All Chapters of The Broken Rosary: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

Daniel Lawson stared at me, the five-million-dollar scratch-off ticket crumpled in his fist.Even the lottery shop owner froze, cigarette ash falling onto his pants without him noticing."Maya Carter, are you out of your mind?"Daniel slammed his fist against the glass counter so hard that a row of cheap figurines toppled over."That's five million! Even after taxes, it's still four million!"He jabbed a finger in my face, spit nearly spraying me."And now you're telling me you want to go back to that dirt-poor mountain hole in the middle of nowhere? You just can't stand seeing me do well, can you?"I could not hear his yelling anymore.The broken bead in my palm was still warm.It came from the rosary my grandmother had carved from a tree struck by lightning, deep in the mountains.I had worn it for twenty-four years. Fire could not burn it, water could not rot it, and a blade had never left a mark on it.But the instant we scratched open the winning number, it had cracked

Chapter 2

The speedometer pushed past eighty, and the scenery outside blurred into streaks.I stared at the bleeding bead of wood, my whole body cold.Before my grandmother died, her withered fingers had gripped my wrist as she rasped, "Maya, this rosary keeps the harm away. A broken bead is a warning. If one ever cracks off, no matter what you're doing, don't look back. Run as far as you can."I had always thought it was just mountain superstition.Until today, when the threat of death came down around me with terrifying clarity.My phone kept vibrating in my bag, the frantic buzz making my heart pound.The screen lit up with message after message.I tapped the top one. It was a video Daniel had posted in the family group chat.The video came from the lottery shop's security camera.In it, I looked frantic as I shoved him away, hair disheveled, scrambling into a cab.He had added a long caption."Everyone, judge this for yourselves. I just scratched off five million, and Maya said a

Chapter 3

Three in the morning.The cab had just stopped in the service area when two black SUVs barreled in from the ramp.The shriek of brakes tore through the night.The doors flew open. Daniel jumped out with four men and surrounded the cab.The driver went pale with fear and scrambled to unlock the doors."Maya! You can really run, can't you?"Daniel yanked open the rear door, cold wind pouring in with his roar."Get out!"He reached in to grab my hair.I had been ready for him. I shrank to the other side and kicked him hard in the wrist."Get away from me! I told you I don't want anything. Why won't you let me go?""Let you go?"Daniel sneered, half his body leaning into the car."You're out here spreading rumors that something's going to happen in the city! The police came to me, saying you're spreading panic! You don't care about shame, but I do!"His friends closed in. One of them pulled out black nylon zip ties."Sis, stop making trouble. Daniel just won big. This is sup

Chapter 4

Time dragged by, second after second.The east gradually turned pale. Morning light broke through the clouds and spilled across the cold concrete of the service area.Dawn had come.Far away on the horizon, the outline of the city I had fled shimmered faintly in the morning fog.There were no towering flames.No deafening explosions.Everything was quiet and peaceful.A few trucks began appearing on the highway.Nothing had happened.The onlookers started leaving. Before they left, the way they looked at me had fully turned into the way people look at a madwoman."All right, young lady. It's daylight now, and nothing happened. Put the blade down and go home with your husband."The cleaning lady shook her head and walked away.The hand holding the eyebrow razor began to tremble.Could I really have been wrong?Had I been too sensitive, turning a cracked bead into a disaster?Daniel caught the wavering in my eyes.He waved for his friends to step back, then slowed his ste

Chapter 5

Big Dave's scream through the speaker stabbed into everyone's eardrums."Big Dave, what the hell are you doing?"Daniel frowned."They're crazy... everyone is crazy!"Big Dave's voice was hoarse, full of extreme terror."There's blood everywhere! They're biting people! My pool hall got smashed. Pete's guts were ripped out!""Daniel, every road out of the city is blocked! Don't come back! Whatever you do, don't..."Before he could finish, a heavy impact came through the phone."Beep, beep, beep..."The call disconnected.The entire service area fell silent.The psychiatric nurses looked at one another, the hands holding syringes frozen in the air.My whole body went cold.Grandma's warning had come true.That city had become hell."Daniel Lawson, did you hear that?" My voice shook."Big Dave wouldn't joke about something like this. Something happened in there!"Daniel stared hard at the phone screen.The muscles in his face twitched violently.Then he smashed the phon

