1. Griffin

1

The decaying heart of the city has never been forgiving, even less so since the dead rose two hundred and sixty-five days ago. I’ve been keeping track.

Since then, it’s been the same old story. The dead rise, three friends find each other after going through terrors that they won’t speak of, and—the sound of smacking gum has me turning around and eyeing down the two dicks I call my best friends. Max catches my glare and grins at me before continuing to loudly chew his gum.

“Are you trying to attract the dead?”

A gleam shines in his eyes and I realize how stupid my question was, knowing him. “How much more fun would that be? Fighting our way through a horde of rotters in the heart of the city. We’ll end up in history books.”

“Hate to break it to you, but history books aren’t a thing anymore. No one’s around to update them, anyway,” William whispers from the shadows, making Max pout.

It didn’t take long after the dead rose before people realized they’re attracted to sound and repelled by fire. Which is why so many towns, cities, buildings, and forests burned to the ground. Survivors tried to herd all the rotters into one place to rid the world of them. Unfortunately, they could never retain control of the fires. Amateurs.

This city is one of the few still standing. Well, the buildings are. Mostly.

Cities like this are the most dangerous. They’re crawling with more rotters than could be manageable. If someone were to get the attention of even one of them, it would turn into a tidal wave of decaying, writhing bodies with snapping teeth, desperate to feed on flesh and spread the virus. Therefore, most places like these have remained untouched the last two-hundred-something days. It’s best left that way. Leave the rotters here to rot.

In the beginning, there were games. People competed to see who could gather the most supplies without getting bit. Those people aren’t around anymore. Well, some are, but as rotters themselves. Max’s only regret is that he didn’t get a chance to play.

“You’re insane,” I mumble.

Max grins, showing the gum firmly clenched between his teeth at the side of his mouth. “Thanks for the compliment.”

I hold out my knife; the tip pointing toward him in a faux threat, though I’m serious. “Don’t get us killed.”

William, looking annoyed at Max’s newest antics, elbows him in the ribs to get him to react. Max fake pouts, then swallows the gum and holds his arm out in front of us for me to go ahead. “Age before beauty.” Keeping my mouth shut, I face forward again and continue leading the way through the shattered streets. My eyes never stop scanning for threats. There are rotters all over the place. They’re standing still, lying on the ground, or snacking on a bird that made the mistake of landing here. As long as we’re quiet, they won’t sense us.

Metal clangs behind me and I turn around to scowl at Max, but it’s William who’s staring at the can on the ground by his foot, a panicked expression on his face.

“Get inside,” I order through gritted teeth. Max looks disappointed that we’re not using this opportunity for a playground with the dead, and that scares me. He wasn’t this reckless before the dead rose. I’m actually surprised he’s survived this long, but someone with the weapons skills that he has won’t be easy to kill. Good thing, because I only have these two people left in the world who I can trust with my life. Even if one of them is a little unhinged and gets under my skin.

We get inside the mall that’s the object of our scavenging mission and take the stairs to the second floor. There’s never anything on the ground level of buildings anymore. The higher up we go, the better our chance is of finding something useful. Maybe food, maybe clothing, hell, maybe even a damn book to help pass the time.

The groans from the rotters disappear the farther away we get. “Our time here is limited now that we’ve gotten their attention.” I keep my voice low as my two friends practically strain to hear me. “We need to find whatever is useful and get the hell out.”

“Sweeeeeet,” Max whisper-yells before breaking the lock on a glass case that contains various weapons, shattering the case. “My bad.”

A low moan sounds from behind him and I move forward but he winks at me, pulls a morning star from the pile of broken glass, and swings it around, landing the spiked ball at the end of it right through the skull of the dead man about to grab him. The rotter drops to the ground, officially dead now, and Max yanks the weapon from his skull with a sickening pop.

Max raises the morning star into the air to inspect it, though we really can’t see much in this dim light. “That was epic. I think I’m going to call you Debbie.”

“If I hear one more sound, I’ll take off your head myself,” I warn him.

He pushes his shoulders back in a challenge, but before he can do much else, music—actual music that I haven’t heard in months—blares through the air. I nearly fall back from the shock of it. I think I’d even forgotten what actual music used to sound like. It’s loud, blaring, with a strong beat and a woman singing.

Max holds up his hands with his newly acquired weapon. “Wasn’t me.”

William is already out of the little shop. He only stops long enough to kill the nearest rotter on his way to the railing that overlooks the center of the mall. I’m a step behind, and I have to blink a few times at the sight I see when I reach the railing and look down below.

This mall is large, several stories high. It used to be bustling with life less than a year ago—I assume, like most shopping areas in most cities were—but the building careened downhill when the dead rose. It didn’t turn to ash in a fire like most others, but the walls crumbled from cars, weapons, even the occasional grenade. News stations covered the chaos and carnage before they all went under.

Weeds and vines grow through the cracks in the tiles and along the walls. Mystery substances coat a lot of visible surfaces. Even with all of that, I still never expected to see a car parked in the center of the wide open lower level. Lights shining, music blaring through the rolled down windows and open car doors, and a woman dancing away from the commotion. Her long brown hair swirls around in the air as she spins, her hips swaying, dancing to the music and killing any rotter that gets too close with a long spear. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen.

