A Broken World (Book 3): Fractured Memories Page 5

  She wasn’t just anyone, either.

  “We’ve got another ten hours, give or take, before we get there. I figure we’ll switch off in a few, let you get some rest?”

  “Sounds good,” I grinned.

  “What’s funny?” I paused before answering.

  “Nothing.” She squinted, but eventually let it go.

  “Alright, wake me in a few hours.” She folded the map up and stuffed it into her pocket before laying her head against the seat, closing her eyes.

  The rest of the trip was quiet, watching the changing scenery as I drove. It was still fascinating to me, that the world could be so beautiful despite all the chaos. It gave me hope, like maybe everything wasn’t bleak and horrible. I stayed at the wheel for at least an extra hour, giving Mills some much-needed sleep, before waking her. She wasn’t happy with my decision, but thanked me for the sleep.

  By my estimate, we’d arrive at the town near dawn.

  “Eric, we’re here,” Jessica spoke softly, shaking my arm gently. I opened my eyes and looked around, the scenic greens of rural farmstead I had fallen asleep to becoming open desert and sand. I had been right about dawn, as the sun was approaching the horizon by the thin red line in the distance. Stepping out of the SUV, the expansive desert was incredible, stretching for miles.

  “I’ve never been to Arizona,” I called across the car, pulling on my pack after withdrawing a bandanna.

  “Me, neither.” Jessica was doing the same, rotating her ankles as she did. “The town should be a mile that way,” she pointed to her left, “which means it should be on the other side of this hill.” We were parked at the foot of a sand-covered dune, casting a large shadow over us and making me wonder what it concealed. With little to no human activity or traffic, I had learned with Oak Lawn that geography was very different in some areas. For all I knew, one of these dunes buried a city.

  “The sun will rise within the hour, so we’d better hurry if we want to keep any advantage.”

  “You think we’ll need one? We could find a settlement of peaceful survivors on the other side, for all we know.” I fixed the bandanna around my neck and pulled it over my face, staring at the mound of dust as if I could see through to the dangers beyond.

  “I don’t believe we’re that lucky.” I shifted the sling of my rifle to get more comfortable and started up the steep hill. Jessica followed, laughing as I struggled to keep my foothold. It felt like one, long gag reel, but I finally made it to the top and looked over at the town below.

  Several buildings were spread out across the land, the sparse plants and lack of operating machinery leaving the town looking like a three-dimensional visage that blended with its surroundings. A water tower had been erected on the near side, but the rest of the area was on the same, flat plane with few exceptions.

  “I could climb the tower and provide cover while you sweep the town?”

  “Sounds good.” Going down the slope was easier, letting gravity do a lot of the work, but we forced ourselves to slow as we got closer to the first line of buildings. The water tower was essentially at the corner of the town, which would allow Jessica to cover me as long as I stayed in the open.

  “Alright, give me a minute to get comfy up there.” She hoisted herself onto the ladder before stopping, glancing back down to me. “Be careful out there.” I smirked.

  “Always am.” I pulled out the radio Murray had given us in Mississippi holding it up. “Wanna try these out?” She shrugged, removing a hand to lift up her shirt and click hers on. The radios were basically earbuds that connected back to the pack on our hips, so my fingers were crossed that they didn’t need some kind of satellite uplink to work wirelessly.

  I waited for her to get higher up on the ladder before clicking mine on.

  “I know it will be tempting, but try not to look at my ass too much while you’re up there.” Above me, I heard her laugh, letting me know the radio worked.

  “Okay, Eric, it’s time to focus. We don’t know what came through here.”

  “Assuming they ever left,” I finished, something on the ground nearby catching my eye. A woman’s tennis shoe had been dropped, the thin layer of sand on it telling me it was recent. Whether or not she was still here, and alive or dead, was another story.

  There were drag marks in the sand from where I had found the shoe, so I followed them through the town. Despite my curiosity, I stayed cautious and checked corners before moving on.

