Broken World (Book 3): Mad World (23 page)

“When I was hiding, some men ran by,” Darla says. “They was talking about loading up our supplies and getting outta here. Said they wanted to take that truck.”

“We gotta get to the truck,” I mutter, movin’ faster.

Vivian rips the clinic door open before I even have a chance to turn the knob. Her gun is raised and her face tense, but she relaxes when she sees us. She takes a step back and pulls the door open wider.

“What did you find?”

I give the iron and key to the doc, and my mind goes to work. Makin’ a list of everything we gotta do to get outta here. “Lotta dead zombies, two bastards from the Monte Carlo and a whole buncha smoke.” Her brown eyes get big, and I take her hand. “They must’ve started a fire. We gotta get out.”

Al’s awake. His face is whiter than before and covered in sweat. His whole body shakes. That rich bitch is holdin’ his hand. Maybe she ain’t such a bitch after all. She’s cryin’, and she looks pretty tore up ‘bout the whole thing.

“How you doin’?” I ask, kneelin’ down beside Al.

Vivian leans down too, and she wipes the sweat off his face. Even gives the girl a tissue so she can wipe her nose. She don’t, though.

Al nods, and his jaw gets even tighter. “O-okay. G-good t-thing I’m right h-handed.” He tries to smile, but it looks more like he wants to cry.

I put my hand on his shoulder and nod. Angus was right. The kid’s got balls of steel. “We’re gonna get you outta here. We’re gonna get everybody outta here.”

Al swallows, then looks toward the stump. “It w-worked. I kn-knew it.”

We still gotta wait to see for sure, but I nod anyways. No sense kickin’ the kid when he’s already down.

“What made you think to try it?” Vivian asks.

It’s a good question. I never woulda thought of it, that’s for damn sure.

The kid swallows, and when he looks up, he’s grinnin’ a little. Looks proud of himself, too. “Z-zombie fan. Remember?”

He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes. Looks suddenly like he’s gonna puke or pass out or scream.

Vivian squeezes the hand he’s still got. “I guess we all should have watched more zombie shows.”

Al opens his eyes and tries to smile. It don’t work.

The doc comes back with a shot, and the kid’s face relaxes a bit. Soon as the meds are in his system, Al closes his eyes and lays back.

“Now what?” the girl asks. She sniffs and wipes a bunch of snot off her face with her sleeve, not the tissue Vivian just gave her. I bet she ain’t stopped cryin’ since the kid got bit. Damn. It’s funny how fast people can form bonds in the middle of all this shit.

The doc swallows, and his eyes move across the room. “The iron. We have to stop the bleeding and get him stable so we can move.”

“Axl,” Winston calls.

Winston and Angus are whisperin’ like schoolgirls, not like two men who don’t like each other. Angus puckers his lips and looks over toward Al. Right away I know they ain’t callin’ me over to tell me good news.

“What?” I snap. I know what they’re gonna say, and it pisses me off. Not ‘cause it ain’t true, but ‘cause they’re right. Why can’t anything be easy anymore? The poor kid had to lose his damn arm, but even that might not be enough.

“You know this might not work,” Winston whispers. “He could still turn.”

My jaw tightens, and I look over at Al. His face is totally relaxed now. Even as the doc brings the iron over and the girl starts cryin’ again. Vivian and Hadley are there tryin’ to comfort her, but she’s freakin’ out. I turn away. I can’t watch no more.

“We had to try,” I mutter.

“Of course we did,” Winston says. “But we need to be on the lookout for any sign he’s going to turn. That’s not going to be easy with the morphine in his system.”

“Shit.” I run my hand through my hair. It’s sweaty and stuck to my forehead. “You sayin’ we don’t give him nothin’ for the pain?”

Winston frowns and looks like he’s gonna be sick. He ain’t the only one. “Yes.”

“Shit,” I mutter again, turnin’ away. They’re right, but I don’t like it. “We’ll deal with all that after we get outta here. For now, we gotta load up and make sure the way out is clear.”

“Okay.” Winston nods and looks ‘round. “I want the five of us to head up first and make sure the coast is clear. Then we can come back for everyone else. How does that sound?”

“Sounds ‘bout right,” I say, pullin’ my gun back out. “Jon! Nathan!”

Jon jumps up from where’s he’s sittin’ with Hadley and runs over. Nathan has a tough time gettin’ away from that wife of his.

