Shattered World (Broken World Book 2) (24 page)

Axl tries to push my hands away. “Vivian, calm down. I’m alright.”

I can’t. Not until I can see his arm. Not until I know if my world is about to end. “Let me do this.”

I strip his shirt off and wipe at the injury, praying he hasn’t been infected. All I can focus on is the blood.

“Vivian.” His voice is so soft that it finally breaks through my frantic thoughts. “I ain’t bit. A stray bullet grazed my arm.”

A sob pops out of my mouth. I cover my lips and choke back the tears. “I thought they got you.”

“It’s gonna take a helluva lot more than that to take me down.”

Hadley kneels next to me and digs through the bag of supplies. Luckily, she had the foresight to grab them. We didn’t lose anything. I hold Axl’s hand while she cleans up the wound. Thank God we have stuff with us to treat the injury.

Angus has been silent this entire time, but when I look at him, I can tell he’s just as relieved as I am. Losing Axl would have been just as devastating for him.

“What now?” I ask, looking back and forth between the brothers. I’m still holding Axl’s hand. He gently moves his thumb back and forth over mine. “We’re completely cut off from the way we came in.”

“Gotta find ‘nother exit,” Angus says.

Axl gives my hand one quick squeeze before letting go and climbing to his feet. “We get the hell outside so we can make our way back to the car.” He grabs his shirt and pulls it back on as he talks.

“Great. So we just go out into the zombie-covered parking lot and mosey on back to the car? Sounds wonderful,” I say sarcastically. My eyes meet Hadley’s as I get to my feet, and she frowns. She looks as thrilled by the plan as I feel.

“We’ll be okay.” Axl pulls me in for a quick hug and kisses my earlobe.

I bite my lip and fight back the tears. Why does it feel like he’s kissing me goodbye?

Angus clears the door, then looks back at us. “Ready?”

26

WE RUSH BACK OUT INTO THE HOSPITAL. Angus and Axl lead the way, putting themselves between us and any danger that may lie ahead. Thankfully, the hall is clear of zombies. But their moans are present with every step we take, making my heart pound and my pulse quicken.

The sound of shuffling feet echoes through the hall, but it’s impossible to tell where it’s coming from. I pan the flashlight around, but I’m greeted with emptiness. There’s nothing in front of me but Axl and Angus. Nothing behind me that I can see at all. Hadley’s eyes meet mine, and they are full of terror.

“It will be okay.” I try to sound reassuring, but my voice cracks and my eyes sting from the tears that threaten to spill over. I just have to hold it together long enough to get out of here.

We race ahead. Hadley reaches out and grabs my arm with her free hand whenever a sound makes her jump. She squeezes it, and her fingers dig into the area Axl grabbed earlier, making me wince. I’m going to have a bruise there later.

The halls are so dark that the second an exit comes into a view it’s like the light at the end of a tunnel. My heart leaps, and I want to cry out in excitement, but I bite down on my lip and do my best to stay quiet. We’re almost in the clear.

Hadley isn’t able to keep her excitement inside, though. “An exit,” she calls out.

I glance her way and give her a smile. It’s tense, but it’s genuine. She’s still shaking a little, but she smiles back. I can see the relief in her eyes clearly now, thanks to the sunlight shining through the small window on the door. We’re almost there. Just a few more seconds, and we’ll be outside.

Less than twenty feet from the exit, a zombie stumbles out of an open doorway. He comes out of nowhere, appearing right in front of Hadley and me. Cutting us off from the brothers. She screams, and I stumble back, grabbing her arm to pull her with me. The zombie lurches toward us, and my heart pounds in my ears. It’s just one zombie. Just one insignificant, rotting corpse standing between us and freedom. I raise my gun without thinking and pull the trigger, shooting it in the skull.

His body hits the ground just as several more lurch from the doorway behind him. Hadley screams and fumbles for her weapon, which for some reason she has put away. More of the undead appear, crowding out of the doorway, moaning and grasping at air.

