He guessed they’d probably felt pretty secure in their shelter. Living there since the beginning, generation after generation, it had probably seemed like it would never fall. Of course, Angus had been in enough supposedly safe places over the years to know that was a crock of shit. No matter how good things seemed, no matter how tall you built the walls or how alert you were, eventually, it all came crashing down and everyone died.
Well, everyone but him.
“We should get movin’,” he said, nodding to the door.
Naya climbed to her feet, picking her bag up off the floor. Angus did the same, slinging his arms through the straps of his own bag as he walked. The girl moved, too, and when they reached the table, they worked together to pull it away from the door. It swung open, and light streamed in, bringing with it the sounds of morning. Birds singing, animals scurrying to take cover at the unexpected noise two humans caused, the whisper of the wind as it rustled the trees.
Naya already had her compass in hand when they stepped outside, and she tilted her head to the left. “That way.”
Angus sighed.
He still thought this whole thing was a fool’s errand, but he kept his mouth shut. It wasn’t like he had anywhere else to be, so if this girl wanted to spend weeks or months walking toward something that didn’t exist, he was willing to humor her. Who knew? Maybe they’d get lucky and discover this safe zone really did exist. Along with leprechauns and unicorns and bigfoot.
Naya studied the ruined buildings as they walked, her brown eyes taking the details in like it was all new to her, but Angus kept his gaze straight ahead. Not only was he used to it, he’d had a front row seat to the whole thing, had watched as the world decomposed and fell to ruins. It had happened slowly. A little at a time. Roofs crumbling, whole communities burning to the ground from wildfires or lightning strikes or drought, and natural disasters like tornadoes or earthquakes or hurricanes ripping things to shreds. Even buildings that had been able to survive all that hadn’t been immune to age. Time wore away at them a little at a time until the walls finally gave up their fight and collapsed. Angus had seen it all and was tired of it. Tired of the view, tired of the nothingness. Tired of the fight, if he was being honest.
He pulled his knife from its sheath and twisted it in his hands as he walked, just to give himself something to do. His fingers moved over the wooden hilt—now worn from age and use—as he thought about where the thing had come from. About who it had belonged to. Axl. This knife had once belonged to his brother. It had been a prized possession.
“You do that a lot,” Naya said.
Angus’s head jerked up, and he almost swore. He wasn’t used to traveling with someone yet, and he’d almost forgotten she was beside him.
The girl waved to the knife when he said nothing. “It means something to you?”
Angus grunted and shoved the weapon back in its sheath. “Gave it to my kid brother for his fifteenth birthday. Long time ago.”
“You had a brother?” she asked, lifting her eyebrows the way she did when she wanted to know more.
“Yeah.”
Angus pressed his lips together, thinking back to the night before and how vivid the dream had been, and how clearly he’d been able to remember the day Axl died. It had felt so real, almost as if he was reliving it, and while it had been painful, there had been something sweet about it as well. Something almost beautiful about once again feeling the pain of losing someone you loved more than yourself.
Naya must have taken his silence to mean he wasn’t going to answer, because she went back to studying their surroundings. This time, she reached up and pulled her necklace free in an absentminded way, twisting it the way she had before. This close, Angus was able to get a better look at it. The chain was long and gold, as was the oval pendant hanging from it. There was a design etched into the smooth surface, but the sun was too bright, and the girl was moving it too quickly for him to make it out.
She glanced his way, caught him looking at the pendant, and as if just realizing she was playing with it, tucked it beneath her shirt.
The building they’d taken shelter in had faded in the distance, and they now found themselves walking through what had at one time been a neighborhood. Only the ruins of a few houses remained, but there were cars everywhere. Rusted and missing windows, some had doors or trunks hanging open, and more than one animal had taken up residence inside the hollowed-out shell of a vehicle. A pair of eyes watched them pass from the shadowy darkness of an old minivan, but it stuck to the shadows, making it impossible for Angus to tell what kind of animal it was.
“Axl,” he said out of nowhere, barely even thinking about it before he did. “That was my brother’s name. He was younger than me, but we was close. Real close.”
Naya had turned her inquisitive brown eyes on him. “He’s been dead for a long time?”
“Yeah,” Angus replied, nodding.
“I’m sorry.”
His head bobbed again to acknowledge the sentiment, but he stayed quiet.
“I had a sister,” the girl told him. “She was a year older than me and only five when she died. She got sick and went fast. No one knew what she had.”
“It’s a hell of a world to bring children into,” he said.
“Yeah,” Naya replied thoughtfully, “but it gave my parents something to live for. You know? They knew it was a risk and it wouldn’t be easy, but they decided it was worth it. I mean, why keep fighting if you’re not going to try to live?”
She had a point, although it was easier said than done these days. It wasn’t like there were a lot of options out there. Usually, no matter how hard you fought, there was nothing you could do to stop from losing everything.
“You ever have kids?” Naya asked.
A jolt went through Angus, and he curled his fingers into a fist. It had been a long time since his temper had gotten the better of him, but he had the sudden urge to punch something. Not the girl—he liked her, oddly enough—but something. A tree or a wall if they could find one. He fought the feeling, letting out a long breath as he worked to rein in his emotions.