I stop by the doc and Vivian on my way to the door. “We’re gonna have to get outta here pretty fast. Anythin’ you wanna take better be ready.” They nod and I point over my shoulder, just to make sure they understand. “All them medical supplies we risked our lives to get. We need ‘em.”

The doc gets to his feet. “Got it.”

“We’ll take care of it,” Vivian says. She grabs my hand. “Axl.”

“Yeah.”

“Watch your back.”

“Let’s get a move on,” Angus says, rippin’ the door open.

***

The closer we get to the common area, the louder the voices are. Angus is in the lead, and I take up the back. I’d rather be up front, but Angus insisted. The men up there are laughin’. Bottles clink against each other. They must be raidin’ the bar. Guess they think we’re all dead. Either that or they’re dumb as shit.

The second one is probably more like it.

Angus stops just outside the door and holds his hand up. Three fingers in the air. Then two. Then one. When he puts the last one down, we charge into the room. Two shots are fired before I even step through the door. The men are behind the bar just like I thought, and we must’ve caught them by surprise. Two or three of ‘em take cover, but the three that were out front are dead within seconds.

“How many?” I yell, duckin’ behind a chair.

“Three!” Angus shouts from behind the couch.

Winston crouches next to me. Jon and Nathan must be with Angus ‘cause I don’t see ‘em. The men behind the bar are swearin’, yellin’ about guns. Sounds like they either aren’t armed or they’re empty. Either way, it’s good for us.

“We gotta go now,” I hiss.

Angus shakes his head. He must not be able to hear the men. His hearin’ has always been a little fuzzy. We can’t afford to wait, so I elbow Winston and jerk my head toward the bar. Winston nods and we take off, keepin’ low as we run forward.

Angus swears, and there are footsteps behind us. More shoutin’ comes from the bar and when I reach it I jump on top, aimin’ down and squeezin’ off two shots before I’ve even have a chance to take it all in.

My bullets take two of them out. The third guy’s squeezed his way up under the bar. He pushed some bottles onto the floor so he could get on a shelf. Dumb shit. He’s wedged himself in, and now there’s nowhere for him to go.

I throw my legs over and drop down right in front of him. His eyes get huge. He’s young, sixteen maybe. My jaw tenses, but I can’t afford to show mercy. Not after the mess Mitchell caused. I press my gun to his forehead and he opens his mouth—maybe to beg for his life—but I pull the trigger before he has a chance to say a word.

“You moron!” Angus growls. “What were you thinkin’?”

I rip my eyes away from the lifeless kid and get up. “I was thinkin’ we caught ‘em by surprise and we should take advantage of it. I was right.”

Angus’s face scrunches up and he spits. “Whatever. Don’t do that again.” He turns and heads toward the control room. “Let’s make sure the rest of this place is clear.”

“All the food we had stored here is gone.” Nathan shakes his head. “They must have cleared it out while we were downstairs.”

“We’ve seen eight guys now,” Winston says. “That guy swore there were at least twenty.”

“Asshole coulda lied,” I say.

Winston glances toward Angus and shakes his head. “Doubtful.”

Angus nods, and I get the uncomfortable feelin’ my brother mighta tortured that guy. I don’t care ‘bout the man so much, but I hate thinkin’ Angus is capable of that. Not after all the other horrible shit I been thinkin’ ‘bout him lately.

“He was tellin’ the truth,” Angus says, headin’ toward the door. “Let’s check out the control.”

Jon is draggin’ his feet, and he’s barely said a word this entire time.

“You got something goin’ on in that head a yours?” I ask. My gun’s up and I keep my eyes forward, but I can hear him sigh.

“You guys may be able to take all this killing in stride, but I can’t.”

I pucker my lips. Dammit. “Even after what happened to your sister?”

“Leave her out of this!”

Time for some tough fuckin’ love. “Can’t. She’s part of it. We all are. This is the messed up world we live in now. Get used to it.”

Jon don’t say nothin’.

When we get to the hall that leads to the control room, the floor is covered in blood and black shit from the zombies. There are bodies layin’ ‘round, but something else, too. My body tenses when I notice the fur. Dogs.

“That’s how they got the zombies down here,” Angus grumbles, kickin’ at a carcass with the toe of his shoe. “Opened the doors and sent the dogs down. Zombies followed ‘em.”

“Bastards,” Jon mutters. Least he cares ‘bout something.

“Let’s keep movin’,” I mutter. The dogs are the least of my worries. They’re just animals. I don’t appreciate animal cruelty or nothin’, but we got people to take care of. Women and kids. People who need us to focus. Can’t let a few dead dogs distract us.

