Dead Hearts (Book 1): Morbid Hearts

by Susanne L. Lambdin

  Nightshadow walked them to the door. “If this is about your team leader, I can spare you the trip and fill you in now.”

  “Is Cadence okay? Have you heard from the Tigers? I was supposed to join up with them hours ago.”

  “Jesus, kid. Take a breath!”

  “I just wanted to know….”

  “Yeah, I know what you want Highbrow. They’re fine. All of them.”

  Nomad puffed out his chest. With his leather coat and steel-tipped boots, he looked as tough as any soldier in their camouflage jackets and berets.

  “Hell’s bells,” said Nomad. “What’s wrong with you people? Don’t you care about one another?” He pressed a hand to his side. “All we want is a safe place to hole up until things get back to normal.”

  “Normal?” Nightshadow shared a cold laugh. “Nomad, is it? Nomad, things are never going to be normal again, not until we kill every last zombie.” His dark eyes turned to Highbrow who lifted his chin to stand taller under the officer’s scrutiny. “The Little Leaguers and Badgers never made it back from picking berries in Cascade. Corporal Jade reported in a little while ago. A group of elderly folk, including my father, were killed by zombies. They got through a hole in the fence. Seems holes are popping open all around the perimeter.”

  “I’m sorry,” said Highbrow. “I didn’t know. No wonder the Captain doesn’t want to negotiate with any newcomers.”

  “I never said he didn’t want to negotiate.” Nightshadow’s face twisted with emotions. His voice sounded shaky when he spoke. “Go on, kid. Take these two to see Doc. I’d send you back to the Tigers, but you seem to like these folks. I should lock them up and you know it, but I’m giving them a chance to get through the night. My father would have wanted me to help them.”

  “Thank you, sir. Again, I’m sorry about your dad.”

  Nightshadow nodded and motioned Highbrow out the door. Rules were rules. Every few months, scavengers showed up. Some were allowed in, some weren’t. It was the way of things. Now that he was assigned to guard the new arrivals, Highbrow wanted to do right by them. Cadence would be worried and he knew his younger teammates would be anxious without him. It was his first night away from the Tigers, and they would have to make do without him.

  Please let Cadence be alive.

  Highbrow almost changed his mind, but Savannah squeezed his hand and pointed to the North Star. When Highbrow gazed upward, to his surprise, the girl kissed him on the cheek. The gruff biker rumbled with laughter behind them.

  This night was only getting weirder.

  * * * * *

  Chapter Six

  The stench of burning flesh would make the strongest person gag, but Rafe was not about to give away his position. He hid under a tarp in the bed of the transport.

  Countless zombies appeared from the dark on all sides. The battle was fierce. Rafe stayed in the truck when his buddies jumped out to fight the wanderers that surprised them. He fired into the throng of living dead, dropping too many to count, but they kept coming. His friends fell, one by one, and when Rafe ran out of ammo he tucked deep into the truck bed and waited out the hell that burned around him.

  Rafe watched one soldier escape the fray and flee. Moments later, a cry pierced the darkness. The wounded soldier made too much noise, and the monsters gave chase. The zombies were drawn away from the truck by the man’s cries, but Rafe’s heart agonized at what he heard and was thankful when the soldier fell silent. He sat for what seemed an eternity and tried not to breathe.

  Rafe felt like a coward, but he didn’t want to die. Not that way.

  He remained hidden through the night, shivering with fear and the cold. His bladder screamed, but he feared discovery. Acquiesced, he pissed in his pants. It was humiliating, but at this point he didn’t give a damn. Pride served no purpose here. Rafe remained still and silent, the smell of his own urine mixed with the increasing stench of burning gore was suffocating. He risked coming out when he heard the engines of incoming four-wheelers. It had to be a rescue team.

  Rafe slid the tarp back and stood. What he saw around him forced bile to lurch from his stomach. His patrol was destroyed without prejudice. Guts and limbs littered the ground. He choked back emotions when he spotted Cadence jump off her vehicle and rush the truck. She wasn’t coming to say hello. Zombies appeared in the brush, staggering toward the Fighting Tigers. She leveled several zombies and held back others as her team joined the fight. Zombies encroached from every direction.

