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

by Garza, Michael W.

  They poured out into the street from a darkened doorway of a building adjacent to the water tower. Rowan counted half a dozen before he turned to run. He kept Mia in front of him, pressing on her back with one hand, trying to get her to move faster. It took only a few strides before the nimbler of the two started to pull away.

  The trailing group yelled at them in a perverse mix of dead-speak and animal calls, a telltale sign of the countless clans throughout the city that viewed the tribe as an enemy. Rowan had seen enough to know they weren’t infected and they were too fast to count among the undead. Several arrows whizzed by Rowan, missing their mark by a few inches. The growing roar of the pursuers told him they weren’t going to be able to outrun them.

  “We need to get inside one of those buildings,” he called out.

  “Which one?”

  “Any one!”

  Mia turned so fast Rowan nearly sprained his ankles trying to follow her. She dashed through a tall, broken window before he could reach her. Rowan leapt into a ground floor littered with debris. It took him a moment to find Mia; she was already heading up a wide staircase in the center of the building. He bounded up the steps, four at a time, turning one floor up as the staircase bent back in the opposite direction.

  Rowan would have tried one of the wide doors between floors, but Mia was too far ahead of him to stop her. The sounds echoing up the staircase confirmed their pursuers were closing in. He pushed himself until his legs ached and his lungs burned. He reached the top floor and found Mia pushing on a door with all her strength.

  “It’s locked,” she said and then ran to the banister and took a glimpse at the stairs all the way down to the ground floor. Her face told Rowan all he needed to know. He started kicking on the door, and she pulled him away. “Up there.”

  Mia pointed at a ladder bolted to the wall, ending at a hatchway. Rowan pushed past her and started up. She climbed on behind him as howls boomed up the stairs toward them. He slammed his shoulder into the underside of the hatch before he caught sight of the rusty lock holding it in place.

  “Go.”

  Mia pushed up on his butt as she shouted frantically. Rowan heard the clear sound of stomping feet closing in, and the rising panic consumed him. He smashed his shoulder into the underside of the hatch, banging his head on the metal plate in the process. The hatch dented from the hit, but the lock wouldn’t give. Rowan slammed into it again and didn’t stop until the thin metal bent down the center. It took two more strikes before the ring holding onto the lock snapped and the entire top flipped up through the breach.

  Rowan pushed into the tight opening and reached back down to help Mia up. They were standing on the roof, and a desperate search didn’t produce anything that might aid in their escape. Mia rushed off to the far edge of the building overlooking the entryway while Rowan focused on the stairs. She was yelling something at him when he saw a figure round the last stairwell landing.

  “What?”

  He glanced back and was stunned to find Mia having a conversation with someone. She waved him over, and he abandoned his view as the full group of pursuers started up the stairs toward the ladder.

  “We’re not looking to cause any trouble,” Mia said.

  The new arrival was standing on the roof of the adjacent building. He wore a long black coat over a haggard shirt and dirty britches. Most of his face was hidden under a mess of unkempt facial hair as gray as ash and topped by the wide brim of a floppy hat.

  “We don’t have time for this,” Rowan said, pulling on Mia’s arm.

  She yanked away and kept pleading. Rowan didn’t understand her insistence until he looked out over the distance between the buildings and then spotted the long plank of wood the man was resting one of his boots on.

  “You’re the wanderer,” he said after a sudden recognition. “We were looking for you.”

  The assertion appeared to grab the man’s attention.

  “Why?” he asked, in a gruff voice.

  “We found something,” Mia said, her heightened nerves evident in her rising volume. “Something from the old world.”

  He studied the duo as if their facial expressions might give them away. “What did you find?”

  Rowan’s hands shook violently as he dug through his pack. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw someone pulling themselves up through the hatch from the floor below. Rowan held up the device and showed it. Mia turned to face the coming attack, holding her knife out in defense. Rowan didn’t give up; he held the device up like a peace offering for the wanderer to see.

