The Phoenix Trilogy (Book 1): World On Fire

by Scottie, Charles

  This newfound anger was even further out of character for Natalie, especially over something that was so reasonable. She already knew that BJ was more experienced with handling these kinds of problems than she was, and she had trusted his decisions multiple times with great results.

  That she would be feeling combative now only served to make her realize just how frustrated she was that she had missed a chance at a brawl. It was both intimidating and exhilarating, picturing herself in another scrape with an undead attacker. Natalie continued to try and push the thought from her mind, to remind herself of how needlessly dangerous a fight would truly be, but it wasn't a seed that seemed to be bearing fruit.

  In a compromise she wasn't sure she supported, Natalie finally quelled her looming sense of rebellion by reminding herself that they were only going further into dangerous territory. This gas station was in a well-developed area, and their goal was deeper still in the city. It was all but a guarantee that they would be in over their heads before long. Gritting her teeth, she followed BJ back out to the main street.

  Finding cover on the road ahead was harder than Natalie would have anticipated. There were virtually no cars, not even wrecks, which struck her as odd. Cities always had heavy traffic, and there was no way this place had managed to escape a panicked traffic jam.

  The further they moved, the more questions were raised. There were bloody tracks and stains abound, which would have made it easy to learn from if they weren't compounded on top of each other by the billion. Even with all of the clear signs of struggle and violence, they hadn't seen any movement, zombie or otherwise.

  Natalie began to wonder if she may have been led astray with rumors. It was true that what few survivors she'd met had told her that the city was dangerous, but her ignorance had been proven a dozen times already. Maybe things had changed, or never been as bad as she'd been told in the first place.

  It wasn't until they were well into the urban proper that they encountered another target. Traveling along the inner streets had been slow but reliable, allowing them to safely scout well ahead before committing to any pathway. They'd only needed to make sure that alleys on either side of them were clear as they skulked past the many empty windows and desolate storefronts around them.

  There hadn't been a single car since they'd left the gas station, the only possibilities for cover being the periodic alcoves that marked back streets. As such, they were totally exposed when moving between alleyways, and it was during one of these fragile moments that Marco spotted movement.

  “Oh, shit.” The sudden break in silence from behind her made Natalie instinctively whip around, her eyes wide under their goggles. Marco hadn't bothered to whisper, a mistake Natalie expected BJ to berate him for. She was even more certain that Marco was being senseless when she noticed what had prompted his outburst.

  A single walker, lumbering out of an apartment building they had already passed. They would be spotted in a moment, without doubt. Obviously it was a bad thing to have happen, but they could handle it. Marco was drawing more attention to them by talking out loud, of that Natalie was certain. That certainty faded as Rico gripped her shoulder with a ferocity that made her flinch.

  “Grab your crowbar, don't fire your gun, and for fuck's sake, follow me like you're glued to my ass.” Rico's voice was thick with tension, and no more lowered than Marco's had been. Natalie almost started to ask what the Hell had gotten into them when the creep finally noticed their presence.

  The sound it made was something caught between a scream and a howl, a pitching whine that cut into Natalie's eardrums like needles. Worse, that same frightful wail began to echo out from all around them a moment later, countless other voices joining the clarion call.

  Adrenaline surged through Natalie's system as Marco shot past her, his mouth moving as if he were telling her something but her brain refusing to process the sound of his voice. He wants me to run. The thought was dull and listless in her head, but she found it hard to concentrate on anything else.

  It took a great deal of will to force herself to give in to her natural reflexes, spinning back to sprint after the rest of the group. They had gained a fair distance on Natalie, an accomplishment she knew the zombies hunting her had also achieved. It was impossible to outrun them for long, but if she could buy enough time for BJ to find them a way out, she might have a chance at survival.

  Everywhere around them, the sound of glass shattering as frothing monsters hurled themselves into the street escalated into a roaring calamity. Natalie was slowly gaining on the men, but the scene around her was growing more chaotic by the second. There was a very good chance if she didn't catch up to them soon, she would be cut off and left to fend for herself.

  Even in the stunned overload of her mind, Natalie was almost fascinated at how quickly Hell had manifested itself around her. Ahead of her she watched in near slow motion as a biter slammed into a windowed door beside Marco, its outstretched hands shredding into a slurry of blood and muscle as the glass fractured around it.

  The creature would have had him if not for a metal crossbar that divided the door pane in two. The material held under the corpse's momentum, causing the door to slam open with the zombie still wrapped in the broken glass. Unfortunately for Natalie, that meant the doorway was clear for the next walker to move outside and directly into her path.

  As the two locked eyes, Natalie's heart stopped for a moment. This was just like when she had encountered the creep from the other day. It seemed to always start with a perfectly normal plan falling apart as she was forced into a conflict. The difference now was that the enemy in question wasn't chasing after her; he was square in the middle of where she needed to go.

  It had taken several unsteady steps toward her, a wicked piece of wood lodged firmly in its leg preventing it from moving at a sprint. Natalie knew it would be safer to simply sidestep the rotter, but that wasn't what she wanted. Without breaking pace, she readied her crowbar and lashed it out hard, a furious strike that caught her target in the temple.