Chapter 6

The ambulance was silent.The two nurses had been thrown badly and were groaning as they clutched their heads.I was dizzy from the impact too, but the pain weakened the sedative's hold on me."Hank! What happened?"One nurse pulled open the partition to the driver's seat.The driver, Hank, was covered in blood. He pointed through the windshield, his hand shaking like a sieve."We... we hit something..."I twisted my head with difficulty.A black SUV had been driving the wrong way and crashed into the front of the ambulance.The hood had buckled high and smoke poured from the engine.That SUV was the one Daniel's friends had driven at the service area.They had returned toward the city before the ambulance and turned back halfway.The door was kicked open.A blood-covered man tumbled out.It was Daniel's friend Mouse."Help... help me!"Mouse crawled to the ambulance door and pounded on the glass."Don't go back! The gas... that gas is poisonous!"From inside the SUV

Chapter 7

The morning wind carried a sharp sulfur smell.I climbed up from the ground, every bone in my body screaming.Three hundred yards ahead, the infected group had already noticed me.They smelled the living and suddenly sped up, charging like starving wolves.Run.That was the only thought in my mind.I turned and sprinted in the opposite direction.The sedative still lingered in my body, and my legs felt as heavy as lead.I had not gone far before heavy breathing came from behind me.An infected man in a suit lunged at me and clamped both hands around my throat.The whites of his eyes had turned blood red, and foul, rotten breath sprayed from his mouth."Get off!"I pried at his hands with all my strength, but his grip was terrifying.Suffocation rolled over me, and my vision began to darken.The rosary against my chest suddenly burst with scorching heat."Crack!"The sixth, seventh, and eighth beads snapped at the same time.Fragments shot outward.One sharp splinter l

Chapter 8

River wind rushed toward us, heavy with damp air.The torn steel bars at the edge of the broken bridge pointed at the sky like claws.The driver collapsed over the steering wheel and cried."It's over... it's all over! I risked my life for that little bit of money!"I ignored his breakdown.I pushed open the door and walked to the edge of the broken bridge.The river below was fast and bottomless.The toxic fog was less than two miles away.I closed my eyes and took a deep breath."Sir, do you have rope in the car?""Yes... there's a tow rope in the trunk."The driver stared at me blankly."Get it. Tie it to the bridge pier. We'll climb down along the pier."It was the only way to live.Just as the driver hurried to get the rope, my phone rang.It was an unknown number.When I answered, Daniel's voice came through, weak to the point of collapse."Maya..."His voice was accompanied by violent coughing, each cough sounding as if he were spitting blood."Where are you?"

Chapter 9

Sand and gravel were whipped up by the wind.I opened my eyes sharply.Three military helicopters broke through the clouds and hovered above the broken bridge.Blinding searchlights fell on me.A commanding voice came from a loudspeaker."Person on the bridge, stay where you are! Hazmat rescue is in progress!"A rope ladder dropped from above.Two soldiers in full protective hazmat suits slid down the ladder and landed steadily on the bridge."Ma'am, are you hurt?"The soldiers quickly fitted a gas mask over my face and pulled me onto the ladder.I gripped the rope tightly, my body shaking from extreme tension and exhaustion.The helicopter rose.Through the window, I looked down at the city where I had lived for three years.Yellow-green toxic fog had already swallowed the entire urban area.Fires and thick smoke were everywhere.The streets were packed with tiny black dots, infected people tearing at one another.The rotor blades stirred huge currents of air, briefly

Chapter 10

The day I was discharged, the sky was clear.I changed into clean clothes and carried a simple canvas bag.Inside were the settlement funds and compensation issued by the government.It was not much, but it was enough for me to start over back home.I walked out of the hospital gate and took a deep breath of free air.No sulfur smell.No blood.Only a faint scent of flowers.I bought a train ticket back to the southwestern mountains.Sitting on the speeding train, I watched the scenery slide backward outside the window.It felt like another lifetime.I had a new phone number and had cut off every connection to the past.The family group that had mocked and cursed me, the friends who had kicked me out of the chat.They had all stayed forever in that sealed dead city.Fate had marked a price for everyone.The greedy died of greed. The cruel died of cruelty.And I, because I listened to my grandmother's teaching and abandoned the temptation of five million, had exchanged i

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