Shattered World (Broken World Book 2)

SHATTERED WORLD

Kate L. Mary

Copyright Warning

Ebooks are not transferrable. They cannot be sold, shared, or given away. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is a crime punishable by law. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded to or downloaded from file sharing sites, or distributed in any other way via the Internet or any other means, electronic or print without the author’s permission.

This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are fictitious or have been used fictiously, and are not to be construed as real in any way. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2014 by Kate L. Mary
Edited by Emily Teng
Cover art by
Jimmy Gibbs

ISBN
:
1500775363

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof
may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever
without the express written permission of the publisher
except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Dedication

For everyone who read
Broken World
and helped make the release such a success!
Thanks for loving Axl and Vivian as much as I do.

Acknowledgements

I have been so excited and overwhelmed by the amazing reviews and feedback I’ve gotten for
Broken World
. Of course, I love the book, but the glowing reviews and enthusiasm of the fans has still blown me away. Thank you so much for loving this book so much!

As usual, I want to give a huge thanks to my three good friends Erin Rose, Sarah McVay and Tammy Moore-Brewer for loving this series and being overwhelmingly supportive.

To my editor, Emily Teng, who did such a great job. I’m so glad she does freelance so I was able to hire her to continue this series, and I’m looking forward to sending the third book to her very soon!

And yet again, thank you Robert Kirkman and AMC, Norman Reedus (Daryl Dixon), and every person who loves zombies as much as I do. Keep reading and I’ll keep writing! 

Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Acknowledgements
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Sneak Peek at Mad World
About the Author
Playlist

1

SO THIS IS THE END. Mitchell—the bastard—promised us a safe place. Instead, he’s left us out here to die. I’m not that surprised, really. Axl and I suspected this would happen. But we didn’t expect what came next. We’re in the middle of nowhere. The damn Mojave Desert! Who would have guessed the dead would find us out here?

Moans fill the silence as we stare at each other, trying to decide what to do. Staying to fight could mean death, but running will lead us to Vegas. Not an ideal place to take refuge. We’ve already killed dozens of the undead. We’re all out of breath. Sweaty and shaking. Terrified. But no one wants to abandon our supplies. No one suggests that we run away like cowards.

Axl’s eyes meet mine. My stomach clenches, and all the things we’ve left unsaid flash through my mind. I owe him so many thank-yous. No one has ever been as kind and thoughtful as he has. I regret all the missed moments. All the times I could have told him how much I cared, but I let them pass. If only there was more time.

Time is something we’ll never have again, though.

“Then we fight,” Axl says.

I swallow and nod with the others as I grip my gun tighter. My heart pounds, and adrenaline courses through my veins. A warm breeze blows across the desert, catching my hair. It brings with it a sprinkling of sand and the pungent odor of death. This could be the end for us, but I guess I’m okay with it. It’s not like I’m leaving a lot behind. Emily is gone, and this thing with Axl may not have ever happened, anyway. I’d rather die fighting.

We turn back to face the horde of bodies at the fence just as the door to shelter opens behind us. I spin around with my heart in my throat, frozen in my tracks. No one speaks, and the night seems suddenly silent. Blood pounds in my ears, and I’m breathing heavily, but it’s like everything moves in slow motion as a woman steps out of the building.

I blink three times as if doing that will somehow cause what I’m seeing to make sense. I know her. She’s thin, the kind of thin only Hollywood can produce. Her hair is strawberry blonde and silky smooth. It goes just past her shoulders. It’s too dark to get a good look at her eyes from here, but I know they’re green without even having to see them, and that she has a splash of freckles on her nose.

“Holy crap! That’s Hadley Lucas,” Al says excitedly. Of course he’d be the first one to snap out of it. Teenage hormones and celebrity worship go hand in hand.

Hadley’s body is tense and her eyes dart to the dead moaning behind us. Her expression is so familiar. Am I really here, or am I sitting in some movie theater somewhere watching this all happen? I almost reach for my popcorn. Then the stench of death hits my nostrils and I’m jerked back to reality. You can’t smell movies. Even though I’ve seen Hadley Lucas in dozens of movies over the years, this isn’t one of them.

Hadley’s eyes move back to the fence while she frantically motions for us to come into the building. “What are you waiting for? Get a move on!”

People take off toward her, but my feet stay rooted to the ground. We can’t just run off and leave everything out here. If the dead rattling that fence manage to break it down, we’ll never be able to get our supplies. We need to take them now.

Axl takes a step forward, but I grab his arm. “What about our stuff?”

