Decay of Humanity Series | Book 4 | Dawn of Humanity

by Dawn, M. K.

  “We’re here,” Liyah said. “What happened?”

  “Smoke,” Axel said, his stomach queasy. “That’s all I remember.”

  Archer struggled to get to his feet. “Someone knocked us out and brought us here. Wherever here is.”

  “We’re in some kind of cell,” Sloan said.

  Shit. Fear consumed Axel. “The Vegas group?”

  “I don’t think so,” Liyah moved close to the center of the room under the small slit of light. “As far as I know, there was nothing like this that they used. Nothing so dark.”

  “And underground,” Archer added. “Maybe some kind of bunker?”

  “Bunker,” Sloan whimpered. “Please, don’t call it that.”

  Archer moved near Liyah. “Sorry. We need to find a way out of here.”

  “Ain’t gonna happen,” a deep voice said from the other side of the cell door. “Where you folks from?”

  Axel still couldn’t see well, but the man’s large frame was hard to miss.

  “I asked ya a question, where you come from?”

  Archer moved to the cell door. “Why did you bring us here?”

  “My boys found ya sneakin’ around in a place ya know you’re not supposed to be.” The man grasped the bars. “Have ya not learned nothing?”

  “We don’t know what you’re talking about.” Archer kept his cool.

  “I told that boss of yours not to send no one back here or they’d be sorry.”

  “Boss?” Liyah moved next to Archer. “Like The Boss, from Vegas?”

  The man spit what smelled like tobacco on the ground at his feet. “Don’t’ be playin’ games with me. You know the rules.”

  “Sir,” Archer took a step back. “Look at us. Do we look like the people associated with Vegas?”

  “That one do.” He cocked his head at Axel. “All them tattoos is a dead giveaway.”

  Axel wanted to say something snarky but held his tongue.

  “We’re not part of Vegas,” Archer assured him. “We actually just escaped from that place.”

  “Escaped?” The man belly laughed. “That that’s a bunch of bull shit if I ever heard some.”

  “It’s true,” Sloan said. “We’re trying to get to L.A. We were taken in by them and not allowed to leave. If it wasn’t for…” She paused and looked down at Molly.

  Molly sniffled. “I shot The Boss.”

  “Is this some kind of joke?” The man shook his head. “Never in my life have I heard such nonsense. You are a scared little girl.”

  “Enough!” A woman shouted. “Henry, stop questionin’ these people and open the damn cell.”

  “Are you crazy, woman? These people came from Vegas. They’re here to steal from us.”

  Archer grabbed hold of the bars. “Steal from you? No. We’re trying to get to L.A.”

  “My boys found your bicycles. No one is stupid enough to cross the desert using those.”

  “We are,” Axel said. “Or, at least, we were going to try. That’s how desperate we are to get away from here.”

  A round woman in an old nightdress and slippers moved in front of the cell. “Might as well put a bullet in your mouth. No way you survive out there with little water ya had with you.”

  “Yeah,” Archer hung his head. “We just came to realize that.”

  “Give me the keys, Henry.” She wiggled her fingers. “And go get them boys of ours. We’ll meet y’all in the kitchen.”

  Henry opened his mouth to protest but must have thought better of it. Instead, he shook his head and left.

  “Now,” she stuck the key in the lock. “I’m Dottie and I need ya word that you ain’t gonna try no funny business when I open this here door.”

  “No, ma’am,” Archer moved farther back.

  The locked clicked. “Come on, now. And I warn ya, don’t touch nothing.”

  She led them down a long storage room with floor to ceiling shelving packed with all sort of non-perishable foods.

  Axel’s stomach growled, but each of them kept to their word and kept their hands to themselves.

  They climbed a ten-foot ladder and found themselves outside. Sunlight burned Axel’s eyes, but he kept them open, determined to figure out where they were, which was the middle of nowhere. The only things nearby were several rundown shacks that probably should have been condemned long ago.

  “In the house.” Dottie waved them on. “This heat is a killer.”

  She led them inside to a quaint home full of nick-nacks that was surprisingly clean considering the condition of the outside.

