Shattered World (Broken World Book 2) (13 page)

14

WE MANAGE TO GET TWELVE PEOPLE together, which means we each only have to take out three of the undead. It should be pretty quick and painless. At least that’s what I’ve been telling myself. Standing in the heat with the zombies just a few feet away, shaking the fence as they desperately try to get at us, I’m not so sure. The desert sun feels like a volcano, and the air reeks of decay. I just want to get this thing done so I can get inside, shower, and rest.

“This is going to suck,” Hadley says.

Al bounces around like he can’t keep still. He passes his knife back and forth between his hands. He looks excited. Like he’s been waiting for this day for years. Maybe he has. He was a huge zombie nut before all this. Even though he claims reality isn’t as exciting, the huge smile on his face seems to say otherwise.

“We shouldn’t open it,” he says.

Angus grunts and spits on the ground. “How we gonna get ‘em?”

“Through the holes. I saw it on TV.” Al steps forward and jams his knife through the fence. He catches one in the side of the head, and it falls to the ground. “See? Minimal effort and less risk.”

“Shoulda watched more zombie shit, I guess,” Axl says.

It seems like a better idea than letting the zombies in, but there’s still room for error. The holes in the fence are big enough for the dead to get most of their hands through, and from what Nathan has said, it’s possible to turn just from a scratch. We still need to be careful.

We follow Al’s lead and jab our knives through the holes. It works like a charm, and I’m pretty sure the kid’s a genius. The bodies are falling faster than panties at a frat party.

Human grunts mix with the moans of the dead as the sun pounds down on us from above. Hair sticks to my neck, and my shirt is so wet with sweat that I’m pretty sure it’s transparent. Angus stops stabbing the dead and looks my way, and the way his eyes bulge out pretty much confirms my suspicion. He’s practically drooling at my double D’s.

I shove strings of blonde hair out of my face and take a deep breath while I push all thoughts of Angus out of my head. I don’t need to be distracted right now. As it is, my heart is going so fast that it’s hard to control my breathing. I’m exhausted, and my energy level is on empty.

But we’re almost done. I can hold out just a little bit longer.

I stab my blade through the fence, and it sinks into a monster’s eye socket. The dead man starts to fall, almost taking my knife with him. I grip the handle tighter while I try to yank it back. When half my hand gets pulled through the fence, another body sees his opportunity for dinner and goes in for the kill. His fingers wrap around my hand. I scream and pull back. The bastard moans as he jerks me forward. My heart pounds so fast it vibrates inside my skull. I twist my hand, but it doesn’t work. The dead man’s teeth are inches from my hand when Axl’s knife sinks into the decaying head.

“Shit!” I yank my hand back and cover it with the other.

“Did he get you? Let me see.” Axl pulls my hand toward him and examines my fingers. Every muscle in his body is pulled tight.

“I’m okay. He didn’t get me.”

Axl doesn’t seem to be able to hear me, and he won’t let go of my hand. He flips it over and even checks out the other one to make sure it’s okay as well.

“Axl, I’m okay.” I take his face between my hands and force him to look at me. “He didn’t get me.”

He nods, but his jaw is tight as he hands me his extra knife.

My heart is still pounding like a jackhammer when I turn back to the fence.
Get it together and be careful, you moron!

The air is full of moans and grunts. The smell of death and the clang of metal on metal as knives make contact with the fence is so overwhelming I have a hard time focusing. Hadley is on the other side of me, wielding her knife like a pro. Maybe that zombie movie she was in helped prepare her for this a little.

We’re making good progress, but there are a handful of bodies outside the fence that aren’t interested in getting close. They stagger back and forth, a safe distance from our blades, stopping every now and then to moan and claw in our direction. It’s unsettling, and a little knot of dread forms in my stomach. There’s something about the way they shuffle around, stopping to stare at us, that worries me. Almost like they know not to get too close. Like they’re planning their attack.

