Escaping Madness: Age Of Madness - A Kurtherian Gambit Series (Live Free Or Die Book 3)

by Hayley Lawson

  It was a Mad.

  The branches parted and the Mad zeroed in on Ryder, taking her by surprise. There was no room for her to use her bow, but she could use an arrow. Ryder stood her ground and waited until the Mad was almost upon her. The Mad was so close that Ryder could smell death on her breath, and there was a chunk of flesh missing from her cheek that had been bitten away.

  Ryder leaned forward, and the Mad’s greedy red-glowing eyes widened in anticipation of an easy meal. Ryder took her chance and slammed the arrow point-first into the Mad’s ear. The arrow met a little resistance at first, but Ryder pushed through with a few twists.

  Ryder grabbed the knife from her belt and sliced the Mad’s throat. She wanted to make sure this Mad was dead. She had no remorse for the killing. This Mad may have been a woman once, but whatever part had made her human had been destroyed when the Madness had taken over. They were no longer people. They weren’t even animals. Even the supposed monsters were no frightening thing, compared to the hungry husks of humanity that now roamed the Earth.

  Ryder jerked her arrow free with a sickening pop and blood sprayed from the Mad’s ear. Ryder leaped away from the spray as the Mad fell, but it was too late. Freshly clean Ryder was covered in blood splatter once again. At least she had another reason to have a shower, which wasn’t such a bad thing.

  Ryder watched the woman fall to the ground and wondered how many more of them were out there. Ryder knew the Madness spread by people biting one another after what she’d seen in the Old Dog, but why were people turning Mad? When she’d asked Massimo earlier in the day, he’d thought it was a disease.

  She thought back to the Old Dog and the craziness that happened and how it had spread. When one person bit another, they turned and bit someone else, and so on. Ryder thought hard, replaying everything she’d seen in the bar that night. Some things she didn’t want to remember, like how many people they’d killed.

  The person that had started the killing had seemed normal, well a little drunk, maybe, but they’d had no wounds that she’d seen.

  Then there were the people in the mountain settlement where Carter was from. He said they had just started going Mad. Maybe getting a bite isn’t the only way to turn Mad? That scared Ryder. How were they supposed to fight something they couldn’t see?

  Her thoughts were broken by the sound of heavy boots approaching. Ryder gripped her arrow, ready to fight again. She relaxed when she saw that it was Massimo and Fluffy.

  Massimo grimaced at the bloody corpse of the Mad by Ryder’s feet. “I’m so sorry,” he apologized. “The alcohol has affected our senses, I’m afraid. Otherwise, we would have heard and come to your aid sooner.”

  Ryder waved him off. Shit, even that hurt. Getting out of bed tomorrow was going to be a bitch. “It’s all good. I took care of it.” She winked, not wanting Massimo to feel down after the day they’d had. “We need to guard this place against these things. This is the second time they’ve come by the house. We can take turns.”

  Massimo nodded. “That’s a good idea.” He looked like he was ready to fall asleep. “We’ll get some of the others on the first rotation.” Massimo paused for a moment. “You really do have good ideas, Ryder. Has anyone told you that?”

  Ryder grinned at Massimo. “You did, one second ago.”

  Massimo looked a little confused. “I did? Did I?” he asked in an uncertain tone. Massimo glanced down at his glass. He’d brought his drink to the fight with him.

  “Were you planning on getting the Mad drunk?” she teased.

  Massimo had a boyish grin on his face. “I think I may have celebrated too much.”

  “Massimo, do you think the disease is spreading another way?” She quickly filled him in about what she’d seen at both the Old Dog and the mountain settlement. “I think there are two ways of getting the disease. One is to be bitten, we know that. The other… I don’t know.” Ryder reached up and grasped at the air. “Could it be in the air?”

  Massimo sobered instantly. “I had considered that it could be something inside us. The person you described in the Old Dog had been acting oddly for the last few weeks. I thought he’d just been eating magic mushrooms. Come to think of it, that’s what Graham had said Andrew’s behavior was like. Maybe that could be one of the signs before they changed, then something must have happened in the last few days or weeks to turn the disease on inside of them like a switch had been flicked. Or, as you said, something in the air.”