His gray eyes move toward the fence, and I follow his gaze. A tremor of terror moves through me like a snake swimming through my veins. The moans are louder now. The dead howl and shake the fence frantically. Desperate to get in. It’s holding, but who knows for how long.

Axl must be thinking the same thing, because he doesn’t run for the building. He turns and takes off toward the Nissan. “Everybody grab your gear!”

I shove my gun in the waistband of my pants as I jog to the car, then pull out my own things first. I toss them over my shoulder to free up my hands. I want to be able to carry more. The bags I grab are full of weapons, so they’re awkward and heavy. The nylon straps dig into my arms, but I do my best to ignore it. We need to get as much in as possible before that fence collapses.

I glance toward the building just as Joshua and Arthur run out. Joshua’s expression is tense when he stops next to me and starts pulling things out of the car. Arthur is right behind him. He’s in his sixties and his arms are so thin he doesn’t look strong enough to carry much, but he grabs a huge box. Guess looks can be deceiving.

Joshua flicks his brown hair out of his face, and his eyes meet mine. He gives me a smile that doesn’t reach his eyes, then grabs a few bags out of the Nissan. “Sorry it took so long.”

The smile I give him is strained but genuine. I’m too relieved the door is actually open to complain. Does he really think any of us could blame him? When Joshua went inside with that asshole, we had no reason to think he would be able to get the door open, but he did. Whether it took minutes or hours, he worked a miracle in my book.

“Don’t apologize.” I grimace when the nylon straps shift on my arm. It’s like getting rug burn. “I’m so happy to see you that I’d kiss you if my arms weren’t full.”

Joshua flashes me a real smile and we head for the shelter. Moans from the dead follow us into the small, concrete building. Everyone huffs and puffs from exertion. Like the big bad wolf, trying to blow the house down. We all barely fit with our bodies loaded down with boxes and bags of supplies, and we bump into one another as we try to squeeze in. I should be relieved when the door shuts, cutting off the sounds and smells of the dead. But it’s stiflingly hot and a tight fit. So many people bang into my arms and legs that I’m sure I’m going to be covered in bruises. I’ll be alive, though. That’s the important part.

The door leading into the shelter is wide open, and Hadley Lucas stands next to it. I’m one of the closest people to her. She smiles, revealing those famous dimples, and actually takes two bags out of my hands before heading down the stairs. I didn’t expect a Hollywood star to come to my rescue today. Or ever, for that matter.

The stairwell is narrow and awkward to maneuver with an armful of bags. I’m right behind Hadley, and the footsteps of the others echo on the stairs at my back. No one talks. The panic and exhaustion from before hangs over us like a mushroom cloud. I haven’t been able to completely relax yet. Maybe I’ll never be able to relax. Even underground, the future is uncertain. We’ll always feel trapped and cornered as long as those things are out there, waiting to rip into us.

Somehow, I manage to make it down to the next floor without tripping over myself or anyone else. I drop my things as soon as I’m off the stairs and take deep, soothing breaths while I try to calm my pounding heart. It doesn’t work. I half expect Mitchell to pop out and shoot me in the head. Or the dead to come charging down the stairs behind us. No way we’re really in this shelter. No way we’re safe after the hell we’ve been through the last several days.

Others file in, and for the first time, I get a really good look at the group. Everyone is covered in dirt and sweat, and several people still gasp for breath. There are tears in Jessica’s eyes as she leans against her father. Trey and Parvarti hug. Anne rushes forward and throws her arms around Jake. Even Angus’s face is more relaxed, though he does his best to keep his jaw tense and his eyes hard. Classic Angus. Al, oddly enough, is drooling over Hadley. Teenagers.

My eyes meet Axl’s, and I have the sudden urge to reach out and hug him, but I hold back. The corner of his mouth pulls up just a tad. He’s filthy. Even more so than the rest of us, for some reason. His dirty blond hair drips with sweat. It clings to his forehead in clumps, making the strands look darker. My fingertips tingle with the desire to brush it off his face. I give him a tentative smile as my heart pounds harder. It was just slowing, but one look from him has sent it into overdrive again.

We’re alive. More than that, I have a second chance to make things work with Axl. To figure out what all this stuff between us really means. It’s more than I’d ever hoped for.

People start to relax. To talk. To cry. The air is thick with relief as the tension melts away. We are not going to die tonight.

Sophia clings to Ava, and when our eyes meet she releases her daughter long enough to run to me. She throws one arm around me and another around Jessica, hugging us at the same time. There are tears on her cheeks. “Thank God you’re okay,” she says over and over again.