By the time we’ve taken down the last one we can reach from behind the fence, I’m breathing heavily. My shirt is so wet it clings to my chest no matter what I do. I wish I was wearing a bra. Angus is just loving it.

I’m not the only one panting, though. Everyone is standing back now, trying to catch their breath before the next part. The part that requires opening the gate for an extended amount of time.

“What do you think ‘bout that?” Axl says, tilting his head toward the stragglers.

Winston’s dark skin glistens with sweat. He shakes his head and wipes his brow with the back of his arm. “Not sure. You don’t suppose they understand what’s going on?”

Axl shrugs, but Angus makes a grunting sound that’s both rude and disgusting. “They don’t understand shit. They’re just hanging back ‘cause they’re stupid.”

Angus is underestimating the situation. That’s my opinion, anyway, but I keep it to myself. No sense freaking people out unnecessarily by throwing around theories about the evolution of the undead. Even if it seems pretty likely by the way those things stare at us.

“Let’s just go on out there an’ get ‘em,” Axl says.

He nods to Angus, who holds the key to the gate, something Axl and I are going to have to discuss. I’m not sure exactly what happened while we were gone—although I have a pretty good idea—but from the way Angus is guarding that key, I get the impression he’s taken control of things. People shouldn’t feel like they’re prisoners. Being underground is hard enough without thinking there’s no way to escape.

“Everybody ready?” Angus calls, turning the key without waiting for a response.

The second he opens the door, the bodies move toward us, solidifying the theory in my mind. There are only five of them, though. Angus pulls out his gun and takes three down in a matter of seconds, completely disregarding what Winston said. No one bats an eye, not even Winston himself, who takes a fourth one out with a knife to the back of the skull. The fifth one hits the ground when Axl brings his hunting knife down on the top of its head, driving the blade right into its brain.

Trey has the back of the truck open before the last body has fallen, and we start unloading. It’s hot and exhausting work. Not to mention stressful, since we have to keep looking over our shoulders to make sure no other bodies have wandered over. Our goal is to just get the supplies into the building for now. That way, they’re out of the sun and inside the fence. We can worry about getting stuff down the stairs and into the actual shelter later. After the sun goes down and it’s a bit cooler.

Even though the truck’s full, we make quick progress. With twelve of us working, it doesn’t take long to get to the back of the truck. A hell of a lot less time than I thought it would, actually. I let out a sigh of relief when I go back for more and see there’s hardly anything left.

“Incoming!” James yells behind me.

I spin around and find three bodies lumbering toward him. He’s shaking in his Nikes, and based on the terrified expression on his face, I’m worried he’s about to shit his pants. Anne, Hadley, and I run over to help him.

I wave off Axl when he tries to come too. “You big, strong men get the rest of that stuff inside,” I yell, winking at him as I head off.

James swings his knife at the first one just as we run up, but his aim is too low and he ends up hitting the thing in the cheek instead of the head. It reels away from him, taking the knife with it. The monster has his hands around James’s neck before I can react. I take my own knife and stab it into his skull. The hands go slack, and the body sinks to the ground, releasing James.

I turn to help Anne and Hadley, not even bothering to check on James. He’s a grown ass man, after all, and the thing’s mouth didn’t get anywhere near him. Anne’s knife gets stuck in the head of a dead woman wearing desert camo, less than an inch shy of its mark. She whips her gun out as the decaying woman—who smells really ripe in the hot sun—lunges at her. The bullet pierces the woman right between the eyes. Hadley, on the other hand, has no problems taking out another former soldier. He’s dead on the ground before I even have a chance to see if she needs help.

James is sitting on the ground when I turn back around, clutching his neck. He’s as white as a sheet. I roll my eyes and open my mouth to tell him to pull himself together. That’s when I notice the blood on his chin.

“Shit,” I say, dropping to my knees in front of him. “Did it scratch you?”

