“Tell them we spoke to Jacob,” Rowan suggested. “Tell them the infected are rising everywhere.”
Mia was nodding, but her eyes were on a small pack Jacob left behind. She rummaged through it and began separating the contents. She grinned as she removed several wraps of dried meat and laid them on the ground. She reached back toward the other side of the fire and revealed the long knife the old man used to whittle.
“I guess he’s not as heartless as I thought,” she said more to herself. “I’ll make them understand,” she said as she got to her feet. “I have to.”
“What about your father?”
The question froze her in place. “I’ll make him understand.” She said it as if she knew she was lying. “He has to.”
Mia looked around the dirty, dark space in a last effort to find something of use. Rowan watched her shoulders fall as the weight of the moment pressed down on her all at once. Her eyes slid across the floor until they reached Rowan and for a moment he thought she might cry. Mia closed her eyes briefly then slipped the bag over her shoulders and got down on her knees in front of him. Rowan wanted to say something profound, he wanted to say something that expressed how he felt about her, but he couldn’t find the words.
“You better be here when I get back,” she said.
Rowan smiled at her and then laughed.
“This isn’t the last time we’re ever going to see each other,” he said. He wasn’t sure why he said it, but the sound of it scared him. “Hurry back.”
Mia leaned in and he held the sides of her face as they kissed. The embrace only lasted a few seconds, but Rowan thought he would remember it above all of the other moments they’d ever had together. Mia was up and moving, making a point not to look back at him. Rowan watched her wipe at her eyes, but he didn’t want to see her face.
“I love you.”
It was the first time either of them had ever said it and the sound of it shook Rowan to the core. His tongue swelled in his throat. He tried to spit out a reply, but Mia never stopped moving. She waved at him over her shoulder and pushed into the shadows before he could speak. Rowan finally found his breath, but she was long gone.
“I love you, too.”
8
The sun rapidly made its descent and the dead city came alive with echoing sounds. Mia peered out at the street beyond the building she, Rowan, and Jacob had been holding up in for nearly a week. The roadway was clear, but the fast-approaching darkness made it difficult to see into the alleyways between the buildings. The guttural growls drifting on the wind told her that her trek to the tribe’s buildings would be a dangerous one.
She slid out into the open and started south at a slow trot. Mia’s mind was torn. She knew her father would never allow Rowan back into the tribe now that he’d managed to banish him. She’d kept certain details of the council’s decision to herself. Mia listened to her father’s description of what they saw at the edge of the city. He told them that Rowan’s uprising was no different from the small hordes of infected the tribe had seen for years.
Mia bit her lip. She couldn’t bring herself to tell Rowan the truth. Moreover, she had no idea how she was going to convince the council to act. She’d have to call her father a liar in the process. The thought of it brought her an overwhelming sense of hopelessness. There was something in Jacob’s coarse description of the tribe’s future that gnawed at her. As much as she wanted to tell herself that he didn’t know what he was talking about, she couldn’t. Her thoughts sped up her feet.
The shadows of the buildings loomed across the street, running into one another. The last of the light would soon be gone and Mia’s relative safety would be gone with it. She couldn’t ignore the rising sounds. A chill ran down the back of her neck as the first of the dead-speak cleared the surrounding structures. She dropped down to a knee and edged forward behind the shell of a rusty vehicle.
The clatter that followed came in a series of waves. The echo grew with great intensity until Mia felt her heart beating in tune with it. She pushed herself away from the car, her eyes locked on the crossroads ahead. She stood up without thinking, backing toward an access road between two rows of smaller buildings. She stood near the edge of a building, her face pressed up against the cold stone exterior.
The sound changed as it renewed, rising in volume to a roar. The dead-speak was in unison, louder than anything she’d ever heard before. Her eyes bulged as the first of them broke from beyond the buildings. They moved in step, covering the street from one side to the other. There were more infected than she’d ever seen at once, row after row racing toward the crossroad. Their chorus stung her ears, the slithering words crawling over her skin like a bug. Mia turned to run when something else caught her eye. The large formation moved as one, but it was not complete. The configuration splintered at every walkway, alley, and side street. Smaller groups broke away from the main body as if on cue, exploring, leaving no crevice unchecked.
Her legs couldn’t carry her fast enough. She was unsure of her direction, but the fear clinging to her heart wouldn’t allow her to stop. The light disappeared, leaving Mia shrouded in darkness. A low-lying blanket of clouds blocked out the moon, allowing only slivers of glowing light to guide her. The sound of the infected pierced everything. They were coming, pushing down every street, and through every building. Panic consumed Mia, a dread for what this meant to the tribe, a dread for Rowan’s safety, and a dread for how she would survive the night.
She was down on her knees, edging toward the corner of a building. Mia slid her eye out to the bend and examined at the street, turning her head to get the view from both directions. The road was clear, but the ever present dead-speak told her it wouldn’t stay that way for long. She shot out from behind her cover and reached the center of the road before movement caught her eye. Mia didn’t have to look to know what was coming, the roar of the crowd painted a picture nearly beyond comprehension.
