The Decaying World Saga (Book 1): Tribes of Decay (12 page)

He ran as fast as his legs would carry him and the state of his body was quickly clear. His legs ached and his lungs burnt with every step. Everywhere he turned, the dead were closing in. The moaning grew at an alarming rate until no other sound could compete against it.

Rowan ran blindly, unaware of his direction. His options for escape lessened by the second as the lumbering figures pressed in from either side. The closest among them came into full view and their abhorrent look was enough to cause Rowan to stagger. Bare, graying skin dotted the space between the trees. Naked men and women reached out for him, begging for a bite. Open wounds dangled bits of rotted entrails from necks to navels. They slammed into one another with little recognition of their surroundings, each one focused on a single purpose.

Rowan pressed as hard as he could, using every ounce of energy that remained in his body. The dead closed in all around him and he saw no sign of escape. Rowan stumbled as the strength slipped from his legs, tripping twice before tumbling onto the hard dirt. He pushed up to his knees and found dirty hands in front of his face.

Rowan slashed his knife blindly, severing fingers with his cut. The dead grabbed a hold of him with no acknowledgement of its newly lost digits. Its decaying breast smacked Rowan on the face as it pressed itself down on top of him. He managed to get his forearm up under its chin and force the zombie’s head back before it could tear into him. He jabbed his knife into its side, opening a gash under the arm.

He knew he had to get up or he would be dead for sure. Bodies drifted closer in the corners of his eyes as Rowan pushed up on his attacker with enough force to snap its neck. The move allowed him to get his feet under him. He rose to his full height and brought his knife around the zombie’s outstretched arms, plunging the blade directly into its temple. The undead woman shook one final time then slid onto the ground.

Rowan didn’t bother to look around, instead forcing himself to try to run. Hopeless fright consumed his mind. A voice cut through his despair and he recognized his name. It took him a split second to find Garret’s direction as he waved his hands over his head.

“Rowan,” Garret yelled, “this way.”

The signal was enough to get Rowan’s legs moving again. The burning pain in his thighs forced him to grind his teeth, but he kept running. Garret waited until he was certain Rowan was going to reach the clearing before turning around to get a head start. His injuries were obvious in his limp, but Rowan was betting they could outrun the dead if they made it out into the open.

Freedom came with a sudden explosion of space. Rowan was out in the tall grass before he realized it. He caught up with Garret midway between the edge of the woods and the city boundary. He slowed his pace to keep in stride with Garret and the two reached the edge of the first row of buildings before they bothered to look behind them. The view stole what little breath either of them had left. The dead were breaking from the trees. They pressed forward, row after row, with no end in sight. Garret found enough breath to ask a question.

“What did you see?” he asked, his eyes still locked on the horrific vision.

Rowan shook his head, unsure if he could find the words. He was reminded of Jacob’s point of view.

“We’re a dying breed.”

12

An increasing number of concerns filled Mia’s mind. Considering her current situation, she was pretty sure that she should be worried about what was directly in front of her. Mia wanted to get back to Rowan and make sure he was all right, she wanted to find Jonah and take him with her, and she wanted to ensure her tribe survived to see another day. She wasn’t sure any of those goals were realistic, but the thought of them was distracting enough to keep her from running scared.

Her immediate concern was moving toward her with a look of hunger in their eyes. The group of infected were fast, hurried by their lust for fresh blood. The mob of undead following in their wake was the least of her troubles. Mia stood with what was left of her people. Her father was among the injured and she prayed her brother was somewhere amongst the others.

The fight started before Mia could process what was happening. The first row of the infected slammed into the defending survivors with the impact of a crashing wave. The savages lashed with teeth and nails as Mia stabbed at the attackers with wild abandonment. The clash was quick and violent, and when it was over Mia found herself on her knees, splotches of blood dotting her clothes. All of the infected were dead and only half of the tribesmen survived. They quickly went about the dreadful task of ending the suffering of their brothers and sisters who would soon succumb to the infection and walk with the enemy.

“Let’s get everyone moving.”

Mia heard Jacob, but it took her a moment for her mind to catch up with her surroundings. She’d witnessed more terrible violence in the past few days than she’d ever seen in her entire life. She managed a nod and let Jacob help her to her feet. She found her father on the sidewalk.

“You did well,” he said.

Mia’s eyes swept the remaining survivors for her brother. Her view came back to Arkin and his face told her what she didn’t want to know.

“I couldn’t reach him,” he said and lowered his gaze, unable to look at her face. “We have to keep going.”

