Heart of Mercy: The Mercy Series, #2

By C. C. Marks

Charlie Little exists in a dangerous world. Her best chance of survival is to disguise herself as a boy and guard her secrets well. Yet just when things can't possibly get worse, they spin completely out of control. 

With Zeke and her sister Star by her side and the fresh memory of Thomas's kiss still on her lips, she narrowly escapes the horrid plans of Jonas Bannon, a monster of a human being. Forfeiting the safety of the community, they leave and begin the search for the city of Mercy, the one secure place Charlie knows. However, as she struggles to reach her sanctuary, doubts creep in that anywhere is truly safe. If the Draghoul don't get them, the human scavengers just might, and the assumption Mercy will be a place of protection could be the most dangerous risk of all.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Timbercreek Press
• Release date: Jul 28, 2015
• ISBN: 9781513076553

C. C. Marks

It all started with an old-fashioned typewriter. When my family brought it home, for the first time, I knew what I wanted to do. All those stories rolling around in my head could finally get out. The press and click of the keys were satisfying in their own right, but when I pulled out a finished page, I knew this was for me. Since then, I've graduated to a laptop, but the stories still find a way out.  I'm a breast cancer survivor, a teacher, a wife, a mother, and a writer. I continue to strive for less procrastination and more tact. The battle wages on. Connect Online: Twitter: twitter.com/ccmarkswrites Facebook: facebook.com/ccmarkswrites   

Book preview

What People Are Saying About Edge of Mercy

A thrilling tale with a daring heroine who isn't afraid to be strong and stand up in the face of injustice who admits her weaknesses and soldiers on in a way that is equal to, or better than, the strength of any man.

21st Century Once Upon a Time -Booknut 101-http://www.21stcenturyonceuponatime.blogspot.com/

I LOVED HOW C. C. MARKS made the monsters (zombies as we would call them) different from all the other stories with zombies...Edge of Mercy was a page turner...

The Avid Reader-Nancy Allen-http://the-avidreader.blogspot.com

Also by C. C. Marks

Mercy

Edge of Mercy

Range of Mercy

End of Mercy

Heart of Mercy

By

C. C. Marks

THIS IS A WORK OF FICTION. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.

Heart of Mercy

COPYRIGHT© 2013 by C. C. Marks

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used

or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without

written permission of the author or except in the case

of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

SpaghettiO’s® is a registered trademark of Campbell’s® Soup Company

Contact Information: [e-mail]

For more interesting reads, visit the author at http://www.ccmarkswrites.blogspot.com

Published in the United States of America by C. C. Marks

License Notes

Thank you for downloading this ebook. This book is the copyrighted property of the author, and may not be reproduced, copied and distributed for commercial or non-commercial purposes. If you enjoyed this book, please consider leaving a review and encouraging your friends to download their own copy, where they can also discover other works by this author.

Dedication

FEW THINGS HAVE CHANGED me for the better, but without a doubt, my first child, my daughter Cameron Ashley was one of those things. You are one of the best things that ever happened in my life, and you are a daughter parents dream of. You’re intelligent, beautiful, persistent, athletic, and so funny. I’m blessed beyond measure to know you.

Acknowledgements

WITH EACH BOOK, I HAVE relied on an amazing team of readers. Thank you Teresa, Scott, Cammie, and Becky. You have made a dream possible time-after-time, and I know, in so many ways, I would be nothing without you.

Chapter 1

THERE COMES A TIME in everyone’s life when the suckishness of mortality sinks in, and as it turned out, this was my time. I was going to die. When I thought about it, it was an inevitable part of life anyway. We all would. But in the middle of the Dead Forest, running for my life, was so not how I wanted to go. It wasn’t how I was going to die, if I had anything to say about it. I didn’t escape Jonas Bannon, a monster if there ever was one, to be clawed apart by the Draghoul tonight. I didn’t disguise myself as a boy for months, just to turn into one of the creatures edging closer as the sun traveled through the sky. Yeah, my world had serious issues at the moment.

My lungs burned, my thighs ached, but I pushed past the pain and did my best to keep up with Zeke Harris and not slow him down. Other than occasional glances at the map in his hand, he didn’t ease his pace much, but I refused to fall behind. My sister Star was strapped to his back, and if we didn’t make it to the city of Mercy tonight, we were all as good as dead.

