Broken World (Book 3): Mad World (3 page)

I grab some food and focus on everythin’ I can remember while I eat. The van was white. The men that jumped out. One was a fat bastard that looked like he was ‘bout to have a heart attack from runnin’, and the other was covered in tattoos. Another guy with dark hair fired at us from the passenger seat. He was a shitty shot, didn’t even come close to hittin’ us. I never saw the driver.

The harder I think ‘bout Vegas and the hospital and that damn van, the more I feel like I’m missin’ something. Something that should be obvious.

I grab a bag of chips and try to pull it open, but pain shoots through my knuckles. The bag falls from my hand and spills all over the floor, and I bite down on my lip. My hand is broke. Dammit.

“Shit,” I mutter.

I gotta find the doc and get this thing looked at. Usually I wouldn’t rush off to the doctor—Angus woulda called me a pussy—but I can’t afford to let it go now. Not with Vivian out there. She needs me.

Gotta go back to the common area. I’m pretty sure the doc was outside the control room when Winston dragged me down, but I couldn’t say for sure. There was a lot of people there, and I wasn’t exactly in my right mind. Not that I am now.

I head out, and just like I thought, the doc is there, along with most everybody else. I catch his eye when I walk in and jerk my head to the side, motionin’ for him to come over. I don’t wanna listen to them talk ‘bout Vivian and Hadley gettin’ taken, and I don’t wanna see their pity. Not right now when my chest hurts like this. Not when I’m likely to explode again. I gotta get my shit together. This ain’t me. This is Angus.

Joshua jogs over. He’s a tall, thin guy. The type of kid I woulda picked on in school. Probably sucked at sports and studied all the time. Truth is, I was jealous of guys like that. They was goin’ places I couldn’t even dream ‘bout. Who cares if I was good at football? The only thing it did for me was get me laid in high school. While that was great at the time, it didn’t make my life no better once I graduated.

“What’s up?” the doc asks.

“Think I broke my hand.”

I hold it out for him to look at. He takes it and feels ‘round, and I gotta bite down on my lip and resist the urge to cuss at him. It hurts like hell.

“We better get you an X-ray.” His eyebrows pull together in a straight line and it kinda makes him look alien. He’s funny lookin’ on top of being so skinny. But I like him. Wasn’t sure ‘bout him at first, but he grows on you. “It’s a good thing you were able to get all those medical supplies—” He stops talkin’ and frowns. “I’m sorry.”

I pull my hand outta his and head to the stairs. “Ain’t your fault.”

***

I never had an X-ray before. A zombie apocalypse brings all kinds of new experiences. Like being to Vegas for the first time or killin’ a man. Or fallin’ in love, only to have your heart ripped out. Things just keep gettin’ better an’ better.

“It’s broken.” Joshua points at the X-ray on the screen like I know what the hell he’s pointin’ at. “The fifth metacarpal bone here.”

“So I gotta get a damn cast? Just great.” That’s gonna make it tough for me to head out on my own to find Vivian. I ain’t exactly sure how I’m gonna shoot with a cast on my hand.

Joshua shakes his head. “It never occurred to me to ask you guys to get the stuff to make a cast. There are some hand braces around here though, and that’s better than nothing.”

“Great.” At least a brace I can take off if I gotta. My hand hurts like hell, but if I gotta use it to shoot, I can work through the pain.

The doc goes to the other side of the room and roots ‘round in a cabinet.

It’s gettin’ late. I gotta get some sleep so I can leave early in the mornin’ and head back to Vegas. Sleep ain’t an easy thing, though. Not since I was a kid. Vivian noticed, but I never told her why. Not really sure why I didn’t. She wanted to know. Asked me a few times. That’s something new. Nobody ever really wanted to know me or what I was thinkin’ before. She did, though. And a part of me wanted to tell her ‘cause I love her. But lovin’ her hurts, too. More than my damn hand, that’s for sure.

Thinkin’ ‘bout Vivian makes the rock in my stomach get bigger. I clench my jaw an’ fight against the pain. It ain’t gonna do nobody no good to let it out. Not me and not Vivian.

