The Phoenix Trilogy (Book 1): World On Fire (33 page)

    Questions
assailed Natalie’s mind, though one in particular stood out. No matter how hard
Natalie studied the mangled remains of the creature’s head, she could not make
out if it was human or not. The group that had fought the thing had certainly
given it their all, though it appeared that none had managed to survive the
encounter. Even if they did make it past the beast, the noise of the fight
would have drawn biters to finish them off while they were weakened.

    At
her peripheral vision, she could see BJ having a low conversation with the
injured man who had brought them here. Their guide was alive and unharmed,
though the look of crestfallen heartbreak had reclaimed him. BJ was resting one
hand on his shoulder, and seemed to be leveling with him. Natalie tried to
smile at that.
He’d been telling the truth after all. I don’t know if that
makes this better or worse.

    A
wide trail of blood, marked also by the occasional dusty shoe print,
disappeared into the tunnel below. Hoping that the prints had been made by
humans instead of zombies felt absurdly naive to Natalie, especially since the
gore path that accompanied them was almost certainly the result of bodies being
dragged down. Sooner or later, she would have to tell the man that his company
had been killed. Judging by the look on his face, she suspected he already
knew.

    Casting
her gaze aside, more from frustration than anything else, Natalie paused.
Peeking up over the edge of the counter were what appeared to be fingertips,
though the gentle light shining through what was left of the window proved them
to be pale and lifeless. Furrowing her brow, Natalie flagged Rico’s attention
at the door and readied her crowbar.

    Knowing
that her backup was now paying close attention, Natalie moved behind the
countertop with her weapon raised. What she found was a badly damaged corpse.
The head had been mutilated beyond any kind of recognition, and beyond the
massive shredding of its torso, it was also missing an arm and a leg. Rico
cocked his chin at her, silently asking if she would require his services, but
a dismissive wave from the young woman returned his attention to the pit.

    It
was a horrific sight, but Natalie had been bombarded with those since day one.
Moreover, there was something unsettling about it that went beyond mere
appearance. The source of her uneasiness struck her a moment later.
You
shouldn’t be here. Bodies never get left behind.

    Natalie
briefly wondered if she was reading too much into it, but after a moment of
consideration she was certain she was right. Not once had she seen a body in
the open. Even if they weren’t hungry, the undead would still collect corpses
for feeding later, just like they had done at the gas station. If this room had
been filled with newly turned, as the tracks down into the tunnel had
suggested, why wouldn’t they have taken the meal with them?

    
What
if walkers didn’t make the tracks?
It seemed impossible, but there wasn’t
another answer that could match the scene. The marks in the tunnel didn’t guarantee
zombie activity, and the fact that a corpse was left behind heavily implied
that their culprit was human. Confused, Natalie shook her head.

    Doesn’t
make any sense. Too much blood for just one casualty, and if even a single
person turned undead, that body should be gone. Plus, where the Hell are his
arm and leg? The freak is huge, but even it couldn’t have just swallowed limbs
whole.
Natalie closed her
eyes, attempting to focus on everything that the man in their custody had told
them about the attack.

    There
were seven people. One got “torn apart,” which would probably be the guy I’m
looking at here. Our prisoner ran away. That leaves five others.
Reopening her eyes, Natalie scoffed at the
sheer carnage around her.
There is no way in Hell five people survived this.
Though…

    
Gear.
There should be gear somewhere nearby. Seven people traveling together would
have supplies of some kind or another, like a backpack or a duffel bag. Plus,
the attack had happened at night, if the reports of gunfire could be believed.
They would have been bedding down, but there’s nothing.

    It
was a small enough building, but anywhere Natalie looked, the place was empty.
The only sign that people had been here, beyond the blood and body, were the
bullet casings that littered the ground. There had been a fight, that was
certain, but no indicator to what had happened afterward. Natalie chewed her
lip, trying to piece together anything that seemed feasible.

    “Natalie,
report.” BJ was being careful to keep his voice down, but as always it carried
a remarkable authority. That wasn’t enough, however, to stop Natalie from
blinking in surprise. Glancing at the others, she noticed she was the only one
who had been investigating the scene.

    Both
cousins were watching for attacks, either from the street or from below, and BJ
had been speaking with the prisoner. Recalling their moments since entering,
Natalie realized that none of the others had made even a cursory attempt at
understanding their situation. Instead, they had left the burden of examination
to their newest member. Natalie had a unique service to the group, after all.
There was a hint of a satisfied smile on her face as she dove into what she had
learned.

    “I
don’t know what the Hell this thing is, or if it was ever human to begin with,
but I know that it’s meant for tunneling. Webbed feet with hard claws for
digging, upper body focus to give it the power, and what I believe are
extremely light sensitive eyes for darkvision.” As Natalie spoke, she found herself
being reminded of Dr. Mejhit’s clinical mannerisms. After spending as much time
together as they had, and being forced to address any number of sickening or
unsettling issues, Natalie had acquired a similarly detached stance when
discussing such things.

    In
fact, Natalie’s only hesitation was about whether or not she should bring up
the strange situation with the body while they were in front of their prisoner.
Until she had a better handle on what had happened, she thought it would be
unwise to bring up her concerns in front of him.

    Thankfully,
it wasn’t something she was forced to address aloud. While Natalie had paused,
considering what she should do, BJ had risen to his feet and nodded his head
approvingly.

    “Excellent.
Then we have what we came for. Time to return to camp with our findings and
proceed from there.” BJ dropped a hand to the wounded man’s shoulder once again
and gave it a reassuring pat. “This is Thomas. He’ll be joining us for the
journey back, as our guest. I have already explained to him the situation, and
he has forgiven our… earlier behavior.”