  “Hurry up,” the wanderer said at last.

  Rowan forced Mia up on the ledge, and the moment the end of the plank hit the concrete edge, she was moving. Rowan couldn’t wait. A quick count told him at least three of their pursuers had reached the roof and were heading in their direction. The plank shook the moment his boots touched the wood and Mia had to throw her arms out wide to keep herself balanced. She managed a nasty glare over her shoulder before rushing across the rest of the way.

  “Move your ass!”

  The wanderer shouted and then grabbed his end of the plank. Rowan took two long strides and the board wobbled beneath his feet. He was in the air when the wanderer yanked the wood out from under him. Rowan hit the adjacent rooftop with a hard thud. He was trying to wipe off the small rocks embedded in his face when Mia pulled him to his feet.

  “Keep your head down.”

  Rowan felt a sudden burn in his leg as pain erupted from his thigh. A series of arrows flew by them before Mia and Rowan dashed between a pair of exhaust vents in search of cover. Rowan found himself on his knees, his body hovering over Mia. Her face was close to the ground, with her hands over her head. The wanderer was across from them, his eyes scouting out the other side of the roof.

  “We’ll have to make it to that door.” The entrance to the building was already open, but the bloody handprints on the interior wall were less than inviting. “Go now.”

  “But they’re shooting at us,” Rowan said.

  “And while you’re running your mouth, the rest of them are racing downstairs to meet us outside.”

  Rowan understood the point. He stood up, hunched over as close to the ground as he could get, and grabbed Mia by the arm. She jumped out in front of him and was in a full sprint before he took his first step. The arrows kept coming, but Rowan and Mia were out of range once they reached the midpoint of the roof. They passed the open doorway before turning to see if the wanderer was following them.

  He had his hat in one hand and a long pole in the other. A clear view of his face revealed the thin, white hair dangling from his head and his weathered skin. Rowan waited at the doorway with one eye on Mia and the other on the old man. The wanderer slowed as he approached. He had to gather his breath before he could speak.

  “The stairs,” he took a deep gulp of air, “they go all the way down.”

  Mia started moving, and Rowan couldn’t wait to see if the old man was going to collapse where he was or be able to follow. Rowan marveled at Mia’s speed. She’d always been faster than him and nearly every other boy in the tribe. It was a sore subject when they were younger.

  She was standing at the building’s entrance when Rowan reached the ground floor. Most of the front wall was missing, lying in piles of dirt and rock scattered along the entrance of the building. She kept her eyes on the road while motioning for Rowan to slow down. He’d nearly reached her when he spotted what had her attention.

  The dead were nothing like the infected. Mindless and singularly focused, zombies sought out food. The undead did not appear to speak with one another, but it was discovered a short time after the outbreak that they could communicate in some silent way. Packs of them moved in formation, turning like schools of fish without any of them ever saying a word. The mob working its way around the building across the street was two dozen strong.

  “At least those people chasing us aren’t going to run out into the open,” Rowan said.


  “We’re not going to be able to wait it out,” Mia countered.

  Rowan glanced back at the stairs, but there was no sign of the wanderer.

  “We’ll go out near the end of the building and head away from the center of the city,” he said.

  “They’ll sense us.”

  “I know, but we can’t wait around and hope they don’t trap us in here.”

  Mia started toward the opening in the wall he’d pointed out, moving quickly between mounds of rubble. Rowan waited until she was in place before he moved. He was nearly across the ground floor when the wanderer rushed out from the entrance to the stairs.

  “One of them made it across.”

  The shout broke the silence and Rowan’s head snapped toward the road. The dead were moving in a wide gaggle. Several of the decaying corpses’ heads turned and then the entire formation shifted the direction of its shuffling walk. Rowan finished the distance between him and Mia with a blur of the wanderer racing alongside him. They reached the breach in the wall at the same time.

