Death & Decay (Book 2): Divided Read online

  Samuel looked up to Colin, fear reflected in his eyes. The driver’s seat was empty and they were surrounded.

  “Have you ever driven one of these?” Colin asked as Samuel plopped down in the driver’s seat.

  “When I was a child…” Samuel’s voice was unsure as he looked over the levers and buttons. He shuffled his feet around. There wasn’t a gas pedal.

  As Samuel reacquainted himself with the behemoth, he worked a few levers and the tractor jolted into motion. Colin tightened his tenuous grip on the roof. The freaks had even fallen behind the vehicle before they were knocked over by the long tiller behind it.

  The long sharp blades whirled to life behind them. Colin threw up his arms to shield his face as blood sprayed in all directions. When Colin turned back, the freaks were gone, their shredded bodies now strewn across the field. The blades continued to spin as they rolled over the fallen freaks. The dirt was turned to mud as it mixed with the creature’s spilled blood and gore. In the tiller’s wake, arms and legs and maimed torsos lay motionless.

  But to Colin’s horror there was movement among the path of gore. Slowly, some of the freaks were rising from the gory muck. Some were barely more than a chest with an arm and head, but others were mostly intact as they pulled themselves up from beneath the corpses of the others.

  Worse yet, the tractor wasn’t fast. The damn thing wasn’t fast at all. Some of the freaks were keeping pace with the massive vehicle, snarling up at them in frustration.

  One of the freaks managed to grab ahold the tractor and started pulling itself up. Samuel took aim and pulled the trigger. Blood, brains, and fragments of bone exploded out of the back of the man’s head. He went limp and fell, churning into mush under the tractor’s large tires.

  “Where the hell did all these fuckers come from?” Samuel looked back at the swarm that still followed them. The tiller had taken care of many of the freaks, but there were still too many to count.

  The rumble of the tractor was punctuated by shots as Ervin and Samuel continued to thin out the herd. But even over the deafening roar of the massive vehicle, Colin could still hear their shrieks. The cacophony threatened to unravel the very fiber of his being. The field was strewn with severed limbs and bodies.

  Another freak latched onto the large wheel well. The stupid creature tried to climb the tire but was immediately thrown off, crushed as the wheel continued to turn.

  “Shit!” The tractor lurched to the side, the sudden movement causing Colin to lose his footing and slip from the wheel well. With reflexes he hadn’t known he had, Colin grabbed ahold of the ladder. The freaks seized the opportunity and grabbed his feet as they dragged along the ground.

  “I gotcha!” Eric grabbed ahold of Colin. He tugged hard, trying to pull Colin back up, but the combined weight of Colin and the freaks was too much for him.

  Colin kicked out viciously as they tried to drag him down. Their fingers dug painfully into his legs, their nails raking across his pants as they tried to find the skin underneath. The freak snarled at him, or would have if her lips hadn’t been chewed off. As she opened her mouth to take a bite out of his leg, Colin fumbled for the hammer hanging from his belt. As he grabbed ahold of it, he lashed out desperately with it. The strike glanced off her face, the claws peeling the skin back from her forehead to jaw on the right side of her face. She didn’t even seem to notice.

  A shot rang out.

  The freak’s head snapped back and as her grip went slack she rolled away. Another set of hands reached down, and Samuel and Eric heaved Colin up.

  “You OK?” Samuel eyes were worried.

  “Are any of us?” Colin locked his arm around a pole, replacing the hammer on his belt. Another freak reached for him, and Colin snarled at the back monster before bringing his crowbar down on its head. Almost feverishly, he swung, removing fingers and arms and splitting heads that came within his reach.

  Suddenly, Colin realized the tractor had stopped moving. He looked around wildly, trying to figure out why they weren’t escaping. The horde would be on them any second.

  Instead, he was met with stillness.

  When Samuel pulled the stop lever and cut the tractor’s engine, the world was immediately cast into an unnerving silence. Colin could still hear the howls of the freaks echoing in his ears. But the world itself was quiet.

