Exodus: Soulless Wanderers Book 3 (A Post-Apocalyptic Zombie Thriller)

by Drew Strickland

  "Fuck, Eduardo!" Mark called out. The three men came running down the hallway, guns drawn. When they reached their friends, they pointed their weapons at the women.

  "Mark, stop," Pax said.

  Mark kept his gun pointing at the women, who were now cowering. "Is he okay?"

  "Eduardo's fine. We just need to get him home." He put his hand on Mark's gun. "That's not us, not anymore."

  Mark nodded, swallowing hard. Pax imagined it wasn't just himself that sometimes thought of the past and the mistakes that had been made. Mark put his gun down and knelt beside Eduardo, who was still smiling, or maybe he was grimacing from the pain. Probably both knowing Eduardo.

  Pax looked to the women. "It wasn't you, it wasn't your fault. Anyone who wants to come with us is still welcome to. But I want to make it clear, we will do what it takes, and I mean anything that it takes, to keep us and our people safe, you got that?"

  The women nodded, putting their hands on Brennan's shoulders. "Yes," they chimed together.

  "Good. Then if you're coming with us, you're our people now, too." Pax smiled and rubbed Brennan's head. "Let's go home."

  4

  Courtney

  Every day she remembered what had happened. She remembered the anger, the fright, the complete inability to do anything to help herself out of her situation. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She also remembered the loss. The loss of a friend and the loss of, what probably could be assumed as, everyone's innocence to how the world worked. It was all different now, and it took a steep learning curve to get that for the group. But they understood now.

  To remember those things wasn't to punish herself. No, Courtney remembered everything to remind her of how it could have ended up for her and the others. Cold, scared, possibly dead. Most likely worse. Alan and his friends weren't the type of people Courtney had known before. She was sure they ran in a different crowd when the world was still intact. But she also remembered how she came to be free from that position. She remembered it was Danny, or Daniel, or Dan. Whatever he wanted to go by was fine by her. He was the savior of everyone in the camp, and everyone accepted him as their leader. It was a reminder for her to cut him slack, for her to be patient with him. It's the least she could do for the man she loved.

  She smiled at the idea. It wasn't because he saved their lives that she was with him. Although, before the event, she was definitely known to put out for a lot less. But no, it wasn't about sex or making someone else happy. It was about making her happy. She knew he was special when she met him, she just couldn't put her finger on what it was exactly. Then the group turned on him when he needed them the most. Even after all that, he saved them. He did whatever it took to keep them safe. She'd make sure to never betray him again.

  Courtney opened her eyes and took another deep breath. Sometimes it was difficult. There was a lot to do at home, with a lot of eyes on him. But he was nowhere to be found. Something was going on, but he never opened up about anything. He would disappear at all times of the day or night, going out there. She knew what it was like, and it was the opposite of safe. In here, they had almost everything they needed. Sometimes, they'd go on a scavenging mission, or down to Howard's to trade and catch up, but it was always in groups. Never alone. Yet here she was, all eyes on her. Dan was outside, doing whatever it was he did on his little day trips. She just wished he would talk to her about what was going on inside.

  "Courtney," a familiar voice spoke loudly outside.

  Courtney shook her head. That was enough time to pity herself and think about things that were out of her control. Now, she needed to attend to the things that she could control. To the camp’s needs. When Dan wasn't around, she was the one who did the heavy lifting. Hell, even when he was around, it was usually best to come to her with anything. Dan wasn't always the most approachable. He took care of things and was never cruel to a person, but he lacked that sort of finesse when dealing with needy people and their problems. That was where Courtney excelled.

  "Courtney?" the voice asked again.

  "Yeah, what's up?" She finally broke her silence and stepped out of what Dan called his bunker. She closed the metal door behind her and was greeted by Jennifer. Over the past six months she had definitely given into the living off the land lifestyle. She wore overalls and her face was covered in dirt. Blanche stood next to her. The old woman's face was twisted in a frown.

  "Blanche and I were talking about where we could put the new solar-cells we collected last week," Jennifer said, rubbing her forehead with her gloved hand, leaving more smears across her skin.