The zombies push Hadley and me further back. Axl shouts my name, but I can’t see him through the horde. Hadley screams as one lurches at her, but before I can come to her rescue, she has him down. Her knife sticks in his head when he falls, and she’s forced to pull out her gun.

They keep coming. Hadley and I shoot while we back away, but we aren’t making a lot of progress. I’m constantly looking over my shoulder to make sure none are sneaking up behind me. It’s throwing off my aim. Sweat drips down my face, running into my eyes. I wipe it away and search the dark hallway for Axl. I can’t see him, though. We’re completely cut off. There are more than fifteen zombies between us and them.

I can hear the gunfire, so I know the brothers are attacking the bodies on their side. Hadley and I continue to shoot the ones coming toward us, but more pour from the doorway. It’s never ending. I squeeze my trigger, but the gun just clicks.

I pull out my knife in frustration. “I’m out of bullets!” I shout.

I don’t know if I’m telling Hadley or Axl or just myself. Whatever it is, the realization that I now have only my knife to defend myself with isn’t comforting. Especially not when more zombies have followed the sound of our fight and stumbled through the doorway. It’s now obvious that we’re not going to get out of this alive if we stick around.

“Make a run for it! Find ‘nother way out!” Axl yells.

I guess he came to the same conclusion. I still can’t see him from where I am, but the tension in his voice is unmistakable.

“We’ll see you in the parking lot!” I yell back, grabbing Hadley’s arm.

We turn and run back the way we came. We’d passed another hallway just a few feet behind us, so I head that way, praying it’s clear. The sound of moans and shuffling footsteps follows us. I look over my shoulder just before I duck into the hall. A large group of the undead is hot on our trail.

Hadley and I run down the hospital corridors. The beam of my flashlight is our only source of light, and it bounces along as I sprint. Hadley must have lost hers somewhere along the way. A zombie appears in front of us, but thankfully Hadley still has a few bullets. She fires with a shaky hand, but misses on the first shot. The second hits the mark though, and the zombie goes down.

We run around the body, and I pray we don’t bump into a big group. If we do, it’s the end for us. The mass of bodies running after us is closing in. The only way we’re going to be able to get out of this alive is if the hallway in front of us remains clear.

I’m breathing heavily as I turn the corner and find myself faced with three options. Option one appears to have two zombies running toward me. Option two looks empty, but the unmistakable sound of moans echoes through the hall. Option three is a closed door that leads to the ER.

I’m not stupid. I remember what Victor said about the ER. But at this moment, with zombies coming at me from three sides and the lure of a door we may be able to close and block off, I feel like whatever might be lurking behind door number four is my best option.

I run toward the ER and press on the handle, then try to push the door open. It doesn’t budge, but the handle moves, so I know it isn’t locked. I hold the handle down and ram my shoulder against the door, putting all my weight into it. It moves a few inches, and something scrapes against the floor on the other side. Something is pushed up against the door. I bang my shoulder against it, over and over again. All I need is to get it open just enough for Hadley and me to squeeze through. The moans get louder, and my heart pounds harder. I take a deep breath and ram my body against the door one more time, moving it another inch. Making it wide enough for us to get through.

“Come on!” I motion for Hadley to squeeze through.

Her eyes flit nervously to the large sign above the door that says
Emergency Room
, but she runs over anyway. She goes first, easily fitting through the small opening I created for us. It takes me a little more maneuvering—I’m not as thin as she is—but I manage to get through with minimal effort. I push the door shut behind me just as the zombies burst from the hallway.

A metal cabinet of some kind is pushed up against the door. Hadley and I work together to move it back into place. I’m not sure if any of the zombies saw which way I went, but I want to be extra sure the door is secured. We grab a second shelf and push it over as well. I’m panting and sweating by the time that’s done, but it suddenly occurs to me that I haven’t checked out the room around us.

I spin around to face the ER, clutching my knife. It’s eerily quiet, but even more surprising is the fact that it doesn’t stink. Their scent always gives them away, and the smell in the emergency room is so faint that a person could almost convince themselves it isn’t there at all.

“It’s so quiet,” Hadley says. Her voice floats through the ER, filling the silence and making me jump.