You okay, Charlie? He still called me Charlie, and I was still dressed as a boy. We were vulnerable now than ever and decided I was safer as Charlie Little than Charlotte Baker. At least for now.

For three years now, since the contagion started, we’d been surviving in a world of monsters. The Draghoul were once human, now turned to vicious creatures, all infectious teeth and claws, and the few, remaining humans struggled to exist among them. Without much choice, we’d left the protection of the community. Considering Jonas, the self-proclaimed leader, had imprisoned me with the intention of using my body to create an immune child, our best option was to take a chance on survival outside the walls. And now Zeke wanted to know if I was okay.

I looked up and met his worried, brown-eyed gaze. He’d paused a few feet ahead of me and stared down from the mid-size hill we were climbing. My chest heaved as I worked to catch my breath. I bent at the waist and rested my hands on my knees. He looked barely winded.

Heh. Just peachy.

His eyebrows scrunched together. Are you sure?

I straightened and rolled my eyes. This was going to get really annoying really quickly. My mother and I dragged ourselves to the wall of the community barely ten months ago, and it was Zeke who pulled us through the gate. I’d disguised myself as a boy then, and since I’d told Zeke the truth days ago, he’d treated me like something breakable. It was time to set him straight on the subject. I’m still the same Charlie who worked the fields beside you day after day, even if I’m a girl. You know that don’t you? I’m stronger than you think, so stop asking if I’m okay.

His pursed lips told me the issue wasn’t resolved completely, but he nodded his head and turned his gaze toward the crest of the hill. He glanced back at the map in his hands, a pained look on his face.

Can we move on? It wasn’t just impatience that motivated me to ask. The sun was already overhead, which meant we only had about seven or eight more hours of daylight. And we didn’t want to be in the forest at night. We’d be easy prey for the Draghoul, and safe places to hide were of the few-and-far-between kind.

Something’s wrong. We should be headed north, and the map says to head up this hill to the other side. He raised his hand to point ahead of us. But the sun’s making its way to our right which means we’ll be pointed south.

Telling him I told you so should have been satisfying, but considering the cost of a mistake like this was our lives, it just felt alarming. You used Victor’s map, didn’t you?

Yeah. Why wouldn’t I? He’s been to Mercy and made it back alive.

I dropped my gaze to my feet and shook my head back and forth slowly. I tried to warn you. The evening before Jonas locked me up, I went to Victor’s room for information. I wanted to know how he’d made it. To pass along to you—the idiot who volunteered to be the Chosen.

His face tensed up as my insult sunk in. Why wouldn’t I? Look at all the fun I’d miss out on otherwise.

A bubble of laughter welled up, erupting from my throat despite the misery of our situation. Yeah, that’s what I’d call this. Pure fun...nothing but.

Well, did you learn anything?

I looked up at his expectant face and nodded solemnly. He didn’t stay alive because of any great skill or sense of direction. He used the survivors he came across. I don’t know how many people he killed to draw the Draghoul away from himself, but I know he wanted you dead, too.

What do you mean?

On the way back from Mercy, he drew the Draghoul close to hidden bunkers with survivors inside. He’d leave the victims to the monsters and run on. Truth is Victor wouldn’t give you a map to safety. He’d lead you straight into the monsters’ den if he could.

Why would he do that?

I climbed up to stand next to him. From my experience, he wasn’t right in the head. He was furious at the community and the Council for reasons I can’t even begin to explain. My mind drifted back to that night and the heartbreaking story that tumbled out between his sobs. Jonas had murdered his father, had sent his mother and sister to die on the other side of the wall. His emotional pain had been palpable. Then the confession of his own murderous survival tactics had sickened me, and I knew I had to get away from him. Victor attacked when I reacted with disgust to his revelation. I’d barely escaped by punching him in the nose.  

Thank goodness, Thomas, Zeke’s cousin and my protector, had taught me how to defend myself. Thomas. My mind conjured the last bittersweet image of him urging me to go, all the while, I’m sure, fighting the instinct to follow. He refused to leave the remaining men and boys of the community. For some reason, he felt responsible for them.