  "Okay, so what did you need me for?" Courtney asked.

  "We figured Dan might need to know, but—"

  "Nobody can find him," Blanche cut in. "I assume he's not with you."

  Courtney smiled and shook her head. Blanche was a pleasant lady, most of the time. Even after Dan and Eden had let them out of the cages, she still liked to complain about anything that inconvenienced her. Even if that thing was Dan. "No, he isn't here."

  "So, what do we do? Just wait around for him?"

  "Where did you want to put them?"

  "We figured Dan would tell us that," Blanche said, crossing her arms.

  Jennifer stared her down. "I thought we could hang them in the trees around the inner camp. It's high enough for the sunlight, but still within the walls enough to avoid any damage from soulless, or anything else."

  "That sounds like a great idea, Jennifer. Let's go with that," Courtney said, hoping that would make them go away.

  "Well, what about Dan—"

  "I'll make sure it's okay with him." Courtney was tired of feeling like a cashier dealing with a bitchy customer. Blanche let out a defeated humpf. "And, I'll have you remember, Dan is the reason you are here to enjoy the sunlight and freedom you have now. Just because you don't see him in the camp at all times of the day doesn't mean he isn't doing his job. He just has more important things to do than talk about something that already has a solution." Courtney smirked.

  Blanche trudged off defeated. Jennifer smiled at Courtney. "Sorry about that. You know Blanche."

  "Oh, yes I do."

  "Everything else okay?" Jennifer asked. She truly was the only person who she seemed to be able to talk to about things. She was there from the beginning. Dan was anything but an open book, and Eden was just a kid. Besides, ever since Cole had died, she seemed to clam up more than before, giving Dan a run for mayor in keep-to-yourself-ville. Having Jennifer was a gift.

  "Yeah. I mean, just the usual, you know? Blanche may be an irritating bitch, but she's not exactly wrong."

  Jennifer grabbed her arm. "You know Dan loves you."

  Courtney squinted her tears away before they could even come. "Maybe."

  Jennifer pursed her lips and clenched her jaw. "You should come to the garden with me. Eden is down there already. I could use the help getting it ready before it starts to snow, and you could use the distraction, maybe some fresh air." Jennifer pulled Courtney before she had a chance to answer.

  The camp had expanded past the bunker quite a bit. Down from the hill where the shipping container building sat, many of the trees had been removed, allowing for more open space nearby. The trees had been used for numerous things, one of them being to build walls around the edge of camp. The plan was to continue to expand, which would be easy with the way the fence was built. Near the base of the hill were a collection of tents. That was where everyone else slept that didn't fit in the cabin itself, which was almost everyone outside of Dan and Courtney. Eden usually slept on the couch but, occasionally, she liked to sleep outside. Courtney never questioned her about it. She had gone through a lot already at her age, and whatever made her happy was good with Courtney.

  Another section was a spot where a house was being erected. The term house was a bit of a stretch. Really, it was just a large box, but it had a roof. The tents were meant to be a temporary measure for the time being, and the hope was to get out of the tents
before it got cold, but plans obviously didn't make it in time. Still, it was happening, and that was a plus. Courtney and Jennifer reached the garden, which was smaller than anyone wished it would be. They were making progress, but it took a while to get the hang of things. When the world came crashing down, it wasn't as simple as running into a farmer, doctor, or architect. At least not always. The internet was gone but, luckily, the libraries still had books stocked on the subjects they needed. Gardening was very helpful, but at some point, a doctor was going to be necessary. It was one thing to screw up the amount of mulch, or to accidentally uproot a plant, but it was another thing to attempt a spleen surgery from a book.

  Eden greeted Courtney with a smile, then turned back to moving bags of soil, one by one from a wheelbarrow to the ground next to the plants. "How's your day going so far, Eden?" Courtney asked. "I hadn't seen you this morning."

  Eden shrugged after setting down a bag. "Good."

  Typical response from someone who had just turned thirteen. In the past few months of rebuilding, Eden had let them know of her birthday. After her dad was killed, they all decided to try and make it as special as they could. They even found some candles and had cake for her. She seemed to have liked it, but a teenager was always hard to please. At the very least, she seemed to not hate it, and that was the best anyone could ask for.