  The field was still, the bodies strewn across it now unmoving, rotting flesh. The tractor was smeared with mud and blood and bits of things that Colin didn’t want to think about.

  The others looked around as he did. Shocked. Their eyes wide with fear. Their wild breathing the only sound that broke the silence. Afraid that if they spoke it would break the illusion and the freaks would come screaming to rip them apart.

  “We did it.” Samuel’s voice wasn’t triumphant as he finally spoke the words.

  Colin looked over the tractor. His eyes roved over those who still stood with him. Of the ten who had gone out to reclaim Thies Farm, only five remained. His gaze wandered across the field, looking for what remained of the others, but the corpses were all so dirty it was impossible to tell one from the next.

  “Are they all gone?” The tractor’s keys clinked delicately as he fiddled with them.

  “There’s probably some trapped in the buildings.” Ervin started to scratch at his chin but grimaced and thought better of it as he caught sight of the gore covering his hand. “We should probably check the buildings before we do anything else.”

  That was the last thing Colin wanted to do. Out in the open, the freaks had been terrifying, their sheer numbers overwhelming. Inside the buildings, they could be lurking anywhere, just waiting for someone to walk by. Right now, all he wanted was to go back to the old hangar and curl up into a corner and pretend the world wasn’t as fucked up as it was, but they weren’t done.

  Reluctantly, Colin released his grip on the tractor and hopped down. “Well, let’s get to it.”

  The small buildings clustered around the farm were surprisingly empty. Many of the doors still stood open, as they had four days ago, inviting visitors in to look at produce, freshly baked goods, and handmade trinkets.

  Instead, many of the small shops were trashed. Tables were overturned, spilling their contents across the floors, where they had been trampled on. Blood was splashed across the walls and floors, the red color long since dried into a rusty brown. As they entered one of the small buildings, millions of tiny gnats took to the air. Colin cried out, but quickly covered his mouth and nose with his hand as he swatted the small pests from his eyes. The sickly-sweet scent of decaying fruit still penetrated his senses.

  Now they stood in front of one of the last buildings to be searched. The building was large compared to the others, with a sign above the door that read “Farmer’s Market.” Large planter boxes in front spilled over with all kinds of flowers in vibrant yellows, purples, oranges, and reds.

  The quaint little building was not untouched. At this building, though, the doors were closed. The curtains were drawn on the small windows, leaving what lay inside a mystery.

  Colin raised his fist and pounded on the door. The group stood utterly still, weapons ready, as they listened for a response from inside.

  “Did you hear that?” Eric tilted his head, his brow furrowing as he strained to listen. “I think I hear something.”

  “The freaks aren’t quiet,” Samuel said bluntly.

  “No.” Eric listened intently. “But something is definitely moving around in there.”

  “Alright.” Samuel nodded. “Let’s find out what.” With that, Samuel heaved back and landed a solid kick with his boot close to the door’s handle. The door groaned, protesting the abuse, but didn’t budge. Samuel growled and lashed out again. This time a large crack ran up the door from the handle. With one final kick, the door flew inward. Colin lunged through the doorway and into the darkness, the others following closely behind.

  The small shop was filled with screams. Not the wild and deranged screams of
the freaks, but screams of fear underscored by crying.

  “Wait!” Colin whirled around to stop the others.

  As he looked back over his shoulder, he could make out dozens of figures silhouetted in the dark. His eyes leapt from shadow to shadow as they huddled together. Slowly, as his eyes adjusted to the darkness, the shapes resolved themselves.

  “Are you…” A woman stepped forward, a bit braver than the rest, though her voice was shaky. “Are those people still out there? Are you here to rescue us?”

  Families.

  The figures huddled here were families that had been trapped by the freaks who had overwhelmed the farm. The masses of freaks that they had just killed.

  “No.” Eric shifted nervously as he tried to decide how to break the news to these people, who had literally been left in the dark for the last four days. “There isn’t any help coming. Not that we know, at least.” He glanced to Colin for help, but Colin just shrugged, the words lost on him as well. “Everything is gone.”

