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

by Drew Strickland

  "It doesn't mean anything," Pax said, stepping between the two. "If I'd have known there was going to be any issues between anyone on this venture, I'd have left you home." Pax stared down at Carlos.

  "Go ahead, pick your buddy's side. I'm just the guy that lived at the hospital before the two of you blew a hole in the side of the building."

  "Puta Madre, Carlos. Show some respect," Vanessa spit.

  Carlos stepped back when he noticed Vanessa's hand go to the gun on her hip. Pax put a hand on her arm, making sure she wasn't anywhere near drawing on the man. Carlos may have his opinions of Pax and Mark, but he was still one of them. Disagreements were to be had, but blood would not be spilled over an insult when they had bigger things to achieve.

  He stepped up into Carlos. "I will do everything I can to make this work. All I ask is that you help. You can think whatever you want of me, but I need you to be a part of it. If you plan on sabotaging this plan, then tell me right now. We'll send you in a car back home. Your people— Our people, don't deserve that. Can we agree on that?"

  Carlos looked Pax up and down as he held his chin up. Carlos spit to the side and nodded. "Yeah, we can agree on that. I'm here for them. I'm here to make it all work."

  Pax smiled. "Good."

  "So you just roll up to the front alone? Where are we? If we're your backup, then let us be your backup. Give us a plan."

  Pax was definitely going to give them a plan… as soon as he thought of it.

  14

  Eden

  Eden walked through the trees trying to get out of sight from the camp. The sooner she was gone, the sooner she would feel the closing in stop. She thought about what Courtney had said, and what she had said back. The truth was, Eden liked Courtney.

  Maybe she did have some insight on what it was like to be thirteen, but times had definitely changed since then. Courtney had no idea what it was like to be a teenager in the apocalypse. Hell, Eden hadn't even met any other people her age. She didn't even know if they existed. She had met one person that was younger than her, and she lived at Howard's. Mavi was quite a bit younger than Eden, though.

  No, the truth was, Eden just wanted to get out for some alone time. Maybe she had gone too far with Courtney. Everything Eden had said was true, but she didn't need to say it to Courtney. Eden knew she was easily hurt by those things. But that's why she did it. Sometimes she liked to twist the knife, she just regretted it later when it was someone that meant something to her. Courtney was always there for her. Between Jennifer and Courtney, they basically made up her motherly figures in the camp. Daniel was around and did his best, she supposed, but it was really those two women that carried her.

  What she did was shitty.

  Eden shrugged it off and tried to rid the thoughts from her mind. What's done was done and there wasn't any taking back what she said. Courtney would forgive her. Eden had already forgiven Courtney for slapping her, in fact, she was glad she did it. She liked to see the fire in Courtney. It showed her passion, her truth. She may come off as someone nice and polite, which she was, but Eden knew that she would fight for whatever it was she loved. It made Eden feel good that she was one of those things.

  Eden looked behind and finally saw the walls of the camp were gone. She turned back forward and saw the marking on the tree. It was where she had been before. She made a right at the tree and ran to the large rocks ahead. They were more than rocks. They were boulders, each one about the size of her. They had been stacked around, creating a pile. There was no way that someone had done that, but was just one weird thing nature had done over time. A bike leaned against the side of the formation. Sometimes she had taken the bike out on the road, but mostly she just rode between the trees, doing small jumps off the tree roots when she was bored.

  She crawled inside the small gap of the boulders and sat with her back against the cold stone. She opened her backpack and pulled out the food, laying it out in front of her on the flat surface of another boulder. She pulled the can opener out of her bag that she always had in there. That was one thing she never left behind. If something ever happened at camp, at least she knew she could always eat if she found food. The last thing she wanted was to be hungry, surrounded by cans of food with no way to open them. Wouldn't that be ironic?

  She clamped the opener on the can and twisted. The top came off and the smell of tuna fish invaded her nose. She squeezed some mayonnaise in the can and stirred it with her finger. She probably could have used a knife, but it was no big deal to her. Dirty hands never bothered her. Once it was mixed well enough to her liking, she dug out two pieces of bread from the plastic bag and laid them flat. She turned the can over onto a slice and used the can to smooth it out. She closed the sandwich and took a huge bite. She closed her eyes as she enjoyed her sandwich.

