Season Of Decay (The Decaying World Saga Book 2) (15 page)

15

Mia found it difficult to focus. She’d stationed a constant rotation of soldiers at the edge of the gorge to watch for Rowan’s return. She had no real authority to give orders. The mere fact that other members of the Canaan tribe were more than willing to do what she said was still a troubling curiosity for her.

She walked through the maze of hallways that made up the second level of hive one with little concern for her destination. Her inner dialog found her at odds between her heart and her mind. Part of her wanted to give up her position as a member of the tribal council and allow herself to be as selfish as she wanted to be about her loved ones. The conflict stemmed from the drive her father instilled in her and her promise to him to lead the remains of the tribe of Cheyenne to safety. Mia had a brief hope that Canaan might be that safe haven, but that dream was burning at the edges. The scout team was sent out again for a final report on the undead horde. She believed the infected leaders driving the undead were guiding them directly to Canaan.

Mia often found herself struggling with the battle between Rowan and her father that seemed destined to continue for the rest of her life. She tapped her hand on the hilt of her father’s sword, sheathed at her hip. She decided to carry the weapon, partly to remind herself that she was more than just another council member and partly because she would probably need it in the dark days ahead. Mia realized she’d subconsciously aimed for the infirmary. Yaffa’s voice cut through her inner debate as she approached the soft candle glow outlining the doorway.

“What is it with men?” Yaffa said.

“What now?’ Mia asked as she reached the doorway.

“Asher refused to stay here.”

“He left?” Mia asked then peeked into the room behind Yaffa and found it empty. “I thought he could barely walk.”

“He’s weak, that’s for sure, but I think his stubbornness gave him the strength he needed,” she said then chuckled. “I could have held him down, if I’d tried, but a lot of good it would have done.”

Mia took her tone to mean Asher’s wounds were no longer life-threatening. Silently, she marked one of the items off her never-ending
worry about this
list. Yaffa motioned for one of the chairs against the wall and Mia happily abided. She couldn’t hold back a deep sigh from escaping as she sat down.

“I heard about Rowan,” Yaffa said. “It must be tearing you apart.”

Yaffa’s approach surprised Mia. The two hadn’t spoken much over the past few months. She was apparently testing the waters of their friendship. Mia was grateful to have another woman’s concern.

“It’s killing me,” she said and the admission tugged at her heartstrings more than she let on. “My whole world’s falling apart around me and I feel powerless to stop it.”

Yaffa wiped her hands off on a rag and tossed it into a sack at the edge of the table centered in the room. She hopped up onto the table and let her legs dangle off the side.

“You’re not alone in all this,” she said. “I was once as young as you.” She smiled. “I had dreams that had nothing to do with standing over people and watching them fight for their lives.”

“You’ve saved many people,” Mia said.

“I’ve watched just as many die,” Yaffa countered, “many more to be honest.” She slipped off the table and took the chair beside Mia. “We all have our place here and we all have people depending on us.”

She put her hand out and Mia took it.

“Thank you,” Mia said.

“Just remember,” Yaffa said as she stood up and pulled Mia up with her. “I’m always here if you need someone to talk to.”

Mia smiled then nodded. She headed for the hall with a little more confidence in her heart. She knew the troubles ahead of her, but there was strength in knowing there were others carrying those troubles with her. She reached the first level and found several other familiar faces moving through the halls.

“You’re supposed to tell us when you’re leaving,” Bree announced. Her flushed cheeks matched a sure sign of frustration along her brow.

“We’re supposed to protect you,” Bale added.

“I apologize,” Mia said, then gave a light-hearted nod, “won’t happen again. Have either of you seen Asher?”

“He was gathering gear,” Bree said.

“Gear. For what?” Mia asked, now concerned.

“He’s going down into hive five to look at the generators.”

Mia started off without another word. She couldn’t tell Asher that he had to stay in the infirmary, but surely, he didn’t think he was strong enough to work his way down into the generator room. She was midway through the personnel quarters when she spotted Gabriel out in the main hall heading in the opposite direction. The boy was moving fast and she had a hunch at the reason behind it.

“Gabriel.” Her yell pulled several eyes toward her, including a number of people trying to sleep. Gabriel’s head snapped around at the sound of his name. “Come here,” she said, trying to shout and whisper at the same time. She led Bree and Bale out into the hall and they met the boy in the center of the walkway. His stuffed backpack was a further indication of his destination. “Where are you running off to?”

“Asher…Asher asked me to help him,” he said nervously, as if he wasn’t sure if he was doing anything wrong.

Gabriel was a true child of Canaan, raised without much knowledge of the outside world. As with most of the residents of the compound, he’d been privileged to a formal education Mia and the other tribal members didn’t understand.

“Mind if we join you?” Mia asked.

The growing procession followed Gabriel to one of several open work areas. The few remaining engineers used the space to gather functional equipment for repairs and salvage. Asher was hovering over a number of small crates. Gabriel reached him first and the boy’s nervous twitch gave away Asher’s apparent instructions to avoid attracting attention.

“They caught me in the hall,” he said.

Asher looked back with dismay. His obvious attempt to set off without speaking to Mia aggravated her to no end. She tried to hold back her frustration, but the words poured out of her before she could put up a mental barrier.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

He looked at her with a guilty stare that matched Gabriel’s.

“I’m making myself useful,” he said and attempted to continue with his preparations as if the answer was enough.