I touched my lips for the hundredth time today. His sweet goodbye kiss lingered there. God, I missed Thomas and hoped he could handle what we’d left behind. I wouldn’t put it past Victor to sabotage the communities’ security and laugh while they all died. I think Victor has given up on being human.

The truth was none of us would be human ever again. The infection lay dormant inside all of us. With one scratch or bite from a Draghoul, or the minute we took our last breath of life, the dormant virus would take over and against our will, turn us into monstrous creatures with vicious teeth and claws used to infect and kill every human remaining. It wasn’t a pretty sight, and not what I wanted for Zeke, my sister, or myself.

Zeke ran a weary hand down his face, and then wiped the sweat from his brow. What do we do now? We’re dead at sundown.

Tell me something I don’t know. With a glance around the terrain, I thought it looked vaguely familiar. I’d lived in these hills all my life, but it’d been almost a year since I’d ventured out of the safety of the community. Maybe if we looked down from the crest of the hill, we could get a lay of the land and find a few identifying markers to give us an idea of where exactly we were. Keep going up. We might be able to spot something from there we can use to find our way.

His face contorted as if he were in pain. I’m so sorry. I should have listened to you, Charlie. If anything happens to us now, it’s all my fault.

Stop it! Nothing’s going to happen to us, unless we just stand here feeling sorry for ourselves. I stomped forward and brushed past him. Now, come on. Let’s get up here and see where we need to go.

A glance back showed him trudging up the hill behind me, but it was obvious insecurity and guilt itched at his ego. He hadn’t done anything wrong, really. How could he know Victor was beyond help? I was the only one who’d seen the ugliness that had taken over his black soul. But he wasn’t the one responsible for its deterioration. No, the Council, especially Jonas, was responsible for the atrocity that had changed Victor into something inhuman. Someday I hoped to make them answer for what they’d done. Yet, if I was ever going to see that day, I had to make it to Mercy in one piece.

We crested the hill and looked down on a hollow between where we stood and the hill across the way. A petite, square house sat quietly in the hidden valley, no sign of life around anywhere. To make matters worse, I didn’t recognize the place at all. We were good and lost.

Zeke edged up beside me and released a heavy sigh. Does it look familiar?

Like every other hollow, every little farmhouse around here. Maybe if we backtracked a little...

No! Jonas might be searching for you. Going back is not an option.

He was probably right, but at this rate, we’d never make it to the city. Unless...maybe there was something we could do. I started forward and took long strides down the hillside toward the farmhouse.

He yelled after me, What are doing?

Come on. I’ve got an idea.

I could hear him crashing through the bushes and dodging tree trunks behind me. I looked back once to make sure he was being careful with Star. When I saw him duck low under a branch and glance back to make sure she cleared it as well, I turned forward satisfied he’d watch out for her.

It took us about ten minutes to reach the bottom of the hill and another five to wade through the two foot overgrown grass and weeds around the house. I circled the property, trying to find what I was looking for. As I came around the far corner of the house, I saw the roof of a shed-like building of some sort. I mentally crossed my fingers this was where the owners would keep what I was looking for.

Zeke followed at a distance, quietly calling my name.  I wiped away droplets of sweat from my face and stopped to let him catch up. Once he was beside me, we pushed on through the tangled weeds and thin strands of grass. I breached the line of grass surrounding the building and stepped into the open double doors onto a concrete floor, but no car was parked under the shelter. Ugh! We couldn’t catch a break.

It was a good idea, Charlie.

I looked at the sky, terrified by how far past the mid-point the sun had traveled. Okay, I’m officially out of ideas.

This little road has to head somewhere. Maybe to a bigger road. If we follow it, maybe we’ll come across a car there.

My eyes traced the overgrown track of a driveway heading around the opposite hill. When my mother and I ran from our bunker to find the medical help she so desperately needed, she’d warned me to stay off the main roads. We’d heard rumors of devious humans who waited on the sides of the roadways to attack unsuspecting victims. But, the truth was, we didn’t really have a choice right now. We had to try. We couldn’t stay here. Nothing was ever more certain than that.

Okay, lead the way. I’ll watch our back.

Should we check the house for extra supplies first?

