Read Red Widow (Vivian Xu, Book 1) for Free Online Page B

endure. Even his eyes seemed a bit engorged from
the perpetual darkness.
    “ Mikhael, how thoughtful of
you to invite someone,” he smiled.
    The boy pointed excitedly at Vivian
and hugged her leg again.
    “ No, she isn’t your mother.
But maybe she could be your sister, if you want. I appreciate you
delivering her to me.”
    “ Delivering
me? ” Vivian sputtered. “What do you think I
am? A gift for you?” She tried to step back even as the boy latched
on to her leg.
    “ Forgive the expression. In
all honesty, you should be grateful to Mikhael for shepherding you
through the tunnels. Anyone roaming aimlessly around in the metro
could trigger an underground collapse. I am Joakim, and these are
my family.”
    “ I need passage to the
outskirts.”
    “ Do you have a
name?”
    “ Vivian.”
    “ You will certainly die if
you attempt to pass these tunnels alone, Vivian. Some of them are
unstable and prone to collapse. Only we know the safest path
through the metro.”
    “ You don’t strike me as the
sort of gentleman who would help me if I say ‘please.’”
    “ No, not exactly,” his lips
curled in a smile. “But I recognize an opportunity where we can
both benefit from each other. I’m sure we can come to some
arrangement.”
    “ Nothing is ever easy, is
it?”
    “ No, I’m afraid not.
Please, follow me into our train.”
    “ Your train…?”
    Vivian’s eyes widened when she saw the
mangled booths strewn across the tunnel. The windows had been blown
out and the roof peeled off in a grotesque fashion. Only then did
she realize that items of clothing and luggage were stoking the
fire they gathered around like a witches’ coven.
    “ Did you do
this? ”
    Joakim waved his hand in
dismissal.
    “ This train disappeared
down Line C several months ago. It was unfortunate timing because
an earthquake tore through Prague, and the train bounced off the
tracks. Almost everyone died in the crash.”
    “ Do the police
know?”
    “ No, and we intend to keep
it that way. We’ve made our home here and we can’t afford to be
driven out. As you surely saw on your way, portions of the tunnel
caved in. It’s too dangerous for anyone to venture here alone,
although I see you’ve managed.”
    “ Mikhael showed me the
way.”
    “ Ah, yes, Mikhael. He was
the only survivor of the accident.” Vivian looked at the boy
huddled near the bonfire. He had since unraveled from her leg and
stared thoughtfully into the gasping flames.
    “ I often find him wandering
the tunnels, still searching for his deceased parents,” Joakim
lamented. “Every day, every night—not that we can tell the
difference down here. I simply didn’t have the heart to tell him
they’re gone. He’s a part of our family now. Now he has sixteen
fathers to look after him.”
    “ That’s awfully kind of
you.” Chewing over Vivian’s words, Joakim gazed paternally at
Mikhael,
    “ Kindness has nothing to do
with it. Any decent man would take him as a son.” He abruptly
nodded at the train. “Shall we discuss our transaction
inside?”
    The gang bangers hungrily watched
Vivian as she followed their leader. She recalled a pack of stray
dogs that once eyed her in a similar manner, an uncanny comparison
to members of her own species.
    Once inside the train, she navigated
over the suitcases splayed in the aisles. She suspected Joakim and
his accomplices already raided the personal belongings of the dead,
leaving behind only trash in their wake. Magazines and newspapers
dating back to the day of the crash littered the seats.
    Joakim nimbly swept into one of the
decorated rail cars. Books were strewn across the room, lying open
to passages about organized revolution and anarchy. Maps of Prague
hung from the walls with red pins stuck in certain municipal
districts. Vivian had decorated her bedroom in a similar manner,
except with anatomy charts and medical terminology.
    “ Fancy,” she
quipped.
    “ Each member has his own
personal chambers on the