  It was bland, but sometimes that's what she wanted. Peace, quiet and a bland sandwich. Nobody out here to bother her, or ask her questions. No mustard in the tuna, no salt or pepper. Just plain fish and regular mayo on wheat bread. She enjoyed the sound of the breeze in the trees as she chewed. She wouldn't be out here long. People would notice she wasn't at camp and get worried. Nobody back home knew she came out here. If they did they would stop her, probably watch her a lot closer. A crunch in the leaves alerted her, and she opened her eyes. Beneath the boulder she sat against was a small hole dug out from the dirt. She reached in and pulled the small metal box out. She lifted the rusty lid.

  "Child, are you out here?" a woman's voice asked.

  Eden let out a sigh of relief. It was just the woman. "I'm over here," Eden replied in a loud whisper.

  The woman walked around the boulders and stood at the small entrance that Eden had gone through. Eden looked up to her and saw her purple robe. Every time she saw her, she was dressed in the same thing. The purple robe with gold trim. She wore boots, which seemed a little off for the outfit, but figured heels or sandals would be even weirder for the terrain. Her hair was mostly up with curls dangling around her ears. The most notable thing about her appearance, though, was she was never dirty. Being out here at any time usually left someone a little less than clean, but never her. She could never see any blood, not even a speck of dirt, anywhere on her. She was beautiful.

  "There you are, child," the woman said, parting her glossy lips.

  "I'm thirteen you know. I'm not a child." Eden took another bite of her sandwich.

  She smiled. "You are very right, but you are a child of God. We all are."

  Eden nodded. She had heard the woman speak of being a child of God every time she met her. It didn't bother her to listen, in fact, the woman had some good stories. It was nice to be out here, being spoken with, instead of spoken to. "Want some food?" Eden held out the sandwich to the lady.

  "Thank you, but no. I needn't eat now." The woman stepped closer to the boulders. "What's troubles you?"

  Eden's hands played with a small twig, making lines in the ground. "Just the adults. Always wanting to keep me safe, but never letting me do anything."

  The woman nodded. "It isn't their right to keep you from learning. They can't keep you safe from everything."

  "I know. They don't understand. They just are afraid."

  "Rightfully so. The world is a scary place."

  "You're never scared. You're out here alone all the time and—"

  "Because I am never alone. I am part of a flock and no harm can come to me."

  Eden squinted her eyes. Some of the things the woman said never made any sense to Eden. But she seemed so confident. She was everything Eden wanted, no needed, to be. It was who she wished Daniel would train her to become. "You never even told me your name."

  The woman looked down at her and closed her lips, curling them into a big beautiful smile. Before she could receive an answer, a snarl came from the right of the boulders. Both of the girls looked that way. It was a soulless woman. Her face was peeling away in places and her hair was tangled in itself with leaves sticking out. The woman stepped back, away fr
om the dead woman. "Do you have the gift I gave you?" the woman asked.

  "Yeah." Eden quickly turned to the box she pulled out and opened it. Inside of it was a large knife. The blade was slightly curved and had a leather handle. It was half the size of Eden's arm. She stepped out of the small entrance in the boulders and held it out to the woman.

  "No child, that is not mine to use. This is your moment to show them that you are not a child. That you do not have to be kept safe from anything." The woman held her arm out toward the soulless.

  Eden turned to face it. She looked at the dead woman's cut up face. At one point in time she was just like everyone else. She had a life, probably a family. But now, here she was. Lifeless, yet full of movement. She watched the saliva drip from the chapped lips that moved up and down, her jaw chomping forward. Eden glanced over to the woman in the purple robe, hoping for some encouragement. She received a smile and a nod. Then her attention went back to the soulless woman.

  Eden took one step forward and raised the knife up. The soulless woman was taller than Eden, but she could still reach. She shoved the dagger upward, it's curved blade going straight toward the spot underneath the grey, decaying ear. Before the blade could pierce its target, the soulless woman's foot tripped on a branch, causing her to topple forward, onto Eden. Eden shrieked as the weight of the body fell on her.

  "Help me!" Eden screamed only loud enough for the robed woman to hear. Eden looked frantically for her friend to help her, but she only found her staring down at her. She was going to have to do this herself.

  Eden grunted as she used both of her hands to push the rotting body upward, keeping the weight off her body. The stench of the rank, hot breath settled into her nose as she struggled to keep the soulless away from her face. It's jaws were clamping open and closed, just wanting to bite into her flesh. Eden lifted her leg up and put her foot between herself and the monster. She pushed hard with all her might and turned to the side. The body fell next to her, and she quickly swung her hand that clenched the knife. The blade planted right into the dead woman's temple, putting the clamping jaw to rest. Eden breathed deep and climbed to her feet. She felt the rage flow through her like nothing she had felt before.

