Shattered World (Broken World Book 2) (19 page)

“It could help him one day.” Axl looks over his shoulder too, and I know he’s saying it in hopes Brad will come to his senses. “If he gets sick or hurt, he’ll need them supplies, same as everybody else.”

Axl’s right. I just hope Brad realizes it and can think of an easier way to get them. From the way he’s curled up ignoring the world, I doubt it.

When we reach the outskirts of Boulder City, Angus looks back at us. “Wake that son of a bitch up so he can tell us how to get there.”

Axl turns around and yells at Brad, who makes a good show of pretending to be groggy when he sits up. Rubbing his eyes like a little kid and stretching out. It doesn’t look real. If we all didn’t already know he was faking it, we would now.

He gives Angus directions, leading us through the city easily. The undead wander the streets just like in Vegas. They are just as rotten and just as covered in the black ooze. They go for the car like a wild animal trying to attack its prey. Throwing themselves in front of us and banging on the side of the car when Angus slows to turn corners. But there aren’t nearly as many of them here as there were in Vegas.

“You know where the hospital is in Boulder City?” Hadley asks.

Brad pulls that ugly hat off and scratches his scalp through his thinning hair. “Can’t say I do.” He stares out the window and refuses to meet Hadley’s eyes. I think he’s lying, but it’s tough to tell.

When we reach the truck yard, my heart leaps. The area is fenced off, and dozens of semis are parked inside. Two tankers are just visible parked near the back. I only hope they’re full of diesel, which is what we need for the generator.

Zombies lumber around outside the fence. About a dozen of them are within a twenty foot radius of the gate, meaning we’re going to have to fight our way in. Great.

Angus does a quick drive-by of the truck yard so we can check things out and decide on the best approach. “It’s chained up.”

Axl nods and leans closer to the window. “We got them bolt cutters and a new lock. We’ll have to cut it open and lock it up once we’re inside.”

Angus nods and glances over his shoulder, frowning. “Wish we had some more useful people with us.” He shakes his head and looks everyone over. “I guess Blondie and Hollywood are gonna hafta cover you while you cut through that chain. It’s thick, you’re gonna need to put some muscle into it.”

“You good with that, Hadley?” Axl asks.

She nods while she chews on her lip like she’s trying to gnaw through it. Her eyes are wild, but she holds her gun determinedly in unshaking hands. “Guns or knives?”

“Knives if you can.” Angus jerks the wheel to the right and does a U-turn in the middle of the street so he can head back to the truck yard. “Get ready to hop out as soon as I stop.”

The three of us grab the door handles and wait. As soon as Angus stops the car in front of the gate I hop out, not even waiting for the others. I’m immediately greeted by a mostly bald, rotting woman who once had long, red hair. She only has a few patches of it left on her head now, though. The rest of her scalp is gray and wrinkled, torn in places and smeared with black goo. She stumbles toward me with her arms raised and her mouth open. As I swing my knife toward her head, I notice a few of her teeth have fallen out and her gums are dark gray.

She goes down, and I move toward the fence. Hadley’s in front of me. She easily takes out a man who’s about a foot taller than her by ducking around him and driving the knife up through the back of his skull and into the brain. More of the undead head toward us, but Axl has the lock cut before they get too close. He works fast at unraveling the chain and pushing the gate open, and Angus speeds through. Hadley and I run in after him and help Axl get the gate shut. He’s just secured the lock when the next wave of the undead reaches the fence. But it’s too late for them to gain access, and I let out a sigh of relief as I step back out of reach.

21

WE’RE SAFE INSIDE THE FENCE, and we’re all armed. Even Victor and Brad have their guns out. Brad is so jumpy he can hardly stand still, and his eyes dart back and forth between the rows of trucks constantly. None of us are foolish enough to think it’s going to be clear. There’s bound to be one or two zombies hanging around the yard or inside the building.

“Let’s do a sweep of the outside first,” Axl says. “Then we’ll go inside an’ check it out.”

We all nod—except Brad, who gives more of a shake—and head out. The truck yard is huge, but the farther we walk away from the fence, the quieter it gets. If there are any zombies trapped in here, there can’t be many. The only moans we hear at the moment come from the area we just left behind.

We walk down the rows, looking between the trucks as we head to the back where the tankers sit. I spot a couple trucks with their doors hanging open. I’m not sure if someone died inside and crawled out after they came back or if the owners were just in too much of a hurry to worry about shutting the doors. It puts me on alert, though.

We’re almost to the back when we spot one lone zombie shuffling between the trucks. His back is to us when we round the corner, and he’s about ten feet away. He stops and spins around as soon as the sound of our feet comes to his attention. Angus walks forward with a machete in his hand and lops the guy across the top of the head. The knife sticks in the guy’s skull and goes down with the body. I watch with a sick feeling in my stomach as Angus puts his foot on the man’s head to keep him still so he can dislodge his weapon. I comes out covered in goo. Angus swings it toward a truck, and thick splatters of black blood spray everywhere.

“Gross,” Hadley whispers.

I nod as Angus wipes the remaining blood on the dead guy’s pants, then heads our way. He grins, like he’s proud of himself or having fun. Weirdo.

