Broken World (27 page)

“Maybe it’s just a straggler,” Winston
says. “Someone who got sick while they were out hiking or something and
couldn’t make it back.”

“Yeah, that’s gotta be it.” Angus spits
into the fire. It sizzles and the fire crackles, and another moan breaks
through the air. This time it’s followed by more.

“Shit,” Axl says, getting to his feet.
“We gotta get that gate shut.”

“It doesn’t have a lock,” I call. “What
good is that going to do if they can open doors?”

“We gotta find somethin’ to lock it with,”
Angus says. “Don’t we got some zip ties in the car somewhere?”

Axl nods and the brothers run to the
Nissan in search of them while Winston heads to the gate. I grab my gun and run
after him with Al and Trey right behind me.

“Here they come!” Al yells.

It’s so bright. How can he see them? He
must have perfect vision, because it takes me a few seconds of searching the
desert before I can make them out. But he’s right. They’re coming, and not
slowly.

“You guys got those zip ties yet?” I
call.

“Still lookin’!” Axl yells back.

I glance over at Al. He’s unarmed. “Al,
go get a gun!”

He smacks himself on the forehead and
runs back toward the cars. Jessica and Parvarti huddle together by the fire.
Anne heads our way. She’s loaded down with weapons.

“Look how many of them are out there,”
Winston says.

My heart pounds. I start counting and
stop at thirty. We’re fenced in, but this chain link isn’t going to last long
against a big mob.

“It looks like they’re wearing military
uniforms,” Anne says.

“Area 51!” Al yells excitedly when he
comes to a stop next to me. He waves his gun toward the desert. “I bet we’re
close to area 51!”

“That’s a good thing?” I ask. Will
military training make them more deadly? Probably won’t hurt.

“Got ‘em.” Axl runs up behind us and
slips a zip tie through the latch on the fence.

“Not sure if it’s going to help,”
Winston says. “Many more of them show up and they’ll probably be able to push
this fence down.

“What do we do?” I ask. “Do we take
cover in the cars and hope they don’t spot us or do we start shooting?”

“I think it’s too late to hide,” Anne
says.

Trey bounces around on the balls of his
feet. He reminds me of a football player right before a big game. “So shoot,
then?”

Winston looks at Axl and shrugs. “I
don’t think we have any other options.”

They’re closing in on us now, and
judging by the moaning they know we’re here. It’s getting darker, but the
fenced area is well lit—probably for the helicopter—making us an easy target.

“Wait till you’re sure you got a good
shot,” Axl says. “We got plenty of ammo, but who knows how many more are out
there.”

My heart pounds. Every time the wind
blows I catch a whiff of decay and my stomach lurches. “Shit,” I mutter, trying
to control my shaking hands. “I didn’t think we were going to die today.”

“It’s as good a day as any.” Axl aims
his gun and takes the first shot.

Trey pulls the trigger next, taking a
body down. “If they knock this fence down we’re dead for sure.”

We all start shooting after that. The
gunfire echoing through the silent desert night is overwhelming. Like a freight
train. Bodies fall and the dead scream, but more keep coming. Before long
there’s a pile of them just outside the fence.

“They’re never-ending!” I yell, firing
my last bullet. I dig in my back pocket for another clip.

Anne sweeps her sweaty hair off her
forehead. “What do we do?”

“Keep shootin’!” Angus growls.

My heart jumps to my throat when the
first body reaches the fence. He’s only there for a second before someone
shoots him in the face, but another replaces him. Then another.

“There must be hundreds!” Al yells.

Before I know it twenty bodies are at
the fence. They clutch the chain link and shake it, filling the night with
their agonizing screams. We fall back, shooting as we walk. I don’t know where
we’re going, but I want to be as far away from that fence as I can when it
collapses.

“I’m out!” Anne turns and runs back to
the car.

It isn’t long until others run back as
well. Soon it’s just me and Angus still firing into the bodies. When my gun
clicks and nothing happens, I follow the others. They’re outside the Nissan,
getting more guns and ammo ready. Angus only fires three more times before he
runs toward us too.

“We got ‘nough fuel in the Explorer,
that’s it,” Axl yells. His face is red and sweat drips down his forehead. He
wipes it from his eyes and looks us all over. “What’d we do? Make a run for it
or try an’ fight ‘em off?”

I don’t know what to say. Leaving would
mean giving up all of our supplies, going off into the desert and praying we
could find more and make our way in Vegas. It doesn’t sound appealing.

“We have plenty of ammo,” Trey says. “I
say we fight.”

“Anyone have a problem with that?”
Winston asks.