He’s shaking so hard it’s difficult for me to tell whether or not he’s nodding. Judging by the look of terror in his eyes, I’d guess he is.

“Let me see it,” I say, pulling his hand away.

There are three long scratches across his throat. Shit. If only I could go back in time and act more concerned for him.

15

“HE CAN’T COME BACK in the shelter,” Nathan says.

We’re gathered around a shaky James just inside the fence but not the building. The Nathan who was ready to kill me if I had even the tiniest scratch on my body is back. He’s standing over James, holding a gun in his hand. The self-appointed judge, jury, and executioner.

“We can’t just leave him out here, and we can’t just kill him!” Hadley says.

Her eyes are huge and frantic, and she’s crying. I’ve never seen a person cry so hard. Her shoulders shake, and she has snot and tears smeared all over her face. She doesn’t look anything like the Hadley Lucas who graced the cover of
People
magazine just a few months ago. It’s doubtful it has all that much to do with James, though. They aren’t that close. Probably has more to do with the terror of realizing all this is actually happening. That we aren’t completely safe in our little shelter underground.

“He’ll turn.” Nathan’s eyes are cold and impassive. So different from the man who almost cried in the car at the thought of losing his family. But if I had to guess, I’d say that’s why he’s doing this. So he doesn’t lose his family.

“You don’t know for sure,” Anne says. “Maybe he’s immune. It’s possible! We were all immune to the virus that started this thing.”

Anne and Hadley are the only two arguing for his life. They’re the only two who haven’t seen a person turn yet. Everyone from our group is silent. We haven’t had to kill a human to stop them from turning, so the thought of doing it now is difficult to process. But the people from Nathan’s group are adamant.

“He’ll turn. They always do,” Jhett says. Physically, he looks so young. Thin and lanky, the hair on his face grows in sparse patches. But he has the eyes of someone who’s been around and seen it all. Who has watched people close to him die. Maybe even had to kill a few.

“He’s a risk to us all,” Brad says. The selfish bastard was mysteriously absent when we needed help killing the undead, but as soon as an important decision needed to be made, he popped up. It reminds me of when we were in Vegas and he wouldn’t give up his seat for Jhett.

Hadley looks at me with pleading in her eyes. “You can’t just let them kill him!”

I look away. She doesn’t know about Emily, and bringing it up now is just too painful. The wound is still too raw. Just thinking about it makes my chest tighten like it’s going to collapse in on itself. Talking about it would surely bring the walls of my world crashing down around me.

“We’ve seen it happen,” Nathan says.

“Please,” James sobs. “Please!” He can’t seem to get anything else out. It’s all he’s said since we dragged his trembling body inside the fence.

Nathan presses his lips together and shakes his head. He steps closer to James and raises the gun. The barrel presses into the terrified man’s forehead. James flinches and quivers harder.

Before Nathan can pull the trigger, Hadley steps between them, pushing the gun aside. “There’s a holding cell! They have a holding cell up by the control room. We can put him in there and keep an eye on him. That way if he turns, he’s contained.”

“We can never be sure,” Nathan says, trying to step around her.

He’s right, but we can’t let him just kill a man. Not when we have another option.

I turn to Axl and grab his arm. “Do something. We can’t let one person make a decision for the entire group like this!”

Axl sighs, and his gray eyes are pained. I know he’s thinking of Emily. Just like Nathan, he thinks James is a lost cause, but he steps forward anyway. “We gotta vote.”

Nathan shakes his head, and both Brad and Jhett start arguing. Yelling at us that it won’t do any good.

Winston steps forward and plants himself next to Axl. “He’s right. If there wasn’t a holding cell, I wouldn’t even bat an eye. Taking him in would be too dangerous. But there is, so we need to think this through before we just rush off and kill a man.”

“We aren’t taking him in,” Nathan says. He won’t take his eyes off James.

“You ain’t in charge,” Angus growls.

Nathan’s eyes flicker up, briefly meeting Angus’s gaze before he looks away. He wavers just a little.