By the time we reach the tankers, I’m afraid Brad is in serious danger of peeing his pants. He jumps at every little sound we hear, even if it’s obviously a bird. He’s making me nervous and pissing Angus off. Every time Brad freaks out, Angus grunts and squeezes the handle of his machete harder. I get the feeling he’d like nothing more than to take Brad out the same way he just took out that poor zombie bastard.

Brad hops up and opens the tanker’s door without even being told to. Probably has more to do with wanting to hurry up and get the hell out of here than actually being helpful. I cross my fingers and wait for him to tell us what’s in the truck.

“It’s got a full tank,” he calls down. He picks a up piece of paper and reads it. I can only assume it’s the truck’s manifest or work orders or something like that. “And it’s diesel.”

I let out a sigh of relief, and Hadley flashes me a giant grin. We’ll have electricity after all. I don’t know how long this will run the shelter, but it’s got to last a while.

“What about the other one?” I ask.

Angus climbs into the cab, and I turn to watch him, almost bumping into Victor. I’d forgotten he was even here. He’s been so quiet this entire time. I try to catch his eye, but he seems to be lost, staring off into space. He’s barely present, which is dangerous for all of us. We shouldn’t have brought him.

“Tank isn’t full, but this one’s got diesel too,” Angus says when he climbs out.

“Well, we can’t take ‘em both.” Axl scratches his head and looks back toward the truck Brad still sits in. “You can drive that one today. We’ll come back later for the other one.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Angus says. “You wanna head on in and find the keys or try to hotwire the mother?”

“Don’t know if it would work the same on one of these. It’d be better to have a key.” He turns to Brad, who has finally climbed out of the truck. “You know where they keep ‘em?”

Brad eyes dart around nervously. “Yeah. I know.” His voice shakes.

“Let’s get this done, then,” Angus says.

Hadley sticks close to me as we make our way to the building. It’s small, no bigger than a McDonald’s restaurant. There aren’t many windows, which means it’s going to be pitch black. Good thing we all have flashlights.

Axl tries the knob when we reach the side of the building. It turns easily, and he pushes the door open. The stench of death is so strong it makes my eyes water.

“Stay alert,” Axl whispers as he flips on his flashlight. “Keep your eyes and ears open.”

More flashlights flick on as we step in, and I press the button on my own. I pan it around, illuminating every corner as we head down the dark hall. Axl’s in front. He’s pulled Brad up next to him, probably so he can show us where to go. It’s easy to tell which beam is Brad’s because it’s erratic and shaky.

“This sucks,” Hadley says, almost making me jump out of my skin.

“You scared the shit out of me,” I whisper.

“Sorry.”

I glance back at Victor, who is trailing behind us. He moves like a robot, following us around but not really registering anything he sees or does. I’m worried he’s going to be a risk.

“There’s an office at the end of the hall.” Brad’s voice travels back to us. There’s an edge to it.

No one responds. We keep moving down the hall silently, passing closed doors and dark, empty rooms. The smell grows stronger as we walk, and I have to cover my nose. The hair on the back of my neck stands up. I keep waiting for something to jump out at us. This is the perfect scenario for it, straight out of every horror movie I’ve ever seen.

Right before we reach the end of the hall, we pass a large open doorway that leads to the lobby. There’s movement in the shadows and my heart jumps. I pan my flashlight over to illuminate the room, and a figure rushes forward. The zombie’s rotten and distorted features are intensified by the beam, and the smell that floats with him turns my stomach.

Hadley screams. We all scatter in different directions. The zombie howls somewhere in the darkness. Everyone’s flashlights move around so erratically that it’s impossible to tell for sure where the zombie is headed or who’s in its path.

I take two steps back and freeze, forcing myself to remain still. My hand shakes when I pan the flashlight around, and it only gets worse when I find the body. I have to fight to keep my hand steady. To keep him in the beam so he’s visible.

Axl steps into the light and swings his knife. His aim is low, and he ends up getting the bastard in the ear. Too low to pierce the brain. He curses and pulls the knife out before giving it a second try. This time, he hits the mark. The body falls to the ground just as Brad reaches the office door at the end of the hall. He jerks it open and lets out a terrified howl as another zombie blasts out of the room, landing right on top of him.

“Dammit!” Angus growls as he hurries forward.

Axl and Hadley sprint toward Brad and the zombie. Every muscle in my body screams to run forward too, to help them. But I stay where I am. They need my light or they’ll never be able to see what they’re doing. Victor stands next to me, but the beam of his flashlight is pointed down. He doesn’t have a clue what’s going on.

Brad and the zombie struggle on the floor in front of the open office door. The dead thing howls and claws at Brad, who’s giving everything he has to hold him off. Angus grabs the zombie by the shirt and jerks him up. He shoves the body across the room before raising his gun. When he pulls the trigger, the bullet pierces the zombie between the eyes. The gunshot echoes through the building and leaves behind a ringing sound in my ears.

“Get up,” Angus growls at Brad. “Did he get ya?”

