Twisted World: A Broken World Novel by Kate L. Mary Page B

to raise my knee, hoping to get him in the balls, but he just pushed closer to me. His body was flush against mine now, and he had me pinned. I squirmed and growled, probably sounding like a zombie, but made no progress. This man was bigger than me, and he had the upper hand. Even worse, I couldn’t hear a single sound from the bar, so I knew they wouldn’t be able to hear my screams. We were too far back, and the cement walls were too thick.

T he waitress who called herself Glitter wouldn’t shut her damn mouth even though I hadn’t said more than two words to her. Okay, four, but they were get me a drink . Not exactly an invitation to chat.
    The other waitress, Helen, gave me the vaccine with a grin on her face, her eyes moving between me and Glitter like she expected to hear an engagement announcement any day now. Right. Even if I wanted to get involved with this girl I couldn’t. I was a convict, which meant anything I wanted to do was off limits. I couldn’t even walk out the front door.
    “I’ve really never seen anything like it,” Glitter said as Helen walked away. The girl pushed her barely covered chest forward and her tits threatened to spill out. I stared at them as I took another sip. Anything so I didn’t have to focus on the words pouring out of her mouth. “Are you that good all the time, or was it just an easy fight?”
    I blinked and pulled my gaze away from her flesh. The girl batted her gray eyes in my direction and disgust rolled through me. She was young, probably barely legal, which meant she was Patty’s age. Shit. I wasn’t about to screw some chick who was the same age as my sister. I didn’t care how willing she was or how amazing it would feel.
    “I’m good.” I threw the rest of my drink back as I got to my feet, slamming the glass on the bar with so much force that I was shocked it didn’t shatter. The blood on my arms had started to dry, and I wanted to wash it off. There was a small bathroom and shower in the back room, but I’d seen Helen and Dragon head in there. The way they’d been making out made my skin crawl. No way did I want to walk in on that.
    “There another bathroom in this place?” I asked Glitter. “I need to clean this zombie shit off me.”
    The waitress frowned, but pointed to a dark hallway that seemed to stretch on forever. “That way.”
    I nodded before turning away.
    The few light bulbs hanging from the ceiling were out, which was probably a good thing. I doubted the people coming here would be surprised to see the roaches and rats running up and down this hall, but that didn’t mean they wanted to have a spotlight shining down on them. Filth was a normal part of life these days, and you couldn’t escape it no matter how hard you tried. The best thing you could do was go about your business and pretend it didn’t disgust you.
    I’d made it halfway down the hall when something that sounded like a scream bounced off the walls around me. I froze, but only because I was trying to figure out where it had come from. My ears perked up and the blood pumping through my veins moved faster while I waited. It didn’t take long.
    “No!” a woman screamed, her voice trembling with fear.
    This time, I didn’t hesitate. I took off after the sound, charging down the dark hall with my fists already clenched at my sides. There was no mistaking that sound, but I still wasn’t prepared for what I saw when I charged into the bathroom.
    A man who was so filthy he could have been mistaken for a zombie had a girl up against the wall. Her shirt had been torn open and his hands were already working on her jeans. She fought and kicked and struggled, but he was too strong and she wasn’t making any progress.
    Red spread across my vision, painting the room and the man and the girl he was pawing at until it looked like everything was covered in blood. Something inside me snapped, and before I knew what was happening, the asshole was on the ground. He snarled up at me,