I looked at the silent structure to our left and shuddered. The front door hung loose from its hinges and something brown streaked the walls of the porch. Most likely, it was blood. We have enough to make it to Mercy. Let’s just keep going. Hope that we could make it drove me forward as Zeke turned and stepped along the unkempt gravel path with a sleeping Star tied to his back.

After a few minutes, we came around the hillside and spied a car-sized, concrete bridge spanning a shallow creek and leading to a deserted, paved road. We edged closer at a cautious pace, scanning the area for any signs of movement. We sidled up behind a large oak growing beside the creek and hunkered down behind it. The silence was eerie but not unusual. It was rare to find anything living in this strange, new world. A few kinds of insects and some birds were all that remained, and sightings of those were infrequent. Our ears were tuned to any sounds, but after a while of stillness, we slipped toward the bridge.

We crossed quickly and stepped onto the grayish pavement. I swiveled my head one way then the other. A charged anxiety filled the air, and I whispered warily, Which way do we go?

Zeke rested his hands on his hips and stared to the left a moment before turning in that direction. Fifty-fifty chance. You feel like gambling with me?

Sure. What’ve I got to lose? My life, that’s all.

The tension thickened as he watched me. Thomas should be here. He could get you to Mercy safely, and he wouldn’t get lost.

My heart sunk at his words. I didn’t recognize this Zeke. Before we left the community, he’d been confident, almost annoyingly so, but it’s what I’d come to expect from him. He’d volunteered to be the Chosen, for goodness’ sake, which meant he’d made the choice to leave the safety of the community and try to make it to Mercy to gather supplies and bring them back. He’d wanted to get medicine for his father, who would surely die without it. No one was stronger, braver, more capable, but even he could be overtaken by a horde of Draghoul if we didn’t find a way to get to the city soon.

Without Star and me, he might have arrived already, but then again, without me he might still be following that map straight to his death.

I sighed, feeling the weight of all that had happened and the impending danger threatening if we just continued to stand here. He needed a reality check. Well, Thomas isn’t here. You are, so get your butt in gear, and lead the way before I have to kick it all over the place.

One corner of his mouth kicked up slightly as he lifted his chin. Is that a threat?

I grinned. No. It’s a promise.

A chuckle slipped from his throat before he could suppress it, and he wrapped an arm around my shoulder and pulled me in the chosen direction. With a squeeze, he stepped to the front of our two person team, and I scanned the area behind us before following after him.

The tightness between us eased a little. Since I admitted hiding my identity, that I was really a girl, a distance had grown between us, and I’d missed our friendship. Zeke was my first friend in the community. For a while, he was my only friend, and we’d had an easy relationship before the truth had come out, a relationship full of back-and-forth ribbing and teasing. It was nice to find that place again, even if it was only a superficial way to forget the mess we’d gotten ourselves into.

We plodded along the road, sticking close to the creek side. If we heard or saw anything, we planned to drop into the overgrowth along the creek bed until the threat passed or came close enough for us to attack. It wasn’t a perfect plan, but the best we could do under the circumstances.

We passed several more farmhouses and explored a few for vehicles, but only found a few tractors that wouldn’t start. The sun’s rapid descent forced us to break into a jog again, and though my whole body protested, I pushed on, knowing I couldn’t allow myself to acknowledge the pain. We stopped once for dried potatoes and apples and a sip of water, soothing Star with a little time out of the sling before strapping her back in and moving on. Logic reminded me Zeke could move so much quicker without Star on his back and without me slowing him down, but I refused to feel guilty. Staying in the community to be used by Jonas hadn’t been and never would be an option I could live with. I just hoped the decision to leave didn’t kill me in the end.

I suddenly felt Zeke’s hand yanking me down as he slipped into the bushes and weeds beside the creek. He rose up to peer over the side before whispering, Cars on the road.

I stuck my head up to see for myself. It looked like the cars had collided and just been abandoned. Nothing and no one moved around them, but for all we knew, it could be a trap.

We sat still for what seemed like a long while, but we couldn’t wait any longer. I’m going to go check it out.

No. With a glance at the waning sunlight, he began untying Star from her makeshift sling. "You stay here with your sister. I’m going. If anything goes wrong, stay put. Don’t help me. Just wait until it’s clear. Then get