  “This is nice,” Liyah said. “Thank you.”

  They were taken to a small dining room with an old round table. “Adults can sit in here. Kids can eat in the livin’ room. Right through that door. There’s games and a few toys.”

  “Come on, guys,” Isaak ushered them to the other room.

  “Eat?” Axel asked as he took a seat. “You don’t have to do that.”

  “My boys just barbequed a horse. We got plenty.”

  Sloan straightened in her seat. “Horse?”

  “Yep. This is horse country. Got to do what we got to do to survive.”

  “Of course.” Sloan forced a smile. “If you wouldn’t mind keeping that bit of information from the children, we would appreciate it.”

  Dottie grinned. “Had a picky child myself.”

  Henry and two teenage boys joined them, platter of meat in hand.

  “I’ll get the veggies.” Dottie excused herself and returned shortly with plates, flatware, and green beans. “Here we go. Dig in.”

  The teenage boys didn’t need to be asked twice. Both filled their plates quickly.

  Dottie glared. “We got guest, boys. Take one of them to the kids in the other room.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” The smaller of the two left and returned just as quickly.

  Axel took a few slabs of meat and a couple of scoops of green beans. Horse or not, he couldn’t care less. He was starving. “This is very good, thank you.”

  The rest of his group dug in, as well as Dottie and Henry and their boys.

  “How long were we out?” Archer asked between bites.

  “Few hours,” Henry wiped his face. “Our concoction does the job, just don’t last too long.”

  Axel shoved another bite in his mouth. “You assumed we were part of Vegas. Had many run-ins with them before?”

  Henry dropped his fork on the table and leaned back in his chair. “Bastards, all of ‘em. Tried more than a couple of times to steal what’s ours. Took down a couple of ‘em before they gave up.”

  “Your things?” Sloan shifted in her seat. “As in the supplies we passed by underground?”

  Henry’s jaw tightened, and Dottie patted his hand. “Don’t mind my husband. He’s a bit protective when it comes to our bunker.”

  “I didn’t mean to pry,” Sloan added. “More curious on how you collected so much.”

  Dottie grabbed herself another piece of meat. “We’re preppers. Have been for over twenty years.”

  “Preppers?” Sloan cocked her head.

  “Doomsday preppers, Slash.” Archer grinned. “You know I used to think you people were a bit nuts, but now…guess you were the smartest ones of us all.”

  “Momma, we’re done,” the bigger son grabbed his plate. “We’re going outside.”

  Dottie waved them on. “Watch your backs.”

  Axel waited for the boys to leave. “You don’t worry about the infested?”

  “The demons?” Henry scoffed. “Nah, they don’t come around here much. Like most livin’ things, they don’t survive much without a water source.”

  They had never seen the infested drink before, but it made sense.

  Isaak returned to the kitchen with an empty plate. “Thank you for the food.”

  Dottie took the plate from him. “Y’all need any more? There’s plenty.”

  “No ma’am.” Isaak turned to Axel. “Blake ate but Molly didn’t. She’s pretty upset.”


  “I’ll go.” Sloan followed Isaak to the living room.

  Liyah’s eyes darted between Axel and Archer and their hosts. “I’ll go as well. Let us know if we plan on leaving anytime soon.”

  Henry held Axel’s gaze for a long while. “My boys said they heard some explosions comin’ from Vegas when they were out exporin’. Know anything about that?”

  “Like we told you,” Archer answered. “We escaped. Our little girl, Molly, she shot The Boss, wounding him. He let us go but doubt that’ll last for long. We need to get out of here. If not for our sakes but for yours. Last thing we want is to bring our problems to your doorstep.”

  “Take those bikes of yours out there,” Henry warned, “and you’ll die.”

  “Stay here and we die,” Axel said. “And maybe you’re family along with us.”

  Dottie’s face softened. “We have an extra vehicle—”

  Axel’s heart nearly stopped.

  “Shut it,” Henry hissed.

  If his sharp tone bothered her, it didn’t show. “You have to excuse my husband; he has trust issues.”

