“Is it safe?”
Rowan recognized the ignorance of his question the moment he said it.
“Not even a little bit,” Kuru said as he stepped into the light. “But there’s a better chance that you’ll live to see tomorrow.”
Rowan wasn’t sure if the comment was an attempt at humor. Any laughter was lost in his throat once he took in the sight of fresh blood on the remains of Kuru’s clothes. Rowan wanted to know what Kuru fed on, but he wasn’t sure he could stomach the response. Kuru motioned at the lantern.
“The less light the better.”
Fuel was already a concern. A small bottle in Rowan’s bag contained his backup supply. In his haste to get down into the ruins of the hive, Rowan failed to consider how long he might be on the hunt. He turned the knob on the side of the lantern and reduced its glow.
“I’m not walking around in the dark with you,” he said.
Kuru opened his mouth, revealing his teeth as if to mock the declaration. “Suit yourself.”
He motioned at the opening and Rowan slipped through. A moment later, they were standing at the entry point with the breach in the ceiling above them and a smaller gap in the floor below. A single ray of sunlight pierced the darkness from somewhere out of view. Rowan made his way down using the crumbling remains of the floor. He paid particular attention to Kuru’s descent and was surprised by his steady footing.
Sunlight worked its way through cracks in the wall along the passage on the next level down, revealing the way ahead. Figures dotted doorways along the sides of the hall, most of them swaying from side to side. Recognition forced Rowan to stop. Kuru was several strides ahead before he noticed.
“They won’t bother you,” he said.
Rowan realized they were zombies, more than he could count. Each of them remained in the doorways in some bizarre tribute. Their dreadful call began in a low murmur, slowly building as each one joined in. Rowan had to force himself to continue forward.
“Ku…ru, Ku…ru.”
Rowan shuddered and he considered for the first time what Kuru might do if he was released to the surface. Rowan held his gun out, aimed at the dead, as he neared the opening in the hall. It was a woman or at least it was at one time, one of the compound’s soldiers by the look of her. A cavity in the center of its face was an unmistakable focal point. The nose had been torn away and the remaining space between its cheekbones showed through to a half-eaten tongue and a partially connected eyeball dangling against the back of its throat.
Kuru never stopped nor did he acknowledge the dead. Rowan kept his gun up, never once putting faith in Kuru’s control. The enormity of his apparent power was beyond Rowan’s comprehension. He quickly lost the ability to recognize Kuru as once being the tribesman Garret.
Kuru remained quiet, refusing to hint at their destination. Rowan gave him space once they cleared the initial hallway. The sounds of the dead faded in the background but never disappeared entirely. The constant wave hinted at the sheer volume lurking in the dark corners of the ruins. It was a fearsome reminder at what awaited Rowan outside of Kuru’s protection.
The pace slowed as they reached the lower levels and Kuru’s hesitation resonated with fear. Rowan felt the tension build and he knew his guide had taken them beyond his protection. They crossed a wide passage littered with the remains of several people. A quick study hinted at a large-scale fight between two forces. A tinge of recognition was confirmed the moment they reached the far side and peered into a massive storage area.
Light flooded in from a long opening in the far wall. The railing of a metal landing produced a memory of tribesmen climbing up from the bottom of the gorge. The entire space had been alive with gunfire the last time Rowan saw it. A vision of Mia rushing through the chaos filled his mind. It was the first time he’d seen her since they’d separated in Cheyenne. The memory felt like a lifetime ago.
“Just a little farther.”
The idea that Kuru felt the need to whisper brought with it a certain amount of gravity. They crept across the wide floor space and stopped short of the landing. Kuru got down on all fours before continuing forward. Rowan followed the example and came to a stop beside him, each of them looking down on a puzzlingly terrifying view.
The bottom of the gorge was separated by a monstrous cage. The open space was littered with wreckage from the detonation of the security system but the caged half was relatively untouched. Rowan remembered stories from the surviving tribal members that spoke of the desolate huts they were forced to live in as slaves to the compound’s commission. Movement pulled him back to the open ground, and he focused in on numerous figures shifting throughout the debris. Their twitching limbs gave them away as infected, but the view gave no hint as to what kept their attention.
Kuru stretched his arm out, pointing back at the former enslavement camp. Rowan followed his gnarly finger to the front line of huts beyond the barred gate. A single person sat on the dirt staring back at the countless infected. He tapped the end of a handless arm against a leg bound in a makeshift brace. Rowan knew the man from a brief encounter and what he’d heard from Mia, but he was certain he recognized the face. What he didn’t know was why Kuru believed the man trapped down in the camp could help him.
“You know who that is, don’t you?” Kuru whispered.
Rowan nodded as the name popped into his head.
“Connor.”
17
“What do you mean, me?”
Mia’s question confused the woman relaying the message. She opened her mouth to respond, but nothing came out. It took her a moment to develop a more specific answer.
“One of the riders approached our post,” the woman explained. “And he said he had a message for the compound and he would only speak to Mia.”
Hearing her own name scared her for some reason. Mia looked at all of the faces surrounding her, none of them offering up a suggestion. She felt like the walls were closing in. Mia couldn’t explain a sudden desire to ignore the message. Asher took her hand, and she felt his strength as he squeezed.
