The Decaying World Saga Box Set [Prequel #1-#2 & Books #1-#2]

by Garza, Michael W.

  “Come on, kid, let’s run for it.”

  They dashed out onto the sidewalk and ran east. John heard the insatiable lust for flesh from the dead the moment they came out into the open. The moans of the dead grew louder as if joined by some awful symphony. John ducked into the alleyway adjacent to the hardware store with Matt close by. They hesitatingly maneuvered between several large dumpsters and broke out into a wide rear street between the stores on the front side and those facing the street to the north. The dead littered the end of the road to the west.

  “Where are the police?” John swore under his breath. “Cops are never around when you need them but won’t go away when you don’t.”

  “Is someone going to come and save us?” Matt asked.

  “I don’t know. I haven’t seen any sign of it yet.”

  The boy started to cry.

  “Come on, don’t do that,” John said. “I don’t have time for this.” He got down on one knee. “Here, wipe your eyes.” He offered Matt the sleeve of his shirt. Matt stared at the bloodstains and settled for his own sleeve. The boy managed to get his emotions under control for the moment. John eyed the alley directly across the street and then forced Matt toward it. “Quick now,” he said as Matt tugged on his belt.

  They were between two one-story buildings a moment later. There was a low echo in the alleyway, one John recognized. He readied his gun as the moaning grew. The road at the end of the alley was clear, but the view revealed little beyond a few feet in any direction. John felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up as he anticipated what was about to round the corner. He took another few hesitant steps and did not expect what he saw.

  He saw its sad, pathetic face first. It was a dog, a German Shepherd to be exact. The dog walked with a limp on its hind legs and its coat was covered in blood. John watched the poor thing gasp for breath with its tongue hung out the side of its mouth. The animal had seen its share of trouble for the day and looked to be lucky to be alive, although it didn’t appear as if it would stay that way very long.

  “I’m guessing the dead don’t care much where their meat comes from,” John said.

  “Ewe.”

  “Trust me, boy, that’s far from the grossest thing you’re going to see in the days ahead.”

  Matt didn’t respond. The boy kept half hidden behind John with one eye focused on the way ahead. The dog stopped in the center of the street, looking down the alley at the new arrivals.

  “The last thing we need is to have that thing lead the dead right to—” John didn’t get to finish before Matt called out.

  “Come here, boy, come here.”

  “What’s wrong with you?” John slapped him on the head with the palm of his hand. “Get,” he said to the dog. “Get out of here.”

  The dog stood frozen for a second, considering which order to follow, and then looked back in the direction he’d come. It barked twice at something out of view and then ran off as best as its injured legs would allow.

  “Don’t you ever—”

  John didn’t have time to finish before a line of dead shambled into view. The first few continued down the street after the dog, but some of the followers turned off into the alley. John took a step back and nearly fell over the boy.

  “Wait,” Matt said.

  John looked back and found two more dead lurching toward them from the other end of the alley. He readied the gun and took aim. A quick glance told him there were at least four figures ahead, which left the two behind a better choice. He hated to use the rounds but liked it better than getting eaten.

  “Look there.”

  John followed Matt’s hand to a ladder attached to the side of the building. He grabbed the boy by the collar and hoisted him off his feet. Matt was on the ladder a second later, climbing as fast as his limbs would move. The dead closed in, now close enough for the smell to hit John in the face like an uppercut. He jumped on the ladder and started to climb. His head slammed into Matt’s butt as he tried to get up as high as he could. The first hand grabbed John’s boot and pulled. John screamed and kicked as another hand grabbed hold.

  “Go,” John said.

  Matt was crying and yelling as he reached the top rung and tried to pull himself up out of the way. “Come on,” he said as he reached down for John’s hand.

  John kicked with both legs as they were pulled from the ladder. The rising sound of the dead enveloped the alleyway. They pulled on him as he tried desperately to get away. He knew he would have to let the shotgun drop if he hoped to survive. The moment he released his grip on the gun, he felt it yanked away. He looked up at the roof and saw Matt pull the gun up and take aim at the alley below.

  The first shot hit between the eyes, and the decaying corpse’s head exploded like a rotten melon, sending pieces of skull and brains in every direction. John felt one of his legs go free and he pulled up on the ladder with both hands. He heard the second shot but didn’t look for the result. He didn’t waste any time climbing up the rest of the way.

  “You saved me,” he said, bent over trying to catch his breath. “Hell of a shot, kid.” He took the shotgun from Matt and checked his rounds. “Three left.” He swore under his breath, realizing that pretty soon it would be reduced to a club. He peered over the side of the building and saw the dead gathering around the end of the ladder. They waved their arms trying to reach up at them, their jaws taking bites out of the air.

  “At least they can’t climb,” Matt said.

  “Isn’t that the truth?” John scanned the rooftop. “Let’s see what we’ve gotten ourselves into.”

  They walked the edge of the roof from one side to the other and found a disturbing trend. It appeared the dog had acted as a beacon for the dead. They’d gathered around all four sides of the building, and from the look of it, there were more on the way.

  “How are we going to get down?” Matt asked.

