“We attack?” Lucy asked.
Dex shook his head no. “We keep waiting.”
Snap! Snap!
A group of three monsters strolled by, hissing and snarling. One turned and looked toward Dex and Lucy.
Dex’s blood ran cold as he gripped the arrow tighter, ready to release it. If he let go and it went straight through the small gap between the leaves and vines, he had the perfect shot. On the other hand, if the arrow got stuck, he would alert them to their hiding spot.
The wanderer staring at him growled.
Dex released the arrow. It sliced through the air, perfectly avoiding all the bushes, and hit the monster directly in the eye, sinking in especially far. The creature flailed around, crashing into one of his friends, who pushed him down. After a few moments of dramatics, the wanderer finally stopped moving.
The other two looked around, but neither noticed the hiding spot. They snapped and growled at each other before stepping over their buddy and moving on in the direction of the white-coats.
“They gone?” Lucy asked.
“Yeah, but more will come. Trust me.” He pulled another arrow from the quiver and aimed it.
He and Lucy sat, waiting until it began to get dark. More wanderers had walked by over the course of the hours, but not one had turned their direction.
Dex had a leg cramp and one arm had gone numb. “We need to find someplace to sleep. This won’t cut it.”
Her eyes widened. “Not hospital.”
“Definitely not.”
“Where bad men?”
“That’s a good question. My guess is that the wanderers got them. Otherwise, they’d have returned by now.”
Lucy nodded, and they climbed out of their hiding spot. She shook her right leg. He stretched out his numb arm.
They had about an hour before it was completely dark, and they would need every minute of that time to find somewhere to sleep.
“We go there?” Lucy pointed in the opposite direction of where the men and wanderers had gone. It was also the same way he needed to go to find his family.
“Yeah. We haven’t heard any gunfire in a while. Hopefully all the monsters have already left the area.” It was unlikely, but not entirely impossible. Those brain-dead brutes just followed noise and the smell of blood and guts.
Pow!
Gunfire.
It was close.
Dex grabbed Lucy’s arms and pulled her back into their hiding spot.
“…can’t believe you lost them,” came an irritated male voice down the path.
“I didn’t lose them, Sibley.”
“No? How’d they get away, then? It was your shift to watch the vaccinated.”
“And who didn’t notice that savage enter our property? Huh?”
Dex clenched his fists. Savage? He’d show them savage.
Three men stopped just in front of the downed wanderer.
“What’s this?” One of the men crouched and yanked Dex’s arrow from the monster’s eye. Orange liquid squirted out, blemishing his white jacket.
“Didn’t that Neanderthal have a bow and arrow?” Another white-coat took the arrow from the first man and studied it.
Neanderthal? Did they think Dex was no better than the wanderers? He grabbed an arrow and aimed it at the group.
“He did,” said the man with the orange-stained coat. He took the arrow back and studied it. “We need to find those two.”
“They could be anywhere!”
Orange Stain glared at him. “Those two could’ve only gone one of two directions. They didn’t go the way we went, so they probably went that way.” He gestured down the path Dex and Lucy had almost just taken.
“And they’re probably hours ahead of us,” said the third man. “Just let them go. We don’t need them.”
“We need her!” Orange Stain threw the arrow at him. “Five-Sixty-Four is the only one who actually became immune to the zombie virus. There’s no sign of it in her blood work. She’s the only person who has become fully immunized.”
Dex put his arm around Lucy. There was no way he would let those men near her.
“At least we have those vials of her blood. We can continue studying them.”
“That’s nowhere near as good as being able to study her. She could save mankind, but now she’s out there with that savage.”
“We’ll find more people. There are plenty of groups out there in the wild. We just need to overtake a few of them. Someone else has to become fully immune. The vaccination is now so much more precise than it ever was before.”
“There’s no way we can count on that. We don’t even know why it worked on her, but not on anyone else.”
“Weston’s working on the transmitters. We might be able to contact the other doctors rumored to be working on vaccinations. There are at least five other groups worldwide.”
“Again, that’s not something we can bank on. The only sure thing is Five-Sixty-Four.”
Dex pulled away from Lucy, moved between her and the doctors, then aimed his arrow at the heart of Orange Stain. He’d be dead before he knew what had hit him. Then he could never hurt Lucy. The problem with that was the other two men. They had guns.
Chapter 19
Dex tensed, conflicted. The men might decide to go back to the hospital, leaving him and Lucy free and clear to continue on their way. But if they didn’t—if they decided to go down the other path—they would continue to be a problem. If that was the case, he was better off taking care of them now. He could potentially get all three, but once the first one was shot, the other two would run around, making it harder for Dex to get a clear shot. They might also see the hiding place.
Either way, it was a risk. The men continued arguing, tempting Dex to just take them out and be done with it. Once he took out one, both sides would have two people.
Orange Stain stormed away, heading in the direction Dex and Lucy needed to go, away from the hospital.
The third doctor glared at the second. “Now you’ve done it.”
“Me? What about you?”
“Go back and check on the other immunized. Make sure they haven’t gone ballistic.”
