Love and Decay, Vol. Four

  Miguel stopped by two different houses and picked up the people that knew the way to Tomás. Luis was a spindly boy, maybe a year older than Miguel. He had ridiculously curly hair that stuck up all over his head. He was missing two front teeth and had a jagged scar that ran the length of his right arm.

  He listened to Miguel explain their mission with a thoughtful expression on his face. I waited for the anger or bitterness at having to guide us, but it never came. When he answered Miguel, he had a huge smile plastered on his goofy face.

  “He thinks this is their opportunity to get out,” Adela whispered to us. “He wants to leave this place, but they couldn’t before. They think we’ll help them.”

  Vaughan nodded once. His mind was made up. “We will,” he said. “Of course, we will.”

  My heart swelled with pride at his certainty. I couldn’t ignore this nightmare. I couldn’t pretend it didn’t exist. These kids needed help. They needed us.

  They needed hope.

  Next, we picked up Flora. I had no idea how old she was. She looked extremely young, but it was hard to tell because of how undernourished she was. Her hair had been pulled into a braid over her shoulder, but it was limp and greasy. Her clothes were too big and ill-fitting. Her face was streaked with dirt, hiding her features and possible beauty.

  Miguel and Luis teamed up on the poor girl. They waved their hands around as they spoke and plastered big smiles on their faces. I had no idea what they were saying and by Flora’s blank look, I wasn’t sure she knew either.

  When they were finished giving her their spiel, she shrugged one shoulder and started walking.

  They chased after her, clearly undaunted by her lack of enthusiasm.

  The three of them went on to ignore us as we approached the tunnels that were built into the floor of a house.

  I could see how this tunnel would have been handy during the pre-infection days. You know… from a drug dealer’s perspective. Now, it would hopefully keep us out of harm’s way and get us somewhere safely for a change.

  The air changed as we descended into the earth. Wooden beams kept the ground from caving in on us. Luis had grabbed a big flashlight from the house and used it to lead the way.

  I shivered from the cool air and tried not to freak out over how bad I smelled. This was a new low for me.

  Thankfully, Hendrix was just as bad, otherwise I would have been really self-conscious about it.

  The rest of our group gave us plenty of space. We helped them out by walking in the back and not touching anybody.

  I couldn’t shake my nerves as we snaked through dark passageways underneath the city. This was too close to our experience with the cannibals. I kept expecting one of them to jump out and try to eat us.

  Thankfully, nobody ever did.

  Miguel, Flora and Luis laughed loudly at the front of the crowd. They didn’t seem afraid of anything jumping out at us or trying to eat our brains.

  That should have helped me relax, but I just kept expecting one of them to turn around and threaten to slow cook one of us over an open flame.

  Rotisserie Reagan.

  Yum.

  My body protested the long walk. My leg burned and shook from my still-healing gunshot wound. My appendages in general were exhausted from lack of sleep and our Zombie battle. To make it worse, my boot’s heel flopped oddly whenever I took a step thanks to the Feeder that tried to eat it.

  I was already too tired to walk miles in the darkness with the hope that a Zombie didn’t accidentally stumble upon us. Add that to the lame shoe and I was in the worst possible mood ever.

  “You okay?” Hendrix asked in a low voice.

  “Just ready for this day to be over,” I sighed.

  Hendrix leaned in closer and whispered, “Sorry to let you down, but I’m pretty sure it just started.”

  I pouted. There was nothing left for me to do but pout.

  Hendrix nudged me with his elbow. “Do you know what catedral means?”

  His question seemed out of the blue, but I answered anyway. “I think it means cathedral.”

  “Right.” He was silent for a little bit as we navigated the cold tunnel. “Cathedral is like a church, right?”

  “Um, right. Pretty sure. Although I doubt people still attend services.”

  I felt him smile next to me. I didn’t even have to look to know that he thought that was funny. “Okay,” he said, grinning. “Just keep that in mind.”