  “Are you seeing anything up there, Jess?”

  “I’ve got nothing. Are you still following the tracks?” Her voice was icy, a trait I had grown used to when she was concentrating.

  “Yeah, there are footprints all over the place, but the drag marks are consistent. My gut’s telling me we’ve got company, though.”

  “Just keep your eyes peeled. I’m not seeing any movement, yet.”

  “Will do.” I kept moving, stepping up to the corner of a general store. I made a mental note to check for supplies on our way back to the SUV. “I found-”

  “Danger close.” I shut up and pushed myself against the wall, holding my breath. Footsteps dug into the sand around the corner and I tightened my grip on the M4, waiting. Five dull thumps impacted and a red mist passed by on the slight breeze, followed shortly by the sound of two bodies hitting the ground. “Clear,” Mills whispered after a moment. I leaned out and saw two ferals lying dead, five neat holes in their corpses.

  “Nice shooting, Tex.”

  “Sorry for the short notice. They just walked into my view.”

  “Did you see where they came from?”

  “Best guess would be a building to the north, northeast of you.” I followed the marks in the sand with my eyes, watching them trail in that direction.

  “Good guess. I’m heading that way.”

  “Eric…” I noted the concern in her tone, smiling.

  “I know. I’m on my A-game.” I stepped around the bodies, skirting them just in case two rounds hadn’t been enough to keep them down, and hurried across the open street. Jessica didn’t say anything more and I didn’t see anything on my way between the streets, but something in the air told me I was going in the right direction.

  Chapter 15

  The familiar scent of burning flesh grew stronger as I walked, burning my eyes, before I turned a corner and saw the tracks in the sand converge. Footprints and drag marks became one before stopping at the foot of a porch, the ragged wood of the door smeared with blood. Treading carefully, I moved closer until I could hear a crackling fire inside. With the sun finally coming up, I could see the smoke billowing into the sky.

  “What’s wrong?” Jessica asked over the radio, seeing me stop.

  “Someone’s making dinner in there and I’m going to investigate.” Covering the bandanna with my shirt collar to try and smother the scent completely, I stopped at the door and listened, even as my stomach did jumping jacks. “I can see a window. Do you have eyes inside?”

  “No. I’m relocating now. Wait for my signal.” As I stood outside the building, I tried to think of anything that wasn’t someone eating the arm of a cooked zombie. Clearly, I was failing.

  Suddenly, though, a scream erupted inside the house that helped me focus. Jessica must have heard it, too, because she quickly jumped on the radio.

  “Eric, I’m almost in position. Give me thirty seconds!” She must have been running based on her breathing.

  “She may not have that long,” I replied, flipping off the safety of my rifle.

  “Dammit, Eric-” I clicked off the radio and swung around the porch, checking the doorknob. The door was unlocked, to no surprise, so I gently pushed it open and stepped inside. Immediately ahead was a short hallway ending in a door, with an open room on the right where the screaming emanated from. I moved up silently, trying to see what I was up against, but as soon as I edged closer to look, my foot crunched. In my haste to try and save the woman, I had missed a very important detail. Closing my eyes in regret, I glanc
ed down to see the firelight dancing on broken glass. Cursing to myself, I looked back up to find a pair of ravenous, red eyes staring back at me.

  I brought up the barrel of my M4 as the feral rushed me, pulling the trigger when a second one crashed through the frail wall to my right and tackled me to the ground. Reacting quickly, I rebounded off the ground and swung, bringing the rifle around and smashing the stock into the feral’s jaw. Bones cracked and its jaw hung loosely, drool flinging wildly, but it swung and punched me in the side of the head. I saw stars for a moment, but I had the coherence to release the M4 and reach for my Sig.

  Removing the handgun from its holster, I flipped it sideways and fired a round at point-blank. The feral bucked, the round penetrating its stomach, and prepared to lash out again. The brief pause in its attack was enough for me to angle my hand higher on my chest and fire again, painting the broken wall behind in dark brain matter.