Moans fill the silence while we stare at
each other. Staying could mean death, but so could running. Everyone is
breathing heavily, sweating and shaking. Terrified. But no one argues. No one
wants to leave our supplies behind. No one wants to run away like a coward.

Axl’s eyes meet mine and everything in
me constricts. There are so many things I want to say to him before the end,
but there isn’t time. Not with the bodies charging us and everyone around. If
only we had a few minutes to ourselves.

“I’m not ready to give up,” I say, loud
enough that only he can hear.

Axl swallows and his gray eyes fill with
regret. Like he wishes he had more time with me as well. “Then we fight.”

We turn back toward the fence just as
the door to the concrete building opens behind us.

Shattered
World
Book #2 in the
Broken World
series
October 4, 2014

Stranded in the middle of the Mojave Desert,
surrounded by zombies, Vivian and Axl’s group are sure they’re facing the end.
The dead are closing in and the shelter they were promised is sealed tight,
only they refuse to go down without a fight. Just when they think they’ve run
out of time, the doors to the shelter are thrown open and they’re given refuge.
Five years in underground condos with all the provisions there for the taking.
It’s almost too good to be true. With the promise of security, Vivian hopes
she’ll finally able to take a deep breath and deal with everything that’s
happened. The loss of Emily, her growing feelings for Axl, and the terrifying
new world they’re facing.

But the group’s sense of security is soon shattered
when they learn the shelter isn’t the utopia they thought it would be. It seems
the company that built the shelter decided to solve their financial problems by
selling off provisions, which means the group has to find a way to get their
own food, fuel and medical supplies. Or face starvation.

 And Vegas is the closest city.

With her feelings for Axl stronger than ever, Vivian
volunteers to accompany him and a few others on a trip into one of the biggest
tourist cities in the world to search for supplies. The city is overrun with
the dead, but there are other survivors as well. Only not everyone they meet is
a welcome sight. As the emotional baggage piles up, Vivian and Axl’s bond grows
stronger than ever, but it doesn’t take long to realize the dead isn’t the only
thing they have to fear.

Chapter
One

So this is the end.
Mitchell—the bastard—promised us a safe place, instead he’s left us out here to
die. I’m not that surprised, really. Axl and I suspected this would happen. But
we didn’t expect what came next. We’re in the middle of nowhere. The damn
Mojave desert! Who would have guessed the dead would find us out here?

          Moans fill
the silence while we stare at each other, trying to decide what to do. Staying
to fight could mean death, but running will lead us to Vegas. Not an ideal
place to take refuge. We’ve already killed dozens of the undead. We’re all
breathing heavily. Sweaty and shaking. Terrified. But no one wants to abandon
our supplies. No one suggests that we run away like cowards.

          Axl’s eyes
meet mine and all the things we’ve left unsaid flash through my mind. I owe him
so many thank yous. No one has ever been as kind and thoughtful as he has. I
regret all the missed moments. All the time I could have told him how much I
cared, but I let them pass. If only there was more time.

          “Then we
fight,” Axl says.

          I swallow and
nod with the others. My heart pounds and adrenaline courses through my veins.
This could be the end for us, but I guess I’m okay with it. It’s not like I’m
leaving a lot behind. Emily is gone and this thing with Axl may not have every
happened, anyway. I’d rather die fighting.

          We turn back
to face the horde of bodies at the fence just as the door to concrete building
opens. I spin around with my heart in my throat, frozen in my tracks. No one
speaks and the night seems suddenly silent. Blood pounds in my ears, and I’m
breathing heavily, but it’s like everything moves in slow motion as a woman
steps out of the building.

          I blink three
times, like doing it will somehow cause what I’m seeing to make sense. I know
her. She’s thin, the kind of thin only Hollywood can produce. Her hair is
strawberry blonde and silky smooth. It goes just past her shoulders. It’s too
dark to get a good look at her eyes from here, but I know they’re green without
even having to look, and that she has a splash of freckles on her nose.

          “Holy crap!
That’s Hadley Lucas,” Al says excitedly. Of course he’d be the first one to
snap out of it. Teenage hormones and celebrity worship go hand in hand.

          Hadley’s body
is tense. Am I really here, or am I sitting in some movie theater somewhere,
watching this all happen? I almost reach for my popcorn. Then the stench of
death hits my nostrils and I’m jerked back to reality. You can’t smell movies.
Even though I’ve watched Hadley Lucas in dozens of movies over the years, this
isn’t one of them.

          Hadley’s eyes
dart to the fence while she frantically motions for us to come into the
building. “Come on!”

          People run
toward her, but my feet are rooted to the ground. We can’t just run off and
leave everything out here. If the dead rattling the fence manages to break it
down, we’ll never be able to get our supplies. We need to take them now.