The chorus of wails rose to a deafening volume as the blood lust pushed the infected into a feeding frenzy. Mia reached the sidewalk and kept moving, pushing herself faster than she thought possible. Experience told her that she had to control her energy or the relentless infected would catch her, but at the moment, her rational-self had no control over her actions. Her heart beat every time her feet hit the ground and the pace quickened for both by the second.
Mia didn’t bother to pull her knife. If the pack caught up to her, they’d rip her apart before she ever got in a swing. She reached the next cross streets and turned east. Somewhere in the back of her mind she was trying to guide herself home. She made a series of quick turns, never bothering to look and see what was behind her. The sounds grew more distant, but she didn’t dare to hope she’d lose her pursuers. The infected had an amazing sense of smell, something akin to a hunting dog. Her only real hope was getting enough buildings between herself and them that they would lose her scent before they caught up to her. The brief moment of optimism was sucked out of her when she raced out of a parking lot and was forced to a stop.
They were dead, all of them, a pack so dense, they were practically standing on top of one another. Mia shivered as she scanned up one side of the road and down the other. The dead stood in both directions, silent as the grave, all focused on her. She couldn’t understand why they weren’t moving toward her until a familiar sound reached her ears. The dead-speak carried across the parking lot, smacking Mia square in the face and she knew at once, what was happening.
The dead were there to contain her. The realization of what that meant slurped the courage from her heart in an instant. The infected had such control that they’d managed to create the flesh-eating barrier while they were on the run. The idea of it was too terrifying to believe. If they had the ability to do that, Jacob was right, they were more than capable of stomping the Cheyenne Tribe out of existence.
Mia’s focus turned to the building across from the lot. The entryway was buried beneath a pile of rubble. She spun back toward th
e lot, forcing herself to face what would surely be her death. She backed away, slipping her knife out from under her belt. She reached the front side of the building and pressed her back up against the brick wall.
A terrible silence fell over the open space. Mia scanned the lot from one line of the dead at the end of the street to the opposing line. The first of the infected stepped out into the light, but they didn’t rush after her nor did they let out their dreadful cries. Several pale-skinned figures walked calmly to the edge of the lot. The sight of their self-control was unlike anything Mia had ever seen, and it was more horrible than she could have imagined. The group looked at her, their hate-filled eyes unnaturally wide. Most of their limbs jerked and twitched sporadically, fighting to contain themselves.
The shadows between the buildings shifted as more and more figures pushed in behind the first. Mia gasped, trying desperately to keep her wits about her. She could feel the panic working its way into her heart as her hands shook beyond her control. A central figure stepped away from the group of infected and started across the lot. The dead along the road never moved, not even when the first few yelps of devilish desire called out from the shadows.
It was a woman, her open shirt revealing her breasts. Patches of violet dotted her neck and face in between the dark lines beneath her skin. The woman reached the center of the parking lot and came to a stop. Her wild eyes ran the length of Mia from her feet to her head, her arms shuddering erratically every few seconds. The stare off lasted too long for Mia’s nerves. Her response rang out before her mind could process what she was saying.
“Just eat me already.”
The words echoed across the open space, startling the onlookers. The spur was enough to get them to move. The shadows erupted in a brutal howl and the masses of undead started forward from opposite ends of the street as the crowd of infected burst into action. Mia felt her heart seize up in her chest, but her eyes remained glued on the mob. The infected woman never moved, not even when the snarling crowd barreled past her. Mia’s mind froze, unable to process what was about to happen. The last thing she expected was someone to call out her name.
“Mia, get in here.”
Jacob leaned out from a second story widow and dangled the tail end of a rope above her head. Mia bent down and pushed off the ground with all her strength. She managed to grab the rope with one hand then the other. She was climbing a second later. Jacob held on, but the old man lacked the strength to pull her body weight. The full force of the infected mass hit the side of the building below her feet and the sound reverberated off the old bricks like a car crash, nearly causing Mia to lose her grip.
“Come on.”
Mia grabbed the bottom of the windowsill with one hand and tried to get a leg into the window. Jacob had fallen to the ground, the other end of the rope wrapped around his waist. The old man’s grip slipped and the rope pulled free. Mia flailed as the rope fell back and all her weight pulled on her fingertips. She let the rope go and lashed out with her free hand. Her palm slammed onto the windowsill as the brunt of her weight bore down on her shoulders.
In her panicked state, Mia took in the view below her dangling feet. The infected pressed in against the wall, forming a pile of contaminated bodies. They reached out for her, climbing on top of one another in a frenzied effort to grab her legs. A combined howl rose up to greet her as the whole of their heinous desire focused squarely on her beating heart. Mia shuddered and yelled at the top of her lungs as her grip failed.
Jacob’s face slipped out of the open window as he reached over and grabbed a hold of her arms. He pressed his feet against the wall and leaned back then pulled with everything he had in him. Mia contorted her hips and managed to get one foot up on the ledge. The combined effort was enough to lift her up to her waist. Jacob fell to the floor as Mia finished climbing the rest of the way in by herself. She knelt down and tried to collected herself.
