Alive Like Us Read online

  The wind whistled through the trees, carrying with it the scent of flesh.

  Humans—a woman and a child—were rushing through the bushes close by. They seemed to be floating on top of the snow rather than plowing through. Contraptions were attached to their feet—wooden frames with nets in the middle that kept them from sinking. He could use a pair of those. His fangs descended. He could use a meal too.

  Twig double-checked that his hood and scarf were in place and scurried after them. He did not attempt to hide his movements, banking instead on his small, childish size to bring down their guard. The woman halted at the sound of his approach and shoved the boy behind her, scanning the forest. Her expression softened when she saw Twig, who kept his gait smooth and steady, despite the too-tight skin over his knees.

  “Hey there,” the woman’s voice was soft and sweet, like a mother. “Who are you?”

  Twig paused. He’d take out the woman first. He knew they turned vicious if their offspring were threatened.

  “Where are your parents?” The boy asked, dubious.

  “I don’t got any,” Twig mumbled.

  The woman smiled. “You can come with us if you like. Cerise will take you in. She took in all of us.”

  Us? Twig’s fangs receded. Why eat a beggar’s meal now, if he could have a banquet later? Besides, Sanna’s home might be near their camp if these two were out walking.

  That cow who’d run away from him had been wrong. He wouldn’t starve after all.

  ESME LOOKED SO SMALL, as if the illness had robbed not only her health but years from her frame. Her raging fever brought a false blush to her sunken cheeks, and her shallow, rasping breath left Kai wondering if each one would be her last.

  He hated leaving her, and he hated Iris for making him. He knelt beside the cot and gently held her hand. He told himself that this wasn’t goodbye—it was just another day, another mission. He’d come back, and she’d be the feisty, stubborn sister who’d been a thorn in his side for the last twelve years.

  Her eyes cracked open. ”I don’t...feel so good.”

  ”I know. I’m sorry.” Kai said, drawing in a deep breath. ”I’m leaving, Ez. I’ll be back soon, though, I promise.”

  Esme whimpered, the cot creaking beneath her. The fact that this hovel was the best he could do for her hurt more than when he’d been branded a traitor. She should be in one of those shiny New Hope hospitals, or at least in one of the walled colonies dotting the Midwest.

  “Can we go back to the Inferno? Please? I wanna...I wanna see Dad.”

  “He’s not your—”

  “It’s time, Merrick,” Iris said from across the stifling room. “The storm has broken.”

  Kai swallowed the rest of his bitter words. It was no use anyways. Esme was too young to remember their real father—a kind, generous man who was far too trusting. Nothing like Hayes, the leader of the Inferno, whom Esme’s idolized in his place. Kai stood, ready to leave.

  “Wait,” Esme whispered. “Take Frankie with you.”

  “He’ll just get in the way.”

  “Please.” Esme caught his hand and held it with sudden, surprising strength. “I don’t—I don’t want you to be alone.”

  A weight pressed on his chest. He glanced back at her, a hard lump forming in his throat. She was looked so small, so frail. Was he making the right decision? Would she be alive when he returned? The last year had been one disaster after another for them, ever since he left the Inferno.

  He squeezed her hand. “Love you, Ez.”

  Her eyes drifted shut. Kai crossed to the front door, afraid that if he didn’t leave now, he never would. Iris met him there, her thin lips tight with worry, her eerie eyes luminous in the dim light.

  “I would hurry.” She gazed over at Esme’s dark corner. “I will try to help, but she is...not well.”

  “It will take at least a week to bring back the girl,” Kai hesitated, debating once more. “Why don’t I stay until Esme’s fever breaks?”

  ”No!” Iris shook her head. “No time. The longer we wait, the more active the Infected will become and the more dangerous the journey will be. You must go. Now.” She shoved an old canvas backpack into his arms, stuffed like a sausage. I find these things. Food, supplies. They will help, yes?”

  “Yeah. Thanks.” Though he loathed leaving Esme, Iris had proven to be strange but harmless over the past few days. She also knew far more than Kai did about medicine, and had plenty of food and water. It was clear that Esme’s greatest chance of recovery was here, and if all it took was some girl named Sanna, then he’d deliver her on a damn platter.

