28. Max

28

MAX

S tanding on the roof of a burning building is an experience I never expected to have.

Sure, I’ve climbed plenty of rooftops since the world crumbled, but they were always sturdy. Still in one piece. Not crumbling beneath my boots.

Now, the heat licking up through the soles of my shoes is a sharp reminder that this place won’t hold me much longer. It’s a quick way to warm the feet. I make a mental note of that for when winter comes around.

My brother is an asshole. That’s something everyone around here can agree on. He hurt me. He hurt every single person in this colony. But most importantly, he hurt Emily, and that’s a crime with a payment in blood. He shouldn’t still be standing, and he wouldn’t be if he would face me himself instead of making his cold-hearted men do all the dirty work.

Gritting my teeth, I scan for him, but he’s nowhere in sight. The whole reason I climbed up here was to find him easier, but it’s proven to be useless to see through all the flames and the smoke. The only people I can see if the scurrying of his henchmen on the ground .

I shift to the right when my feet get too warm. It’s nice and toasty, but I won’t be able to stay up here for too long. I’ll have to get down at some point. Preferably before the roof caves in.

A sudden movement catches my eye. Through the dense smoke, I spot one of Nathan’s lackeys stumbling along the edge of this same roof, oblivious to me lurking in the shadows. He stumbles when his foot slips through a shingle but avoids falling through.

He must have climbed up here in a desperate attempt to find a way down. Grinning, I creep forward and, without a second thought, shove him right over the edge. He falls with a thud onto the asphalt below. I stare down at him and wait, but nothing. Not a wave, not even a thanks. I helped him find a quick way down and he’s so ungrateful. Manners must have died when the dead rose.

Giving up on getting any appreciation from this guy, my attention shifts back to the rooftops, and that’s when I see Griffin emerging on top of a building just across the alley. It appears as though playing on rooftops while the town burns is the popular thing to do. Everyone’s doing it.

Sweet. I’m finally one of the cool kids.

“Well, well, well,” I say to myself, because I killed the only other person around here to talk to. Griffin dodges through the smoke and sparks like a shadow dancing in the firelight. “Looks like the party has moved to the rooftops.”

My excitement turns to jealousy when another man pops onto the roof and runs after Griffin. I realize I won’t be able to take part in the death of another one of Nathan’s men. Griffin is going to have all the fun without me. Life is so unfair sometimes.

I play with a knife between my fingers. Maybe I can throw this and hit the guy between the eyes—Nathan’s man, not Griffin, because that would be rude. Although, it would mean taking Griffin’s kill away from him, but is saving his life ruder than accidentally stabbing him? It’s so hard to know the proper social standards nowadays. Everyone lives by different rules. Like for example, the man flattened on the asphalt below me. I’m sure if he was alive, he would scowl at me right now, really testing out how much looks could kill.

While I’m busy trying to decide which version of an asshole to be, Griffin spins around, his fist meeting the man’s face with a sickening crack that I can hear all the way over here.

Oh, how fun. Hard punches and bloody faces. A good, old-fashioned rooftop brawl.

All I did was push an unsuspecting man. I’m clearly on top of the wrong fucking building.

Glancing down at the man I pushed—helped, I mean, of course helped—off the roof, I see he’s still down there with a growing puddle of blood. What surprises me most is there’s no horde of rotters feasting on his remains. They can’t all be defeated yet. So where are they?

Before I can think too much about it, a strange sound draws my attention and I look around, perking my ears.

Music.

That’s interesting. Is my pet doing her rotter killing dance? Don’t tell me I’m missing it.

I look around through the flames and the smoke until I find the source. Off in the distance, outside the walls, William stands tall in the back of a moving pickup truck, a guitar slung low as he plays. I don’t believe it. He’s luring the rotters away from the colony. That’s brilliant. Way to go, Willie-boy.

The sound itself isn’t loud enough to drown out the battle, but it’s steady and rhythmic, and the rotters are drawn to it, leaving the colony of living flesh behind in favor of shuffling after the truck like a little parade of the undead.

Wait a minute…I don’t fucking believe it .

Not only are rotters repelled by fire, but they’re drawn to music above all else?

Since the dead rose, people believed the only thing they craved was human flesh. Now that the living has fallen, it’s plain the see what they really want is a dance party.

My lips turn up in a slight smile. William must be loving this. A musician and a hero all at once. Good for him.

I look back at Griffin, only to realize he’s not alone. He has yet another man with him, one I recognize, one who doesn’t deserve to breathe the same air as my pet. Pride and jealousy morph into anger and confusion when Griffin pulls Nathan’s man away from Richard, protecting him when he should be killing him.

