Fate's Surrender (Eternal Sorrows Book 3)

by Sarra Cannon

  Once again, Karmen had surprised her.

  Each knife had its own leather sheath that could be attached to a belt, so the guys strapped theirs on. Neither of the girls were wearing belts, though, so they tucked them into the back of their jeans.

  Parrish grabbed her backpack, double-checked she had everything in there she needed, and hoisted it onto her back.

  After all this time, hoping she could come to New York and save her sister, the moment had finally come.

  And she was scared to death.

  They weren’t ready for this. Who could ever be ready for something like this?

  But ready or not, they were going in. Fate would have to determine the rest.

  She took a deep breath, trying her best to calm her heart and her nerves for whatever cruel ideas fate had in store.

  “Alright,” she said, finally, taking a deep breath and lifting her sword. “Let’s go get my sister.”

  Part Three

  The City

  Thirty-Four

  Zoe

  Zoe leaned out the window, looking for any sign of David. He didn’t seem to be on the ground, which was a relief. She’d just about convinced herself that he’d fallen and was dead out on the streets.

  Instead, she looked up, squinting at the bright sunlight.

  There was someone up there, but she couldn't quite tell from this distance who it was. And she didn’t have time to think about it.

  Within seconds, a terrible roar sounded in the streets, like a chorus of groans.

  The sound startled her, and she turned her attention downward again, backing up slightly so she could hide behind the curtain.

  At first, she thought maybe a large horde had been pushed their way by chance, but it only took a few seconds to realize this was no coincidence.

  These rotters didn’t just happen to be passing by. They were coming from every possible direction in swarms, practically falling all over themselves to get into her building. They ran up the steps and tore their way into the building, pouring in like a rushing river.

  Something deep inside her reacted to the sight. Like this was the beginning of the end. For all of them.

  Zoe stumbled backward, letting the curtain fall back into place.

  What have I done?

  Her entire body trembled, and she turned in a circle, looking around for anything she could use as a weapon. If they were coming for her, it would only be a minute before that huge swarm got to her door.

  And if they’d managed to break down the secure front door of a New York apartment building, how fast would they tear through the door in front of her now?

  She fell to her knees, tears stinging her eyes.

  There was no weapon that could save her now. There were too many of them.

  David had warned her not to show her face, and she’d done it anyway. What was wrong with her? What had she been thinking, risking everything like that?

  Parrish would be so angry.

  But it was only for a second. She didn’t think anyone would see her.

  She kept her eyes on the door, just waiting for those things to crash through, the way she’d waited for her father to finally push through the suite door and tear into her. Her breath hitched in her chest.

  This was it. She was going to die.

  A thud sounded behind her, and she sprang to her feet, arms up to defend herself. Were they coming from all directions now?

  Only, this was a familiar face.

  David rolled across the floor, stopped, and grabbed a backpack on the floor next to the couch. He touched her arm.

  We have to go. No time.

  She nodded once and turned toward the bedroom. Her bag and violin were both in there, along with her shoes.

  David gripped her arm tighter and shook his head.

  Time stood still then, as she realized what he was saying. There was no time to get her violin. She would have to leave it behind.

  “I can’t,” she said. “You don’t understand.”

  That instrument was a part of her. It was the only thing that had kept her alive throughout this whole thing. Without it, she would have gone insane, and leaving it here felt like leaving herself behind.

  Like losing herself.

  A memory tugged at her, deep inside. Something about the hotel and her violin, but she pushed it away. She didn’t have time to think about that now.

  David was right. Her hesitation was costing them too much.

  She could hear the rotters climbing the stairs now. It was almost like a low hum at first, then a tapping. But now, it was a pounding. They were just outside the door.

  David closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He drew one hand back toward the window, and a strong breeze flew in toward them, ripping the curtain off the wall. He seemed to gather the wind in his hand and push it toward the door.

  Rotters slammed against the door, their fingers wrapping around the edges as they tried to push it open with the force of their combined weight.

  I can’t hold them long. We have to move.

  Zoe ran with him to the window and together, they climbed out. It was so high up, and the ground was invisible through the swarm of rotters still pouring into the building. An endless sea of them spread out in every direction.

  We’ll never survive, she thought

  We have to, David said in her mind. Hold on.

  She gripped his hand tightly, and together, they jumped just as the door behind them splintered into pieces and rotters filled the room.

  Zoe could have sworn she felt the scrape of fingertips on her heel as they flew into the air.

  Thirty-Five

  Parrish

  If they’d ever needed a situation that could push them to the limits of their abilities, this was it. Parrish had never seen so many zombies in one location. Even the horde at the compound was small compared to this.

  The group came off the docks and stepped into a war zone.

  “Bring everything you’ve got,” she said, lighting up the area in front of them with a flash of blue that brought down at least fifty of the rotters running toward them.

  They had to step over bodies to keep moving forward.