He should have expected the question, Naya had a lot of them, but he hadn’t, and he wasn’t prepared to talk about that part of his life. Axl was one thing. It had ripped Angus in two when his brother died, but it had been nothing compared to the agony of losing his girl. They’d had so little time together on this Earth, and a lot of it had been painful and cruel, and he’d wanted more for her. He’d wanted to be able to see her grow and have a family of her own. Wanted to know that she’d been able to heal after all the shit she’d gone through.
“I’m sorry,” Naya said when he didn’t answer. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”
He swallowed down his emotions. “Can’t talk ’bout that just now.”
“I get it.”
He believed her, and not for the first time, he marveled at how old she seemed.
They walked a little farther in silence before she said, “You think this is a waste of time, don’t you?”
Angus watched her out of the corner of his eye while he decided what to say. Strange as it was, considering the asshole he’d once been, he didn’t want to destroy this girl’s hope—even if he thought it was far-fetched. Without it, she might give up. He’d seen it before. Winston had been with them in the beginning, since right around the time the dead came back, and he’d been a hell of a fighter for a long time. Then his daughter died—the only family he’d had left—and he’d swallowed a handful of pills. Angus had seen the defeat in the other man’s eyes every day leading up to his death, and he hadn’t been too surprised when it happened, but it had still hurt to know someone so strong could reach a point where the fight didn’t seem worth it anymore.
He didn’t want that for Naya, but he also wasn’t a liar.
“Not sure,” he said, continuing to watch her as they walked. “I been all over the place the last few years, and I ain’t seen a single thing that made me believe
there were still people out there. I ain’t a fool, though, and I know people can be mighty good at hidin’ if they don’t wanna get found.”
“I’m not dumb,” she said. “I know it’s a longshot, but I have to try.”
He finally turned so he was looking at her completely. “You’re a fighter.”
“Have to be,” she said with a little shrug. “It’s how I was raised.”
“I can appreciate that,” Angus replied, earning him a smile from the girl.
The sound of rushing water interrupted their conversation, and Angus froze. He looked around, trying to determine which direction it was coming from, but Naya didn’t even pause before veering off to the right, heading for a thick grouping of trees.
“Where you goin’?” he called after her.
“It’s this way.”
She moved faster, pushing through branches and past bushes as she moved into the thick foliage lining the old road they’d been traveling on. When she disappeared from sight, engulfed by the forest, Angus swore and rushed after her. He didn’t even register that he’d reached for his knife until it was in his hand. His fingers flexed on the hilt as he made his own trail through the vegetation, and even after Naya came into view, he didn’t relax. He liked to stick to the roads when he was traveling, because even though they were all overgrown, the plants weren’t as thick as they were in the forest, meaning there were fewer places for predators to hide. They were in bear territory, but there were plenty of other animals to fear as well. He’d come across wild cats that had formerly lived in zoos, things like lions and tigers, and one day had even spotted a primate that he could have sworn was a baboon. Once, he’d had to fight off some kind of wild dog, but he hadn’t been sure if it was a feral version of the formerly domesticated canine, or something that had come from a zoo. This world belonged to the animals now, and they weren’t afraid of a lone man—or a man and a fourteen-year-old girl.
“Naya,” he hissed, his gaze darting around as his pulse sped up. “Hold on. You don’t wanna go running off on your own.”
“We need water,” she called over her shoulder.
He swore in response and moved faster.
Branches scratched at his face and neck, stinging and nicking his skin, and leaves tickled his face, but he didn’t bother trying to push them out of his way. He just barreled forward, his focus intent on the girl and the surrounding trees.
The rush of water grew louder, and then they broke through a set of trees and it was in front of them. The sun reflected off the surface, shimmering until it was nearly blinding. It was smaller than the river they’d found yesterday—really more of a stream—and easy to access. The water was clearer than what they’d gotten from the river as well, giving Angus a glimpse of the rocks lining the bottom, as well as the little fish that swam for cover when Naya knelt beside the stream. She dipped her hands in, smiled, and scooped up some of the cool liquid. When she lifted it to her mouth, Angus reached out to stop her, but she thankfully didn’t drink it. Instead, she splashed it on her face, using the first handful to clean her skin before going for a second one. The day was cool, and the water was probably barely above freezing, but she was smiling when she turned to look at him.
“Come on. Get cleaned up.”
He moved closer but didn’t sit, too busy looking around. They’d need to start a fire, and he could maybe do some hunting while the water boiled. There was a small area beside the stream that was flat enough for the task, but he didn’t like how thick the foliage was. It could conceal too many things.
He looked back at Naya to find she’d removed her bookbag and jacket and was now using the water to wash the dirt from her arms. When she lifted her shirt, acting like she was going to take it off, he looked away.
“I’m gonna gather some wood so’s I can start a fire. Watch your back.”
“Angus,” she called, stopping him after only one step.
He didn’t look her way. “Yeah?”
“I don’t mean to be rude, but you could use some freshening up.”
He found himself glancing her way before he could think better of it and was relieved to discover she was wearing a black tank top. The pendant he’d caught her playing with earlier lay against the dark fabric, the sun glinting off it as she moved.