Mia’s heart sank. She thought she might crumple up right there on the sidewalk. Jacob grabbed her arm and helped her stay on her feet. She stared blindly at her father in painful disbelief. He looked older than she remembered. His breathing was slow and labored. Mia waited for more, but Arkin urged his aids to turn him around. The remains of the tribe followed him in a silent convoy. Jacob stood by Mia’s side until there was no one left.

“The dead will soon be on us,” he said, peering over his shoulder. “I’m sure we can pick a better spot to meet our end.” He pulled on her arm and it got her feet moving.

They caught up with the remaining survivors and the gaggle pushed across the city. Mia’s mind drifted back and forth between her brother and Rowan. Both thoughts brought with them an overwhelming sadness and she struggled to keep herself from crying, leaning heavily on Jacob with each passing step. Mia would soon have to decide if she was going to stay with the tribe or turn north to see if Rowan was still waiting for her.

“He would have gotten out of there by now.” The statement surprised Mia and for a moment she thought Jacob was reading her mind. “There’s no hope in trying to reach Rowan,” he continued. “I would guess he’s on the run.”

“You don’t know that,” she countered. “He was supposed to wait for me.”

“Then he’s already dead.” The blunt statement hit her like a punch in the face. “The infected are taking the city, block by block. We’ll be lucky to get out alive.”

Mia felt her legs weakening with every step. Her gut churned as her mind raced. She couldn’t leave him. She couldn’t go on without knowing. Jacob refocused his point for her.

“These people need you,” he said. “Your people.”

Mia shook her head, her eyes still blind to her surroundings.

“They don’t need me,” she said. “They have my father and the other members of the…” she scanned the remaining group, but couldn’t find a single council member, “…they don’t need me.” Her stance hardened. “I left them.”

“It probably saved your life,” Jacob reminded her.

Mia didn’t care at the moment. She wasn’t sure she wanted to live in a world without Jonah and Rowan. She closed her eyes and held on to the thought of her brother. In her mind’s eye, she saw Jonah smiling at her and it was enough to break her heart. Tears streamed down her face as she bit her lip to keep the sound of her pain buried in her throat. Her thoughts drifted to Rowan and his face was replaced with a terrible scene of a gang of infected rushing in after him as he fought to stay alive.

Mia came to a stop, her grip tightening on Jacob’s coat. A sudden spasm ended with her spewing what she had in her stomach all over the pavement. She had her hands on her knees, bent over, staring at the ground. Jacob stopped and waited patiently until she was finished.

“Happens to the best of us,” he said in the best concerned tone he could muster. “Take a drink of this and try and get the taste out of your mouth.”

Mia felt something cold against her hand. She grabbed it without looking, stood up straight and took a long swig. The burn didn’t register until she’d swallowed a few mouthfuls. She nearly spit the rest of it out before her eyes popped open.

“What the hell is that?”

Jacob chuckled as he took the flask from her.

“A little of my own brew,” he said with a grin. “It keeps me going when I’ve run out of motivation.”

Mia wasn’t quite sure she understood what he meant, but an unexpected rush to her head gave her some idea. She reached for the flask and Jacob pulled it away.

“Probably not a good idea,” he said, still grinning. “Let’s catch up with the others.”

The group’s progression was slow going. The infected had worked their way across the city and assorted hunting gangs moved in and out of buildings rounding up anyone they found. The idea of the infected being sophisticated enough to coordinate the entire event was beyond comprehension, but Jacob took the development in stride. It wasn’t long before Mia and Jacob were out in front of the group of survivors, leading them through the treacherous terrain.

“We’ll have to wait it out,” Jacob announced with his eyes on a crossroads a few blocks ahead. “We can’t risk trying to get so many people across there. There’s too much movement in those buildings.”

A pair of the infected hunting parties, each made up of a few infected handlers herding several dozen zombies, provided the risk. The undead were ushered into the bottom floors of adjacent buildings while the infected waited outside for any prey to pop out. Mia motioned the survivors toward the entrance of a building, but no one moved.

“We have to wait,” she said. Everyone turned to look at Arkin, but his stare was on his daughter. “We’re in no shape to try and go around,” she explained. “We’ll hold up here and keep watch.”

Arkin hesitated, trying to control his laboring breaths.

“Do as she says.”

The survivors moved in a hurried response. Jacob assured Mia he could handle the first watch and urged her to follow the others. She stepped into the building and closed the door behind her. Light from several broken windows dotted the dim interior, highlighting the figures spread around the open space. A collage of bloody footprints running down the center of the room gave hope that the infected hunting parties had already cleared the building and was moving in the other direction.

Mia found her father resting underneath the window closest to the entrance. A handful of tribesmen sat around him most of their faces covered in blank, hopeless stares. Mia made her way between the men and sat down on her knees in front of her father. His glassy-eyed expression gave her a sudden recognition of the severity of his condition.