  Mia stepped outside, her eyes on the coming wave of the dead. They’d found the trio and the need to feed drove them to move faster. A moan broke from the group, their desire for flesh echoing off the face of the decrepit buildings. The sound of it brought a familiar dread to Rowan’s heart. He tried to remain focused on Mia as she sprinted out ahead of them.

  They were a block away when Rowan finally looked back. The dead were in a long line running from one side of the street to the other. A small pack had broken away from the main group, trying to get at something inside the building. A scream told Rowan the men who were chasing them now had other problems to deal with.

  “We need to get off the street,” the wanderer said. “This way.”

  He hurried through the burnt-out interior of a two-story structure across the street. Mia was moving so fast ahead of them that she had to make a wide turn in order to get back to where Rowan was waiting. He let her pass him before taking up the rear of their loose formation. They were far enough ahead of the dead to be safe, but they couldn’t allow themselves to get closed in.

  The wanderer appeared to know where he was going. He plunged directly into the remnants of a structure, jumping over stacks of concrete blocks and rushing between doorframes. Mia and Rowan kept close to him. He slowed once, only long enough to push aside a large chunk of rock. He found something on the floor and yanked on it. A solid square of metal pulled up in his hand, revealing a narrow set of stairs that led down under the building.

  “Go quickly.”

  Mia hesitated. Rowan stared down into the darkness at the bottom step.

  “Where’s it go?” Mia asked.

  “Do you want my help or not?” the wanderer asked.

  Rowan saw the questions in her eyes. He stepped around her and took her hand as he passed. He was midway down the steps before she gave in. Rowan’s feet tapped across a dirty floor and then the light disappeared above. He froze, squeezing Mia’s hand. She moved in close behind him, her breath on the back of his neck. The wanderer’s whispered words broke the silence.

  “Stay close; keep your hand on the wall.”

  They were moving again, now with slow, cautious steps. The sound of the wanderer’s uneven strides and labored breaths led them. Rowan’s eyes adjusted to the darkness as a dim glow slowly revealed the way ahead. The shifting outline of the wanderer turned off the narrow way and a new space opened up in front of them.

  The wanderer swept aside a tattered section of fabric and urged Rowan and Mia to step through. They found themselves standing at a railing, looking down on a wide-open space. The drop was a dizzying descent, spanning several floors. Rowan swayed as his legs went unexpectedly weak.

  “What’s a matter?”

  He heard Mia’s question, but he couldn’t focus on her face. Several versions of her looked back at him with the shadow of the wanderer over her shoulder. Someone grabbed his arms as he fell to his knees, but he could no longer make out anything around him. Rowan took one last look at the shifting light and then sank into complete darkness.

  7

  The heat was intense. Rowan tried to open his eyes, but couldn’t. Nightmares rushed through his mind, overwhelming his senses. Vivid horrors lashed out at him: the undead peeling the skin from his body as they ate, while a horde of infected drained every ounce of his blood. He felt himself convulse as the pain consumed him. Somewhere in the madness he heard her. Rowan heard Mia calling to him; he heard every one of her worried cries.

  Rowan pressed his eyelids together with enough force to give himself a headache. A sudden flicker of light pushed back the shadows in his mind. A blurred vision shifted between the dancing light. He tried to make sense of what he was seeing, certain there were more nightmares to come. The scene hardened and Rowan realized he was lying on his side. He tried to wipe his hand over his face only to discover he couldn’t move his arms at all. Reality pierced the veil of sleep and his surroundings were suddenly clear.

  A hysterical state of fear washed over him. A fire filled the center of his vision, a neatly laid row of rocks encircling the flames. The room was dark outside the fire, but there was a vague outline of an opening beyond the light. Two figures appeared in the fiery glow, both of them across from him. One rushed toward him while the other waited and watched. Sound filled Rowan’s ears as the first figure knelt down in front of him.

  “Rowan, oh Rowan.”

  Mia’s face was etched in pain. Tears flowed down her cheeks as she cradled his head in her lap.