  Karmen worked fast, doing her job by holding a circle of zombies at bay, letting them act as a shield while the others brought as many down as possible. It was elegant the way she seemed to control them with the motion of her hands, as if she were smoothing out the air in front of her, commanding them to stop and form a circle, arm to arm, around the guardians.

  Still, it took time to get into the rhythm of working together as a group, despite all their practice.

  At first, Karmen was only able to hold about a semicircle worth of zombies at bay. Whenever she turned around to the other side, the first set seemed to release.

  There wasn’t a second to relax as the four of them stood back-to-back in the center, each taking out any zombies that approached them. They weren’t going to move forward at this rate, though. They would just get stuck in an infinite battle here in one spot as more and more rotters pushed toward them.

  “We have to keep inching forward,” Parrish said, so thankful they had these earbuds to communicate. Otherwise, they never would have been able to hear each other over the sound of the rotters. “Use whatever you can think of. We have to move or we’re going to end up overwhelmed out here.”

  “Pulling out the big guns,” Crash said.

  “Do it.”

  They had originally planned to lay off the guns for fear the noise would draw more attention, but at this point, they already had the attention of every rotter for miles. There was no sneaking around in this scenario.

  Crash unleashed a storm of bullets into the crowd around them, and after about a minute or two of inching forward, Parrish noticed the bullets all seemed to have a slight electrical charge to them.

  “You figured it out?” she asked.

  “You like it?” he asked. “It took me a few to get it working, but I think I’ve finally got the
hang of it.”

  To prove his point, he sprayed the crowd in front of them. The bodies of the rotters shook like they’d been hit by a taser and then fell to the ground.

  “Hell yeah,” she said. “Keep it coming.”

  Karmen was getting better, too, expanding her range and essentially stunning large groups of zombies all at once. Killing them was like shooting fish in a barrel. Hope surged through Parrish as she sliced down rotters and climbed over them to the next group.

  They were moving now, and as they approached First Avenue, she called back to Crash.

  “Which way do we want to go? Do you think we just keep heading uptown?”

  “Yeah, let’s head up First and see how it goes,” he said. “We might have to adapt our strategy, so pay attention.”

  First Avenue was teeming with rotters, all pressing in toward them. Parrish knew at any minute they could run into some super zombies, too. It was only a matter of time before Lily or the Dark One sent their pets over this way and the real fight began.

  As they moved, though, each person got better at executing their role in the group, and they fell into a rhythm with it, anticipating each other’s movements as they kept a tight circle.

  Parrish’s muscles burned. They’d already been through so much over the past week between the hospital, the compound, and all their training. Her entire body was sore before they even started.

  But with every swing of her sword, she reminded herself she was taking one step closer to Zoe every time they moved forward even a little bit.

  And then, she heard it.

  Zoe’s voice. Small but strong.

  We’re in trouble, Parrish. It’s all my fault.

  Parrish nearly fell to her knees at the sound in her mind. She faltered in the rhythm, and Noah quickly stepped in with a headshot from one of his two pistols.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  “Zoe,” she said. “Where are you? We’re coming to you.”

  The others stepped around Parrish, giving her space in the center of their group so she could talk to her sister. The fighting never skipped a beat.

  I don’t know. We’re on top of buildings. We’re moving as fast as we can, but they just keep coming.

  “David’s with you?” she asked, already sensing the answer but needing to be sure.

  I’m here, David’s voice now. We’re about to cross over the Third Avenue Bridge. I can sense you.

  “They’re on Third Avenue,” Parrish said. “Crash, what do we do?”

  “Tell them to stay on Third. Keep heading this way. We’ll make our way there. Meet in the middle,” he said.

  Parrish relayed the instructions to David and Zoe, wishing she had some idea of just how far they were from each other. Even though she’d studied the maps, she didn’t have a clear enough concept of the city now that she was here to know what kind of distance they were needing to cross here. Served her right for relying on her phone’s GPS all her life, instead of pulling out a map every now and then.

  Of course, no one had expected life as they knew it to come to a screeching halt, either.

  The Third Avenue Bridge was only a few miles at most. They could do this.

  “Keep moving toward us,” she said. “We’ll be together soon. All you have to do is stay alive.”

  I will keep her alive, David said. Heading your way.

  The words filled Parrish with a surge of hope, and she looked toward the rotters ahead with renewed determination. Goosebumps broke out across her arms, and something new awakened inside.

  She held onto that feeling, pushing deeper into it, and as she lifted her sword and stepped back into place, sparks of red flame joined the blue light emanating from her sword.

  Thirty-Six

  Crash

  “This way,” Crash said, spotting a break in the otherwise endless crowds of rotters.

  They’d been fighting their way to Third Avenue for the past half-hour, and he was exhausted. More importantly, Karmen needed a break. She’d indicated she was losing focus and starting to feel light-headed.