“Let’s let the council know,” he said. “If you’re going out there, we need to be able to protect you.”
The response came quick and before she knew it, Mia was standing out in the snow searching for the newcomers in the distance. Mia was not alone. Asher led the charge, gathering up a dozen soldiers to follow her out. She was amazed by his strength and grateful for it. Mia knew he was in pain and he’d pushed through it for her.
She and Asher marched north, guided by the woman who’d brought the message. The trailing soldiers kept several paces behind them. Asher struggled with each step, grimacing every other breath. His balance suffered as he tried to compensate for his injured arm, now strapped to his chest by a sling around his neck.
The destination revealed itself quickly. A wide scatter of black dotted the snow and the fear grew in Mia with every trudging step. It appeared that the woman who brought the message had either severely mistook the size of the advancing party or they’d simply multiplied in the time it took her to reach the compound. Mia took one look at the woman’s terrified face and guessed it was the latter.
Mia slowed her pace, glancing back several times at her escort. The closer she drew to the awaiting faction the more insignificant her companions appeared. The entire force sat on horseback, a long line of black clad soldiers staring back at her. It wasn’t until she was within a stone’s throw from the front line that one figure broke away from the others and started toward her.
“Wait here,” Mia said.
Asher squeezed her hand one last time before she continued on alone. Her eyes locked onto the tall man striding toward her, and she discovered he was not alone. He kept one hand latched onto the shoulder of a smaller figure, this one with hands bound behind his back and a sack over his head. The sight astounded Mia.
She wanted to rush to Jonah and save him, but she knew that she couldn’t. The man came to a stop out ahead of her and held his
hand up. Her feet sank into a knee-deep patch of snow and her entire body shivered. She laid the palm of her hand on the hilt of her father’s sword in an attempt to show strength as her mind screamed in silent panic.
The man’s face was cut from stone, his jaw as rigid as a mountain cliff. He stared down at her with obvious scorn. Mia’s eyes slid to his captive as he was forced down onto his knees with a solid push to the center of his back. The view was unbearable, but she told herself that she could not show fear.
“You are the one they call Mia?”
The man’s voice came in a growl as if angered he had to bother himself with the conversation. Mia steadied her nerves.
“I am.”
The corner of his mouth curled. “You have something of ours,” he said.
Mia decided to try to gather as much information as possible. “And who do you represent?” she asked.
He stretched his neck as he turned his head. “The Northern Continental Alliance.”
Mia had no idea what that meant, but the title sounded official. She had a sudden revelation that the commission they believed they were fighting against was a part of something much larger than they imagined. She took a renewed look across the line of horsemen in the background. She guessed the hundred or so was a small fraction of what they had at their disposal.
“We know that you do not have power,” he explained. “We also know that a sizeable horde of dead are working their way in this direction driven by a healthy dose of the infected.”
He paused as if to allow Mia to respond, but she couldn’t think of anything to say. She felt like a child unable to speak in the presence of a true adult.
“The dead will get inside the halls of the compound and feast on your flesh,” he continued, “killing every one of you down to the last child.”
“We’re prepared to protect ourselves,” Mia said, cutting him off before he could continue his foreshadowing. “We know all about what’s coming.”
He lips thinned out to a frightening grin. “Do you?” he asked. “We will surround the land around the compound, killing anyone who attempts to flee and allow the dead to do their work.”
His shot sent a chill down Mia’s spine.
“But you can avoid this,” he said, pausing as if to allow the anticipation to build. “Bring us the nexus and we will permit you to abandon the compound.”
Mia stalled. “How do you know we have him?” she asked.
“We don’t believe you do,” he said. “But you know where to find him and I would much rather your people get chewed up trying to find him than mine.”
“Why do you want him?” she pried.
“That’s none of your concern,” he said bluntly. “The commission and our good doctor have their purpose.”
The mention of the doctor struck a chord and a flash of memory brought back Rowan and Jonah’s description of the grotesque Dr. Olric. She motioned at the boy, now quivering on his knees in the snow.
“We want our people back,” she said. “Give the boys to me and we will give you the nexus.”
The mandate forced an uncharacteristic chuckle from the hardened military man. “You’re in no position to make demands,” he said and then without warning drew a pistol from a holster on his hip. “Besides,” he said pressing the barrel against the back of the boy’s head, “it’s not a fair trade.”
Mia shook as she put her hands up and pleaded. “Please don’t hurt him.”
The man looked her dead in the eyes as he spoke. “Give us the nexus and we will give you back your boy.”
The sound of the gunshot reached Mia an instant after he pulled the trigger, but in her mind, the world slowed to a crawl. She heard screams as if the yells were from somewhere far in the distance. Mia rushed forward, slipping in the snow. The man walked away with little concern for her or the chaos he left behind.
The lifeless figure lay in a patch of pristine white dotted with crimson. Blood soaked through the sack around his head spilling into the snow. Mia dropped to her knees, grabbing onto the limp body as her vision blurred with tears. The sound of the man’s voice pierced through her sorrowful cries.
“You have three days.”
