Dex

by Claflin, Stacy

  The smoke was growing thicker and making his throat itch. He needed to unattached the ladder before they were forced to jump either into the yard full of wanderers or the living room full of them.

  He silently chewed himself out for trusting people, and for what? A single meal and a bed? It certainly hadn’t been worth all this. He'd take an empty belly and a tree as a place to sleep over the situation he was in any day of the week. And he had dragged Lucy right into the thick of it.

  Dex looked around the attic for anything he could use on the ladder. Luckily the morning light was coming in and he could actually make sense of the mess in front of him.

  At the far end, by the window lay a pile of the sharp poles Zianna had found earlier. There had to be at least fifty of them. Someone had clearly been intent on using them. It was unfortunate for them they never got to use them, but it was most fortunate for Dex.

  He hurried over to the pile, kicking up dust along the way. His nose tickled, the sensation growing stronger. He pinched his nose shut, trying to stop the sneeze.

  It didn’t work. He sneezed, and loudly. He was no better than the others.

  Dex held his breath as he raced across the attic. Dust particles flew through the air, but he wouldn’t sneeze on them again. Not if he could help it.

  He grabbed one of the poles on top and rushed back to the ladder. His eyes watered and his lungs begged for oxygen.

  Once he reached the entrance, he stuck his head down and breathed the dust-free air. It was still slightly smoky, but it was better than the dust.

  Lucy gave him a funny look from below. “What doing?”

  “Trying to loosen this ladder.”

  “Oh.”

  “Has anyone found Laiken yet?”

  She shook her head.

  The stupid fool had to have gotten himself killed. “Keep looking for another way out. I don’t know if I can loosen this in time.”

  “I help?” Lucy asked.

  “No, just see what you can find.”

  “Okay.” She nodded with determination and headed into one of the bedrooms.

  Dex held the pole close to the sharp end and tried fitting it underneath the nails. It wasn’t easy, but he managed to get the very end of the tip jimmied under one.

  He spent the next ten minutes loosening the nail. Sweat dripped down his face and both the dust and the smoke in the air made it hard to breathe.

  Pop!

  Finally, the nail came loose and flew across the attic, bouncing and sending small puffs of dust into the air.

  Dex needed to get three more nails off before they could use the ladder to get down. Meanwhile, the stench of the smoke was growing stronger and the monsters downstairs were making as much, if not more, noise than before.

  While he continued working on the nails, Lucy, Zianna, and Radley ran around down below. They didn’t find any weapons or means of escape—or Laiken, despite all of Zianna’s incessant hollering.

  At long last, the last nail sprang out from the ladder. Dex was so surprised and exhausted that he nearly dropped it.

  Chapter 30

  Dex waved Lucy over. She stood underneath, ready to catch the ladder.

  “It’s heavier than it looks,” he warned.

  “Drop it.”

  “On three. One. Two. Three.” He hesitated just a moment before letting go.

  Lucy caught it just fine. “How you get down?”

  “Good question.” He could just jump, but it’d be easier if he had something to land on. “Can you drag that mattress over? Or maybe the desk behind it?”

  “Yes!” Lucy set the ladder down and pulled over the nearest mattress. “Good enough?”

  “Perfect.” Dex squatted and prepared himself for the leap. At the last second, he changed his mind and slid his legs down, gripping the edge.

  “Wait!” Zianna yelled.

  Dex groaned. Was she even capable of being quiet. “What?”

  “Shove down those poles! There are zombies inside and out.”

  He hefted himself back up, sat, and glared at her. “How are those going to help? Dragging them down the ladder is going to be ridiculous. It’s not attached to anything anymore! We still have to figure out that much.”

  “We can throw them down at the zombies! You think our knives are going to do us any good? We have to kill as many as we can before we get down there.”

  He had to admit she had a point. “I’ll push them down onto the mattress. Are there any dust masks up here?”

  “Nope.”

