Frequency (The Frenzy Series Book 3) (6 page)

My throat burned uncomfortably.
How do you hear anything at all about Blackwater? I can’t hear anything but chatter. How can you possibly hear all the way into the Colony?

Mercedes made a raspy sound in her throat.
We have people hiding in the forest. During the hunts, we learn a lot. Until recently, Pierce and Roman were on good terms and Roman told Pierce everything that happened in the Colony. I was so upset to learn that she volunteered for the rotation.

What did that even mean? Roman was helping Pierce? To what end?

Footsteps outside the room halted our conversation. No doubt they could hear us. Mercedes fed me another sip of broth. She took a piece of paper and pencil from the bedside table and scrawled across the page.
There’s a way to block others from hearing your thoughts. I’ll teach you. But not tonight. You need to rest.

Taking deep breath, I closed my eyes, sank back into the pillows, and tumbled into a deep sleep.

Pierce circled like a vulture, raking his bony fingers through long strands of hair the guy should have cut off a long damn time ago. He stilled his steps and looked at me.

Mercedes isn’t here to protect you now,
he warned
.

She didn’t protect me before.

She helped make you as healthy as you’ll ever be again. After she bit you, of course. Women. Fickle creatures.

His skin was mottled and looked worse than it had the day before.
How fast did the infection speed the decay of the body?
I asked.

It varies depending on the person, prior ailments and such,
Pierce answered
. I was virile, healthy, and young when I was bitten, so I’ve lasted longer than most. You’ll last a long time, too, as long as you don’t get injured irreparably somehow.

Porschia shot Mercedes with a crossbow. Did the injury shorten her life even more?
I questioned.

It wasn’t a mortal wound. We patched it as we do any flesh wound.

I had to know.
Why did you send Mercedes out there alone? Tage will kill her.

I’m counting on it,
Pierce answered, and
started pacing again before continuing.
I hope he delivers her head to Porschia, too; perhaps on a silver platter. Tage is barely out of Frenzy, from what I’ve overheard. He loves Porschia, and is miffed at Mercedes for attacking his beloved.

She is
not
his beloved,
I answered indignantly, standing up.

He smiled, looking exactly like Roman in that moment. Then his eyes narrowed.

I know he’s your brother, asshole.

He clapped his hands together slowly.
My guess is that Mercedes told you. But no one in that pathetic Colony has figured it out yet. Save the Elders, of course.

What did the Elders have to do with this, and what else did they know?
How are you alive? I thought Roman was really old.

He smiled
. He’s not as old as he lets on, but he’s pretty old. And I’m alive because of him.

He keeps you young?

Yes.

It either had to be his blood or his venom.
His blood?

Just a drop keeps me feeling decent, but any more than that would kill me. We’ve learned the hard way during our experimentation.

How’d you even figure that out?

His eyes hardened as he shrugged a thick tan coat on.
Someone lied to us. We found out the hard way.

Who turned first, you or Roman?

He swallowed.
Me. End of conversation.
And with that, he strode out of the apartment and barked at two of his cronies to guard the door.

Where was he going?

To find out if Tage did what I hope he did,
he yelled into my head. I grabbed my skull, a palm at each temple.

Later that day Pierce entered the room with a plate that was covered with a towel, although the very thought of eating made my stomach turn and knot. When he stepped close to my bed and removed the cloth, a thick slab of raw, red meat stared back at me. A circle of blood swished on the plate as he held it out to me. It should have made me sick. As a human, I might have vomited to think about eating something so vile. It should have seemed disgusting and foreign. Instead, it made my mouth water.

I sat up as quickly as I could and lunged for it, but Pierce laughed and held the plate just out of reach, high above his head.
Someone’s finally hungry. Good. You’ll need your strength.

For what?

To go see the rest of our community, of course
, he replied.

He lowered the plate and I snatched it out of his hand, sloshing the bloody pool onto the bed. Backing up onto the mattress, my shoulder blades hit the headboard behind me. The meat was cold, but I didn’t care. I tore into it like a ravenous animal, like Dara had gulped from the deer in the woods, like Porschia in frenzy. This was a frenzy of a different kind; the common thread of desperation weaving the two together.

Get dressed – wear a lot of layers and meet me at the door in ten.

I nodded, continuing to grind up my food, gristle and all. I finished eating and crossed the room to search the closet, layering on multiple sweaters and then a jacket. The only gloves I could find had holes chewed in them, but they were better than nothing. My boots felt a size too big. All of my clothes were stretched.

