Read The Hunger (Book 3): Ravaged Online

Authors: Jason Brant

Tags: #vampires, #End of the World, #Dracula, #post apocalyptic, #Zombies, #apocalypse

The Hunger (Book 3): Ravaged (16 page)

BOOK: The Hunger (Book 3): Ravaged
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Footsteps approached.

Lance watched the door, wondering what would happen next. Did it even matter? He doubted he would survive much longer anyway. He’d been shot in the leg and dead center in the chest. Without medical attention, he wouldn’t last long.

Liz walked into the room, her eyes growing wide when she saw him. “Lance? You’re awake!” She rushed over to the cot and knelt beside him.

Lance blinked hard.

If Bigfoot had lumbered into the room, Lance would have been less surprised than he was to see his ex-wife. The last time he’d seen Liz, she was a complete wreck. She’d been living at the compound run by Ralph.

The man she’d left him for, Don, was infected. Lance had fought him to the death in a pit behind the cabin.

Liz had fled the camp, disgraced and broken. She’d wandered out of the compound without a weapon or vehicle. What had passed unspoken between them suggested that she planned to commit suicide by vampire. She would walk in the wilderness until nightfall and finally succumb to the eaters of men.

And yet, there she was, kneeling beside him.

A ghost from another life.

A man stepped into the doorway and stopped, leaning against the jamb. He had a gnarly beard that had never seen a brush. He was thin, with gangly arms and a wiry neck. A Pittsburgh Pirates baseball cap rested on his head, pushed back so far that it looked as if it might tumble off backward.

He wore a sleeveless shirt and torn blue jeans.

“Can’t believe this shit. I broke my own goddamn rules and save one woman and now yinz are multiplying like fruit flies. Christ Almighty.” He waved at Lance in a dismissive gesture and shook his head.

Lance worked his mouth, but he couldn’t form any words with his parched throat and tongue.

“What?” Liz leaned forward. “I can’t hear you.”

“Water,” Lance whispered. “Water.”

“Oh, sorry.” Liz grabbed the glass, which still had a few fingers worth of water in the bottom, and brought it to Lance’s lips.

It tasted like the nectar of the gods. Lance swished it around his mouth before swallowing, savoring the cool sensation that went through his chest.

“Don’t give him too much,” the man said. “I don’t need him puking all over my shit.”

“Oh, shut up.” Liz rolled her eyes. “He’s being pissy because I made him help me get you out of that hole.”

Lance finished the water and licked his lips. He looked from the man to Liz and back again. “Where am I? Who is he? How are you still alive, Liz? How am
I
still alive?”

Liz put her hand on his forearm. “Relax. You’ve been through a lot and need to rest.”

“He needs to rest so he can get the hell outta here,” the man grumbled.

“Hush up, damn it.” Liz tucked Lance’s arm under the blanket again. Her hair, which had been knotted and straggly when Lance had last seen her, was brushed and pulled into a ponytail. Her face was clean and relaxed. She looked as she had before their hellacious stay in the hospital.

“You’re at my super-secret location,” the man said. He puffed his chest out. “I’m the Wildman of Monroeville.”

Lance tried to sit up instinctively and grunted when the pain in his chest ignited.

“What are you doing?” Liz asked. “Stay down.”

“You’re the man on the radio?” Lance inspected him. “You aren’t what I expected.”

“And what does that mean?” The Wildman stuffed his hands in his pockets.

“Ignore him,” Liz said. “How do you feel?”

“Like Quint at the end of Jaws. My chest is killing me.”

“You always liked to make those movie references.”

Lance focused on taking shallow breaths. They didn’t hurt as bad. “How are you still alive? When you left the compound, I thought you were dead for sure.”

“I should have been. I walked down the middle of the road for hours that day. When the sun went down, I couldn’t see anymore so I curled up under a bush beside the road and went to sleep. Those creatures never found me.”

“Seriously? You slept in a bush?”

Liz nodded. “I walked the whole way to Greensburg the next day. Paul found me digging through the pantry at a restaurant, looking for food. He brought me back here, and I’ve been living with him ever since.”

“Paul?” Lance looked back at the Wildman. “The crazy guy on the radio is named Paul?”

