A World Alone (Dead World Series Book 1) (8 page)

CHAPTER
THIRTEEN

Logan

Small bolts of pain, like arrows, shoot up my right leg
as I step down off the bus, the spearheads embedding themselves in my thigh.
Clutching onto Joey's shoulder for support, I glance up from the ground at the
small, one-story school building and scowl. A chain-link fence, rusted with age
surrounds the premises, only slightly taller than myself. It looks ready to
topple if the wind merely whispers on it. I doubt it is capable of keeping out
a child, let alone a grown infected.  

Scanning the surrounding area, a desolate wasteland of hot desert with small
buildings littered across its horizon, my scowl lessens. At least it looks like
they cleared out the surrounding area, and they have a good vantage point of
any infected coming near. I crane my neck back as Stella and the other woman
step off the bus.

"This is your camp?" I ask, lacing my tone with as much skepticism
as I can possibly manage. She directs a smile my way as she pauses on the top
step, waiting as Stella jumps down.

"I know it doesn't look like much, but it's treated us well." She
shakes her head at me as if already anticipating what my reply will be. "But
if it makes you feel better, we have been planning on moving. We just need to
find somewhere."

I look back at the gate, and the pudgy man behind it, eyeing us warily. I'm
surprised they haven't been overrun already, although the surrounding area
looks pretty barren of life.

Joey throws a hand out towards the man guarding the gate and begins to wave erratically
at him. "Hey, Jerry!"

With a tight lipped smile, Jerry holds his rifle closer towards his chest
and replies with a curt nod.

"It's alright, Jerry," Rocket smiles, stepping around us and up to
the gate, "they're with us."

He nods again with the same uncomfortable smile before pulling his rifle
away and leaning it against the fence. Digging into his jacket pocket, he
retrieves a golden key that glints in the sunlight. Clumsily, he stabs it at
the fat lock of the gate, missing a few times before finally, with a twist, the
lock pops open.

A chain link fence, and all they have for defense is one fat lock, and an
even fatter man. My features pinch together as I shake my head. The sooner I
get out of here the better. I can't believe I'm actually thinking this, but I
was probably safer when it was just Stella and I.

This place is like an unstable grenade, ready to blow up in your face at any
moment. I'm not going to stick around and get blasted, let alone hit by any of
the shrapnel. As soon as I get my leg fixed, I decide, I'm out of here.

"You're gonna love it inside," Joey tells me. "Everyone gets
their own room because there are heaps of classrooms, although I think the only
ones left are English and Math rooms. . ."

I tune him out, already sick of hearing him talk. I endured the entire bus
ride listening to him go on and on about pointless crap. I don't need to know
the name of his dog when he was eight years old, and I don't care. The kid is
either an idiot or intentionally trying to piss me off. From his occasional
smirks and chuckles, I assume the latter.

Like a singing whale, the gate creaks loudly as it swings open, scraping
against the small pebbles and rocks beneath it. Rocket steps aside and gestures
for us to enter, her gaze lingering on Joey before she looks to me with a wink.

I limp ahead with Joey's aid, ignoring the stare of Jerry as he picks his
rifle back up and closes the gate behind us. I glance back as he snaps the lock
in place and returns to his position with the rifle.

It would only take ten, maybe a few more infected to tear that fence down. I
don't know why they even bother with the lock. It's a miracle these people
aren't dead yet.

I turn my attention back towards walking, trying to put most pressure on my
left leg. Rocket walks ahead, guiding us towards the large school hall. She
opens the door for us and holds it open as we limp inside. I look around the
dimly lit room.

Several people milling about glance up at us in curiosity, their movements
slowing but not stopping. Multiple tables lay scattered around the room, most
covered in maps, food or other items. Up on the stage are several cots that sit
close to the ground, a few people lying in them, but many appearing empty. One
elderly man stalks between them, focusing his attention on one person at a
time, his angular eyes narrowed at each of them in an expression of constant
annoyance.

"Joey, you take Logan to Doctor Choy, I'll introduce Stella to
Aaron." Rocket points towards the stage, her features blank as she looks
at Joey. She turns to me, the corner of her lip twitching up as her eyes run me
up and down.

