Shattered World (Broken World Book 2) (5 page)

“We conserve energy,” Winston says, scratching his beard. “We turn off the power on any unnecessary levels.”

“Yeah, that’s right,” Axl says. “And we’re gonna hafta go out and get us some supplies. Find some food. Some more fuel.”

“Vegas is the closest city,” I mumble. I’m talking to myself, really. Trying to psych myself up for the trip, I guess. Just the thought makes me more nauseated than before, but there’s no doubt in my mind I’m going. I’m a good shot and I’m quick. And I have nothing to lose if I don’t come back.

“Shit,” Angus growls. That little vein is back on his forehead, and for a moment, I’m pretty sure he’s going to punch the television screen next to him.

“We gotta get everybody together and go over plans. Round up the food, put one person in charge of it, and ration it out,” Axl says. “And get to Vegas as soon as possible.”

5

“WELL, YOU’RE ALL JUST GOING to have to leave! You didn’t pay for one of these condos anyway!” Mitchell yells for what feels like the hundredth time. His high-class demeanor has slipped away and been replaced with panic.

We’re in the common area, and he won’t sit still. He paces frantically. Like a caged animal. And his eyes are wild. We’ve been trying to get him to listen to reason for almost twenty minutes, but no matter what we say, it just comes down to one thing for him. He doesn’t care what happens to anyone else as long as he’s safe. He just doesn’t seem to get that even if we leave, he’s not going to be okay. That he’ll eventually run out of food even if he doesn’t have anyone to share it with, and the fuel won’t last forever. He’s too self-involved to be able to understand.

“Just shut up!” Hadley suddenly screams.

She’s been silent this entire time, letting Winston and Axl try to talk some sense into Mitchell. I guess she finally reached her boiling point.

She stands up and crosses the space between her and Mitchell in two quick strides. She’s right in his face when she pokes him in the chest with her fingernail. It’s perfectly manicured and red. Sharp like a weapon. “You listen here, asshole. You’re not better than anyone else! You never were before all this, and now that the world has gone to shit you’re about the least useful person here. So if I were you, I’d sit back and keep my mouth shut before everyone here decides to drag your ass to the surface and chuck you over the fence. You hear me?”

Mitchell’s eyes get huge and his face turns red. His cheeks puff up like he wants to argue, then his eyes dart around the room to everyone else. No one is happy right now. No one is giving him anything but disgusted, angry looks. He presses his lips together more firmly and throws himself into a chair.

“There!” Hadley says, stepping back. “Now we can make some real goddamn plans!”

The corner of Axl’s mouth twitches a little. He looks like he’s impressed with Hadley. Despite the tense situation, a pang of jealousy shoots through me like a bullet. Axl’s eyes follow her across the room, and my insides tighten. No. This is no time to be jealous. No time for thinking about how close Axl and I came to having sex. Right now, we need to focus on surviving. This thing with Axl is pointless unless we can figure out a way to survive.

“Okay,” Winston says, getting to his feet. “First off, the food.” He turns toward the three boxes on the floor behind him. They contain all the prepackaged meals we could find in the condos. There isn’t a lot. Especially not for twenty-one people. “We’re going to try and stretch it out until we can get some more provisions. That means rationing. Everyone is down to one meal a day except Sophia, Arthur, and the kids.”

“Why do they get more food?” Lila pushes out her bottom lip and looks toward Al like he’ll be on her side. He doesn’t even glance her way, which only makes her pout even more. She’s been about as helpful as Mitchell so far, only slightly less angry.

“Because they’re kids,” I say, rolling my eyes. “Sophia’s pregnant and Arthur is sick.”

“I don’t need any special treatment,” Arthur says, standing up. “I’ve lived a long life. If I can’t get by on one meal a day like everyone else, then it’s my time to go.”

Winston scratches at his beard. It’s thicker than it was a few days ago. I guess he hasn’t bothered to shave. “We’ll talk about it. For now, this is what we decided.”

“Who put you in charge?” Lila asks. “Shouldn’t we like, vote or something?”

“We decided as a group.” Winston doesn’t even look at Lila this time, and his jaw tightens. I can tell he’s fighting the urge to yell at her. “Now back to the food. We’re going to get a group on the gardens right away. Sophia, Jessica, Parvarti, and Arthur are going to go down there to see what they can find that’s still good. After that, they’re going to do some reading and figure out what we need to do to get some more crops growing. Everyone will get fresh food in addition to their one packaged meal. Sound good?”