Mia wrapped her arms around the boy and pulled him up onto her knees. She wailed as she pulled at the tie holding the bag to his neck. A surge of stomping boots crunched the snow behind her as she lifted the sack over his head. Blood spilled from a hole near his temple, saturating the dark curls of his hair. Tate’s lifeless eyes stared up at her, and she threw her head back and yelled at the top of her lungs. Asher dropped down into the snow next to her as the rest of her escort gathered around. He slid his hand over the boy’s face, forcing Tate’s eyes closed.
Mia was inconsolable. She felt her heart burst open as a terrible sensation of guilt consumed her. She locked onto the sudden exhilaration that devoured her mind upon seeing Tate’s face. The guilt of needing Jonah to be alive left a filthy taste in her mouth. Asher placed the sack over Tate’s face and then leaned in close to Mia until she felt his lips against her ear.
“We need to get back.”
She couldn’t speak. Mia nodded and motioned for a few of the escorts to pick the boy up out of the snow. She locked eyes with the woman who delivered the message of the incoming riders. The sight of the woman’s tear-streaked face sapped what little strength remained in Mia’s legs. She offered Mia her hand and she took it. They walked through the snow together leading the procession back to Canaan.
♦
Mia sat slumped in a familiar chair against the wall of the infirmary. Tate’s body lay on the table across from her covered from view. The woman who’d helped her sat in a chair on one side with Asher in one on the opposite side. None of them said a word.
A flurry of movement at the door sent the room into a swirling emotional mess. Bree burst through the entrance with Bale a step behind her. The mere sight of them caused Mia to shake. Mia shook her head as Bree’s eyes went from the covered body to her.
Asher sprang from his chair, but Bree was too quick for him. She reached the table before he could stop her, pulling back the sheet draped over the body. Bale stopped where he was the moment Tate came into view. There was no mistaking the damage done to the boy’s head.
Mia got to her feet as Bree grabbed onto Tate’s arm. She started across the room, and Bale joined her stride for stride until they were on either side of Bree. Mia pulled the sheet from her grip and then placed it back over the body. She put her arms around both of them.
“Jonah?”
The name crept from Bree’s lips in a terrified whisper. The sound of his name made Mia’s heart pound in her chest.
“He’s still alive,” Mia managed. “At least that’s what I was led to believe.”
The trio stared down at the sheet for a long time in silence. Bale’s voice cracked when he spoke.
“What do we do now?”
Mia heard the question. In fact, she’d heard that question more times than she could possibly count. The frightening part was that most of the time everyone was looking to her for an answer. The more she thought about it the more her chest tightened. She found her heartbeat rising, now thumping away in her ears.
A familiar fear crept into her mind. The doubts of her place in the tribe, and in the world for that matter, circled her like buzzards waiting for a final death. She kept her gaze on the outline of Tate’s face beneath the sheet. A tear formed in the corner of her eye and rolled down her cheek. The longer she stared the more she envisioned herself standing over Jonah.
“Mia?”
Bale pulled her from her thoughts, and she realized she was squeezing his arm with all her strength.
“We have to get out of here.”
It was a response she’d given many times before, but Mia wasn’t certain if she meant getting out of the room, the hive, or the compound altogether.
“This doesn’t change our plans,” she said and then spun around and headed for the exit. “We have to finish
packing our gear.”
Her feet couldn’t move quickly enough. The sudden urge to get away nearly caused her to run. The pressure on her chest was overwhelming. Her vision blurred as her eyes glistened. She felt like she was suffocating and longed to be out in the open.
“Wait up.”
Mia didn’t stop.
“Come on.”
She was near the stairs when she finally turned around. Bale and Bree were close, but Asher lagged behind. Mia knew what he wanted to say, but she didn’t want to hear it. Her mind was made up.
“I’m going,” she announced. “We’re going,” she added when Asher came to a stop in front of her.
“We have three days,” he reminder her. “We need to send more people down into hive six to look for the nexus.”
“We can’t,” she said and her jaw clenched as she forced herself to finish. “We can’t risk people’s lives to save one boy.” The words were like acid in her mouth. She wanted to bite through her tongue for saying it aloud. “Rowan’s all we have.”
Asher was speechless. Mia couldn’t handle more than a glance at Bree’s grief-stricken face. Asher tried to counter, but nothing came out. He settled for a deep inhale and then nodded. He reached out for her and Mia unconsciously jerked back. She couldn’t explain her reaction and didn’t have the heart to consider it.
“Let the council know,” she said and then was off again, this time with Asher left standing in the middle of the hall.
“I’ll go with you.”
His response was enough to get her to stop. The last thing she wanted to do was worry about his feelings, but it couldn’t be helped. Mia turned around and had to slip between Bree and Bale to get past them. Asher met her midway.
“I want to go with you,” he said and then stumbled over his follow up. “I can’t stand the thought of you out there alone.”
He reached out for her again and Mia took his hand.
“I won’t be alone,” she said although she knew that’s not what he meant. She squeezed his hand. “We need you here,” she said and shifted her approach. “You’re going to get the power back on.”
The Decaying World Saga Box Set [Prequel #1-#2 & Books #1-#2] Page 83