  “Head’s up,” shouted Cadence. “We’ve got a soldier boy on my six.”

  Rafe focused on Cadence as the team faced different directions, firing at the incoming horde. A former corporal stumbled from the cover of trees, leading a pack of flesh eaters. Oblivious that his stomach was torn out, the soldier dragged a thread of entrails behind him and rambled straight for Cadence and her team. Rafe caught the sight of a determined teen raise his M24 and place a round in the center of the former soldier’s forehead. The body sagged and dropped to the ground.

  Zombies multiplied from a jumble of pine trees. Rafe recognized a few, and it made him sick to know these zombies by name. As his former comrades rose from the ground and joined those advancing on the patrol, his stomach challenged his dignity once more. He wanted to scream, to run, but was forced to watch as his former friends crawled and lumbered toward them. Rafe thought zombies the perfect weapon. They are tireless, always advancing and destroying, ever increasing in number.

  “Look out,” Rafe cried, unable to contain his terror at the growing danger surrounding his girlfriend. “They’re coming right for you, Cadence! Get out of there! There’s too damn many of them!”

  Cadence was too busy shooting zombies to notice her team was outnumbered. Click, click, click. She kept pulling the trigger, out of ammo. In a flash, she unsheathed her sword. Rafe was transfixed as Cadence shifted and swirled, decapitating zombie after hideous zombie. It was like watching a dance, with her teammates orchestrating fierce skill in battle by her side. Rafe was mesmerized by what he could only describe as seasoned veterans moving as a cohesive team. By most perceptions, these were a bunch of kids who didn’t know any better. Their actions in battle shattered perceptions, and Rafe considered it a privilege to witness this team in action.

  Rafe considered joining in the fight. He wanted to help, but felt helpless. Cadence continued to hold her ground, removing a steady stream of zombie heads with her katana without falter. Seeing her calm and cool in the heat of battle, Rafe realized he loved her more than anything else in the world. He needed to join her, to fight beside her.

  Why can’t I help them? Why can’t I move? His mind and body were at war with shock and exhaustion. Rafe wanted to avenge his squad, but his limbs were locked and sickness consumed him. He was a soldier, trained to fight, and yet these untrained Fighting Tigers showed more zeal and skill than most in the Freedom Army. He thought it was silly how these young patrols gave their teams monikers like the Panthers, Bulldogs, or Blue Devils. There were some teens that acted like gang members, taking advantage of the system, but then there were the Fighting Tigers. This team, however silly Rafe thought their name was, put their lives on the line for everyone else. Any one of them was a better human, a better soldier, than Rafe, and he knew it.

  “Kill them,” shouted Rafe. “Kill them all!”

  He grabbed an abandoned rifle from the back of the truck and fired into a group of lumbering corpses. He felt himself returning. It felt good to engage the enemy. His confidence grew with each kill. Standing in the warm sun, Rafe felt unstoppable. He shot and screamed until there nothing else moved.

  “Rafe! Hey! Rafe!”

  Hearing Cadence call his name brought Rafe back to his senses. His mind was furious with the vision of his friend and fellow soldier, Boomer, being eaten alive when the violence started. Pushing the image to the back of his mind, Rafe plugged one more round into the nearest zombie and let his rifle drop. His heart was pounding and his breathing labored as his reluctant
eyes settled on Cadence.

  “Cadence? I’m so sorry.”

  “Don’t be. What in the bloody hell happened here?”

  Cadence sounded like his lieutenant when he was alive and shouting orders. Her temperament aggravated Rafe. His emotions flared as she marched toward him. That assertive, confronting tempo is what gained her the nickname Cadence.

  “We were camped in the Garden last night and could hear the battle. It was too far and too dangerous to help, but we came here first thing this morning. We’ve already faced our share of zombies in the Garden this morning.” She glanced at the ragged hole in the fence. “I wondered how they got in. We need to plug up that hole. Whisper? Ideas?”

  “Truck,” said Whisper.

  “Right. We can use it as a block. Flatten the tires, and pack logs and debris under it.” “We need to siphon the gas,” said Blaze. “The ATVs are on empty. Oh hell, I’ll do it. I’ll get ‘em filled up. Have Smack gather the guns and ammo. We need to burn the bodies. God, they smell!”

