Season Of Decay (The Decaying World Saga Book 2) (23 page)

Rowan popped him in the chest with the palm of his hand and the strike knocked the wind out of him.

“Be polite,” Rowan said.

Sara stared at him long and hard before she found her words.

“You better hope you’re still of any use,” she cautioned holding up a finger. “I’ll push you out in front of the horde myself.”

Rowan grabbed his arm and yanked him away. He pushed him out into the hall then toward the main stairs. Rowan watched Connor as he hobbled ahead of him and it was difficult to keep ahold of his anger. With one hand and one good leg, there was more to pity about the man than anything else.

“He won’t give you want you want.”

The statement was filled with the same amount of arrogance Connor put into everything he said.

“Who?” Rowan asked as they started down the stairs.

“My father,” Connor said, struggling to keep his balance as he took the first step. “He won’t give up anything for me.”

Rowan knew Connor was fishing for information.

“He doesn’t value your life?”

“Not over the nexus.”

Rowan figured that.

“He’s not making the decisions anymore.”

The revelation was powerful enough to bring Connor to a stop. Rowan let him ponder for a moment.

“Commander Zeke,” he said.

Rowan came to a rest next to him on the step.

“Who’s that?”

Connor smiled a frightful grin.

“Someone far less interested in the desires of the commission,” he said, chuckling to himself. “You’re in much worse shape than you realize.”

Rowan gave him a shove.

“Shut up and keep moving.”

They reached the excavated section of the third level and Rowan found the room he sought. The entire level was shut off from the rest of the compound, accessible by a lone staircase. The cramped room had once served as a storage chamber for a variety of supplies. The disgruntled look on Connor’s face said he knew what awaited him.

“Don’t worry,” Rowan said. “I’ll let someone know you’re down here.”

Rowan gave him a solid push and Connor lurched into the small enclosure. The door slammed closed before Connor turned around. Rowan used the security access key to lock it. He tapped the outside of the door then offered a parting shot.

“Maybe.”

23

“How?”

The one-word question was far more powerful than it sounded. Mia couldn’t pull her eyes away from the light of the flare. She watched the source as it reached its highest point in the sky then dove back down. She glanced around and discovered the entire group fixated on the light, none of them sure what it meant. Mia found her voice as the question returned to the forefront of her mind.

“How is this possible?”

Marcus snapped back to the moment as if hearing Mia for the first time.

“I don’t know,” he said with obvious bewilderment. “I saw the horde with my own eyes. There’s no way they could have reached the city so quickly.”

A sudden realization hit Mia square in the chest. Her heartbeat sped up as she did the math in her head. A flash of familiar faces passed before her eyes. Everything she was counting on had changed.

“We have to get back now,” she said.

The spark of understanding appeared to hit everyone at once. Heads turned back and forth as if trying to determine which way to run. Mia knew they were tired and hungry, but there was little time to spare. If they were going to have any chance of saving the Canaan tribe, they would have to race back and they would have to do it now.

“There’s not enough time to get back to the highway,” Marcus said. “We’ll have to cut through the city.”

That fact came with a number of problems and everyone knew it. Mia nodded and started toward the west end of the street. She figured she could guide them with help from Marcus, but her confidence wouldn’t solidify until they neared the roads surrounding her former home. She was near the front of the group when Bale grabbed her and pulled with enough force to snap her head back.

“What’s the matter with–?”

She lost her question when her eyes found his. Bale was looking between the buildings across the street. He held a single finger up against his lips. Mia stiffened as a rising sound tickled her ears. The clamor was one she’d heard many times before.

It came in waves, each one louder than the last. The moans of the dead combined in one haunting chorus as the vile screeches of the infected rode beneath the waves. The buildings lining the street farther west yanked at the group’s attention. Marcus said what Mia was thinking.

“They’re close.”

They were running before the last word got out of his mouth. The group scattered with a pair on either sidewalk, the rest running directly down the center of the road. An echoing yell rushed in to greet them from an intersection ahead and shifting shadows gave a hint at something moving in their direction. Mia struggled to find her bearings. She came to a stop in the center of the intersection and her eyes went to the sound.