Everyone nods, and not even Mitchell or Lila dare to argue. Which is good. The vein on Angus’s forehead pulsates every time he looks at Mitchell. I know he’s just itching to get his hands on him. I wouldn’t stop him, that’s for sure. The prick needs to be put in his place.

“In addition to that, we’re going to shut off the power on all the levels that aren’t completely necessary. That includes the pool—sorry, kids—and the theater is off limits.” Mitchell grumbles and Lila whines, but Winston doesn’t give them a chance to get any real words in. “We have to keep the power as low as possible until we get some more fuel.” He stops talking and nods at Axl. “Now for your part.”

Axl stands and looks calmly around the room. “We gotta make a run to Vegas and get us some supplies. It’s gonna suck and people might die. Who’s in?”

The speech is so Axl that I almost smile. Short and sweet. “I’m going.”

He nods and doesn’t even glance my way as more people volunteer. Eight of us in all. Angus and Axl, me, Trey, Winston, Anne, James, and surprisingly, Hadley. Eight of us ready to risk our lives in Vegas. I can’t help feeling that we’ve all volunteered to shorten our asses. Even if we get through one trip okay, there will be more. I don’t know how this walking dead shit works, but I’m pretty sure they aren’t going to die anytime soon. They’re already dead.

With that decided, people start to wander off to whatever tasks they were assigned. Mitchell, who was given nothing to do, hurries off to his room like he’s afraid he’s going to get jumped. Lila huffs and grabs a drink before following him.

The eight of us that volunteered to head to Vegas gather together around the bar to make plans. It’s tough to tell what everyone else is thinking, but the idea of heading to Vegas makes me want a drink, so I start pouring shots.

“We ain’t sendin’ everybody out at once,” Axl says.

He throws back a shot, barely reacting to the alcohol, then sets down the glass. When I offer to pour him a second, he shakes his head. He isn’t a big drinker, due to an alcoholic mother, so I’m not surprised. Probably just wanted to take the edge off before heading off to the slaughter.

“I’m thinkin’ a group of four to start off, that way if they don’t make it back we can send more people out later.”

“Makes sense,” Winston says. “Who’s going out first?”

Axl looks everyone over while he drums his fingers on the counter. “Not Hadley. She’s gotta learn to shoot before headin’ out. Angus, you’re gonna hafta stay behind to teach her.”

Axl purses his lips when his eyes land on Anne. It’s obvious why. She’s a good shot—used to be a cop—and she’d be useful, but she’s got Jake. He’s not her kid. She found him wandering the streets after his parents died from the virus, but he’s her responsibility now. Axl doesn’t want to put her in danger, and I can’t blame him.

“I’ll take Trey and Winston with me…and Vivian.” He winces when he says my name like he doesn’t want me to go. Probably just being protective. It has a strange effect on me. I have the urge to tell him to shove his overprotective bullshit up his ass and rip his clothes off at the same time.

“Sounds like a plan,” Winston says. “When do we leave?”

“In the mornin’, I suppose. Better get our shit together and figure out how we’re gonna get past them bastards outside the gate.”

“We still have plenty of ammo up here or do we need to see what they have in storage?” I ask.

“They don’t have anything there,” James says. “They sold that off.”

I can’t even look at him. I just pour myself another drink and throw it back. Of course they sold off the weapons.

Anne’s frown is so deep that it makes her look more like she’s in her forties than her mid-thirties. Her short, brown hair is messy, and she swipes her hand through it nervously, making it even messier. She won’t stop looking toward Jake, who’s playing on the other side of the room with Ava.

“Since I’m not going tomorrow, I’m going to head out. Get Jake and Ava downstairs and ready for bed.”

Axl nods, and his lips are so tight I’m surprised he can talk. “Sounds good. We’ll use you next time.”

Anne’s eyes move toward him, and the smile she gives him is quick. She rushes away like she’s afraid Axl will change his mind. I know her type. She’s not scared of dying. She’s afraid of leaving Jake alone. Who can blame her for that?

Hadley exhales and clinks her glass against Trey’s before doing a second shot. I can’t help wondering if it’s a good idea. As skinny as she is, her tolerance can’t be that high.

