“Jenn.”
Alicen kicked Dave in the shin and pulled herself free. She leapt through the mess in the room and landed in Jenn’s lap. Alicen threw her arms around Jenn’s neck and cried. Jenn felt her bury her face in her chest. Dave swore under his breath and raised his gun.
“Girl, I told you to behave.”
He stormed across the room with a boiling fury in his eyes. He was spitting mad, throwing out every curse word known to man as he went. John made a poor attempt at stopping him with a devilish grin under his mustache. Dave grabbed hold of Alicen’s hair and yanked her to her feet. The little girl’s cries brought a surge of ferocity to Jenn’s chest.
Jenn pulled at the ties on her wrists with all her might and felt the rope give way. She was up on her feet before either of the men knew what was happening. John pushed Alicen to the ground, but before he could bring his gun to bear, Jenn was on him. She drove her palm into his nose and felt it crush beneath her strength.
The mountain man crumbled to the ground as blood gushed down his face. Jenn spun around, but Dave slammed the butt of his gun into her side before she could lock in on him. She felt the impact, but her rage kept her on her feet. Her elbow caught Dave on the chin. Jenn snatched Alicen by the hand as he stumbled back.
“Come on.”
They took off toward the rear of the building and then plunged down the short hallway. The escape came to a sudden stop at a locked door. A shout from Dave forced her to take the stairs leading up. Alicen was still screaming as they went, but Jenn couldn’t process what she was saying. The sounds of the men coming after them intensified the terror.
Jenn pulled Alicen up the rest of the stairs and stopped at the second floor landing. The narrow hall offered a single door at both ends and a dark bathroom directly across from them. Jenn sprinted toward the rear of the building, pushed open the door, and dashed inside. A flick of the light switch brought a room stuffed full with boxes into view.
“Push these.”
Jenn slammed the door closed and then pressed her shoulder into the closest stack of boxes. Alicen stood frozen in the center of the room, still crying. The stomping echo of boots coming up the stairs was clear. The first impact hit the door as Jenn pushed the boxes in front of it. Dave was laughing an awful screech, but John was explaining what he was planning to do.
“I’m going to rip you a new ass, girly, then I’m going to gut you like a pig.”
The boxes shook as the door took the brunt of their anger. Jenn ran for the lone window in the back. She felt the last bit of hope ripped from her heart as the bars came into view. Alicen continued to wail as Jenn fell to her knees in front of the window. She couldn’t even manage to get the nailed windowpane open.
“Please, Jenn, save us.”
The next sound Jenn heard vibrated throughout her body. The thud of the shotgun blast sent Alicen to the floor. The little girl pressed her face against the cold wood and wrapped her arms over her head. The second shot blew the boxes halfway across the room. Jenn came to her feet with a ringing in her ears.
Dave stormed in first. He was yelling at the top of his lungs, but Jenn couldn’t make any of it out. He crossed the room in two long strides, stepping over Alicen as he went. The first punch hit Jenn in the mouth and the second in the side of the head. She fell to the ground nearly unconscious. She tried to hold herself up on her knees and fling herself toward Alicen when John picked the little girl off the ground.
“You’re mine now.”
Jenn heard Dave’s declaration and then felt his grip as he took a firm hold of the back of her head. Her neck snapped back as he pulled at her hair. John was already out in the hall when she heard him again.
“Let’s hurry this up. We’re going to have to clean up the mess and come up with a good story.”
Jenn swung her arms wildly but didn’t make contact. Dave heaved her out of the room and down the hall. The door at the opposite end flung open to a bedroom in disarray. Lamp light revealed a disheveled bed and a chest of drawers. A thick layer of dust covered everything save for a well-trodden path between the door and a pair of windows overlooking the front street.
Jenn heard Alicen, but she couldn’t see her. Jenn was forced into the room and her head slammed into the side of the bed. She spun around and tried to stand up, but Dave was on top of her. John was at the foot of the bed holding his gun in one hand and keeping Alicen down with the other.