I glance back at Stella as Joey leads me towards the stage. She's talking to
the other man on the bus and doesn't even notice me leaving. Clenching my jaw,
I turn my attention forward as Joey steers us behind the stage to a set of
stairs. Struggling, he helps me up one at a time. The doctor sees us from the
other side and rushes over, as best as he can for his age, abandoning his other
patient.

"Your leg no good?" he asks, pointing towards an empty cot, his words
thick with a Mandarin accent.

"Yeah I—"

"He fell out of a building!" Joey interrupts, leaning down to drop
me on the cot. "It was awesome!"

"
Jumped
," I correct with a growl, my eyes narrowing as I
glare up at him. "I jumped out of a building."

"That don't make you sound any smarter." The doctor shakes his
head, looking my leg up and down and placing his hands on his hips. "Not
much I can do but bandage," he says, pulling a roll of white gauze out
from his pocket. Pushing my pant leg up, he begins unraveling it around my heel. 
Like a snake it wraps around my ankle and coils up towards my thigh, a little
tighter than I would like.

I look out from the stage, scanning the small area, my eyes running across
the floor and up the walls. I catch sight of Stella and Rocket at a table near the
back, laughing with a man. I don't feel comfortable with her knowing more than
I do. The sooner I get over there the better. The man they're laughing with is
probably the 'leader' of this camp. I turn back towards the doctor, his
features scrunched in concentration as he continues to slowly wrap the bandage
around my leg.

"Think we could hurry this up, Doc?" I ask, glancing back towards
Stella at the back of the room. He looks up at me with narrowed eyes before
yanking on the bandage, the pressure shooting pain up my leg. I clutch at it
with a curse, glaring at him as he clips it down.

"You want me look at your wrist?" he asks, pointing a shriveled
finger towards the bandage wrapped tightly around most of my arm. I glance down
at it, the pale pink of blood beginning to seep through the white.

"No it's fine," I say, tapping my uninjured foot on the wooden
floor. Somewhat confident that the rubbing alcohol Stella had splashed on it
will be sufficient in warding off any infection.

"Alright," he says, reaching under the cot and pulling out a
crutch. Struggling to stand up, Joey offers him a hand that he waves away. As I
push myself up from the cot he offers me the crutch. I take it and slide it
under my arm, finding it far less painful to walk now.

"Thank you," I nod. He waves his hand in my face.

"Don't thank me yet. If it broken you done for." He waddles away
to another cot, leaving me to scowl at the back of his balding head for a
minute. Joey laughs, giving my shoulder a firm slap.

"He's hilarious isn't he?"

I move my glare from the doctor to Joey. The jackass actually has me missing
Stella's company.

"Come on," he chuckles, "let's go meet up with the
others." He steps back to allow me room to adjust with my new crutch.
Swinging it under my arm a few times I move towards the stairs, preferring its
aid far more than Joey’s.

Much to my annoyance, he keeps pace with me as we walk the distance of the
hall. Their heads swivel in our direction as we reach them, Rocket's eyes
grazing my bandaged leg and lingering before snapping to meet my gaze.

"This is Stella's friend that I was telling you about," she says,
stepping between Stella and the man and gently guiding him towards me.
"Logan this is Aaron, he practically set this place up."

Aaron extends an arm towards me. I let his palm linger in the air for a
moment, hesitating before reaching out and giving it a firm shake.

"Good to meet you, Logan," he says, his brown eyes trained on me.
"It's been awhile since we've seen new faces."

"Well I’m surprised you’re still here to see new faces, your defenses
are pretty weak," I say, cutting right down to it.

"Excuse me?" he asks, his closely shaved head jerking back in
surprise. His lips curve in amusement and I find myself irritated by this.

"If my leg wasn't injured I'd be able to knock that fence down
myself," I tell him. "I'm surprised this place hasn't been overrun
yet."

His lips part in an open smile, revealing white, cared for teeth. He holds
his expression for a moment before glancing at Stella and then looking back at
me with a chuckle.