“Crazy? Who are you calling crazy? You’re the one who went to war with that psychopath Ralph. You get in more trouble than a bear tryin’ to get honey outta a bee hive.” The Wildman grunted, frown deepening. “Can’t believe I’m getting called crazy by a man who blew someone up with C4.”

“He’s not used to company,” Liz said. “He’s a little rough around the edges, but he saved me.”

“And helped save your ass n’at. Be damned if I wanted to, but the woman just kept yammerin’ at me. Christ Almighty.”

“Would you stop already? He’s been shot twice—he doesn’t need you badgering him all day.” Liz touched Lance’s shoulder. “We saw you get shot by that big man. When he left, we raced down there and pulled you out of the hole before one of those
things
could get you. Paul is good with first aid, so he’s the one who patched you up. It’s been pretty touch and go since then, but he thinks you’re going to make it.”

“Goddamn bullet missed your organs by a couple goddamn centimeters. Crazy shit.” Paul reached into his back pocket and pulled out a can of Skoal. “I thought you were dead for sure, but you’re a tough sumbitch, I’ll give you that.” He took a wad of snuff out of the can and jammed it inside his lip.

“Thanks,” Lance said. “I thought I was dead. I could hear the Vladdies down there with me.”

“The fuck is a Vladdie?” Paul asked.

Lance was tired of always explaining that. “One of the infected.”

“Oh. Yeah, you got lucky as hell on that one. I couldn’t believe you were still layin’ there by the time we got to the tunnel. Blind, stinkin’ luck they didn’t drag your ass down there and swallow you whole.”

Liz asked, “Why did that man shoot you?”

“Because he’s insane. I think he wants to take over the compound. He believes he can save it and that I was in the way. Or, at least, that’s what he was saying before he put a bullet through my chest. As crazy as it sounds, I think he might have done it because of—” He stopped himself, wondering if would be smart to talk to his ex-wife about his current girlfriend. “How did you see it happen?”

Paul grinned around his dip. “I’ve got drones flying all around this damn town.”

“Drones?”

“Damn right.” Paul disappeared into the other room for a moment and then came back, carrying what looked like a toy. It had a small, plastic body with four blades jutting from each corner, making it look like some kind of quadricopter. “This little bad boy can fly for damn near an hour on one charge. How the hell did you think I always knew what was going on around here?”

“We didn’t know,” Lance said. “We thought that you might have had people positioned all over who reported back to you. You mentioned hearing from people on the radio.”

“Hell no. I got a dozen o’ these. I mean, people do report in sometimes, but I don’t know who they are. Most of the comms I have are with people in other states or from across the pond.”

“So you fly those around and spy on everyone?”

“Yup.”

A radio crackled in the other room.

“Speaking of my comms, I need to get that.” Paul disappeared again. His muffled voice came a few seconds later.

Liz grabbed another milk crate from the corner and placed it beside Lance’s cot. “He’s rough around the edges, but he’s a good man. I think he’s been alone for too long now, though. He doesn’t know how to speak to people in a decent manner.”

“He can fling feces at the walls for all I care. I’m just glad he helped you save me.” Lance reached out and grabbed her hand. “Thanks, Liz.”

“Please don’t thank me.”

“Why?”

“Because of everything I’ve done to you. We left you for dead at the hospital, Lance. Don’t thank me.”

Lance squeezed her hand. “Call it even?”

“Fair enough.” Liz gave him a small smile. “Besides, how could I not save my husband?”

“Uh, what’s that now?” Lance dropped her hand like it bit him.

“I never signed any divorce papers. We’re still married.”

“But... uhhh... Liz, I...”

“Relax, I’m just fucking with you.”

“Holy shit, Liz. You almost gave me a heart attack.”

Her smile grew. “Would it really have been so bad still being married to me?”

“Well, I’m not so sure Cass would take that very well.” Mentioning her name pushed a new concern to the surface. “What day is it? Have I slept through the night?”

“You’ve been asleep for two days.”

“What?” Lance tried to sit up again, but Liz put her hand on his shoulder and held him down. “I have to get back! We’ve been under attack every night and—”

“Stay down, Lance. They’re fine. The fires they’re building at night have been doing the trick, for now.”

“You’re sure?” Lance tried not to panic, but his concern for Cass overpowered rational thought. He pictured Major Colt standing beside her, giving her the news of his death. Would he hurt her?

“One hundred percent sure. Paul flew a drone over the camp this morning.”

“Have they lost anyone?”

