Broken World (Book 3): Mad World (8 page)

“Here.” I hand her the open bag of animal crackers. “You need to eat something.”

She takes the bag with shaky hands and slowly starts eating. The movement doesn’t seem to register, though. It looks automatic. Cracker in the mouth, chew, swallow. Repeat. I’m not even sure she realizes she’s doing it.

I glance around to be sure no one is paying attention, and my gaze meets the stinky blonde woman’s. Her blue eyes pierce mine. She’s very interested in what we’re doing.

I look at Hadley and shake my head. “Let’s just eat for now.”

We split the bags of food between us, eating in silence. I eat half my Pop-Tart before passing the rest to Megan. She needs it more than I do. Hadley doesn’t share, and I don’t suggest it. She can’t really afford to lose any weight. She’s skin and bones as it.

“God, I’m a fool,” she says when she’s done eating. She picks up the Cheez-It bag and shakes the crumbs into her mouth. “All those years I spent starving myself so I could compete in Hollywood. What I wouldn’t give to have a few extra pounds to spare right now. Look at me! How long do you think I’m going to make it on this diet?” She shakes her head and sighs.

I put my arm around her. “We’ll make it out of here, don’t worry.”

Megan watches us. Her green eyes are full of so many emotions I can’t even begin to describe them all. She’s filthy and smells almost as bad as the blonde woman. Who still hasn’t stopped watching us.

I bite my lip and look around. We can’t talk here. Not with that chick staring us down. The bathroom might be safe, though. “Megan,” I say, leaning forward to touch her arm. “How about I help you get cleaned up? How long has it been since you took a shower?”

Hadley gets to her feet. “I’ll help, too.”

Megan doesn’t argue, and she even lets us help her up. But she doesn’t talk as we lead her to the bathroom. There’s a line, of course. Megan stares off into space while we wait. She isn’t good. She’s more like a zombie than some of the bodies walking around on the Strip.

When it’s finally our turn, Hadley and I pull the girl inside and lock the door behind us. I sit Megan on the toilet and kneel down in front of her while Hadley starts the bath. Megan doesn’t look at me. She doesn’t look at anything. I hold her hands in mine and whisper her name, trying to get her attention. She blinks and her eyes squint like she’s trying to focus on my face. After a few seconds, they seem a little clearer.

“Jon is here. He came for you.” She nods but doesn’t smile, so I’m not sure if she understands what I’m saying. “He’s going to meet with some of my friends tonight. They’re going to get us out.”

She just keeps nodding.

I exhale and stand up. “She’s bad off.”

“Can you blame her?” Hadley says.

She helps the girl to her feet and whispers reassuring words while she removes her filthy clothes, then urges her into the bathtub. Megan’s body is just as battered as her face, and I have to look away. My heart constricts, and all the bitterness I felt toward Jon is suddenly gone. He was right to try. Even if it means putting Hadley and me in danger, he couldn’t walk away from this girl. I know that now, as much as I hate to admit it.

Once she’s clean, Hadley helps Megan out, and I wrap her in a damp towel before leading her out of the bathroom. The blonde woman is standing against the wall with her arms crossed over her chest. She glares at me when we walk out. She isn’t waiting for a turn. She’s waiting for us.

“I’ll get some clothes,” I tell Hadley.

Hadley leads Megan back across the room, and I head to the pile of shirts and underwear laying on the floor. At least they give us clean clothes. How generous of them.

Dirty Blonde follows me.

I try to ignore her while I dig through the shirts. They’re all different sizes, and I want to finds something big. Something that will cover as much of this poor girl as possible. Dirty Blonde is behind me the whole time, though. I can smell her. The overpowering scent of sweat and filth makes my nose wrinkle. I try to ignore her. To breathe out of my mouth. It doesn’t work. She’s breathing down my neck, and her breath is as foul as the rest of her.

There are a few other women around, but no one pays attention to us. I can’t take it anymore. I spin around to face the stinking woman. “You got something to say to me?”

Dirty Blonde sneers and crosses her arms over her chest. Her breasts are large and round. Like mine. Fake, I bet. “Why you being so nice to that girl?”

“Because it’s the decent thing to do.”

“Decency doesn’t exist anymore,” she says, rolling her eyes. “I saw you come back into the room this morning. Didn’t look like you had such an awful night. All clean. No tears. Not the usual walk of shame we’re used to ‘round here.”