The scene filled with movement along the abandoned streets and the darkness between the old-world buildings. A flurry of snow swept in over the rooftops. A white covered the streets, piling up on the rusted-out hulls of vehicles lining the road. A mass of shifting darkness weaved from one side of the street to the other a few blocks down from the intersection. Mia couldn’t pull her eyes from the road until Bree came to a stop directly in front of her.

“Which way?” The fear was thick in her voice. “Mia?”

Mia looked at her and was overcome with sadness. Something about the coming wave of putrid death made the entire weight of the world press down on her shoulders. Bree grabbed her hand and squeezed. Her voice cracked as she spoke.

“We can make it.”

There was no faith in her words. The flood of death moans continued to wash over them, growing louder with every passing moment. Bree pulled on her, begging her to act.

“We need you.”

The plea broke through the growing madness and Mia focused on the girl and nodded.

“We’ll keep west,” she said, making up her mind as she went, “until I can find my bearings.”

The direction was enough to get everyone moving. The snowfall matched their steps until the streets were covered in a veil of white. The sounds beat off the walls of the buildings, making it impossible to tell which direction was safe to turn. Mia fought to control her panic, nearly losing the battle until the city revealed itself to her.

  “There,” she said coming to a sliding stop. “That’s what I needed.”

The entire group followed her finger to a lone water tower sticking out in the distance above the high structures. The first sight brought back a memory of the last time she’d seen the landmark. She was following Rowan, terrified that she would lose him forever. She had no idea at the time that the days that followed would bring an end to the entire Cheyenne tribe.

“We’ll continue west from here,” she said as she started to move again. “Then we’ll edge north until we reach the boundary.”

Her last word was still on her lips when a row of figures pulled past the edge of the buildings ahead of them. Mia nearly slammed into Bree when she came to a skidding stop. The dead mixed among the infected in large packs. A number of the infected captains roared in craving desire as their eyes locked onto Mia and the others. The yells spurred the entire mass to move and the infected broke away from the dead as they sprinted forward.

Their gaunt bodies were exposed to the elements in stark contrast to the increasingly heavy snowfall. The perfectly revealed muscles flexed with each step as every twitch of their infected physique launched their limbs away from their bodies. Howls carried in front of them as the moans of the dead followed in their wake. The full sight of the advancing multitude froze everyone in their tracks. Bale raised his bow and notched an arrow. He had the pull string back to his cheek when Mia signaled him.

“Save your arrows,” she said. “The only way we’re getting out of Cheyenne alive is if we can stay ahead of them.”

♦

A forced run drained everyone’s energy to the point of exhaustion. The weather worsened until it was difficult to see more than a block ahead or make any sudden shifts in direction without taking a fall. The cold wasn’t a problem for anyone. The heat of the chase left the entire group drenched in sweat.

Mia ran until she was about to fall over then allowed herself a moment of rest. The remainder of the crew appeared grateful for the stop, several of them choosing to lie down on the snow-covered street, Bree and Bale among them. Marcus was in the rear, turning every few paces to view the way behind. He sucked down several deep gulps of air before leaning over to Mia with his hands on his knees.

“What are we going to do?” he asked between gulps.

Mia’s head shot up. She knew he was smart enough to figure out on his own that there was little else they could do. It took her a moment to realize he was already looking a number of steps ahead. She guessed his meaning.

“Canaan?” she asked.

He saved his breath, nodding at her. She hadn’t given it much thought, instead focused on trying to get out of the city. The impact of the hordes’ early arrival limited their options. Even if they could get enough distance between themselves and the undead throng, they’d be left with a day at best to evacuate the wide-open compound.

“They have to get out of there,” she said. “There’s no other option.”

“What about the Northern Continental Alliance?” he asked, then paused. “What about Jonah?”

Mia clenched her teeth and cursed under her breath. Jonah was always on her mind, but the truth was that she still had no idea what to do about it. If the alliance kept to their word, they’d surround the compound sometime in the next day, essentially sealing Canaan’s fate. Mia refused to acknowledge the hopelessness of their situation. She refused to acknowledge that she failed her brother. She thought of her father and the notion gave her a surge of strength she couldn’t muster on her own.

“We’ll attack them,” she said in a determined tone. “We’ll attack them with everything we have left.”

The response left Marcus with a momentary loss for words. He physically shook himself out of it.

“They’ll be slaughtered,” he said.

Mia stood up, satisfied for the moment that she could continue the run.

