Empty Bodies (Book 5): Damnation (21 page)

Thomas withdrew one hand from the knife’s handle and grabbed the creature by the throat. He then pulled the knife out and jammed it into its temple.

The Empty fell limp, leaving its weight on top of Thomas.

And that’s when the other creature lunged on top of him.

***

Seconds after the Empty had made it to its feet, Gabriel turned at the sound of a human scream.

“No!” Claire cried. She writhed in her seat, trying to break free from her handcuffs.

One of the guards shouted at Claire, trying to get her to calm down. Gabriel heard a shallow laugh behind him. He turned, and saw Lance staring over at Claire. His mouth had formed into a huge smile, and he continued to giggle at the sight of Claire and what was happening on the field.

Gabriel jumped to his feet, and in an instant he was over the top of his seat. It happened so fast that Lance hadn’t had time to process it. Catching Lance off guard, a handcuffed Gabriel slammed his forehead into Lance’s already injured nose. Blood spewed from his nostrils and he fell backward, crying out.

Gabriel smiled as he watched Lance clutch his nose and cry out in pain.

“Son of a bitch,” Derek said.

Then an object hit Gabriel upside the head, and he was out cold.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

A bang on the outside glass, combined with a guttural howl, woke Will. The scream was not human; it came from an Empty. Will grabbed his pistol as he sat up; he had laid it on the ground next to him before he’d gone to sleep. Holly awoke at the same time, crying out as she shot up.

An Empty stood outside, banging and spitting on the glass. It didn’t have the sense to reach in through the broken front door and open it. When he realized the creature was outside, Will sighed in relief and lowered the gun.

“Damn,” Charlie said. Holly’s scream had woken him and both the children up.

Will slipped his gun into its holster and squatted. He opened the bag holding their other weapons and pulled out the machete.

As Will walked over to the exit, the Empty moved down the length of the window toward the door. Its palms lay flat, leaving a trail of blood on the glass. When it arrived at the door, it reached its hand through the opening Charlie had made with the shotgun. Will stepped away, avoiding the thing’s grasp. The creature waved its hand, trying to grab Will. He raised the blade overhead and swung the machete down with enough force to severe the Empty’s arm.

When the arm hit the ground, he found himself having a flashback. He was in the woods. Dylan was screaming. Mary Beth and Holly were crying. It felt as if he was at the tree stump again, amputating Dylan’s arm. On the ground, the creature’s fingers wiggled. The hand opened and closed a couple of times, and then it stopped moving. The creature was unfazed by the missing limb, still pointing the nub of its arm at the hole in the door.

Will opened the door.

Before the Empty could break the barrier of the entrance, Will shoved the machete up through its chin. The other end of the blade came out the top of the thing’s skull, and its body fell limp. Will pushed forward, forcing the lifeless creature down onto its back. He let go of the handle and the Empty’s head cracked on the concrete. He stepped on its chest and bent down to grab the handle. As he pulled up, the creature’s neck cracked. It must’ve fractured after its fall, and the slight move of the machete, still lodged through its skull, finished snapping its neck. The sound and the feeling of pulling the blade out never became an easier experience. No matter how many times he did it.

Will stepped out into the parking lot to make sure there were no other creatures around. There weren’t. The rain had stopped some time during the night, leaving puddles scattered around the parking lot. But the sun coming out would soon dry them. With not a cloud in the sky, the day would be a good one for travel.

“Will!”

The voice was Holly’s, and Will turned and ran back inside, jumping over the fallen Empty.

Dylan lay on the ground, hyperventilating. Holly was over him, and Charlie stood across the room, hugging Mary Beth.

“Holly, give him some air,” Will said.

After a few moments, Dylan breathed easier. Will kneeled down to him.

“It’s all right, buddy. Just close your eyes and breathe.”

Dylan did as directed, shutting his eyes and drawing in long, deep breaths.

Will stood up and pulled Holly aside. “What happened?”

Crying and shaking her head, Holly said, “I don’t know. He just kinda had this blank stare on his face after you cut that thing’s arm off. He wouldn’t take his eyes off the arm after it fell on the ground. Then he just fell down and started breathing fast. That’s when I called for you.”

“P.T.S.D.,” Charlie said.

Holly looked confused.

“Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder,” Will clarified. “He saw the Empty’s arm fall off, and he had a flashback.” He looked back over his shoulder to the arm still lying on the ground. Then he said to Charlie, “Come on, let’s go clean it up.”

Charlie ran to the storage room and came back with a box of latex gloves.

“Better than nothing,” he said, pulling a pair out and handing the box over to Will.

Will picked up the creature’s arm, wanting to get it out of Dylan’s sight. He walked around the side of the building and threw it on the ground. He’d dispose of it out back in a bit, but he wanted to help Charlie move the body first.