  Ryder gulped. “If it’s in the air, we’re fucked.”

  Massimo nodded in agreement. “I wish we had the technology from before the WWDE. We’d be able to search the internet to find out how much of the world is affected.”

  “The internet?” Ryder had heard Massimo mention that word a few times now, but she had no clue what it meant.

  Massimo’s eyes were misty with recollection. “Oh, how I miss the internet. The internet was a wonderful thing. It had all the world’s information on it. You could use it to shop, or even stay in touch with every one of your friends, wherever they were in the world. Or like most people liked to do, spy on their ex’s lives on Facebook.”

  Ryder was lost. Massimo may as well have been speaking another language with all the sense he was making.

  Massimo rested his hand on Ryder’s shoulder. “Let’s get you inside, and get the guys on guard. You must be starving, and there isn’t an ounce of fat on you for a reserve. You’re just like a supermodel.”

  Supermodel? Ryder didn’t feel super at all as they walked back to the house, Fluffy walked beside Ryder with a little wobble, like he was going to fall to sleep very soon. Ryder hoped she could soon sleep as well. She was exhausted.

  Massimo took Ryder’s arm to stop her and placed a finger to his lips, and Ryder heard the sound of feet running toward them. They quickly spun to see a group of Mad running at them. Ryder put an arrow to her bow and shouted to the others that there were Mad, but Ryder wasn’t sure they’d be able to hear her over the music.

  Ryder wasted no time and let the arrows fly into the oncoming Mad. Massimo bared his fangs and ran at the Mad, with Fluffy right beside him.

  Fluffy flew through the air and sunk his teeth into a Mad’s clothes, which were ripped to shreds as though the Mad had already been in a lot of fights. Ryder knew where they were going, but she wondered where they had come from.

  Ryder heard the door behind her swing open and turned to see who’d come to help them. It was all of the Merry Men, and with their new weapons, they were more than ready for a fight.

  “Time to test these babies out,” Carter yelled, swinging his axes as he ran toward the Mad. The rest of the Merry Men joined Carter with a whoop.

  Tightwad swung his swords at a Mad. He chopped off one of the Mad’s ears, and it fell to the ground. The Mad went for him, but before he could swing his swords again, Vicky cracked the Mad over the head with her shovel. The Mad stumbled sideways and Tightwad finished him off with another swing, only this time he didn’t miss, and the Mad’s head rolled.

  Koda spun his wooden spear around and clipped a Mad in the head with the butt. Koda wielded that spear as an awesome weapon, even without the blades.

  Graham was annoyed that Koda hadn’t used the improvements to the spear. “Koda, press the button,” the blacksmith shouted. Koda looked at Graham, confused. “The button.” Graham pointed to the spear as he stabbed a Mad with his free hand.

  Koda fiddled with the spear, then the blade flipped out of the butt and Koda’s face lit up. “Thank you, Graham.” Koda grinned and used the blade to jab the Mad he was fighting in the eye. The Mad collapsed with blood spurting from its eye socket. “Nice!” Koda enthused.

  “Take this, motherfuckers!” Clint yelled around his cigarette as he attacked the Mad with his knives. He slashed them across the stomach and their guts spilled out, but that didn’t stop the Mad. They continued to snap at Clint until he sliced their throats when they were close enough.

  The Merry Men fought well
together, and soon there was a bloody mess of limbs and guts on the ground. The smell of death hung in the air.

  “I’m starving,” Carter announced, and a few of the others agreed. The bloodbath hadn’t put them off food; if anything, the exertion had only made them hungrier. Everyone knew they’d need to keep their strength up if they were going to win their battle against the Mad.

  4

  Afana had reached Level One at the top of the bunker. His anger was racing through his body like it had never done before. He was a raging bull, and the advisors were his china shop. He grabbed the nearest advisor and lifted him off his feet, then brought him toward his fangs.

