Rot & Ruin (Rot & Ruin, #1)(95)

“What is it?” demanded Charlie.

“You better get up here, boss.”

With a growl, Charlie and the Hammer climbed to the catwalk while Joey remained at ground level to guard the ladder. Benny had to crab sideways a few yards to see the three men as they stood

there, examining the bodies of their fallen comrades.

It was then that the reality of what he’d done hit Benny.

I killed a man.

Not a zombie … but a real, living human being.

He listened inside for his conscience to scream about the wrongness of it, but all he heard echoing through his internal darkness was the sound of Morgie’s trembling voice back at Nix’s

house, and the sound of Tom’s voice as he held Jessie Riley. And the sound of Nix’s awful sobs last night. If his conscience had something to say about what he’d done, it didn’t dare say

it loud enough to be heard. And some other part of him wished that he’d driven that wooden spike into the big man with the pale skin and the one red eye, who stood with his fists on his

hips thirty yards away. If only Tom had taught him how to shoot. But then, he reflected, he knew enough about handguns to understand that thirty yards was a long way for any kind of

accuracy. Even if he emptied the entire magazine at the catwalk, he might not hit anyone and would, in turn, draw deadlier fire from their long guns. Charlie had a rifle slung on his back.

He bent close to Nix and Lilah, and mouthed the words: “Stay or go?”

Lilah made a palms-down gesture. Stay.

Charlie went to the rail of the catwalk and looked out over the mountain slope and the surrounding forest. He swept his eyes slowly from one side to the other, and for one chilling moment

his gaze rested on the spot where Benny and the girls crouched. Could that evil red eye see them? Then the big man’s gaze swept past.

The Hammer came and stood beside him. “This is a complete waste of time, Charlie. We need to get them kids and get ours asses over the hill.”


“I don’t like leaving it like this,” growled Charlie. “Unfinished business is sloppy.”

“Yeah, well, wasting time is wasting money,” retorted the Hammer. “We already got us a round dozen for the games.”

“What if the Imura pup gets back to town?”

The Hammer laughed at the idea. “There’s an army of zoms between him and safe, Charlie. Best-case scenario for him is that he falls and breaks his neck before they get him.”

“Worse-case scenario is that I pick up his trail,” said Charlie.

“Truer words, brother,” said the Hammer, slapping him on the back. “Truer words.”

“Okay, let’s roll. Houston John and Bull should be getting in tonight, and I want to be on the move at first light.”

Charlie turned away, and they began climbing down, leaving the bodies of their friends behind, as if they weren’t even worth the effort to bury. The men reached the ground and faded back

into the tall grass. From their direction, Benny figured they were going back to the highway or to some spot near it, where their own trail would take them to their camp.

Benny turned to Nix and opened his mouth to speak, but Lilah put a finger to her lips and held it there for a long minute. Then she rose slowly from her crouch and searched the clearing and

the woods beyond it. Finally the tension left her shoulders, and she turned to Benny and Nix.

“Thank you,” he said to Lilah.

The Lost Girl looked momentarily confused, as if she didn’t know how to respond to that.

Nix said, “How did you know that we needed help?”

Lilah’s mouth worked as she tried to sort out how to answer, testing and tasting different words. For the second time Benny wondered how long it had been since she’d spoken with another

human being.

“Follow,” she began, then changed the word. “Follow-ing. Men. Following men?” She ended it as a question, hoping they understood.

“You were following the men?” Nix asked.

“Yes,” she said. “Following the men. I was. Since, um … dark morning.”

“Since dawn?”

“Dawn,” Lilah agreed, smiling a little. “I was following the men since dawn.”

“Why were you following them?” Benny asked.

Lilah thought about it. “You.”

“Us?”

“Saw you. Last night. Saw you run from them. Walkers. Men. Heard shots. Followed. Heard you last night. Crying. Talking.”

Benny cut a quick look at Nix, who avoided his eyes. Had this feral girl heard them kissing? Benny thought about it, then dismissed it. The kisses were hot, but they weren’t loud. On the

other hand, he mused, she could have stood on this very spot and watched them kiss. As he thought it, he realized that Nix had already reached that conclusion, hence her avoiding his eyes.

“Lilah … last night, when you heard us talking. Did you hear everything we said?”

She considered, shrugged … then nodded.

“Did you understand?”

That small smile flickered over her lips again. “I … understand. Just not …” She waved a hand back and forth between them.

“You’re just not used to talking,” Nix said. “Not used to conversation?”