  “What about the berets?” asked Dodger.

  Rafe had seen him around, always playing cards and telling crazy stories to impress people.

  “Good thinking, Dodger,” said Cadence, “and get their tags. Every soldier has a set.” Cadence motioned for her team to get busy. “Rafe, what happened last night?” Cadence gazed up at him from beside the truck. He felt little next to her. Rafe didn’t climb down. “What’s wrong with you? Come down here. I was worried about you. Are you hurt?”

  “No,” said Rafe. He looked at the dead bodies scattered everywhere. “There’s a lot, isn’t there?”

  “Sixty or more, but who’s counting? Are you okay or not?”

  Rafe started to speak, but fell silent when Whisper jumped in the cab of the truck. He fired up the vehicle and rolled it in front of the hole in the fence. The sniper threw the truck into park, got out, and shot the tires, lowering it several inches. Others dragged logs, rocks, and shrubs and filled in the gap underneath.

  “Why are you still in the truck? Get down,” said Cadence. Her eyes studied Rafe. Then she asked the one question he wanted to avoid. “Did you fight, or were you in the truck all night?”

  “No. Yes. Kind of . . . ” Rafe stuttered, trying to form a self-preserving answer. He failed and winced. His pride swelled and Rafe let his anger boil.

  “If you aren’t bitten, get out of the truck. We have bodies to burn, and we need your help.” Cadence scanned the battlefield. “These were your friends. You can do the honors and pick up their berets. Rafe! Can you manage that?”

  Rafe swung his legs over the side and jumped to the ground. He fumed to where Cadence was standing, wanting to punch her for embarrassing him. No matter what happened last night, he wanted their respect. He deserved that, at least. His anger began to spill over.

  “It was a hard-pressed battle. You weren’t here, so you have no right . . . ” sputtered Rafe. “It would have been helpful if you had joined us last night. As you can see, we needed reinforcements.” He tried to intimidate her.

  Her sharp, green eyes cut into his soul. He felt worse. Coward. She didn’t say it, but she didn’t need to.

  “Those monsters were on us before we knew what was happening. They were already on our side of the fence. We thought they were scavengers, and then it was too late. ”

  “Where were you during the fighting?” Cadence asked, sounding disappointed. “Your boots are clean, not one drop of zombie juice.” She brushed some dried blood away from his face, the only evidence that he had been in the battle. “There’s hardly a spot of dirt on you. Explain that.”

  “I was at the machine gun. I killed as many as I could before I ran out of ammo. They just kept coming. They were everywhere. I had no choice but to hide. That’s how it was. Over and done, fast.” Rafe wiped his nose. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

  “Sorry,” said Cadence, bending to pick up a rifle. She examined it and found the magazine empty. “I didn’t expect to find you here, and I certainly didn’t anticipate finding zombies on our side of the fence.”

  Cadence continued retrieving weapons and packing them in saddlebags on the ATVs. Blaze and Whisper filled the gap beneath the truck while Dodger and Smack piled the human remains into one big pile.

  Rafe watched, doubling over when a horrible pain stabbed his stomach. The pain was intense, wrecking his thoughts and making the situation worse than it should have been. He shuffled to where Cadence was loading the four-wheelers.

  “Have things changed between us that much?” asked Rafe in a moment of desperation.

  Cadence said nothing, but her eyes dug into his thoughts. He felt like she was reading his mind and his anger surfaced again

  “I know what you’re thinking, Cadence, but it’s not like that! I fought with the rest of them. I ran out of ammo. It wouldn’t have mattered what I did. There were too many of them.”

  “I’m not judging you, Rafe.” She sounded condescending. “If you don’t mind, I need to help my team. We have a lot of work to do before we can go home.” She put her hands on her hips. “I’m really not judging you. If you can’t help, go sit down out of everyone’s way.”

  “Shell shock,” Whisper called out, overhearing their conversation. “Give him a break.” Whisper went back to digging through pockets, not minding the gore spreading up to his elbows. He filled a duffle bag with dog tags, cigarette lighters, wallets, and other keepsakes.

