Broken World (Book 6): Forgotten World (6 page)

“What you doin’?” Angus calls, waving us forward. “You in labor or somethin’?”

Ginny shakes her head and starts walking, and I follow. My throat is too tight to talk, and my head is still spinning with the craziness of this situation. What are the odds that two different groups would come up with the same plan? It has to be a coincidence, though. The group in Vegas did this first, and there’s no way anyone from the Monte Carlo made it all the way to Atlanta and gave them this idea. Not if they’ve had the wall built as long as Ginny says they have. It’s just two people who had a similar train of thought: how to use the resources available to meet their end goal. Thank God that end goal is different.

“I’m going to have to ask you to stop here,” a man says, blocking our progress a good ten feet from the fence.

I get it—the giant crane moving a car to the top of the pile is dangerous, even if we aren’t with both Angus and Ginny—but I still wish we could get a closer look at the wall.

“Need help?” Axl asks, nodding toward the fence at the man’s back.

“You’re not on the crew.” The guy looks us over like he suspects we’re carrying a bomb and want nothing more than to blow up the wall they’re busy trying to build.

“We ain’t on the crew, but that don’t mean we can’t help out,” Angus growls.

The Hope Springs guy, who is more than a head shorter than Angus and probably thirty pounds lighter, takes a step back. “I’m just following orders. Dax doesn’t want anyone around who doesn’t know what they’re doing.”

Angus and Axl exchange looks. Parv just smokes, eyeing the guy like she is afraid to let him out of her sight.

“Jon around?” Ginny asks, trying to look past the man in front of us.

“Yeah. I’ll get him as long as you promise to keep your friends back and out of the way.”

Ginny rolls her eyes. “We aren’t going to sabotage your project.”

The guy gives us one more look before turning and heading back toward the other workers. He jogs like he thinks he has to hurry.

“What the hell was that ‘bout?” Axl asks. “You’d think they’d be happy to have some help. Get the work done faster.”

Ginny shakes her head. “Dax is a control freak.”

“This guy sounds better and better the more I hear about him,” I mutter.

Ginny just shrugs, which makes me feel a little better. If she isn’t worried about Dax being out there with us, we shouldn’t either. Right?

Less than a minute after the Hope Springs guy has disappeared, I catch sight of Jon heading our way. He’s decked out in leather, which is apparently the uniform for anyone working even remotely near the zombies. I get it, though. Zombies can rip through clothes—we know that from experience—but leather has to be a little bit tougher for them to sink their teeth into.

Another guy who is also decked out in leather walks at Jon’s side. The second man looks more at home in the stuff, though. He’s younger than Jon, and smaller, but everything about the way he carries himself gives off how confident he is. The cigarette hanging out of his mouth, looking like it’s about to drop to the ground at any second. The way he flicks his blond hair out of his eyes and even the way his gaze moves over the people he passes. Like he can barely be bothered to notice them. There’s something very tough about him.

“Who’s that?” I ask Hadley when the two men are still too far away to hear.

“Jim,” she says, “Jon’s partner. They worked on the cleaning crew together, clearing out the city over the winter. Now they’re doing this.” She turns her green eyes my way, giving me a serious look. “You can trust him. Out of everyone here, Jim is someone I would trust my life with.”

“What about Corinne?” I ask, glancing back toward Jim and Jon. “She’s the leader and you seem friendly with her.”

Ginny purses her lips for a second. “Yes and no. I think she’s doing her best, but there are going to be times when she will put herself first. Like with this Dax thing. She has to know he’s going to be a huge pain in the ass out there on the road, but she chose him to lead the group because it will get him off her back.”

“But Jim won’t put himself first?”

Ginny shakes her head. “Not like that. He’d never run away from a fight, and if he makes a promise, he’ll keep it.”

Jon and Jim stop in front of us, and the new guy looks us all over for a few seconds before his gaze settles on Angus. “So you’re the guy?”

“The very one,” Angus says, narrowing his eyes on the blond man in front of him.

“This is Jim,” Jon says, nodding toward his partner.

Jim pulls the cigarette out of his mouth and grins. “Nice to meet you folks. I’ve heard lots of stuff about the group Jon used to be with. Asshole never shuts up.”

Jon chuckles and introduces the rest of us and gives Jim some backstory, keeping the details about how we all actually met so brief anyone would be stupid not to realize he’s leaving things out. Jim barely bats an eye though, and I get the sense he already has a good idea of what went down. It seems odd that Jon would tell anyone—I know how bad he feels about what happened at the Monte Carlo—but if these two really have been working together for months, it makes sense that they’d know a little bit about each other.