  “He’d...take us...back. He didn’t mean...to hurt you,” Esme murmured, lost in another fever dream.

  Kai clenched his jaw. She was talking about Hayes. Again.

  He swung the pack over his shoulders and flung open the door, facing the howling wind and swirling snow with grim determination. He hoped Esme would one day see Hayes for the person he truly was, instead of the hero she imagined.

  Kai entered the icy forest, the scars on his arms throbbing at the memory of the man who’d branded him.

  THREE DAYS LATER, KAI stared down at the three stage twos waiting beneath him, their bony, sunken faces shining like putrid moons in the morning gloom. Scabs covered their eyes, and thick black veins pumped the virus all over their heads like fat, pulsing slugs. One snarled up at him. Venom streaked through the air. It splattered on the bark near Kai’s hand, burrowing deep.

  Kai’s muscles ached. An itch tickled his nose. He had a few arrows left in the satchel tied to his hip, but he’d dropped his bow like an idiot as he clambered up the tree. If only the stage twos hadn’t taken him by surprise and treed him like a damn squirrel. If only they were still hibernating.

  Silence settled over them. Kai peered down and saw their heads cocking to one side, as if listening to some distant call. Weird...

  They took off in unison, fading amongst the white pillars of birch.

  Kai rested his forehead on the trunk, the tension draining from his muscles. That had been close. Too close. How long would they have waited for him? Probably until he froze. Thank God something—or someone had grabbed their interest.

  He climbed down a few feet and jumped, landing in a puff of glittery snow. He snatched up the bow, relief washing over him.

  He wished Iris’s stage twos were still following him, as they had on his first day of travel. He sensed that they’d kept the other Infected at bay. This morning, though, he’d awakened alone. Perhaps they’d reached the end of their invisible tether and returned to their mistress.

  The number of Infected he’d seen over the past three days unnerved him. He’d killed three stage ones already and avoided at least a half-dozen more. They were slower than in the summer, but the frost coating their tattered skin served as excellent camouflage.

  Kai picked his way through the trees, heading for the old highway that traced Lake Superior all the way to Canada. Frankie barked ahead, as if telling him to hurry.

  “Well, where were you when those stage twos jumped us?” Kai grumbled. He followed the dog’s path, the trees growing smaller and more spindly the closer he got to the wide ribbon of snow-covered pavement. The brilliant winter sun blazed, nearly blinding him as he left the dark wood.

  Frankie sat on the roof of an abandoned car a few yards ahead, his eager tail brushing off the snow. Even though the dog was generally useless, it was nice to be missed. Kai crossed the short distance. His shins bumped something hard. He probed the snow and felt the ridge of a metal skeleton—a truck that must’ve careened off the highway in the final hours of Canada’s open borders.

  Two chains of bumper-to-bumper vehicles lined the old highway, stretching all the way to the border. The rusty roofs poked out of the thick snow like an endless series of islands. Frankie bounded down to the trunk of another.

  Not a bad idea. It would be faster than slogging through knee-deep snow and he’d have a better view of any Infected. Kai s
crabbled onto the nearest car and quickly fell into an efficient rhythm while Frankie maintained his lead. Up down. Up down. If he had more time, he’d investigate each one for abandoned treasures, though most of them were probably little more than brittle shells after nearly two centuries.

  A shadow glided over him, its wings spanning the width of the road. Kai froze, his mind going blank at the sight. It can’t be...an Alpha hasn’t been seen in years.

  Frankie growled. Kai snapped out his stupor. The winged shadow swerved, heading straight for him.

  Kai slid off the car and bolted for the forest, every cell in his body screaming to run. Alphas were like giant hawks, and the canopy would provide at least some cover.

  He was nearly there when he spotted a pair of ghostly figures probing their way through the trees, their black lips curled into permanent grins. Stage twos. If they heard him, he’d be a goner. Kai skidded to a stop, snow flying in the air, and spun back toward the road.

