Broken World (Book 3): Mad World (4 page)

There’s a girl curled up under a blanket not too far from me. She has dark hair, and even though I can’t see much of her face, I can tell she’s young. Maybe seventeen. Her face is covered in bruises, and her eye is so black it’s swollen shut. I heard someone call her Megan, but she hasn’t spoken at all. Imagining what happened to her makes the Pop-Tart I ate threaten to come back up. I swallow and force it to stay down. I can’t afford to lose what little food I get.

Hadley jerks awake when the door bursts open. The women around us shrink down like if they get close enough to the ground the men coming into the room won’t be able to see them. It doesn’t work, of course. The linebackers walk through the room, grabbing women and shoving them toward the door. This is the terrible thing all these women were waiting for. This is where Hadley and I find out what’s going on. Now I’m not sure I want to know.

Hadley clenches my leg, and I freeze in place, holding my breath. She sucks in a deep breath. I guess she is, too.

The same linebacker who dragged me into the suite a few hours ago stops in front of us. He looks right at me. “You’ve been requested.”

His voice is higher than I expected, and for one crazy second I think of Mike Tyson. When he grabs my arm, something between a giggle and a sob pops out of my mouth. Hadley’s cries echo in my ears as the linebacker drags me toward the door, but I don’t fight him. There doesn’t seem to be much point.

He pulls me into the stinking hallway, then releases my arm and shoves me forward. I’m so panicked that I’m gasping for breath, and when I inhale the stench of death, my stomach lurches. The Pop-Tart jumps to my throat, and I have to swallow it back down for the second time. Other women are herded toward the elevator in front of me. I count six in all. Their sobbing mixes with the zombies’ moans. My head pounds.

The other linebacker stands next to the elevator, holding the door open. He shoves the women inside, and when it’s my turn, I almost fall. I bump into a black woman in her thirties, but she doesn’t even look at me. Both linebackers step in and the door slides shut. The elevator lurches, then moves down, and my body shakes.

No one talks, but there’s plenty of crying. My own eyes are amazingly dry.

We stop after two floors. Linebacker Two grabs a couple women and pulls them from the elevator while Linebacker One holds the door open. When the first man comes back—alone—we continue down. My stomach tightens the further we get. The suspense presses down on me, almost suffocating me.

The door opens, and when Linebacker One turns around, he’s looking right at me. He grabs my arm and jerks me forward. This time, I fight. I pull against his grip and refuse to move my feet, but he digs his fingers in tighter and drags me out of the elevator. My heart thumps against my ribcage and I frantically scan the hall. There has to be something I can do. A way to escape or something I can hit him with. Anything!

There’s nothing, though. No hope.

I’m still struggling when he stops in front of room 613 and knocks.

The door opens, and I’m shoved inside before I even have a chance to see who opened it. I stumble forward, tripping over my own feet. The door slams shut as I fall to my knees in the middle of the room. My heart nearly jumps out of my chest when footsteps approach me from behind. Frantically, I crawl forward, trying to get away. I twist around as I scan the room for something I can use as a weapon. My heart stutters and almost stops when my eyes meet his. It’s New Guy.

He puts his hands up and takes a step back. “Relax. I’m not going to touch you.”

His words have no meaning. I jump to my feet and charge him, slamming my shoulder into his chest. Knocking him to the ground. His arms go around me, and I fall on top of him. My arms get tangled in my T-shirt and I swear, then jerk my body back and forth as I desperately try to free myself. New Guy rolls over, taking me with him. He’s on top of me. I thrust my knee up, trying to make contact with his crotch. He curses and pins my legs down with his. I finally get my arms free, but he’s ready for it. He grabs my wrists and pins them to the ground. I twist and wiggle, screaming in frustration, but I’m trapped.

“I said I’m not going to hurt you!”

I gasp for breath, and my eyes meet his. Something about the look on his face makes me freeze. His eyes aren’t as cold as they were in the car, and there’s emotion in his voice. I actually believe him.