  "That's good. Have you seen-" Courtney was quickly cut off by the commotion nearby.

  "You motherfuckers, you never let us do anything in here, right guys?" the man's voice boomed throughout the camp.

  Courtney looked over and saw Mick stepping into Anthony's face. Her face dropped, knowing what was happening. She turned to Jennifer. "We gotta get over there before this gets out of hand." Jennifer nodded, and the two quickly ran over.

  Anthony was anything but confrontational, so it was obvious what was happening, especially since it involved Mick. When Courtney and Dan were out setting up a perimeter for the camp, they had found a group of three people. Lacey and Shane were a young married couple, seemed decent enough. They were scared, just trying to survive like everyone else. Mick, however, was something else. He was Shane's brother and was definitely not afraid of the apocalypse. He was most likely the reason those two had survived, but had they stumbled upon any other camp, he would have been the reason they were killed.

  Mick was a hothead who never took orders, never took suggestions, never appreciated anything anyone else did. He was never wrong, and on the off chance someone called him out on his mistake, he made sure to place the blame on them and figure out a way to get into a fight over it. Mick was an instigator. They had put up with him for a while now, but he was on thin ice. Dan had made it clear he was not above putting him in his place. But Dan wasn't here now.

  "Hey, Mick. Why don't you ease up," Courtney said before Mick could take it any further with Anthony.

  Mick looked over at Courtney, his shaved head reflected a shine from the little sunlight that was out now. He stood as tall as he could, trying to intimidate anyone nearby. He was a muscular man, and he scared Courtney. But she was in charge now and had the camp on her side. "Why don't you mind your own business, sweetheart. Let the men talk."

  "Talk? It looks like you're trying to swing your dick right now, and I don't see much of anything," Jennifer retorted, her face turning red with anger. Courtney laughed at the comment.

  Mick grinned. "That's a funny one. You're gonna regret that one, you little bitch." Mick quickly stomped to Jennifer, hands clenched at his side, slowly raising up.

  "Get the fuck back," Courtney said, stepping in his way.

  Mick quickly flung his hand back, shoving Courtney from his way. She landed hard on her side in the dirt. Jennifer tried to run to her, but Mick quickly grabbed her by the throat. "You gonna hit me, Mick? Make you feel strong, does it?"

  Mick raised his arm. "No, but it'll shut you up. Someone needs to teach you a lesson about running your mouth."

  "Mick, stop!" Shane came shouting. He wore a flannel shirt, half-untucked from his jeans.

  "Stay out of this, Shane. These people don't appreciate us being here."

  "You're gonna get us kicked out," Shane said.

  "Who the fuck is gonna do that? These people are weak. We should be leading this place and you should see that. You need to protect Lacey and these people aren't going to do that for you."

  "Let her go," Shane said.

  "Or what? You gonna stop me? I'd like to see you try," Mick said, taunting his brother.

  Shane stood, not moving. Courtney stood up, watching Mick's brother stand by, doing nothing. "Let her go," Courtney shouted, pulling her knife out. She ran at him, as fast as she could.

  Mick quickly took his raised hand and backhanded Courtney as she came at him. She fell again, grabbing at her face. It throbbed in pain. Mick squeezed on Jennifer's throat tighter and threw her to the ground. He picked up the knife from the ground and looked at Courtney. "This bitch has more balls than you, brother. But, sweetie, you come at me with a knife and it's the last thing you're gonna do. I'll make sure of that." Courtney looked over at Jennifer, who still gasped for breath on the ground.

  "Stop it now," Courtney demanded, but it was no use. Mick was already standing over her.

  She closed her eyes but opened them again, thinking if this was the end for her, she was going to stare it in the eyes. Suddenly, Mick's face was streaked in blood, and he was falling to the side. It took her a moment to register that a large rock had hit him in the side of the head. The knife he held fell in front of Courtney. She quickly grabbed it.

