Dex

by Claflin, Stacy

  Dex backed up, shooting arrows faster than ever before. The wanderers dropped one after the other, but it hardly seemed to do any good.

  Thud!

  Something was happening on the other side of the Hummer. He had no time to wonder what. For every monster Dex took down, three more came around the truck and headed straight for him.

  His insides must smell especially good to them. To him, the wanderers' stench was especially disgusting. He had to ignore his watering eyes and heaving stomach to focus on his aim.

  Bang, bang, bang!

  Someone was shooting a gun from inside the vehicle. The creature reaching for him didn’t notice. But the ones on the outer edge did. They turned and headed toward the noise.

  Not that it helped Dex much. There were still at least a dozen reaching for him, wanting to eat his organs.

  One bite, and he would soon turn into the horrible beasts. He might even try to eat someone he cared about.

  A fresh wave of determination burst through him.

  Snarl!

  One of the wanderers on his left reached for him. Dex elbowed it out of the way and used his last three arrows on the nearest monsters.

  A bunch of arms and teeth reached for him.

  Snap!

  Growl!

  Hiss!

  Dex backed up, checking behind him. Only trees.

  Something tripped him. His feet went out from under him. The rest of his body fell toward the ground.

  He landed with a crunching thud, knocking the breath out from him. Unable to get any oxygen, he reached for his gun and shot the nearest monsters at random. They were all coming in too quickly.

  One went down, then another, and another. Still, more came after him, reaching and biting. They were getting faster. Hungrier.

  Dex scrambled back, trying to find his footing and air. He bumped into something behind him.

  Snarl!

  He spun around. A wanderer missing its lower half reached for him, biting and growling.

  Finally catching a breath, Dex surged to his feet and was somehow able to simultaneously jump over the half-creature while ducking away from the others.

  He shot as many as he could. Again, they went down one after another. What he needed was something more efficient. Like grenades.

  It was too bad they’d already used all of those. They hadn’t packed anything more heavy-duty than the guns, but at least they had plenty of ammo from Ian and Bob’s supply run.

  The shots drew the attention of more monsters. For every one that Dex shot, two or three more poured out from either the trees or the other side of the Hummer. All sides of it.

  He was about to be surrounded. The bullets were about to run out.

  “Dex, get outta the way!”

  He glanced around, trying to figure out where the voice came from. A mob of frothing monsters reached for him.

  Dex pulled the trigger, but nothing happened.

  He was out of ammunition. No more bullets. An empty quiver. He dropped the gun and pulled out his seventeen-inch blade. Not that it would do much against so many rabid zombies.

  “Move, Dex!”

  Bob stood on the roof of the Hummer, holding a faded orange gun.

  There was no time to question any of it. He ran toward a good climbing tree. The wanderers behind him snapped and snarled, staying close.

  Dex jumped over one lying on the ground, impaled by a branch. It reached for him, its fingers wrapping around Dex’s boot. He stumbled as he landed, but didn’t fall. He yanked his foot away from the creature and scaled the tree, going as high as he could.

  Hopefully, the monsters after him weren’t climbers.

  Bang!

  A bright green light trailed behind the bullet Bob shot into the mob of wanderers. As it hit, the fading darkness lit up everything bright green.

  Then orange as several of the creatures caught fire. The stupid things didn’t even notice. They continued in Dex’s direction.

  They would set his tree on fire if they reached it.

  Bang!

  Another bright green light, followed by flaming monsters. More wanderers piled in, surrounding the flaming zombies. The fire spread from one to another.

  “Get in the truck!” Bob yelled. “Hurry!”

  Dex glanced down. Three wanderers clawed at the base of the tree.

  “We gotta get out of here,” Bob called. “Now!”

  Chapter 40

  Dex looked back and forth between the wanderers on the ground and Bob on top of the Hummer. Bob waved him over, then disappeared down the other side of the vehicle.

  That left Dex with two options. Stay in the tree and let the others get away safely, or risk his own life with the three down below plus whatever others came after him between the base of the tree and the Hummer.

  “Dex!”

  That was Lucy’s voice.

  He had to fight to stay with her.

  “Coming!” He dug into his pockets and pulled out one of his smaller knives, then held it blade-down over one of the wanderers down below. Once he had it centered over the thing’s head, he let go.

  The knife fell in a straight path and dug into the skull. One down, two to go. Dex found another smaller knife and held it over another mindless creature’s head and let go.

  It stepped back just before the blade could kill it.

  So much for that.

  “Dex!”

  He took a deep breath and slid down, picking up a few slivers along the way. At the bottom, his feet sloshed into the downed wanderer.

  Dex lost his balance as his feet each went out in different directions. He swung his arms around and hit one of the wanderers.

  Snarl!

  The thing turned to him, snapping its yellow teeth.

  Thud!

  Dex crashed onto the ground, a rock digging into his side. Warm blood gushed out of the wound. Just what he needed—one more thing to attract the wanderers to him.

  “Dex!”

  The Hummer’s engine roared to life.

  He scrambled to get up, but his feet were stuck inside the ribcage of the monster. Dex yanked and pulled. Nothing.

