Elizabeth Noble - Strays

Elizabeth Noble - Strays, mm

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I‟d like to dedicate this book to one of my four-legged strays,
Heidi. My amazing sweet, bright, light, and kind shining
soul.
I‟d like to thank my friends Lisa, Terry, Ann, Claudia, and
Dana for all their help and handholdingyou guys rock!
Also, all the wonderful people at Dreamspinner Press who
help turn manuscripts into books and every single person
who reads my humble story. Don‟t forget to love all the
strays in your life.
Strays |
Elizabeth Noble
3
Chapter 1
K
YLE
had had a life, once.
Now he had a hiding place in some city he‟d never been
in and really didn‟t want to stay in. It was cold, wet, and
windy here. The sounds of a partially iced over lake, one of
the Great Lakes, he thought, surrounded him. The past few
days were a blur at the best. He‟d always thought the fact he
was one of the youngest people alive on the entire planet
made him, if not special, then at least worthy of keeping
alive. Why the pandemic that had wiped out half the human
race left every female survivor sterile, he had no clue. He‟d
been born weeks before it‟d struck.
Two days ago he‟d been a student, almost ready to
graduate and working hard at his first job in his chosen
profession. All that had changed when he saw satellite
photographs of something he should never have seen.
Instead of doing the smart thing and keeping his mouth
shut, he‟d asked his supervisor about the photographs.
That led to him being arrested.
When the van transferring him to where he‟d likely
spend the rest of his lifeor suffer his executionslid off the
ice-covered road into a ditch, Kyle had escaped. They hadn‟t
chained or cuffed him, simply locked him in a wire cage in
the back of the van. The sides had split open when the van
overturned, forcing heavy branches and steel rails from the
roadside straight through the vehicle‟s side. He‟d run,
Strays |
Elizabeth Noble
4
putting his long legs to good use, and he‟d almost gotten
away unscathed. One of the government agents had fired at
him, and the bullet had grazed the round part of his
shoulder and ripped his jacket, the only thing he owned right
now that provided a bit of warmth.
Stumbling, eyes stinging from the pain, lungs burning
from exertion, Kyle kept on running. He‟d never been hurt
like that. It was the beginning of a line of firsts for him. Now,
days later, he was hungry and the only thing he‟d had to
drink was semi-frozen puddle water. His black T-shirt and
denim jacket were no protection against the cold.
Finding a spot near the outskirts of the city, Kyle
wedged himself in a narrow alley between two buildings.
Crouching low to the ground, he peered out from behind the
wall. He‟d been separated from his parents for so long he
hardly remembered what they looked like. Even their
whereabouts were unknown to him. None of his friends, if he
could even call them that, would help for fear of being
implicated. Those people were more like coworkers anyway,
not real friends. He was sure they didn‟t really care what had
happened to him. He didn‟t know anyone his age, though he
knew some existed somewhere in the world.
Kyle wasn‟t even sure what his crime was.
No food, no money, and no way of getting help or
supplies, Kyle was cut off from everything he‟d ever known.
He had no one, not even marginally, and was so afraid he
was numb.
He tried to shove farther back along the wall of his
hideout, but there was barely enough room for a six-foot-
four guy as it was. When he heard footsteps, Kyle brushed
Strays |
Elizabeth Noble
5
his bangs away from his face, held his breath, and tried to
be still and blend into the shadows.
The guy walking down the street took Kyle‟s breath
away. In another time he‟d have hoped this man was into
other guys. Now he simply wanted to stay out of his line of
sight. He wore drab green and gray clothing meant to blend
in. Even his jeans were dark gray. He had short-cropped,
dark blond hair, a bit of a five o‟clock shadow, and intense
green eyes.
Kyle took in every detail from the broad, muscled
shoulders to legs almost as long as Kyle‟s. He was probably a
few inches shorter than Kyle. Only part of the pounding of
his heart was from fear of discovery.
He couldn‟t get caught, he
couldn’t
.
The man looked around. He squinted up into the
twilight sky and twisted on his heels, first left, then right.
Even though the man‟s movements were casual, Kyle
couldn‟t shake the feeling it was him this man was looking
for, even though he didn‟t wear the uniform of government
agents. He carried himself like one. Kyle had seen enough of
those people at the university and in the research facility
where he‟d worked.
A cramp shot through his leg and he hissed in a breath,
shifting, then wincing. The man turned and looked right at
Kyle‟s hiding place. Taking a few steps closer, the man
leaned down, cocked his head to one side, and stood straight
again. The backpack he carried was dropped from his
shoulder and gripped loosely in one hand.
Putting hands on hips, backpack dangling from his
crooked fingers, he said, “Out, now.”
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