  Frankie barked from the roof of a car, looking to the south. Four stage ones were weaving their way through the crowded road. Two were bald and nearly naked, their clothes rotting off their gangly frames and their bloodshot eyes rimmed with red. The others followed further behind, fully clothed and lurching about like puppets controlled by a drunken master.

  One of the stage ones, a female, snarled at him from the hood of an ancient pickup. The stage twos near the forest’s edge halted, their faces, turning towards Kai.

  I should’ve stayed in that tree.

  The female bounded off a trunk, sprinting towards him, as the stage twos broke from the forest, hoping to beat her to an easy meal. Above them all, the Alpha circled like an aerial shark. They’d fight over him, tearing him limb from limb.

  Kai slipped an arrow from his satchel and nocked it, aiming for one of the stage twos’ sightless eyes. He drew back and released. The stage two collapsed in a pile of limbs, tripping the other.

  Kai wasted no time. He bolted for the nearest car, sweeping the snow off the door. His fingers curled around the metal handle. He yanked, but the door was fused shut. He cried out, frustrated, and saw his stricken face reflected in the passenger window.

  Dropping his bow, he rammed his elbow into the cracked glass. A fuzzy numbness shot through his bones. He tried again, grunting. The glass webbed. Once more, and it shattered. He dove through the gaping hole. Glass shards crunched beneath his hands and knees, shredding his coat.

  A human skeleton sat in the driver’s seat, still clutching the steering wheel.

  Shrugging off his pack, he unsheathed the knife from his belt. Wind whistled through the broken window. He waited. Held his breath.

  Contorted human silhouettes rounded the car. A long-fingered palm slapped against the window above him, then dragged across the glass, clearing the snow. A wasted face pressed into it, its sore-covered, lidless eyes glowing like amber spheres. Kai squeezed the dagger, sweat rolling down his temples. The face disappeared.

  Seconds edged by as he waited for the attack. Kai inched up to the window, keeping low. The snow was coming down in earnest now, falling like tufts of cotton. He peered up the road and saw nothing.

  Thump. Something heavy landed on the roof. The car rocked. Razor tipped fingers curled around the edge of the broken window across from him. Kai pressed into the door. He reached behind, yanking on its handle. It wouldn’t budge.

  Long strands of dark hair descended from the roof. A mottled, gray-green forehead lowered into view, along with yellow eyes brightened by hunger. The bony angles of her face were sharp and exaggerated, the skin over them smooth and tight to the point of tearing. Her mouth was wide as a jack-o’-lantern and stuffed with pointed teeth.

  An Alpha.

  Over time, the virus honed her body into a sleek killing machine capable of destroying whole colonies in a single night.

  Kai rocketed forward, aiming for her eye, but she averted and he sliced her batlike ear instead. She shrieked, shaking her head as dark, viscous blood poured down the side of her face.

  An arc of venom sizzled on the headrest just above him as he surged upward again, this time aiming for the all-important temple.

  She lunged into the car, her long arms reaching for him. Her leathery wings caught on the window frame, blocking her entry. Kai slid over the console and into the front seat, ignoring the brittle crunch of the skeleton beneath him. Desperate, he tried the driver’s side door. No luck.

  The Alpha grabbed his boot. He kicked out with his other foot, smashing the side of her head. She reared back with an unearthly scream.

  He had to get out. Once her venom regenerated, he’d be a goner. But what about the other Infected? Were they waiting for him outside, ready to pounce?

  He had to think of something. Anything. He lifted his dagger, ready to fight to the death.

  The Alpha stilled. Her gaze rolled to the windshield. She cocked her head to one side as if listening to some secret voice, then ducked out of the car.

  What the hell? Kai watched as she stood, shaking her head. She raked her claws across her torn, bat-like ear. She stumbled to the left, knocking into the other Infected, then swayed to the right. One leathery wing half-lifted.

  Was she having a stroke? A seizure?

  The stage ones and twos took off, stampeding down the highway until they were dark pinpricks on the horizon.

