Broken World (Book 3): Mad World (21 page)

Axl clutches at me in the darkness. “Vivian!”

I ignore him and search for Hadley. She couldn’t have gone far! “Hadley?” I say louder this time.

“I’m here,” she calls. Her voice shakes and echoes through the darkness. “I’m comin—”

The words are cut off by a strangled cry. I step down, trying to get to her. My feet slip and I tumble down a few steps, bumping into something in the darkness. A hand grabs my ankle. I scream and kick at it, bringing up my knife.

“It’s me!” Hadley says. “I fell.”

A sob breaks its way out of my chest, and tears fill my eyes. Oh my God. I thought she was gone. I thought a zombie had me. I thought it was the end for all of us.

Footsteps pound right next to my head. “Vivian.” Axl grabs my forearm and pulls me to my feet.

I reach for Hadley and somehow find her in the darkness. Her hand clasps mine just as more footsteps pound on the stairs behind us. Whoever it is pants like they’re out of breath. It can’t be a zombies.

“Axl?” Winston calls out. He isn’t alone. Several other people are behind him, breathing just as heavily as he is.

“We gotta get outta here,” Axl says, pulling me forward.

“Jon and Angus are rounding everybody up,” Winston says.

Footsteps thump against the stairs behind us, but it’s impossible to tell how many people there are. Hopefully everyone.

“What are we going to do?” someone sobs—Parvarti? Her voice is distorted, and it’s hard to tell who it is with all the noise.

“We gotta get to the truck,” Axl calls back.

He pulls me closer and puts his face right against mine just as we reach the common area. The light blinds me, and I blink as his lips move against my ear. “Angus buried the key to the truck in one of his old dip cans. On the surface. In the sand. Take three steps to the right when you walk outta the shelter, then dig!”

I’m shaking. Why is he telling me this?

“You’re coming—”

Three zombies charge us, and Axl pushes me back. He runs forward, ripping his gun out as he goes and squeezing off two quick shots. Two of them fall, and when Axl reaches the third he drives his the blade of his knife into its eye socket.

More run through the door. The smell is overwhelming. Like a tidal wave, almost knocking me down with its force. The zombies scream as they come toward us. There are so many! I count as my heart beats faster and faster. One, four, six. Ten. They keep coming, pouring through the doorway. Screaming as they run our way.

Axl swears and fires his gun. He spins back around. “Down! To the clinic!”

Winston moves toward the stairs, but more rush out of the open doorway. We’re cornered. There are so many. They close in on us, and we have to retreat. Only there’s nowhere to go. Axl and Winston fire at the advancing zombies, and my eyes scan the group. They’re the only ones with guns. Moira and Sophia are here with the kids. There’s Anne and Jake. Jessica and Parvarti and Arthur. None of them have weapons. All Hadley and I have are knives.

Axl and Winston fire as the dead advance. The bodies fall to the ground, but there are more behind them. They’re never-ending. The moans and screams are louder than the alarm was. More terrifying. The room is rotten. The putrid air soaks into my pores, making my already queasy stomach roll. My hands shake, and I squeeze my knife, but there’s nothing I can do. Axl would never let me get close enough to use it.

Winston’s gun clicks, and my stomach drops to my knees. He and Axl look at each other, and I can see it written on their faces. This is the end. When Axl turns back to look at me, his face is distorted thanks to the tears shimmering in my eyes.

“No!” Arthur yells, pushing his way out of the group, past Winston and Axl. Charging toward the mass of bodies.

Everyone around me screams, and I take a step forward, but Axl grabs my arm and pulls me back. The monsters moan and wail as they converge on Arthur. He pushes past them, howling in pain when they bite and scratch at his skin. Blood pours from the wounds, but he keeps moving, dragging himself through the throng to the other side of the room. Leading them away from us.

The zombies go wild from the fresh blood, completely forgetting about us. I can barely see through my tears. Axl’s arm wraps around me and he pulls me into the dark stairwell. My feet drag, and I can’t stop shaking my head. Like I’ll somehow be able to erase what just happened.

I should have stopped him. I should have done something.