“You know they haven’t. They’re always mellow.”
“Just do it.” He stormed after Orange Stain.
The remaining man raised a fist but said nothing.
Dex took advantage of the clear view of his chest and released his arrow. It sliced through the air and sank into his chest, right where his heart was.
He reached for the wound and opened his mouth, but no sound came out. Only blood. He stumbled to the ground, landing on the dead wanderer.
Dex motioned for Lucy to follow him. He grabbed his arrow and took the man’s probably-empty revolver. Then he made sure it wasn’t set to shoot, removed the lone bullet, and held it toward Lucy. “Do you know how to use this?”
She stared at it wide-eyed and shook her head no.
He debated whether to take the time and show her. “Do you want to learn?”
Lucy nodded.
Dex showed her, giving her the fastest lesson possible. Then he stabbed the dead doctor in the temple to prevent him from turning. Sometimes the dead later turned, so whenever Dex had the chance to prevent that, he did.
Lucy practiced loading the gun a couple times. A few minutes later, they crept down the path, following the two doctors, who were barely in sight. Dex aimed his weapon at them, but didn’t shoot. He would miss from this distance. Part of him wanted to turn around and find a way to set fire to the hospital. The doctors had no right keeping people there against their will. Wanderers were different—vicious, mindless killers. None of the people in the room with Lucy were anything like that. But burning down the buildings would hurt the innocents, so he would never do it. The doctors would deserve it, though, if anyone ever did.
The two in front of them slowed. Either they were going to turn around—and see Dex and Lucy—or they saw monsters up ahead. He motioned to Lucy, and they both dart
ed behind trees. Better safe than sorry. Dex poked his head out to see what they were doing. The doctors hadn’t turned around but they also hadn’t moved forward.
Lucy gave him a questioning glance.
“Let’s sneak up on them.”
“Okay.” She nodded with an eagerness in her eyes.
Dex stepped back onto the path and crept forward. The men weren’t fighting wanderers. What exactly were they doing? Waiting for him and Lucy? That wasn’t possible.
He picked up his speed and quickly closed the distance between them. Lucy continued keeping up with him.
They were almost within striking distance.
Dex tightened his grip around both the bow and arrow. Just a few more feet. The doctors remained still, and Dex readied the arrow for release.
Orange Stain spun around. His eyes widened and his mouth opened.
Dex aimed for his heart and shot the weapon. The arrow sailed through the air and struck him.
He screamed profanities and pulled on the arrow.
Dex readied the next arrow, aimed for the second doctor, and shot. The man spun around halfway before the arrow reached him, and he aimed a pistol at Dex and Lucy.
Lucy grabbed his arm and pulled him off the path. They stumbled into the dirt and crashed onto the ground. Dex stared at her in disbelief. “Thanks.”
“I shoot now?” She held up the revolver.
“Maybe.” Dex crawled toward the path and peeked out, staying behind a tree. He could hear them before he saw them. The two men knelt on the ground, both cursing and fighting against the arrow.
“Now?” Lucy asked. “I shoot bad men?”
He turned back to her. “What did they do to you?”
Her expression tightened. “They mean. Bad.”
“That they are.” Dex looked back at the doctors. They were going to attract wanderers if they hadn’t already. “Come on.”
They rose and headed down the path, both ready with their weapons.
“There they are!”
“I told you they were close, Sibley.”
“Shoot the Neanderthal. Save Five-Sixty-Four.”
One of the men aimed a gun a Dex.
Pow!
Dex’s ears rang from Lucy’s gun going off right next to him. The armed doctor fell to the ground, blood oozing from his ear. His pistol dropped from limp fingers onto the path. The second doctor reached for it. Dex aimed an arrow at the man’s temple, striking him perfectly. He crumpled on top of the other doctor.
Lucy ran past Dex and picked up the other gun. He caught up with her and checked the two men for any other weapons they could take with them. There was one more revolver and a handful of bullets.
He stuffed them into pockets. “We better go. It probably won’t be long before people notice these guys are missing.”
“Where go?”
“Anywhere we can find to sleep. It’ll be a lot harder to find anything once it gets dark.”
They stepped around the doctors and hurried down the path. Lucy breathed heavily next to him.
“Are you okay?”
“Not used to…” Her expression twisted as she looked for her next word.
“Killing?” Dex offered.
“Yeah.”
“I get it. There was a time I lived in a protected community. We had walls bigger than the fence surrounding the hospital. I was young and stupid, and decided to sneak out to see if the monsters were real. I found out they were, and I couldn’t get back in. I’ve been on my own ever since.”
Her eyes widened, and she seemed to struggle to find the words. “Never seen them?”
Dex shook his head. “We could hear them. They’d scratch on the wall, and it’d keep me up at night because we lived right next to it.”
“Oh.”
They walked in silence for a little while. Every so often, they passed rusted vehicles, some covered in ivy and one even had a small tree poking through the roof.
After a while, they passed a charred house missing an entire wall.
“We stay there?” Lucy asked.
Dex shook his head. “The walls could crash down at any time.”
They continued on. A few stray wanderers stepped out from the trees, but Dex took them out before they knew what had hit them.