  John heard the boy’s question but didn’t have an answer. The only other thing on the roof was a small air conditioning unit. He studied the device for a few minutes, before deciding it wouldn’t be useful. He looked out at the surrounding townscape as the sun broke from behind the dark grey clouds and light washed over the roof. To the northwest, the buildings grew in size. The few office buildings the town had were located at the heart of the business section. The pale white face of the hospital loomed in the distance beyond the tallest of the structures. John shook his head as if finally answering Matt, but his eyes found something moving in the distance.

  “What is that?”

  Matt tried to follow his hand as John pointed toward the tallest of the buildings, aiming his finger at the highest point.

  “You see that?”

  “I don’t see…” Matt hesitated as he stared. “Is that somebody waving?”

  John kept his eyes trained on the small moving figure. “I think it is.”

  “Are we going to go there?”

  John looked over the side of the building. “We have to figure out how to get down first.”

  Matt made a startling discovery. “There’s more coming.”

  Most of the dead were gathered near the ladder on the side of the store, but there was a growing number on the street at the rear and the alley on the opposite side. To make matters worse, it appeared the excited sounds of the dead were attracting more in-kind. John eyed the roof of the adjoining building. At the storefront, a tall sign was held in place by a makeshift prop. Several long boards lay scattered on the roof behind the sign.

  “If we could get over to that roof,” he said, “I bet we could drop down in the far alley and have a clear shot out of here.”

  Matt examined the distance of the open space between the two buildings. “I can’t jump that.”

  “Neither can I,” John said, “but I bet we could place those boards over the alley and I could walk across.”

  “That’s great, but the boards are over there,” Matt said. “How are we supposed to get them?”

  John eyed the
space over the alley, trying to ignore the growing number of dead milling between the two buildings. He turned his eyes on Matt.

  “How much do you weigh?”

  Matt’s face squinched. “Why?”

  John laid the shotgun down on the roof and grabbed Matt by the wrist. “Trust me.” He grabbed his other wrist. “Hold on.”

  Matt tried to object, but before he could get out the words, John lifted him off the ground. The two spun around like a top with Matt’s body rising higher with each turn. John gauged the distance to the other roof as best he could and when he was as sure as he could be, he released the boy. Matt tried to hold onto John but didn’t have the strength. He flew over the top of the alleyway like a sack of potatoes. The first part of John’s plan appeared to work; however, he hadn’t considered the landing. Matt hit the adjacent roof with a flat thud and lay motionless.

  “You all right?” John asked.

  Another minute of silence was followed by a groan.

  “What’s a matter with you?” Matt asked.

  John shrugged. “You wouldn’t have done it if I asked,” he said. “You all right?”

  Matt pushed up on his knees and dusted himself off. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve and found a fresh blotch of blood.

  “I busted my lip.”

  “You’ll live,” John said. “Grab those boards and bring them over to the side of the building.” Matt did as he was told, and a few minutes later, John was across. He patted the boy on the back and smiled. “You did good,” he said and then peered over the edge of the store. The dead had been drawn to the encounter in the alley beneath the ladder. The alley on the other side of the building was clear. “When we hit the ground we’re going that way.” He pointed out the route.

  “Are we going to find those people in the tall building?”

  “We’ll see.”

  John didn’t have a strong desire to find more people. He wanted to get home, and he kept hold of the idea that if Alex needed to feed, Matt would do fine. John jumped first and hit the concrete and tried to keep from falling over. The impact sent a shock up his spine, but he managed to stay upright.

  Matt waited for the signal and then jumped down. John tried to keep him from slamming into the alleyway but failed. The boy hit hard and the pain in his legs kept him on the ground for a few uncomfortable minutes. John was glad the boy was at least smart enough to keep himself quiet. Once Matt was able to get to his feet, he grabbed John’s work belt and asked for the other hammer. They started at a fast walk with eyes and ears ready for anything. The street was clear so John gave Matt a nod, and then they headed off toward the center of town.

  17

  The dead littered the streets, the smell filling the dark crevices of every street and building. Clouds rolled in from the east and blocked out the afternoon’s sunlight. In a veil of grey, the remaining survivors kept hidden in the hopes the onslaught would soon be over. John moved from one hidden location to the next. He never let Matt rest for very long at their stops behind cars, against the side of buildings, or down behind a hedgerow. They headed for the tallest apartment building in town. John had seen a figure waving its arms near the top floor and decided he would find out what they had to offer.

  His mind was still on his family. He guessed they could survive well enough throughout the day, but his hope was to get home by sundown. He would take Matt with him if need be, but that would depend on what they found in the apartment building. The town was going to hell quick, and John figured he would be best served getting his family as far away as he could before the cavalry rode in to save the day.

  The center of town loomed ahead. The half dozen buildings were composed mostly of businesses, except for the tallest of them all. John brought Matt to a stop behind a long work truck. He slid his eyes up to the driver’s side window, checked for keys, and then scouted out the road ahead.

  “You see anything?” Matt asked.

