Decay of Humanity Series | Book 4 | Dawn of Humanity

by Dawn, M. K.

  How had the evening gone by so quickly? Most nights, it dragged on.

  “We’re ready. Right, children?”

  All three nodded.

  “Make sure you have everything. We won’t be coming back.” A little thing her mother used to say before they left a hotel after vacation.

  “Meet us in here when you're done.” Archer left the door open.

  Sloan followed Archer into the other room while the children used the restroom.

  “This is going to work,” Axel reassured them.

  It had to or they’d be dead by morning.

  ***

  The streets were dark and empty, just as Axel promised they would be at this time of night. They moved quietly and kept a normal, unrushed pace as to not draw attention to themselves.

  Sloan kept in stride with the children, while Axel led the way and Archer watched their backs. Her heart raced, and she struggled to stay calm. Her internal fight or flight worked on overdrive, urging her to run, but she fought the desire as it would do more harm than good.

  They stopped at a corner and gathered into a circle.

  Axel put on a smile and pointed to various objects as if he were giving a tour. “We’re about to move off the main road. There’s a barrier we’ll need to jump over, which is a big no, no. The fence isn’t far after that. We need to make sure no one is watching us before we make our move.”

  “How do we know for sure?” Sloan asked. “We’re surrounded by buildings.”

  “We’ll have to do the best we can.” Archer ran a hand on the top of Molly’s head. “You okay, kid?”

  She bobbed her head. “Yeah, can we go now?”

  “Axel, it’s your call.” Archer’s eyes flickered from side to side. “I don’t see anyone.”

  “Neither do I.” Axel moved to block the alley the best he could. “Sloan, you go first. Remember, keep to the ground once over the barricade.”

  She chanced one more glance over her shoulder before disappearing into the darkness. Even in the dead of night, the moon still helped light the way. The cement barricade was easy enough to climb over, and she ducked down to hide herself from any prying eyes.

  The twins joined her a few seconds later, followed by Isaak then Archer.

  Axel was the last to arrive. “Everything looks good so far. Any problems on this end?”

  “All good.” Archer moved to his hands and knees. “Time to crawl.”

  The children had no issues with this action but the adults struggled. By the time they reached the fence line, Sloan’s knees throbbed. Rock imprints tainted her hands, but thankfully, none had drawn blood.

  They settled along the fence and Axel checked his watch. “Liyah should be here any minute.”

  “Where’s the opening?” Archer asked, running his hands along the sheet metal.

  Axel tugged on the loose piece of tin. “Right here. Plenty big enough for us to fit through.”

  “Should we start?” Sloan wanted to put as much distance between them and this place as soon as possible. The longer they stayed in one spot, the greater the chance of getting caught.

  “Wait, I hear footsteps.” Archer cocked his head and frowned.

  “What’s wrong?” Sloan whispered.

  He narrowed his eyes and shook his head, which confused her. Was something wrong or not?

  “Liyah!” Isaak jumped to his feet and started off to greet her but froze.

  The alley lit up as The Boss, Mammoth, Poison, and three others carrying torches approached.

  Mammoth had a tearful Liyah by the back of the neck. Poison smirked.

  The Boss sighed and shook his head. “I can’t tell you how disappointed I am.”

  Sloan moved in front of the twins.

  Isaak stepped back between Axel and Archer. “Let my sister go.”

  Mammoth pulled out a knife and held it to Liyah’s throat. “Who has my gun? I know this bitch gave it to one of you. She talks in her sleep.”

  She stole the gun from Mammoth? And is in an intimate relationship with him?

  “Hand over the gun or I will slit her throat.”

  Axel hesitated a mere second before retrieving it from his back. “Put the knife down and I’ll hand it over.”

  “Give me the gun and I will.”

  Isaak kept his emotions in check, but Sloan could see his fingers shaking.

  “Lower the knife,” Axel repeated.

  Mammoth looked to The Boss who nodded. He lowered the knife, and Axel tossed the gun at his feet.

  “Thank you.” He tossed Liyah to the side and retrieved the gun.