  "Get away from him," Dan said, running with his own knife pulled. Mick was already trying to stand back up, but Dan lobbed another rock at him with his free hand. This one didn't contact as well but hit Mick in the shoulder, causing him to be distracted long enough for Dan to reach him.

  Mick looked up at Dan, his face covered in blood. He spit a tooth out. "You motherfuc-"

  Dan was already behind him, putting the bald man in a choke hold. Mick tried to struggle but couldn't get out of Dan's grip. Even with all Mick's strength and show of dominance, Dan still managed to get the advantage. Courtney was glad to see him but worried about what was going to happen. She watched him pull his knife up against Mick's throat. Courtney looked around and saw that everyone in the camp was watching. People had come out of their tents or from behind the hill at the workstation just to watch the show. Eden stood at the garden, watching the man that saved her about to kill another man.

  "Wait, don't kill him," Courtney said. Mick may have deserved it, but the camp didn't need to see Dan as the monster. They knew he would do whatever it took to keep them safe, but it was another thing to see it firsthand. Besides, Mick was no longer a threat now that Dan had him.

  Lacey ran up to Shane. "Don't kill him, please!" she pleaded with Dan. "He's down, stop it, just stop it."

  Dan looked over at Shane and Lacey, then to back at everyone in the camp. He let Mick out of his grip, then kicked him forward. Lacey and Shane ran to their bloody family member on the ground. "You're out," Dan said.

  The two of them looked at Dan. "Out? What do-"

  "I mean you're exiled. Get your things and take this piece of shit with you," Dan said. He looked for confirmation from anyone, but they stood, staring with mouths open.

  Courtney stood up, brushing herself off. "It's only right. Mick is out of here. If you two want to stay-"

  "You can't be serious. Leaving my brother alone out there?" Shane said.

  "Then you all go. This was the last chance for him, and we can't have a loose cannon in the camp, ready to kill anyone for any reason," Courtney said, supporting Dan. "Be grateful he didn't kill him."

  "You're sentencing us to death," Lacey said.

  "No, we're keeping our people safe, and you're not them anymore," Courtney said, turning away. "You have five minutes to get out." Inside, she knew what she was doing to the three of them. Maybe Mick deserved it, but the others didn't. It was their cho
ice to stay or go, and they had decided. Now, she just hoped they would leave before she had to look in their eyes again.

  5

  Pax

  Pax sat in the passenger seat of the truck as Mark drove. He let his body sway with each turn and bump. Mark swerved to miss whatever large debris was in the road, but didn't hesitate to run over anything small that the truck could manage to crush without damaging itself. There was no room in the cab of the truck for anyone else, as they had loaded a lot of the gear in the fold-down seats behind them. They carried the women and Brennan in the bed of the truck while Todd drove in another vehicle behind them, carrying Eduardo in the bed of that truck. Paul had said he would sit with their friend to make sure he was okay. They were all a good bunch of people.

  "So, what's on your mind?" Mark asked, his eyes staying on the road.

  "Not much, just ready to get back," Pax said after clearing his throat.

  Mark shook his head. "It seems like it's more than that. In fact, I don't think you're in much of a rush to get back."

  "You don't think I want to get Eduardo back to get help?"

  "Just the opposite. You absolutely want Eduardo to get help. You're a good man, Pax, don't ever doubt it. But I can tell that you want to stay out here."

  "I still have a lot of making up to do."

  "Just because you did some shit you thought you had to, doesn't mean you're a bad guy. It means you've made mistakes, like everyone else. But right now, the best thing to do is get everyone back safe."

  "Come back with more mouths to feed, but no food or supplies along with? I'm sure everyone will be thrilled."

  "Fuck that. You know it, just as I do. We aren't those people anymore, right?"

  Pax nodded as the hospital came into view. A few things had changed since he first saw it that day as part of Guthrie's posse. The fence was rebuilt and remained as a barrier filled with soulless between the hospital and itself. Pax could see where the hole in the wall had been blown from Guthrie. Now it was filled with cement and debris, backed by wood on the inside. They had a lot of time to rummage through the hardware stores in the city, finding the items to patch the hole up. It wasn't pretty, but it was strong.