  “Rightfully so,” Archer leaned closer. “You owe us nothing except our freedom and the things we had with us. Return them and we’ll be out of your hair.”

  Sloan returned with Molly close to her hip. “What are we doing?”

  “Leaving,” Archer stood. “On the bikes.”

  “Henry…” Dottie pleaded.

  “They could be lyin’,” Henry snapped.

  “Look at that little girl.” Dottie forced his head to face Molly. “You look in that child’s eyes and tell me she ain’t good. Tell me you don’t see our precious Clementine in that sweet little face.”

  Tears rolled down Henry’s face.

  “You really gonna send that sweet child and her family out in the desert with nothin’?” Dottie’s voice cracked. “What would our baby girl say? She had a heart of gold, that child. Heart of gold.”

  Henry pushed back from the table and stormed out of the house.

  Sloan slumped into the empty seat next to Dottie and pulled Molly in her lap. “I’m sorry about your daughter. We’ve lost many loved ones, too.”

  Molly fluttered her long eyelashes. “My mommy died.”

  Dottie brought a wrinkled hand to Molly’s cheek. “You’re strong, little one. Don’t ya ever forget that.”

  Sloan kissed the top of Molly’s head. “Thank you.”

  Axel wanted nothing more than to hold his daughter in his arms and tell her it was all going to be okay. But they didn’t have the luxury. “We should get going.”

  Henry returned, still fuming. He tossed a set of keys on the table. “Truck’s gassed up. Should be enough to get ya to L.A. My boys are loadin’ ya up with a day’s worth of supplies, too. Wouldn’t want y’all dyin’ after given ya a truck.”

  Archer reached for the keys. “Are you sure?”

  Dottie stood and kissed her husband on the cheek. “We are.”

  “Thank you.” Axel left the table quickly, just in case Henry changed his mind. “Liyah, Blake, Isaak, time to go.”

  They joined them in the kitchen, and Henry led them outside to the waiting old pickup.

  Axel shook both their hands as the others climbed in the cab. “Thank you, again. We owe you our lives.”

  Henry nodded and returned to the house without a word.

  Dottie stayed back. “He’s a man of few words. The road will lead ya out to the highway that’ll take ya all the way to L.A. Be safe.”

  “You, too.” Axel joined the others in the truck and gave a little wave as they drove off, his heart lighter than it had been in a long time.

  These people, this place…it reminded him there were still good people in the world. And after all they’d been through, the reassurance was long overdue.

  Chapter twenty-two

  Axel

  They took their time getting to L.A and arrived late that evening, close to sunset.

  “Let’s make our way to Hollywood,” Archer suggested. “Hit up some houses, see what we can find.”

  “How far is that?” Sloan asked.

  “Far.” Liyah crossed her arm on the back of the front seats. “Question? Why Hollywood?”

  Axel rotated around to face her. “Isn’t that where all the big houses are?”

  She chuckled. “Not quite. You’re probably thinking of Beverly Hills. If we’re after security, that’s where we should head.”

  “I’m good with that,” Axel said and the others agreed.

  “Great.” Liyah led them through town, past the Walk of Fame and the Chinese Theater, and down what was left of Rodeo Drive. The popular tourist attractions were in ruins like every other place they’d been. Some of the shops had tried to board up, but the discarded plywood hadn’t kept people out.

  The truck rolled to a stop inches from a fallen down, makeshift wall made out of sheet metal, similar to what they had at the farm to keep people and infested out.

  “Is this it?” Axel asked.

  Liyah threw open the back door and jumped out. “Yep, one of the most exclusive neighborhoods in town.”

  “You know a lot about this area,” Sloan said out the window.

  “Yeah, well,” Liyah kicked around gravel, “I used to be a tour guide here.”

  Archer snorted. “Sorry, I just can’t picture you as a tour guide, but that explains why we took the route we did.”

  Liyah chuckled. “That’s the only way I remember how to get here. What now? Should we try to get in?”

  Axel’s stomach knotted as he joined Liyah outside. “It’s why we came here, but…”

  “But, what?” Archer asked.

