The worst of the flames were near the center of the rooftop, spreading quickly from hut to hut. Rowan focused on the sound, trying to locate it before it died away. He took a few steps toward the platforms before the growing heat forced him to stop. The groan grew louder and it lasted long enough for him to get a good reading on where it was coming form.
Rowan worked clockwise around the outer ring of fine, bringing himself back to the edge of the building. He had to shield his face in order to reach the opposite side. The groaning continued and the source was revealed to be someone stuck under one side of a platform already collapsed. Rowan recognized Garret and rushed in to help him. Garret’s eyes focused on Rowan as he approached and the shock was apparent. His savior was the last person he expected and he made no attempt to hide it.
“What are you doing here?”
Rowan ignored the question, instead slipping his hands under the wide board lying on top of him.
“I won’t be able to lift this myself,” Rowan said. “You’ll have to push with everything you have left.”
He counted off with head nods and the two lifted together. The board moved an inch, but it was enough for Garret to pull himself out from under it. Rowan’s strength was maxed and when he dropped the platform, he collapsed from the strain.
“Who’s saving who?” Garret asked as they sat up next to one another. The two took in the tumultuous view. “We have to get out of here.”
“We have to look for other survivors,” Rowan countered.
“Some of them got out,” Garret said, “but most of them didn’t.” He had to clear his voice to keep it from cracking. “They took them,” he swore under his breath, “the infected rounded them up and took them.”
“How did it happen?” Rowan asked.
Garret shook his head, but didn’t offer an answer. “Wait here and catch your breath.” He stood up and nearly tumbled to the ground when he put weight on his legs. “I’ll take one last look around.”
Rowan wasn’t sure he was in any shape to go off alone, but Garret walked away before he could get out another question. By the time he returned, Rowan was up. The look on Garret’s face spoke volumes.
“There’s no one left.”
Rowan didn’t want to ask the next question, but he forced himself to anyway.
“What about Mia? Jonah?”
Garret shrugged.
“I didn’t see her.” He thought about it. “I didn’t see either of them.”
Rowan ran his eyes along the eastern edge of the building. Most of the huts were burning, but it looked like they still had time to get in behind them. “I know another way down,” he said. “Can’t be sure it will be safe.”
Garret slid a knife out from the sheath strapped to his leg and nodded.
“I’m ready.”
Rowan took one last look at the burning remains of the Cheyenne Tribe then settled his mind on the way ahead.
“Let’s go.”
10
The crudely constructed tunnels were only large enough to crawl through in some places. Jacob stayed out in front, and the old man’s steady pace impressed Mia. He was never fast, by any stretch of the imagination, but his determination showed in his relentlessness. The sounds of the infected mob were lost after the first few turns.
The time drug by, as the tunnel seemed to go on forever. It wasn’t until the strength in Mia’s legs began to fail that she marveled at the sheer size of the labyrinth. Whoever created the tunnels spent an unimaginable amount of time at its construction. She was even more surprised that she’d never heard of such a place running beneath the city that her tribe lived in since the time of the great infection. Jacob continued as if they might travel clear beyond the boundaries of Cheyenne. It took Mia a while to build up the nerve to break the silence between them.
“Where are we?”
Jacob didn’t reply, nor did he stop moving. His pace had slowed for a while and his deep bowing walk looked painful. The light from the lantern swayed from one wall to the other with every step. Mia came to stop and something in her sudden stillness grabbed Jacob’s attention.
“What?”
He spun around, half startled as if expecting her to warn him of someone’s approach.
“Where are we?” she repeated. “Will this take us to the tribal council’s building?” The expression on his face didn’t convince her that he knew the proper answer.
The old man’s frustration flared up in the deep creases along his forehead.
“There are many exits,” he said. “We’ll head for the safest one.”
“That doesn’t answer my question,” she said, sharply.
Jacob set the lantern down on the dirt floor and then stretched his hands over his head as best he could in the cramped space. A series of pops and cracks followed, one that startled him. It took a moment for Jacob to get his hands back down by his sides.
“It’s probably too late.”
The plainness of his statement struck Mia in the gut. She started to object, but discovered she lacked the words.
“But…” was all that crept out.
Jacob held his hands up to stop her. “I’ll get you close enough, if there’s anything we can do, I’ll help you.”
The look on his face spoke volumes. He already believed they were dead. Mia could see it as plain as if he’d said it out loud. She managed to find her voice.
“How much longer?”
Jacob picked the lantern up and started again, replying over his shoulder.
“Not much.”
The end of the tunnel came as abruptly as it had started. The entire maze spilt off only three times and the last turn brought them to a dead end. Jacob slid his hands along an indention in the wall and found another one higher up. He set the lantern down and blew the light out before starting his climb.
It wasn’t until Mia took a few steps forward that she found a thin line of light far up in the darkness. Jacob grunted to himself as he climbed. Mia found him in the darkness as his figure interrupted the lone light above. She locked on to him and watched like a hawk until he reached the top. Jacob waited in silence for a long time before finally trying to move the cover over the tunnel.