  She scrambled over to Isaak. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”

  “Now then.” The Boss held his hands behind his back. “What to do with the lot of you? I should have my people kill you right here, but seriously, what fun would that be? We have the perfect zombie waiting hungry and itching for a fight. Maybe we’ll mix it up a bit. Girls versus zombies and then the guys? Or would that be too easy? I don’t know, I’ll think of something. Time to go.”

  Sloan was near tears but she refused to let them fall.

  “No!” Molly shouted as she shoved past Sloan, gun in hand.

  The Boss threw back his head and laughed. “Now where did you get that toy?”

  “Oh, my God, Molly!” Axel reached for the gun but she moved out of his reach.

  “It’s not a toy,” Molly spat. “And we're not going anywhere with you.”

  “Give me the gun,” Axel ordered.

  “Molly,” Sloan pleaded, “give your dad the gun.”

  “No!” She screamed and stepped forward, gun aimed at The Boss.

  Poison moved between Molly and The Boss. “You better put that down before someone gets hurt.”

  “People already got hurt!” Molly yelled. “You promised they wouldn’t but they did, you big liar!”

  “Put it down.” Mammoth demanded, but thankfully kept his own gun by his side.

  “Now, Molly.” The Boss gestured for Poison to step aside. “You aren’t going to shoot me.”

  “If you don’t let us go, I will.”

  “Boss?” Mammoth moved to his side. “Want me to end this?”

  Sloan nearly broke.

  “No, no. She’s not going to shoot me. Hand over the gun, little girl.”

  “Never! I hate this place, and I want to leave right now. You are mean, and I hate every one of you!”

  Axel placed a hand on Molly’s shoulder. “Give me the gun, baby.”

  “When he lets us go.”

  The Boss chuckled. “Guess we got ourselves a little showdown. But let me tell you, sweetheart, you’re going to have to shoot me if you want to get out of here.”

  “Promise?” Molly asked sweetly.

  The Boss regarded her for a second. “What? That if you shoot me you get to leave? Sure, kid, I promise. You pull that trigger, hit me, and you and your little friends can leave.”

  “Boss?” Mammoth leaned closer. “Are you serious?”

  “She’s a scared little girl. Not a chance in hell she will shoot—”

  Molly fired the gun, silencing them all, but missing.

  Sloan gasped and nearly fell to her knees.

  The Boss busted out laughing. “Fine, you’re a brave little girl who can fire a gun but sadly you missed. See Mammoth, nothing to—”

  She fired again, hitting him in the shoulder, sending him to the ground.

  Mammoth raised his gun and aimed at Molly. “Stupid brat!”

  “No!” Axel jumped in front of his daughter.

  “Stop.” The Boss continued to laugh as he bled. “Fucking kid shot me, let them go.”

  Sloan couldn’t believe he was actually keeping his promise.

  “Sir!” Mammoth protected, “We can’t just let them go.”

  “A promise is a promise.” The Boss winced as Poison tended to his wound. “Get out of here before I change my mind.”

  Axel scooped up Molly while Archer held open the tin and they fled, no
t stopping until the sun came up.

  ***

  “There’s a shopping center up ahead.” Archer pointed. “We’ll find a place to hide out there.”

  Sloan’s lungs burned but she kept moving. Axel still held a trembling Molly in his arms. How he managed to keep up with Archer while holding her, she would never know.

  Blake and Isaak sweated profusely, exhaustion hunching them over. But not once did they ever complain.

  “In here.” Archer held open the door to a small convenience store. “Hurry.”

  Axel handed Archer the gun so he could do a quick sweep of the place while the others dropped to the floor.

  “I’m going to put you down, baby.” Axel lowered Molly to the floor and brushed the hair from her pale face. “Are you okay?”

  Her blank eyes started off into the distance, and she said nothing.

  “What’s wrong with her?” Axel asked.

  Sloan moved closer to her niece. “She’s in shock. Same thing happened to you when Britney died.”

  Axel dropped to the ground beside them. “Shit. Where the hell did she get that gun?”

  “Mr. Axel.” Isaak hung close to his sister. “I gave it to her.”