  “So helpful,” he muttered.

  “Just get those poles.”

  Dex covered his mouth and nose with his arm and made his way over. He scooped up as many as he could—all of four poles. With there being fifty of them, it was going to take forever.

  All three of the women stood below, gathered around the mattress.

  Dex held the poles over the hole. “Watch out. There’s no guarantee how these’ll land.”

  They all backed up and he let go. The poles bounced around but they were so sturdy they didn’t break or even crack. One rolled off the mattress onto the floor.

  Zianna grabbed it and marched over to where the staircase had been.

  “Are we going down that way?” Radley asked. “Seems like there are fewer out in the yard.”

  “Laiken might be down there.”

  Dex didn’t hold out any hope that the other man had survived, but he couldn’t tell Zianna that. He needed to keep their morale up until they all got out safe and sound.

  He cleared his throat. “Laiken can take care of himself. We need to make sure we get out alive. Then we can look for him.” And probably find his corpse.

  Radley and Zianna walked toward the window to compare the number of wanderers. Dex went back to the pile of sharp poles and lugged four more over.

  “There are definitely fewer outside,” Radley said.

  “Then take these and start killing those wanderers.” Dex dropped the poles and went back for four more.

  Each time Dex came over to the hole and dropped more down, the women lugged more over to the window and threw them outside.

  He gasped for air as his muscles and lungs both burned. Hopefully all this effort would be worth it. It would have been easier and faster if Laiken was there to help, but you can’t fix stupid except with death.

  Everything went by in a blur until Dex had moved every last one of those poles. Dust clung to his sweaty body from head to foot.

  Half the poles were piled on top of the mattress.

  Radley came over and picked one up.

  “Can you shove the rest of them onto the floor?” Dex asked.

  She glanced up at him.

  “That’s all of them, and I need to jump down.”

  “Sure.” Radley dropped the one in her arms and pushed on the pile. A few rolled onto the floor, but most of the pile remained. They were too heavy.

  Zianna came over.

  “Help me out here.” Radley grunted, still pushing.

  “Fine, but we’ll have to move a few at a time.” The two of them rolled the poles off three by three. Lucy came over and assisted them.

  Once the mattress was clear, Dex started to lower himself but then stopped. “Do we need anything else from up here?”

  “Did you get all the poles?” Zianna asked.

  “No,” Dex snapped, his tone dripping with sarcasm. “I left half of them up here because I thought they’d be more useful that way.”

  She glowered at him. “Just get down here and help us.”

  Dex lowered himself and then dropped onto the mattress. He stumbled backward, but managed to stay on his feet. Once he’d steadied his footing, he grabbed a pole in each hand and dragged them over to the window, scratching a path in the hardwood floor.

  Down below in the yard, about a dozen wanderers paced back and forth, frothing and hissing at each other, but otherwise ignoring one another. Five were impaled and several poles lay on the ground, having obviously
missed the creatures.

  He held one up and narrowed his eyes, focusing on one monster near the house. It wore half a dress under a ripped sweater, and it scratched its own face, hissing and snapping. Dex aimed the pole at its forehead, and it crashed directly there. The creature fell to the ground. He aimed the other pole at another, killing it.

  Zianna came over with two poles. Dex ran back to the pile. He and the women continued running back and forth, impaling the wanderers with the sharp poles until all the weapons were gone and most of the zombies were down.

  He grabbed the ladder and held it up, trying to figure out the best way to use it. They couldn’t loop it onto the windowsill like emergency ladders. If one person held it while the others went down, that person—probably him—would have no way outside.

  The nails. All but one still remained on the ladder. He just needed something to use as a hammer.

  “What’s going on?” Radley asked.

  “I need something to hammer these nails to the windowsill.”

  She pressed on it. “You think it’ll hold?”

  “You don’t?” He pushed down on it. It wasn’t as sturdy as the attic door, but it should hold their weight as long as they all went down one at a time. “Seems fine to me.”

