Broken World (Book 3): Mad World (26 page)

27
Vivian

BEING BACK IN VEGAS has my stomach in knots, and being here without Axl just feels wrong. Like I left a part of myself behind.

Getting to the back of the casino was easier than it should have been. Winston knew what streets to avoid, and the back was practically deserted. We haven’t seen a single live person since we pulled into Vegas, and the Monte Carlo is eerily quiet when we pull to a stop about ten feet from the back entrance.

“What you think they’re doin’ in there?” Angus says, peering out the front window.

Winston shakes his head. “Sleeping. Waiting for the other men to come back.”

Angus spits into a can and shakes his head. “They’re gonna be waitin’ a long time for that.”

I nod along with the others, but I can’t talk. I’m too tense.

Before we left the mountains, we drove back past the shelter and managed to reclaim a lot of the supplies the men had stolen from us. There were no survivors that we could see. It’s possible they’d retreated into the shelter since their vehicles were useless. Thanks to Angus’s bomb and Jon slitting the tires of the other cars. But we didn’t risk going inside. The air was too toxic, and we didn’t know if anyone would survive long enough to salvage anything. Unfortunately. We could have used the clothes.

I tug at the short skirt I’m wearing and press my lips together. Pants would have been nice. At least I was able to get a pair of shoes from Anne, who had the foresight to put some on before she fled her condo. They’re tight, but they’re better than nothing.

Maybe we can stop at the gift shop before we head back. Right.

“Let’s just do this,” Nathan snaps.

He’s sitting next to me in the second row, sweating like we’re on the way to his funeral or something. I’m a little shocked he came. No way did I think Moira would let him out of her sight.

“Alright, then,” Angus says.

He jerks the key out of the ignition and puts it under the visor, giving Winston a pointed look. He’s thinking ahead. This way the rest of us will still be able to get out if something happens to him. Leave it to Angus. Damn.

I take a deep breath and grab the handle. God, please don’t let anything happen to Angus. For Axl’s sake.

Or to any of us, for that matter.

“Me, Winston, and Nathan’ll get a fire started downstairs,” Angus says. “Get that fire alarm goin’ off. You girls and preppy back there can head on up to the suite. Let them girls out.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Winston says, grabbing his gun as he pushes the passenger door open. “Let’s get moving.”

I expected Hadley to crumble once we got back to the Monte Carlo. She’s barely been hanging on since we left. But when she climbs out of the Nissan, the knife in her right hand is steady. Maybe this will be good therapy. Like closure or something.

I hope so.

Winston and Angus clear the way, and the rest of us follow behind. My heart’s pounding so hard I can barely hear the zombies moaning over it. Too bad it doesn’t do anything to cover up the smell. The air is ripe. Even worse than it was the last time we were here.

When we get inside, Hadley, Jon, and I break off from the others, then head to the back. Away from the casino to the staff elevators. Jon being with us is helpful. He lived in this casino for over a week before they managed to break us out.

“This way,” Jon says, darting down a dark hall and motioning for us to follow.

Hadley is right on his heels, and I’m not too far behind. I can’t stop looking over my shoulder. My jaw aches from grinding my teeth. Every sound makes me jump, and my heart pounds so hard it feels like a little jackhammer going off in my chest. This was a bad idea. We may have killed off a good number of them back at the shelter, but there’s no way the six of us can do this without some casualties.

My heart pounds harder.

I don’t want to say goodbye to anyone else.

Something clatters somewhere in the distance, and we all freeze. I press my back against the wall on instinct and a scream bubbles up inside me, but I manage to keep it down.

“What was that?” Hadley whispers. Her green eyes are huge, but she doesn’t look scared. Just alert.

She puckers her lips in a way that reminds me of Axl, and my heart constricts. No. I can’t think about that. Now is the time to focus.

Jon shakes his head, and I stay with my back pressed against the wall. We don’t move. I count to ten while I wait for something to happen. Laughter breaks the silence and floats down the hall. The jackhammer in my chest goes into overtime.

The sound slowly fades away, but I don’t relax. And I don’t move. Finally, after a minute or so, we can’t hear them anymore. I exhale, and Jon’s shoulders relax. Hadley looks exactly the same.

“Let’s keep moving,” she says.

Jon starts running and I push myself off the wall, skittering to keep up. Tremors have started in my legs. No, this was NOT a good idea.

We’re at the elevators when the fire alarm goes off. It’s a loud shriek that makes me jump and squeal like a little girl. Red lights on the ceiling flash, making the hall look like disco. Only the light is red. A bloody disco.

“The elevator is on the seventh floor!” Jon yells over the alarm.

He presses the button and steps back, and my heart pounds when the number above the elevator changes to six. Then five. I hold my breath, but it stops on three and I know we’re screwed.

“Someone else is getting on!” I shout.

Jon nods, and Hadley’s fingers flex around her knife. I tap my toe on the floor and wait.

The number changes to two and we all take a step back. It changes to one and the elevator dings. It’s barely audible over the shrieking of the alarm.

My stomach tightens as much as my grip on my knife. I bounce on my toes as the door slides open. Four men. They blink and scramble for weapons, but they are clearly unprepared. It gives us the time we need.

Hadley moves first. She lets out a cry and thrusts her knife forward while she runs. The man closest to her is caught completely off guard. She manages to sink her blade into his stomach before he has a chance to take a step back. Jon and I are right behind her. Jon goes for the biggest one, but the guy meets him halfway. He blocks the attack and sends Jon flying out of the elevator. He grunts, but I don’t have a chance to see how he is.

The man in front of me is only a little taller than I am, but he has to outweigh me by at least fifty pounds. I don’t bother with my knife, I go right for his crotch. The heel of my shoe slams into his balls, and he doubles over in pain. As soon as he’s down, I bring my knife up. Right into his neck. Blood pours from the wound and drips onto the carpet. He straightens up and grabs at his throat, but I turn away.