The door to the control room is wide open. When I turn the corner, I swear and lower my gun. Jhett’s on the floor. Or what’s left of him. His body is ripped to shreds, but even with all the bite marks, I can see his throat’s been slit. A big gapin’ cut right across the front of his neck.

“Now you feel bad?” I spit at Jon. “He was just a kid!”

Jon shakes his head and looks away.

“Pansy,” Angus mutters, pushin’ his way into the room.

Red lights are blinkin’ all over the control panel, but the cameras are out. Green words flicker across the computer screen. I lean forward so I can read them.

“Fire on bottom level,” I mutter, scrollin’ down. “Air filtration system damaged.”

“What else?” Nathan asks.

I stand up and turn away from the screen. No reason to keep readin’. “We’re screwed if we don’t get out. That enough for ya?”

“Okay,” Winston says. “What now? We’re pretty certain there are people on the surface still. Do we go up and try to take care of them or bring everyone upstairs first?”

“Let’s get everybody up here,” I say. “At least to the shelter on the surface. Then we can decide what to do. We gotta get to that truck before they leave with it, and the air down there ain’t good. Can’t leave everybody underground to suffocate.”

23
Vivian

MY STOMACH IS IN KNOTS and I can’t sit still. I open the door every two seconds. There’s nothing but death in the hall, though. No noise. No Axl. Nothing.

“They’ll be back,” Anne says, dropping another bag next to me on the floor.

That should be all of it. At least the medical supplies are pretty much ready to go when they get back. If they get back.

I nod and try not to pace, but I can’t stop. Lila is still crying and Al’s face is covered in sweat. The morphine didn’t keep him from screaming when Joshua cauterized the wound, and it didn’t keep me from almost throwing up.

Then there’s Darla. She’s like a bad penny. And she won’t stop staring at me. She has something on her mind, but every time she tries to catch my eye, I look away. I’ve got too many other things going on to focus on that drama. That’s the drama of the past. Not liking your mom. What a joke. I’d love to go back in time when I had those problems. Not here. Not now. Now we’ve got real problems. Big problems. Running from mad men who want to abuse us and trying not to get eaten by zombies. We’re trapped underground in a place that was supposed to be safe, and if those men get ahold of us we’ll be going right back to Vegas.

“I’ll kill myself before I let that happen,” I mutter.

Anne arches an eyebrow. “What?”

“Nothing.”

The door opens behind me and I squeal, spinning around with my gun raised. It’s Winston. I press my lips together when Jon and Nathan follow him in, then Angus. When Axl walks through the door, I almost burst into tears. I’m wound so tight even the smallest thing is going to make me snap.

I’m in his arms before the door is shut. Shaking. God, why can’t I stop shaking?

He doesn’t let me go, but he pulls me toward the middle of the room. “Everybody get your shit together. We gotta get to that Sam’s truck and get out.”

Moira is clinging to Nathan like she’s never going to let him go, and Lila is still crying. Hadley looks dazed, but Jon’s there to help her. We’re a sad group compared to just a week and a half ago when we were enjoying the pool. We only got a few hours of rest before hell fell down on our heads once again.

“What’s the plan?” I ask Axl. Still holding him. I’m as bad as Moira. I can’t seem to keep my hands off him.

“It ain’t gonna be easy,” Axl says, lowering his voice. “We know they’re on the surface, but we don’t know how many. But we gotta go. The fire’s on the bottom level and the air in here’s gonna get real bad real fast. You gotta be in charge of gettin’ them women and children outta here.” His stormy eyes search mine, and I swallow. “You’re strong. You can do it.”

My throat is tight. “What are you saying?”

“I’m sayin’ we’re gonna try and hold ‘em off. Me and Angus, Winston, Nathan, and Jon. But you gotta get the others to safety. Get to the truck, get them in, and drive.”

I shake my head. I can’t stop. He can’t be serious. Not after everything we’ve been through. “I don’t want to leave you.”

“We’ll be right behind you in the Nissan.” The corner of his mouth twitches. “I worked hard to steal that thing, I ain’t gonna leave it.” His hand rests on my cheek, and I lean into it. “And I ain’t gonna leave you, neither.”

My bottom lip quivers and my eyes sting, but I fight against it. He’s right. We have to work together to get out of this. I can’t just worry about me and Axl. This is about all of us.

“Where do I go?”

“Drive east. Toward them mountains. We’ll meet there.”

“Okay,” I whisper. It’s the most difficult thing I’ve ever had to say.