  Sloan’s bottom lip quivered, still shaken by the evening’s events. Then it came to her. “In the hotel room. That’s what you were hiding.”

  Isaak dropped his head. “I’m sorry.”

  Axel’s entire body shook as he faced the boy. “Why?”

  To Sloan’s surprise, Axel kept calm.

  Isaak glanced up at his sister who nodded for him to continue. “I was supposed to be the one who was going to hold it. You know, like back up.”

  Archer returned and joined them on the floor.

  Axel’s eyes moved to Liyah. “You knew about this?”

  “No. I swear to you, I didn’t.”

  Axel blinked. “We’ll get back to you in a minute. Where did you get the gun, Isaak?”

  “I stole it from the weapons room.”

  Liyah grabbed his arm. “Have you lost your ever-loving mind? Why would you do that?”

  “Like I said, I thought we might need back up.”

  “You don’t know a damn thing about guns.” Liyah fought back tears. “You could have hurt yourself or someone else. Or gotten caught. Why didn’t you give it to an adult?”

  “And risk it being taken away?” Isaak jumped up. “No way! What if someone caught us? They would have searched the adults for weapons but not the kids.”

  Archer stood and put an arm on Isaak’s shoulder. “Okay, but that doesn’t explain how Molly ended up with it.”

  “Like Liyah said, I don’t know nothing about guns but Molly said she knew how to use it.”

  “How the hell would she know that?” Axel snapped.

  “The prison taught me,” Molly whispered.

  Axel wrapped his arms around her. “Oh, my God, you’re talking again.”

  “Did The Boss die?” She blinked away tears.

  Sloan rubbed her arm. “No, sweetie.”

  Molly sniffled. “I’m sorry.”

  “For what?” Axel cupped her face. “You saved us.”

  Her chin trembled. “I didn’t want to shoot him, but he said we could leave if I did.”

  “You did good, baby.” Axel held her close.

  Archer settled back on the floor and turned to Liyah. “What the hell was that all about, anyways?”

  “Besides him being batshit crazy? My guess would be all the drugs he took earlier in the night played a part.”

  Sloan’s eyes met hers. “You had an intimate relationship with Mammoth?”

  Liyah frowned. “Not my proudest moments, but I figured if anyone could help us escape, it would be him. Kind of a keep your enemies close situation. I didn’t know I talked in my sleep. I’m so sorry. I nearly ruined our plan and got everyone killed in the process.”

  Archer rubbed at his eyes. “We’re out now, that’s all that matters. The real question is, will he come after us?”

  Liyah sighed. “I’m not sure. After he sobers up and word gets around that he let us go, he’s going to be pissed. We should get as far away from here as possible as soon as we can.”

  Axel moved to the window. “This is bad.”

  Sloan’s fear mirrored his own. “Any suggestion on how we get out of town quickly without any sort of transportation?”

  “We’ll have to walk.” Archer rose to his feet. “Which means we should get moving. It’s a long trek to L.A. Plus, we’re going to have to stop for supplies.”

  Blake dropped his head and let out a small cry.

  Sloan rubbed his back. “What’s wrong?”

  “I’m so tired and my legs hurt really bad.” He wiped the tears from his face.

  Sloan turned to Archer. “We’ve been on the move for hours. I’m not sure how much further the kids can go on foot.”

  “Maybe we don’t have to.” Axel tapped on the window. “There’s a bike shop over there.”

  Archer joined him at the window. “But we have no fuel.”

  “Not that kind of bike. Bicycles.”

  Sloan crossed the room. “You think we should ride bicycles through the desert all the way to L.A.?”

  “It can be done,” Liyah chimed in. “We’re from L.A. I had friends that did it once. It’ll be a challenge. Not sure how the kids will fair, but it's worth a shot.”

  “How did you end up in Vegas?” Sloan asked.

  “We were at a family reunion and got stuck. Isaak and I are the only ones who survived.”

  Sloan’s face softened. “I’m sorry.”

  “Thanks.”

  Axel stretched his arms over his head. “I think it's our best shot and sure as hell is better than walking. Unless someone has a better solution?”