“Let her go, you son of a bitch.”
Dave pressed himself down on top of her, slamming Jenn’s face into the mattress. John laughed, showing his rotting teeth as Alicen fought to get away from him. Dave finished crawling up on Jenn’s back and her face ended up a foot away from Alicen’s face. He forced Jenn’s hands behind her back and she felt the pain in her wrists as he bound them.
“It’s going to be okay,” Jenn said looking directly at Alicen’s tear-stained face. “Close your eyes, sweetheart.”
John mocked her with a snicker. “Yeah, sweetheart, you’d better close your eyes real hard.”
He and Dave roared out in laughter. John pulled the little girl to the far side of the bed. Jenn tried to follow her with her eyes, but a firm hand on the back of her neck held her head in place. Dave shifted his weight and leaned down close to her ear.
“You’re going to wish you never hit me.”
Jenn refused to give in to the terror. He could do what he wanted, but she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction he was looking for. She had to put her mind somewhere else. She had to be ready if the chance came, for Alicen’s sake. Dave laid his gun down on the bed. He slid his hand underneath Jenn’s waist, and then something caused him to stop.
“What was that?”
John’s question froze everything in the room. Dave brought himself up to his knees and then got down on the floor. Jenn took the opportunity to roll over and quickly sit up. Dave’s eyes were on the windows facing the street, but he pointed a finger back at her.
“Don’t even think about it.”
He approached the window and looked out at the street. A volley of gunfire erupted from somewhere outside, drawing him toward the buildings on the opposite side of the road. Jenn’s eyes found Alicen in the corner of the room between the bed and the far wall. John was a few feet in front of her waiting on Dave’s response. Dave came around the bed in a hurry and picked up his gun. The fear on his face was plain to see. He motioned toward the window and checked his rounds.
“Get over there and watch the fence. The infected are coming through.”
10
Chris and Jake sprinted along the back of the buildings. The sounds of yelling and gunfire engulfed the area. Men rushed past them heading toward the conflict, none of whom showed the slightest concern for who they were or what they were doing. They rushed by several structures before the rear fence line came into view.
Jake ducked around the corner of the final building and then stopped. Chris pulled in near him and both tried to catch their breath. They each had a firm hold on their bladed weapons, but Chris doubted they would do much good against the onslaught they witnessed coming over the fence. He was trying to process what he’d seen from the woman beyond the perimeter when Jake spoke up.
“We have to find the girls now.”
Chris shook his head as he examined the fence line beyond the clearing. He figured they’d never get a better chance to get away then right now. He also knew the boy wouldn’t willingly leave without his sister. A dirty thought clung to his mind. He didn’t want to acknowledge to himself that he was considering leaving Jake behind.
“We don’t know where they are,” he said. “There’s no way the two of us can fend off those armed men, let alone the infected and the dead.” He paused, still not able to look at Jake. “If we don’t go now—”
“I’m not going anywhere.” Jake started toward the front of the building, edging his way, hunched low to the ground. “Run away if you want to.” He didn’t look back for Chris. “I’m staying.�
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Jake reached the edge of the building and looked out over the street and the structures across from them. Chris gazed at the fence and felt the guilt tearing at his gut. Every instinct he’d used to stay alive was telling him to run. He took a step away from the building and then forced himself to take another.
Chris tried to tell himself Jake would make it out alive, but he knew it was a lie. One way or another, the boy would die and so would the girls if they weren’t dead already. The sound of gunfire rose behind him and with it, the constant howl of the infected lingered. He reached the fence and grabbed hold. He started to remove his jacket when Jake’s voice forced him to turn around.
“I see them.”
Chris found the boy kneeling at the corner of the building. He was pointing at something out of view. Chris didn’t want to care what Jake was looking at, but he found himself rushing toward him. He was hovering over the boy a moment later, following his direction. Chris tried to ignore the frantic fight spilling out onto the street in the center of the encampment.