              She pushes her strawberry blonde hair off her forehead and closes her eyes. “I guess it’s a good thing the pilot died before he could get more people. It doesn’t seem like we’re much safer here than we would be out there.”

              I nod and throw back a shot of vodka. It burns going down, and I squeeze my eyes shut. When I open them, my gaze focuses on Axl. His lips are pursed, and the expression on his face is confused. I stand up straighter. “What?”

              “The pilot died.”

              It isn’t a question, so I’m not sure how to respond. Hadley nods slowly. She looks as confused as I feel, but Winston’s eyes are big and round. Even Trey looks like he just saw a ghost.

              “Here?” Winston asks.

              Dread comes over me, and I suddenly have the urge to slap myself in the forehead. Hadley told me the pilot died here. More than once! Why didn’t I think of it before now?

              “What’d you do with the body?” Angus asks.

              Hadley’s eyes get big, and James starts to sweat. They hadn’t thought of it before now, either. Why would they? Before we showed up they didn’t have a clue about the undead, and since then it’s been so crazy.

              “Bottom level,” James says. “There’s a freezer.”

              “Damn.” Angus throws back yet another shot. He’s been hitting it pretty hard. “Bastard’s probably down there runnin’ into the walls, trying to get out.”

              “Maybe not,” Trey says hopefully. “What if the cold prevented him from coming back? What if the freezing temperatures stopped him?”

              Axl hops up and shakes his head. “Guess we’ll find out. If it does, we might wanna think ‘bout headin’ up north come winter. We ain’t gonna get no freezin’ temperatures out here.”

              Winston nods and pulls himself up. “Only one way to know for sure.”

All seven of us head to the elevator even though it isn’t necessary. I’m unarmed, but Angus flips a giant knife between his fingers like it’s his favorite toy. It reminds me of the one from
Crocodile Dundee
. Axl has a knife too. The same one he always carries. The blade is smooth and shiny, and the handle is brown. It kind of looks like it’s carved from wood. He’s had it since before the dead came back. He cleans it every night religiously, like it’s a prized possession. Maybe it is.

We’re silent as we squeeze into the elevator, and no one utters a word on the way down. I find myself leaning against Axl like he’s some kind of support. A pillar of strength holding me up, keeping me from collapsing in on myself. Maybe he is. I don’t know if I would have wanted to go on after Emily’s death if he wasn’t here.

I lace my fingers through his and the lower we go, the firmer my grip becomes on Axl’s hand. Winston’s face is tense like being so far underground is uncomfortable for him. I hope not. If so, the next few years are going to be rough.

The door opens on the twelfth floor, and my legs turn to stone. Everyone else steps forward, but I can’t make myself move.

Axl’s hand is still wrapped around mine, and when I don’t follow he looks back. “You okay?”

“Yeah.” I nod and swallow when the words get stuck in my throat. “It’s just—I know what we’re going to find down here. I didn’t expect it, you know? Not in the shelter. We were supposed to be safe.”

“Ain’t no place safe no more,” Angus says.

He spits on the floor. James glares at him, but Angus meets the angry look with one of his own. It’s a hell of a lot more intimidating than the one James gave him.

Axl ignores his brother and gives my hand a little squeeze. “This ain’t nothin’ we can’t take care of. Right?”

I nod.

“We been through worse.”

I nod again. He’s right. A body locked in a freezer? It’s child’s play compared to what we faced in San Francisco. To what we’ll face in Vegas.

“You’re right.”

I squeeze his hand and step out of the elevator. Everyone is standing in front of the freezer now. Like they’re waiting for us. I feel like I should thank them, except it would be the most awkward thank you in the history of the world. Thank you guys for waiting until I’m next to you to let the dead man out of the freezer. Right.

Axl drops my hand as we move closer. His grip tightens on the knife. Why don’t I have a weapon? How stupid!

It’s one of those industrial freezers you see in restaurants. It reminds me of watching
Hell’s Kitchen
. Stainless steel with a thick door. Walk-in. We’d never be able to hear it if something was banging around inside.

Hadley takes a step back to stand at my side just as Winston reaches for the handle. He looks over his shoulder at the rest of us. No one nods, but no one tells him to stop. I guess he takes that as a signal to go ahead, because he pulls the door open.