Empty Bodies (Book 5): Damnation (31 page)

The man stumbled backward, removing one of his hands from the rifle and clutching his chest. Looking down at his hand, he found it covered in blood.

Charlie stood with the shotgun still resting against his shoulder. The man’s shot had missed him.

“Fuck you, bigot,” Charlie said, stepping within just a few yards of the man.

The shotgun blast startled Will, even though he knew it was coming. The man’s stomach opened like a blooming flower and he fell backward.

Will looked to Charlie, who stood there stunned at what he’d done. Smoke rose from the man’s stomach and the outlines of his innards showed.

The survivor who’d hidden behind one of the vehicles reappeared from behind Claire’s SUV, aiming a gun at Charlie.

“Charlie!”

Charlie looked over and saw the man pointing the gun at him, and he ducked just as the survivor fired. Will’s eyes went wide and the bullet whistled past his ear. He lifted his own weapon and fired until his clip was empty. He wasn’t sure how many of the bullets connected, but the man fell backward, dropping the pistol out of his hand.

The one remaining survivor—a woman—remained still in the middle of the road, her arms raised. She trembled, staring toward Will and Charlie.

“I’m sorry,” she mumbled. She turned and ran.

Charlie dropped the shotgun and drew his own sidearm, aiming it at her.

“Charlie, no!” Will yelled.

He lunged at his friend and tackled him, but not before Charlie could fire off two shots.

Lying on top of Charlie, Will looked down the road. Charlie yelled at Will to get off of him. The bullets had missed, and the girl continued to run.

Will jumped to his feet and raced after her.

Hearing him coming, the woman kept looking back.

“Stop!” Will commanded.

Crying, the woman continued to run. Will gained on her, having cut their distance in half. She finally stopped and turned all the way around to face him. Will slowed and stopped, standing about fifteen yards from her.

“Look, we just want to know where our friends are,” Will said.

“I can’t,” the woman said, wiping her eyes.

“No one else needs to die.”

“I can’t. I can’t go back. Not like this.”

“Where? You can’t go back where?”

“To him. He’ll torture me. He’ll make me play.”

Will furrowed his brow. “Play? What are you talking about? Please, tell me where my friends are.”

“Your friends are already dead. They have to be. I’m sorry.”

“No, what do you me—”

“I’m sorry.” She drew her knife from her hip and pressed it to her throat.

“No!” Will yelled. He ran toward her, but only made it in time to catch her as she fell backward.

The woman’s head went limp, and Will almost threw his back out as gravity took over and she went down. Blood seeped from the wound at first, and then poured.

“Please, where are my friends?”

But the woman couldn’t speak. She gurgled and coughed as blood came out her mouth.

Angry now, Will shook her.

“Tell me!”

She coughed once more and took a final breath. Then she went still, falling completely limp in Will’s arms. He eased her down onto the ground.

Charlie, Holly, and the two children approached. Will bowed his head and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he gazed upon the knife on the ground, covered in blood. A small river ran red from her body, paving a path across the highway.

“Is Gabriel okay?” Dylan asked.

The question drew Will’s attention away. He turned around to see Holly shifting her attention from Mary Beth to Dylan.

“We don’t know, sweetie,” Holly said, kneeling down and putting her hands on his shoulders. “But we’re gonna find him.”

“We need to search the vehicles,” Will said. “There might be some sort of clue to where these people came from.”

“How do we even know they knew where they went? What if they just found the vehicle on the road and were scouring it?”

“They knew,” Charlie said.

Holly looked to Will, and he nodded at her.

Will said, “Let’s check them. You guys go ahead, and I’ll be right behind you.” He drew his knife.

“Come on, guys,” Holly said, and she turned the children away.

“Sorry, man,” Charlie said.

“It’s all right,” Will replied. “I just want to find them.”

Charlie nodded, then looked down to the woman’s body. “You got that one?”

“Yeah,” Will said. “Go start checking those vehicles.”

“All right.”

Will faced the body and kneeled down. The woman’s eyes remained open, staring up at the sky. Will rolled his palm over her face, shutting her eyes. He told her he was sorry, and then he assured that she’d never stand or open her eyes again.

***

Among the vehicles left behind by the group Will and the others had just encountered was an old Winnebago. When Charlie searched it, he found a map that showed where Gabriel, Jessica, and the others had been taken.

They moved all their things into the Winnebago and left their SUV behind.

There was one stop to make before they went for their friends.

***

It took them most of the day to travel back to the neighborhood. By the time they got there, they’d almost run out of daylight. The guards looked hesitant as the Winnebago approached. Then Will poked out and told them who he needed to see.

They parked the Winnebago in the middle of the street, and a familiar face stepped out of a nearby house. Will exited the vehicle. His eyes drooped and he barely felt able to stand, a sudden sense of exhaustion traveling through him.

“Will, what are you doing back here?” Timothy asked.

“We need your help.”

He explained to Timothy how they’d found the vehicle belonging to their friends.

“My God. I’m glad you guys made it out okay. How do you know that your friends did?”

“We can’t be sure that they’re there, but we have to go and find out.”

“And where exactly is
there
?”

Will reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. They went into the house.