  She had passed the body before it hit the ground, and the feeling of triumph that poured through her gave her an even greater high. It felt like she had just won a joust, riding past her fallen foe with the knowledge that he wouldn't be rising up in her wake. The quiet voice of reason was silent, her whole mind basking in the glow of victory even as more undead began to close in.

  BJ and the others were now only barely ahead of her, and Natalie felt a nearly delirious crack of laughter well up in her gut as she realized that if she were to die here, she wouldn't be alone. It was a sentiment that should have been sickening, but in her current state she was too giddy to be phased by much. It wasn't until she caught up to Marco and stole a glance backward that her attitude was sobered down.

  They were being chased by a veritable horde of undead, rot and ruin as far as her eyes could see. They would have already caught and butchered Natalie and the others by now, if they weren't constantly shoving each other down in their frenzy. As inconceivable as it was, the sheer number of them had managed to be a saving grace.

  The increasing surge of monsters was mostly emerging from behind them or to their sides, a blessing that had no doubt saved their lives. Unfortunately, that trend was beginning to fade as the unholy racket garnered the attention of monsters further and further ahead of BJ's crew. It was only a matter of time before they were caught between two tides of death.

  BJ must have known their predicament, as his brisk attempts to spot a lifeline became more fevered. Natalie wasn't sure there would be anything to find, but her heart nearly sang when BJ barked for them to follow.

  He cut a sharp turn, diving between two buildings in a long alleyway. His command came not a moment too soon, as Natalie felt a whoosh of air overtake the spot she had just been standing in. She didn't need to look back to know a zombie had been poised to bear her to the ground.

  Time and time again luck seemed to be the only thing keeping her alive, and Natalie began to won
der if all battles were like this. Had BJ found their supposed salvation by accident, another fortunate break? She tried to ignore what she wanted to believe was simply pessimism, but the rationale was all too convincing. Eventually, their fickle charm was bound to fail them.

  Their sudden turn from the main road had thrown the horde behind them off balance. They had been packed so tightly together that only the forerunners saw Natalie and the others change course. While the lead hunters tried to turn and pursue, the tidal wave of death behind them continued to plow forward. It took several seconds for them to correct their mistake, but that was all the time they needed.

  BJ had found a side entrance into one of the buildings flanking them. He didn't bother checking the lock, choosing instead to slam into the door with all of his considerable might. It still took two attempts, and during that delay the undead had recovered from their confusion. They were out of time.

  The door was open and they were out of options. Rico grabbed hold of Natalie's arm and thrust her ahead of him, placing her between himself and Marco. Even to the bitter end, he was determined to fulfill his duty as protector. Natalie would have been warmed by the act if she wasn't nearly shell-shocked with desperation.

  She heard the sound of someone landing a blow behind her, but Marco had taken a firm hold of her hand and was racing deeper into the building before she could look back. Natalie barely recognized BJ standing to their side by a table as they passed. Her heart skipped a beat at the thought that he might be staying behind, but the telltale screech and clatter of furniture being moved told her he had thrown an obstacle in their pursuers' way. It wouldn't hold them back, but it should do a decent job of complicating their progress forward.

  In close quarters, the horrifying din of the undead had multiplied itself. Every wall reverberated with the sounds of groaning and howling around them. With the chaos of the hunt seemingly at every turn, Natalie was yet closer to panicking. It didn't hurt that it was now Marco who was leading instead of BJ. As much as she had learned to respect the young man's work skills, BJ was clearly the more seasoned veteran.

  “Marco, turn right!” The bellow just barely crested over the tumult of frenzied madness, but the voice unmistakably belonged to BJ. Without hesitation, Marco pulled a hard right down another hall, Natalie still connected by her wrist.

  They appeared to be in some kind of office building, but Natalie didn't have time to consider why BJ would have chosen this place to save their lives. Every few seconds her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of BJ throwing yet another object in the way of the horde behind them.

  Natalie hadn't had the time to look back, all of her scant thoughts being forced to focus just on keeping up with Marco's pace. She wanted to check on Rico, to make sure he was okay. She was certain she'd heard somebody get hit back at the alleyway, but there was no way of knowing what had happened until they had a second to collect themselves.

  Considering the burning pain beginning to stretch through her lungs, Natalie suspected they were going to have to stop whether they wanted to or not, and soon. She only hoped that BJ's plan would come to fruition before too long.

  BJ continued to call out directions, though in a slowly softening tone. Natalie didn't want to get her hopes up, but it felt as if they were actually succeeding in putting some distance between the horde and themselves. They were in the thick of danger, but at least they had a little more time to act.

  The one downside to having a bit of breathing room is that it makes it easier to realize you're out of breath. Natalie's sides were splitting, and just as she felt she was about to give in, she felt a sudden pull at her back.

  They found themselves in an office room of some kind, numerous cubicles surrounding them on every side. The tug at her back had been from BJ, who quickly ushered her and Marco into a cramped work space to their side.

  The moment they were hunkered down, BJ threw a stapler he'd purloined somewhere along the way further down the hall. Natalie wasn’t in a position to see what it had hit, but the sound of something breaking was audible even over the din of the undead.

