by Amy Braun
The mousy redhead practically drooled when I mentioned ‘sugar.’ They all looked a little hungry, actually. Even tough guy Josh and his sexy sidekick Maddy. I glanced over their heads and got a better look at the school bus they’d been driving. It looked like the Magic School Bus, if the Magic School Bus had been learning a lesson about the human digestive system during a severe case of food poisoning. Patchy brown stains covered the already rusting yellow metal. The cracked windows were boarded up with chicken wire and strips of sheet metal. The hubcaps looked as reliable as tinfoil, and there was some kind of sludge leaking out from the exhaust pipe. That was probably why they stopped. The Magic School Bus needed a tune-up in the middle of the Apocalypse.
“Looks like ol’ Rusty there needs some love,” I commented. “But you guys are probably too hungry and worn out to do anything tonight, right?”
“We can sleep on the bus,” Josh proclaimed. “We’ve done it before, and we have food.”
“Yeah, but when was the last time you slept in a real bed? Or had semi-decent food? My brother’s a hoarder, and he’s got a deluxe suite. I’m sure he could find something that isn’t growing fungus and find a way to cook an actual meal for you all.”
Almost everyone, even Maddy, was cracking at the mere thought of a good night’s sleep. Josh stood there with his arms crossed and his eyebrows pinched.
“No. We don’t need your help.”
Wow. Talk about a tough customer.
“Josh,” tried the skinny kid. His arms were wrapped around his stomach. Underneath his heavy clothes, I got an idea of how thin he was. “Come on, man. We can’t fix the bus tonight. We should go inside.”
Josh turned his head to the side, as Maddy had done earlier so he could look at the kid, but keep his eyes on me. “I’m not putting our lives in the hands of this guy just because he’s making promises.”
“But Josh, what if this is the place?” That was from the motherly woman.
“It’s not.”
“But maybe they know about it,” Maddy pressed. Josh looked down at her. “Theo’s right about the bus. We can’t go any further tonight.” She leaned closer to whisper in his ear.
I tried to listen in, but something else caught my attention. A low hissing growl in the distance. I turned around and glared at the darkness, daring for the sound to come again.
It did, and this time it was loud enough for the humans to hear. Some of them whimpered and gasped. Maddy took out her Sig and Josh raised his rifle. I picked up my machete and knives, holstering the KA-BARs and gripping the longer blade.
“This way,” I told the humans. I knew I could run and not have to wait for them to catch up with me. I reached the front door to the suites and was about to open it when a hand slammed it shut. I followed the hand to see Josh pinning the door in place.
“Are you serious?” I asked, not sure if he really was.
Josh held the door in place and gave me his fiercest glare yet.
“Do anything to hurt these people, and the only pieces left of you will be what I throw to the Plagued for chum.”
The man did know how to make a threat. “Noted. Now why don’t we get the fuck inside?”
Josh pulled his hand back and turned, sweeping up his rifle like a pro. The Soulless screamed as I yanked open the door. I held it open and ushered the humans inside. Maddy and Josh were the last ones to enter before me. As I swung into the apartment building and closed the door, I saw humanoid shapes darting through the ruined hedges. I didn’t know if the Soulless had seen us, but I was willing to place my bets on their side.
I locked the door and stepped back. The humans breathed heavily and nervously behind me. I heard a few stomachs growl.
Simon was going to kill me.
Chapter 5
“You asshole! I should have left you in the pool to get eaten!”
Simon was righteously pissed. Before we trudged up the stairs, we looked around the service areas for anything heavy to barricade the doors with. I wasn’t sure the cleaning cart and metal shelf combo would block off the doors from the Soulless, but they seemed to hold okay. I didn’t know how many were out there, but they’d pull back when they realized they couldn’t get in.
I hoped.
Simon thought otherwise, of course, and now he wasn’t keen on letting us back into the penthouse.
I stood with my foot in the door, holding it open with one hand while the humans huddled behind me.
“Chill out, Sime. The Soulless will get hungry and fuck off soon. They’re not going to stick around long and you don’t have to give them all your food.”
“That’s not what this is about and you fucking know it, Avery!”
He had me there. After our conversation earlier tonight, he was probably thinking that this pack of humans were the blood that would lead the sharks to dinner. He wasn’t entirely wrong.
“Send them back outside,” Simon ordered. “And you can go with them. I never should have let you in. I was safer on my own.”
He shoved the door hard, planning to smash my foot and break a couple of my fingers. He put in more strength than I expected. But I was still stronger than he was. I dug my fingers into the door and yanked it open. Simon’s hand slipped, and suddenly he wasn’t holding onto anything.