  “Help me get these off,” she yelled. “Jacob, he’s not turning.”

  The old man hesitated a moment longer, and then in a befuddled state, he crossed the room and untied Rowan’s hands and feet. Rowan pulled as the bindings loosened. He grabbed hold of Mia and tried to lift himself off the ground. She helped him sit up, but he lacked the strength to stay upright. He was left leaning against her.

  “Where are we?”

  Rowan heard himself, but the broken whisper was unfamiliar.

  “You’re safe,” Jacob said.

  It took Rowan a moment to place the old man Mia called Jacob as the wanderer they’d found on the rooftop.

  “What’s happening to me?”

  “You nearly died,” Jacob said. “The arrow that grazed you was dipped in infected blood.” His eyes went from Rowan to Mia and then back. “I didn’t think you’d make it.”

  The old man’s stare briefly slid down to his hands and only then did Rowan see the long knife he was holding.

  “I’m infected?” Rowan asked, shuddering as the words left his mouth.

  “You should be.”

  Mia squeezed him as the old man spoke. “Relax,” she said. “You need your strength.”

  Jacob helped lay Rowan back down, resting his head on a rolled coat. Mia remained close, helping him take a sip of water. Jacob returned to the other side of the fire, taking a seat on the ground. The old man took a few bites from something in a can and then pushed it aside.

  “Pure blood is what they call it,” he started. “I’ve heard it many times.” He paused. “Never seen it though.” He chuckled to himself. “Didn’t think I ever would. Hell, I’m not sure anyone has believed in that for a long time.”

  Rowan shifted his head. Mia sat close to him, her leg resting against his side.

  “I don’t understand.”

  Jacob looked up at him for only a moment and then shook his head. “The virus, the one the infected carry around in their blood?”

  Rowan didn’t understand the word virus, but he was well aware of the infection.

  “Something in your blood stopped it from infecting you,” Jacob said.

  “How can that be?” Mia asked. “I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

  Jacob waved her off. “You wouldn’t. None of the tribes have seen it.”

  The old man grumbled to himself as he started whittling on a piece of wood. Rowan looked up at Mia and found her smiling at him.


  “I thought I’d lost you,” she said.

  “Where are we?”

  “Underground,” she explained. “Jacob has lived down here for a while.” Rowan was more confused than ever. “He hasn’t left the city for several seasons,” she said. “He says the infected are gathering everywhere.”

  Rowan’s memory suddenly rushed to the forefront. “Like what we found,” he asserted. He tried to reach for the small pack on his side, but a shot of pain ran up his spine and forced him to stay in place. “We have to show him the device.”

  “Radio.”

  Rowan and Mia’s heads turned together. Jacob wasn’t looking at them, but he continued to talk.

  “It’s called a radio,” he said. “People used to use them to talk to one another over long distances.” He held it up so they could see it.

  “How?” Rowan asked.

  Jacob’s mouth opened to try to explain, but nothing came out. “It belonged to the old world,” he said.

  The explanation was enough for the moment.

  “But we heard someone talking over it.”

  Jacob snickered. “Sure you did.”

  Mia cut in. “You need to eat something,” she said, focusing on more pressing matters. “You need your strength.”

  She pulled something off one of the stones around the fire and tore it into smaller pieces. Rowan tried to process everything as she fed him.

  “How long have we been down here?”

  “Five days,” she said.

  “Five days?”

  Mia pressed down on his chest as he tried to rise up. She forced another bite in his mouth and whispered. “He was going to kill you.”

  Rowan stopped mid-chew, his eyes sliding toward the old man with a renewed distrust.

  “He told me you would turn into one of them.”

  Jacob broke into a coughing fit, and the sudden eruption caused both Mia and Rowan to flinch. He continued until he managed to get something up in his mouth that he spat out in a dirty cloth he kept in his pocket. The scarlet blots matched the smear left across his lips. It took several deep breaths before he was able to get his breathing under control.