Broken World (Book 3): Mad World (16 page)

We made it. We fuckin’ made it.

17
Vivian

WE GOT OUT ALIVE. I almost can’t believe it.

The helicopter soars into the air, and I squeeze Axl tighter. Just to reassure myself he’s here. This whole thing has been a nightmare, and all I want right now is to put it behind me. His lips find mine, and he coaxes my mouth open with his tongue. It’s sweet and gentle. Like he’s savoring the taste of me, and even though we both stink and neither one of us can catch our breath, I follow his lead. This moment is too precious, too triumphant to be ignored.

When Axl pulls away, he moves his mouth to my ear. “Gonna ride up front!” He has to yell over the roar of the helicopter. “Gotta tell him where to go!”

He gives me one quick squeeze, then climbs up next to Jon and puts a headset on. I can’t take my eyes off him. Not even when I sit next to Megan. Like if I look away all this will disappear.

The helicopter sways, and Megan bumps into me. I reach out to steady her, but she doesn’t react. Doesn’t blink. She stares off into nothing. She looks worse than the zombies, and in this light, her bruises are darker. I can’t imagine the amount of damage there is on the inside.

She isn’t going to be okay.

The men are talking in the front. Axl is giving Jon instructions on how to get to the shelter. Maybe telling him he’s an ass. I know he wants to beat the shit out of Jon, and while I won’t let that happen, I’m not going to stop Axl from telling Jon how he really feels. I know how awful this whole thing has been for him. How useless he’s felt. Axl has a right to call Jon every name in the book if he wants.

I slump in my seat and buckle my belt. Now that we’re out of danger, exhaustion hits, and my limbs suddenly feel heavy. Like I’m too weak to even lift a finger.

The helicopter is loud but soothing. My eyelids grow heavy, and I lay my head back. Allow my eyes to shut. My body to relax. To accept one very important fact: we are going to be okay. We have our supplies from Sam’s and enough fuel for a while. The medical equipment we got on our fateful trip to the hospital. Everything we need to make a stand in the shelter. We shouldn’t have to go out again for a long time. And now that we know what we’re up against, we’ll be smarter. We’ll avoid Vegas. We can be safe. Axl can be safe. That’s all I really wanted, anyway.

A sudden gust of cold air rushes through the helicopter, and the aircraft sways. My eyes fly open, and my heartbeat goes into triple time when I see Megan standing at the open door. Her hair whips around her as wind rushes in. She holds onto the side of the helicopter and stares down over the city.

No!

I scramble to undo my belt, but my body is exhausted. My fingers too slow. I can’t get the button to obey.

Megan turns her head slowly and looks over her shoulder. Toward her brother. Jon’s eyes get huge and he shakes his head. Everything seems to move in slow motion.

I jerk at my belt even harder, but it still won’t budge.

“Megan!” I scream, desperately pulling against the belt holding me in.

Megan steps forward slowly, dramatically. Like she’s walking out onto a stage. Her hands drop to her sides, and her body falls from sight.

Jon screams. The helicopter sways, and wind whips through the aircraft. Jon tries to get out of his seat like he can stop what just happened if only he can get back here, but he’s still buckled. Axl grabs his shoulders and yells at him over the noise as the helicopter jerks us back and forth.

My belt finally comes undone, and I’m thrown from my seat. I land right by the door. I pull myself forward and look out over the desert. I can’t see Megan, but I can tell where she fell. A mass of bodies has converged on a small area, crawling over one another. Trying to get at the damaged girl who threw herself to her death. Every muscle in my body turns to Jell-O.

The helicopter evens out, and I roll over, away from the sickening sight below. Jon has stopped trying to climb back here, but he’s sobbing. My own eyes fill with tears, and I squeeze them shut. It was all for nothing. Everything we’ve been through. Hadley being violated, Trey dying, all of us risking our lives. It was all to save a girl who was beyond saving. She died back in that casino. What’s worse, I knew it before I saw her standing at the door.