“What are you doing here?” she asked between breaths.
“You’re welcome,” he said.
She nodded and stood up.
“Thank you,” she said before lunging forward and catching the old man in a hug as he got up. “A thousand times, thank you.”
Jacob patted her awkwardly on the back before gently shoving her away.
“We need to get out of here,” he said. “They’ll have the entire building surrounded in no time.”
They headed for a doorway across from the window. Mia held on to several questions still stuck in her throat. She reached the hall before her mind shifted to a terrible thought.
“Rowan.”
Jacob didn’t stop, heading for a staircase at the other end of the central hall.
“Who?”
“Rowan’s all alone back there,” she said, now stuck in place by the notion of it. “We have to help him.”
Jacob finally stopped when he reached the remains of a banister lining the stairs. “I assume by the state of the city that he’s already dead.” The old man shrugged and started down the steps.
Mia yelled after him. “What’s the matter with you?” Jacob stopped with only his head still visible from her vantage point. “You left us there,” she said. “I thought it was safe.”
“There’s no time for this,” he said, coldly. “It was safe, at least I thought so. The gathering is much further along than I imagined. Damn me if you must, but there’s nothing we can do about it now. There is no way to save your friend.” He took another few steps and his head disappeared. “Follow me if you want, but I will not come back for you.”
An overwhelming sadness consumed Mia, paralyzing her. She thought of Rowan as the cries of the infected carrying in through the window were drowned out by her heartbeat. Part of her wanted to ball up on the ground and simply die where she was. It was the thought of someone else that urged her to walk. The name slipped from her lips as she sped up.
“Jonah.”
Mia bound down the stairs and reached the bottom floor. She caught up with Jacob and forced him to stop. The old man spun around and snatched his sleeve from her grip. The stare down lasted several seconds before Jacob’s gaze softened.
“You can’t help Rowan,” he said. “But right now you can save yourself.” He thought about it and added, “Maybe.”
“I can’t…it’s not far…we could…” Her head shook from side to side as she tried to come up with a logical plan that included saving Rowan. She teared up before she managed another question. “What about the tribe?”
Jacob’s attention was waning. His eyes shifted from her to the other end of the hall. “There may be hope for them.” He took a step away from here before hesitating and then reached back. “Come on, take it.”
Mia looked at his hand and cried harder. In her mind, taking his hand meant she was accepting that Rowan was dead. Her shaking hand slipped away from her side. She held it out in front of her, unable to force herself to take Jacob’s hand. He reached up and grabbed it and the shock nearly knocked her onto her knees.
“We have to go, now.”
Mia took a step, followed by another. She tried desperately to get the vision of Rowan out of her head as Jacob forced her to hurry. Her stomach churned and she was sure she was going to be sick. Mia forced herself to think of her brother and the thought was enough to keep her feet moving.
Jacob pulled her to the end of the first floor hallway and then into another room. He pried open a door, revealing a dead end. The cramped closet was bare. Jacob dropped down to his knees, pulling Mia down with him.
“I’m going to need help with this,” he said.
Mia looked on, waiting for more, but his aim became evident. Jacob guided the point of a screwdriver into a small slit between the floorboards. He jammed the tool beneath the board with a slap of his palm and motioned for Mia to slide her fingers under the exposed piece. Mia pushed her hand underneath the wood and lifted.
The entire closet floor gave way, pulling up in Mia’s hands. Jacob reached down into a dark hole ben
eath the exposed space and ran his hand along the side until he found what he was looking for. Mia had seen a lantern before although she’d never seen one that actually worked. Jacob laid it on the ground and pulled a small box from one of his coat pockets. The box slid open with a thumb push and the contents made Mia gasp. She knew what matches were, but she’d never seen any that produced a flame. Jacob opened one side of the lantern’s clear panels and removed a match from the box. He went to strike it when a series of crashes from the hall caused him to drop everything in his hands.
“Damn it!” he exclaimed. “You better get your butt down in that hole.”
He pinched the match off the cold wooden floor as another pair of hits smashed down on something in the hallway. Mia started for the dark pit in the bottom of the closet; she slipped one leg down onto the first foothold she could find and then stopped.
“What about you?”
Jacob kept his focus on his task, disregarding her excited utterance. A quick flick of the wrist brought the match to life. He ignored the echoing sound of cracking wood as it was joined by the distinct chatter of dead-speak. The wick sparked to life the moment the flame touched the material. Jacob closed the exterior panel on the lantern and adjusted the fuel. He was on his feet again before he turned his attention back to Mia.
“Would you prefer we wait here for them to get in and eat us?”
The question snapped Mia’s attention back to the task at hand. She plunged down into the darkness in a hurry and didn’t stop until her feet hit solid ground. The light from the room was lost the moment Jacob closed the closet door and pulled the makeshift cover back into place. He started running through an underground tunnel the moment his boots touched the bottom, offering no explanation for their course. The lamp provided enough illumination to keep the darkness at bay. Mia took a long breath and then one last look at the hole above before scampering off after him.
9
The Decaying World Saga (Book 1): Tribes of Decay Page 7