Broken World (Book 6): Forgotten World (13 page)

“Stop.” Jon’s shaky voice draws my attention his way. “Stop.”

He gasps for breath, but Joshua sits back. His hands are covered in blood and his face is white, and his eyes are telling the truth even though his mouth hasn’t said the words yet. There’s nothing he can do to save Jon.

“We both know this isn’t going to work,” Jon says, his words strong even though his voice trembles. “I’m going to end up bleeding to death no matter what you do, and the more time you spend trying to save me, the more likely the rest of you are to die.”

“We’re all going to die! Don’t you get it?” Dax’s voice booms through the bus. “We are surrounded by the dead!”

“Not if I have anything to say about it,” Jon says, sitting up. His gaze focused on his wife. “I won’t put you at risk.”

“This can’t be happening,” Ginny says.

She pulls out of my arms and pushes her way past the men. I step forward too, and for the first time, get a really good look at the gunshot wound. It’s in Jon’s chest, and it’s oozing blood. So much that I don’t know how he isn’t gone yet. He’s right. There’s nothing Joshua can do about this. Not on a bus, not with little to no equipment and no operating room. Not when we don’t have the time or resources to do a blood transfusion. Jon is going to die.

Axl’s arm slips around my shoulders before I even know he’s there, but I don’t look away from the scene in front of me. Ginny is on her knees at Jon’s side, sobbing into his chest. His hands moves down her head, smoothing her hair back over and over again as she cries.

“You can’t leave me,” Ginny says, the words distorted by her sobs and the fact that her face is pressed against Jon’s chest.

He stops rubbing her head and forces her to look up. “You’ll be fine. You have family to take care of you, and this baby to love.”

“But I
need
you.” She rubs her hand across her face, wiping away the tears, but they’re replaced a second later by more. “I don’t know if I can do this without you. If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t be here. I would have given up.
You
are my reason for living.”

“No,” Jon says firmly. “All I did was help you find yourself. You are stronger than you think, and you’re strong enough to go on. You don’t need me.”

His face scrunches up and he lets out a deep exhale, and just like that, Ginny is sobbing again. Axl’s arm tightens around me as tears fill my eyes, and even though I don’t want to look away, I force myself to. I turn and wrap my arms around him and bury my face in his chest. Willing myself to hold it together. To be strong so Ginny has someone to lean on, because she is going to need it.

“Don’t…” Ginny’s voice fades, but a second later she says, “Jon.”

Tears shake my body, mixing with Ginny’s sobs. I hold my breath, but Jon doesn’t answer, and when I look back, I expect to find him gone. His skin pale and his face slack. But that isn’t what’s happening. Instead he’s on his feet, and he has Ginny in his arms. He’s hugging her, and his blood has covered her stomach, so round and full of the reminder of exactly what Jon is leaving behind.

He pulls back and takes Ginny’s face between his hands. “I love you. I love our baby and I love the time we had together. I love that we created something out of scraps, and I love that you are strong enough to pull through anything. Even this. Don’t forget that. Don’t forget what you overcame or who you are, because you are the strongest woman I have ever known, and you deserve to make it to the end of this thing. To see the world rebuilt and to watch our child grow.”

He kisses her on the forehead, leaving his lips pressed against her skin so long that time seems to pause. When he pulls away, it’s so sudden Ginny doesn’t have time to react. Her face is streaked with tears when Jon steps back, giving her one last look before shoving his way past us.

“You won’t have a lot of time,” he says, heading for the back door. His hand is on his wound even though it isn’t helping. More blood seeps out with every step he takes. He’s so weak that he looks like he’s dragging himself. Like he can barely lift his legs. But he doesn’t stop until he reaches the door. “I’ll draw them away, but we all know it isn’t going to last long.”

“No!” Ginny says, moving toward Jon.

Jim is the one who grabs her. “You sure about this?” he asks, his eyes on her husband.

Jon’s hand is on the latch that opens the back door. “Yes.” His face contorts in pain, and he stumbles back. He squeezes his eyes shut and exhales a couple times before opening them again. “I don’t have much time left. Don’t forget your promise.”