          Axl takes a
step forward, but I grab his arm. “What about our stuff?”

          His gray eyes
move toward the fence and I follow his gaze. A shiver runs down my spine. The
moans are louder now. The dead howl and shake the fence frantically. Desperate
to get in. It’s holding, but who knows for how long.

          Axl must be
thinking the same thing. Instead of running toward the building, he turns and
heads back to the Nissan. “Everybody grab your gear!”

          While I jog
toward the car, I shove my gun in the waistband of my pants. I grab my own
things first, throwing them over my shoulder so I can free up my hands to carry
more. It’s awkward and heavy because the bags I grab are full of weapons. The
nylon straps dig into my flesh, but I want to get as much in as possible before
that fence collapses.

          I glance
toward the building just as Joshua and Arthur run out. Joshua’s face is tense
when he stops next to me and starts pulling things out of the car. Arthur is
right behind him. He’s in his sixties and his arms are so thin he doesn’t look
strong enough to carry much, but he grabs a huge box. Guess looks can be
deceiving.

          Joshua flicks
his brown hair out of his face and eyes meet mine. He gives me a tense smile
while he grabs a few bags out of the Nissan. “Sorry it took so long.”

          The smile I
give him is tense but genuine. I’m too relieved the door is actually open to
complain. Does he really think any of us could blame him? When he went inside
with that asshole we had no reason to think Joshua would be able to get the
door open, but he did. Whether it took minutes or hours, he worked a miracle in
my book.

          “Don’t
apologize.” I grimace when the nylon straps shift on my arm. It’s like getting
rug burn.

          Moans from
the dead follow us into the small, concrete building. We’re all huffing and
puffing from exertion. Like the big bad wolf, trying to blow the house down. We
barely fit with all our boxes and bags of supplies. When the door shuts,
cutting off the sounds and smells of the dead, I should be relieved. But it’s
stiflingly hot and a tight fit. We all bump into one another, and so many
people bang into my arms and legs that I’m sure I’m going to be covered in
bruises. But I’ll be alive. That’s the important part.

The
door leading into the shelter is wide open, and Hadley Lucas stands next to it.
I’m one of the closest people to her. She smiles—revealing those famous
dimples—and actually takes a couple bags out of my hand before heading down the
stairs. I didn’t expect a Hollywood star to come to my rescue today.

          I’m right
behind her, and the footsteps of the others echo on the stairs at my back. No
one talks. The panic and exhaustion from before hangs over us like a mushroom
cloud, and I haven’t been able to completely relax yet.

          The stairwell
is narrow and awkward to maneuver with an armful of bags, but I manage to make
it down to the next floor without tripping over myself or anyone else. I drop
my things as soon as I’m off the stairs, and take deep, soothing breaths while
I try to calm my pounding heart. It doesn’t work. It’s going to take some time
for me to relax. I half expect Mitchell to pop out and shoot me in the head. Or
the dead to come charging down the stairs behind us. No way we’re really in
this shelter. No way we’re safe after the hell we’ve been through the last
several days.

          Others file
in. Everyone is covered in dirt and sweat, and several people still gasp for
breath. There are tears in Jessica’s eyes when she leans against her father,
Trey and Parvarti hug. Anne rushes forward and throws her arms around Jake.
Even Angus’s face is more relaxed, though he does his best to keep his jaw
tense and his eyes hard. Classic Angus. Al, oddly enough, is drooling over
Hadley. Teenagers.

          My eyes meet
Axl’s and I have the sudden urge to reach out and hug him, but I hold back. The
corner of his mouth pulls up just a tad. He’s filthy—even more so than the rest
of us. His dirty blond hair drips with sweat. It clings to his forehead in
clumps, making it look darker. My fingertips tingle with the desire to brush it
off his face. I give him a tentative smile while my heart pounds harder. It was
just slowing, but one look from him has sent it into overdrive again.

People
start to relax. To talk. To cry. The air is thick with relief as the tension
melts away. We are not going to die tonight.

          Sophia clings
to Ava, and when our eyes meet she releases her daughter long enough to run to
me. She throws one arm around me and another around Jessica, hugging us at the
same time. There are tears on her cheeks. “Thank God you’re okay,” she says,
over and over again.

          Anne hasn’t
stopped hugging Jake. There’s a look of pure joy on her face that tugs at my
heart so thoroughly I’m certain it’s going to explode. They didn’t even know
one another a few days ago, but they belong to each other now. That’s what
happens when you find yourself in the middle of a zombie apocalypse, I guess.
Trying to mend your shattered life with pieces you find along the way. It’s
what we’ve all seemed to do.