Axl pulls my face toward his, crushing his lips against mine. I wrap my arms around him. The kiss hurts deep inside me. Like my soul knows this might its last chance to touch these lips, to hold this body.

“Axl!”

Angus’s voice brings me back to reality. Everyone stands by the door, waiting for us. I take a deep breath and do my best to control my rapidly beating heart. This is the time to focus on the task at hand. To be ready. I can’t be distracted.

Winston walks to the front of the group. His hand moves to the doorknob, but he pauses and looks us all over. “Everyone stay close. If something happens, fall back.”

My body stiffens when he opens the door. I expect something to jump out at us, man or monster, but the hall is empty.

Winston moves forward with Jon and Angus right behind him. The rest of us file out in one silent wave of tension. I end up somewhere in the middle, carrying a bag of guns. It weighs me down. Makes my already heavy legs feel like they weigh a hundred pounds each.

Hadley and Sophia carry bags of medical supplies, Angus another bag of weapons. Nathan is practically carrying Moira and Liz. Joshua and Axl support Al at the back of the group, and I can’t stop looking over my shoulder to make sure they’re okay. Hopefully nothing comes up behind us.

We move up the stairs in a huddled mass, clinging to each other as we trip over the bodies. The air is polluted. Full of noxious fumes from the fire and the foul stench of death. The smoke stings my eyes and my throat, and around me people start to cough. Every breath I take feels thick, and my lungs are painfully tight. One of the kids—Liz, I think—starts to cry.

Voices float out of the common area when we get close, and the air fills with something more lethal than rot or chemicals. Rage, terror, misery. Suffocating anxiety. The group slows, and I push my way forward, up next to Winston, Angus, and Jon. The voices get louder with each step we take. They have to be able to hear us coming. There are too many of us to be quiet.

“What’s the plan?” I whisper.

Angus’s jaw tightens, and he frowns down at me like he doesn’t think I should be put in danger. Is he going to try to protect me now too? That would be a first. I didn’t think Angus had a chivalrous bone in his body.

“Sounds like three or four,” Winston says.

“We gotta just go.” Angus pauses when more people cough behind us. “We don’t get out soon, we’re goners.”

Winston glances at me. “You ready?” I nod and drop my bag to the ground. “Then let’s do it.”

The three of us run out, and I fire at the first thing I see. My bullet hits a man in the chest, and he falls to the ground as another dives behind the couch. Angus and Winston fire, but only one more goes down. A fourth ducks behind the bar, firing in return. Angus grunts and hits the ground, and I fall to my knees next to him. His sleeve is bright red, and he’s cursing up a storm.

“Bastard!” he yells. He rolls to his side and shoots at the man. The bullet hits the man in the head, and he drops to the floor.

I’m trying to pull the sleeve of Angus’s shirt aside so I can see how bad it is. He won’t sit still, though. I put my arms on his chest and force him against the ground. “Let me look at it!”

His face is tense, but he stays down this time. “It’s just a graze.”

I yank his sleeve up and see that he’s right. The bullet left a two inch streak across his left bicep, right under the Confederate flag tattoo.

“It looks okay.”

He grunts and gets to his feet. “Told ya.”

Winston and Jon haul the fourth man to his feet and push him forward. He falls right in front of Angus, who grins and slams the heel of his boot against the man’s nose. Blood sprays everywhere.

The man screams, and Angus leans closer. He grabs the guy by his collar and pulls him up, so their faces are only inches apart. “Got your attention?” The man nods, and Angus smiles even bigger. “Good. Now, you’re gonna tell us how many men are on the surface. You do that, and I won’t gut you.”

The man’s lips tremble. They move rapidly, but no sound comes out for a full ten seconds. “T-ten,” he says. “Maybe more.”

Angus nods and smiles like he truly appreciates the man’s honesty. The guy starts to relax.

“Thanks.” Quick as lightening, Angus slams his knife into the man’s throat and lets him go. His body drops to the floor.

“You’re enjoying this too much,” I say, getting to my feet. But none of us even blinked when he did it. Like we’re used to death and killing now. I guess we are.

Angus uses his jeans to wipe the blood from his knife. “Naw. I just like finally having an outlet for all this rage.”

I let out a laugh just as someone slams into me. My body bangs against the wall. My gun drops to the floor as all the air leaves my lungs in a puff. I’m gasping when the person spins me around, putting my body in front of his. Using me as a human shield.