  He wasn’t sure they could push through without her, so he led them into an alleyway between two tall buildings where there were only a handful of rotters lingering. Parrish made quick work of them, and the group crouched down behind a set of trash bins.

  Crash leaned against the brick wall and took several deep breaths. They’d been fighting nonstop, and it felt good to finally get a break, even if it wouldn’t last too long.

  This alley was clear for now, and though they needed to keep moving, he also needed to catch his breath.

  “Thank you,” Karmen said.

  “Are you feeling alright?” Parrish asked.

  “I just need a second. Maybe something to eat.”

  While the others drank some water and searched their bags for snacks, Crash took the opportunity to pull up several cameras and study the area between where they were now and where they needed to go.

  David had said they were just crossing the Third Avenue Bridge. That looked to be about three miles or so away. It seemed like such a short distance, but at the rate they were moving, it was still going to take an hour or more unless David and Zoe were moving a lot faster than they were.

  The city around them was completely trashed. It was so much worse seeing it with your own eyes than any satellite could ever convey.

  Crash could only imagine how terrifying it must have been to be trapped here. Were there still survivors hiding out in their apartments, rationing out whatever food they had left? Or was the city mostly given over to rotters at this point?

  He couldn’t be sure. All he could do was hope their actions would make a difference to whoever had managed to survive this long in the world.

  He pulled up every possible route, trying to navigate them around the larger messes where they might possibly get trapped. New York City was basically a grid, but their trip wasn’t as simple as just cutting over to Third Avenue and heading north. There was too much in the way sometimes to make a straight shot, so they were going to need to move in a kind of zig-zag pattern in some places.

  Even then, the sheer number of zombies on the streets now was staggering. And it was no surprise to see more and more pouring into the area as they moved. They were acting under orders now, and Crash had a feeling that was all thanks to their old pal, Lily.

  But as angry as he was at her, there was something really cool about being close to the fifth after all this time. Like some invisible string of energy was pulling them all toward each other. His instincts kept guiding him in David’s direction.

  He just hoped he could stay connected to that feeling once they were back out on the streets, fighting for their lives.

  Even though Crash was pretty sure they were dangerously close to the day of his vision coming true, there was still a part of him that believed they could make it through this.

  That they could still win.

  He had to believe.

  “We need to keep moving,” Parrish said, handing him a bottle of water and half of a Cliff Bar. “As soon as our barrier falls, they’re going to swarm this place, and we can’t afford to get stuck here.”

  He devoured the bar, chugged some water, and put the iPad back in his bag. He was pretty sure he’d worked out a good route for them to take for now.

  They just had to hope they didn’t run into any of the super zombies.

  “Let’s go,” Parrish said as soon as he gave the go ahead that he was ready.

  Everyone stood and held their weapons steady, preparing to face a huge cluster of rotters once they stepped back out, but instead, the street beyond the alley was empty.

  “I don’t like this,” Karmen said, rubbing her hands over her arms like she was cold.

  “Yeah, why is it so quiet?” Parrish asked.

  Crash didn’t like the looks of this, either. Just seconds ago, there had been a small crowd out here on the street. There should have been more piling in, not less.

 
“Every time this has happened, there’s been a horde waiting for us,” Karmen said.

  “This way,” he said, pointing in the direction of Third Avenue.

  Crash pulled up the surveillance cameras for the surrounding blocks as they jogged forward. There was definitely something strange going on. Every other street in a ten block radius was teeming with Z's. Why was this alley empty?

  ‘“I don’t see anything unusual on the cameras,” he said. “Except that we seem to be in a small pocket of emptiness. It’s weird, right?”

  Everyone looked around with nervous anticipation, as if waiting for the red eyes to appear at any moment.

  “Does anyone see anything strange or out of place?”

  “You mean other than the fact that New York City is a zombie playground and mostly destroyed forever?” Karmen asked. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, looking impatient and nervous.

  “What the hell is that?” Noah asked, pointing straight ahead to the end of the alley.

  Crash didn’t see anything at first except the throng of rotters on the adjacent street, but when he looked closer, at a certain angle, he could see what Noah was talking about.

  About ten yards ahead, a white mist formed on the blacktop. It looked similar to fog, which was impossible on a day like today when it was probably more than ninety degrees out.

  “Should we just go around it?” Parrish asked. “We’re losing time here.”

  “I don’t think we should just be standing around looking at it,” Karmen said. “While we do this, the Dark One is getting her super zombies in play. We’re sitting ducks out here like this.”

  Karmen was right, but if they made the wrong call here, they could be walking into something much worse. He wanted to be sure they were thinking this through.

  “From the looks of it, the mist extends all the way from one side of the street to the other,” he said.

  He toggled through a few nearby video feeds, and he didn’t like what was happening at all.

  “It looks like some kind of pattern,” he said, holding out the iPad for the others to see.