The humans were at my back, so they couldn’t see my eyes darken the way Simon could. I could almost see myself in his eyes, the cold, abysmal darkness that showed how angry I was.
“I’m not the asshole here. Stop being a whiny selfish bitch, and let them in, Simon.”
He stared at me, seeing the power building in my eyes. Simon figured I wouldn’t do anything to reveal my true self in front of the first living humans I’d seen since we broke the world, but with the way I was acting, he didn’t know how close to the edge I was. It might take just one little push to turn me apocalyptic again.
Simon wanted to tell me no. He wanted to shut the door in my face and leave me with the lost at my back and the wolves at his door. He wanted to hate me.
But he just wasn’t strong enough. He sighed and stepped aside.
“Thanks, brother,” I said, stepping into the suite.
“Fuck you,” he muttered.
Ignoring him, I turned and looked at the humans standing anxiously in the hallway. They looked at the interior of the suite, wanting to come in, but afraid that a trap would be sprung the moment they stepped in.
“Relax,” I told them casually. “We’re not gonna eat you. There’s not enough space for the bonfire.”
That made the humans even more nervous. I sighed. I really needed to start thinking before speaking. Simon rolled his eyes at me and stalked off for the kitchen. In addition to being a nervous eater, Simon was also an angry eater.
Just when I started turning and thinking the humans were going to ditch the suite for one of the smaller rooms, Maddy took a few confident steps forward. She stood in the middle of the living room, navy blue eyes taking in everything around her.
“This place looks like Martha Stewart’s nightmare, but it still looks better than the last fifty places I’ve slept.”
I chuckled, unable to take my eyes off her. “Make yourself at home.”
She was more than happy to drop her backpack and fall onto the couch where I’d slept last night. Maddy reclined back and exhaled, closing her eyes and smiling to herself. Once the other humans saw that I wasn’t pouncing on her with a knife and a fork, they started making their way inside. Five of the humans relaxed, glancing around a suite they probably could never afford when their lives were normal. Given its condition, I couldn’t say I blamed them for being disappointed.
Josh was the only one who kept the stick up his ass. He looked at the walls and furniture like they would grow arms and try to swing at him. The only couch he trusted was the one Maddy was sitting on. He sat down beside her, but refused to unwind the way she did.
Back in the dining room, the fridge door was slamming and Simon was muttering angrily to himself. I s
ighed and left the living room.
Simon was going through his stores of food. I hadn’t come in here last night, so I didn’t know how much he had. Sometime in the last six months, he’d found trunks of survival food, dozens of boxed and dried foods, and created mountains of canned products. But I’d expected more. I thought between Simon’s appetite and the amount of food left out there, he would have something resembling Smaug’s treasure vault. As it was, he had enough food to ration himself for another year if he was stingy. Now he was looking for something to feed the seven starving humans I’d brought to his door.
I took a step closer to him. He heard me, but didn’t slow down as he thought about what he wanted to give to the strangers.
“Sorry, man,” I said so the people in the other room wouldn’t hear me.
“No you’re not,” was Simon’s reply. “You never are. Not until it’s too late.”
That stung me worse than I expected, but it was nothing I didn’t deserve. It’s not like it was a lie.
Simon reached into a plastic bag and took out some plastic cutlery. His hand stopped in mid air and then he lowered his hand. His shoulders dropped with his spirit.
“They shouldn’t be here, Avery. I saw the Soulless following you outside. If they know live humans are here, they’re going to find a way in. If they can’t, they’re going to let Ciaran know. And he’ll damn sure find a way into them. You might as well have put the axe to their necks yourself.”
I tightened my arms over my chest. “Leaving them out there for the Plagued wasn’t an option. Neither is pretending they don’t exist. This could be the moment we’ve been waiting for, Simon. They could have been chosen to survive and take part in the Second Coming. That means we have to make sure they live, and the demons don’t. Our jobs aren’t done yet.”
Simon whirled on me, his face pinched with anger, but he was careful not to shout or punch me.
“They only survived because of luck. Ciaran and his lapdogs are just as efficient as we ever were. Maybe even more so because we didn’t know they’d escaped Hell until it was too late. If they really want these humans, they’ll get them. Ciaran’s Soulless have made him stronger. With our powers draining, soon even we aren’t going to be enough to stop him.”
Simon was always smart. He thought things through, planned methodically, and executed his plans without a hitch. Unless I was involved. I had a tendency to fuck up even the simplest plans. Something about being too reckless and never sitting still.
