Barely Alive (2 page)

No. Oh, crap. The same door I’d seen when I first arrived.

I froze. The creature in there had been further along in the process than Tom. By at least three months. The bricks and doors were sound proof. We couldn’t hear the noises of agony from inside. Tom wasn’t even completely dead yet. We had to see one that was dead.

Air rushed in and out of my mouth, drying my tongue and throat.

With a flourish, Dominic opened the door, releasing the shrieks.

I shuddered, a sob locked in my tight chest. The other boys had crept around me, trapped by the possibility that Dominic was letting them back upstairs, away from the nightmare. The sounds brought them to a halt. The shortest one, possibly the youngest at about fourteen or fifteen, crushed into my side and a small whimper escaped him.

No way in hell was I going closer. I could see more than enough. The single foot in view had rotted down to bone and sinew. The lower leg and ankle were just in sight. The calf attached to the Achilles’ looked to have been gnawed off and chunks trailed the floor beside the foot.

A scream filled with insanity riddled the hallway, echoing from the small room.

The foot moved.

The boy next to me turned his head and dry heaved. Nothing was harder to throw up than dust.

Chapter 2

The lights of the city rose before us. Bright oranges, yellows, greens, blues, reds, and whites beckoned us to the casinos, stores, hotels, and restaurants. Oh, the restaurants. But all their meat was cooked. Damn it.

My cravings were more controlled than the other boys. I’d had a stronger sense of self-preservation since I’d left home. Eating people didn’t seem the way to get anywhere - fast.

John sat beside me in the front seat of the van. I flicked on my turn signal and rounded onto Flamingo. We’d been told to wait in the parking lot behind the university. The cell phone in my pocket would ring when Dominic was ready to give us further instructions.

I parked the large Econoline van in a spot furthest from the light. The boys sat in silence behind me. All fifteen of us had piled in, too afraid to argue with what we knew we would have to do. Hell, after the show we’d been given earlier, I don’t know that many of us were still consumed by hunger. Not enough to smother our fear, step out of line, and get caught. Hell, we’d kill people before we’d get caught. Okay, I wouldn’t go that far, but I’d be tempted.

“
So, what are we then?” John whispered beside me. Not
to me
necessarily but more a thought he had to vocalize to something in the universe.

That’s
the
question, right? We were stronger, faster, and smarter than the humans. We didn’t need to sleep. And yet, we couldn’t get enough food. And for twelve weeks, all our power was harnessed. We were invincible insomuch as we ate and had somewhere to focus our energies.

Hopefully, I wasn’t wrapping up my fate by repeating what Tom had told me, but I said it anyway. It’d helped keep the insanity at bay for me, maybe it could help John. “We’re soldiers.”

He glanced over his shoulder and back to me.

I didn’t want to be heard either. The conversations behind us had grown in volume. I wasn’t afraid of being eavesdropped on. The majority of the boys dropped words like hamburger, steak, shrimp, and prime rib. A few of them read out loud to the rest what the billboards on the street said.

With a shrug, I lowered my voice to a murmur. “Look, we signed up for this. We were the idiots who didn’t ask for more details. We wanted to rid the world of capitalism, authority, and corruption. He gave us that injection and we’d never asked to read the fine print.” I tapped the steering wheel. “He gave us more details today. Do what we’re told and we won’t be chained up.”

“
Can we make him tell us?” John raised his eyes to mine, desperation shining in spots on his pupils.

Oh, another great question. I’d thought it, of course, many times, and it lingered in the back of my mind like a constant mirage, always there, but never fully realized. I offered a half-frown. “Seriously? If you got him to tell you, what then? I know the answer doesn’t involve us leaving alive, because then the authorities would be there for sure. Don’t you think?”

John gasped. “But I’m too young to die!”

I closed my eyes. “I’m too young to die, too. But look at the alternative. We can’t go back to what we were and we don’t want to continue on in the basement, you know?” I looked at my folded fingers on the bottom curve of the wheel. “I don’t want to go in that basement, John.”