  They’d managed to avoid any directed contact with the dead since getting off the roof. John nodded. He kept his eyes trained on a gathering across the street near another parked car. The driver’s side door was open and a body lay partly on the street. He couldn’t tell if it was a man or woman because the dead were swarming, crawling over the vehicle to get a piece of the driver. They chewed on the body on their hands and knees, pulling long bits of intestines from an exposed chest. Blood ran off the victim, gathering in a puddle against the curb. The legs twitched and moved as teeth bit into a thigh, ripping open the skin.

  “We have to move now,” John said.

  The dead did not see them go, locked in on their feast. Matt hid his eyes, holding onto John’s belt for guidance. They reached the far side of the street and hid down behind a row of bushes at the front of a bank. The dead were hidden from view by the other side of a vehicle, but the sounds of their feast was everywhere.

  “How are we going to get over there?” Matt asked.

  John put a finger to his lips. “Whisper.”

  The front door to the apartment high rise was one block down. The problem was that the vehicle and the corpse buffet were directly in the way. John motioned for Matt to stay put. He kept close to the ground and moved along the bank’s exterior toward the street behind them. He reached the edge of the building and slid his face out so he could see. The street heading east would be the best option to approach the apartment from the other side. The problem with the plan was at least ten shambling figures were moving on the street, and another half dozen were pushing their way into a van parked near the far end of the road.

  The roads east of the bank made up the center of the town’s business district. On a normal day, the area would be the busiest location, and today was no different. John couldn’t count the number of figures, but their slow walk gave a hint at the growing count of dead now roaming out in the open. He crept back toward the bushes and got down on his knees behind Matt. The dead near the vehicle were still eating, but he couldn’t imagine the meal lasting much longer.

  “We’re going to have to run for it.”

  Matt’s head snapped around, his eyes wide as saucers. “Run where?”

  “For the apartment.”

  The boy’s voice rose dangerously loud. “What about them?”

  John placed his hand on his shoulder. He could see the growing terror in his eyes. “We can’t go around,” he said. “Unless we risk going back the way we came, we have to make a run for it.” He checked to make sure the way ahead was still clear. “And we’re going to have to go now.” He didn’t let the conversation continue. He stood up with one strong pull, bringing Matt to his feet with him.

  They were running before Matt could object. Once out from behind cover, it was too late to turn back. They reached the sidewalk in a few long strides. The munching dead didn’t notice the movement until John and Matt were already out in the street. John didn’t look back, but he heard their moaning call as they took notice of the fresh meat. He tried not to let Matt focus on the mass of dead farther down the street in the hopes they would reach the apartment doors before they found themselves surrounded.

  “Get in there.”

  They reached the open double doors, stepping through smashed glass scattered on the ground. Matt burst through first and was met by the reaching hands of a figure pinned beneath a couch laid across the main stairs. The disfigured face stared back at the boy with a single eye. The bludgeoned, bloodedly mess of his other eye socket stained the blue-grey skin on his cheek. Its back was broken, one leg lying bent over on his side, the other lost somewhere underneath the couch.

  A groan gasped from its blacked mouth as Matt leapt backwards into John as he crossed the doorway. John raised his shotgun to fire but thought better of it. He scanned the foyer and found both side doors barricaded. He leaned over the couch, avoiding the dead man’s flailing arms.

  “We have to go up.”

  Matt scooted around him, being careful to avoid the outstretched hands, and climbed up and over the
couch. John waited until he was safely on the stairs and then adjusted his grip on the shotgun. He held the barrel and bashed in the pinned corpse’s head with the butt of the gun. It took two hits to crack the skull, then a third to splatter its brains on the foyer floor. John jumped over the couch and took up the lead. He kept close to the outer wall of the stairwell with hesitant steps. They reached the second floor landing, and he used the drapes strewn on the floor to wipe off the muck from his shotgun.

  “How far up do we have to go?” Matt asked.

  “Not sure. I think the person we saw was waving from the top floor.”

  “Can’t we use the elevator?”

  “Don’t be stupid. We don’t want to trap ourselves anywhere we can’t run away from.”

  Matt shrugged and then nodded. John eyed the four doors on the second floor landing. The closed doors showed no signs of damage. A long hallway extended away from the stairs with doors running along both sides.

  “There could be survivors in all of them,” John said.

  “You think they’ll come out?”

  “Not likely, probably scared to death like everyone else.”

  They started toward the ascending stairs when movement drew their attention back to the hall. A single figure walked toward them, moving slowly. John was on guard as the figure drew closer. He knew they had to run, which was highlighted by several figures rounding the corner at the far end of the hall.

  John turned to look for Matt but found the boy already halfway up the next set of stairs. He caught up with him in a few long, climbing strides. By the time they reached the third floor landing, the sound of the dead echoed clearly up the staircase. John took one look at the third floor hall, and the view revealed more trouble.

  Several bodies lay in contorted positions on the hallway carpet, each lying in a pool of blood. The largest of these was a man, and by the look of the others, they had been a family. The body of a child lay the furthest from the landing. Two figures crouched over the woman’s body on their hands and knees, each taking turns devouring pieces of her innards. In unison, the dead looked up at the new arrivals and started to rise.