  The silent room erupted into a cacophony of voices. More crying. Shouting. Arguing. Anger and despair as these people’s worst fears were confirmed.

  The world they had known, that they all had known, was gone.

  The room was suddenly suffocating. It was too dark. Too crowded. Colin spun on his heel and walked outside. Outside wasn’t much better. The bright July sun burned down on him, causing beads of sweat to pop up on his brow. Colin’s eyes drifted across the empty farm.

  What would this place look like in six months? A year? Ten years? The questions swirled through his head. What kind of a future were they running toward?

  “Hey.” Colin jumped and spun to find Eric walking up behind him. “Sorry.” Eric dug his hands into his pockets. “The place seems pretty clear, but I figured it’s not a great idea for any of us to go off on our own.”

  Colin sighed. “You’re probably right.”

  “I’m always right.” Eric smirked but when Colin didn’t smile he quickly wiped it from his face. “You alright?”

  “Are any of us?”

  The longer Colin looked around the farm, the more foreign it seemed: A shoe forgotten in the road. The garage and debris that had been left to flutter in the breeze and collect in corners along the walls. Smears of blood that marred every surface. The lack of sound. The lack of people.

  Eric nodded in agreement. “Fair enough.”

  “If anyone says they’re alright now, they’re probably pretty fucked up. I wouldn’t trust them.”

  “You’re probably right.”

  “I’m always right,” Colin shot back, his lips turning up ever so slightly.

  “Come on, smartass. We have to figure out what to do now.”

  The store was cramped. Tarps, blankets, and clothes had been made into piles on the floor to serve as beds. Colin’s pile was lumpy. He pushed at the mass, trying to level it out in the middle, but to no avail.

  With a sigh, Colin flopped onto his back. Eric was a few feet away, snoring softly. Colin wondered how the big man could fall asleep so easily. Their day had been long and hard, both emotionally and physically draining. Despite that, Colin still found himself unable to fall asleep.

  His eyelids were heavy. His arms and legs ached in ways he had never imagined possible. But his mind would not quiet down.

  Thoughts swirled around in his mind like a swarm of angry bees.

  Run. Run. Run. The urgent words of the woman from the mall.

  Alex coughing up his own blood as he lay on the ground with his throat ripped out.

  Hey, you freaks! Come and get it!

  The soldiers with their rifles trained on Colin and the others.

  My job is to protect people, not gun them down.

  Oliver, the look of shock and pain on his face as he fell over the side of the tractor and into the ravenous horde below.

  There’s nothing left out there anymore.

  There’s nothing left out there anymore.

  There’s nothing left out there anymore.

  Colin sighed and rolled over on his side. He grasped for anything else to think about. Anything to take his mind out of its dark spiral.

  1, 2, 3…

  He began to count in his head. Focusing on the numbers. Counting them in time to the beats of his heart.

  4, 5, 6…

  There’s nothing left out there anymore.

  7, 8, 9, 10…

  A sniffle broke through Colin’s thoughts, the angry words quieting as he focused on the sound. Quick breaths. A sob. Sniffling.

  Slowly, he turned his head, trying to figure out whom it was coming from. As his ears honed in on the sound, he turned to look at the shadow. Their shoulders shook as they lay curled on their side. With another sniffle, they curled tighter into a ball.

  Colin thought about the network of people lying on the floor. Rotna. She let out a few quick breaths before sniffling again. Her cries cut off as she attempted to stifle the sound. She shuddered and another sob escaped her lips.

  Colin rolled onto his side, returning to his own thoughts and trying not to intrude on her privacy.

  There’s nothing left out there anymore.

  Colin stood outside the door to his home. The street was silent. Nothing moved. There was no breeze to stir the leaves of the towering oak trees. Dark clouds rolled overhead, blocking out the sun and casting the neighborhood into shadow.