“We go in and give everyone a chance to vote,” Hadley says. “How can it hurt you if he’s in a cell? If he’s locked up!”

Nathan’s face relaxes, and he finally nods. He seems to know he can’t win.
Not with Angus against him. “He’s not going inside, though. I’ll stay out and guard him. If the group decides he gets a chance, I’ll abide by it. If not, I’ll take care of it.”

“I’m not leaving you alone with him.” Hadley’s expression is conflicted. She wants to go inside and plead his case, but she’s worried what will happen if she leaves.

“I’ll stay and make sure Nathan doesn’t kill him.” I pull my gun out and give Nathan a hard stare.

Hadley relaxes and flashes me a tense smile before running to the shelter.

“Let’s get this over with,” Axl mutters.

He gives me a quick look, like he can’t stand the thought of leaving me or he thinks this is useless. I’m not sure. Then he follows Hadley.

In a matter of seconds, Nathan, James, and I are alone under the hot desert sun. My body is sticky with sweat. Every time the wind blows, it brings with it a sprinkling of sand that clings to my skin. The dead have really started to pile up, and the heat has made them even ranker than they were in their short, undead existence. A few giant black birds fly above us, and their shadows dance in circles on the desert floor. Teasing us.

“You know this is pointless. I can see it on your face,” Nathan says. He hasn’t lowered the gun since he raised it. His hand is steady despite how long he’s been holding it in the same position.

“Doesn’t mean we don’t give him a chance. Hadley’s right. If he’s in a holding cell, he can’t hurt us.”

Nathan shrugs. “Still pointless.”

James doesn’t talk. He’s lapsed into what seems to be a slightly catatonic state. Staring at the sandy ground silently. No expression on his face. If I hadn’t seen this before, I’d think he was in shock. But this is too similar to how Emily acted after she was bitten.

“He’ll go fast,” Nathan says. “The closer it is to the brain, the faster they go.” His expression is still blank, but his voice is strained. Like, he’s trying to control his emotions.

“How many? How many people did you lose before we found you?”

He swallows, and the gun wavers a tiny bit. “Ten. Would have been less if we had been smarter, taken care of the problem right away. But we were stupid. The first person in our group to get bitten was an older lady. We didn’t know for sure how it worked, if it was like the movies or not. She wasn’t sick, didn’t have a fever or anything, but she was really quiet. Didn’t do anything but lay around. We thought she was in shock. Then she just snapped out of it and seemed better. It gave us hope that maybe this thing wouldn’t spread. But out of nowhere she collapsed and died. One minute she was talking and the next she was laying on the ground dead. At least we were prepared when she turned. She came back less than ten minutes later, and we took care of her before she hurt anyone. The second time it happen we weren’t so lucky.

“Alex and I were out looking for food when we got overrun. We lost two guys, and he got bit. We made it back to the house, but he wasn’t in good shape. We talked about killing him right away. Alex was even okay with it. But we thought the same thing Anne does. Maybe some people are immune. Like the virus. He turned faster than Mrs. Johnson did. We didn’t know at the time that where you’re bitten determines how long it takes. She was bitten in the ankle, but Alex’s bite was in the shoulder.”

Nathan pauses and glances at James, leaning over just a bit so he can get a better look at his face. He’s worried. It’s there in his eyes. Can a person really change this fast? He’s acting like it can happen at any second.

“He turned when we were sleeping and attacked a few others. By the time I got a bullet in his head he’d bitten three more people. Two kids…” He swallows and looks away. “I didn’t want to kill them, it was just too hard. So we waited it out again, hoping they might be immune. They weren’t, but at least they didn’t get anyone else.

“We had five more people get bitten or scratched at random times. The scratches were a surprise. We treated them but never dreamed they would turn from something so small. We recognized the signs by that point though, and as soon as the people lapsed into a lethargic state we put a bullet in their brains. Ended it before they could do any damage.”