  Advisor Robert nervously hurried toward Afana. “Afana,” Robert yelled. “Please don’t! I’ve noted some of the blood was slow to change, so he might be infected.” Afana dropped the man at his feet. If there was a chance the blood was infected, he wasn’t going to take it. The advisor didn’t know what to do until Robert shooed him away.

  Afana stomped over to Robert and scowled. “Level Six have locked themselves in, and now you’re telling me that my stock on Level One is potentially infected?” Afana growled.

  Advisor Robert nodded. “I am.” His voice shook a little and he swallowed, knowing the penalty for showing weakness.

  Afana’s eyes glowed in response to the fire inside him and his veins began to bulge. “All of these computers and not one of you can open the doors!” Afana’s voice echoed through Level One.

  Advisor Jones spoke quietly. “We could try restarting the system. That should reset the codes, which would force Level Six open…along with all the other levels.”

  “Do it,” Afana ordered. “But if you’re wrong I will drain you.”

  Advisor Robert had to give Afana a word of caution, “Afana, if all the doors open, the infected could spread the disease to the other levels.”

  “It’s a risk I’m willing to take. I can fend off the cattle.” Afana looked almost fondly at Advisor Jones, making him gulp.

  Advisor Robert’s eyes bulged, and he shook his head at Afana. Afana knew that meant that the disease had shown up in Advisor Jones’ blood already. Even if this works he will be dead, Afana thought.

  Advisor Jones hands were shaking as he placed them over the keyboard and began to type. A short while later he finally stopped typing, his work done. Everyone looked down through the glass floor toward the doors, but it was hard to see them through all the blood.

  Afana could see that the panel next to the door had zeros on it. It had gone back to the manufacturers setting. It worked. Shame he’s going to die anyway, Afana thought.

  Advisor Jones turned to Afana and actually smiled. He thought he’d done a good job, dumb cattle. Afana picked up Advisor Jones and threw him down his drop hole. His body tumbled through the floors and crashed down on the locked door of Level Six.

  “Who else is infected?” Afana asked Robert, who reeled off two names. Each man went whiter than his lab coat. Afana wasted no time in taking out the trash, just picked each of them up and threw them down his exit.

  Now it was time to get the motherfucker on Level Six!

  Excitement flooded Afana. All the doors were open, and he could get to Level Six. Afana knew that he’d have to go to each door and input the new codes to lock the doors manually since he didn’t trust anyone else to do it. That was just fine since he planned to kill Terrier and anyone else who had been helping him and feast on their blood. Afana paused that thought. He’d feast on the blood once it was given the all-clear.

  This got Afana thinking. If the advisors’ blood had changed too slowly to show signs of the disease, could the same thing happen to him? Would he become infected? He’d been surrounded by the infected when fighting them. He looked down at his clothes. His black shirt was ripped and had blood all over it, and his hands were redder than they were white.

  He was covered in infected blood.

  Afana’s elation quickly sank away, drowned by the horror of being infected. Revenge would have to wait. Afana left the lab, not for Level Six, but for his quarters on Level One.

  He could feel the advisors’ eyes on his back as he left. He knew that if he turned around, they would be looking, but he didn’t give a shit what they thought. He was going to get this bloody mess cleaned off.

  Terrier was confused. First George had told them they were locked in on Level Six and that Afana couldn’t open the doors from Level One, then he’d told them that Afana could override the doors.

  Terrier wanted to shake the right answer out of the advisor. “What are you talking about, George? I thought that we were locked in here.”

  George looked at Terrier blankly. “We are.”

  Everyone looked at George, confused.

  General Murray was beside Advisor George. “Which is it?” he pressed.

  George looked even more confused than everyone else. “What are you talking about?”

  “Can Afana open Level Six’s door from Level One?” Mama Lou asked Advisor George.

  George spoke extra slowly and clearly as though they were all complete dumbasses. “No. I locked us in, and he can’t override the door from Level One.”

  Terrier frowned at George. “I just asked you that question and you said yes. Which is it?”

  “What?” Advisor George frowned at them and shook his head. Terrier really wanted to give George a good shake.