We’re in the middle of talking when a voice booms through the air, cutting our conversation short. “Hey there!”

We all look up, but none of us even crack a smile when we catch sight of Dax jogging our way. Like Jim and Jon, he’s dressed in leather, but unlike the other two men, he doesn’t seem to be dirty. Guess he’s been barking off orders instead of pitching in. It goes in line with what Jim and Jon have told us, so it shouldn’t be surprising.

“You out exploring our town?” Dax asks when he stops in front of us, his eyes focused on me.

“We came by to pitch in,” Axl says.

Dax barely glances his way. “No need. As you can see, we have it covered.” He finally tears his eyes off me when he turns to face the fence being constructed. “She’s a beauty, isn’t she?”

“Sure does look strong,” Angus says.

Dax nods a couple times before turning back to face us, this time his eyes on Angus. “She is. Atlanta had the idea, but we’re adding some extra reinforcement just to be sure. I like everything secure. Like with the bus and truck we’ll be taking when we head out. Steel plates welded to the side windows to keep us safe. No zombies will be able to reach in grab you that way.”

He glances my way again and winks, his grin growing wider. It sends a shiver through me because it looks so unnatural. Like a clown who’s had his smile painted on. No one acts this way for real. There has to be something very off about a person to make them feel like they need to always be smiling.

“The steel plates won’t stop bullets,” Axl points out, drawing Dax’s attention his way.

“Bullets?” Dax snorts. “Good thing zombies can’t fire guns. With the way we’re going to be decked out, zoms are the only things out there dumb enough to try and take us down. Any men we come across will be too intimidated. Trust me.”

“You can’t be serious,” I say before I have a chance to think better of it.

Something flashes in Dax’s eyes, but it’s gone in a second, replaced once again by a smile. “Sure I am. I know there are dangerous people out there, but they are going to be looking for small, vulnerable groups to attack. Not a group like ours. We’re going to be armed and tucked inside our vehicles. We’ll be too secure. They’d be fools to try anything.”

“Don’t know ‘bout that,” Angus says. “I think we’d be the fools to believe nothin’ could touch us.”

Dax chuckles. “You guys have been out there too long. Trust me. Anyone we cross paths with will be running to hide.”

Parv snorts, while Axl and Angus trade a look that I can read from a mile away: Dax is a moron. Jim, Jon and Ginny stand off to the side, saying nothing but obviously thinking the same thing as the rest of us. If we weren’t such a prepared group, I’d be concerned. But we are and we’ve been here before, and we’ll come together. As for Dax and his men… We’ve warned them. It’s going to be up to them to listen to us, because there isn’t a doubt in my mind that we’re going to run into trouble of some kind.

“Okay…” Dax looks back over his shoulder toward the fence. “Have to get back to work. As for your earlier question, it looks like we’ll be heading out early next week. We’re planning on getting together tomorrow morning to take care of a few last-minute details. And we’re going to give Atlanta a call. Let them in on the plan as well.”

“Sounds good,” Axl says. “Keep us in the loop.”

Dax looks back long enough to flash us yet another smile, but this one is so tight that it looks more like he’s in pain. “Of course.”

6

“ASSHOLE,” ANGUS GROWLS as we head down the street. Away from the fence. “Once we leave, that guy’s gonna learn pretty fast who’s in charge.”

Damn. I can just picture our two day trip across the country: Angus and Dax at each other’s throats the whole time. The rest of us choosing sides. It’s going to put us all in danger and they have to know it, but anyone can see that’s how it’s going to be. Angus doesn’t take orders, and Dax just loves to dish them out.

“I don’t know,” I say, shaking my head. “I think with a guy like that it’s better to fly under the radar. Do what he says until we absolutely need to rock the boat. If every step of the way is a fight, it’s going to make it that much harder when something serious comes up.”

“She’s got a point,” Axl says. “No reason we can’t let him think he’s in charge. Long as it ain’t gonna put nobody at risk.”

Angus stops walking and purses his lips, staring at his brother. “So you want me to just sit back and do what that asshole tells me to?”

“At the most, all he’s going to tell you to do is sit back and stay out of the way,” Ginny points out. “He wants to keep you safe, and for some reason he thinks he’s the only thing standing between you and a horde of the undead. It’s not going to hurt you to just stay out of the way.”

She has a good point, but I know there’s no way in hell Angus will be able to sit back if Dax is doing something idiotic that might get the rest of us killed.

“As long as Dax doesn’t do anything to endanger the rest of us,” I point out.

“Right,” Ginny says, nodding.