Shit. She’s right. That was a dumb move. I should have played it up more.

I lick my lips and glance around. The other women still aren’t paying attention. When I look back, the blonde’s icy eyes are as sharp as knives.

“Maybe I’m just a strong person.”

“Ain’t no such thing in this place, sweetie. Even the strong women walk away with scars.”

“I’ve got plenty of scars,” I mutter, turning away from her.

She grabs my arm and forces me to turn back around, getting right in my face. “I’m watching you, girlie.”

Her stinking breath and foul odor make my stomach turn inside out. She grins, probably mistaking my disgust for fear, then releases me and walks away.

I rub my forearm where her fingers dug into my skin. Right on top of the bruises left by the linebackers. Guess I’m going to have to get used to having bruises there. At least for the time being.

8
Axl

SMOKE. IT ALWAYS STARTS WITH SMOKE. It’s dark and I’m back in my old room in the trailer—if you can call it a room—and I stumble outta my bed. My heart’s poundin’ and I’m sweatin’ even though I know it’s just a dream. My hand shakes when I reach for the doorknob.

I gotta get her.

That’s the thought that always goes through my mind. Even though I know this ain’t real and I know I can’t do nothin’ to change the past. I still try.

I can feel the heat before I open the door. Flames. The whole goddamn trailer is covered in flames. I cough just like I did that night, and the smoke burns my lungs. I ain’t never forgot that feelin’. Never will. I want to get her, but I can’t. There ain’t nothin’ I can do—

I jerk awake, coughin’. My eyes are wet, just like they always are after I have that goddamn dream. And I’m covered in sweat. I inhale slowly and wipe the tears away before Angus sees ‘em. Why the hell did the dream come back? It’s been years. Stress, maybe.

“Who the fuck are you?” Angus yells from the other side of the roof.

I jump up, stumblin’ over my feet and almost fallin’ on my face.

My heart’s poundin’, and I’m wide awake the second I hear my brother’s voice. The long, hot day of sittin’ on the roof watchin’ the Monte Carlo comes back to me, and I curse myself for fallin’ asleep. It’s dark. Now’s the time I should be watchin’ the casino.

More yellin’. Angus is really worked up ‘bout something. I pull my gun out and run toward the voices. There ain’t no lights up here, but the moon’s full. I can just make out the shapes of a few people on the other side of the roof. Right by the door.

“I’m looking for Axl James.”

My heart almost stops beatin’ at the sound of my name. I don’t recognize the voice, but I’d be willin’ to bet my right nut he’s here ‘bout Vivian.

I push my way through the group of people gathered ‘round ‘til I find a face I don’t recognize. He’s a preppy-lookin’ bastard. Older than me, but probably not more than thirty. He’s clean. Obviously he ain’t been sleepin’ in no abandoned buildings, which means he’s with the bastards that took Vivian and Hadley.

I slam him against the wall and push the barrel of my gun right between his eyes, pressin’ it into his skull. “Where the hell is she?”

The guy swallows. His eyes are so big they look like they’re gonna pop outta his head. “You shoot me and you’ll never know,” he says in a surprisingly calm voice.

My entire body shakes, and my finger’s just itchn’ to pull the trigger. But he’s right. I can’t shoot him. Not if I wanna find Vivian.

But I could shoot his balls off.

I jam my arm against his throat and press as hard as I can before movin’ my gun to his crotch. “I ain’t gonna kill you, but if you don’t tell me where she is, I guarantee that by the time I’m done with you, you’ll wish you had.”

“The Monte Carlo! The Monte Carlo!” His voice ain’t calm no more.

“I told ya!” Darla’s shrill voice screams out behind me.

“Shut the fuck up,” I say, not takin’ my eyes off the tremblin’ guy in front of me. “She better be okay.”

He nods as hard as he can with my arm pressed against his throat. “She’s fine. So is Hadley.”

I wince. Damn. I shoulda asked ‘bout Hadley.

Winston steps forward and puts his hand on my back. “Let him go, Axl. We need to let him talk if we’re going to figure out what’s going on.”

The muscles in my neck are stretched tight, and my arm twitches as I press it against the guy’s neck. I don’t wanna let him go. I wanna bash his damn face in.

But Winston’s right. Even in my rage I know he is.

I press my arm harder against the guy’s throat, makin’ him gag a little before takin’ a step back. My jaw is clenched, and I can’t loosen it enough to talk. I nod at Winston, givin’ him permission to take over. He’ll do what’s gotta be done.