  Rafe reached for Cadence’s arm as she walked by. “I’m sorry,” he said, following after her. “You know how I feel about you.”

  “Are you trying to drive me crazy right now?” Cadence scolded. “Now is not the time to talk about how we feel. Seriously, I just want to finish and go take a bath. We can talk about this later.” Her voice became soft. “Any one of us might have done the same thing. No one is going to say a thing about it any of this. It’s in the past.”

  “It won’t happen again.” Bile rose in Rafe’s throat as he watched two girls stacking corpses. “I promise.”

  “I believe you, now stop acting so weird. You know I care about you. But this isn’t the time or place to be talking about us. You had a rough night, and I’m sorry about Boomer and all the other soldiers. I really am.”

  Rafe glared at Cadence, his ego sagging. “It doesn’t make me a coward, you know.” His anger was bubbling again. “It’s not like I hid the entire time. I was scared, but I fought back. I was here. Where were you? It’s not like I was hiding in the Garden with my little friends, watching the show from a distance. I was in the moment.”

  “It’s my job to keep my team safe. Plus, you and I both know the results had we shown up.”

  “Just promise me that you and your patrol buddies won’t tell anyone what happened. No one has to know I was here. I can say I was patrolling on the north fence. I won’t be able to deal if people start talking about me.”

  Cadence stared at him a long time. “Is that what you’re worried about? I don’t get it. You’re one of the bravest soldiers in the Freedom Army. Something is wrong.”

  “I’m fine.”

  “Okay. Then I promise. None of us will talk about what you did, or didn’t do, last night,” she affirmed. Unsure what to do, she patted him on the arm. “Buck up. It’s going to be okay, Rafe. Give me a few minutes and we’ll get out of here. We have to burn the bodies first.”

  Rafe felt another surge of rage. The sharpness in his stomach was worse. Why doesn’t anyone understand how I feel, he wondered. Cadence put everyone else before him. Stack the bodies. Burn the bodies. She didn’t care if he was an emotional wreck and needed her attention and a little compassion. She was heartless and it was beginning to show. Cadence helped drag bodies to the pile. Rafe took every step at her side. It was clear she wanted nothing to do with him. His stomach turned and his anger stoked.

  “You always follow protocol,” Rafe whispered harshly. “You always do the right thing. You act like you believe me, but I know you think I’m a co
ward.” In his haze, he lifted his hand to strike her, and then noticed her staring at his crotch. He forgot about pissing himself.

  “I guess you had an accident,” she said.

  Breathing a groan, he dropped his hand. “Why do you have to scrutinize everything? I swear if you tell anyone about this, you’ll be sorry.”

  “I have no intentions to embarrass my boyfriend,” Cadence snapped. “Stop taking everything so personal. This isn’t about you. Believe it or not, there’s more at stake here than your precious reputation. You want to push me, to lose me? Is that where you’re going with this? Okay with me. It’s not like you were faithful, but I never said anything about that either. Until now. It’s over, Rafe. Now back off and leave me alone.”

  He stood motionless, shocked. She knew and never called him out. He wanted to apologize, but couldn’t. There was no defense. It was over. Shame consumed him as he watched Cadence walk to stand by her team. The group gathered close as Cadence whispered something to them. The tension was palpable. The Tigers glanced in his direction, and then turned back to their leader. They were buying whatever it was she was feeding them.

  Rafe turned and stared at the pile of corpses, trying to regain composure. It did no good.

  Boomer lay somewhere in the mix. He couldn’t stay and watch his friends burn, nor could he stand being around his girlfriend—ex-girlfriend now—while he was in so much pain. He had to leave. The Tigers didn’t need him and Cadence wanted nothing to do with him.

  Thinking of himself alone, Rafe jumped on the closest four-wheeler, and peeled out. He could hear Cadence shouting behind him. He knew she wouldn’t chase after him. She’d be disappointed in his behavior. None of that seemed to matter; he felt horrible.

  * * * * *

  Chapter Seven

  It was noon before Cadence and her team finished piling the bodies and setting them ablaze. The fire roared, setting black smoke against the blue sky. The odor was foul, making it difficult to breath.