  Mama Lou waved her hands to calm everyone down. “Terrier, I think you didn’t ask the question correctly.” Mama Lou repeated the question in a soft tone.

  Advisor George squeezed his eyes together, “I said no already! He can’t get in. We’re locked in here!”

  Terrier and the others were confused. “How could you make a mistake like that?” Terrier asked.

  “I did all right.”

  Level Six fell quiet for a moment. The people were relieved that they were safe from Afana’s rage. Only Terrier knew that they were playing a waiting game now. Their hopes were pinned on Ryder to get to them before the disease broke out down on Level Six, whether they knew it or not.

  Terrier was worried that Ryder might not make it back in time. He cursed himself for not going with her. She could have been killed or captured out there. However, leaving the women and children without his protection was not an option. Terrier might not be the sharpest knife in the melee, but he was as loyal as a summer day was long. If Ryder didn’t make it back, he would just have to rescue everyone all by himself.

  He needed to think of a way to get out of the bunker.

  Bodies crashed down onto the ceiling of Level Six, startling the people below. Afana was throwing his advisors from Level One. Their skulls broke on impact, and the drop door was painted with brain matter.

  Advisor George screamed, “Why did you have to force me to stay down here? You traitor! I could have helped solve the problem if you’d only let me do my job on the other levels. It’s your fault Afana is killing good men.”

  General Murray rolled his eyes. “Why don’t you scream a little louder? That way Afana can hear you.”

  “There’s no point,” Advisor George muttered sullenly.

  “Why, because he doesn’t care?” General Murray shot back.

  Advisor George shook his head in defiance. “Because he can’t hear me. When I shut the cameras off I had to also take out the speakers, since they are all linked together.”

  Now General Murray was confused. “Why would anyone link them together?” he asked. “That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.”

  Advisor George glared at Murray. “Because that’s how the system works.”

  General Murray grinned. “It doesn’t sound too smart to me. I thought advisors were smart. Just my luck to be stuck with one of the dumb ones.”

  Advisor George took offense to that. “I’m not dumb!”

  “Really?” General Murray raised his eyebrow.

  The two went back and forth like little kids.

  “Stop bickering,” Natalie chided from
the doorway to the kids’ room. “You’re supposed to be an example to the kids, and you’re acting like kids yourselves.” She waved her finger at them sternly.

  “Oh, you two just got schooled.” Terrier laughed as he walked over to Natalie.

  General Murray was annoyed, not at Natalie but at himself. He’d so quickly gone back to his old ways of being a monumental asshole. Murray blushed, embarrassed by his actions. “Sorry, Natalie.”

  Natalie and the others looked at him in surprise, and he shrugged and smiled back. Natalie started to talk with Terrier. They looked happy.

  General Murray remembered when his son Martin was born. He could remember it like it was yesterday even though it had been twenty-two years ago. His son had died too young. Murray glared at Advisor George, who didn’t blink as he stared up through the glass floor to Level One.

  General Murray looked away from Advisor George. He couldn’t let his anger control him, not anymore. He went back to thinking about the day Martin was born.

  Annabel was his mother. Murray had loved her, and she’d loved him. She died in childbirth and it broke General Murray’s heart, but he hadn’t allowed it to show since compassion for women was a sign of weakness on Level Six and weakness would get you killed.

  He’d locked away any signs of caring, but Martin’d had a way of unlocking it. His eyes were just like Annabel’s, filled with hope. General Murray could get lost in Annabel’s eyes when they were able to spend time together, and because of his rank he’d been able to spend all of his free time with her. After Martin was born he lived with the other children on Level Six, but those who were from general or advisor rankings moved up to their level once they turned sixteen.

  Martin quickly became Murray’s shadow, always by his side even when he wasn’t meant to have been. More than a dozen times Murray had punished Martin for it, but it hadn’t stopped him. Murray had loved the company of his son, really, but he had to keep him at arm’s length because of Afana. If the vampire realized the strength of their bond, he could and would use it against him. He’d seen it happen many times over his life, and he didn’t want the same to happen to him and his son—which was why General Murray had sent Martin to work down in Level Six.