“Father, I’m sorry I—”

He stopped her with a wave of his hand then broke into a coughing fit that ended with several lines of blood on his lips.

“It’s not important now.”

Mia didn’t know what to say. She’d never seen her father look so helpless. All of the anger she had built up toward him melted away in an instant. Part of her wanted to lash out at him for not listening to Rowan, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. She took his hand and the coldness of his fingers frightened her.

“We have to leave the city,” she said. “There has to be somewhere safe for us out there.”

Arkin clenched his teeth and squeezed her hand.

“They’ll need someone to lead them,” he said.

“They need you.”

Arkin shook his head.

“I’m not going to be able to do that.” He pulled her closer. “They’ll follow you.”

“But…” She didn’t have the words.

“They have to,” he said. “That’s what I’ll tell them.”

Mia felt tears forming in the corners of her eyes, but she refused to cry.

“I can’t do that.”

Arkin broke into another coughing fit. He struggled to control his spasm. Mia’s grip tightened around his hand and he stopped long enough to respond.

“You must.”

♦

Jacob kept watch until he was satisfied that the infected and the dead were moving away from the survivor’s hiding spot. He relayed the news to Mia and she stewed over the way forward in silence. She stayed close to her father as the last remaining member of the tribe’s council struggled to breathe. The weight of their predicament paralyzed Mia. Arkin relayed his decision for Mia to lead the group and the reluctant acceptance by the remaining lot was palpable.

Mia wasn’t sure why her father put her in charge. The idea of a young woman leading the tribe would have been laughable only a few days before. She studied the faces of the survivors within the dim interior of their safe house and realized the true challenge ahead of her. There were only a handful of able-bodied men and women, few of them skilled enough to carry a weapon let alone fight with one. A sudden realization that there were no infants among the group brought a sickness to her gut that she couldn’t shake.

“What’s our plan?”

Jacob’s question pulled her mind from the darkness.

“
Our
plan?”

Jacob shrugged. “Either I wait it out here and try and get out of the city after everything dies down or I go it with you.” He looked around at the sad lot. “There’s a lot of cannon fodder here.”

Mia wasn’t sure she understood his reference, but she guessed the meaning.

“They’re people, my people.”

Jacob shrugged again. “I’m not really good with people anymore,” he admitted. “Doesn’t change the point.”

“I’m not as worried about getting out of the city as I am with what we’re going to do once we get out there,” she said.

“Well, you should be,” Jacob countered. He looked back at the group and lowered his voice. “They’re slow and some of them are wounded. They’ll be lucky to get out alive.” He turned and looked directly into her eyes. “And what about your father?”

Mia didn’t know what he was asking.

“I’m dying, not deaf,” Arkin said. He opened his eyes and looked over at Jacob.

“We’ll have to go slow,” Mia said, interrupting the men’s intense stare down, “but we can rest along the way,”

“That’s not what he’s asking,” Arkin said.

He shifted his shoulder and pulled aside one half of the top of his robs. The blood wiped away with the material and left a clear view of the bite marks along his chest. Mia couldn’t speak. Jacob filled in the answer she was trying to ignore.

“He’s infected.”

Mia shot up to her feet. A sudden rush of emotion overwhelmed her and she tried to hide it from the others. It took a moment to get the words out of her mouth.

“What happened?”

“Sit down,” Arkin said, urging her to lower her voice. “You mustn’t show weakness.” He leaned back. “I won’t be going any farther with you.”

The finality of his statement was too much for her. Mia considered running out into the street to hide herself. Her hands shook against her thighs as she tried to gather her emotions.

“Sit down,” Arkin repeated, this time with more aggravation in his tone. “There’s not much time.”

Mia hesitated and then did as she was told. She steadied her nerves, but she could feel herself on the verge of a breakdown. She clutched her fist until her nails dug into her palms. She felt everyone’s eyes on her.

“It happened quickly,” Arkin said. “They were on us so fast that there was little we could do to fight back. I was cornered and they got on top of me…” He trailed off before hacking up something in his throat. He tried to talk through it. “I wouldn’t be here if Barrick hadn’t risked his life to save me.”

Mia turned her head to find her father’s savior. Barrick was doing his best to pretend as if he couldn’t hear what they were saying. He wasn’t in much better shape than Arkin. Blood soaked one side of his pants and a long split in the material revealed a deep gouge above his knee.

Mia turned back to her father to find him staring at her. The intensity was gone, replaced by a look she didn’t immediately understand. Arkin’s face softened as he tried to breathe between clenched teeth. Mia waited, unsure of what she was supposed to do. Jacob remained close to her, while trying to exclude himself from the conversation.