  I wrinkled my nose. “Okay…”

  “It’s important. I just want you to remember.”

  “Why is it important?”

  “It just is.”

  I had no idea where he was going with this. “Are you trying to confuse me?”

  He laughed in a low voice and I swear my toes curled in my boots from the delicious sound. “Nope. I’m trying to prepare you.”

  Before I could question him further, Haley declared that she needed to feed the baby. Adela translated for our tour guides. I watched Flora, Luis and Miguel’s faces all fall. I couldn’t tell if they were jealous of the meal the baby got or if it had to do with their missing mothers. Either way, they tugged at my heart strings and made me thankful for the unexpected blessings I had in my life.

  We spread out on either side of Haley so she could have privacy and we could protect her should anything happen upon us. Baby Lennon started screaming while Haley set up, but eventually settled into eating.

  Adela stood next to me, fidgeting nervously.

  “Are you all right?” I asked her in a whisper. Low conversation rumbled around us. We kept our voices soft so we could hear intruders.

  She looked at her hands. “Yes.”

  “Liar,” I teased her.

  She let out a puff of air and went back to examining her dirty nails. “I don’t know if I made the right decision when I left Diego,” she whispered. “It’s eating me up.”

  Oh. Oh. Oh, geez.

  “What is the story with you two?” I couldn’t help but be nosey. I had been dying for details since we met the girl. Now was my chance to feed my unhealthy curiosity with other people’s love lives.

  She lifted her eyes slowly, but shied away from looking at me the minute our gazes met. “He loves me,” she admitted.

  I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. “I picked up on that,” I said instead. “You don’t feel the same way?”

  “No! Of course not!” She sounded so sure of herself, I immediately started doubting her.

  A smart girl would have let this conversation drop right there. But… it was just too tempting. “Not even a little bit?”

  She sputtered trying to come up with a denial. A frustrated sound vibrated from the back of her throat. “He is… he is… was Cartel. When the outbreak happened, he had a chance to leave that life behind. Instead, he chose to follow my father yet again and jump right back into the lifestyle he knew I hated. Instead of selling drugs, he started to sell the Dead and people. He became a slave trader, something he always promised me he would stay away from.” Her dark eyes glistened with unshed tears that I knew she would hold back. “He looked up to my father until the last minute. Then, he became just like my father.”

  “Who was your father, Adela? Before all of this happened?”

  “He was Diego’s boss. He was everyone’s boss, but Diego was like a son to him. When Diego left him to start his own territory, my father nearly died of heartbreak. Diego had asked for me, but my father refused. I wouldn’t have gone with Diego anyway, not after so many broken promises. But my father refused for different reasons. He wanted to bargain with me. He wanted Diego back under his thumb and he was willing to use whatever it took to get him there. Instead, it backfired on him. Diego kidnapped me instead. My father took part of Diego’s land as retaliation and told everyone he sold me. Neither man cared what I wanted. Neither cared about me at all. They only wanted what I represented or what I could do for them. Diego might love me, but his love comes with a price. Just like my father’s.”


  “But you care for Diego?” I asked gently.

  She shook her head, “Against my better judgment. He did take care of me. He never treated me poorly.”

  “Why did you leave with us then?”

  Her mouth turned down into a frown. “At first, I wanted to teach him a lesson. I wanted to show him how much I meant to him and that he couldn’t simply take what he wanted. But then… there is something about your family, is there not? There was a promise of freedom. Real freedom. I couldn’t… I couldn’t turn this down.”

  “Thank you for coming with us.” My words were as sincere as they could be. “We wouldn’t have made it this far without you.”

  She didn’t hesitate when she said, “You would have. There is something with you. God is protecting you or something. You should be dead. All of you should be dead, but here you are.”

  Her words impacted me in a way I hadn’t expected. “Here we are,” I repeated.

  “I’m ready,” Haley called after us. We filed into our lines again and started walking through the darkness once more.