“Shit.” Angus spits, and even though it doesn’t come anywhere near her, Hadley glares at him. “I hate doin’ it, but you got a point. I’ll let that prick think he’s in charge long as I can. But I can’t promise we’re gonna make it all the way to Atlanta without me kickin’ his ass.”

Ginny pats him on the arm and smiles, the spit obviously forgotten. “I don’t think anyone would expect that much self control out of you.”

Angus chuckles.

We’re still several houses away from Jon and Ginny’s place when I spot Sophia sitting on her front porch. In front of her, Max and Ava play with a set of blocks that are probably way too young for the older boy. Of course, after everything we’ve been through and all the people we’ve lost, the poor kid might not care what he has to play with as long as he’s safe.

“I want to check in on Sophia,” I say, jogging toward the porch.

She looks up when I’m still a good distance off, but the expression in her eyes almost makes me freeze. It reminds me so much of the first day we met. Back in San Francisco when the death of her husband was still new and the grief still raw. She looks older now—months of stress will do that to a person—and her dark hair is longer. Back then it was cut short, almost like a boy’s, but now it’s so long it hangs almost to her chin. Other than that, though, she looks exactly like the woman who walked into our suite with Winston and his group.

“What?” Sophia asks when I don’t say anything.

I shake my head and force my legs to keep moving. “Nothing. I was just remembering the day we met. At the hotel in San Francisco. We were all so scared and unsure.”

Sophia gives me a sad smile. “There are so few of us left now.”

She’s right. We lost Mike first, before we even made it to the Mojave Desert, then Trey in Vegas. Arthur was killed in the shelter when those assholes from the Monte Carlo had us cornered. He sacrificed himself to save us, and even though he was sick and didn’t have much time left, it was still a big loss. Then Jess and Winston and so many other people we picked up along the way.

“We’ve been through so much together,” Sophia says, her eyes on the two children playing in front of her. “It’s hard thinking about saying goodbye, but I know it’s the right thing to do. The world is too uncertain. Even if Atlanta is safe, there’s so much open road between here and there, and we have no idea what to expect.”

“No one blames you for deciding to stay, Sophia. You have to do what’s best for you and Ava.”

She smiles. “No, but Joshua is having a hard time accepting it. It’s more about Anne, I know, but the whole idea of walking away is hard on him.”

I nod, and behind me, footsteps come up the porch stairs. Sophia looks up and smiles when Ginny moves over to sit next to her. I stay where I am on the stairs, watching the kids play. Angus and Parv keep walking—most likely because they’re still smoking and the kids are on the porch—but Axl stops at my side. I lean into him, feeling the warmth of his body spread through me even though it isn’t cold anymore. Just chilly. But it won’t be for long. Soon we’ll be in Atlanta and summer will settle in, bringing with it the suffocating humidity. But also joy, because it will mean we made it through the worst of it. Through the chaos and confusion.

Too bad Sophia and Anne and the kids will still be here.

“Where are Anne and Joshua?” I ask after a few seconds of silence.

“Inside.” Sophia shakes her head. “He thinks he can change her mind, but he’s wasting his time. She doesn’t have it in her. There’s no more fight left. Here we can at least pretend life is normal—assuming nothing changes.”

“On the road it would be too uncertain,” I say, trying to reassure her that we get where she’s coming from even if Joshua is having a tough time. “We understand.”

“He doesn’t.”

“I’m sure it’s hard to say goodbye,” Ginny says, patting Sophia’s leg. “But he will be okay.”

“You think he’s gonna decide not to go?” Axl asks.

Sophia looks up, but shakes her head. “No. He said you guys need him. Here they have doctors already, and he doesn’t want to send you out there without him.”

I stand up straight, realization slamming into me. “Wait? Are you saying he doesn’t want to go?”

Joshua never mentioned it before, but we didn’t exactly ask him either. We just assumed he would be coming with us. Is it unfair of us to drag him across the country when he might have ties here?

“He wants to keep the group together,” Sophia says firmly.

“But it isn’t…” My words hang in the air, but no one responds to them. No one tries to reassure me that we’re doing the right thing by Joshua.

We obviously have to talk to him about the whole thing.

As if on cue, Joshua comes out of the house, practically running. He slams the door behind him, and all of us jump. No one moves, not even when Joshua turns to face us. His face is bright red, but not as red as his eyes.

“I didn’t know you were out here,” he says, moving his gaze to the ground.

“Everything okay?” Ginny asks.

Joshua doesn’t look up. “Perfect.”

“We were just talking about you,” I say. “I wanted to make sure you were up for this trip. You don’t have to go to Atlanta with us, you know. There’s no reason you can’t stay.”