The light hit Mia in a flash, forcing her to hold her hand out above her. The sensation faded and Jacob was nowhere to be found. She could see nothing from her vantage save for the light. It was an agonizing wait until Jacob’s bearded face popped down into the hole. He waved her up before peering over his shoulder at something beyond her view.
Mia climbed, slowly feeling for each handhold in the wall as she went. Her eyes remained on Jacob and his on something going on behind him. Mia neared the opening and the sounds of what was waiting filtered down to her ears. The dead-speak was clear, but she’d never heard it continue for so long. It came in waves, in multiple layers of communication she couldn’t hope to grasp. The opening at the top of the climb was narrower than the end of the tunnel. Mia had to reach both arms straight up and maneuver her shoulders in order to get out, up to her waist. She stopped at the midpoint to take in the spectacle that had Jacob’s full attention.
Jacob kept his promise. He brought them up close enough to see all three of the Cheyenne Tribe’s main buildings. The lightening sky surprised her, quickly confirming the length of time they’d spent down in the tunnels. The fiery blaze along the rooftops were next to grab her attention, but it was a scream between the wave of dead-speak that brought her eyes down to the ground. Mia slipped the rest of her body out of the hole and nearly knocked Jacob over trying to get to a window on the far wall.
The room was a portion of a much larger building. Mia had been in and around every structure surrounding the foundation of the tribe’s home, but she couldn’t place the particular site in her hurried state. Her eyes slid up to the edge of the window, staring out the opening at a violent scene. A number of bodies littered the ground around a long-abandoned park, most of which were being hovered over by figures gouging into them. Anot
her scream rang out from the open space, converging on a woman pressed against a stone fountain, which dominated the center of the square.
Several of the infected were closing in, all of them strolling calmly as if to extend the horrifying torture of the moment. Mia had no desire to watch what was coming, but she couldn’t force herself to look away. Somehow, she was sure that she knew the woman and Mia felt blessed that the darkness consumed her face. The woman crawled backwards up and over the stone lip of the dried basin beneath the statue of a crumbling man. The infected lined around her, stopping at the edge to watch her squirm. A small group of undead lumbered toward the prey, but the infected pushed them away. This was the determination of a clearly thinking creature and the horror of it was not lost on Mia. One of them stepped up on to the lip of the basin and glared down at their victim before leaning his head back and roaring some vile cheer of irreverence.
The woman was stricken by startled silence. Her lips parted to scream, but nothing escaped her mouth. The lead figure among the infected descended down upon her with ravaging thirst. He grabbed a hold of the sides of her face and forced her head back before Mia looked away. A whimpering squeal was cut short, followed by the gurgling sound of someone drowning in their own blood.
Mia turned around and pushed her back against the inside wall. She closed her eyes and slid down to the ground. The sound of Jacob’s waddling feet neared, but she didn’t bother to open her eyes. She felt his presence as he leaned in close and looked out at the scene unfolding in the park. His gruff voice carried in a whisper.
“They will take over everything,” he said.
Mia’s eyes snapped open as she spun around on her knees. She spoke up, louder than she meant to, but it was too late to do anything about it.
“This is what you knew?” She froze in silence, her eyes bulging in the darkened interior. Neither of them moved for an agonizing time. Mia continued when she was sure nothing was about to dive in through the window after them. “This is the evolution you knew was coming,” she whispered.
Jacob nodded, never taking his eyes from the scene. He flinched once and the thought of what caused the response scared the hell out of Mia.
“How?” was all she managed to say. “How?” she repeated, filled with despair.
He took one last look and then turned around, sliding down to take Mia’s place beneath the window. “I can’t explain it in a way that would make any more sense to you,” he said and then shrugged. “Soon there won’t be enough of us left for it to matter.”
Mia sat down and pulled her knees up close to her chest. She thought she might get sick. She wiped away the tears forming in the corners of her eyes and threw herself forward, forcing her legs to hold her as she stood. The pain in her heart nearly knocked her back down.
“Get up,” she said.
Jacob stared up at her, unsure of what she expected him to do. She quickly explained.
“You may have given up on us, but I never will.” She looked past him, ignoring the movement in the park, focusing instead on her burning home. “They may have gotten out.” She paused. “Some of them anyway.”
Jacob stood up slowly, allowing his back the necessary time to adjust.
“You want to go out there?” he asked.
“We have to,” Mia said, never taking her eyes off the building. “I’d rather die trying than sit here and do nothing.” Her thoughts were on Jonah, but she refused to release the agony. She needed the fuel. “Stay here if you want to.”
Jacob shifted uncomfortably, his stare moving between Mia and the opening in the top of the tunnel in the corner of the room. Mia found the only other exit from the room and headed for it. She didn’t look back for Jacob even after she stepped into the adjoining space. One side of the room was collapsed, leaving only a slight gap open to the outside. Mia was on her hands and knees before Jacob caught up to her.
“It will take you out between this building and the next,” he said. “We’ll have to crawl to get out to the street.”