“I won’t,” Jim says, holding Ginny tighter as her eyes grow to twice their size.

“You can’t do this,” she screams, thrashing in Jim’s arms. “I can’t let you!”

She’s still struggling when her husband pushes the door open. A chorus of moans fills the bus, along with the putrid stench of decay. Then Jon throws himself into the horde and is swallowed up by a sea of decaying arms.

“No!” Ginny screams.

Angus takes her from Jim, who runs for the front of the bus, and just like that, we’re all on the move. Axl pushes me forward, and I sweep my backpack up as I run by, looking back just long enough to see that the other door has been swarmed. The zombies aren’t just interested in Jon now. They want us.

“The front!” Dax screams.

Al and Lila reach the door first, but Jim and Joshua are right behind them. Axl has his arm around me, and behind us, Angus pulls a still-sobbing Ginny with him. He has to drag her to get her to move, but he manages it, mostly because Dax is at his back pushing as well. Then we’re all crowded around the door, and Jim pushes his way past the teens. He takes a few deep breaths through his mouth before blowing them out through his nose. His eyes are focused on Ginny.

“We’re going to have to jump,” he says. “When you get out, head for the water. Get as close to the middle of the river as you can get. Too close to the edge and the water might be too shallow.”

“We don’t even know how deep the middle is!” Lila screeches.

Jim turns and holds her gaze. “It’s this, the zombies, or the men in the woods. You choose.”

With that, he shoves the door open and runs down the steps. The second he’s down, he’s yelling for us to move. Then we’re all climbing out, one after the other after the other until it’s my turn. I grab Ginny from behind me and shove her toward the stairs, and I don’t even have to force her to go. A split second after she’s out, I follow.

My feet hit the pavement, and the overwhelming stench of rot fills my lungs. I scurry forward, shoving Ginny toward the side of the bridge. Over the moans and screams and occasional burst of gunfire, the roar of the rushing water below us fills my ears, and I say a silent prayer, asking God to protect us from the fall and from the roaring current.

“Go!” I hear Jim shout as he waves us toward the edge of the bridge.

Axl pushes me forward, but we’re cut off when Dax rushes in front of us. Pulling Angus with him. Angus climbs up the side with our leader right behind him, and beside me, Axl fires into the advancing zombies. In the distance, men groan and scream. Ginny reaches the railing and leans against it like she can’t find the energy to move, and Angus stands on the rail, looking back. Probably trying to find his brother.

“We have to go!” Dax screams, urging him to jump.

“Go, Angus,” I say, waving toward the river.

Angus squeezes his hands into fists before letting them relax. He gives Axl one final look before throwing himself from the side. Dax is gone a second later, looking like nothing more than a shadow as he jumps into the river below. Once they’re gone, Al pulls Lila to the edge, urging her up. They jump together only seconds later.

I pull Ginny forward, looking over my shoulder as Axl struggles with a zombie. “Axl!”

He pushes the zombie back, and Jim fires at the thing, taking it out as Axl runs toward me.

In front of us, Joshua climbs up the railing. “Come on!” he calls, holding his hand out to Ginny, who still hasn’t moved.

She reaches for the doctor just as a zombie comes out of nowhere, tackling him. Joshua and Ginny and the zombie all hit the pavement, and I find myself screaming in frustration as I charge forward. More of the dead come from nowhere, seeming to materialize out of the darkness. Axl and I reach the one on Joshua. We manage to pull him off before anyone is seriously injured while Jim helps Ginny to her feet. But more zombies move in.

“Go!” Jim calls, firing at the dead as more and more stagger our way.

Axl shakes his head and joins him, and I do the same despite the curses Axl throws at me. We fire together while Joshua and Ginny climb the railing. They jump, and Axl nudges me to move, but I refuse to go alone. I pull him with me, still firing with one hand while urging him to move toward the side. Like us, Jim doesn’t let up, but still more zombies come, and the horde around us grows so thick I’m not sure how we’re going to make it.