“It’s too late, Simon. They’re here now, and we’re going to protect them. If the jackasses Upstairs aren’t going to bother with the Second Coming, then we’re going to do it for them.”
My brother had nothing to say to that. He knew that once I put my mind on something, nothing short of Heavenly wrath could stop me, and it wasn’t like we were expecting any of that ever again.
He let out an exasperated breath and grabbed an armful off food. He couldn’t carry it all, so he nodded to another pile on the mini fridge. “Get those. Let’s go feed the guests.”
I nodded my thanks and did as he asked. Of course he left me all the heavy cans, but I’d already pissed him off. Even when we argued, I liked Simon. I didn’t want him to be mad at me for longer than he had to be.
It was a little funny when Simon and I walked into the living room with arms full of food. The humans perked up like dogs smelling treats, and the five that had been standing rushed to the coffee table. Maddy and Josh leaned forward eager, practically drooling as we placed the boxes of crackers, cereal, dried fruits and meats, canned vegetables, soups, and juice boxes in front of them. The seven humans stared at the food, eager to dive in but waiting for permission.
Simon swiveled the chair by the desk and sat down. He had his box of Cheerios in hand and was already opening it.
“Go ahead. Dig in.”
His words might as well have been the pistol at the races. The humans lunged and grabbed whatever they could. In three seconds, half the food was off the table. I stood by the desk, watching Maddy take a can of Spaghetti-O’s and a half empty box of crackers. She peeled off the top of the can, but didn’t grab a spoon. Instead, she took a cracker out of the box, scooped up some of the Spaghetti-O’s and ate it like she was having gourmet hors d’oeuvres. Her expression took on the same one it had when she’d first sat on the couch.
Maddy caught me looking at her and frowned. “What? I haven’t had Spaghetti-O’s since I was seven years old.”
I grinned. She was getting more likeable all the time.
Simon nudged my hip with his elbow. “You might as well get something to eat now before it’s all gone. I’m not bringing anything else out tonight.”
Meaning he would protect his stash the same way a dwarf would protect gold. I ambled to the coffee table, took two juice boxes, a can of beef strew and a pack of crackers, then went back to stand by Simon. I gave him one of the juices. He thanked me with a small nod. When I popped the top of the can and grabbed a cracker, I noticed Maddy looking at me with confusion.
“What?” I asked. “You’re doing the same thing.”
She shook her head, honey-colored hair swishing gently against her pretty face. “It only works with tomato sauce. Putting crackers in beef stew makes it too salty.”
I considered the cracker in my hand. I’d never seen a human do this before, not even in my implanted memories. It was weird, so I wanted to try it. I shrugged and ate the cracker plain.
“Guess you’d be the expert.”
Maddy grinned and went back to eating.
We ate in awkward silence for a while. No doubt we all had questions, but which one did we ask first? Once the chaos from the Tribulation died down and my brothers split up, I’d been sure I would never see another living soul again. I thought all the Soulless I crossed paths with were just the poor humans I’d missed during the shit storm. I didn’t even consider that Ciaran and Vance could be running around taking souls the entire time I was moping in Boulder City.
“It’s funny, isn’t it?”
We all looked at Maddy, still using her crackers to spoon out Spaghetti-O’s from their metal can. She was reclining in the corner of the couch, that sweet, playful smirk still on her full lips.
“We come across the first humans we’ve seen in six months, who’ve probably had just as much adventure as we have, and we don’t have anything to say.”
“Good thing we don’t have to meet each other’s parents,” I pointed out.
Maddy’s smile grew when she looked in my eyes. It made my human heart beat faster for some reason.
“Maybe intros are the best way to start,” she offered. “I’m Madeline, but everyone calls me Maddy.” She used a cracker to point at the five humans squeezed onto the sofa across from her. “That’s Jerry,” she indicated the balding man, “Theo,” the skinny black boy, “Laurel,” the mousy redhead, “Ricardo,” the Hispanic heavyweight, “and Gwen,” the motherly woman.
Maddy lightly nudged Josh’s leg with the tip of her boot. He stopped eating the dried fruit and beef jerky to look at her. “This is Josh. He’s the one who found all of us when things were at their worst. He was the only survivor from an attack on his platoon, so he decided to start finding survivors. He saved all our lives.”
Endless gratitude filled Maddy’s big blue eyes. Even though his head was turned away, I could see the edges of a smile on Josh’s lips. I focused on eating the cold, salty, chunky stew. It tasted like shit, but it was better than feeling the bitterness growing in my chest. I think humans would have called it jealousy. Why I felt it was beyond me.