Didn’t that man get shot?

Well, evil doesn’t die. My brother is proof of that.

Still, why would Griffin protect him?

Curiosity keeps me planted on the roof, even when the shingles warm my feet. Now I can’t come down. I can’t stop watching. I have to know why.

Griffin and Nathan’s minion he’s fighting both stagger along the edge of the roof. The shingles crack beneath their weight, and right when the man swings his knife at Richard, Griffin grabs him and pulls him back. They stumble, and both go hurtling over the edge.

Oh shit.

Before I can shout out my frustration, Griffin twists midair, landing with the man beneath him to cushion his fall on the ground below.

The seconds tick by while I watch until I breathe out a sigh of relief when Griffin rolls off and pushes himself up in one fluid motion. With his hand pressed against the injury on his side, he runs off to fight someone else, leaving Richard alone on the roof, seemingly forgotten.

Richard remains safe, albeit bruised and bleeding. Despite everything, he’s alive. Fury and curiosity war within me, but curiosity wins out.

Shuffling back until my toes touch the back edge of the roof, I sprint across the crumbling shingles and launch myself over the gap, landing on the adjacent roof with a crunch that sends shingles scattering. I repeat this two more times until I’m standing a mere few feet from Richard, who looks like death itself. Well, even worse than that. He looks like shit. He’s clutching his side where I can see a hasty bandage wrapped around a gunshot wound.

“Did Griffin patch you up?” I don’t bother masking my contempt.

He nods, swallowing hard. His face is ashen, shoulders slumped, every ounce of the fierce leader he pretended to be now stripped from him.

“Thought so. Now tell me, why did he save you? Why is he protecting you when you did nothing but treat us like shit?” I demand, advancing on him.

Richard doesn’t flinch. I’ll give him that much. His gaze is hollow, resigned, and his shoulders sag. His voice is a rasp when he responds. “Because he didn’t want to become the monster that I am.”

“Those his words?”

“Exactly.”

A grin spreads across my face, and I let out a laugh. There it is. My boy Griffin is tired of being seen as the villain. As the monster he isn’t. When the real monster has always been me. Looks can be real deceiving, and most of the people I’ve killed have died before realizing that. “Yeah, sounds about right. Griffin’s never been a monster. He’ll never become one, either, no matter what you made him out to be with your assumptions. But as for me…” I let my grin twist into something darker. “I’m afraid it’s already too late. ”

Richard’s face pales, and he takes a shaky step back. “What do you mean?”

I take a step closer, letting the words linger. “I mean, I’d love nothing more than to shove you off this building. It’s a fun thing to do. A new hobby I recently developed, as about ten minutes ago.”

Richard takes a step back, glancing toward the edge, and I cackle, turning my gaze to the flames creeping up the walls below us.

“Lucky for you, I’m also less of an asshole than you are. Right now, at least. Come on. Let’s get you out of here.” I motion to the next building to jump to, though I don’t know if he’ll be able to make it in his condition. “We don’t have much longer before the buildings all completely collapse. In case you haven’t noticed, there’s a bit of a fire. I think someone got carried away roasting marshmallows.”

Before he can respond, my gaze drops the something glinting in the firelight—a knife protruding from Richard’s chest. My head tilts to the side. Hey, how did that get there?

Then I watch the red blood pool across his dirty pale blue shirt before he’s pushed away and disappears over the edge of the roof.

My first thought is annoyance. I had a chance to do that, and I blew it. I look up to see who took that golden opportunity from me and see the largest grin I’d ever seen.

“Hello, little brother.” Nathan stands before me, grinning like the devil himself.

“You stole my kill.” The words come out low and seething. I don’t know what I’m more pissed at, him stealing my kill, or him having the audacity to be related to me. “Not cool.”

He shrugs and spins the knife handle around his finger. “You were going to save him, but you wanted to kill him?”

“I’m a complicated guy,” I snap. “You have yourself to thank for that. ”

“Remind me to pat myself on the back later.” Nathan extends a hand, as though we’re only brothers roughhousing in the yard again. Only this time, his hand is stained with blood. What a pity none of it is his. “What do you say we rule this town together?”

Raising an eyebrow, I hold out my hand, palm up, in a small arc to indicate the surrounding fires. “In case you missed the memo, there won’t be a town left a few minutes from now.”

