Free The Decaying World Saga (Book 1): Tribes of Decay by Michael W. Garza Page A

“The infected?”
    “They’ve been gathering for years.”
    “Not like this,” Rowan insisted. He hesitated and then tried to sit up. Mia helped him and he was able to keep himself upright. “There’s more than I’ve ever seen before and they were,” he stumbled over the words as he tried to think of the right one, “invading.”
    Jacob’s eyes narrowed.
    “I’ve seen that too.”
    “Where?”
    “It’s happened several times,” Jacob shifted uneasily. “It’s the beginning of the end for the city.”
    “How so?” Mia asked, her tone more frightened now than curious.
    “It happens in pockets, everywhere,” he explained. “The infected evolve, some more than others. You wouldn’t believe me if I told you what it’s like east of the Rockies. We’re a dying breed my friend.”
    Rowan wasn’t sure he understood what the old man was saying.
    “Will they come after the tribe?” Mia asked.
    “It’s only a matter of time,” Jacob said. “Probably too late,” he added without much consideration.
    Rowan felt Mia tremble. She looked around the darkening space like a trapped animal.
    “We need to warn them,” she said, desperately. “I have to tell my father.”
    Mia stood up and Rowan fell back, slapping his head on the rolled coat by chance. “Mia, hold on.” She was walking away, trying to escape. “Come here and give me a hand.”
    Jacob watched them, but didn’t interfere.
    “We have to tell them,” she insisted, pausing for a moment. “We have to let them know what’s coming.”
    Rowan waited until he was sure he had her attention. “We tried that already, remember?” She held still, crossing her arms and nervously tapping her foot. “Your father saw it with his own eyes,” he reminded her.
    “They didn’t understand what it was,” she said. “How could they?”
    “What makes you think they’ll believe you now?”
    Mia’s head shot up like a lightning bolt, extending a finger toward Jacob.
    “They’ll believe him.”
    Rowan turned to the old man and Jacob was already shaking his head.
    “Not my problem,” he said. “It’s time for me to move on.”
    Mia stomped back into the firelight. “Move on?” She glared at him. “And what will happen to our tribe? Don’t you care?”
    Jacob got to his feet before responding. “No,” he said plainly, and then began to slide his sharpened sticks into a large backpack lying on the ground behind him. “I gave up my concern for this world long ago.”
    “What?” Mia asked, shocked by his indifference.
    “You’re free to go whenever you like,” he said.
    Rowan and Mia watched him in silence as he gathered the last of his things and slowly slipped his pack in place. He laid the radio down on the ground on the other side of the fire and turned to leave.
    “We have to warn them.”
    Mia’s statement sounded more like a question. It took Rowan a moment to realize what was happening. Jacob took another deep breath. His eyes softened as he forced himself to look directly at the young couple.
    “It doesn’t matter,” he said. “I’ve seen where the world is going. I’ve walked across this God forsaken country longer than you’ve been alive. The infected have been evolving for decades. They grew a tolerance to the light, they learned how to communicate with one another,” he paused, “and they’ve figured out how to keep their food source alive. There’s no stopping this.”
    He turned his back on them and started a slow walk into the shadows.
    “And what will happen to us?” Mia asked, her voice cracking from the hopelessness of his words. “What will happen to the tribe?”
    Jacob never stopped walking.
    “They’ll all be dead…,” he disappeared into the darkness, “…or they’ll wish they were.”
    Rowan and Mia stared at the shadows for a long time, neither breaking the silence. It wasn’t until Rowan wanted to test his strength that he uttered a sound.
    “Give me your hand.”
    The change in focus