  BJ’s plan proved successful a second later, as the wave of death they'd been running from howled past them without a second glance. Natalie could catch bits and pieces of them from her position, hurling themselves with reckless abandon further into the building. If even one blighter so much as turned its head, BJ's gambit would fail and they would all be killed.

  Natalie's mind began to wander with unwanted pictures of their demise, the four of them being torn apart in this shitty cubicle, when she noticed there weren't four of them there.

  Rico was missing. Natalie's heart stopped cold, and even the ruckus of the frenzy not three feet from her seemed to fade away. Rico was gone. Confused and feeling a sudden well of misery begin to open inside her, she turned to BJ and Marco in hopes of support.

  BJ was glued to the unholy march, but Marco had reached the same epiphany that Natalie had. His cousin should be right beside him. It was too dark to read his face, but Natalie could guess at his feelings. She reached out to put a hand on his shoulder, the only thing she could think to do for comfort, but retracted it immediately when he winced at her touch.

  There was blood on her glove. She couldn't see it, but she could feel the sticky slickness between her fingertips as she rubbed them together. Marco slowly reached back to touch his own shoulder, flinching again, before pausing to stare at his own hand. He clearly hadn't realized he'd been wounded.

  Natalie felt an odd sense of emptiness overtake her. Rico was gone, and now Marco was hurt. The injury wasn't inherently a big deal, but considering he'd received it during a flight from the undead... it wasn't an unreasonable assumption to believe he may be infected.

  Marco slowly shook his head, the foul exodus behind him turning into a trickle of stragglers. First Rico, and now this. Natalie wanted so badly to be able to help him, but what could she do? A sick thought in her head suggested that maybe this was for the best. After all, with Rico dead and Marco infected, at least they'd be together again soon.

  Every positive light in her soul was trying to scream that they didn't know Rico was dead, but it felt like a lost cause. The likelihood that he could somehow have survived the horde behind them was paltry.

  BJ slowly edged out of their hiding spot, his rifle swiveling from side to side with the usual practiced ease as he cleared their surroundings. Natalie knew that keeping mobile was tantamount to staying alive, and while she found it difficult to find motivation to continue, she gave no resistance as he ushered for them to follow.

  They were moving perpendicular to their original path, hopping from cubicle to cubicle as they sneaked through. It wouldn't do them any good to go through all that trouble to lose their tail just to fuck it up and have to start all over again.

  Besides, we've already lost one person. Too many more mistakes and we'd be out of resources to expend. Natalie didn't try to fight the bitterness she was feeling. As far as she was concerned, she'd earned the right to feel sour. Instead, she let it ride while she attempted to figure out their new plan.

  Natalie was terrible with sensing direction. Between the poorly lit room around them and the heavy weight resting in her chest, she was having a hard time keeping her bearings. They were definitely going in a different direction than the horde, and they weren't heading back the way they came.

  Once they reached another parallel line of cubicles, BJ nodded. Natalie assumed it was absentminded, until she moved to follow her point-man around the corner and nearly waltzed directly into Rico, who had simply been hiding in the next row over. She couldn't help herself from staring at him in disbelief. In response, he cocked a brow at her, as if her behavior was the strangest thing in the world.

  Rico's confusion only worsened as Marco pulled him into a heavy embrace. He quickly regained his composure, gesturing briskly for them to cut it out and follow BJ. Both Marco and Natalie complied, but she was sure she saw a glimmer of appreciation in Rico's e
ye, even in the dark.

  Natalie didn’t know if she was going to slap him or hug him when she had the chance, but as much as Rico's reappearance had been heartening, it didn't change the fact that Marco was hurt and possibly compromised. Rico had taken his position in front of her while Marco followed from behind, which meant the older man had no idea his cousin was injured.

  The new best case scenario now involved a very uncomfortable conversation in the near future concerning Marco’s health. Natalie didn't look forward to the pain Rico was going to be in for. Again, she tried to temper her thoughts with greater positivity. The odds had been high that Rico was dead, but here he was. Marco was probably okay, too. Until given a reason to believe otherwise, she had to put the thought to rest so she could concentrate on their survival. Too many distractions.

  The echoing screams of the dead continued to rattle the windows, though they were quieter now. Natalie briefly hoped it was because they were further away, but judging by BJ's quickened pace, that was not the case. Dead or not, they were hunters. If they couldn't detect where their prey had scurried to, they would split and search. Given the sheer number of them, Natalie had no doubt they could fill every hall in the building if they wanted.

  Any sense of security she may have scraped together at their successful avoidance of the horde was a facade, thin and fragile in the face of the journey ahead. They still had to escape the building, then follow the same roads that had gotten them into this mess in the first place. If they were lucky they'd get to a military outpost that was still standing, and hopefully it would be able to outlast the apocalypse. Natalie's gut clenched.

  Fortune and prayer, again. It was a pattern Natalie was tired of noticing. There had to be a way she could put the odds in their favor that didn't involve chance. All she had to do was find out how. A note of determination began to settle in her mind. She could do this.