He eases up the second I stop squirming, but he doesn’t get off of me. “My name is Jon. I’m not one of these sick bastards. I’m just looking for my sister. That’s all.” His green eyes shimmer, but I can’t feel sympathy for this guy.
He
brought me here.

Jon sighs and releases my wrists, then sits back. But he doesn’t get up. I glare at him and massage my sore wrists. He doesn’t talk.

“What?” I snap. “You want me to thank you for not raping me? Well, fuck you.”

“Look, I’m sorry.” His voice shakes.

He looks down and blinks like he just noticed he’s still sitting on me. Finally, he gets up. I scramble to my feet, taking a few steps back. I want some distance between this asshole and me.

Jon slumps onto the bed. “I needed to gain their trust. It was the only way I had a chance of finding my sister.” He doesn’t say anything else. He just stares at the floor.

The silence between us stretches out, and my heartbeat doesn’t slow. Does he want me to say something? To help him?
Do
I help him? I don’t want to. He brought me here. As far as I’m concerned, he can go screw himself.

On the other hand, he wants to get his sister out and he obviously needs help. This
could
be the answer I was looking for. Our ticket out of here. But can I trust him? Will he even know what to do to get us out? He doesn’t look like it. At the moment, he doesn’t look like he could handle a fly, let alone a hotel full of armed men. But maybe he can get word to Axl…

Yes! My heart jumps, and I blurt out, “What’s your sister’s name?”

Jon swallows, and when he looks up, his eyes are brimming with tears. “Her name’s Megan. She has dark hair and green eyes. She’s only sixteen.” His voice is thick with unshed tears. He clears his throat and looks back down. Like he can’t look at me any longer. I’m not sure if he’s ashamed of his tears or ashamed of himself for dragging me here, but I don’t care.

Megan. The girl with the black eye. Crap. This guy is fragile enough without knowing any of that. Should I tell him? Probably, but first I want some information. I want to know what the hell is going on here, and with the way he’s acting, he’s liable to fall apart at the first sign of bad news. We need to get some things out in the open before that happens.

“I know who your sister is.” His head snaps up, but I shake my head. “First, I want you to tell me what all this is about. None of these bastards will talk, and the girls in the room are all either too scared or too damaged to explain. We’re in the dark here, and I don’t like it. I need to be prepared, which I can’t do without information.”

Hope flashes in his eyes, and he jumps to his feet. He takes a step toward me. “You know her? She’s okay then?”

I keep my face blank and press my lips together. No way in hell am I going to say another word until he tells me what’s going on.

“Shit!” He shakes his head and stares at the floor. When he looks back up, there are more tears in his eyes. He knows it’s not good news. “Fine. Sit down and I’ll tell you what I know.”

I sit on the edge of the bed, and he starts pacing the room, playing with the hem of his shirt. “One man started this whole thing. He got a few people together, armed them, and took over the casino. They cleared out the dead and fortified it so no more zombies could get in. They knew they were safe inside, and as long as they had supplies, they could live here forever. But the stuff in the casino wouldn’t last long. The boss didn’t want to risk his own ass, so he started recruiting other men. But he needed a way to pay them. Money’s worth shit now, and the promise of a room in the casino wasn’t enough motivation. There’s only one thing these kind of men would be willing to risk their lives for: sex.”

I exhale as some of the pieces of the puzzle slowly come together. It makes perfect sense. There are no laws now. No right or wrong. Women have always been easy prey for assholes, so of course something like this would happen.

My throat tightens when I think about all those women up in the suite and all the men down in the lobby. Damn. “So that’s why we’re here? As payment for the men who bring in supplies.”

Jon nods and looks at me apologetically. I want to punch him. “I’m sorry. I really am. I didn’t want to help them, but it was the only way to get in and look for my sister. This place is secure and heavily guarded.”

My fist tightens. He can shove his sorry up his ass. “How does it work? These payments?”