Just as that thought enters my mind, the pop of an automatic weapon fills the air, and the dead around us fall.

Like a dream, Parvarti runs from the darkness, still firing as the zombies head our way. “Jump!” she screams as she bolts over the bodies at our feet.

Axl and I climb, and the others are right behind us. We reach the top of the railing, and the wind blows my hair so violently I can’t even see the river when Axl pushes me forward.

Then I’m falling. Through the dark night with the cold air whipping around me, and the sounds of the river and screams and gunfire pulsing through my brain. In what seems like the blink of an eye, my body slams into the river. Cold water engulfs me, and the current reaches up with its icy fingers, pulling me into its darkness. I flail my arms and legs, trying to push myself up, but it only takes a second to realize I’m not totally sure which way up is. All around me, the river swirls, pulling me down as it rushes to its destination. My eyes are shut and my lungs are so full of stale air that they feel in danger of bursting, but still I can’t figure out how to get away. The river has become a string of icy rope, twisting around me until I’m sure I’ll never be able to break free.

My backpack is weighing me down. I twist, trying to break free of the straps, but it’s impossible.
It’s going to drag me to the bottom.
That’s the only clear thought going in my head.

Then all at once I’m thrown to the surface, giving me a chance to suck in a mouthful of fresh air before I’m pulled down again. This time, I know which way is up, and I’m only down for a few seconds before I manage to kick and claw my way back to the surface. My head pops out, and I inhale, kicking harder to keep myself above water. Wet hair is plastered to my face, making it hard to see much, but from somewhere in the distance I hear the sound of people yelling over the rushing of the water. I search the dark river, barley illuminated by the moon, and spot a couple objects bobbing up and down not too far in front of me that just might be my friends. Or Axl.

“Axl!” I scream just as I’m sucked under once again.

The mouthful of water I take in doesn’t make it to my lungs, and when I manage to resurface, I spit it out. Oxygen so cold and harsh it burns its way through my body gets sucked in, and when I exhale, my teeth chatter together from the effort.

My skin has turned to ice, and what’s worse is that I can feel the frigidness of the water seeping inside me. Freezing my joints and muscles. Making it nearly impossible to kick.

Kick. Kick! Don’t stop!

The water seems to thicken until every move I make is labored and slow. I find it more and more difficult to keep my head up, and the numbness in my limbs is too pronounced to ignore. But still the current moves me forward with a speed that makes me dizzy, and I can’t fight it. I don’t have the energy.

“Vivian!”

Ginny’s voice breaks through the water rushing in my ears, and I dig deep, searching for strength so I can kick harder. I comb the darkness, and thanks to the light of the moon, I’m finally able to spot some movement in the distance. On the riverbank, someone is climbing out of the water, joining a few other people.

“Here!” I scream, waving. Kicking my feet. Trying to move to the edge as the river pushes me faster and harder in the other direction. I feel like we’re in the middle of a game of tug-of-war, only it’s me against a team of linebackers.

My boots weigh a thousand pounds and my arms are as limp as cooked noodles, but somehow I manage to pull myself closer to the edge, where six people stand waiting. Someone wades out into the water, and I kick harder, trying to propel myself to the side as the river rushes to meet the bank.

“Grab my hand!” Axl calls.

Just hearing his voice gives me enough energy to push myself. I scream as I kick and claw and pull myself through the water. My legs hit the bottom of the river, but the current is moving too fast for me to find my footing. I kick again, pushing myself against the river floor until I’m closer to the edge. Less than six feet to go.

“Axl!” I gasp, pushing harder.

He rushes forward, the water up to his waist, and Angus is right behind him. Like a good shadow, Dax follows, and then my feet find solid ground once again and I push against it with all my might, throwing myself toward the waiting men.

Hands pull me forward, so many I can’t figure out what belongs to who or which one of these men I have to thank for saving my life. They pull me to land, and I collapse on top of Axl, coughing out water. Ginny is at my side in seconds, patting my back the way a mother does when a child chokes. It isn’t helping, but I’m panting and coughing too hard to tell her to stop.