  “Dex!”

  He kicked with more force.

  Snap! Crack!

  Bone fragments flew around as his boots came free. Dex jumped to his feet and raced for the vehicle. He slid but didn’t lose his balance as he trailed zombie guts in his wake.

  The other side of the Hummer was relatively free of creatures. He ran around to that side. The back door opened.

  “Come on!” Radley waved him over.

  A wanderer stepped between him and the truck. It reached for him, biting and frothing.

  Dex gripped his seventeen-inch blade and ran straight for the thing. He dodged its hands and dug the knife into its temple. The blade lodged into its skull. Dex yanked, trying to get it back.

  “Dex!”

  He couldn’t leave the knife. It had been his dad’s—it was the only thing of his dad’s that he had.

  Snarl!

  Growl!

  Hiss!

  To the left, more than a dozen creatures rounded the Hummer.

  The wanderer with his dad’s blade crashed to the ground.

  Snap!

  Growl!

  From the right, another mob of monsters came around the vehicle. All of them were headed straight his way.

  Dex stared at the blade’s handle. If he bent down to yank it out, the creatures would pile on top of him and turn him into breakfast.

  He spun around and jumped into the truck.

  “Close the door,” Bob demanded.

  Dex gripped the handle and pulled. His hands were gooey and his fingers slipped. A nail bent the wrong way and ripped halfway off.

  “Hurry!”

  Dex managed to get hold of it and slammed the door shut.

  The Hummer lurched forward.

  Smack!

  Thud!

  Body parts flung into the windshield, cracking and denting it. Dex g
asped for air.

  “I can’t believe you did that!” Lucy reached over Radley and pressed her soft, sweet, and clean lips on his. She pulled away before he had time to react. “What were you thinking?”

  “Why don’t you sit here?” Radley moved, giving Lucy space to sit in the middle.

  She scooted over and clung to Dex. “Why’d you do that?”

  “I couldn’t risk you dying or getting hurt.”

  “You could have died.” Her wide eyes filled with tears.

  He cupped her chin. “Better me than you.”

  She shook her head.

  He pulled her into his arms and turned to Bob. “What the heck kind of gun was that you used?”

  “A flare gun. Ian found a box of them on our last supply run. I brought a couple just in case.”

  “You didn’t think to tell the rest of us?”

  “I wanted to see what they did first.” Bob punched the gas and rammed into two wanderers. Each went flying in opposite directions.

  Dex leaned back and tried to catch his breath. He held Lucy close and thought back to his dad’s blade. The reality was, he’d been lucky to keep it as long as he had.

  That didn’t stop it feeling like a waste leaving it behind. It would either rust to the point of being unusable or someone who didn’t deserve it would happen by and take it, having no clue about its history.

  On the other hand, at least he, Lucy, and the others had all gotten away with their lives. None had even gotten any injuries—other than Dex’s bleeding side and ripped fingernail. Given that he’d lived through the attack of what had to have been over two dozen wanderers, those wounds were nothing.

  His mind drifted until he fell asleep again. In his dreams, more frothing creatures attacked. They all had his dad’s knife sticking out of their ugly heads.

  Bob’s voice eventually broke through his dreams. “Any of this look familiar?”

  Dex forced his eyes open. It took a moment for him to adjust to the bright sunlight. He sat up and looked out the front window.

  He’d recognize that wall anywhere. They’d reached his childhood home.

  Chapter 41

  Dex stared at the wall. Or more specifically, what remained of the once-great wall. Much of it had crumbled to the ground and was now lying in heaps. In some places, only metal beams stood.

  Only a few places were still upright that he could see. There might've been more in other areas.

  Not that it mattered. If any part of the great wall had fallen, the monsters had to have gotten inside.

  He shook, imagining his family and friends seeing the wanderers for the first time. Had they been as surprised that the monsters really existed as Dex had been as an eleven-year-old boy?

  When had the destruction happened? Did anyone still live there? Or had they all ended up like his mom?

  Lucy squeezed his hand. “What do you want to do?”

  He cleared his throat. “I’m going inside.”

  Bob turned back. “Do you want me to drive in? I can probably make it over one of the piles of rubble.”

  Dex’s hand trembled where it held Lucy’s. That rubble had been an immense wall he’d stared at his entire life as a young boy. A structure his grandfather had seen built and probably even helped with the construction.

  “Dex?” Lucy squeezed his hand again.

  “Let’s not disturb anything.” Dex drew in a deep breath and released it slowly. “You guys can stay here if you want, but I need to see it for myself.”

  “Are you kidding?” Bob exclaimed. “I’m going in. The place could be crawling with zombies.”

  Dex shuddered at the thought.

  “I’m going with you.” Lucy stared at him with determination in her eyes.

  Radley turned to him. “So am I.”

  Zianna glanced back. “And me.”

  “Looks like we’re all going,” Bob said. “I’ve got three flare guns.”

  “Give them to the women.” Dex stared at the broken wall, his mind trying to wrap around the idea that all his worst fears were actually true.

  “What about you?” Lucy asked. “No arrows. You lost your best knife.”