When he arrived back at the front of the building, Charlie was standing at the top of the Empty’s head.

“You get the legs,” Charlie said.

Will kneeled down and grabbed the Empty under its legs. It was hard to distinguish the thing’s age, though it had definitely been a male in its living days. But it was too far decomposed to tell how old the man had been. Based on its condition, Will figured its reanimation must’ve come early on. It had likely survived this long due to the scarce traffic in the area.

As they moved the creature around the side of the building, Will did his best to look away and ignore its face. The machete’s blade had shot straight through its skull and mangled what was left of it, leaving the top of its head open like a blooming flower. Charlie gagged.

“Don’t look at it,” Will said.

“I’m trying not to,” Charlie replied. “You’re not seeing what I’m seeing. You did a fucking number on this thing.”

“Let’s just take it all the way to the back.”

They walked down the side of the building until they reached the open parking lot in the rear. Shrubs lined the back of the property, and beyond them was nothing but undeveloped land.

Looking off in the distance, Will said, “Go to the curb and let’s see if we can toss this thing in the shrubs.”

Will startled when he almost lost his grip on his end because the weight changed after Charlie had almost dropped it. He looked up at Charlie and followed his gaze.

Together, they dropped the body.

In the middle of the back lot was a stack of bodies. There were six of them, all tangled together and stacked on top of one another like a small pyramid. Another ten feet past the stack was a single body, lying on its back. The man’s arms lay spread like an angel’s wings, and a handgun lay next to his right hand. A pool of blood had dried around what remained of his head. Several hundred flies hovered around the bodies.

Will covered his mouth, and Charlie looked off into the shrubs at the back of the property and vomited. The smell was unbearable. The bodies had been lying out here for an unknown amount of time, exposed to all the elements: the sun, the rain, rabid animals. Will had smelled something strange inside the convenience store the night before, but passed it off as something inside the store.

Will covered his mouth and nose and grabbed Charlie by the arm. They fled the scene, rushing back to the front of the building.

***

Even though Holly noticed something was off, Will and Charlie managed to keep what they’d seen behind the building to themselves. Holly and the children had no reason to know what they’d seen. Instead, Will and Charlie simply went back inside and told everyone it was time to leave. They packed up the SUV and left the gas station behind.

Will drove again, and Charlie sat in the front seat. Holly held her normal position in the back with the two children. Even after the incident with the Empty back at the gas station, Dylan was having his best day since before the accident. He and Mary Beth played a game where they’d try to spot certain words on billboards. They laughed together. Will was happy.

They passed a sign that told them they were now only seventeen miles from Roanoke. The scenery had started to become more urban. They began to drive by exits where there were more restaurants and retail stores. Likewise, they also came across more Empties.

“How are we going to find him?” Charlie asked.

Having answered the question in a way before that threw Charlie and Holly off guard, Will kept silent. He focused on the road, watching the scenery shift as the sun came up.

“Will, I know you said that ‘God will show us the way’, but come on, man. We gotta start thinking seriously about how we’re gonna find this Bartman. Otherwise, this whole trip is just going to be a waste.”

“Maybe we can find a phonebook or something at a gas station,” Holly suggested.

“Yeah, I looked for one last night and didn’t see one,” Charlie said. “But that’s likely going to be about our only shot, unless we run into some locals or something. And we know how dangerous that can be.”

“Then we should try to stop at a gas station somewhere.”

Will slammed on the brakes. Charlie shot forward, the seatbelt catching him before his head hit the dash. Holly and the two children yelped in the back, and Will felt Mary Beth’s hands slam into the back of his seat. Charlie, leaning over, put his hands up.

“What the hell?”

“Will, what’s your problem?” Holly asked, frustration in her voice.

Will pointed to something.

After a moment, Charlie said, “Son of a bitch.” There was silence for a few seconds, and then he scoffed and laughed.

A billboard sat off to the side of the road, and on it was a man with his hands raised to the sky. An exaggerated smile stretched across his plump face. He wore a suit with a purple shirt underneath, and the little hair he did have on the top of his head was more salt than pepper. The man’s photo was aligned to the left of the billboard, and the rest of the sign read:

Ministry of Life Church

Pastor Philip Bartman

Take Exit 143, Mountain View Road, 9 Miles Ahead

Then, in big letters, was a single verse from the Bible.

Now I tell you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe that I am He. - John 13:19

Will faced Charlie, then glanced back at Holly.

“I think we’ve been shown the way.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Gabriel Alexander opens his eyes, and the sun instantly blinds him. He tries to shade his face with his hand, but realizes he can’t. His hands are bound to the armrests of a wheelchair. He tries to wiggle them free, but it’s useless. He scans his surroundings, and finds he is familiar with where he is. The green turf still appears so alive while so much of the world is dead. From what he can tell, the stands are clear, and he is the only one around.