Read Tremor: If your world was falling apart, how far would you go to save it? (The Tremor Cycle) for Free Online Page B

and you’re definitely not an Enforcer, are ya?’
    ‘No, I’m not any of them, let me go,’ William instructed, struggling. He shoved a hand into his pocket, clenching his mother’s pass. Could he use it to get away? No. This might be a trick to see if he owned one so they could steal it. He pulled his hand out.
    The tight hold on William’s shoulder melted away. ‘Now, now. We’re not going to hurt you. Do you want some food? We found some old tins in these ruins.’
    William didn’t know how to respond. Could these people be trusted? Not according to Terrafall.
    ‘You look like you could do with some food. And that cut doesn’t look healthy,’ the man pointed to William’s cheek, his blue eyes gleaming through matted hair and filth. ‘What’s your name, then?’
    ‘I–I don’t have one.’ It was a stupid response, but it was the first thing that escaped his lips.
    The man managed a tight smile. ‘Everyone has a name. I’m Markus, and this is my family.’
    ‘Why are you here?’ It was a silly question and William didn’t know why he’d asked it. He put it down to nerves.
    ‘We’ve been living like this since Terrafall threw us out of our home because I took too much food from our own harvest! We were bloody starving, too,’ Markus shook his head. ‘And it’s just created another group of Scavengers by doing this, the people it blames for anything that goes wrong.’ He sighed. ‘Come on lad, please have some.’
    ‘N–no, it’s fine, I’ve just got to get out of here. M–my mum needs–’
    ‘You sure? We don’t see many people after dark anymore, not since those pigs took over the streets, and started blaming us for the abductions.’
    William stopped himself from running then. ‘Have Scavengers been abducting people, though? My mum’s been taken you see… There was blood…’
    ‘Nobody we know would do it. And why would we want to? What would we gain from it? We’re living off scraps for God’s sake. A conspiracy, that’s what it is. All we’re doing is trying to survive, living off what we can find.’ Markus let out another sigh. ‘I’m sorry about your mother, lad. Things are getting tough. But just because Terrafall says people like us are behind all the bad stuff doesn’t mean we are. It’s all a big old smokescreen if you ask me! God knows why.’
    William didn’t disagree; it wasn’t surprising to him that Terrafall lied. It’d done it so many times before, and the proof had been in Dad’s journal. He tensed, funnelling away the anger. ‘Listen, you keep the food. You need it more than me.’
    ‘But…’
    ‘I’ve got a friend to go to. There’s food there.’
    Markus nodded. ‘You stay safe then. Try to avoid the Enforcers, keep out of open areas. Good luck my friend.’ He gathered up his family and together they stumbled back into the ruins of the house, disappearing into the darkness.
    William walked on, keeping his eyes forward. Survive, that’s all everyone was trying to do.
    A sudden thump from a nearby house reminded him that there was more to fear than Scavengers. Stopping, he waited, but no one appeared. Be that as it may, whoever was chasing him might be close. He had to get to Althea’s house, and fast.
    Thoughts of Markus kept him company, and helped banish horrible visions of what could have happened to his mother – at least for the moment. Could Terrafall be using the Scavengers to hide a deeper secret? Who was really responsible for the abductions?
    The end of the narrow road was up ahead. He pulled himself towards it and risked looking back into the gloom. It was deserted. William stepped out of the suffocating space into an open courtyard and walked with his head down, when suddenly a voice echoed in the still night.
    William almost collapsed from a dizzying combination of fear and exhaustion. How much horror could he take in one evening?
    ‘So all the Scavengers from the Sandylands estate have been taken out?’ said a deep voice