  Without hesitation, still lying on the ground, I shifted my aim toward my feet and squeezed the trigger, bringing the second feral to an end before it could reach me. Three rounds found their mark, and it collapsed forward until its head smashed into the floorboards inches from my leg. With no time to breathe, I pushed the first feral off of me and rolled over to stand. I approached the next room and took aim with the M4, the confirmation that my gut was right not giving me any comfort. Turning the corner, my eyes scanned the scene before me in an instant.

  I stood across from two ferals, their attention already on me as I entered the space. Something told me they weren’t expecting me to be the one walking into the room after two of their friends attacked. Still, I had no intention of leaving alone, because a young woman sat in the corner against the far wall. She clutched her right hand against her chest, her shirt stained with blood, but it looked like the ferals had just started their twisted work on her. My eyes shifted back to the two ferals, one closer to me while the other was two feet from the woman.

  It’s strange, but there’s always a moment of calm before every battle, a sense of certainty that I’ve always felt. That moment came, my stomach settling, my mind centered on the task at hand, before the room flashed into motion.

  The feral closest to me swiped a knife from a nearby table as it charged toward me. In my peripheral vision, I caught the second feral moving to the woman, but I had to focus on the one bearing down on me first. Dodging a wild slash and jumping back, my feet landed and I threw myself forward before the feral could bring the knife back around. Tackling the feral to the ground, I threw myself back and let my torso land with the M4 aimed between my legs. Pulling the trigger as it was already rising, the feral’s head burst open and its body went limp.

  Swinging my arms up until I was looking upside down, I had the second feral between the crosshairs of my rifle within five seconds of entering the room. Unfortunately, it held a knife to the woman’s throat, using her as a shield.

  “Let her go.” My voice was gravel, but the feral just growled in response. Having once been human before they fed on infected flesh, I assumed ferals were capable of basic speech along with thought, but I guess I could be wrong. That, or it just wasn’t in the mood to talk. “I’m only going to say it one more time, you sick bastard. Let her go.” I emphasized each word slowly, but I still didn’t have a clear shot, so I was stuck.

  A key part of negotiating in any hostage situation is the fear of death on the part of the criminal, a basic instinct to live, or a basic regard for human life to reason with. The feral had neither, which occurred to me as I saw its arm begin to move. With no shot, I was helpless to watch the woman’s throat be slit open just as the faint sound of glass breaking caught my ear.

  A bullet whizzed through the window behind me, or below me in this case, and embedded itself in the eye of the feral. Its head whipped back and the woman reached up quickly, holding its arm away from her neck as it fell to the ground. Glancing down between my legs, I squinted and saw the glint of a scope in the morning sun.

  “I told you to wait,” Jessica reminded me as I clicked my radio back on.

  “Yeah.” I took a deep breath and let my head fall back against the wooden floor. “Thanks.” I pushed myself up and walked to the woman, who had made her way to the far side of the room before collapsing in tears. She barely registered my presence as I stepped closer, but I knelt and tried to calm her.

  “Are you okay?” I finally got a look at her hand and saw two fingers missing at the knuckle. There were no clear bite marks and the skin was cleanly broken, so there was good news. It wasn’t much, but as long as the blade had been clean she wouldn’t be infected. She looked up at me, unable to speak, and I glanced at the source of the crackling fire, once again regretting where my journey took me. Of course, it also reminded me that I was far from becoming the kind of monster that these ferals were.

  A man’s body was burning, the fat in his body popping as it cooked and sending waves of nausea through me. I attempted to coax the woman away from the fire, but she wouldn’t move. Thankfully, Jessica walked in moments later, her arm over her nose.

  “What the hell…” She trailed off, seeing the same thing I did, and holstered her sidearm. She nodded to me and walked to the woman, kneeling.

  “It’s going to be okay,” I heard Mills say as she withdrew a piece of sterile cloth from her pack and wrapped the woman’s hand. Sometimes, a little reassurance went a long way. The woman’s lips were cracked from dehydration and she had bruises on her face, but she seemed otherwise untouched, which was a small victory.

