Shattered World (Broken World Book 2) (25 page)

Mad World
Book #3 in the
Broken World
series
January 3, 2015

1

HADLEY AND I RUN THROUGH the hospital parking lot toward the Nissan. My heart pounds and I gasp for breath, but I force my legs to keep moving. Axl. I need to get to Axl. The van at our backs is closer than the Nissan. It’s coming for us, but I have no idea why. Whatever it is, it can’t be good.

              The Nissan is still at least fifty feet away when the van screeches to a stop at our backs. My heart nearly explodes when the door slides open behind us. The footsteps on the pavement match the pounding of my heart, and I scream in frustration. He’s so close! Right behind me! My hand grips the knife tighter and I spin around to face my attacker, swinging it through the air. He’s a blur of black as he ducks and shoves me to the ground. My head snaps back and my body slams against the ground. All the air rushes from my lungs and my knife skids across the pavement. Hadley screams, but I can’t figure out where she is because I’m too busy gasping for air. The man in black grabs a handful of my hair and jerks me to my feet, and I scream when pain shoots across my scalp and down my neck. He runs, hoisting me up so my feet aren’t touching the ground. I kick and fight, but I can’t get free.

              My head bobs and the world blurs, I can barely make out the Nissan when it screeches to a stop—it’s so close. The doors fly open. Axl and Angus start firing, but the men in the van return fire. A window shatters right next to my head and the man carrying me swears before tossing me inside. I land on the floor next to Hadley. Axl screams my name, but it’s cut short when the door slams shut.

              My heart rips in two when the van lurches forward. I slam against Hadley. She’s crying. My own vision is blurry and my hands shake so hard I poke myself in the eye when I try to wipe the tears away. More tears replace them. I clench my fists, digging my nails into my palms—into the half-moons that haven’t completely healed yet. I can’t lose it. Not now. Now is the time to be strong.

              Hadley grabs my arm and puts her face right up against mine. Her tears fall on my cheek. “Where are they taking us? What are they doing?”

              Her voice is so shaky that the words come out distorted. Putting my arm around her, I pull her against me. But I don’t answer because there’s really nothing I can say. There are only a few reasons men would abduct women, and none of them would make Hadley feel better right now.

              The van bumps down the road and we’re tossed back and forth. The men are moving around. There are four of them. So far, they aren’t paying attention to us. The broken window has all their attention. They’re busy covering it up with tape and what looks like a jacket. Yeah, that will keep the zombies out. I can’t get a good look at them. It’s dark in the back and the sun shining through the front window makes it hard for me to see. The man who grabbed me has his back to me, but I know it’s him. He’s dressed completely in black. Like he’s death, here to claim more victims. Maybe he is.

              When they’re finally done fooling with the window they turn their attention to us. The light in the back flicks on and I squint, covering my eyes. It’s a lot brighter than I would have thought.

              “Holy shit!” someone yells. I open my eyes wider just a guy crawls across the floor and grabs Hadley’s chin, turning her face toward his. It’s the guy in black. “This is fucking Hadley Lucas!” Everyone turns our way and my body stiffens.

              Now that I get a good look at the guy, I wish I could go back to being ignorant. He’s rough-looking. The kind of face you see on a mug shot. He’s in his mid-twenties and has dark, greasy hair that goes just past his jaw. His face is hard and he has a scar that goes from the corner of his right eye to his chin. It jerks every time he talks, making him look lethal. Almost evil. He has two rings in his eyebrow and a few in each ear. His tongue is pierced and he has more tattoos than I can count. They cover his arms like sleeves and creep out of the top of his shirt, curling around his neck like a snake. The art consists mainly of demons and snakes and half-naked women.

              “No it ain’t,” another man says. His accent reminds me of my years in Kentucky. He’s younger, probably only twenty. Overweight. His clothes are dirty and too tight. A beer belly—or McDonald’s belly is probably more accurate—sticks out of the bottom of his shirt. His face is round and sweaty and his hair is buzzed.

              He crawls across the floor of the van so he can get a better look at Hadley, bringing with him the stale smell of body odor. He’s clumsy and ends up falling over as the van takes a sharp turn. He lands on my leg and I let out a little yelp when my kneecap turns under the weight of his huge ass. I shove him aside, but he doesn’t even look my way. He’s drooling over Hadley like she’s the last cupcake on Earth.

              “Fuck! That is her,” the chubby guy says.

              The driver yells back, “What about the other chick? She a celebrity too?” He barely turns, so I can’t get a good look at him, but he has a very faint accent. Hispanic, maybe? 

              Tat and Chubby both turn to face me.

              Chubby’s face is all lit up, like he’s five years old and it’s Christmas morning. He’s probably never been this close to an attractive girl before, and here he is with two. I’m surprised he doesn’t blow a load right here.

“Naw. But she’s hot too. Look at them tits!”

              He moves toward me and I try to back away. There’s nowhere for me to go. His meaty hands grope my chest, squeezing my breasts awkwardly like he has no idea what he’s doing. I slap at his hands, but he doesn’t stop. The blood burns in my veins and I clench my hand into a tight fist. When my knuckles connect with Chubby’s nose he reels back, grabbing his face and letting out an annoying, twangy howl of pain.