Mia was able to catch herself the second time around. She walked slowly toward him allowing herself a moment of clarity. She put her hand gently on his arm and he stopped what he was doing, but didn’t look at her. Mia caught a glimpse of the leather sleeve he’d wrapped around his severed hand to hide the bandages from view.

“You need to rest,” she said. “You won’t serve us any good if you go down there and bleed to death.”

Asher’s head snapped around with such force that it caused Mia to take a step back.

“It won’t serve any good waiting around here to get killed either,” he said before promptly going back to work, now ignoring her altogether. “Start packing those items in that empty bag,” he said to Gabriel.

The boy looked up at Mia as if for permission before he did as he was told. Mia nodded then stepped away from both of them. She was as confused as she was frustrated. Silently, she wondered if there was some way Asher knew what happened between her and Rowan in the storage space. The thought of it brought her mind back to that sensual moment and she blushed as her eyes met Bree’s as if somehow her thoughts were written all over her face.

“Are you going to let them go?” Bree asked.

Mia threw her hands up as she pushed past Bale.

“No one listens to me anymore.”

She made it a few paces into the hall before she got her response.

“Hold on.”

Mia didn’t slow down.

“You know I can’t move that fast at the moment,” Asher said.

Mia stopped and spun around.

“Rowan’s down in the gorge right now,” she said.

“I know that.”

“Why are you in as much of a hurry to throw yourself into danger as he was?” she asked.

“He’s trying to save those boys.”

Asher’s defense of Rowan had an odd ring to it.

“How good are your heroics if they end up getting you killed?” she asked and Asher’s bemused expression said he wasn’t sure if her comment was really meant for him or Rowan. In truth, Mia wasn’t sure either. She grabbed onto the one idea that she felt made sense. “We have to get everyone out of the compound.”

“I know,” he said. “I’m not promising you anything.”

His response surprised her enough to knock her off her train of thought. She was certain he was going to tell her that he believed he could get the power on in time to save them all from the advancing horde. There was something enormously deflating about his honesty. Her frustration quickly faded allowing fear to creep into the gaping hole left behind. Asher tried to recover.

“There’s still time,” he said.

Mia shook her head.

“You don’t believe that.”

“I have to try.”

She focused on the one thing she could do.

“I have to find somewhere safe for us to go,” she said and the thought lingered in the back of her mind as she realized she was still trying to fulfill the promise she made to her father. Mia mouthed the words he’d said as she was kneeling over him, “You are the future of our people and their survival will fall to you.”

“What?” Asher asked.

Mia shook her head again.

“Nothing.”

Her mind was in a whirl when she turned her back on him. There was a jostle of noise behind her as the trio tried to keep pace. She looked back and caught a glimpse of Gabriel struggling to catch up in the rear, dragging a pair of bags behind him. They reached the top of the main stairs between the first and second levels before the entire convoy stopped.

“Why are you following me?”

Mia’s roaring question caused everyone to jump, including several people working in a storeroom adjacent to the stairs.

Asher shot back.

“Why are you yelling at me?”

Mia calmed herself as best she could. She was self-aware enough to know her emotions were so out of balance that she was in no condition to have a meaningful conversation. Putting aside the constant swirl of life and death, she still had no resolve for her battle over her feelings for Asher. He looked back at her with defeat in his eyes as if somehow he knew any hope to win her heart was lost.

“I’m sorry,” she said, lowering her tone. She took a breath and slowly let it out. “Sometimes I feel like the council is going to sit in that room and debate what to do until the dead start to fill up these halls.”

Her admission made him snicker.

“Don’t laugh,” she snapped trying to hold back a grin. She popped him on the arm and he cringed. “Oh, I’m so sorry.”

Asher put his good hand up in defense, still managing to hold his smile.

“It’s all right,” he paused, “just please don’t do that again.” He motioned Gabriel up and took one of the bags from the boy. “What are you going to do then?”

Mia hadn’t put her thoughts together, but she had an idea.

“I want to see the gardens for myself,” she said and the ring of her tone gave away the idea that she’d only thought of it at that moment. “I haven’t been back to Cheyenne since we were forced out.”

Asher’s face scrunched up.

“And you said I’m the one racing off to danger.”

“You heard the scout,” Mia said. “We still have time before the horde reaches the city.” She continued before he could argue. “I can’t convince the others if I don’t know for sure,” then she added, “I won’t be going alone.”

Bale chimed in.

“You can be sure of that.”

Mia’s plan was half-cocked and she knew it. It was rife with danger, but she felt the idea hardening in her gut as she thought about it. The scouts had been ordered to return to the southern boundary of Cheyenne. They were set to report at the first sign of the undead horde giving Canaan a countdown to the last day. She stared at Asher’s concerned eyes.

“I can take care of myself you know.”

“You haven’t talked to anyone about this, have you?”

Mia bit her lip.

“That’s where I was going now,” she lied. “You have something to do,” she stared down the stairs. “And so do I.”

Mia had to work to put the pieces of her plan together before she reached her destination. What was worse, she had to work it out in her head without letting any of the growing group of followers know that she was making it up on the fly. The group came to a stop outside a long bay adjacent to the connection tube between hive’s one and two. The bay acted as hive one’s primary supply hub, responsible for everything outside of food and water. Marcus stood at the entrance, leaning over the top of a half door. He took a double look at her as she approached.

“Don’t see you down here much,” he said then leaned out farther to get a look at the small group in her wake. “Any of you for that matter.”