“Why don’t you tell us what you’re doing here,” Winston says.

The guy rubs his throat and glares at me. I spit on the ground at his feet.

“My name’s Jon. My sister was taken by the same men who grabbed Vivian and Hadley.”

He keeps rubbin’ his neck, and his voice is hoarse. Maybe I was a little too rough. Don’t wanna do no permanent damage ‘til I know Vivian’s okay. Then I can kill the asshole.

He clears his throat before goin’ on. “Vivian’s tough. I knew she could help me.”

“How’d you find us?” Angus asks.

I can’t look at him. We’ve hardly talked, and I know he’s pissed. It’s like Lilly all over again to him. But I don’t give a shit. Angus has always looked out for me, but things are different now and I ain’t gonna let him tear this thing apart. Not again.

Jon narrows his eyes at my brother. “Vivian. She knew Axl would be here.”

My eyes sting, and I gotta look away. The animal trapped inside me starts tryin’ to claw its way out again. I can’t even think ‘bout what’s goin’ on over there. There’s no law these days, and I know how sick men can be.

“They got a lot of women over there?” Angus asks.

My eyes snap his way. Why’s he askin’ that? He thinkin’ ‘bout goin’ over there to join ‘em? No. His lips are puckered and he’s starin’ at Jon. Somethings up.

Jon squirms a little. “Um…I’m not totally sure. More than twenty.”

Angus rubs his jaw, and everybody else is watchin’ him. It’s like they’re all holdin’ their breath, waitin’ to see what he’s got to say. I ain’t never seen anybody hang on Angus’s words before.

“So outta all these chicks, you just happened to pick Blondie out? How’d you choose her to help you?”

My jaw tightens, and my hand moves toward my knife. Now I get what he’s thinkin’. It shoulda been obvious to me, too. This is the prick that took her. He was there, at the hospital. I remember now. The guy in the passenger seat who was a shitty shot. That was Jon.

I take a step forward, and Jon backs up. Too bad he don’t got nowhere to go. He bumps into the wall, and he puts his hands up. “Look, I had to do it. I did! She’s my sister!”

Hell. No.

My fist slams into his jaw, cuttin’ off anything else he was gonna say. Pain rips through my knuckles, and Jon barely reacts. I forgot my hand was broken. It probably didn’t even hurt him. But it hurt me a hell of a lot. My hand throbs, but it only makes me madder, so I reach for my knife.

I’m gonna kill him.

Before I can get it, Angus is on me, pullin’ me back. I fight him, but Angus is stronger than that beer belly makes him look. He’s got me back and Winston steps between me and that bastard. I’m breathin’ heavy and my fists are clenched. I’d be happy to beat the shit outta this guy right now.

“Axl,” Winston says calmly. “I understand how you feel, but you don’t want to do this. Not now. Not while Vivian’s in trouble. We need this guy to help us.”

Everybody’s starin’ at me. Waitin’ to see what I’m gonna do. That animal starts eatin’ at my insides again, but I stop fightin’ Angus. He relaxes his grip on me, and I shove him back.

“I’m good,” I mutter, starin’ at the ground. I can’t look at that bastard standin’ in front of me or I’ll kill him. I swear to God, I’ll cut his guts out and shove them down his throat.

“Why don’t you tell us what happened?” Winston says.

Jon starts talkin’, and I squeeze my hands into even tighter fists. He took her from the hospital and brought her here. Then picked her out as some kind of sick payment for guns. He ain’t no better than them other men.

“You helped arm these guys?” Nathan asks.

He sounds as pissed off as I feel, and I can’t help lookin’ at him. Mr. Nice Guy is gone and that prick we met in Sam’s Club is back. He looks like he’s ready to kill Jon, too. Guess he’d be feelin’ just like me if it’d been his wife instead of Vivian.

“I had to!” Jon yells. His voice echoes across the empty roof.

If he says that one more time, I won’t be able to control myself. I’m already close to throwin’ him off the damn roof as it is.

“You got a plan?” I glare at him, and he ‘bout pisses in his pants.

Jon shakes his head. “No. That’s why I’m here. I can’t get them out alone. There are too many men on the inside. I need help.”

The animal inside me starts clawin’ harder, and it feels like it’s gonna rip right through me. My insides are bein’ torn to shreds. I’m havin’ a hard time focusin’. All I can think ‘bout is Vivian. He took her there, and he didn’t even have a plan to get her out. The dumb shit.