  Our mood was more subdued the longer we wandered beneath the streets of Mexico City. This tunnel went on forever.

  How had they even created anything this long?

  The good news was that there were no Feeders down here. The bad news was that by the time we reached the exit for Zócalo plaza, my legs were burning and my stomach had started screaming its hunger.

  We emerged in a small building that had once been some kind of tourist shop. The windows to the store were shattered and the entire store had been overturned by looters. The afternoon sun glittered off every surface. After hours in the longest-tunnel-ever, it took me way too long to adjust to the daylight.

  By the time I did, I had just enough time to modify my messenger bag, check the magazine in my handgun and flick the safety before it was time to start shooting.

  Feeders filled the square from one side to the other. I could see the cathedral Miguel had led us to across the plaza, but there were fifty Feeders between here and there.

  It was an impossible distance.

  There was no way we could make it.

  “Haley,” I whispered, hating this moment.

  She looked over at me and met my concerned gaze. “We’ll be okay,” she promised. “I’m not going to let anything touch him.”

  I nodded, but I couldn’t speak. Too choked up to say anything, I let her promise anchor me. She was his mother. She would protect him at any cost.

  Vaughan scooped up Page and put her on his back. We had thirty seconds before the Feeders noticed us and we used the time to get as prepared as possible.

  “Straight line,” Vaughan ordered. “So we don’t shoot each other.”

  “Give me the baby,” Nelson pleaded softly with Haley. “You’ll be able to run faster without him.”

  “No,” Haley protested.

  “Hales, I promise to keep him safe. Trust me.”

  “I do,” she sniffled. “But I can’t lose you both.”

  Nelson took a step into her and pressed his forehead to hers. “You’re not going to lose either of us.”

  Adela lifted her head from where she’d been having a conversation with Miguel and friends. “They want to come with us,” she said. “They don’t want to go back there.”

  I didn’t blame them.

  “To the church,” Hendrix decided quickly. “They can come with us to the church. But no farther.”

  Adela relayed the message in Spanish and while Luis wanted to protest, Miguel was on board. In another second it didn’t matter what Luis thought anyway because we were forced into motion and our conversation would have to wait.

  We sprinted as fast as we could across the open plaza. A beacon of hope and survival, the huge spirals of the church loomed over us.

  The uneven ground tripped up my tired legs, but the adrenaline surging through my blood gave me the drive to keep going.

  Feeders converged on us from every direction and I was forced to slow down in order to shoot at them. We were so close to safety, yet impossible obstacles stood in the way.

  As a group we managed to keep them out of our way. I leapt over fallen bodies and nearly tripped when a hand reached out and snagged my ankle. Hendrix’s arms were there to catch me, his gun there to shoot the Feeder in the head and finish its death. He helped me pull free and encouraged me to run faster while we tried to catch up to everyone else.

  I felt Feeders at our backs, practically breathing down our necks. We had a head start, but they were so incredibly fast it didn’t matter.

  If they managed to catch up to us…

  We also had to figure out how to get the church doors open. They looked insanely thick. I didn’t think anyone inside would be able to hear our screams.

  We shouted anyway. My lungs burned as I struggled to push myself forward and get someone’s attention.

  Nobody came out of the cathedral and I wondered if the Rat King had tricked us. Would he have sent us here to die? I didn’t want to believe it, but I wouldn’t put anything past anybody these days.

  I forced my body to keep going, for my feet to keep moving. I had to make it. We all had to make it.

  I focused on the steps of the church and promised myself that if I could make it to those steps that I might be okay. If I could just get there, I might live through this day.

  Just as we closed in on the entrance, the Feeders picked up their second wind and renewed their efforts. A shrill shriek rang through the air managing to be both guttural and ear-splittingly high at the same time.

  I put one foot on the step and fought the urge to breath with relief. I took the stairs three at a time, desperate to get to the top and open the doors.

  So close.