  Each of them shook their heads no.

  “All right, then.” Axel rubbed his hands together. “Let’s see if we can find any sort of supplies here and we’ll be on our way. The sooner we get on the road, the better.”

  Sloan agreed. As much as she feared the open road, The Boss’ wrath terrified her even more.

  Chapter twenty-one

  Axel

  “Fuck this shit!” Archer slammed his bicycle on the ground of the gas station in the little town of Jean, Nevada. “Five Goddamn hours to get this far. We’re never going to make it to L.A. on these bikes. No damn way!”

  Molly emerged from the kid’s trailer hooked to Axel’s bike. “Daddy, I have to go potty.”

  “Me, too.” Blake poked his head out from the trailer hooked on Sloan’s bike.

  “We should all go in and at least try to use the restroom,” Sloan suggested. “Perhaps they are supplies in there as well? Water, specifically.”

  Axel prayed there was. They had taken three kid’s trailers with them. One for each Molly and Blake and the third for six cases of water they’d found hidden behind some useless stuff in the storeroom at the bikeshop. They’d already gone through half of one.

  “I don’t think any of you are getting this.” Archer led the way to gas station. “More water or not, we’re not getting through the desert to L.A. on these things. It’s not going to happen.”

  “What do you suggest?” Liyah asked. Isaak hung close to her side, dragging his feet, his exhaustion clear. “We can’t stay here. What if The Boss comes after us?”

  Archer yanked on the door, and it swung open. “Wait here, I’ll clear the place.”

  “Without a gun!” Axel shouted but it was too late, Archer was already inside.

  Sloan shook her head. “He’s extremely angry at the moment. Try not to take it personally.”

  “Has he said anything before this?” Axel asked since she rode near beside him most of the day.

  “Not much, only that we made a huge mistake leaving Las Vegas on bike.” Her eyes dart to the convenience store. “There seems to be quite a bit on the shelves.”

  “Strange.” Liyah cupped her hands against the glass and peered inside. “I’m s
urprised we—the Vegas group—didn’t clean this place out. Here comes Archer.”

  Axel kept his eyes on the parking lot. “We were able to find water before we left.”

  “We got lucky the bike shop had some in their staff room.” Liyah took a step back. “But as far as I know, the majority of the stores have been emptied out.”

  Archer opened the door. “Come on in but let me warn you, it’s hot as hell in here.”

  “What about the bathrooms?” Molly crossed her legs.

  “There’s no running water,” Archer said, “but it’s clean.”

  Sloan offered Molly her hand. “Come on. Blake, you, too. Anyone else?”

  Isaak tagged along, leaving Axel alone with Archer and Liyah.

  “What are we going to do if we don’t ride the bikes?” Liyah asked, beating Axel to the punch.

  Archer wandered down the aisles. “Hell if I know.”

  That wasn’t the answer Axel was looking for. “Do we have much of a choice at this point?”

  “Not going into the desert on bikes is one option.” Archer tossed a bag of chips in the air and caught it. “I know these are stale, but it might be worth the risk.”

  Sloan returned with the kids. “What’s the plan now? Are we going to stay here a while?”

  Axel looked to Archer. “What do you think?”

  A pained expression pinched his face. “I just don’t know. Part of me wants to get as far away from Vegas as possible, but the other half of me…well, that part thinks we’re not going to make it on the bikes.”

  “Then what do—” The door groaned, and all fell silent. “What was—”

  Smoked filled the room in a matter of seconds. The last thing Axel remembered was his face hitting the floor.

  ***

  Pain pulsated in Axel’s head. He groaned and forced open his eyes. Wherever they were, it was dark, which he was thankful for. No way his eyes could handle any sort of light at the moment.

  “Everyone okay?” Archer mumbled, voice horse. “Slash?”

  “Here,” she croaked.

  “Yeah,” Axel managed, his eyes coming into focus. “Molly, Blake?”

  Molly crawled toward him, followed by Blake, both on the verge of tears.

  “Liyah, Isaak?” Archer called out.