Page 87 of Born Savage

“Hope. For the future. But I’m hoping there is more.”

I moved by her side, completely confused, but I sensed whatever she was hoping to discover as important to her.

“Oh, my God. What is that?” She stretched her arm, pointing further into the sky.

“A bird.” That in of itself was a miracle.

“But not just any bird. Right? That’s an eagle.”

“They’re extinct.”

“No,” she whispered. “They aren’t. That’s a Garuda, a divine eagle sent by the gods. It’s a sign, Rage. It’s a sign.”

As the bird swooped closer, his majestic wings of white against the rainbow as a backdrop, Star covered her mouth with her hands. This time, it was as if she was seeing the world for the first time, or at least a small part of what had once been and could be again.

A sign.

Maybe she was right, but for what would continue troubling me.

CHAPTER 18

Star

“Bodies,” Wrath said with no emotion in his voice. “And fucking rodents.”

Instinctively, I peered out the window, horrified at the sight. How many dead bodies had I seen in my life, yet most weren’t so fresh, blood oozing from gaping wounds. Even worse, the rodents he’d mentioned were huge. They were undistinguishable beasts. Maybe coyotes.

Maybe bears for all I knew.

Rage sat forward, staring out the huge window in the front of the big vehicle thing we were riding in, peering up toward the sky. “Fucking thunderbirds.”

“What?” I’d heard about them, huge, winged pterodactyl-style creatures, only seeing them from afar a couple of times. They were scavengers, but capable of snatching a grown man from the surface of the earth.

Jake started barking, crawling over me with his tail smacking my face, claws digging into my skin to get to the window.

Wren gasped, her small cries a reminder that what was outside wasn’t anything a child should be subjected to. I twisted even as Jake’s nails managed to draw blood, able to wrap one arm around her eyes to prevent her from seeing the horror.

The vehicle rolled past the carnage, but not before realizing there’d been a number of people trying to make their way to safety. They’d been ambushed by beasts instead of humans. Not that it made the situation any easier to deal with.

“Fuck,” Vicious hissed. “We need to take care of the damn vermin or they’ll follow us.”

“You’re right.” When Wrath pulled to a stop, I bristled.

“What are you doing?” My demand was harsh, but I was reminded of the level of danger we were in.

“Killing the beasts before they kill us.”

“Stay here,” Rage ordered, giving me a harsh look. His facial features were stern, his body filled with tension. But he was in soldier mode, prepared to fight to the death.

Before I could stop them, every man jumped from the doors. When they were slammed shut, my body reacted.

“No!” Wren wailed.

“It’s okay, honey.”

But was it?

I held her tightly while trying to stop Jake from freaking out. It was the first time he’d reacted so desperately. “Jake, calm down. Easy, buddy. They won’t hurt us.” I finally managed to pull him from the window and while he couldn’t see anything out the windows, the fur remained raised on his back.