Alive Like Us Read online

  The skeleten’s head toppled into his lap, startling him into action. He crawled into the back seat and through the broken window, then dropped his hands to his knees. He threw up. Then floppped onto his side, curling into fetal position. Evidence of the Alpha’s macabre dance lay before him in the snowy swirls and clawed footprints. He’d had close calls before, but nothing this close.

  And now, things were going to get worse.

  Infected followed a strict hierarchy and Alphas were supposed to 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 pleaded in-between mouthfuls of eggs. “The girl’s eighteen—I can’t stop her 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 spider in the kitchen. Ivan had probably told her about hunting raffle last night, giving her plenty of time to stew.

  “Why?” Anne appeared in the doorway of the kitchen; her lovely oval lined with worry. “Kelsey drew the black stone, didn’t she? 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 creepy, abandoned research outpost came rushing back. The mutant horde that lurked within turned their simple supply run into a blood-soaked nightmare that cost her every last one of her closest friends. And her mother was wrong. It was all her fault.

  She knew the moment Kelsey, Tess’s little sister, had drawn the black stone last night that she was going to take her place. It was the least she could do. Besides, that eerie voice she’d heard in the Deadlands reminded her of the mutant infected. She needed to know if that strain of the virus had spread, despite the fire she’d set before leaving the outpost.

  “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 scow. “Strange.”

  Sanna looked back at her mother, who’s dark brows inched up slightly. It was the closest Anne Erling would ever come to begging for an answer. She longed to tell them both the truth, but the words caught in her throat. I’m hearing things no one else can. I think the Infected are talking to me. They were both practical people, made of blood, bone, and earth, lodged firmly in reality. They’d dismiss her as crazy, or concussed or worst of all, trying to get attention.

  It would be far better for Sanna to deal with the mutant Infected herself, if there was any. 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, “Your concussion! You’re still healing.”

  “I feel fine.” Sanna jammed her hands into her gloves.

  “But your foot—”

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

  “Enough,” Anne slapped her hand against the wall, shocking everyone. “You’re not fooling anyone. 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 out there, 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 crused 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.”

  “I’ll go,” Haven said as she brought her coffee cup to her lips. She stared at Sanna over its chipped rim, curiosity glittering in her gold-green eyes.

  Sanna steeled herself for battle. She needed to go alone if she wanted to use the opportunity to find the source of that voice. Haven would be a burden at best, and her mother’s spy at worst.

  “Really?” Anne turned towards her. “Are you sure?”

  “Why not?” Haven lifted a single shoulder. The corner of her lush mouth ticked up in a feline smile. “It could be fun, right?”

  “I don’t think you’ll like it,” Sanna said quickly. “It’ll be cold. And boring. Just me and some fish, if we’re lucky. Oh...and...uh ...probably bears.”

  “Bears?” Anne’s hand flew to her mouth. “Since when?”

  “Sounds like you could use an extra set of eyes, you know,” Haven sipped her tea one last time before setting it down, “for the bears.”

  Ivan studied Haven, as if seeing her for the first time even though they’d all shared a home for over five years. “Can you even hold a bow and arrow?”

  “Please, Ivan,” Anne shot him a withering glare. “Just because she’s not one of your meat-headed soldiers doesn’t mean she’s useless.” She shifted to Haven. “Go on, I’ll take cover your patients for you.”

  Despite the early hour, they both meticulously dressed, from the elegant twists of their hair down to their plush slippers. They looked like Erling’s royalty, which made Sanna little more than their pawn.

  “I mean it, Haven,” she pleaded, “You really, really don’t have to come.”

  “Don’t worry,” Haven said brightly as she rose from the table. “I’ll only take a minute.” She floated across the threadbare living room and up the stairs, leaving Sanna to wait and sweat in her winter coat.

  An hour later Sanna followed Haven down the steps of the sagging wrap-around porch and onto the narrow swath carved through the thick snow. The remnants of a sidewalk beneath made the path treacherous and every time Sanna almost tripped, anger simmered in her chest. It was so frustrating trying to argue with Haven—especially when the whole world seemed to bow to her as if she was a force of nature. Sanna would have had better luck shouting at the snow.

  “Be safe, girls!” Anne called from the front door. “And get home before dark.”

  They waved goodbye, and she disappeared inside the two-story house. Perched on the edge of a steep cliff, it stood out against the slate gray sky. Most of its white paint had peeled off, revealing the faded gray siding beneath. Along the edge of the cliff were smaller log cabins—reminders that this area had once been a popular vacation spot before the First Night, when the course of humanity’s future was changed for the worse.