I’m facing Angus, Winston, and Jon when Axl walks into the room. His gun is drawn and every muscle in his face clenches. He takes a step closer. The man holding me tightens his grip and presses a knife against my throat.

My eyes flit down, and my heart almost stops. His arms are covered in tattoos. Demons and snakes and naked women. It’s Tat.

“Nobody move or I’ll cut her open,” Tat says. “And enjoy it. Isn’t that right, baby?” He leans forward, and his tongue slides up the side of my face like a slippery snake. I flinch and jerk my head back, but the blade pricks the skin on my neck.

“Buddy,” Axl says. “I’m gonna blow your fuckin’ brains out.”

Tat laughs, and the sharp point of the knife digs a little deeper into my throat. Threatening to break the skin. I hold my breath as my legs tremble. “So you must be the boyfriend who broke her out. Too bad you didn’t get there earlier. I had a real good time with her before you showed up.” He presses his mouth against my ear. “Just wait ‘til we get back to Vegas. The boss isn’t going to care this time. He’s going to let me do whatever I want with you.”

Axl’s mouth jerks, and he drops his gun. It clatters to the floor, and Tat relaxes. He leans his face forward again like he’s going to say something else. Faster than a bullet, Axl rips the knife out of his belt and flings it toward us.

I squeeze my eyes shut as Tat’s whole body jerks back. A yelp of terror pops out of my mouth. Tat’s arms fall away. There’s a thump. I crack one eye and look down. Tat’s lifeless eyes stare back at me. Axl’s hunting knife is buried in his forehead.

Axl is by my side before I even get a chance to fill my lungs. He pulls me against him, squeezing me so tight I can’t breathe again. This time, I don’t care.

“I’m okay,” I say. “I’m okay.”

He steps away, but he doesn’t relax. He takes a deep breath like he’s trying to steady himself, then rips the knife out of Tat’s skull. “We gotta go.”

***

We make it to the surface shelter without seeing anyone else, but after the confrontation in the common area, everyone is silent and tense. Stepping into the shelter only makes things worse.

The door is open a couple inches, and male voices travel in. Several of them. Angus peers through the opening, and I hold my breath. A minute goes by. Two. Angus steps back. He frowns.

“Looks like six. They’re busy loadin’ a truck and holdin’ the zombies off.”

“What about the Sam’s truck?” Axl asks.

“Doors are shut. Either they ain’t tried to open it yet or they ain’t gonna.”

“What do you think?” Winston asks.

Angus purses his lips and scratches his chin. “We got a shot. They’re awfully busy and the zombies are on their side of the fence.”

“So the five of us go out first and distract them.” Winston looks at me. “Vivian gets the keys and gets to the truck. Then what?”

“First we gotta cut a hole in that fence closer to the truck. Something big enough for everybody to squeeze through.” Axl looks at his brother. “We still got them bolt cutters in the car?”

Angus spits on the floor. “Sure do.”

“Good,” Axl says. “Vivian, you get that key and get to the truck. Soon as it’s started, Anne’s gonna get everybody movin’.”

Anne bites her lip and pulls Jake closer. The kid’s eyes are huge. “I can do it.”

Axl tilts my face toward his. “Remember where the key is?”

I want to grab his hand and never let it go, but this isn’t the time. “Three steps to the right and dig.”

“Okay. Let’s do it then,” Winston says. He turns to Jon and Nathan. “You two ready?”

Jon nods, and Nathan pries himself out of Moira’s iron grip. She won’t stop crying, and it’s starting to get old. He kisses her and practically shoves her toward Liz. She’s still blubbering. I have the sudden urge to slap her, but I don’t think it would help. With the way she’s acting, it would probably make things a million times worse.

Axl drops my hand. My heart sinks to the ground when Angus eases the door open. I hold my breath, waiting for gunfire. But nothing happens. After a few seconds, Angus nods and ducks out, followed by Axl, Jon, Nathan, and Winston. As soon as they’re gone, Anne and I run to the door and peer through the opening.

The men from Vegas are loading a truck in the distance. Occasionally, one has to break away from the group to kill a stray zombie. Axl and the others have disappeared. I’m not even sure which way they went.

“Can you see them?” Anne hisses.

I shake my head and grip the door, waiting for a signal. Angus steps out of the shadows and falls in line with a group of men carrying supplies. He has something in his hand, but can’t I tell what it is. Maybe a box or something. Where the hell did he get it? My shoulders tense and I wrap my fingers around the door knob, squeezing it tightly. They’re going to notice he isn’t with their group. They have to!