Pierce was waiting by the apartment door. He ticked his head and I followed him down the hallway, passing the doors that were shut; the occupants behind them growing quiet as we passed. There was a constant humming chatter. How many Infected lived here?

Forty-two, counting you.

That was more than I expected. That number must be hard to sustain, given the lack of provisions.

In my mind, Pierce laughed mirthlessly.
It is. We compete with the Colony for animals. Their population grows and ours dwindles, though we occasionally get a freshie.
He eyeballed me. Great
.

Walking down the flights of stairs, I tried not to stumble. My legs were stiff and I felt like an eighty year-old man, skin too taut, muscles too weak. The hand rails were all that kept me from tumbling head over foot.

We aren’t in a race. Take your time,
Pierce said.

I slowed my steps and never felt so thankful to make it to the bottom of a building in one piece in my life. Before I was Infected, I came into the city for supplies. Climbing ten stories barely made me break a sweat back then. Now, I was drenched after just going down a few flights.

I heard a lot of chatter in your building. Do most of them live there?
I asked.

Most, not all.

Outside, it was snowing on the dandelions that had blossomed early. Had it really been so long since that night? Time blurred when you were sick. Days ran into weeks and weeks into months. The question bit at the back of my mind: What did he learn about Mercedes’ fate?

Pierce answered me immediately, leading me down the sidewalk.
She’s alive. For now. But my brother won’t let her live very long.

Because of the treaty with the Colony?

No
, he smirked.
Because she knows too much, and he doesn’t want his pet to be informed about his involvement with what I’m about to show you.

Two blocks later I was panting and had to stop for breath, but Pierce assured me our secret destination was only around the corner. I pushed away from the crumbling brick facade and shuffled toward the journey’s end. A tall metal building loomed ahead, every windowed side slick with algae and grime. It wasn’t the tallest building around, only four stories, but it was still impressive. There weren’t four simple corners that made a square; rather, there were facets to each side, each building upon the last, making the entire thing look as though it was a diamond carved from the coal it was formed in.

I opened my mouth and tried to talk, but only a screech came out. It was easy to forget and hard to accept I would never speak again. Pierce stopped and looked over at me.

Use your words,
he teased.

Asshole.

He smiled.
Since you’re going to be with us for a while and you’re now the new freshie on the block, I’ll need your help with a few things. Tell anyone about what you see here and you’ll be housed here as well.

S
taring him down, I waited until he moved to the door and pushed. It whirred in a circle, revolving around a central post. Following him around and into the lobby, the scent of rotting flesh hit me. I covered my nose.

Sorry, I forget how it is when you’re not used to the odor.

Odor? That’s what you call it?
My eyes watered from it.
What is that?

Let me show you.
He smiled and waved for me to follow him.

I
pulled the hem of my sweater over my nose and mouth and traced his steps down a long hallway. There were doors on either side that didn’t look like they belonged to the rest of the building; steel, with a row of thin bars over a tiny rectangular window that sat at eye level. The smell came from within the rooms.

Pierce produced a flashlight. The Elders had a cache of them for emergencies, but over the years we eventually ran out of batteries. He pointed the beam up and the light cast shadows across his face.
Welcome to the freak show.

He took a step toward one of the doors and a moan came from just inside.
Step away from the door,
he warned
.

A shuffling sound from the other side had every hair on my body standing on end. Pierce eased a key from his pocket, long and oddly shaped. He inserted the key, twisted it, and the locking mechanism gave way. Even through the sweater, I could smell the stench even worse than before. He pushed the door open and I retched, bracing my hands against my thighs. Oh, damn. What was that?

Not what…who.

Pardon me?

Who is that, you mean.

Shining the light into the room, I pushed myself up and looked into the darkness. In the far corner a figure huddled in the fetal position, hands over its ears, a shrill keening coming from it. It stood – I now saw that it was a woman – looked at Pierce and then at me, with milky white irises and crusted blood all over from scratches. She peeled at her skin, raking trails into her own flesh, screaming at us, mouth wide. One of her upper teeth fell out and skittered across the floor. She had no hair on her head and her naked body was covered in wounds and blood, fresh and dried layering one over the other. Into my mind she screamed,
Out! Out! Out!
over and over. She wanted us the hell out of her space, or so I initially thought. But as Pierce closed her into the dark room and locked the door, she begged,
Let me out. Please.