Timothy cleared off the dining room table and Will unfolded the paper, laying it out flat. Timothy’s wife, Samantha, entered the room. She frowned, puzzled by the reappearance of Will. She looked into the living room and saw Holly with the kids. Charlie pulled her aside to explain to her why they’d come back.

What Will had lain on the table was a map. Charlie had found it inside the Winnebago. It had been marked up to show the different places the raiders had scoured, but most importantly, it showed where their home base was.

“This is where you want to go?” Timothy asked.

“Yes,” Will said.

“That’s Shorewood. It’s only about thirty minutes or so from here. Really small town. Lives and breathes high school football. So what do you need from us?”

Will told him what he needed. Timothy frowned, and Samantha immediately jumped in to protest. After a few moments, the commotion wore down. Will’s gaze remained on Timothy, and when the doctor turned around, he saw the looks of the children. Dylan had started crying, mumbling that he missed Gabriel. Holly hugged him. The boy’s face helped them have a change of heart.

“All right,” Timothy said. “I’ll gather the others.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

As the Empties exited the back of the truck, Gabriel counted. He landed at the number eight.

“We can defeat eight of them,” Gabriel said. “How many of these things did you have to kill out there before you ended up here?” Gabriel could only assume that Chase had spent time out in the world before showing up here. He hoped so.

“I lost count,” Chase said. “A lot.”

“Good. Then you know to aim for the head.”

“The neck. Won’t have time to be trying to draw that blade back out of their skulls.”

Good point
, Gabriel thought.

“I only hope the edge is sharp enough for a clean decapitation,” Chase said.

The crowd erupted again. Gabriel looked above the opposite goal post to see Ambrose arriving in the bandstands. He waved to the crowd like he was their king or savior. Nathan Ambrose settled into his chair and looked down to the two competitors.

On the field, the Empties lumbered, and the truck raced off. A guard on the other side of the fence raised his hand and the crowd went silent. Next to him, another guard pointed a rifle into the air.

Gabriel scanned the stands, looking for Jessica and Claire. He checked the seats where they had been brought the last time for Thomas’ game, but neither woman was there. He refocused on his own game, glancing back down to the two guards assigned with starting the game.

The guard’s hand came down, and his counterpart fired the rifle.

Gabriel and Chase took off.

The crowd screamed.

Chase’s longer legs gave him a slight advantage. Gabriel thought that perhaps Chase had been right and Gabriel wouldn’t have had to let him win. As Chase put a few extra yards between them, Gabriel found himself thankful that he’d made the deal with his competitor. He chugged his legs as hard as he could. No way in hell would he have beaten Chase to that ax. Not unless something happened.

Then something happened.

Chase tripped at the fifty yard line and fell flat on his face.

For a moment, Gabriel thought to stop and help him.

Shit, I can’t do that
, he told himself. If he helped Chase up, both men would be shot; that was the rule. Instead, he kept running.

He looked back. Chase had made it back onto his feet. Another twenty yards ahead, the Empties remained gathered in a herd. Gabriel still had time to give Chase the opportunity to catch up.

Gabriel grimaced and pulled up, grabbing his leg. He didn’t stop, continuing to run, but now with a limp. As he faked a cramp in his leg, Chase raced by him. Most of the crowd cheered. Perhaps they also felt as if Gabriel could not win.

Still limping, Gabriel worked his way to the right side of the field. He wanted to get as far away from the Empties as possible. Ahead, Chase reached the ax, yanking it off the upright. Again, the majority of the gallery clapped and yelled. Three of the beasts had broken off from the group and followed Chase. The other five remained focused on Gabriel.

“Son of a bitch,” Gabriel mumbled.

He’d made it about ten feet from the fence, and heard the jeers from the crowd. Spectators said things such as “Fight, you pussy!” and “Quit running!” and “Stand up and fight!”

He, of course, heard the heckling, but fought to ignore it. He found himself far more concerned with the guards lining the outside of the gate.

The crowd turned their attention to Chase when he severed the head of the first Empty in his sights. The creature had stretched its arms out toward 77, but it was of no use. The single blow took the Empty’s head clean off, showing that the blade was more than sharp enough to handle the creatures. He immediately drew the ax back up over his shoulder and swung at the next creature. This one put its arms up, and Chase chopped the thing’s hand off at the wrist. He pulled up again and buried the ax into the side of the Empty’s face. It fell to the ground, and he pulled at the ax as it slipped out of the creature’s face. If it had gotten stuck, the next Empty in line would have gotten to Chase.

With the group of five creatures only ten yards from Gabriel now, he figured that he’d sold his fake leg injury long enough. It was time for him to proceed with the plan. Licking his lips, Gabriel pushed off and ran around the side of the group of Empties.

Chase was about to swing at the last Empty in front of him when Gabriel shouted, “Hey!”

The creature turned, and Chase decapitated the beast.

As the crowd cheered, Gabriel looked around the perimeter of the fence. The guards raised their weapons and fixed their aim onto Gabriel.

Above the nearby end zone, Ambrose spoke into a walkie talkie. He looked down to Gabriel and smiled. When Gabriel looked around the fence again, the guards had all backed away and lowered their weapons.