I hated stating the obvious. He just nodded. That’s it. And for some reason that pissed me off more than if he’d argued. He had to be older than me by months if not a year, and I was the one talking sense into him. The whole situation reeked of injustice. And yet, my rational side smacked me on the head. I had chosen this. No one made me. Accepting the consequences of my actions was a hard lesson to swallow, especially with the impossible hand I’d been dealt.

The phone rang, a tinny sound garbled by the weight of my butt smashing it into the seat. For a second I pretended Dominic’s face was the phone and I let it smother for just one more second. John widened his eyes. If I didn’t answer, he’d rip my body apart to get to it.

Tugging it from my pants, I flipped the small piece open, still unused to the grace in my movements. I’d always been physical, but my condition seemed to enhance my abilities. I bet I could throw one helluva football pass.

I ignored the memories of my lost senior year and focused on the job at hand. “Yes, sir.” I snapped my finger over my shoulder for quiet. The boys behind me fell silent.

“
Paul, you’re going to bring me back some girls. I want teenagers, but nothing younger than twelve. They had better not be bitten. I’ll be very disappointed, if they are. Grab about five this time around.” Dominic clicked off.

I lowered the phone. What the hell? There were no girls allowed at the warehouse. Dominic had declared it a hard and fast rule. The porn had to be enough, he’d said. But then even that had stopped when we’d been injected. For the recruits, you got everything. Once you were in, well, you worked. I’d heard rumors of course that Dominic would deliver up a handful of girls for a group based on how well they performed in recruiting. I’d never seen it.

“
Listen up.” They leaned forward as if one entity. I turned to face them, hiding my uncertainty behind my leadership role – which I didn’t want. “Dominic wants five girls. You can’t harm them. Don’t eat them.” A few of the guys rolled their eyes while another gagged. I nodded my head. “Yes, don’t eat them. You’re going to want to. Especially if they’re dressed for the heat. But don’t. Dominic said he’d be very disappointed if they were harmed.” I didn’t need to remind them of the consequences of his displeasure. The images and smells hadn’t been far from anyone’s mind all day.

Killing the van shut down the heater, too. I opened the door, and goose bumps formed from the cooler desert air. I’d had the temperature up extremely high in the van, higher than the ninety-two degrees of the Las Vegas night. The rasp of a zipper called out in the darkness. Some of the guys had opted to wear jackets instead of sweatshirts. We got cold so easy, especially if we hadn’t eaten.

A loud whisper turned into a shout from the other side of the van. “I said give it to me.”

Rounding the bend, I stopped midstride. They fought over a street rat – a rodent – sick.

And yet, part of me wanted to jump in and take the rat for myself and another part worried about noise. I licked my dry lips at the dark red blood speckling the winner’s face. I pointed his way. “He won it. Now shut up.” The loser growled but lowered his eyes. I was the leader and pissing me off meant pissing off Dominic. Not that I would tell.

Gathered into a group, we huddled together, our shoulders touching. I was the oldest in terms of being changed the longest. Everyone else had joined within the last week. The group I’d joined with hadn’t survived long. They’d given in to the hunger and eaten each other while I’d been out back collecting wood for the stove. I’d returned and they’d all been moaning – ripped out throats or not. Dominic had stormed through the door, clapping. He’d congratulated me for surviving and ordered me to shovel the still moving bodies and fragments out to the incinerator. Oh, the smell of burning flesh and the sounds of shrieking bodies. Nightmare worthy.

So these men were mine. I led them. But to steal girls? The mission seemed inconsistent with the heroic perception I’d been given to believe. Yet the disillusionment shouldn’t have surprised me. Everything I learned about Dominic only added to my regrets. Better I should just duck my head and get through my service. The sooner the better, right?

“
Five girls. That’s it. That’s all we need. Older than twelve, but I’m guessing not over twenty. Bring them my way to okay them before adding them to the van, okay?” Serious nods met my gaze. They’d do it. Hunger wasn’t more important than what they’d seen.