“A fight is coming either way,” she said. “We can choose to let the horde sweep in and feast on us or hold true to the tribe and fight for what is ours.”

Marcus’ face stretched at the edges and his eyes widened as he looked at her awestruck. He nodded after a short time and his stare hardened before turning toward the others. He pulled at the first of them as he barked out orders. “Get up, let’s move.” There was a collective groan but they were soon on their feet.

Mia pushed through the snow; certain something was going to pop out around every building. She had full recognition of her surroundings when the first encounter poured out into the street in front of them. Two infected males raced away from the first floor of a building, nearly toppling over one another as they attempted to change direction. The one out in front was enormous, his bare chest wider than the other’s shoulders.

Bale fired an arrow without warning and it found its mark in the smaller of the two as each of them headed straight toward the group. The arrow had little effect and Bale’s follow up missed its mark. They were each clothed from the waist down in patchwork britches that were an instant reminder of the former people of the Cheyenne tribe. The recognition hit Mia as the two broke into a bloodthirsty shriek.

The momentary pause nearly cost Mia her life. The larger infected man was a step in front of her when Bree flew into action. The young girl lowered her shoulder and flung herself into his ribs. The disproportional impact left Bree on the road nearly unconscious but managed to knock her target off course. Mia felt the man’s finger slip through the ends of her hair as he swept by, trying to get a hold of her.

Mia swung her sword around, but missed the man as he continued his momentum forward. Marcus took a swipe at him, slicing the edge of his knife across his chest. The hulking infected man gave no notice to the cut, grabbing on to Marcus’ arm with one hand then raking his nails across his face with the other. Mia heard Marcus scream before she was lifted off her feet.

The impact knocked the wind out of her, sending a jolt down her spine. Mia hit the snow-covered pavement face first and the blow produced a dizzying display of colors in her eyes. The world slowed to a crawl as a fog washed over her mind. Reality spun forward as shouts from Bree pierced the haze.

Mia was on her stomach. She managed to flip herself over in time to see Bree jab her knife into the side of the neck of the smaller of the two infected. One of the other women of the Canaan group moved in as the man dropped to his knee, stabbing him directly in the base of his skull. The man’s body flexed in a single pulse then collapsed on the street.

Mia’s confused gaze swept over the entire scene. Marcus was on his knees, blood running down the side of his face from a gash on his forehead. Bale was on the far side of the street with the rest of the group finishing off the other infected man, who was lying face down, motionless next to a fallen Canaan comrade. Bree rushed toward Mia as she tried to stand.

“Are you all right?”

Mia wobbled as she spoke.

“I’m fine,” she guessed. “Where’s my sword?” she said, realizing there was nothing in her hands.

Bree’s head spun and settled on the blade not far from where Mia fell. Mia took a step toward the weapon then fell straight down. She landed on her butt before she realized she’d fallen. Bree picked up the sword and got down in front of her.

“You’re not all right.”

Mia felt herself blink, but when her eyes opened again, she was lying on her back. Bale and Marcus had joined Bree, all now standing over her.

“What happened?” Mia wiped her face and pulled back a bloody hand. “Is that my blood?”

Marcus started to explain when all three of the onlooker’s heads suddenly shot up at the same time. Marcus spoke up, now much less concerned with her condition.

“You have to get up.”

Bree and Bale were on either side of her before she had a chance to ask why. They grabbed her under the arms and forced her to stand. The rest of the group was already moving before Mia took a peek over her shoulder. The view took the breath right out of her lungs.

Mia couldn’t account for the loss of time, but the trailing multitudes had managed to catch up with them. It was impossible to guess the true size of the mass, the number far beyond comprehension. Mia knew the dead were far too slow to have caught up with them, which left another terrifying reality. The horde had already reached the city long before the small group from Canaan ever saw the first flare.

The dead filled in the wide city street like ants devouring a newly found carcass. They pushed out of the buildings, lining the road and into the side streets and alleyways. A score of infected led them by a good distance, the hungry pack now bearing down on the lonely group of survivors. Mia saw enough to know there was nothing else they could do except run.

Mia staggered when she started to move. She knew how to run but her feet weren’t following through with her commands. Bale held on to her although Bree’s fear propelled her out in front of the group. Marcus slowed down, pushing on Mia’s back for several slowly agonizing steps until her legs responded.