***

Axl and Jon shout back and forth to each other in the front of the helicopter. I can’t hear a word. The rotor’s too loud, and my heart pounds so hard it thumps through my head like a drum. The helicopter veers to the right, and I grip my seat so hard I can feel the stitching against my palm. We swoop down, circling the shelter yet again while the men yell. I just want out. Only there’s no way we’ll be able to land inside the fence. The small landing pad is already in use, and the cars take up the rest of the space. That means landing in the desert and making a run for it. Not my favorite plan of the night.

I lean closer to the window and practically press my face against the glass. All the cars are there, which means the others have already arrived. Hopefully, they all made it safely.

Axl pulls his headset off and leans back. He motions for me to get closer, and when I do, he presses his lips against my ear. He still has to yell over the noise of the aircraft to be heard, though. “We’re gonna have to land outside the fence! Get ready to run!”

Even though I already knew it, my heart still races. There are zombies around the fence by the dozens. How the hell are we going to make it in alive?

“We’re gonna hafta climb the fence!” he yells again.

Great. The good news just keeps coming. I’m not wearing shoes. Or pants.

I don’t complain, and I don’t ask questions. I just nod and pull back, and when my eyes meet Axl’s, he looks like he wants to say more. But it’s too loud and there’s no time. The helicopter moves lower, and Jon gives us a thumbs up. We need to be ready.

Jon circles to the back of the shelter and swoops down. My stomach drops as he takes us in, and the closer we get to the ground, the harder my heart thumps.
This is our best chance. Most of the zombies are at the front. We’ll be okay.
I repeat it in my head over and over again like a mantra.

Saying it to myself a thousand times doesn’t make me feel any better.

Axl rips his headset off and climbs back. My hands shake so bad I can’t get the seatbelt off. He does it for me and pulls me to my feet. When he throws the door open, the sticky desert air rushes in. It’s cool but still moist from the heat of the day. The rancid smell of death is so strong that my stomach contracts. We’re three feet off the ground.

“Get ready to run!” Axl yells.

I nod and focus on the ground coming up to meet us. Axl will be with me the whole time. I’m fast. I’ve made it out of stickier situations. The monsters are still pretty far away. It isn’t as bad as I’m making it out to be. We’ll make it. Piece of cake.

I let out a bitter laugh. I sound like my own personal cheerleader.

When we’re a foot off the ground, Axl jumps. His boots hit the desert floor and he stumbles a little before motioning for me to follow. I leap from the helicopter without a second thought. The wind from the rotors swirls around me and whips my hair into my face, making it impossible to see. When I slam into the sand, it catches me by surprise. The impact vibrates up my legs. Small, sharp stones pierce the bottoms of my feet, and I fall forward. My hands fly out in front of me, and my knees hit the sandy ground. Specks of rock and earth dig into my skin. I can hardly breathe.

Axl doesn’t give me time to recover. He grabs my arm and hauls me to my feet, then pulls me toward the fence. We keep low as we run under the rotors. His fingers dig into the bruise left by the linebackers, but he doesn’t ease up. He’s going too fast for me. My feet trip all over one another, but his grip on my arm keeps me from falling.

When we reach the fence, he pushes me forward. “Climb!”

I look back and forth between Axl and the fence. Between the zombies and my reason for life. “What about you?”

The helicopter’s engine dies, and the moans of the dead break through the night sky. They’re louder than the roar of a hurricane. More menacing than a tornado. I can’t leave Axl.

“I’ll cover you,” he yells. He spins to face the zombies. They round the corner. Fifteen feet away at the most.

I grab his arm and pull him to the fence. “Come with me!”

He shakes me off and looks down at my bare feet and legs. “You ain’t protected. Go!”

There’s no way to convince him, plus he’s right. I’m much too exposed. I turn to the fence and climb. The metal digs into my hands and feet. The moans grow louder, and my legs shake, threatening to give out. I keep my head up so I won’t look back. Axl will be more focused if I’m safe. He can take care of himself. He
will
be okay. My heart races even faster.