I nervously take a few steps. Something isn’t right. This part of the hospital is too empty. Hadley and I walk forward slowly, scanning the rooms as we go.

“This is wrong.” My heart pounds even faster as the sound of my voice echoes through the empty space. I’m on edge.

Hadley glances around nervously. “What could be wrong?”

“I don’t know, but I don’t like it. Let’s get out of here.”

She nods, and we take off at a full sprint. I pan my flashlight around and keep my eyes open, but it’s obvious by this point that the ER is empty. But for some reason I can’t quite pinpoint, that makes me even more nervous.

I follow the exit signs as we move through the halls. We pass curtained exam rooms and a couple reception desks, but no dead. There’s nothing in here. No zombies and no bodies. It’s like the place has been cleaned out. But I have no idea who would do it. Or why.

We finally reach the waiting room and come to a halt. In front of us is the exit. I can see the parking lot easily from where we are, thanks to a wall of windows. The area just outside the door is as clear of the dead as the inside is. Hadley and I rush out into the Nevada sunshine, stopping to look around and catch our breath the second our feet hit the pavement.

Once again, I’m struck by the fact that something is off. We’re standing in the ambulance bay and the area is clear, but even more strange is the fact that it’s block off by some kind of barricade. Cars and other debris are piled on top of each other, creating a fence. Blocking the way to the emergency room. The wall is six feet high, making it difficult—maybe even impossible—for the zombies to get into the ER. Someone went to a lot of work to create this barrier. I have no idea why it was done, but it seems to be working. There are dozens of zombies ambling around the parking lot in the distance, but none where we are.

“What the hell?” Hadley studies the structure with the same uncertainty I do before turning back to look at me. “We have to get out of here.”

She read my mind. “I know.”

We run forward and climb the wall of cars in front of us. My heart pounds and I keep looking back over my shoulder, waiting for someone to come charging out of the hospital. No one does though, and in a matter of minutes Hadley and I are on the ground on the other side.

“What now?” Hadley asks as the dead become aware of our presence and start racing toward us.

I glance around and try to catch my bearings. I’m not positive, but I’m pretty sure if we run to our right we’ll be going in the right direction.

“This way,” I say.

Hadley and I start jogging. She must be running low on bullets by now, but she shoots anything that gets too close to us. Most of the zombies headed our way are on the far side of the parking lot, so we’re safe for the moment. If we can just hold out until Axl and Angus find us, we’ll be in the clear.

Only a couple seconds after that thought goes through my head, a car turns the corner in front of us. I’d recognize the Nissan anywhere. My body relaxes, and I let out a sigh of relief. Hadley smiles, and I’m actually able to return the gesture. We’re almost home free.

Tires squeal behind us, and I look over my shoulder. A white van approaches from behind, closing in fast. My heart skips a beat and I grab Hadley’s hand, pumping my legs harder. I put every ounce of energy I have into making my legs work as I run toward the car in front of us. Away from the one behind us.

The Nissan is still at least fifty feet away when the van screeches to a stop at our backs. My heart nearly explodes when I hear the door slide open behind us. The footsteps on the pavement match the pounding of my heart, and I scream in frustration. He’s so close! Right behind me! My hand grips the knife tighter and I spin around to face my attacker, swinging it through the air. He’s a blur of black as he ducks and shoves me to the ground. My head snaps back and my body slams against the ground. All the air rushes from my lungs and my knife skids across the pavement. Hadley screams, but I can’t figure out where she is because I’m too busy gasping for air. The man in black grabs a handful of my hair and jerks me to my feet. I scream when pain shoots across my scalp and down my neck. He runs, hoisting me up so my feet aren’t touching the ground. I kick and fight, but I can’t get free.

My head bobs and the world blurs, I can barely make out the Nissan when it screeches to a stop—it’s so close. The doors fly open. Axl and Angus start firing, but the men in the van return fire. A window shatters right next to my head and the man carrying me swears before tossing me inside. I land on the floor right next to Hadley. The last thing I hear as they pull the door shut is Axl screaming my name.