Land of Dust and Bones: The Secret Apocalypse Book 7 by James Harden

through. If you hide behind a fence, right? Or barricade yourself in a house,
or building or whatever, and the infected find you, they’ll launch a full on
assault on the building. They’ll break the doors, the windows, everything. They
won’t stop until they get inside. But yeah, the infected have never laid a hand
on these walls. It’s like they don’t even know there are people hiding behind
them.”
    “Strange,” Kenji says. “I’ve never heard of
anything like that.”
    “And the walls kept out the black smoke,”
Sarah continues. “And those other things. The monsters. I’ve seen so many monsters…”
She trails off. After a while she says, “But again, the monsters stay away.”
    I wonder what could possibly accomplish
such a thing. “How the hell could a wall, like, a wall , keep away the infected? They’re dead. They’re brain dead.
They’re viral hosts. How is that possible?”
    Sarah shakes her head.
    “Kenji?” I ask. “Any ideas?”
    He shrugs his shoulders. “Who knows what
the military, or the company is capable of?”
    Marko turns the music down. “What are you
mob talking about back there? You’re not talking about us, are ya ? Billy’s ears are burning.”
    “Nothing,” I say. “We’re just wondering
what you guys want. Or what you guys need.”
    “Huh?”
    “We’re very appreciative of your help,”
Kenji adds. “And we’ll do everything in our power to repay you.”
    “Mate, don’t worry about it. I mean sure,
we’d love a bit of extra food. Who wouldn’t? But the world has gone to hell.
The way I see it, people can either give up, rip each other apart, start eating
each other, turn on each other. Or we can come together. We can help each
other. Because if we don’t come together, no one is going to survive this.”
    “Thank you,” Sarah says. “We have a lot of
food where we’re going. Obviously I’m not in charge of the food. I’m not in
charge of anything. But they’ll understand, they’ll be happy to help you guys.”
    “By the way, where are you going?” Marko
asks. “You said you were going to a walled town? I’ve been all over this part
of the world. And I’ve never heard of any walled town. Sounds like something
out of the middle ages.”
    “They built the walls in the early days of
the outbreak,” Sarah says.
    “Who’s they?”
    “The military. I think. Or maybe it was
someone else.”
    “Right. So, the walls, they keep the people
and the town safe?”
    “Yeah. They keep the monsters on the
outside, and people safe on the inside.”
    “Sounds like a dream come true. What’s the
name of the town?”
    “Well, I’m actually not allowed to tell
anyone.”
    “Fair enough,” Marko says. “I understand
perfectly. You can never be too sure about people. Lot of weirdos out there.
Well, maybe not anymore. But there used to be. Before everyone died.”
    He says this and has a chuckle to himself.
    “And I’m guessing you had a good reason for
leaving?” he asks.
    “Yeah,” Sarah answers. “At least, I thought
it was a good reason.”
    The car falls silent.
    And I think about how easily Sarah’s story
could’ve been our story. We were reckless, just like her. We did things, stupid
and dangerous things for the people we love.
    And we survived.
    We made it out of the Fortress alive. We
made it out together.
    Sarah was not so lucky.
    She had risked her life for someone that
she loved. But she never found him.
    Never will
    This could’ve been us.
    Jack could so easily have died alone in the
desert.
    Kim could’ve died alone in the Fortress.
    Kenji could’ve been killed by the man in
the gas mask.
    Maria and I, there’s no way we’d survive
out here on our own.
    We continue driving west, into the sun. I
try and stay awake but it’s impossible. The car rocks me to sleep. I’m not sure
for how long. I’m not sure how much time passed. Not long. The sun is still
bright, the sky is still blue.
    And then I hear Billy’s voice.