And Hadley! Shit. I keep forgettin’ ‘bout Hadley.

“We’re not going to leave her, you know.” The doc is suddenly back in front of me. “You don’t have to go alone. I know that’s what you’re thinking.”

He’s holdin’ a brace in his hand, and I let him put it on. I hafta swallow the giant lump in my throat before I can talk. “We gotta find her.”

“We will.”

3
Vivian

HADLEY AND I RIDE THE ELEVATOR IN SILENCE. Linebacker One doesn’t loosen his grip on my arm for even a second. Like he’s afraid I’m going to escape. But there’s nowhere to run. Even if we weren’t in an elevator, the hotel is crawling with men.

Hadley’s still shaky, but that doesn’t stop her from giving Linebacker Two a dirty look. He doesn’t even blink.

The elevator comes to a stop on one of the top floors. When the door slides open, Linebacker One’s fingers dig into my arm so hard I yelp. His grip only gets tighter as he drags me down the hall. Luckily, we don’t have far to go. We stop just a few doors down with Linebacker Two and Hadley right behind us. When Linebacker One knocks, the sound echoes through the empty hall.

And makes me want to hurl.

A gray-haired man who’s probably in his sixties answers the door. He’s wearing a brown tracksuit and a couple gold chains. His dark eyes sweep over me before moving to Hadley. He doesn’t react. Not a smile or a nod. Nothing to indicate what he’s thinking. He pulls the door open further and motions for us to enter.

Oh, shit. This isn’t good.

Linebacker One drags me to the middle of the room before finally letting me go. I rub my sore forearm as the second linebacker shoves Hadley my way. She bumps into me, nearly knocking me over, but I catch myself just as the gray-haired man steps forward.

His face is tanned and deeply lined, and his eyes are perfectly expressionless. “Why don’t you ladies go ahead and get cleaned up?”

He jerks his head toward the back of the hotel, and I look over my shoulder. The bathroom door is open and the light is on. There are towels on the sink. For us? He has to be crazy.

“Are you fucking serious?” I spit out.

He nods, but I still can’t get a good read on him. Talk about a poker face.

I shake my head and take a step back. “No.”

His hand shoots forward so fast I don’t have a chance to react. He wraps his fingers around my neck, and he pulls me forward until my face is only inches from his. “You and your little friend are going to go into that bathroom and take a shower. When you are done, you’re going to come back out here. Understand?”

Hadley starts to sob, and the man’s fingers tighten on my throat. My lungs burn and my eyes sting. I claw at his hand, but he doesn’t ease up. I can’t get any air!

Panicked, I nod, and he finally lets me go. I stumble back, gasping for air, and Hadley catches me. She’s sobbing, but I can’t look at her. My throat feels like it’s on fire, and my lungs are raw. I rub my neck while the gray-haired man holds my gaze. His eyes aren’t expressionless anymore. They are as black and evil as the pits of hell.

He sniffs and calmly lowers himself into a chair. “Glad we understand each other.”

I grab Hadley’s hand and pull her toward the bathroom. My heart pounds harder than the bass drum at a rock concert. I’m pretty sure if I don’t get away from those menacing brown eyes, I’m going to lose it.

“What are we going to do?” Hadley asks the second I shut the bathroom door. Her face is red and streaked with tears, and her clothes are filthy. No wonder he wants us to shower.

The pictures of naked women in the lobby flash through my mind. I swallow and pull my shirt over my head. “Shower.”

She blinks, and her bottom lip quivers.

“That’s all we can do right now. I don’t know exactly what’s going on, but right now our best option is to cooperate. We’ll figure a way out, or Axl will find us…” I try to swallow again, but it doesn’t work. A ball the size of Mount Everest is lodged in my throat. How the hell did it fit in there?

“So we shower,” she says slowly.

“Yes.” My voice is barely a whisper.

***

When I’m done, I wrap a fluffy towel around my body and go back to the hotel room. I don’t wait for Hadley. I want a few minutes by myself with these men. She keeps crying, and it’s making it impossible for me to think. To get a good read on the situation. There has to be a way out of this.

The linebackers and the man with gray hair are still here, but Suit Man is here now, too. He frowns when I walk out. “You can drop the towel.”