Footsteps and heavy breathing echo behind us as we descend into the darkness once again. Axl doesn’t let go of my hand for even a second. His fingers dig into my mine, and Arthur’s screams echo in my ears. Is he still screaming, or am I imagining it? I have no clue, but I do know the tears won’t stop coming. All I want is for the screaming to stop.

The stairwell’s clear. When we make it to the medical level, Axl jerks me to the right, heading toward the clinic. He slams his shoulder against the door, and it opens with a bang. The lights are on in the back, and they illuminate the hallway just enough for me to see the zombies charging up the stairs behind us.

“Axl!” I push away from him and swing around just in time. My knife stabs into the head of the nearest one just before his fingers wrap around Axl’s arm.

The zombie falls, and a chorus of screams, some human and some not, ring through the stairwell. Axl tries to shove me into the room, but I won’t let him. I stand my ground, bringing my knife forward while three more rush toward us. The other women and children run for the clinic as Winston, Axl, and I hack away at the incoming bodies. We take them out, but no matter what we do more keep coming, charging up the stairs behind the others.

I’m already panting when one breaks through the crowd and slams into me, knocking me against the wall. Axl swears and grabs the zombie’s head, trying to jerk him back. A chunk of his scalp rips away, and black ooze pours out. Over the zombie’s face as he chomps his rotten teeth at me.

Axl grabs its shoulders and jerks the monster back, then stabs him through the skull as soon as it’s off me. He pulls me to my feet with shaky hands and shoves me toward the door.

“Go!”

More feet pound on the stairs before I can move, and Axl spins around. He steps forward with his gun raised just as Angus rounds the corner. His face is red and covered in black goo and sweat. He’s followed by Al and Lila, Joshua, Nathan, and Jon. They’re all panting and splattered with black zombie blood.

Angus pauses, looks toward the stairs, then turns back to his brother. “We gettin’ outta here?”

Axl shakes his head. “Common area’s blocked.”

The others are frozen on the stairwell behind Angus.

“How the hell we gonna get out?” Angus growls.

Axl shakes his head, but he’s cut off when more zombies pour down the stairs. He shoves me back yet again, and this time I don’t try to resist.

I rush toward the clinic door and yell over my shoulder, “Inside!”

Lila is right behind me, followed by Joshua. Al heads our way just as a zombie rounds the corner, grabbing him and pulling him down. Angus and Axl fire at the zombie while Lila screams behind me. Winston’s out of bullets and Jon must be too, because they both charge into the room. The head of the zombie holding Al explodes, and he crawls forward, climbing to his feet. Angus and Axl back in, firing. Al scrambles in after them. He grabs the door and pulls it shut as he runs. A bullet smashes into a zombie’s head, blowing part of his jaw away, but it doesn’t quite hit the mark. The zombie leans forward and sinks what’s left of his teeth into Al’s hand. Al screams and falls into the room just as Winston slamss the door shut. Al sits on the floor, staring at his hand.

Nobody moves. Zombies bang against the door, straining to get in, but it’s completely silent in the clinic. My heart pounds, and I gasp for air. My lungs tighten until they threaten to collapse, and I can’t take my eyes off Al. He doesn’t move a muscle. I don’t even think he’s breathing. Blood runs down his hand and drips onto the floor. He just sits there, staring at the bite.

Then suddenly, Al’s head snaps up, and he thrusts his arm toward Joshua. “Cut it off!”

Joshua inhales and blinks, and within seconds he’s charging toward Al, scanning the room as he goes. His eyes land on Angus and he screams, “Your belt! Angus! Give me your belt.”

Everything in my head is jumbled and confused and nothing makes sense. I can’t focus. Belt? I can’t figure out what’s going on. My eyes follow Angus as he rips off his belt. It all seems to be moving in slow motion. He tosses the belt to Joshua, who loops it around Al’s arm. Right above the elbow. Joshua’s hands shake when he pulls it tight.

Al’s eyes are huge as he watches Joshua tighten the belt, and everything suddenly snaps into focus. I take a step back and shake my head. Is this real? We can’t really be thinking about doing this!