“Not during the night, but some people have been sneaking out of there each morning. Paul thinks they’re afraid the camp will collapse soon, and they don’t want to be there when it does.”

Lance shifted his head on the pillow under him and focused on relaxing. He let his eyes roam over the maps and schematics on the walls. Books covered one of the workbenches, too far away for him to read their spines. “What is this place? How hasn’t it been taken down by the infected yet?”

“We’re in a safe room. Well, two safe rooms, I guess. Paul was retired and fairly wealthy. He had two homes. One in Pittsburgh and one in Greensburg. He was also a bit nuts and built safe rooms into both houses.”

Paul called out from the other room, “I heard that.”

“You were meant to. Anyway, he left Pittsburgh and is living here for now. That rumbling sound you hear is a generator that keeps the lights on. It’s a pretty smart setup.”

Lance continued his inspection of the room.

Ever since they’d heard the Wildman on the radio, they’d wondered how the man managed to know everything that happened in the area. They couldn’t figure out how he stayed safe when everyone else was long gone.

His setup was extraordinary. The steel walls kept him secure, and the generator powered the lights during the night. The Wildman could stay there as long as he liked.

“You really landed on your feet here.”

“Total luck. He didn’t know I was in the restaurant when he found me. He was looking for rations, same as I was. I’m still surprised that he took me in. He stays up here and doesn’t help anyone, no matter how much trouble they’re in.”

Lance laughed, then wished he hadn’t. His vision swirled as a new wave of pain ran through his chest. “The world has ended, and he managed to stumble upon a pretty woman who was all alone. Yeah, it took a real hero to take you in. But seriously, why you? He didn’t raise a finger to help us with Ralph, so why throw you a bone?”

Liz shrugged. “He’s a softie, deep down. It’s easier to ignore people when you’re watching them through a monitor and a camera. It’s different when you meet them face to face. Besides, you already nailed it—I’m pretty.”

They sat and smiled at each other for a few seconds. Liz turned somber and looked at the floor.

“Why wasn’t it like this when we were married? We were always at each other’s throats.”

“I was an out of work, depressed loser. You were a bitch. That’s oil and water.”

“I was definitely a bitch, I’ll give you that.” She raised her head and held his gaze. “You really love her, don’t you? That Cass woman.”

“Yeah, Liz, I do. If something happened to her, I don’t know what I’d do. She’s the reason I’m not depressed anymore.”

“She’s cute. A little weird, but cute.”

“She’s a lot of weird, but we work. Look, I don’t know how comfortable I am discussing my girlfriend with my wife.” Lance grinned at her. “That’s a sentence I never thought I’d say. Are you and the Wildman bumping uglies?”

“Oh god, Lance.” Liz’s cheeks flushed. “It’s not like that.”

“I got better shit to do n’at,” Paul said from the other room. “The world is going to hell in a handbasket, and you’re worried about getting your dick wet. Is it any surprise that civilization fell apart?”

Lance sighed. “I’m so glad to be stuck in here, unable to move.”

The radio crackled again.


This is Major Frank Colt.

“Your friend is calling,” Paul said.


I’m looking for the Wildman of Monroeville. Are you able to hear me?

“Don’t answer that,” Lance said. “He mentioned that he wanted you for something when he first arrived at the camp.”

“I’m not answerin’ shit, don’t worry about that.”

Liz stood. “What if he finds us here?”

“He won’t.”


They
found us.”

“Who found you?” Lance asked.

“The infected,” Liz said. “They’ve been coming here every night, trying to break in. They started using tools a week ago.”


This is Major Frank Colt. Don’t make me come find you, Wildman.

Chapter 21

––––––––

C
olt’s forearm flexed as he gripped the microphone. His jaw muscles flared.

“Why are you threatening the man?” Brown asked. “He’s provided us with a lot of information over the past couple of months.”

“He’s a variable in this whole thing that must be taken into account. Variables need to be controlled.”

Cass leaned against the wall beside them, her arms crossed over her chest. She didn’t like the way Colt described people who were under his command. He had an air of arrogance about him that perturbed her. The only reason she’d agreed to work so closely with the man was because she wanted to wipe out the infected.

But she was conflicted about that decision. The enemy of your enemy isn’t necessarily your friend.

BOOK: The Hunger (Book 3): Ravaged
12.82Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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