The fence is high. Maybe ten feet. My arms ache as they slowly pull my body up. I’m not even halfway there and already I’m shaky.

A shot rings out behind me, and I scream.

Keep moving. Don’t look down
.

The wind blows, showering me with bits of sand. My eyes sting and tear up. I blink, but it doesn’t help. A few tears slide down my cheeks. I hang onto the fence with one hand and use my free one to rub my eyes. They burn, but there’s no time to worry about that. I squint as more tears fall and pull myself up a little more. Halfway there.

Axl grunts and Jon curses. Something slams against the fence, and the whole thing shakes. I grip the metal tighter. Fingers claw at my foot, and I scream. Kicking at them. They wrap around my ankle. I kick harder, and the fence sways. I can’t get away!

My fingers curl around the metal links, and I glance down. What was once a man—his face now half-rotten—grips my ankle. His foul teeth chomp, and he moans like he’s in pain. Jon is on the ground, struggling with a zombie. Another one has Axl pinned against the fence. His knife is on the ground.

“Axl!”

I kick harder, trying to get free. The zombie pulls my foot toward his mouth. I’m too high, though. He can’t bite me. But he could still scratch me. Then I’m screwed.

He jerks my foot harder, and I scream when the metal slips from my grasp. I slide down a few inches before I manage to stop myself. My fingers grip the fence tighter. The muscles in my arms strain as I struggle to get away. His fingers wrap around my ankle tighter and he pulls, but I hook my fingers around the metal. The fence digs into my skin, and I squeeze my eyes shut, screaming from the exertion.

A gunshot rings through the air, and my body jerks. The hand slips off my ankle, and I plant my feet on the fence, gasping for air. My eyes fly open to find Winston, Angus, and Nathan running toward the fence. There are even more people behind them.

Axl is still on the ground.

My legs shake, but I can’t make myself move. “Angus! Help him!”

The zombie is right on top of Axl. He holds the creature at arm’s length, and they struggle on the ground. He’s still unarmed. They slam against the fence, and the whole thing shakes. I’m panting and trembling. I can’t force myself to move. Not when Axl is still in danger.

Angus lifts his gun, then lowers it. He swears before charging toward his brother.

“Shoot it!” I scream.

“Can’t get a good shot.”

“Dammit, Vivian,” Axl grunts. “Climb!”

My arms quiver from holding on. I don’t want to leave him, but I
have
to move. Angus
will
get him. He’d never let Axl die.

I slowly pull myself up the fence. The metal feels like razors slicing my flesh, and my feet scream at me to stop. My arms wobble harder with each inch. I reach the top and throw one leg over. My inner thigh slides across the top of the fence, and a sharp pain makes me scream. A trail of blood slides down my leg.

I’m straddling the fence when it shakes. I grip it to keep steady, ignoring the metal piercing my skin. My heart pounds so hard it threatens to burst from my chest. Is a zombie climbing up after me? I jerk my head around and my racing heart evens out. No. It’s Axl and Jon. Thank God!

“Go! Go!” Axl yells

I swing my other leg over and the fence slices my calf. My arms are weak and I can barely hold on as I lower myself. My feet find a good position, but my legs wobble. They’re as flimsy as pipe cleaners. The fence slips from my grasp and I lose my footing. My body slides down the chain link and I hit the ground with so much force it vibrates through every bone in my body.

I don’t move. My legs are too shaky to support me and I can’t breathe. I gasp for air while blood runs down my legs and drips onto the sand. Zombies scream and claw at the fence. Nothing feels real.

Axl drops to the ground next to me and grabs my face between his hands. “Vivian, are you okay?”

His hands brush down my legs, over the cuts, and I wince even though I don’t really feel it. He grabs my foot and looks it over.

“I’m okay,” I manage to get out. “He didn’t get me.” My mind snaps to attention, and I grab his arm. “Are you alright?”

He pulls me against him. Having his arms around me feels like home. “I’m okay. We’re all okay.”

Tears fill my eyes, and I rest my head on his shoulder. We’re okay. We made it back in one piece.