“They get any woman they can find. Young, old, fat, thin, ugly, pretty—anything goes. The women are separated into three tiers. Tier one is the older, less attractive women. They’re payment for smaller scavenges. Things like water bottles from the other casinos or snacks from the vending machines. Anything easy to get and less of a risk. Tier two are the women in better shape. You get them by bringing in bigger hauls of food and supplies. Tier three would be the more attractive girls. They’re harder to get. You need to bring in something big. Guns or fuel for the generator. Anything that’s a big risk. You and your actress friend are tier three.”

“Great,” I mutter. “I’m so flattered.”

He shakes his head and leans against the dresser. “No, you’re lucky. It isn’t easy to get a tier three girl, and most guys just settle for tier two. I had to bring in a load of guns to get a night with you. Luckily, I already had them from before Megan was taken. I’d stashed them in a safe place and was waiting until I needed them as leverage.”

That makes me relax a little. It’s going to take something big for someone to get at Hadley. Hopefully, that will help keep her calm. She’s trying, but I have a feeling her breaking point is very close to the surface.

But she’s
Hadley Lucas
.

The world may have gone to shit, but when it comes to some things, people have long memories. Americans used to worship movie stars the way Muslims worshiped Allah. How long before someone decides it’s worth the risk? We need to get out of here. And fast.

“Now you tell me about my sister,” Jon says forcefully.

I bite down on my lip and shake my head. “Promise me one more thing first.”

He takes a menacing step forward, but I don’t flinch. I can take a lot of abuse, something that’s going to come in handy in this new world of madness.

Jon frowns, but he doesn’t argue.

“I’ll tell you about your sister and help you plan a way to get her out, but next time you bring in a big haul, choose Hadley. Not me.”

His frown deepens. He brushes his dark hair behind his ear and narrows his eyes on my face. Like he’s waiting for a punchline. Only this is no joke. “You know that will make you more susceptible? You’d sacrifice yourself for her?”

I nod emphatically, trying to look more confident than I feel. It’s best not to focus on the consequences of what I’m saying right now. “I can take it, but I’m not sure if Hadley can.” Hopefully, it’s true.

“Fine,” he says impatiently. “Now my sister.”

I take a deep breath. This is going to hurt. “She’s pretty banged up, but she’s alive. Someone said they had a doctor look at her. Anyway, she’s supposedly out of rotation until she heals. That’s good at least.” His eyes fill with tears, and he looks away. Even though I don’t want to, I feel bad for him. “I’m sorry.”              

He nods but doesn’t look up. “Thank you.”

Jon sits on the edge of the bed and stares down at his hands. His shoulders slouch, and he looks totally defeated. My insides tighten. This is what Axl is going through right now. Only worse. He has no idea where I am.

Now we’re both depressed. Neither one of us speaks, and the silence in the room presses down around us, threatening to crush me. I need a distraction. My eyes land on the remote, and I almost stand up. But I stop myself and squeeze my eyes shut. There’s no TV in zombie world. I almost laugh. That was the name of that stupid movie Hadley was in. Would she find it funny after everything we’ve been through? I doubt it.

“So what’s your name?” Jon asks, startling me.

I rip my eyes away from the TV and find him watching me. “Vivian.”

“Were you at the hospital looking for supplies because someone in your group was hurt?”

Now he wants to make small talk? I almost tell him to shut up, but I need to focus. My mind is turning into Jell-O just sitting here, staring at the carpet.

Those intense green eyes of his don’t look away from me, and he doesn’t blink. In another time, I would have thought he was sexy. Dark hair and a strong jaw, broad shoulders. Now I just ache for Axl.

I exhale until my lungs are as empty as my life was before all this bullshit happened. Then slowly fill them back up with air. “No, we were just stocking up.”

He glances away like looking at me hurts. Maybe he feels guilty. “They get a lot of women that way. They clear out the ER so it seems safe, then wait it out. That’s how they got Megan. Only we were in Boulder City. We were with a couple other people, and one of us got injured. We needed something to clean the injury with and just happened to be close to the hospital. It seemed like the safest place to go for that stuff. I was afraid she’d get hurt, so I made her stay in the car. I saw them dragging her out of the car through the window. By the time I got outside, they were already driving away.”