Mia nodded and started forward. The crumbling walls forced her closer and closer to the ground until she was on her stomach. She had to reach out with both hands and drag herself ahead, pushing with the edges of her boots. Grunts and groans from Jacob told her that his slight frame wasn’t making the way any easier for him. The sounds of the murderous crowds in the streets grew as she drew closer to the far end of the opening in the wall. She was out in the open before she realized it.
Mia never stood up, the fear of being spotted more than enough to keep her close to the ground. Jacob’s directions proved correct. The far end of the adjacent building had collapsed and the result left a V-shaped barrier, blocking out the view of the street running north to south in front of the remains of both structures.
The way forward was another small gap, this one beneath the crumbling wall in the side of the adjacent building. The opening was larger than the initial pathway, but the view didn’t provide any additional confidence that it wouldn’t come crashing down on top of them. Mia low-crawled across the alley and directly into the breach, rising up on to her hands and knees once she was out of the open. She waited in the shadows of a new room for Jacob to complete the crossing.
“Just a little farther,” Jacob said between gasps, pointing out at an adjoining hallway. “There’s a way out midway down the hall.”
Mia was at the exit before Jacob gathered the strength to pick himself up off the floor. Her wide-eyes were on the front of the tribal council’s building. The size of the infected mob was only outnumbered by the countless dead circling the group like vultures waiting for scraps. In the end, it wasn’t the infected or the dead that caused her body to quiver.
“By the God’s.”
The words slipped from her lips. She pointed out something for Jacob as he approached. He leaned against the far side of the door trying to see what had her attention. The shock of it caused his knees to buckle. Jacob’s mouth opened to spit out some explanation, only to discover he didn’t have one.
The infected had gathered in a semicircle, using the front of the tribal council’s building as a barricade. They lined up, keeping the dead from breaking through their ranks. The infected lashed and shouted dead-speak in the air like baying wolves, but they held their positions. A smaller group of people stood clustered together, cornered between the infected and the front of the building like trapped animals waiting for certain death. Mia grabbed a hold of the doorframe to keep herself from falling. The swirling pain and anger churned inside her, enough to make her sick. She recognized several members of the tribe pressed against one another; men, women and children, most crying in a terrified craze.
“We have to do something,” Mia said.
“Do what?” Jacob asked and then grabbed her by the wrist before she could step out into the open. “You’ll get yourself killed and you won’t save a single one of them.”
Mia snatched her arm away, but she didn’t take another step. A series of movements from the infected crowd ended the argument. Those positioned at the farthest point from the side of the building moved first. The infected back out of the way, forcing the swarming dead back as they went. The infected near the building walked in behind the group of survivors and drove them to move.
The utter terror on the faces of the living spoke volumes. The children continued to wail and weep, the youngest clinging to the adults. A low growl rose from the infected, the beat rising with the pace. The urging forced the living to walk as the infected moved along side of them.
“What are they doing?” Mia asked.
“They’re taking them,” Jacob said, “like prisoners,” he added.
Mia felt lost. “But why?” She shook her head as the entire procession turned and headed east along the main street. “What could they possibly want with…,” an idea came to her before she finished. The darkness of her thoughts was too difficult to relay.
“They’ve learned,” Jacob said, “they can’t completely destroy thei
r food source.”
Mia shivered despite herself.
“But?”
“They can keep them alive,” he continued, “if they keep the dead off of them.”
Mia’s entire body shuddered. She wanted to know how any of it was possible, but she wasn’t sure she could stomach the answer. Instead, she focused her attention on a small pack of zombies breaking off the larger horde, trailing the captives. A number of the infected lunged away from the ranks encircling the tribal captives, before being pulled back in line by a vicious roar from someone near the front.
“There’s something going on,” Mia said. She was out on to the sidewalk before Jacob could react. “They’re chasing something else.” She reached the end of the building and slipped her eyes out to find the infected procession already two blocks away.
“We can’t go out there,” Jacob warned. “If they see us, we won’t be able to outrun them.”
Mia took one last glance at the front of the tribal building. There was no sign of the dead and the clearance was enough to get her to move. She was out in the open before she considered what she was doing. She kept the tail end of the mass marching east in the corner of her eye while focusing on the face of the tribal council’s building.
She hit the stone front with enough force to knock the wind out of her. Mia felt the pain in her palms as she tried to lessen the impact. She spun around and pressed her back against the building before the air rushed from her lungs. She tried to watch the departing horde, the separating group of the dead, and Jacob all at once. The old man had followed her, but his spent legs left him moving across the street at a slow trot.
He reached her, slowing to a crawl at the edge of the sidewalk. He raised a finger to say something, but quickly went back to trying to catch his breath. Mia studied the open entrance of the building and found no sign of movement in the darkened interior. Part of her wanted to try to reach the rooftop to search for survivors, but something in her gut told her there would be nothing but a painful vision waiting for her.
The Decaying World Saga (Book 1): Tribes of Decay Page 9