  Sanna and Haven passed the glowing windows in silence as the spicy scent of chimney smoke filled the air. Soon the narrow street would be crowded with people heading to their various jobs, all assigned by the Lieutenant.

  They passed his dark, shuttered house next, Erling’s only other two-story residence. He was probably still at the Tavern, warbling old love songs and reeking of booze. It seemed ridiculous to think he’d be part of some scheme to defraud the central government.

  Perhaps his subtl
e accusation had been another one of Nico’s tricks. A way to make Sanna cling to him even more by making her simple, dependable world seem as if it was turning into something new and dangerous.

  Was it all a lie? Sanna longed to ask to ask him. In the days since his death, she’d done everything she could to not dwell on him or their brief, heady relationship. Otherwise her eyes would start to burn, and she’d feel stupid all over again. Better to dismiss the weeks spent with him as a strategic failure. A miscalculation. She should have known better than to think a guy like him would be interested someone like her. Especially with all the shiny Havens in the world.

  Speaking of which, she had to figure out how to ditch her. She didn’t need any dead weight out there, especially when she didn’t know what to expect. ,

  FROM THIS POINT, THROUGH PP 62-63-64-65 OR MORE, THIS CONVERSATION COULD EASILY BE CONDENSED BY 50% OR MORE, AND STILL CONVEY THE SAME INFO. BOGS DOWN THE PACE.

  “Look,” Haven said as the road widened and slanted down as it led to the humble heart of Erling. “I know we haven’t been that close, okay? But you can talk to me. I know something’s wrong with you. Heck, even Ivan noticed it, and he’s about as perceptive as a carp.”

  Haven’s concern surprised her. They’d been little more than roommates ever since she arrived to work as a nurse five years ago. Haven seemed to prefer it that way, disappearing into her room when she wasn’t shadowing Sanna’s mother.

  “I’m worried,” Sanna said. “About a lot of things. The Infected waking up earlier than usual. The Bone Boys. Whether our food stores will hold until spring. Everything. It seems like life gets harder every year, instead of easier. Maybe we aren’t meant to be here. Maybe it’s not safe anymore.”

  “No place is safe. Even New Hope has breaches sometimes. I doubt Bone Boys have the means to take us on, and we know how to handle the Infected.” Haven nodded at her own logic. “We’ll get by. The gardens did well last year, even if our fields didn’t.”

  Three small gray forms skittered across their path. Neither of them flinched.

  “And there’s lots of rats, if we get desperate,” she added.

  Sanna suppressed a shudder. “I’ll take my chances hunting.”

  Haven frowned. “You know, it’s the Lieutenant’s job to make sure we don’t starve. Not yours.”

  “Yeah,” Sanna scoffed. “But we’d all be dead by now if we left him in charge of anything important. I can’t believe Nico had me thinking even for a minute that the man was good for anything except keeping the tavern in business. No wonder mom and dad laughed when I told them. God, I was so stupid.”

  “No, you weren’t,” Haven said with a sad smile. “I thought Nico really liked you. The way he looked at you sometimes made me sort of...jealous.”

  Haven? Jealous? All she had to do was blink in a guy’s general direction for him to fall over her, barren or not. Sanna didn’t understand why she never did.

  Erlingers crowded the street the closer they got to the town center. Most looked more like heaps of soiled rags than people. Only a few were easily identifiable—the shopkeepers, whose enterprising nature meant that nicer, cleaner fabrics were wrapped around them, and soldiers heading to the armory in their thick leather armor. Regardless, they all shared the same story. Poor, pioneering pure-bloods trying to eke out a life within the promised safety of government-supplied walls.

  “I’ve been thinking,” Haven hedged, glancing at her. “People can have more than one motive. Maybe the relationship started out fake but—”

  Sanna squeezed her hand into a fist at her side. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “It’s okay to feel sad.”

  “I’m not sad!”

  The people bustling around them did double-takes at her sharp tone. Haven didn’t flinch—she never flinched—but her face hardened into a cool mask. “Fine,” she continued on. “But I’m still coming with you. I’m not gonna let you do something stupid just because you can’t handle basic emotions.”

  “Hey!” Sanna hurried after her. “What are you talking about?”

  “You’ve been taking stupid risks ever since that supply run failed.”

  “I’m a solider. It’s my job.”

  “Yeah,” Haven gestured towards the towering walls lined with men and women.

  “And it’s theirs too, but I don’t see any of them doing extra hunting.”

  “If I don’t, then who will?”

  “Anyone else. Why does it always have to be you? What are you looking for out there? Why are you so jumpy? Is it Nico? Or some sort of death wish?”

  “If you’re so scared, then stay home.”