              “Bitch.” Tat lurches forward and slaps me across the face.

              My cheek stings and my eye twitches, but I barely move. I’m used to being hit. Tat’s lips curl into a wicked smile and I glare at him. His eyes move down, stroking every curve on my body. He enjoys hitting women. I can see it in his eyes.

              Chubby sits up and wipes away the blood trickling from his left nostril. He glares at me, but I meet his gaze unflinchingly and scoot back to where Hadley leans against the wall. She moves closer to me. Her body trembles.

              They go back to ignoring us. Tat and Chubby are trying to convince the driver to pull over, but the things they’re saying make absolutely no sense. It’s like they’re talking in some kind of code I can’t decipher.

              “It’s fuckin’ Hadley Lucas! She’ll be a three for sure. There ain’t no way I’ll ever be able to get a three,” Chubby says. He’s whiney and his twang is getting on my nerves. I wish he’d shut the hell up.

              “If the boss finds out he’ll kick you out. You want to take your chances on the Strip with the fucking zombies?” The driver’s accent is faint and he sounds more educated than the other two, but I still can’t get a good look at him.

              “What are they doing with us?” Hadley whispers.

              I shake my head and bite my lower lip. Only a little bit makes sense. It’s obvious that Chubby and Tat want to pull over so they can rape Hadley, but the driver won’t let them. I don’t know what’s stopping them, who ‘the boss’ is, or where he’d be throwing them out of. Plus, they keep talking about twos and threes, which is total nonsense. But it’s all building up to one thing: Hadley and I are screwed.

              “What about you, new guy? Whose side are you on? Don’t you wanna pull over and get a piece of celebrity ass before we head back?” Tat says, suddenly addressing the guy in the passenger seat.

              The guy turns around for the first time and looks at Hadley and me. He’s good-looking—unlike Tat and Chubby—and older than the other two. Probably close to thirty. He has dark hair and a chiseled jaw. Very Abercrombie and Fitch-looking. But his green eyes are cold and emotionless.

              “I’m not going to risk pissing off the boss. I came close to being zombie chow too many times to risk it.” His voice is as emotionless as his eyes. His gaze meets mine and my blood runs cold. He may be sticking up for us, but he is not on our side.

About the Author

Kate L. Mary is a stay-at-home mother of four and an Air Force wife. She spent most of her life in a small town just north of Dayton, Ohio where she and her husband met at the age of twelve. Since their marriage in 2002, they have lived in Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, and California.

Kate’s love of books and writing has helped her survive countless husbandless nights. She enjoys any post-apocalyptic story – especially if zombies are involved – as long as there is a romantic twist to give the story hope. Kate prefers nerdy, non-traditional heroes that can make you laugh to hunky pieces of man-meat, and her love of wine and chocolate is legendary among her friends and family. She currently resides in Oklahoma with her husband and children.

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. Get her new adult romantic mystery,
Collision
, on Kindle today!

Check out my playlist on
Grooveshark
.
 

Time Bomb
by Delta Spirit-
This is the perfect song for the beginning. They’re in the shelter and safe, but as the reader you know it can't last or there wouldn’t be a book. So you're waiting for that thing to happen that will shatter their safety. “Happiness comes at the strangest times.”

Fall for You
by Secondhand Serenade-
In the Sauna.

Last Hope
by Paramore-
This is Vivian deciding to just go for it with Axl. Things still suck but she's going to cling to anything good left in the world. For her, that's Axl. It doesn't make the pain of losing Emily go away or the zombies disappear, “but it's enough to keep me going.”
“It's not that I don't feel the pain it's just that I'm not afraid of hurting anymore.” I love this. It’s who I want Vivian to be. A fighter who refuses to let a few zombies beat her.

Into the darkness
by Delta Spirit-
This is leaving the shelter to go to Vegas. The tone isn't as frightening as some others because they dread it, but they don't know yet what they're really facing. There's still a hopefulness to it that they will be okay. That things won't be that bad.

Monster
by Paramore-
This was perfect for the mentality that Nathan has adapted. He doesn't want to see anyone else turn and he is ready to kill to stop it from happening.
“I let my heart go…but I'll get a new one.”
“I'm not the villain…I'm just collecting your victims.”

This is the away it Ends
by Landon Pigg-
I chose this for when Vivian and Axl are in the car on the strip.  They're facing the end together, regretting that they didn't deal with their feelings for each other before. It's such a perfect song for this sweet moment. Listen to it and you'll see.

Falling Slowly
by Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova-
On the roof of Paris.

Ghosts That We Knew
by Mumford & Sons-
Vivian dealing with her overwhelming emotions after they get back to the shelter

Seven Devils
by Florence & The Machine-
Going into the hospital. This song is perfect all around. The dark tone, the pacing, the words. Seriously, listen to this song while you read it. Spooky, tense and awesome. Especially thinking of it from Victor's perspective. “I’ll be dead before the day is done.”

Fear is like Fire
by Fink-
When Vivian and Hadley get to the ER. They know something's wrong. I like that it moves slower but there's still some tension to it.