He looks up, taking his eyes off James for the first time. “You’ve seen it. I can tell.”

My throat tightens, and I turn away. My insides are so torn up that I ache from the inside out. There’s no way the damage is contained to my insides. It has to have seeped out. I look down and blink. I can’t believe I’m still in one piece. Not shattered and broken like I expected. Why hasn’t the pain destroyed my exterior as thoroughly as my interior?

“Once.” It’s all I can get out before the pain rises to my throat and threatens to choke me.

He doesn’t say anything, and I try to pull myself together. If he makes a move for James now, I’m useless. I can’t even bring myself to move my head, let alone save a man from getting shot.

He doesn’t shoot, though. When I look up, he’s just staring at James. Nathan’s face is still hard and his eyes are just as cold. Was he always this tough, or is it a result of everything he’s seen? It seems so at odds with the emotional man from the car that I’m inclined to think it’s the latter. I shudder. Just a few weeks ago, our lives were normal. It seems like a long way to fall in such a short time. If he can change from a family man to a hardened mercy killer in just a matter of weeks, what can we expect the world to be like a year from now?

I don’t want to think about it.

We don’t talk. I’m too emotionally exhausted to hear more, and I’m afraid if I open the floodgates, he’ll never shut up. That he’ll keep talking and talking until my brain explodes from overload. Luckily, he’s too busy keeping an eye on James. Nathan probably doesn’t even remember I’m here.

When Hadley, Axl, and Winston come back, I can tell right away by the look on Hadley’s face what they’ve decided. She’s not smiling—that would be too much to expect at a time like this—but she does look satisfied.

“We’re taking him down to the holding cell,” Winston says.

Nathan shakes his head but doesn’t argue. He even helps Winston pull James to his feet and lead him toward the shelter. James doesn’t act like he has a clue what’s going on, and Nathan holds him at arm’s length as he walks.

“Keep a safe distance,” he tells Winston.

Winston frowns and steps back. He shakes his head a little. I get the impression he didn’t vote to give James a chance.

Hadley follows them inside, and Axl puts his arm around me wordlessly, leading me toward the door. All I want to do right now is get to my condo and shower so we can crawl in bed. I’m so tired that instead of following the others to the holding cell, I steer Axl toward the stairs.

When we walk into the common area, I stop dead in my tracks. In the wake of James’s attack, I completely forgot about the other complication. Now it all comes screaming back as her shrill laugh pierces the air. My insides twist, and I clench my fist. Angus is flirting with Darla by the bar.

She has a drink in her hand, of course, and she gives Axl and me a big smile. “Come on over an’ have a drink with me! For saving my life.”

“I’m tired,” I say, turning away from her.

“I don’t think I ever caught your name,” Darla calls after me.

I duck into the elevator as soon as the door opens and pull Axl in behind me. My heart is in my throat as I pound my thumb against the button that closes the door. It’s so slow! Why won’t the damn thing shut?

The door starts to slide shut, and I slump against the wall. Thank God.

“It’s Vivian.” Angus’s voice floats in just before the door shuts.

Damn.

I push the button for three and lean my head against Axl. He doesn’t ask, not that I expected him to in the elevator. He’ll wait until the time is right. Hopefully, after I’m clean and rested.

When we stop on three I pull Axl out with me. “I don’t want to be left alone.”

“Wouldn’t dream of leavin’ you,” he says, allowing me to lead him into the condo and back toward the bedroom.

Warmth floods my insides, filling in some of the cracks left in the wake of Emily’s death. Soothing the pain just a bit. I stop in the middle of the living room so I can kiss him. Hopefully, it will make the pain ease a little more. It helps when his lips touch mine and his arms wrap around my body, pulling me close. It makes me feel more whole. Like I may one day be able to put some of the pieces back together.

“You’re dirty,” I whisper.

He chuckles softly and kisses my neck. “More than you know.”

“Let’s get dirtier in the shower.”