  “Of course, I’m scared. It’s the Deadlands! You should be scared too, instead of running out there every chance you get.”

  “Nothing’s going to happen—”

  “You can’t know that,” Haven said, her voice wavering. Hey,” She glared at the crowd surrounding them. “Don’t you all have something better to do?”

  The gawkers shuffled on, whispering amongst themselves. Sanna inwardly cringed. People would be talking about this until spring.

  “What I’m trying to say is,” Haven continued once they were alone. “No matter how much danger you put yourself in, it won’t bring back the people you’ve lost. Trust me.”

  Her chin trembled, and the shadow of an aching loss passed over her pretty face. Sanna released the frustration building inside her. Haven was only trying to help. “I know you’re right. It just—I feel better if I’m doing something. Anything. Even if it means going out there on my own.”

  Haven’s lips quirked into a sympathetic half-smile. “I know. Just remember people still care about you. Even me.”

  They continued on in companionable silence. Sanna wasn’t sure if Haven was actually telling the truth, or if the whole conversation had been her mother’s careful scheme. Either way, Sanna did feel marginally better.

  A woman knocked into her side, shooting her a venomous glance. Many people blamed her for the death of her friends, no matter how many times she’d explained the whole village had an elaborate trap filled with mutant infected.

  “Have you ever thought about leaving Erling?” Haven said, stopping outside the general store. “You could have a fresh start somewhere.”

  “I can’t leave my parents. They’d be devastated.”

  “I think they’d understand, especially if they thought you’d be happy.”

  “But what about Erling?”

  “It’s a just a colony, Sanna. There are dozens like it all over the Midwest. You could even go to New Hope—it’s not as bad as people say, and they have electricity.”

  “I never realized you were so well-travelled.”

  “You never asked.”

  The shopkeeper’s son perked up at the sight of Haven. He smoothed his hair and straightened his shoulders before starting over to greet them.

  “Just...” Haven squeezed Sanna’s shoulder. “Think about it, okay? There’s no reason for you spend your life here being miserable. Now,” she leaned, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. “I’m gonna get us some ice skates, okay? There’s no reason we can’t have a little fun, right?”

  She glided up the steps. The bell on the door jingled as she opened it.

  Sanna leaned against the old building and looked out on the only home she’d ever known. The street was lined with shopfronts, most of which were boarded up. She knew it wouldn’t always be the case. Thanks to their location on Lake Superior, goods could be carried up and down the territory by boat with little fear of the Infected. Erling would be a thriving colony one day, and when Sanna had entered the guard four years ago she’d sworn to devote her life protecting it.

  Which was why, no matter what Haven suggested, she would never leave.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Two hours later, Sanna pulled her collar tight around her neck to ward off the bitter cold as they neared Crimson Lake —her favorite ice fishing spot. A wet, winter wind thr
eaded through the underbrush and rattled the bare branches overhead like bones.

  “Man, I never realized this would such a hike,” Haven said. “We should’ve taken the horses.”

  The hem of Sanna’s coat snagged on a bramble. She reached down to extricate it, careful not to rip the precious fabric. “I didn’t want to make a fuss. The lake is only a few miles anyways.”

  “Are you sure the Bone Boys aren’t out here? Looking for you?”

  “It’s been over a week. Even they must have better things to do.” She glanced at Haven, whose pretty face was tight with nerves. “Hey, relax. This is supposed be to your day off, remember? The area’s been cleared, and the Infected have probably moved on or started hibernating again.”

  “If you say so.”

  The trees thinned as they approached the bank, and in a few minutes the lake spread before them like a vast, gray mirror. Sanna drew in a cleansing breath and drank in the solemn beauty. She felt better out here, more solid and sure. Maybe that strange voice really had been nothing more than just a residual symptom of her concussion. There certainly hadn’t been any sign of anything else unusual. “It’s nice out here, isn’t it?”

  “I don’t get it—how is this all uphill?” Haven stopped beside her; cheeks rosy with exertion. “Are we on top of a mountain or something?”

  “An old range, I think.”

  “Carry me next time, will you? Think of it as one of those crazy workouts that you’re always doing.”

  “Yeah.” Sanna laughed. “Sure.”

  Haven stared out onto lake. “I guess the first step in ice fishing is making a hole, right? Provided we don’t get kidnapped or eaten by whatever lives out here.”

  “We won’t." Sanna stepped onto the ice. Her foot immediately took off without her and she landed hard on her butt. Embarrassed, she tried to stand again, but her legs seemed intent on going in opposite directions, like those of a newborn fawn. She finally made it to a fallen log and sat down, kicking off her boots.