              Brad can’t seem to talk, but he stumbles to his feet and shakes his head. It takes him a few tries before he finally manages to force out the words. “No. He didn’t.”

Angus yanks his flashlight out of his back pocket and puts it on Brad. “Turn ‘round. Let me see.”

Brad complies, raising his arms and turning in slow circles so everyone can get a good look at him. He looks clean, but I walk closer to get a better view. He’s shaky and his face is bright red after his brush with death, but I can’t feel too bad for him. I remember how adamant he was about killing James and how he wouldn’t give up his seat for Jhett. Since we met, he hasn’t done a single thing that hasn’t pissed me off. The longer I’m around this guy, the more I dislike him. Asshole is too nice of a word to describe Brad.

“He looks clean,” Axl says. “Next time, wait for us. You run off, you get killed.”

Brad’s head bobs up and down a few times, reminding me of a bobblehead. He puts his arms down and takes a few deep breaths but continues to shake.

“Keys are in there?” Angus asks, tilting his head toward the door.

“Yeah,” Brad replies shakily.

“Come on then.” Angus grabs him and hauls him toward the door as the rest of us stay where we are.

I head over toward Axl, stopping briefly to check on Hadley, who looks pretty shaken up. “You okay?”

She nods, but even in the beam of my flashlight I can see how pale her face is. I don’t think she’s a strong as she wants to believe she is. Maybe she was before she had to face the undead, but I’m not sure if she’s cut out for this.

I pat her on the arm, then go stand next to Axl. I lace my fingers through his. He leans down and kisses the side of my head while keeping an eye on the lobby and the hall behind us.

“You doin’ alright?”

“Yeah. I’m a little worried about Victor though. He doesn’t seem to be all there.”

Axl purses his lips. In the darkness, his expression looks creepy and evil. “Yeah. That guy’s messed up.”

I nod, but I’m not sure if messed up is the right word for it.

“Got it. Let’s get the hell outta here,” Angus says as he and Brad come back out of the office.

***

Brad climbs into the tanker’s cab and turns the key. The engine roars to life, and a huge smile breaks out across my face. Hadley grabs my hand and squeals like a cheerleader at Homecoming. The tanker’s engine is the most beautiful sound I’ve ever heard.

Brad looks down at us from the driver’s seat, and his expression is like stone. All the fear has been wiped away, and all that’s left now is coldness. It reminds me of how Mitchell looked when he refused to let us in the shelter. Pure selfishness.

“Now, if you’ll go on ahead and open up that gate, I’ll be on my way. I ain’t going to the hospital with y’all. I didn’t volunteer for this shit, and one brush with death is enough for me.”

“Son of a bitch!” Hadley says.

“Like hell you are.” Angus reaches up and grabs Brad by the shirt, ripping him from the cab.

Angus shoves him aside and pushes him to the ground. Brad hits the gravel parking lot on his hands and knees, wincing when the sharp rocks dig into his palms. He doesn’t make a move to get up. Angus looms over him, but Brad’s expression remains calm. Like he holds all the cards, which he kind of does at this point.

“You’re goin’ with us to Vegas, and you’re gonna help us get them supplies,” Angus says through clenched teeth.

Brad shakes his head and stares back at Angus unblinkingly. “No, I ain’t. The fuel’s more important anyways. Since none of you knows how to drive a truck, you don’t want to risk my life. I’ll take it back, and you can come to the shelter when you’re done.”

Damn. He’s right, as much as I hate to admit that anything this selfish prick says has any merit to it. We need that fuel. My only concern is him running off with the truck instead of going back to the shelter.

“I’ll drive that truck myself.” Angus pulls out his gun and presses the barrel against Brad’s forehead.

Axl steps in. He pulls Angus’s arm back so the gun is no longer pointing at Brad. “Cut it out. The bastard’s got a point.” He shakes his head and runs his hand through his hair. “You swear you’re gonna take it back? You ain’t gonna run off with the fuel?”

“And go where?” Brad asks. “I just want to be safe, that’s all. I’ll take the fuel back, and my good deed is done. You can’t force me to go out again. If you want that other truck, you can send Winston. He knows how to drive them too.”

A taste so bitter fills my mouth that I have the urge to spit. Right on Brad. What an ass. But he’s just coward enough to be telling the truth. I can’t see him running off with the fuel. He wants someone to take care of him while he hides underground.

“Get up,” Axl says gruffly.

Angus curses and turns away. He kicks a few rocks across the parking lot. They fly through the air and hit the sides of some of the trucks, making a pinging sound that echoes through the silence.

Brad climbs to his feet. He brushes the dirt and rocks from his hands and clothes. “I’ll want to be on my way as soon as possible.”

“Get in and shut the hell up.” Axl turns away from Brad and heads after Angus, walking toward the front of the parking lot.

He grabs my hand as he goes by me, and Hadley trots along after us. I look back to make sure Victor is coming as well. He is, but he looks just as much like a zombie as the things banging on the gate in front of us.

“You trust him?” Hadley asks.

“He’s too much of a pussy to run off on his own. He wants a place where he can hide out an’ let everybody else do the dirty work.” Axl shakes his head and spits on the ground. “He’ll go back, alright.”