"Look," he grins, "I know what I'm doing, I—"

"Doesn't look that way to me," I interrupt. These people aren't my
problem, but that doesn't mean that they should all die because one ignorant
man thinks he knows best.

He pauses, his smile now a clenched one as he visibly tenses.

"Really?" he asks. "Because we've both survived the same
amount of time and from where I'm
standing
," he points to my leg,
"it looks like I'm doing a better job at it than you are."

My jaw clenches as I glare at him. His eyes turn mocking as he smiles in
triumph, and I find myself wanting to smack the grin from his face.

Stella barks out a laugh and I direct my glare towards her. She shrugs, not
looking the least bit apologetic.

Fine
.

If these people don't want my help, then I won't give it to them. It makes
my life easier and it isn't my problem if they all end up dying. I tried, that
should be more than enough to save me from any damn guilty conscience.

"Look, all jokes aside I'm—" Aaron begins speaking but stops as
the doors of the hall are thrown open. They slam against the wall as a young
girl bursts through them, her eyes wild as they scan the room. They locate
Aaron, widening in conviction as she runs towards us, sweat glistening on her
skin.

"Aaron!" she heaves in a shout, panting heavily as she reaches us.
"We have a problem." She stops beside me, leaning forward and resting
her hands on her knees as she struggles to regain her breath.

"What is it?" Rocket asks, moving away from Aaron so that we're
standing in a circle.

"The horde," she pants, "in L.A." She stops again to
regain her breath. Aaron's features crease as he waits for her to continue.
"It's headed this way."

As if a bomb has been dropped in the center of our circle, a shockwave
ripples over us and every person visibly tenses. A heavy silence follows the
blast. No one seems to know quite how to react. Aaron's dark eyes glaze over
with an indisputable harshness as he stares at the girl.

"Are you sure?" he asks, so tense that his skin has started to
turn red.

She nods. "Positive, I watched them for hours on my scavenging
run."

I didn't think it possible but his entire body manages to become even more
rigid at this. All hope he might have had now drained from his face as he pinches
his lips together in a hard line.

"How long?"

She shakes her head, her brows pinching in thought. "Two days,"
she shrugs, "maybe three."

He nods.

Relief and disappointment clash as I mull this over. I didn't want to stay
here anyway, but the promise of a rest was an enticing one. I almost feel like
laughing at the irony of it. What were the odds that as soon as we found some
place remotely safe it would be taken away from us just as we arrived? Like
God's way of screwing me over, sending trouble wherever I go.

"We have to leave," Rocket says, glancing around at us, "as
soon as possible."

"No!" Aaron snaps. She looks at him startled. "We don't leave
unless we absolutely have to."

I open my mouth to speak, to tell him not to be an idiot, but I think better
of it. He's already declared that he doesn't want my help.

"I know what I'm doing," he tells Rocket as she looks at him
skeptically. "Just give me some time to think." He straightens
himself up, glancing at each of us in turn. "In the meantime, we keep this
between ourselves. I don't want to cause any unnecessary panic."

Unnecessary panic
?

A horde, substantial enough in size to overrun the second largest city in
the United States is headed this way. And this jackass thinks that that's
unnecessary
panic? I shake my head.

He catches the movement, his eyes pouncing on mine with a viciousness.
"Do you understand?"

I glare at him. His dark eyes are hard as they challenge mine. Gritting my
teeth, I give a curt nod before looking away. If the idiot wants to get
everyone killed, then that's his choice, but I'm not going to stick around to
watch it happen.

"Good," he spits the word. "I'm going to go and think of a
plan." He glances round at everyone once more before turning and stalking
away. I stare at his back as he leaves, his posture straight and rigid as he
avoids the stares of other people in the hall.

The young girl nods awkwardly before spinning on her heel and walking back out
the doors from which she came.

The four of us that remain stand in silence, occasionally sharing a glance
but ultimately keeping our gazes on the ground.

"Alright," Rocket begins, catching our attention. "It'll be
night soon. So, Joey, why don't you show Stella to her room," she pauses,
her gaze lingering on me as she tilts her head forward, "and I'll show
Logan to his."