Joshua shakes his head as he steps over the kids, heading for the porch stairs. Not glancing my way. “There’s nothing for me here.”

He jogs down the stairs and takes off, but not toward our house. I don’t know where he’s going, but I guess he needs to be alone. Whatever he and Anne talked about, it must not have been good.

“Poor Joshua,” Sophia whispers as we all watch him head off.

“There you all are!” Al yells from behind me.

I pull away from Axl as the teens head our way.

“Thought you two would be rollin’ ‘round in the nude,” Angus calls from down the street.

He drops his cigarette to the ground before heading over. I get the feeling that he suffers from fear of missing out these days. Parv follows Angus, but at a much slower pace. And she doesn’t put out her cigarette.

“Shut up,” Lila says to Angus, but there’s no venom in it.

“We had a productive day,” Al says, grinning as always. “On all accounts.”

Lila rolls her eyes. “Don’t listen to him. We went to a bookstore that was covered in dust and dug through books about zombies. It was a huge waste of time.”

“You call this a waste of time!” Al scoffs and holds up a couple books.

I take the top one and study it. There are a couple creatures on the front that I’m assuming are supposed to be zombies but look nothing like the real thing, and behind them stands a group of people decked out in army gear and loaded down with weapons. I guess they’re supposed to be the survivors, but I can tell the author from experience they wouldn’t be quite as excited as these models seem.

I roll my eyes and hand the book back to Al. “I hate to say it, but I’m with Lila on this one.”

“Not that book,” Al says, letting out an exasperated sigh. He flips through the books for a second before finding the one he was looking for and shoving it in my face. “This one.”

I jerk my head back so I can get a good look at it. “
Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse
.” My gaze moves past it to Al, and I have to try really hard not to roll my eyes. “Seriously?”

I know he’s had a few good ideas from books in the past, but in case he hasn’t noticed, we’ve already survived the zombie apocalypse. We’re more qualified to write that book than the author was. By a long shot.

“I know it sounds crazy, but there are actually a few really cool survival tricks in here,” Al says, flipping through the books. “Like common plants that are edible, first aid tips when you’re on the run, and even simple ways to start a fire. They’re little things, but they’re also things that would be useful if we lost all of our supplies or somehow got separated from the rest of the group.”

He has a point. Again.

“Lemme see that,” Angus says, ripping the book out of Al’s hand.

He turns it over and reads the back, snorting every few seconds. When he’s done, he flips through it a little, but it’s obvious he thinks the whole thing is stupid.

“There’s useful stuff inside,” Al says defensively.

“Sure there is.” Angus tosses the book back. “Too much readin’ for me. I’ll stick to what I know.”

Since I’ve caught him reading, I’m guessing Angus thinks the book is a waste of time and just doesn’t want to hurt Al’s feelings. Or show that he has some of his own.

“I’ll read it,” Al mutters.

“When you find useful things, mark the page,” I say. “I believe you.”

Angus snort, and no one else seems to be the least big interested. Even though I don’t know if it’s going to help, it won’t hurt us, and it will give Al something to do. We’re seriously short on things to keep us occupied these days.

I roll over to an empty bed, as usual. Axl’s always up before me, but there’s something about this that feels wrong. We’ve gotten too used to the safety of fences and walls. Too complacent about our relationship. It’s like we’ve been floating through life lately, and we can’t keep going on like this.  Especially not when we’re about to head out to Atlanta.

I roll out of bed, yawning even though I feel rested. That’s one good thing about doing nothing the past few days. I feel like I’ve finally caught up on all the sleep I’ve lost since this whole thing started.

The aroma of coffee hits me when I open the bedroom door, and I head straight for the kitchen. I’ve only made it a few steps when Axl’s voice causes my ears to perk up. A few seconds later, it’s followed by Ginny’s, which makes me freeze altogether. I don’t want to interrupt them when they’re finally talking this whole thing out. It’s too tense, and I’m over it, especially when we’re going to be saying goodbye to Ginny in a couple days. I want to be able to enjoy the few days we have left.

“I just—I thought we should talk about it,” Ginny says. “I wanted to explain.”

“I didn’t tell her,” Axl says. “You don’t gotta worry ‘bout that.”

Tell who
what
? Me? What does this whole thing have to do with
me
?

“Why?” Ginny’s voice shakes, and I have the urge to hug her. But I know they’re talking, and I know they need to. Need to get all this out in the open so they can move on. Plus, I’m even more curious than before.

“‘Cause it didn’t mean nothin’,” Axl says, “and there’s no point in upsettin’ anybody over nothin’.”