  He held her gaze. How had she noticed all that?

  “She’s got a point,” Bob said. “What are you bringing in?”

  “I’ve got a couple small knives left.”

  “That’s not enough. Sword, gun, or flare gun?”

  The guns would be too loud but the sword would be long enough to kill monsters leaving a little distance between him and them. “Sword.”

  “Got some in the back. Let’s grab our weapons and head inside.”

  They climbed out of the truck and went around back. Each person picked their weapons, then they headed toward the wall.

  Dex studied the remnants, trying to figure out which side they were on. It was too hard to tell with so much of the structure brought down. The buildings in view had crumbled.

  Had the community had grenades? The destruction was so much worse than he’d anticipated if the monsters had gotten in.

  Together, the five of them marched into the ruins, stepping carefully over the broken concrete.

  Silence rang through the air. It had never been so quiet there. There had always been some type of noise, whether it be people working in the distance or the wanderers scratching on the walls.

  Dried mud smears decorated the walls of the buildings on either side of them.

  The one on the right had a familiar faded logo on a window.

  Law enforcement.

  It had been where his dad had gone to work each day.

  Dex broke away from the group and charged inside. Layers of thick dust covered everything. The announcement board lay on the ground in pieces. Several desks had toppled over. Broken glass covered everything. Some faint brownish streaks that could have been blood were smeared across the front desk.

  He leaped over debris to the back of the room where his dad’s desk remained upright. Papers, pens, and other desk supplies lay strewn across it. No blood spatter. No major damage. Maybe he’d survived the attack.

  Dex sighed in relief and spun around, but froze in place. Underneath some papers sat a cup. Not just any cup—it had been his dad’s favorite coffee mug. Dex’s breath caught.

  He picked up the mug and dusted it off to reveal the navy-blue image of a magnificent metropolis paradise. The very one that had inspired Dex's dreams of finding a safe city—one that not only still stood but thrived, without the murderous wanderers dictating their every move.

  “What is this place?” Lucy’s voice broke through Dex’s reminiscing.

  He cleared his throat and hid the mug behind his back. “This is where my dad worked.”

  “Did you find anything?”

  Dex shook his head. What did he expect? That his family would have left him a note with an account of everything he’d missed?

  He forced the mug into a pocket, doubtful that he’d be able to take it with him back to the house. With the community ravaged, he certainly wouldn’t be staying there. No matter what they found within the broken-down walls, he and Lucy would return with the others back to the house.

  Fierce disappointment washed over him, but he shoved it aside as he darted around overturned desks and exited the building with Lucy.

  “Do you want to keep looking around?” Radley asked.

  Dex gave a quick, sharp nod yes. He didn’t trust his voice. Not after finding his dad’s mug.

  “Where to?” Bob asked. “Doesn’t look like much survived.”

  “My house is this way.” His voice was gruff and he walked down the familiar road.

  A slight breeze blew some leaves across their path. The silence still rang in his ears. He expected one of the members of the law enforcement to stop them or for Mrs. Heller, the town teacher, to show up and remind him to do his homework.

  Instead, everything was so quiet he could almost feel the years of emptiness.

  Sighing, he stared at lawns with
waist-high grass that had once been perfectly manicured. Homes that had been kept clean were now covered in grime. A small park that had always had kids climbing around only had rusted play equipment and overgrown plants. Weeds long ago choked out flowers—the ones Dex had been scolded for picking as a child.

  His mind wandered, long-forgotten memories playing before his eyes. He’d hardly had time to stop and relax over the years, much less time to reminisce over friends like Arjun and Axel. The three of them had gotten into trouble every chance they could.

  “Dex? Are you okay?”

  He blinked a few times and realized he’d stopped walking.

  His house loomed in front of him. The last time he’d seen it had been the day he’d climbed out the window to go and sneak a look at the monsters.

  Dex hadn't been sure he would ever see it again. Actually, he almost wasn’t sure he was looking at it right then. One upstairs window was broken and only one shutter remained, and it barely clung to the nail holding it in place.

  Lucy grabbed his hand and squeezed. “Do you want to go inside?”

  “Yes.” His feet wouldn’t cooperate.

  Time seemed to stand still.

  He could almost hear the laughter of his younger sister and brothers. Not that they were children any longer. Only in his memories.

  “Okay. Let’s go.”

  “You want to go alone?”

  He shook his head. Together they walked slowly over the cracked walkway and up the creaking, now-crooked wooden stairs.

  Crack!

  Lucy’s foot went through the top step. She cried out, and Dex wrapped his arms around her and pulled her out of the hole.

  She gasped for air. “Thanks.”

  “Sure you want to come with me? I can’t promise the inside will be any better.”

  “If you go, I go.”

  “And if you get hurt again, I’m going to have to insist that you wait outside.”

  She tilted her head. “You think you can make me?”

  The corners of his mouth twitched, threatening a smile despite the emotions raging through him. “My guess is no.”

  Lucy pulled him toward the door. “Come on. I want to see your home.”

  Dex turned the knob. It twisted easily and the door slid open.