  “I don’t know.” Axel moved to the open entrance. “The gate’s broken and was never fixed. There’s a reason for that.”

  “Might not mean anything.” Archer cut the engine and joined him. “Maybe the people here didn’t think it needed to be fixed. Or it happened a long time ago.”

  “I’m so hungry,” Blake groaned. “Can we find a house...please?”

  “We don’t want to find ourselves in a place that’s unsafe,” Sloan reminded him.

  Axel placed his hands on his hips. “It’s getting late. If we’re going in, we need to do it now.”

  “I think we should give it a shot.” Archer pushed open the broken gate, and the creak it made sent birds flying from the nearby trees.

  Axel held his breath and listened for the familiar sound of the infested.

  Seconds ticked by but they heard nothing.

  “Okay.” Archer peered past the gate. “I think we’re good. But the truck will have to stay behind. Unless someone see any bolt cutters in the truck? Small gates unlocked, but the one big enough to drive a vehicle through is still chained.”

  “I hate to leave it.” Axel patted the truck. “Don’t find many running anymore.”

  “Yeah,” Archer said. “But she’s about out of gas.”

  The kids and Sloan exited the truck, and they collected their belongings.

  “After you.” Axel headed inside, and the rest followed.

  The neighborhood was in better shape than expected. The bottom floor windows of many of the houses had been boarded up; front doors remained closed.

  Maybe there were still people here? And if they weren’t, why did they leave?

  Archer stopped about five houses in. “Where should we start?”

  “How do we choose?” Sloan pulled up next to him. “These houses are huge. They’ll take some time to clear.”

  “Then maybe we should pick a small house?” Axel scanned the area. “Liyah, any suggestions?”

  “I know of a couple that might work.” She and Isaak moved ahead of the group. “They’re not small by any means, but smaller than these and not far from here.”

  “They headed down the road, took a left then a right before coming to a stop at a white, modern, two-story gated house.

  “What do you think?” Liyah asked, hands clinging to the f
ence. “Gate’s unlocked.”

  Axel stared up at the house. “Lots of windows. Wonder why they weren’t boarded up?”

  “Many of the houses are like that,” Liyah said. “People love their view.”

  “Yeah,” Axel always liked a lot of windows, made him feel like he was outside, “but not great when you’re trying to hide.”

  Liyah cocked her head. “We can try some other places out.”

  Archer peered through the fence. “No. With the fence, I think we’ll be okay. We can always cover the windows later. Axel, you and me brother? Want to come with me to make sure the place is empty?”

  “Yeah, but the others should come inside the yard. Just in case.”

  “Agreed.” Archer held open the gate. “Stay hidden but not too much in case you need to make a quick getaway.”

  “Don’t worry.” Sloan kept Molly and Blake close. “We’ll be fine. Be careful.”

  Archer retrieved the only gun from his jeans and checked the ammo as they headed for the house. “We only have four bullets left. Not going to do much for us if we come across more than a couple infested.”

  “Yeah, well.” Axel turned the door knob and cracked the door. “We haven’t seen much of them in a while.”

  “Strange, right?” Archer moved in first, gun ready. “Wow, this place is nice. Dusty but in damn good shape.”

  Axel followed him into the living room. “Crazy. Guess no one has been here in a while. Wonder if there are still supplies here?”

  “Maybe we’ll get lucky for once.”

  Axel refused to get his hopes up. “Let’s clear the house first.”

  Archer moved into the kitchen. “Or we could do both.” He opened the pantry and let out a low whistle.

  “Find anything?”

  “Actually,” Archer tossed him a package of Ramen noodles. “Yeah.”

  Axel caught it with a grin. “Haven’t eaten these since I was in my early twenties. How many are in there?”

  “Several cases, plus some canned food and bottled water.”

  Good news for once. What a surprise? “Is it strange my mouth is watering?”

  “Not at all.”

  The tension in his shoulders faded. “Let’s get this house cleared so we can eat.”

  Archer grinned. “Don't have to tell me twice.”