Anne hasn’t stopped hugging Jake. There’s a look of pure joy on her face that tugs at my heart so thoroughly I’m certain it’s going to explode. They didn’t even know one another a few days ago, but they belong to each other now. That’s what happens when you find yourself in the middle of a zombie apocalypse, I guess. Trying to mend your shattered life with pieces you find along the way. It’s what we’ve all seemed to do.

Emily’s brown eyes flash through my mind. My chest aches where my heart used to be. It’s raw and painful, and I have to look away. I’m too emotionally exhausted to deal with it. After all the drama, I could crumble to dust at any moment.

We’re in a hall. A very industrial-looking hall. The walls are made of cement blocks and the ceiling is unfinished. It’s lined with steel beams, exposed wires, and pipes. It doesn’t look anything like the luxury condo described in the brochure Mitchell passed around.

There’s an open door to my right. The room contains a desk with a few keyboards and the wall is covered with buttons and blinking lights. Lined with television screens. This has to be the control room for the facility. The dead are visible on the screens, lined up outside the fence. Still shaking it. I wonder if they’ll stop now that we’re gone or if they’ll keep shaking it until the whole thing collapses.

To my left is a dark room that has an odd-looking shower, and I have a sudden flashback to my high school chemistry class. I vaguely remember something about a decontamination room in the description of the facility. This must be it, although it doesn’t look as high-tech as I expected. It’s a good thing this is a zombie apocalypse and not a nuclear bombing. No way that little shower would do us any good if we had to rinse off nuclear waste.

There’s a third door in front of us, but it’s closed. A small, square keypad is on the wall next to the door. I’m not sure what could be behind that door. Whatever it is, it must be important if you need a code to access it.

“I’m so sorry it took us so long!” Sophia cries, breaking the silence. “We were watching on the security cameras and arguing with Mitchell, but he just wouldn’t give in!”

“Thankfully, Hadley stepped in and took the matter into her own hands,” Arthur says. His mouth turns up when he flashes a smile at Hadley, making his cheeks look hollow. His skin is an unhealthy color. Maybe it’s the fluorescent lighting, or maybe it’s the cancer. It’s possible it’s worse than he’s been letting on. “It was looking pretty serious out there.”

I glance at Hadley. Even at the end of the world, she looks like she just stepped out of a salon on Rodeo Drive. I swear, there isn’t a hair on her head out of place. “You let us in?”

Hadley is—was—a pretty big movie star. I never would have pegged someone from Hollywood as being all that compassionate, especially not her. To be honest, I was never a big fan of her or her movies. Something about Hadley always rubbed me the wrong way. It’s odd being face to face with her now that the world as we knew it has come to an end.

“I’m not going to just stand by while people get killed,” she says flatly, arching a perfectly sculpted brow at me. Her sparkling green eyes narrow on my face and I squirm. It’s like she can read my mind.

“What about Mitchell?” Winston asks.

Hadley rolls her eyes and cracks her knuckles like she’d love nothing more than to punch him in the face. “That prick can go screw himself. This place was made to sustain fifty people for five years. There were four of us before he got here. I think we’re going to be just fine.” Her tone is blunt. Oddly enough, it reminds me of Axl. Maybe she isn’t the entitled bitch I’ve always imagined her to be.

“He around?” Angus asks, trying to sound casual. His face is hard and his jaw tightens. He cracks his knuckles just like Hadley did, and I find myself smiling.

When it comes to Angus I feel bipolar, constantly going back and forth between hating him and finding him amusing. I guess he’s the kind of guy that grows on you. Of course, he’s such a prick there’s no way those old feelings will ever go away. I can’t imagine being with him for more than an hour and not wanting to kick him in the balls.

Hadley’s laugh is an oddly familiar sound. It takes me back, and once again I feel like I’m in a movie theater. That’s something I’ll never get to experience again, though. “He ran to his condo to hide. I think he was a little scared of what would happen when you guys got in here.”

Angus runs his hand over his short brown hair and grunts. I’m one hundred percent positive Mitchell was right to hide. Angus would beat the shit out of him if he were here right now. Mitchell better hope he doesn’t bump into Angus when the two of them are alone.

A man steps out of the control room to my left. He leans against the doorframe while somehow managing to stand tall. Shoulders back, head raised. He’s average all around. Average looks, average height, middle-aged, brown hair and brown eyes that leave little to no impression. The kind of person you meet and forget in ten minutes’ time. He doesn’t appear high-class like Mitchell and Hadley. Before I even see the company logo on his polo shirt, I know he’s an employee. Something about the authoritative way he carries himself.