  The house looked as it always had. It was a small ranch-style one-story house with a small porch. The red door stood out against the tan siding and white trim. Colin and Liv had always meant to change the door out for a more neutral brown but had never gotten around to it. Now the brightly colored door was a beacon.

  Colin sprinted forward and threw open the door. The inside of the house was dark. The only light in the room was the dull beam that spilled in through the open doorway.

  “Liv!” Colin cried out.

  Quiet sobs reached his ears and Colin immediately tensed up.

  “Liv! Where are you?”

  Again, nothing answered him but sobs.

  Colin frantically searched the house. Each empty room made his panic rise further. When Colin entered the bedroom, his heart dropped.

  Liv sat hunched on the floor. Her mahogany-brown hair cascaded over her face. She clutched Elli close to her as another round of sobs wracked through her body.

  “Liv?” Colin’s voice was barely a whisper.

  Liv’s head rose slowly, her hair parting around her face. Her normally bright eyes were dull and rimmed with red. Tears streaked down her cheeks. As Liv took in the sight of Colin, her lip quivered from another suppressed sob.

  “I couldn’t protect her.”

  Colin’s eyes fell to Elli. The child’s small, lifeless body was soaked in blood. A cry escaped Colin’s lips.

  A low, rumbling growl drew his attention back to Liv. Black veins snaked across her face and down her neck. Her lips and right cheek were gone, leaving Liv with a permanent demented smile.

  A shriek cut through the air. The kind of cry that set Colin’s heart racing. The kind of cry that only a terrified child could produce.

  Elli was screaming and thrashing in Liv’s grip.

  “No!” Colin screamed as Liv reared back. Even as he leapt forward, he knew he was too late. Liv buried her face in the tot’s tender belly as Elli’s shrill screams filled the air.

  Colin sprung upright. His body trembled and his skin was coated in sweat from the nightmare. His breath wheezed raggedly in and out. Elli’s screams still echoed through his mind.

  Even as he tried to tell himself it was just a dream, he knew it might be closer to reality. Maybe it already was reality.

  Colin rolled over, not willing to get out of bed but knowing he would not fall back asleep.

  Day 6

  “Maybe we could draw them off the bridge with something.” Eric’s tone was a bit exasperated already. The conversation had been circling the same path for over an hour. “We have some cars. What if we sit a
t the end of the bridge and blare the horn for a while, ya know? We could draw them off the bridge and then circle back around and cross once we’ve drawn them far enough away.”

  “Even if that worked, and it might,” Samuel conceded as he scratched at the scruff on his chin, “the cars are crammed ass to front along all what…a thousand feet of the bridge. We’d have to move a lot of those cars off the bridge because there isn’t anywhere to push them to the side and that would be a monumental task in itself. We won’t ever get our cars across. And we’ve got too many people to hoof it.”

  “We could get cars on the other side. I’m sure someone here can hotwire a car.”

  “Are you kidding?” Samuel spit out as tempers began to flare again. “We would get massacred before we made it to the other side. Your little diversion might draw most of them away, but not all of them. Do you think those people”—Samuel gestured back toward Thies—“will be able to fight their way across? We’d either have to leave them to die or die with them.”

  “Why are we even discussing leaving?” Ervin injected, stepping forward between the two men. “I mean we have a decent thing going here. Plenty of food. Shelter. We aren’t out in the middle of nowhere, but we’re set away from the others.”

  “My family is on the other side of the river.”

  “Oh.” Ervin looked down at the ground for a moment as his cheeks flushed a bit before looking back up. “I hate to say this, and I mean nothing by it…”

  “Say it,” Colin prompted.

  Ervin sighed. “Why should the whole lot of us risk our lives and give up something good just to get you back to your family? It’s nothing against you personally, man, but there are people here that we have to think about. I mean, have you even heard from them since this all began? How do you know…How do you even know that they’re still alive?”

  The group fell silent as the words hung heavy in the air. Honestly, Colin had considered the possibly that Liv and Elli might not have made it. They had to be alive. Out there somewhere. Waiting for him to find them and make their family whole again.