  “Okay. I know what you can use.” She ran to her room.

  Lucy came over. “Poles all gone?”

  “Yeah. It’s almost time to go down there.”

  She looked outside. “Zombies dead.”

  “Most of them. Are you okay?”

  “I okay. You?”

  Dex took a deep breath. “I will be once we’re on the ground.”

  “Me too.”

  He glanced around. “Where’s Zianna?”

  “Looking for Laiken.”

  “Of course she is.” If she was going to be as foolish as Laiken, Dex wasn’t going to wait around for her with the ladder. He’d make sure Lucy and Radley got down safely, then he’d get himself down. Laiken and Zianna had already worn down his last bit of patience.

  Radley ran out with what looked like a table leg. Part of the wood had splintered off, but it appeared solid. “This should work, don’t you think?”

  “There’s only one way to find out.”

  She handed it to Dex.

  He wrapped his hand around it. It was even sturdier than he’d first thought. “This ought to do the job. Let’s hope the hammering doesn’t bring more wanderers over.”

  Radley sniffed the air. “I think that’s the least of our concerns. The smoke is getting worse. We need to get down before the whole house goes up in flames.”

  Dex spun around and threw the ladder out the window, holding onto the end with the remaining nails. He pressed down with one hand and held the makeshift hammer with the other. “A little help here? This is more than a one-man job.”

  Lucy ran over and held onto the top rung.

  “I’m going to hit the nails, not your hands—even if it looks like it. Whatever you do, don’t let go. Okay? It’s our only way down.”

  “Won’t let go.”

  “I’ll be super careful. I promise.”

  She nodded. “I trust you.”

  His heart warmed. Then he held up the table leg and aimed for the first nail.

  Chapter 31

  The table leg hit the nail in the center. To his amazement, neither it nor the windowsill had cracked or split. It was just as strong as it appeared.

  Dex raised the leg again. The nail had gone in about halfway. With any luck, a few more strikes and soon they’d be climbing down to the ground below.

  Whack!

  The nail had gone in the rest of the way. He breathed a sigh of relief and then aimed for the next one and hit it dead center. Though it was closer to Lucy, she didn’t even flinch.

  “Is it working?” Radley asked.

  Whack!

  “Halfway there.” Dex aimed at the next nail, barely an inch from Lucy’s hand.

  Whack!

  She still didn’t flinch.

  “Did you find Zianna?” he asked her.

  Whack!

  “She’s doing a last run-through, looking for Laiken.”

  “Good luck with that.” He turned to Lucy. “Let’s switch places.”

  They did, and he aimed at the next nail.

  “I don’t think he’s up here, either,” Radley said. “What do you think happened to him?”

  Whack! Whack!

  Dex didn’t want to answer that question. He just aimed for the last nail.

  Whack! Whack!

  Radley frowned. “I don’t think he made it, either.”

  Dex double-checked the ladder. It should hold their weight just fine.

  Zianna ran over, out of breath. “I… can’t… find… him.”

  “Maybe he already got away.” Dex’s tone gave away his true feelings. He turned to Zianna and gestured toward the ladder. “Want to do the honors?”

  “Sure.” She climbed onto the sill, spun around, and lowered herself.

  Dex leaned over and watched as she scaled the ladder and jumped to the ground.

  Two wanderers near the edge of the lawn headed her way. Zianna threw a knife at one, hitting it directly into the temple. She picked up a pole from the ground and glared at the other one.

  Dex turned to Lucy and Radley. “Who’s next?”

  Radley turned to Lucy. “You go.”

  “You sure?”

  “Yeah. Hurry!”

  Dex helped Lucy over the sill. His pulse pounded with nervousness as she clung to his hand and twisted around. Once she found her footing, she squeezed his hand, then made her way down even faster than Zianna had. She pulled out a knife and ran over to fight the monsters with Zianna.

