The first chapter of Veronica Rossi’s RIDERS introduces readers to War!
After months and months of anticipation, we’re finally getting our first look at Veronica Rossi’s Riders!
Mundie Moms has the full first chapter of the epic fantasy thriller about teen incarnations of the four horsemen of the apocalypse out to save the world from an ancient evil force!
In the first chapter, we meet Gideon Blake, the incarnation of War, who finds himself in a bit of a bind.
CHAPTER 1
When I open my eyes, all I see is darkness.
Can’t move . . . can’t speak . . . can’t think through this jaw-grinding headache. I hold still, waiting for some clar- ity on where I am or how long I’ve been out, but nothing comes. What I know for sure: I’m tied to a chair, gagged, and my head is covered with a hood that reeks of sweat and vomit.
Not what I expected from a rescue.My neck creaks like a rusty hinge as I straighten, and the darkness comes loose and starts to spin. It spins and spins and my stomach throws in the towel, and it’s spinning, too. Hot spit floods into my mouth. I know what’s coming next, so I pull deep breaths, in and out, until the urge passes and I’m okay again. Just sitting here sweating bullets in this chair and this hood.
I can’t believe this. They drugged me. Gave me some kind of sedative, because I am way too calm right now. Probably painkillers, too. I can’t feel my shoulder and that cut was deep. My deltoid looked like raw steak. Even I should still feel a gash that bad.
Nice. Well done, US government. The whole world is going to hell, pretty much. I’m one of the few people who can help— and this is what they do?
I turn my focus to listening. Every so often I hear feet shuf- fling or a throat clearing. I pay attention to the sounds, trying to figure out how many men are guarding me. Two is my guess.
A radiator clicks on behind me and keeps clicking, like someone’s tapping a wrench against metal. Heat builds on my back like sunshine. Strange in all this darkness. After a few minutes it shuts off and the quiet stretches out. My back is just starting to cool when a door whines open. Footsteps come toward me and stop. Then a chair scrapes across the floor.
It’s game time. Answer time.