“You miss them?” Lucy asked.
He turned to her. “Who?”
“Family? Mom?”
His stomach twisted as the images of his mom as a monster flashed into his mind. He nodded, unable to get his voice to cooperate.
They came to a fork in the path. One way led deeper into the woods. The other to a house.
“We sleep there?” Lucy asked.
“If it’s safe.”
She held his gaze, her eyes full of expectation.
“Let’s check it out.”
Chapter 20
Dex handed Lucy the loaded revolver. “Keep it ready.”
“I ready.”
The pistol rested in his pocket, ready and waiting if he needed it. He preferred the bow and had it in position. He motioned for Lucy to stay behind him. They crept up the path. It was hard to see anything given how little light remained in the sky.
The home was a couple stories and had a small fence around it. Dex could scale it if need be. He climbed and jumped from much worse and survived. But now he had someone else to think about.
Once they reached the gate, he stood on his tiptoes and looked over. A lush, well-tended garden took up half the yard—that meant someone probably lived there.
Dex turned back to Lucy. “We’d better move on.”
“Why?”
“It’s occupied.”
“They nice?”
“Most people aren’t. Come on. We’ll figure something out.”
Lucy stared at the fence. “Try?”
Dex flashed back to the men at the abandoned delivery truck—and many worse than them from times past. “We’re better off not.”
“Try?” She begged with her eyes.
“A lot of people out here are bad men. Really bad. I don’t want to take any chances. We’re a lot better off finding something abandoned. Even if nobody’s here now, they’ll be back soon, and they won't be happy to see us in their territory.”
Snap!
Dex spun around, aiming his arrow but not seeing any wanderers.
“Easy there!”
Three people stepped into view. They were the same three he’d met the day before and told him about the vaccinated zombies.
“You again?” Dex exclaimed. “Are you following me?”
Laiken, the tall, skinny guy stepped in front of the two women—who were actually tougher than him—and sized Dex up. “We could ask you the same thing.”
“Hardly.”
“Who’s the girl?”
Dex gritted his teeth. “We don’t have time for introductions. We’re looking for a place to sleep.”
Radley stepped forward and twisted her wild, red hair. “You’re still welcome to stay with us.”
Lucy’s eyes lit up. “Yeah!”
Dex shook his head. “We don’t know them.”
“They nice. I tell.”
Zianna raked her fingers through her short, dark hair and studied Lucy before turning to Dex. “Is she one of them?”
Dex stepped in front of Lucy. “She’s not like that little girl, if that’s what you’re asking.”
Zianna moved around him. “What’s your name?”
“Five-Six—”
“Her name’s Lucy.”
“Why’d she say numbers?” Laiken asked.
Dex took Lucy’s hand. “We have to go. Let us by.”
“You can stay,” Radley said. “We have food and spare beds.”
“They nice,” Lucy repeated. “Want stay.”
Zianna caught Dex’s gaze. “What’s with the baby talk?”
He cleared his throat. “She hasn’t had much time with people.”
“Bad men,” Lucy said.
“What b
ad men?” Radley asked.
Lucy pointed in the direction of the hospital.
“Those dead dudes back a ways?” Laiken asked.
“Yeah.” Lucy nodded enthusiastically. “Bad men.”
“Why don’t you want to join us?” Zianna’s brows knit together. “We saved your butt yesterday. Why don’t you trust us?”
Dex threw his bow back over his shoulder and crossed his arms. “I don’t trust anybody.”
“You trust Lucy.” Radley crossed her arms too.
“She’s not like most people.”
“Just stay with us one night,” Laiken said. “We want to know about Lucy—we’ve been trying to learn as much about the vaccinations as we can. In exchange for telling us what you know, we’ll feed you guys and give you a bed for the night. Longer, if you want. Five have a better chance of survival than three or two.”
“We stay,” Lucy urged.
Dex studied the three again. They reminded him of some of the people he’d known growing up. They were friendly, and they had saved him the day before. “Are there others in your group?”
“Yeah, but they’re on a supply run to a town that’s a two-day travel. It’s just us for now, but I think you’ll get along with them if you choose to stay.”
“Please?” Lucy asked.
“One night.” And if he sensed anything was the slightest bit off inside, he would take Lucy and run.
Lucy threw her arms around him. “Thank you.”
Dex’s breath caught. Nobody had hugged him in years. Not since he was eleven. In fact, his last embrace had probably been from his mom the night Dex had left their community.
He put his arms around her and patted her back.
Radley went past them and opened the gate. Once in the yard, she gestured toward the garden. “Feel free to take what you want. We have plenty.”
Dex nodded but didn’t move.
Lucy leaned over, picked a bright red tomato, and took a bite. Her eyes lit up with delight.
Zianna pulled out a key from her pocket and unlocked the front door.
Lucy continued eating the tomato, but Dex couldn’t relax. The inside of the house could easily be a trap. Plenty of people pretended to be nice in order to trap unsuspecting people. What made this worse was that if he was wrong about them, he was responsible for Lucy’s safety.
Dex Page 8