Hadley’s guy is on the floor, and Jon is struggling with his. The fourth guy is crouched in the corner with Hadley standing over him. For some reason though, she hasn’t moved. I step closer and have the urge to spit when I see him.

“Brad.”

His head jerks up, and he frowns. “Didn’t think I’d see you folks again.”

Hadley kicks him right in the nose. He groans and tries to scoot away, but there’s nowhere to go.

“You prick!” Hadley shouts.

She’s back. The Hadley who screamed at Mitchell when we first made it into the shelter. The one who kicked zombie asses on-screen for a living. I don’t know why this trip helped her recover, but it has. If we get out of here alive, she just might be able to come out of this.

The alarm is still wailing and Hadley is still standing over Brad when Jon comes over to join us. My fingers wrap so tightly around my knife that they ache.

“We need to go,” I say.

Hadley’s looking at Brad like she’s going to slit his throat. I’m not going to stop her, but if she’s going to do it, she needs to get a move on.

Hadley nods and doesn’t take her eyes off Brad. “Press the button. We’ll take him with us.”

Brad’s eyes get huge. “What’re you gonna do?”

Hadley puckers her lips while the elevator jerks up.

“Just kill him,” Jon says.

“No. Let’s see how things are upstairs before we get rid of our only leverage.”

“He’s not much leverage,” I say.

Brad is still cowering in the corner like a little baby. I’m pretty sure he’d be willing to slit his own wrists to get out of this about now. Too bad he doesn’t seem to be armed.

“Yeah,” Jon says. “I doubt anyone will care what we do with this guy.”

Hadley smiles and it lights up her face. “Zombie chow, then.”

Brad’s eyes get huge just as the elevator lurches to a stop.

The doors slide open, and the scent of death hits me, making my stomach lurch. It isn’t just from the smell, but from the memories, too. Thinking about being here, about being dragged from the room. Not knowing what was going to happen. Remembering how defeated Hadley looked when she came back.

Thinking about Lexi and Megan…

The zombies are still chained up at the end of the hall when I step out. Jon is right behind me, dragging Brad. Hadley comes last. There are no men guarding the door.

“Everyone must have gone down when the alarm started going off,” Jon says.

It doesn’t occur to me that the alarm has stopped until he says it. “Yeah,” I mutter.

Hadley passes me up, motioning for Jon to follow. My stomach is in knots and my legs are like limp spaghetti. The zombies at the end of the hall scream and pull at their chains.

“See.” Hadley jerks her head toward the zombies. She holds Brad’s gaze. “Zombie chow.”

Brad starts to fight Jon, who tightens his grip. Jon’s bigger than him. Stronger.

My stomach rolls, and I shake my head. Is this what we’ve come to? “Hadley—”

“Don’t tell me you want him to get away with this,” Hadley says, screeching to a halt. “Remember what happened? Think of how different things would be if we had listened to Angus. We should have thrown Mitchell to the zombies. The time for playing nice is over!” The final sentence hisses out of her like it’s full of venom.

“No.” I shake my head while I try to think of something to say. “But this isn’t you. This is Angus. You’re the person who fought for James when he was bit. Who stopped Angus from beating the shit out of Mitchell. You have compassion and a heart.”

Hadley shakes her head, and her face scrunches up like she has a difficult time remembering who that person was. “I did, but I was wrong. I was wrong with both of those things, and as a result, James almost took a bite out of me and Mitchell destroyed our home. And this bastard helped.” She jerks her head toward Brad, and for a second, I think she’s going to punch him in the nose.

“So zombies it is,” Jon says, stepping forward. Dragging Brad with him.

Brad screams, and I move after them. My heart pounds and I reach out, but it’s too late. Jon shoves Brad toward the chained zombies. He falls to his knees, then scrambles back, trying to get away. He isn’t fast enough. A zombie gets ahold of his arm and digs its nails in.

The scream Brad lets out sends a shudder down my spine, and I have to turn away. Hadley hasn’t moved an inch, and she doesn’t take her eyes off Brad. Her expression is hard and cold, and her body is rigid.

Brad was a selfish bastard, but the torture he’s going through makes my stomach turn inside out. The moans of the zombies mix with his wails of pain. They get louder at first, then turn to whimpers. Like a little dog. The longer I listen, the more I think. Of what we’ve lost. Of what he did to us. How we could have all died this exact same way and it would have been his fault. How he knew there were innocent children in the shelter, yet it didn’t stop him.

Seeing Jhett’s body on the floor. Watching Arthur run to his death.

Brad wouldn’t have lost any sleep over it.

My throat tightens. Maybe this is what he deserves. We live in a kill-or-be-killed kind of world now, and maybe men like Brad deserve to be ripped apart by zombies.

I turn around and face the mangled mess that was once Brad the truck driver. He makes a few gurgling noises, then he’s silent. Gone forever.

The world is a better place now that he isn’t in our lives.

Hadley nods like justice has been served and she’ll be able to sleep easier now. Maybe I will, too. Maybe we all will.

“Let’s finish this,” I say, turning away from the zombies ripping apart the asshole who left us all to die.

Even though his death brings a small amount of satisfaction, the feeling doesn’t sit well with me. None of this does. I want to hurry. To get away from the Monte Carlo. There are too many ghosts and memories here, and I need to be back with Axl. Where I understand who I am and who he is, and how we relate to this world of madness.

Every woman in the room jumps when I shove the door open. They could probably hear Brad’s screams through the door. Even if they couldn’t, I can’t really blame them for being a little on edge.

“What’s going on?” a redhead in her thirties asks. I don’t recognize her. Is she new, or did I just not see her with all these other terrified faces staring back at me?