He shrugs, his eyes glinting with madness. Holy shit, I hope I don’t look like that. I picture myself as more of a handsome, playful fellow with a murderous tendency. But him…he looks straight mad.

“Nonsense. We don’t need these buildings. People are the real colony, and there are still plenty left.” He turns in a circle, spreading his arms wide and taking in the view before bellowing to the wounded and hiding souls still scrambling around below. “I am Nathan, your new leader. Pledge your loyalty, and I’ll let you live!” As if on cue, something else explodes nearby. It’s a smaller explosion, but what perfect timing that turned out to be. He looks over his shoulder and smirks at me. “You first, little brother.”

My voice is flat. “Yeah, not gonna happen.”

“Your call.” He shrugs. His voice is cold when he speaks, his eyes gleaming with amusement. “Bet your girl will have a different answer. Or did you forget? She was mine first. A little spitfire, that one.”

A red haze fills my vision, and it has nothing to do with the fires in the buildings or the blood spilled everywhere. Debbie is in my hand before I realize I’ve even moved, and I lunge at him. “Talk about her like that again, and it’ll be the last thing you ever say.”

Actually, it’s already going to be the last thing he ever says. He’s not getting off this roof alive, even if I have to go down with him to ensure it .

He ducks my swings, and I swipe at him with my knife in my other hand. We roll around on the roof; the shingles growing hot, but neither of us seems to care. He laughs in my face. Literally. I’m pretty sure some spittle flew out. So unsanitary. “Riling you up is so much fun. I’m glad you’re still alive so we can have this moment.”

“You know what else guarantees my survival? Not leaving me for dead.” I swipe my knife at his throat, but he dodges that, so I swing Debbie around, but he jumps backward. His foot falls through a weak point in the roof but he unfortunately saves himself. What a shame.

“Worth it.”

I stall at his response, my blade pressing against his chest. “What do you mean?”

His grin is so wide I can count the cavities. “Well, I got all the food, clothing, and weapons. You got the psychological issues. I think I wound up with the better end of the bargain.”

I show him a grin of my own. “Well, I got Emily. So, I think I win.”

“Really? Look down, little brother.”

I glance down and see red staining my pants leg. Huh, look at that.

“What now?”

I stick my fingers through the hole in my pants leg and tear the fabric until the wound is exposed. It’s not even that bad. Only a minor cut. A few Band-Aids will fix it right up. I shrug. “Guess I’ll let it bleed until it stops.”

He laughs. “And you think I’m the crazy one? Right.”

“I. Am. Not. Crazy.” My knuckles are so white around Debbie, they might even glow in the dark tonight.

“And that girl liked you? She must be just as fucked up.”

Instead of waiting to think of a response, I slide my blade straight into his chest, piercing his lung. Watching him gasp for his final breaths is how I imagined his end, right before abandoning him in a horde of rotters. William took the latter option away from me, but I could probably find it in my dark heart to forgive him for that.

“Guess again, brother. You took the easy way out and got to live the cushiony life. I fought and clawed my way through all these months, and I wound up with a whole family who’s far better than you ever were. You were never going to beat me.” I push the knife deeper, each second satisfying in a way I’ve craved for so long.

Bloods paints his lips red when he coughs, even coating his teeth when he grins. His words come out as a squeak. “I didn’t need to. I always won, didn’t I?”

“Guess again, brother.” I twist the knife in a slow circle. “I needed to lose you, to find myself. Now I have the kind of family I always deserved. You’re the one who’s been losing, even since the day you lost me.”

I push the knife in all the way to the hilt. His laughter twists into a gurgling gasp. I watch while he chokes, memorizing every moment of the life fading from his eyes before he disappears through the roof.

Flames welcome him down into the burning building, and I run away, my foot leaving the building right when the rest of the roof caves in and I leap into the air for the next building, landing on a roll.

Barking reaches my ears, and I notice Buddy running back and forth along the wooden wall surrounding the town, barking like crazy, trying to find a way out. Next order of business: grab Buddy and get the hell out of here.

I look around for a way down, and when I see Emily, my heart plummets.

She’s on the ground, holding Zoey, surrounded by the wounded colony people. Rotters are leaving, but she shouldn’t be on the ground. Her clothes also shouldn’t be covered in blood.

No .

No, no, no.

She’s not hurt. I refuse to believe it. I would have gladly left Nathan alive if I’d seen her first. That can’t be her blood. She’s bathing in the blood of her enemies…yeah, that has to be it.

Ignoring the tightening in my chest, I force out a burst of energy and leap off the building with a hard landing and run without looking back.