“I stink?”
“Kind of.” She smiled and shrugged. “Sorry.”
He snorted out a laugh. “Been a bit since I had to worry about anyone else smellin’ me. Hadn’t thought much of it.”
“I mean, I’ll stay with you either way, but it would sure make things more pleasant.”
He chuckled this time. A full-bellied laugh that shook his body and bounced off the trees, coming back to tease him. It was a good sound. Comforting. Something he’d thought had gone extinct.
“I’ll see what I can do once I get the fire goin’.”
Naya’s smile widened. “Good.”
He was still grinning when he turned his back on her and pushed his way through the trees.
Dead leaves and unseen branches crunched under his boots, while above him the trees rustled in the wind, their branches clicking together in the process. He’d only taken a few steps when he froze, the smile melting from his lips. Other than the breeze blowing through the trees, the forest was silent. No singing birds, no scampering of smaller animals, no sounds at all. It was like this every night when the sun was setting, because the animals had long ago learned to hide before the creatures came out, but during the day it was loud. Active. Even animals that used to be mostly nocturnal had adjusted to this new world and now came out during the day. This was wrong.
Angus turned in a circle, his knife up and ready as he listened. His heart had begun to beat faster, and sweat had collected on his palms. He didn’t know what to do. Head back to Naya, or wait and see if he could figure out what was wrong? He’d told the girl to watch her back, so hopefully she was paying attention, but she was young and small, and he didn’t know if she could defend herself. He’d never thought to ask.
It was on his lips to call out to her—he’d only taken a few steps, so she wasn’t far—but he was afraid her response would draw attention her way. It would be better if whatever was stalking them attacked him. He was fast and strong despite his age, and he could heal better than any man should have been able to.
Angus let out a low whistle then strained his ears, waiting. Something crunched to his right a second later, and he turned. Still, there was nothing but greenery.
He whistled again, this time taking a step. Again, a noise followed, but like before, nothing appeared. He took another step, his eyes narrowed on the vegetation in front of him as he did. Through the leaves he could make out movement, but the trees above him were thick, and their branches blocked out the sun, making it impossible to figure out what he was looking at. One more step forward, his boot barely making a sound when he put it down. He was closer now, could see brown fur, but still the thing didn’t make a move. Carefully, slowly, Angus reached out and pushed the leaves aside so he could get a better look, all the while bracing himself for an attack. What he saw made him freeze.
A wild cat of some kind with shaggy brown fur, not too big but not small. Despite its size, though, it was obviously lethal, because it was currently using its teeth and claws to rip apart one of the creatures. A very, very dead one.
For a moment, Angus stayed frozen, watching. He’d killed too many of these things to count and had seen others dead before, but he’d never come across an animal eating one. Had never thought something so small could take out one of these deadly things. It had, though, and from the look of both of them, it had been an epic battle. The creature was covered in slashes from the cat’s claws, its pale, leathery skin ripped open in more places than Angus could count. The cat, too, had several bloody spots on its body, but overall seemed to have fared pretty well. And it had been rewarded for its effort, because the cat was so clearly enjoying its feast that it didn’t seem to notice Angus’s presence
at all, giving him the perfect opportunity to do a little hunting.
While part of him hated the idea of killing the animal when it had accomplished such a big feat, it was necessary. They needed to eat. Naya, especially. With the cat distracted, the process should have been relatively easy—and mean very little risk on his part.
After pausing for only a few seconds to think it through, Angus braced himself, taking a deep breath, and made his move. His knife was up when he charged through the trees, catching the animal off guard. Unfortunately for him, the cat was faster than he’d anticipated, and it had just enough time to lash out before his blade slammed into its back. The animal’s claws slashed across Angus’s arm, cutting through his jacket and shirt, slicing into his skin and drawing a hiss of pain from his lips. Too bad for the animal, his blade was already in its back, and all Angus had to do was give it a twist.
The cat went down, letting out a wounded growl, and Angus pulled his knife free. He was bleeding pretty badly, and his arm throbbed in pain, but he ignored it for the moment, too focused on finishing his task. He brought his knife down a second time, slicing through the cat’s abdomen and into its heart, and a second later the animal went still.
Angus pulled his knife free and wiped the blade on the cat’s fur before putting it away, then he turned his attention to his injured arm. His shirt and jacket were shredded and saturated with blood, which dripped from his arm and pinged against the forest floor. He didn’t need to look too closely to know the wound was deep, but he pulled his sleeve up anyway. Three cuts ran across his forearm, shimmering with blood, but he would heal. In another time he would have needed stitches, but not anymore. Lucky for him, since getting them would have been impossible anyway.
“Bastard,” Angus muttered, then winced when he reached for the animal’s carcass.
Pain throbbed through his arm when he lifted the body, and by the time he’d slung the cat over his shoulder, blood had pooled on the smattering of leaves covering the forest floor. Angus walked back the way he’d come, following his path with very little need to focus on what he was doing. With each step, the rush of water grew louder, but he paused when he drew close.
Broken World | Novel | Angus Page 9