Jake was pointing at a two-story building. The storefront on the ground level was dark, but light poured out of a set of windows overlooking the street. A long stare revealed a gunman in one of the windows, surveying the fray in the street. It wasn’t until he shifted his weight that Jenn came into view behind him.
“You can’t just walk away.”
Chris looked down to find Jake staring up at him. His eyes were strained, and Chris couldn’t tell if he was about to collapse or burst into tears.
“Can you?”
Chris knew what he should say, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. “We’re going to have to get across the street in a hurry.”
“Then what are we waiting for?”
Jake started before Chris could stop him. They reached the center of the road before either risked a look at the mayhem now consuming the makeshift town. The seamless fence line at the northernmost edge gave no hint at what was going on at the southernmost point. The infected managed to hit the south gate and penetrate the fence behind the shops at the same time. The coordination to pull off such an assault was difficult to imagine.
They reached the far side of the street and pushed up against the front wall of the last shop in the row. Chris led them around the side of the building, then down behind two more, until they reached their target. The buildings backed up to a small alley that ran parallel with the perimeter fence. Each structure had a rear entrance, lined on either side by a dumpster.
The gunfire out on the street had reduced to sporadic shots, and the implications spurred Chris to move faster. Once the fight was over, assuming the gunmen had held off the assault, they would be free to go about their business. He was pretty sure that business involved something bad for him. He urged Jake toward the rear door of the targeted building and tried the handle to no avail. Two quick hacks from his axe and the knob clinked off the pavement.
The door swung open and Chris crept into a back room. The only light came from the sparsely lit alley shining in through the doorway. Chris put his finger to his lips and motioned Jake toward the other side of the only other door in the room. Chris grabbed the doorknob and then put his ear against the cold wood.
The weight of what they were doing suddenly pressed down on him and sweat built on his brow. There was nothing coming from the door, but the sound of chaos still echoing in from outside made it was impossible to be sure. Chris glared at Jake and then mouthed a count of three with corresponding head nods. The door slid open, revealing a hall beyond cloaked in darkness.
The long storefront windows Chris expected to find were hidden behind another wall at the end of the short hall. The pale alley light shone on a set of stairs ascending a few paces from the door. Chris stepped through and beckoned Jake to follow at a distance. The old boards creaked as they took his full weight, and the sound carried up to the landing above. Chris reached a turn in the stairs before he waved Jake up after him.
A thin line of light pierced the dimness from some unseen source on the second floor. Another few steps opened Chris’s view on a narrow hall with doors on either end. The lone source of light shone from a slit below the door facing the front of the building. Chris reached the landing and his heart thumped in his ears as he tiptoed toward the door. He was close enough to grab the knob when the sound of voices reached his ears.
Chris looked back for Jake, put his finger to his lips, and whispered. “There’s more than one of them.”
He turned back to the door and before he could grab the knob, it spun. Light flooded the narrow hallway as a tall figure stared back at Chris with eyes as wide and shocked as his.
“What the hell?”
Chris reacted out of instinct, sending a jab to the man’s chin. He stumbled back into the room and let out a cry as he fell to the floor. Jenn rolled across the bed as another man turned from his position at the window, shotgun in hand. Chris leapt forward and rushed the gunman. The gun went off and the sudden explosion shook the room. The echo left Chris in a daze and it took him half a second to realize the shot had missed.
Chris brought his axe around in a wide swing, but the blade hit the metal barrel of the shotgun as the gunman brought it up in defense. Chris grabbed the man’s jacket and pulled him away from the window. The two spun around and the gun went off again as they slammed onto the floor. Chris landed on top by chance and used the advantage to get up on his knees. Jake worked on Jenn’s ties at the foot of the bed and Alicen’s face went by in a blur from the corner of the room.
