to camp?
“Do we have to?” Ivie moaned.
“Yeah, I think we should. The sun is setting, and you know we can’t travel at night.
Ivie nodded her head and reluctantly stood from the rubble of the abandoned zoo. “At least we got a chance to see some animals.” She smirked.
“Yeah, really funny.” Lexa rolled her eyes but smiled all the same. She couldn’t be mad at her sister for too long, even when her desire to explore led them straight into the lion’s den. Or rather, in their case, it was the tiger’s den.
The girls gathered their few belongings, put them in their knapsacks and breathed deeply. Their camp was stationed several miles southeast of the abandoned zoo.
Ivie, now in double digits, and Lexa, barely sixteen, moved to the camp with their parents right after Ivie’s birth. Their mother and father lived in a larger community closer to the coast, but after their water supply was contaminated t
o the point it couldn’t even be purified, all hell broke loose in their community.
Chaos erupted, and without clean water, they lost all source of food. They couldn’t raise livestock; they couldn’t harvest fruits and vegetables. Without food or water, desperation set in, and some of the people turned on each other. Many lost their lives, but Lexa and her family were fortunate to make it out unscathed.
Lexa remembers asking her mother to tell her about life at Camp Joy when they first settled down. Her mother, Xenabelle, told Lexa about how beautiful life had become despite the circumstances. Civilized society was nearly extinct, but her parents, and even her grandparents, taught her how to tend a garden, manage livestock, and most importantly, how to dig a proper outhouse. Xenabelle passed down some of these life skills to Lexa, which she carried with her even after her parents’ death.
The trek to look for a new camp wore Lexa and her parents down. Not only did they need to care for Lexa, but her baby sister, too. They traveled over a hundred miles until they reached the forest. Along the way, they faced many trials and tribulations. Many of those obstacles still haunted Lexa’s dreams, no matter how hard she tried to forget.
One night, as the family of four set up camp, a lone man stumbled into their midst. He had blood dripping from his mouth, but it wasn’t his own. His eyes moved up and down Lexa as though she were his next meal, and he had every intention of making that happen.
Lexa and Ivie’s father, Mason, sensed the danger within this man and told him to leave them alone. The cannibal refused to comply, so Mason grabbed his dagger and dove toward the man. Now Lexa was the owner of that dagger.
The man looked as though he hadn’t eaten a proper meal in weeks. His skin hung loosely off his bones. It appeared human flesh was not a diet one could survive upon, especially if the flesh touched the contaminated water. In this man’s case, he had consumed a person who’d drunk the water. While the contamination in the water in his own body was diluted, it didn’t stop the frenzy from consuming him. He grew sicker and sicker until blindness took hold.