Total pages in book: 159
Estimated words: 149301 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 747(@200wpm)___ 597(@250wpm)___ 498(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 149301 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 747(@200wpm)___ 597(@250wpm)___ 498(@300wpm)
Phoenix approached a cluster of bushes. He stood for about a good three seconds, then raised his arm. The rustling in the bush grew loud, then suddenly the flash of Phoenix’s gun rented the air. Whoever or whatever was in there, Phoenix beat it to the punch. She screamed and jumped nearly out of her skin when a man wobbled from the shrubbery and landed face down, holding his chest. Phoenix looked around for a second or two, shot the guy in the back of the head, then jogged back over to her. His eyes apologized for what she’d just witnessed, but his lips remained sealed.
He walked a few feet farther, dropped to his knees, then unrolled a cover of grass. Well, that was impossible… but it damn sure looked like it. A large square of lawn moved aside like a rolled carpet. Beneath it was what appeared to be a concrete door with a lock. Phoenix quickly undid the lock as if this was part of his usual routine, then looked over his shoulder at her.
“We need to go down in here. It’ll be safer that way.”
“What’s down there?! I want to know what the hell is going on, Phoenix.”
“I’ll explain when we get inside.”
“Inside? You still haven’t told me what inside IS! ”
Without a word, he ushered her back onto the bike and her heart nearly dropped out of her chest when before she could blink, he sped down into the dark enclosure. The only light came from the motorcycle. Her stomach filled with frantic butterflies—the same feeling one would get when going down a steep decline in a roller coaster. It was as if she were falling off a cliff.
Once they were off the ramp, he stopped, parked the bike, hopped off, and ran back in the direction from where they’d come. She sat there on the bike, barely able to see him as moved in the darkness—only the sound of his cowboy boots hitting the hard ground let her know where he had ventured. Just as she was adjusting to the darkness, a bit of light showed through, lighting the way. He climbed up some stairs that were beside the ramp he’d driven down, reached above ground into the night—possibly putting the grass back into position—and closed and locked the door, sealing them in the cave-like structure.
She swallowed and rubbed her arms to keep her composure. Don’t crash out. Don’t fucking crash out.
She winced as more light suddenly lit the way. What is this place? Two electric lanterns on either side of the long area revealed what appeared to be an extended bunker of sorts, with its curved walls made of brick and cement. It’s a passageway. An underground tunnel.
In the distance, she could see Phoenix’s silhouette drawing closer. He tilted his head to the side, and the sound of a match being struck rent the air. The faded noise of music roared on from the outside world. They’d heard the gurgled sounds the whole way over, and she wasn’t certain why or who was playing it. She turned sharply to her right, and more lanterns on the walls came alive.
A buzzing, electrical sound followed. She looked down at a number of arrows painted in yellow. When she looked back up, she jumped. She was now staring into a pair of bright, glowing green eyes. Phoenix had feathered black hair that hung to about mid-back. His beard was dense like Kage’s, only his was mostly still black, with only a few strands of silver threaded through. His nose was long and narrow, and his forehead wrinkled as he glared at her.
He blew smoke out the side of his mouth, then smirked.
“It’s nice to finally get a good look at cha.” He took another toke of his cigarette, then tossed it down and stomped it. “Should’ve been under better circumstances, but it’s nice to meet you all the same, Poet.”
He extended his hand for her to shake. His thumb had a silver thumb ring, and his fingers were long. She obliged.
“Nice to meet you, too. So, let me get this straight. Is it routine for y’all to shoot at folks and then go on like nothin’ happened? You just shot that car up, and a guy in the bushes, then rolled out.”
He took his time answering. Seemingly more interested in his watch. “The fact that a car was gunnin’ for us, and there was a motherfucker hidin’ in the bushes like a gotdamn peepin’ Tom shoulda been more important to you than my gun. I need to make sure you get out of here in one piece. If I hadn’t killed them, we’d both be dead. And you know it.”
She leaned back, crossed her arms, and gazed into his eyes.
“Who are these people? Does this really have to do with y’alls grandfather? What in the hell is going on, Phoenix?”