Yet.

We shifted to face out from the group. Our senses were on hyper-drive, both from our conditions and the overwhelming hunger eating at us.

As close as we were to the university, we should only have to wait for unsuspecting females to walk by. According to the cell phone’s display, it was a Friday night. Some kind of party or dance or sporting activity should end soon. We just needed to wait.

Low mumbling from the back of the circle grabbed my attention. I tilted my head to hear better.

“
I don’t care what he says. How would he know if we ate something? No one even cares in this part of town. Let’s get him the girls he wants then eat something. There has to be something around.”

Freaking idiots. Yeah, they’d eat something and then we’d get tossed in the damn basement. Over my shoulder, I growled, “If any of you step out of line, we all get locked up. Do you understand? Not one, not two, but all of us. Keep that in mind.”

The idiot’s voice was cut off by someone else’s snarl. If he couldn’t keep himself in line, the others would do it for him.

I closed my eyes against the darkness. Not much could be seen anyway in the shadows.

I inhaled. And choked on the most delicious scent I’d ever smelled.

“
Do you smell that?” Someone behind me whispered with excitement.

“
What is that?” Another.

“
Holy crap.” John closed his eyes beside me and inhaled as if to make sure he hadn’t imagined it.

Oh, man. I wasn’t the only one drooling over the smell. A giggling symphony reached my ears. I opened my eyes and whispered, “Hold on, guys. We don’t know how many there are. If there are too many, we’ll grab the stragglers.” Women always traveled in packs with an innate knowledge that safety was in numbers.

Dominic was an idiot. Pure and simple. Sending out starving zombie-like teenage boys after human, delectable girls wasn’t the smartest command. He’d be lucky to get an untouched arm, neck, or leg. Oh, legs. My favorite.

The men pushed on my back and outstretched arms as the girls traipsed down the road, close but still an easy twenty yards away. Our path riddled with empty cars and vacant spots wouldn’t slow us a bit.

One by one the girls came into view, twelve total. Long legs… I licked my lips… bared by short shorts. Mid-riff tops – some with sleeves and some without. Most of them had long hair brushing past their shoulders.

“
Son of a —” I turned and grabbed the neck of a newer member, dislodging his teeth from my shoulder as I moved. Asshole had bit me to get to the girls. Unfortunately, moving out of the way of the other guys released the dam and they took off in a stumbling sprint across the dirt lot. Pushing and growling, the mass of boys drew immediate attention from the girls. I hadn’t had time to teach them to be sneaky like Tom had taught me.

At first the females froze, watching the rumbling spectacle move toward them. But as the realization dawned they were the targets, the girls’ faces changed from smiles to gaping mouths and wide eyes. If I had to choose between an eternity of rotting in a basement and these girls coming with me, I’d choose the girls. They may be human, but crap, they were delicious – I mean, gorgeous looking.

Four girls bolted which ensnared the attention of my crew. We had the strength and mentality of predators and we loved the idea of a chase. Six guys followed. I shook my head. The girls didn’t stand a chance.

Screams filled the air. I hopped in the van. Turning the engine over, I glanced out the window.

John jogged up, one body slung over his shoulder, the pert backside poking into the air. At the passenger’s side, he popped the door open and dropped the body on the front seat. Panting, he looked past me, worry tightening the skin around his mouth. “I think they might have hurt a couple. I’ll go back to check but I’m worried. The screams stopped when I grabbed this one. Two went into an alley and Steven followed them. He still hasn’t come out.” John met my narrowed gaze. He slapped a hand on the arm rest of the door. “What do you want me to do? I brought you one.” He pointed at the unconscious girl.

“
She better be alive. I need four more, untouched. Get them. And make sure you don’t bring any that are hurt, okay? Remind the guys why we’re here and let’s go.” I sighed. Seriously, what a bunch of nimrods. He closed the door and I breathed in.