    The
look of appreciation on Thomas’ face was briefly shadowed by fear, no doubt at
the memory of his previous treatment. Natalie doubted he had really forgiven
them. More likely, he knew he could use their help in getting back and saw no
reason to further endanger himself. It was a decision that Natalie could
appreciate from firsthand experience.

    “Marco,
teach Thomas the basics. Natalie and I will watch the street until you’re
finished.” Marco’s groan was obvious, and Thomas was clearly uncomfortable, but
Natalie was pleased. She would have her chance to speak to BJ openly after all.
Quietly, the two of them exchanged places with Marco, and the moment they were
certain Thomas was distracted, BJ gave Natalie a subtle nod to continue with
reporting her findings.

    “There’s
a body behind the counter, twice-dead, and missing an arm and leg. Out of the
way enough that a person might miss it, but I’m having a hard time believing a biter
wouldn’t notice.” BJ’s expression remained unchanged as he surveyed the street
alongside Natalie, but she was certain he was mulling over her words.

    “There’s
also footprints and bloody drag marks going into the tunnels, almost definitely
from a corpse being brought down. At first I thought zombies, but if that were
true, the body up here would be missing too. Plus, I didn’t see any gear left
behind. I think somebody was alive, but…” Natalie paused, again chewing her lip
in silent contemplation. Taking the moment, BJ rumbled to life, speaking the
facts aloud to himself.

    “Seven
people were here, approached by an extremely dangerous enemy that had the
element of surprise. One died, one ran, and five are unaccounted for.” BJ
paused, bringing a hand to his chin in thought.

    “If
undead had been present, the body behind the counter would be gone, and,
presumably, so would the digger.” BJ’s observation caught Natalie off-guard.
Of
course, damnit, of course. They cannibalize, unless these things are different
somehow. If the body left behind was legitimately overlooked doesn’t matter;
there’s no way they missed the giant feast in the middle of the floor.
Taking
BJ’s lead, Natalie continued theorizing.

    “Since
the digger’s body is still here, and it created the tunnel in the first place,
it’s a safe guess that no walkers have used the tunnel at all.” Natalie glanced
backward at Marco and Thomas, ensuring that they were preoccupied. Marco looked
annoyed and Thomas, confused. They had a few more minutes yet.

    “If
all five people had survived the encounter, there wouldn’t have been an extra
corpse left behind for anyone to drag into the tunnel in the first place, which
implies that at least one of the five others was killed here.” Another quick
peek, and Marco was showing the signs for identifying targets. Thomas looked
uncertain.

     “That
means, for some reason, there were survivors here who opted to drag one of
their own into the tunnel. I thought that it could have been somebody who was
badly injured at first, but then I can’t find the guy from inside’s missing arm
and leg either. Somebody must have carried them off with them, and if they did,
who’s to say they didn’t bring a whole body, too?” As Marco slapped Thomas
heavily on the back behind them, Natalie realized their time was rapidly coming
to a close.

    “If
we’re sure no dead have been here, then what the Hell are we looking at? Why
the fuck were people carrying bodies down?” Whether or not BJ had an answer for
her, Natalie was unable to find out. Marco had finished with his duty, and
begun his natural saunter back over.

    “Guy’s
an idiot but he knows the basics, so can we get the fuck out of here, please?
The death pit is giving me the heebie-jeebies.” Over Marco’s shoulder, Natalie
noticed Rico’s face twitch in irritation. It had been Marco who had suggested
Thomas be killed earlier, and his remark about him being an idiot was made
casually in front of the man. There was no one who could claim Marco was good
at making friends, and his continued disregard for the people around him made
that a fact that was rarely forgotten.

    Natalie
and BJ exchanged a final look of concern, now sharing a renewed fear both about
the possible danger that lay ahead, and regarding Thomas’ identity. For all they
knew, they were now delivering a dangerous person straight into the camp.

    The
temporary marching order now included Thomas wedged between Natalie and Rico,
and as they made their way back toward home, Natalie resolved to find out as
much about the stranger as possible. Being in such close proximity to him
reminded her again of the extent of his burns. That he was so coherent, even
when enduring what should have been crippling pain, was both a testament to his
strength and a pointed warning to Natalie.

    
You
shouldn’t be standing, let alone traveling.
Back with Mejhit, Natalie had
seen a fair number of burn victims of varying severity. Most of them had been
in such agony that it overwhelmed them, making even basic communication
challenging, yet here Thomas was. He was ahead of her in line, but the burns
wrapped around his face and down his neck, giving her the opportunity to
observe them more closely without giving herself away.

    
Third
degree… even when these heal, he’s going to be scarred beyond any kind of
recognition.
It was hard to tell through the bandages he had draped around
his head, but Natalie could almost swear the burns followed a pattern.
Somebody
did this to him, and only a few days ago. Not an accident, this was a
deliberate action. Why?

    Every
step Natalie took was very near to Thomas, their whole group crouching low
together to avoid any unwanted attention. It wasn’t an intentional move on her
part to get closer, but when Thomas’ footing slipped and he fell to one knee,
Natalie heard a distinct rattle from his coat pocket. His eyes met hers, before
quickly glancing away, a noticeable tremble overtaking his frame. Despite being
an average sized man, his posture and attitude made him seem deceptively frail,
a trait Natalie was keenly aware of.

    “Please…
don’t tell them.” Thomas was muttering under his breath, but he was peering out
of the corner of his eye at Natalie. Slowly, he revealed the source of the
rattling: painkillers. Natalie noticed the white knuckle grip that he held over
them, and a light flicked on in her head.
That’s how he’s handling the
burns. Explains why he seemed so addlebrained, too.

    Natalie
remained suspicious of the man, but she had to admit that a lot of her concerns
about his strange behavior had reasonable explanations. What she really needed
to know was who he had been traveling with. To that end, she had an idea.