Chris was forced to drop his axe in order to grab the gun with both hands. The two men fought for control of the weapon, and Chris quickly realized the gunman was no match for his strength. He risked a punch and caught his opponent on the nose. Blood splattered across his face and the gunman went limp. A split second was all Chris needed to gain control.
One hard pull jerked the shotgun free from the gunman’s grasp and a solid shove sent the stock back down into his face. The first strike crunched his nose and the second ended with an awful cracking sound. Blood spewed from his mouth, mixed with an assortment of broken teeth. He gasped for air as the crimson mix filled in the back of his throat.
Chris got to his feet and pulled the gun up to his face. The bedroom was deathly quiet. In one corner, Jenn stood in front of Jake and Alicen, guarding them with her body. The bruises on her face and arms gave some indication as to what she’d endured. Chris settled the barrel of his gun on the lone man now standing at the doorway to the hall. The man had a pistol drawn and aimed squarely on Jenn.
“Put it down,” Chris said firmly.
The gunman smiled an anxious grin. “The hell you say, boy. You put it down or I’ll fill that girly of yours with nice big holes.”
The air was thick as silence set in. Chris knew from the lessening sounds outside that time was not on his side. He slid his eyes to Jenn and found hers locked on him. The gunman’s gruff voice brought him back with a tug.
“I’m heading for the stairs.” He didn’t appear to be asking.
“No.” Jenn’s sudden outburst caused him to stop. “You don’t get to walk away, you worthless piece of shit.”
Chris knew he had to act fast, and the gunman’s glance at the stairs gave him an opening. The barrel of the pistol shifted a fraction away from Jenn’s direction as he looked over his shoulder. Chris didn’t hesitate to pull the trigger. The gun went off and the result was an explosion in the man’s neck. He dropped onto the cold wooden floor in a heap, his head barely hanging on to his body.
Jenn grabbed Jake by the sides of his face and then embraced him. She kissed his head and then turned back to Alicen. The little girl had stopped crying, but the shock in her eyes said she’d seen far too much for one night. Jenn pointed out in the hall and nudged Jake.
“Go get the gun.”
She started toward the end of the bed holding onto Alicen with one hand. Chris stepped out of the way and she came to a stop directly in front
of him. He picked the axe up and offered it to her. Jenn took the weapon and headed for the door but then stopped. She reached out and pulled Chris close before he could react and pressed her lips to his. She pushed him away when she was done, and he nearly hit his head on the wall.
“Thanks for coming back.”
Jake had already retrieved the pistol by the time the others started for the hall. Jenn switched weapons with the boy and then she had to cover Alicen’s eyes to get her to walk around the dead man on the floor. Chris led them down the stairs, each one moving at a painfully slow pace. He could see the hall at the bottom of the stairs when Alicen finally spoke.
“I’m scared.”
He reached the bottom step and she grabbed his arm trying to get his hand. Jenn attempted to stop her, but the little girl pulled herself free. Chris turned to face her and got down on one knee. Jake stepped past them and tried to get her to follow, but Chris waved him off. Alicen was staring at him, pleading.
“Daddy, I’m scared.”
Chris pulled back as if she’d slapped him. “What?”
“I mean Chris… Chris, I’m scared.”
He tried to regain his composure. “I can’t promise you we’ll be safe.” He glanced up at Jenn and then back at the little girl. “But at least we’re together now.”
He felt ashamed. Only a short time ago, he’d considered leaving them to certain death. Alicen didn’t say anything, only nodded her understanding. The fear on her face was palpable. She leaned in, put her arms around his neck, and squeezed.
“All right,” Chris said. “That’s enough.” He tried to pull her away but needed help from Jake to get her to let go.
A moment later, they were standing in the back room. The sound of erratic gunfire echoed in from outside. Chris pulled the door open and stuck his head out for a look. The way south was clear, but movement behind the adjacent building caused him to raise his gun.
The Decaying World Saga Box Set [Prequel #1-#2 & Books #1-#2] Page 29