Joshua squeezes Al’s shoulder. “We should do it high, just to be sure.”

Al’s lip trembles, but he nods. My body starts to shake. How is he handling this better than I am? It isn’t my arm, but my stomach rolls so much I’m sure I’m going to be sick.

Joshua swipes his hair out of his face, and his eyes search the room. They stop on Axl’s knife, but before Joshua even has a chance to ask him for it, Axl is handing it over.

Lila backs away, shaking her head. Her hand grips her throat, and her bottom lip trembles. “You can’t be serious! He’ll die!”

She looks like I feel, but her words seep into my brain, and it starts to feel a little less muddled. I pull myself together. This is the world we live in now. This is the stuff that happens. If we don’t do this, Al is dead for sure. This way, he just might stand a chance.

Joshua doesn’t even look up. “He’s dead if we don’t do it.”

“At least give him something to knock him out! Something for the pain!” Her face is pale, and she’s shaking.

Jessica rushes to the terrified girl’s side and tries to comfort her, but Lila pushes her away and sinks to the floor. Sobbing. Shaking. She closes her eyes and balls her hands into fists, and her face gets so red I expect her to scream.

Joshua ignores her. “I need alcohol, something to sterilize the blade.”

I remember seeing a bottle on the table when Joshua was cleaning Mitchell’s cuts. “I’ll get it,” I say, running to the other side of the room.

It’s right where Joshua left it, and I barely pause as I scoop it up off the table and rush back. I kneel down next to Joshua and take the lid off. I can’t stop looking at Al. He’s shaking, and I squeeze his good hand, trying to give him some comfort. There’s not much else I can do.

“Can we give him morphine?” I whisper.

Joshua pours rubbing alcohol over the blade. “I locked up all the meds and the key is in my room,” he says through clenched teeth. “We’re running out of time. We have to do this
now
if we want to stop the infection from spreading.”

“You don’t even know if it will work!” Lila screams.

Al grabs Joshua’s arm. “Do it.” His voice is amazingly calm.

“Kid’s got balls of steel,” Angus mutters.

No one else says a thing.

Joshua nods, and Al lays back. He squeezes his eyes shut and clenches his fists. His good hand is wrapped around mine, and he squeezes my fingers so hard the bones crunch together. I bite down on my lip and let him do it as Joshua positions the knife over his arm. I don’t want to watch, but I can’t look away.

Joshua exhales slowly through his nose. “I’m going to need someone to hold him down.”

Lila whimpers. Moira and Jessica rush the children to the back of the room, and Nathan follows his wife. Angus lays across Al’s legs while Axl and Winston take his arms and torso. I stay where I am, clutching his hand.

“I’m sorry,” Joshua whispers.

My eyes squeeze shut, and I hold my breath. Al inhales sharply and every muscle in his body tenses, followed by a jerk. Then he lets a scream. His body shakes. When his hand crushes mine, I can’t keep my eyes shut any longer. I open them to find tears streaming down his face. He thrashes, and his screams grow louder. My heart pounds harder with each sound he makes. The agonizing cries echo through the room, drowning out every other sound.

“Hold him tighter!” Joshua says.

Axl lays his body across the teen’s chest. His face is covered in sweat. Beads of perspiration drip onto Al’s shirt as the poor kid writhes under Axl. Screaming louder. Axl’s jaw tightens, and he closes his eyes.

“Halfway there,” Joshua says through clenched teeth.

Blood pools under Al’s arm, creeping across the floor as Joshua cuts. My stomach lurches, and I have to look away when I catch sight of bone. My stomach won’t stop rolling, and my face heats up. I close my eyes and inhale slowly, trying to fight against the nausea. I can’t be sick right now.

Al’s screaming stops abruptly, and his body goes limp. His remaining hand releases mine and drops to the floor. My fingers tingle as the blood starts flowing again.

“He’s dead!” Lila screams. “Oh my God! He’s dead!”

My throat tightens, and my heart pounds even harder than before. Al’s face is covered in sweat and dirt, and every muscle is relaxed. Is he dead, though? I can’t tell.

Lila keeps screaming.