  The Alpha roared, arching her spine, and bared her teeth to the sky. Her wings billowed out like a leathery cape. She lifted off, whirlwinds of snow dancing beneath her as she followed the others north.

  Kai waited a few precious minutes to make sure they were gone, then crawled out through the broken window. Evidence of the Alpha’s confused dance lay before him in the snowy swirls and clawed footprints. He’d had close calls before, but nothing this close.

  And now, he was sure things were going to get worse.

  The Infected followed a strict hierarchy. Alphas were at the top—the apex predator of apex predators. There was nothing bigger, or stronger, or more deadly than them. Until now. Something had control over that Alpha. He was sure of it.

  And whatever it was, it was heading for Erling.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Eight days after Nico’s death, Sanna shrugged into her shearling coat and prepared to reenter the Deadlands. She told herself it was in hopes of finding food for the communal kitchen, not to see if the voice that had taunted her in the Kill Zone was still out there. Either way, her mother was furious.

  “Ivan, do something.” Anne Erling glared at him from across the room, her voice quiet and firm—the equivalent of a general’s roar.

  “What would you have me do, Annie?” Her husband said in-between mouthfuls of eggs. “The girl’s eighteen—I can’t stop her from volunteering to hunt, can I?”

  Sanna quickly stabbed the antler buttons through their leather loops, then reached for her fur-lined hat. She’d hoped to sneak off before anyone awoke, but her mother had been waiting like a spider in the kitchen.

  “Why?” Anne appeared in the doorway; her lovely face lined with worry. “Your father said Kelsey was the one who drew the black stone. It was her turn to go."

  Sanna shrugged. “I don’t mind.”

  “This isn’t about last summer, is it?” Anne took a step towards her. “It’s not your fault Tess died. Or the others. No matter what anyone says.”

  “I’ll be fine, Mom. I can take care of myself.” Sanna turned away. Memories of that research outpost came rushing back, along with the terrifying mutant horde that had lurked within, turning their simple supply run into a blood-soaked nightmare.

  Her mother was wrong. It was her fault.

  The moment Kelsey, Tess’s little sister, drew the black stone last night, Sanna knew she had to take her place. It was the least she could do.

  Besides, that eerie voice she’d heard in the Deadlands reminded her of those mutants. She needed to know if that virus had spread, despite burning the whole place to the ground.

  “What’s up
with you, girl?” Ivan said, stabbing his fork in her direction. The utensil looked like a toy in his meaty grasp. “You’ve been acting...” his craggy face screwed into a suspicious scowl. “Different.”

  Sanna looked back at her mother, whose dark brows inched up slightly. It was the closest Anne Erling would ever come to begging for an answer.

  She longed to tell them the truth, but the words caught in her throat. I heard a voice in the Deadlands. It took control of my body.

  Her parents were practical people, made of blood, bone, and earth lodged firmly in reality. They’d think she was crazy, or worst of all, trying to get attention. It would be far better for her to check Erling’s perimeter herself. If she managed to bring back some meat, all the better.

  She raised her chin. “It’s an honor to provide for our community.”

  Haven, who’d been sitting silently beside her father, snorted into her tea.

  Ivan’s frown deepened. “Suit yourself.”

  “B-but,” Anne’s gaze bounced from Ivan to Sanna, “You've got a concussion. You’re still healing.”

  “I’m fine.” Sanna jammed her hands into her gloves.

  “But your foot—”

  “It’s all healed,” Sanna said with false cheer. “A miracle, remember? Just like you said.”

  “Enough.” Anne slapped her hand against the wall, shocking everyone. “You’re not fine. You’re not better. That...” she paused, refusing to say Nico’s name, “criminal took advantage of you. He tried to kidnap you. You could’ve been killed. And now you’re going out there again? I won’t have it. The Bone Boys could be waiting.”

  “Annie,” Ivan set down his fork, his voice unusually calm. “It’s her choice.”

  “But she’s going out alone, Ivan. No one will go with her. And that damn Bone Boy made everything worse. People were already saying she was cursed before and now...” Anne made a disgusted sound in her throat, shaking her head. “The least that boy could have done was survive long enough for us to kill him.”