  He wanted to rush down and protect Lucy.

  “That girl is impressive.” Radley turned to him and arched a brow. “You want to go next?”

  “Ladies first.” He motioned for her to go.

  “You hurry down.” She scrunched her face. “The smoke is getting bad.”

  “Go, so I can hurry.” He held out his hand to help her. She took it and made her way down.

  Once she was out of the way, Dex grabbed his bow, climbed on the sill, and hurried down. He breathed a little easier, except for the smoke in the air. It was far worse outside. His eyes watered and his throat grew scratchy.

  He yanked a pole out from a wanderer’s skull and looked over the house, expecting to see flames.

  Nothing.

  The lack of visible fire concerned him more than anything. Where was it? With all the smoke in the air, it had to be close.

  There was no time to worry about that while monsters remained in the yard. He readied the bloody pole in his hands and charged for the nearest zombie.

  He took it down before the thing saw him. Then he pulled the large weapon out and rammed it into one lunging for Lucy.

  The four of them took down five more. Just as he started to catch his breath, another three rounded the corner.

  “Where do they keep coming from?” Radley exclaimed.

  Dex wiped his brow. “I’m starting to think every wanderer from Silverly escaped—and they’re all coming here!”

  Zianna pulled a knife from a monster lying on the ground. “At this point, that wouldn’t surprise me.”

  The four of them charged at the three wanderers. Dex fully expected to see more headed their way.

  They took down the monsters before they knew what hit them.

  Dex’s eyes watered more from the smoke in the air. He coughed.

  “It’s bad, isn’t it?” Radley covered her mouth.

  “What I don’t get is why we can’t see any flames.”

  They headed to the front yard, still not finding the fire. Yet the smoke grew worse.

  “Did we get all the zombies?” Zianna looked around.

  The only wanderers in the front yard were all sprawled on the ground with head wounds.

  “Looks that way.” Dex dropped his pole and rushed arou
nd, yanking as many arrows from the creatures as he could.

  There were still no signs of a fire from the house.

  “What now?” Radley pressed her forehead against a window. “There are zombies still alive in there.”

  Zianna looked inside. “Is Laiken in there?”

  Dex stuffed some more arrows into his nearly-full quiver. “We need to figure out where the fire’s coming from first. No sense in going in there just to get killed. Not when it took so much effort to get outside.”

  Radley stepped back. “There’s no light coming from inside at all. The house doesn’t feel warm.”

  Lucy glanced out toward the woods. “Fire out there?”

  “Could be.” Dex turned that way. “Maybe Silverly?”

  Radley’s eyes widened. “Or a forest fire.”

  Dex’s stomach twisted. “Let’s hope not.” He’d encountered one once, and the flames had almost killed him. And when they hadn’t, wanderers and cannibals nearly did.

  “We should find out.” Radley marched toward the fence.

  “I’m not leaving.” Zianna dug one foot into the dirt. “Not when Laiken is probably somewhere, needing our help.”

  Dex held back an eye roll. “We’re better off sticking together. He took off on his own.”

  Zianna’s brows came together. “He’s probably hurt.”

  “Then he has it coming after running off like he did.” Dex clenched his fists.

  They stared each other down.

  “Guys,” Radley called. “I think I see some flames. Out in the woods.”

  Zianna flared her nostrils at Dex. “What are you going to do?”

  “Figure out how to save those of us who are still here.” He spun around and raced to the fence, jumping over corpse after corpse.

  Bright orange shone from the distance with black smoke intermingled with it.

  Radley turned to him. “Maybe the house isn’t on fire, after all?”

  “At least that would give us a place to stay, assuming it’s not a forest fire. But we’re going to have to take care of the wanderers inside.”

  She held up the pole in her hands. “I’m ready!”

  Lucy came over. “We fight them?”

  Dex hesitated. Should they bother with the wanderers inside the house when they didn’t know for sure whether Silverly or the woods were in flames?