When I don’t move, he takes two quick steps toward me and jerks it away from my body. My hand lashes out on its own and makes contact with his face. A bright red streak cuts across his cheek, and his jaw tightens. He walks toward me. I hold my breath and brace myself. He’s going to hit me. I know it. There’s no way in hell he’s going to let this go.

He clenches his fist, but he doesn’t hit me. He does take another step toward me, leaving less than six inches of space between us. “Watch yourself.” The words hiss through his clenched teeth. “You are very lucky I’ve been instructed not to damage the merchandise. Otherwise, you’d be on your ass right now.” He moves even closer until there’s only an inch of fresh air separating us. His breath smells like stale coffee. “But I
can
make your life a living hell.”

“Too late,” I spit at him. Probably a stupid move, but I was never one to keep my mouth shut.

He snorts and steps back a little. “You have no idea.”

My throat tightens. He’s right. I don’t have a clue what’s going on here or what Hadley and I are in for. I should take my own advice and cooperate.

“Let’s get this over with,” Suit Man says, no longer looking at me.

The gray-haired man steps toward me. His eyes flick to my arms, crossed over my chest. He grabs my wrist and jerks my arms free. “Arms down.” Then he circles me. Slowly. Like he’s inspecting cattle at an auction. “Nice,” he says from behind me. My eyes sting, and I squeeze them shut, fighting to maintain control. It doesn’t work. The tears won’t go away.

“Stand still.”

He’s in front of me again. I open my eyes just as the gray-haired man snaps a picture. He steps back and takes another, and I fight the urge to run. My feet twitch, and every nerve in my body screams at me to make a break for it. I clench my fists when he walks behind me, snapping another picture.

“Got it.”

I try to swallow again, but the lump is even bigger now. Pretty soon I’m going to suffocate. I can’t wait.

The bathroom door opens and Hadley walks out. She’s wrapped in a towel, and her hair is dripping wet. She’s shaking, and her eyes stretch to the size of golf balls when she sees me standing in the middle of room naked.

The gray-haired man tosses me a red T-shirt and a pair of skimpy underwear. “Get dressed.”

He crosses the room to Hadley, and I turn away. I can’t watch.

The shirt is huge. It would probably be big on one of the linebackers. When I pull it over my head, it almost reaches my knees. My hands shake as I pull the underwear on. I flinch when Suit Man starts talking.

“Hadley Lucas,” he says. “She’s got a skinny ass, but men will be crawling all over each other to get at her.”

Hadley whimpers, and even though I don’t want to, I turn to face her. The gray-haired man is circling her just like he did with me.

“They’re both threes. Those boys did a good job.” Suit Man grins. “Don’t tell them I said so.”

The gray-haired man laughs, then snaps a picture. He goes behind Hadley and takes another. When he’s done, he tosses her a shirt that, like mine, is huge. She isn’t crying anymore, but she’s still shaking. Then again, so am I.

“I’m done with them,” Suit Man says, not even looking at the linebackers.

Suit Man flips through the pictures on the camera with an evil little smile on his lips. More than anything, I want to grab it out of his hand and smash it on the floor. If I had a knife right now, I’d happily cut off his balls and shove them down his throat.

The linebackers don’t have to be told twice. Once again, they grip our arms and drag us down the hall. Back into the elevator. They still haven’t said a single word to us. Maybe they aren’t human. They could be cyborgs. It’s possible. A few weeks ago, I would have laughed my ass off at the suggestion that zombies existed, but now it’s just a part of everyday life. Cyborgs could be real too for all I know. Along with vampires and fairies, maybe even werewolves.

My mind is wandering—off the edge of a cliff, if I’m lucky—but when the elevator door slides open, it snaps me back to reality. The hall reeks of death, and the air is thick and stale even under the stench. Hadley gags, and I cover my nose while Linebacker One jerks me forward. I stumble out of the elevator, trying hard not to breathe out of my nose.