  Chapter 16

  I cleared the rest of the house before returning to the room, letting Jessica hopefully convince the woman to leave the building while I was gone. I didn’t need to look in the room at the end of the entrance hall, because the closer I had gotten to the door the smell was enough. After making sure they were dead with my knife, I dragged the bodies of the ferals to the side so that the woman didn’t have to see more death on her way out. I returned to Jessica, getting a chance to actually look around the room and see the horrific details that I had missed earlier.

  The table that the feral had swiped the knife from was covered in a variety of bladed utensils, ranging from crude carving tools to torturous devices that I couldn’t even begin to describe. Suffice it to say, these bastards got what they deserved. Jessica had soothed the woman, whispering to her, rubbing her arm, her hair, trying anything to help her relax. As she finally managed to help the woman rise, escorting her out of the room, I went to put out the fire.

  A spit had been placed over the fire pit, charred body parts roasting to a crisp, and I knew this woman had seen hell. I assumed she had tried to escape, making it to the edge of town before they caught up to her and dragged her back. Regardless of how long she had been here, though, or how much she had seen, the memory would haunt her forever. For a moment, I wished I could make the ferals feel some of that pain, but they were dead and that would have to be enough. Besides, the human element of ferals was too far gone to feel remorse or pain.

  “I know what you’re thinking, Eric,” Jessica spoke softly as she returned to the room, placing her hand on my shoulder. “We got here as fast as we could, and that woman is alive because we did.”

  “Whatever happened here…She’ll never be the same, you know.” She paused before responding, her face a mixture of emotions.

  “None of us will, but that doesn’t mean we can’t find our way back.”

  “You really believe that?” I cocked my head to look her in the eyes.

  “I have to,” she whispered, glancing down. Silence passed before she inhaled deeply, her gaze hardened once again. “Are we done here?”

  “I passed by a general store on the way here that I wanted to check for supplies.” I secretly hoped to find another feral to work through some of my emotions on, but I knew Jessica would disapprove so I kept that thought to myself.

  “Alright. I’m going to take her back to the SUV and meet you at the store. Be careful.”


  “Always am.” I reached up and touched her cheek, wiping away a tear, before she turned and left. I stepped out front, watching Jessica hold the woman as they walked, and really hoped Jessica was right.

  Unfortunately, despite looking all over and not exactly being quiet about my business, I wound up outside the general store without encountering anything hostile. Approaching the door with pent-up frustration, I reached down and pulled open the creaking wood. Keeping my Sig in one hand, I scanned the right side of the store before pivoting and sweeping the left. Being patient, I waited a full minute for any movement before stepping inside.

  The shelves were basically empty as I walked through the store, venturing into the back office in case something useful was hidden. A messy desk, various faded sales papers, and typical office equipment were all that I found, though. As I sifted through the few goods left on the shelves, I heard the SUV pull up outside and Mills stepped inside, lowering her Beretta when she saw me.

  “Is she in the car?”

  “Yeah,” she replied almost absentmindedly, holstering her sidearm. She lifted up a crumbling box of matches, staring blankly.

  “Is everything okay?” I offered, figuring something was wrong.

  “I got her to talk to me, Eric.”

  “That’s a good thing, right?” Her eyes welled up and I got the sense that good was the last thing it was.

  “She was here with her husband and a group of other survivors. The town was running out of supplies and they grew desperate, so when the infected attacked again...” I knew what that meant, but I let her continue on her own time. “When their friends started changing, her husband barricaded their house and tried to keep them out. That didn’t work, so he fought them off and told her to run, but…” I nodded, filling in the rest with my imagination. That had been a ring in the fire, where they had burned him. The poor woman had likely watched her husband be tortured and cannibalized, unable to do anything to stop it. “Eric, I want to have hope that we can make it back, have faith in people, but seeing shit like this…”