  Just a few more steps.

  A scream rent the air again, but this time it didn’t belong to a Feeder… it belonged to one of us.

  I chanced a look behind me and saw my worst nightmare come to life.

  The Zombies had caught up to us. They’d managed to wrap their super strong arms around the shoulders of people I cared about. One of the Feeders sunk his teeth into an exposed neck and started ripping out flesh and bone.

  “No!” I gasped. “No!”

  I blinked back panicked tears and tried to make out which body had just been given a death sentence. It took me way too long to understand it was Flora’s face staring at me with unseeing eyes.

  Oh, god, Flora. But I didn’t know her. It wasn’t someone I loved more than myself.

  I jumped back a step and used my gun on a Feeder taking advantage of my distraction. I shot twice and managed to get it in the head. The creature dropped back and toppled down the stairs.

  “We need to get inside!” I shouted.

  Hendrix reached for my free hand and yanked me along with him.

  I put my hand on the door handle, ready to pull when Page screamed, “No! Vaughan!”

  Chapter Four

  Harrison yanked Page back from where Vaughan had tossed her. He picked her up in his arms and sprinted back to the massive arched doors. I should have done the same thing.

  I should have let my self-preservation kick in. Or I should have thought about the rest of our group that still needed to be saved. But I couldn’t take my eyes off Vaughan. I couldn’t not help him.

  I wrenched my arm out of Hendrix’s hold and sprinted to where he fought the Feeder on the ground. I couldn’t tell if he’d been bitten yet or not. I just knew I wasn’t going to let the Feeder, now Feeders make a buffet out of him.

  Tyler joined me. Then Hendrix and Harrison, King, Nelson and Miller. We opened fire on everything headed our way. The number of Feeders had grown; they sprinted toward us with salivating mouths and hungry red eyes. Their lightning speed carried them swiftly across the plaza.

  I didn’t have time to count them or worry about my ammo. All I could do was kill as many of them as I could and hope that I did enough.

  My gun clicked empty and I frantically searc
hed my messenger bag for more ammo or a loaded gun. I pulled out the smallest handgun I had, just a tiny revolver that I saved for emergencies. It was the only thing I had left.

  I opened fire and took five more Feeders out of the race. But that was it for me.

  I glanced around for Hendrix but he wasn’t by my side. Fear flared through me and my breath screeched to a halt in my lungs. Where was he?

  We had a deal!

  It took me a second to find him. He wasn’t by me because he was at his brother’s side. The bullet exploded through the Feeder’s head and the beast collapsed on top of Vaughan, mouth agape, dripping black ooze.

  Hendrix shoved the Zombie off his older brother and helped Vaughan to his feet. They didn’t take the time to check out his wounds; instead they shouted at us to retreat and sprinted the short distance to the door.

  Just when I thought it was going to be too late, that the Feeders were going to catch up to us and tear us limb from limb, the cumbersome door swung open and an army filed out.

  Men with machine guns and automatic rifles filled the landing. I bounced around between solid shoulders as the men took their places and started massacring Feeders.

  I squeezed through the compacted wall of them and stumbled the final few feet into the darkened cathedral. Rapid gunfire crackled behind me, drowning out any other sound and my frantic thoughts all at once.

  I kept my head lifted just long enough to find Hendrix. Then I collapsed into his arms and we slid to the floor.

  Tears poured from my eyes in an embarrassing release of adrenaline. I had been consumed with fear and drowned in panic. My body had reacted with bursts of just enough energy to get me through the door, but then there was nothing left of me. My system crashed as quickly as it jolted to life.

  Hendrix held me for the second time today with patience and devotion. I cried into his dirty neck and tried to pick up the shattered, exhausted pieces of my sanity.

  When the men with machine guns came back inside, I pulled myself away from Hendrix and wiped my eyes with a cloth Haley held out to me.

  I stood up slowly, careful of my aching leg and tried to look presentable.