We’re in a short hallway with only a handful doors. I see the source of the stench at the end of the hall. Three zombies chained to the wall, blocking the door that leads to the stairwell. They moan and thrash as the men drag Hadley and me toward them, frantically pulling against their chains as they try to get free. My heart pounds and my feet stop moving. I struggle against the tight grip on my arm, trying to get away from the zombies just dying to rip me apart. But the linebacker grips me tighter, digging his fingers roughly into my skin as he jerks me forward.

The linebacker holding Hadley stops in front of a door. The zombies moan, and I jerk back while Linebacker One pulls me forward. Linebacker Two slides a keycard into the lock. A zombie screams, and Hadley whimpers. The light on the lock changes from red to green. Linebacker Two opens the door and shoves Hadley inside and I’m pushed in right behind her.

I stumble forward and spin around. “What the hell?” I say just as the door slams in my face.

“What’s going on?” Hadley says as I turn around to survey our surroundings.

We’re in a suite. A huge suite. The kind that was probably reserved for celebrities and high-rollers. But it isn’t luxurious anymore. The air is stuffy and the scent of decay has seeped its way in from the hall, filling the room with the pungent odor. The place hasn’t been cleaned since probably before this whole mess started, and the room is crowded with women. Close to a dozen are gathered in the living room, and more come out of the bedrooms as Hadley and I walk forward. Blankets and pillows lay all over the floor like little makeshift beds. The women range from age fifteen to fifty, and they’re every shape, size, and color imaginable. None of them look particularly well. Physically or mentally.

They all stare at us, but no one says a word. A woman in her late thirties stands in front of me, and our eyes meet. She’s average-looking and slightly overweight, with greasy, chin-length brown hair. She’s dressed like Hadley and me: T-shirt that’s way too big and nothing else. She has dark circles under eyes, and there are bruises on her forearms exactly where mine will be after a few more walks with the linebackers.

“What’s happening?” I ask.

She bites her bottom lip. Her eyes go over me, then move to Hadley. They widen. She recognizes Hadley, it’s obvious. The woman takes a small step back, like she’s afraid to be associated with a former celebrity or something, then glances around the room. Most of the other women don’t even look our way.

The brunette shakes her head and stares at the carpet. “Do you really have to ask?” she finally says. “Use your imagination and you’ll be able to figure out why you’re here.”

“But none of this makes sense!” Hadley says. “The men who grabbed us were talking in some kind of code. Twos and threes, and a bunch of other stuff that sounded like total nonsense. We just want to know what we’re dealing with.” Her voice shakes, but at least she isn’t crying anymore.

The brunette frowns, but she doesn’t look up. “You’ll figure it out, just like the rest of us did.”

She walks away, heading into another part of the suite that isn’t visible from here. The few women who did look up when we first came in seem to have lost interest. They stare at the walls, the floor, their hands. The room is unnaturally silent.

“What do we do?” Hadley whispers.

I shake my head and slump back against the wall, trying to keep the terror threatening to rip me apart tucked away. “Axl will find us.” It comes out flat, and Hadley flinches.

She swallows. “Until then?”

I bite down on my bottom lip. Hard. “Try and stay safe.”

***

Hadley and I huddle together in a corner of the room as night closes in. These women barely speak, and the silence is killing me. We’ve only been here for about three hours, but it already feels like days. My stomach growls, and in the absence of conversation, all I can do is think. Think about Emily, about Axl. About what lies ahead. My insides are one giant knot, twisting tighter and tighter as time passes.

We have one pillow and one blanket between the two of us. There aren’t enough to go around, and we had to fight for these. The same goes for the food. Shortly after we got here, a few men came in and dumped a box of prepackaged snacks on the floor. The type of stuff you find in a vending machine, which is probably where they got it. The women scrambled for the food, and by the time Hadley and I figured out what was going on, all we could get was a package of brown sugar Pop-Tarts.

It’s not even seven o’clock, but Hadley has already dozed off. Her head rests on my shoulder, and she’s breathing heavily, blowing my hair into my face every time she exhales. It tickles my nose, but I can’t make myself move to stop it. My insides are numb.

Most of the other women are still awake, but I have a hard time looking at them. The blank expressions in their eyes makes my stomach ache. They all act like they’re waiting for something horrible to happen. Maybe they are.