The music is a stark contrast to the surrounding desolation. She moves with a grace and ferocity that has Max gripping the railing with one hand, and his pants with the other, a star-struck grin on his face. She shoves the spear through the skull of another rotter and pulls it free before spinning twice on her heels again and continuing her death dance. I know little about dance moves, but I think she even does one of those fancy pirouette things I used to see in movies back when movies existed. Her movements are almost…joyful.

She’s pretty. She’s skilled. She’s going to get us all killed.

“What a woman,” Max breathes out, leaning farther out.

William grabs the back of Max’s jacket to hold him back. “Down, boy. Falling for her doesn’t need to be literal.”

I barely pay attention to them, my gaze fixed on the woman and her dance with death.

“Can we keep her?” Max asks, his voice almost giddy.

“We need to stop her.” I grip the railing so tightly that the metal creaks.

A rotter reaches the car and bangs on the hood, setting off the panic setting. The lights go crazy and the woman’s dancing turns even more joyful. I need to put an end to this. If she wants to get herself killed, then she should do it when there isn’t anyone else around wanting to stay alive.

I turn and head for the stairs, flying down them so fast that I’m not sure if my feet even touch the steps. I know better than to go running down there like this, but I can’t stand by and watch someone else get senselessly killed. There are enough deaths staining my hands already.

Letting that thought fuel me, I spot the girl and come to a halt. My blood boils at her carelessness. I don’t understand how she could be this reckless, attracting so many rotters only to dance with them? She acts like this is a freaking end of the world ball. She’s more insane than Max. It’s impressive, confusing, and annoying as fuck.

“Well, are we going to let her fight them all on her own?” William asks when he catches up to me. He slams his knife through the skull of a rotter coming up on our right, while I’m still preoccupied with the new brown-haired bane of my existence.

“Looks like she’s having a party. I want to join.” Max twirls his new morning star around and slams it into the head of another rotter. They’re now all pouring in through the doors. If we don’t hurry, nobody is getting out of here alive.

Knowing they’ll follow my lead, I run forward and start taking out the rotters closest to me. I’ve had two hundred and sixty-five days of practice, but it pisses me off that I’m having to do this. This wasn’t part of my plan for the day.

The girl hasn’t noticed us yet, but we’re running out of time. There’s no way the four of us will clear this area easily with how quickly the rotters keep stumbling in. We need to destroy the source.

When I get to the car, I take out the rotters near the driver’s side door before killing the engine and ripping the key out of the ignition. The girl’s head turns so sharply that it catches me off guard, but not nearly as much as her soft amber eyes that widen when she sees me. Her wild hair flies freely around her face. It’s a hazard. Does this woman know nothing about survival?

I stand tall and straighten my spine, ready for whatever kind of confrontation we’re about to have, which will have to wait because rotters are still stumbling toward us from all directions. She’s made an absolute mess of our lives tonight.

She’s still too far away, but with her gaze locked on me, she doesn’t see the threat behind her getting closer. I can’t get to her in time.

“Behind you!” I shout out a warning, but it’s too late. The rotter falls against her, knocking her to the ground. Her spear flies across the ground. She doesn’t get up.

Max gets to her first. He swings his new morning star to connect with the rotter’s skull before it can bite her. I’m running forward, ignoring the rotters that are now following me after my outburst, and fall to my knees next to her. My fingers press against her neck, and I sigh with relief when I feel a steady pulse. A few drops of blood trickle down the side of her face from a cut on her temple, but she seems otherwise unhurt, only knocked unconscious. That’s okay, we can deal with that later.

“New game,” Max says, swinging the morning star through the air before connecting it with another rotter. He sweeps his shoulder-length dark hair to the side of his face, smearing blood along his cheek. “You play the prince who stays with the sleeping beauty, and Willie and I will be the dragons protecting her.”

“It’s William,” William grinds out through his clenched teeth. “And two humans against hundreds of dead aren’t the odds I want to play with.”

Max heaves a high. “Fine. I’ll just have to throw sleeping beauty over my shoulder and play both prince and dragon.”

“We’re not fighting,” I say, and Max places a hand over his heart like I’ve offended him. Ignoring him, I scoop the woman into my arms and hold her close to my chest while I stand. “We’re getting out of here. And for the love of the living, be quiet,” I whisper-yell before taking off toward our car.

Remaining silent while dodging rotters that are still pouring in from the commotion, I dart around them when they turn toward me, dart below their outstretched hands, and veer away from their snapping teeth. I remain quick on my feet, completing the most deadly obstacle course I’ve ever attempted.

If we move fast enough, we might put enough distance between us that the rotters in the city lose interest. It’s a short half-mile sprint, but our silence and distance finally gets the rotters off our backs. They go back to milling about, waiting for another dumbass to draw their attention. I look down at the unconscious girl in my arms and feel a mixture of rage and pity. What could have been so bad that she thought this was the only way out? Or was she merely having fun, like Max would have been if I hadn’t been there?

Whatever her reasoning, she’ll need to pay for what happened. All the supplies we lost out on, not to mention nearly losing our lives to save hers, a maniac stranger with a death wish.