“Anybody put their hands on her?” My teeth are clenched so tight I can hardly get the words out.

Everybody stares at Jon, and it feels like they’re all holdin’ their breath. I don’t wanna know, but I gotta. Before we go any further, I gotta know who I’m gonna kill.

Jon shakes his head, and I try to relax. I swear I do. I just can’t.

“Not that I know of. She’s only been there one night and she was with me.” Every muscle in my face tenses. Jon puts his hands up and takes a step back. “I didn’t put a finger on her. We just talked.”

I nod, but I still can’t seem to get my jaw to relax enough to get any words out.

“Is there a back way into the casino?” Winston asks.

“Employee entrance is at the rear of the building. There aren’t as many zombies back there.”

“You gotta get me inside. I gotta see Vivian.”

Jon frowns my way. Like he thinks I can’t handle it or something. “Not sure if that’s a good idea. Once you’re in, you’ve lost the element of surprise. Not to mention the fact that you can’t just waltz in and get a night with a number three. You’d have to bring in some serious supplies. You have any guns or diesel you’d be willing to give up? That’s what it would take.”

A light bulb goes off in my head just like a goddamn cartoon. The second tanker truck in Boulder City. We went out there to get some fuel, but we could only take the one truck. We had to leave the other one. “I got diesel.”

Angus puckers his lips and shakes his head. “You ain’t goin’ in there. It ain’t a good idea.”

“Screw you, Angus. I ain’t walkin’ away from Vivian. We already talked ‘bout this, and I ain’t changed my mind. I’d rather die tryin’ than just sit back and do nothin’.”

Angus glares at me before lettin’ off a string of curses that echoes across the dark night. The damn zombies down the Strip can probably hear him. He shakes his head and turns back to face me. “Well, you ain’t givin’ them that tanker of diesel neither. I know what you’re thinkin’, and we can’t give them a truckload of fuel. We need it.”

I’m ‘bout to argue when Jon steps in front of me. My jaw twitches, and I clench my fist, fightin’ the urge to punch him in his stupid, preppy face again. Harder. I’d love to see his nose broken and his face covered in blood. When I’m done with him, he won’t be nearly as pretty as he is now.

“It wouldn’t even take the whole truck. A couple gallons would do it,” Jon says.

Winston scratches at his beard and turns to look at me. “That what you want to do?”

“I ain’t gonna leave her.”

“Nobody’s expecting you to. I just want to make sure there isn’t another way. I don’t want to see you get yourself killed if we can do this right and get you all out alive. Plus, I don’t love the idea of handing these animals more fuel when it’s only going to help them keep going.”

He’s got a point, but I don’t know another way. “We gotta.”

“If you did go in, what next?” Nathan asks.

“Meet with Vivian.” It sounds stupid, and I know it. I need more of a plan than that, but I can’t seem to get my brain to think of another one. Vivian is all I can focus on.

Angus curses and walks away, kickin’ a chair as he heads toward the pool.

“We need more of a plan than that, Axl,” Trey says. His voice is low, almost cautious.

He ain’t scared of me, so I ain’t sure why ‘til I look over at him. He’s worried. Just like Angus. Worried I’m gonna get myself killed. It’s a goddamn messed-up world we’re livin’ in.

“We stake the place out, figure a good way, and meet up with y’all after. We’ll get a plan together and bust ‘em out.” No one looks very happy ‘bout it. “I gotta see what’s goin’ on inside before we do anything else. You gotta know that.”

“I hate to say it,” Nathan says, “but he’s right. We don’t know what’s happening in there.”

“It’s not like anyone’s going to be suspicious of
him
,” Jon says.

I glare at him and he takes another step back, bumpin’ into the wall again. I hope he hits his head and knocks himself out.

When he talks again, he looks like he’s ‘bout to piss his pants. “No offense, but he’ll fit right in. I mean, these aren’t the classiest bunch of men you’ve ever met in your life.”

“So you’re sayin’ I’m trash, is that it?” I don’t give a shit, I just wanna scare the guy.

Jon shakes his head and stumbles all over himself tryin’ to find a way to pull his head outta his own ass. “No. I just…You fit a certain…”

“Shut the hell up,” I mutter, turnin’ back to Winston. “I gotta get that fuel.”

“I know. We shouldn’t all go though, just in case you don’t come back.”