  "I almost died! You didn't help me at all! What the fuck is wrong with you?" She pointed the knife at the woman that she thought was her friend.

  "Eden," the woman said calmly. It perked Eden's ears up to hear her name instead of child. She hadn't known the woman long, but she had never once called her by her name before. "I didn't need to help you. Yes, if you were bit you would die. But you didn't get bit. I knew you wouldn't get bit. I knew no harm would come to you."

  "How?" Eden dropped her arm to her side. She kept panting, trying to catch her breath, but what the woman was saying was something she needed to hear. How could she have known she wasn't going to be hurt?

  "Because the Lord is always with us. You are part of his flock."

  Eden rolled her eyes. "Is everybody part of his flock?"

  The woman smiled. "It will all be revealed to us in time, but no. You are something special. I can tell."

  Eden looked around and saw the position of the sun. "I probably should go before anyone knows I'm missing."

  The woman nodded her head. "Then you must go. We will explore this further, but remember what I have told you."

  "I will," Eden said. She watched the woman walk away into the forest. She had no idea where she went and had it been earlier, she would have thought to follow her. But for the time being, she needed to get back to camp before Courtney started to worry. The last thing she needed was the entire camp looking for her in the woods and thinking she was some dumb kid that got lost.

  She wasn't some dumb kid.

  She was something special.

  15

  Pax

  "Okay, so let's do this," Pax said to his people. What they were doing exactly, he wasn't so sure. But, he was able to bullshit enough to make them think he knew what he was doing. Mostly, Pax was just hoping that the people he ran into were good people. He had to believe that with the set up they had. It looked inviting, yet fortified. Nobody could be accused of being too cautious these days. It was just something to be expected. In fact, he would be more worried if the people he was about to try and meet with didn't have any sort of defense.

  Pax and the others walked up the road. They stayed out of direct visibility from the restaurant so they wouldn't be seen. If they had driven, they would have been spotted immediately. This way, they could get a closer look at everything to make sure they knew who they were about to be dealing with. The others were right about walking up to the door. It wasn't the smartest play right now.

  Nobody said a word. The only sounds they heard were the rustling of feet in the dirt and heavy breathing. The air was getting thinner from the elevation, but none of them had done any hiking recently. That is, unless walking the streets and searching city buildings could be considered hiking. Pax could see the restaurant come into view again. This was the break off point. He was going to send his group around the back, and he would go around the front. Yes, he would be seen, but depending on how they reacted to Pax, his crew could come in from behind and there would be no stopping them.

  Pax turned to face his people. "Here it is. I'm gonna head to the front and you circle to the left, when I get there, you'll hear me yelling up at the guard. Then—"

  "Or you could just come inside, invited," a voice shouted.

  Pax spun around and saw a man in the distance. Fuck. So much for his great plan. He could already hear Carlos snickering behind them, or maybe that was all in his head, but either way, he knew this wasn't good. Pax raised his pistol out of habit. The past six months had definitely not been fun.

  "Whoa there, cowboy. There's no need for that."

  Pax squinted and could make out the man's features. He was somewhat heavy set, but the layers he wore could have been part of it. "How do we know you don't mean us harm?"

  "Well, first of all. I'm out here talking to you. Second, if I wanted you dead, you'd be dead. If you fire that weapon, you can guarantee that will happen." The man pointed up at the fence behind him. Pax followed his finger and saw the two men above them, mostly covered by the metal wall that had been erected around the building. Two large gun barrels were pointed at them. They each had scopes on them, but that was about all Pax could make out from where he was. The other thing he noticed was that neither of the men seemed to shake at all when holding the weapons.

  "Alright then. So, we go in."

  "No. Just you. Your friends can stay out here."

  "Pax, you cannot go in there alone," Vanessa said from behind him.

  "I thought you were inviting us in."

  "Well, I was. But you reminded me that, I don't know you. So, looks like we're both in this the same way. Looks like you wanted to come in anyway. Said something about, depending on how we respond to you. So, come on in. I'll let you keep your gun, that way we both have to have a little trust."

  "Pax, don't do it," Vanessa said.

  He turned to her. She cared for him more than he deserved to be cared for. He smiled and grabbed her hand. "This is why we're here. It'll be alright. If I don't come out—"

  Mark grabbed his shoulder. "We know what to do."

  Pax nodded to his friend and let go of Vanessa's hand. He turned and started hiking up the small hill to where the man stood against the walls. He didn't look behind him. He was sure Vanessa was pissed, maybe a little scared, but he knew what he was doing was the right thing. He had to believe this man did not intend him any harm. Part of him hated to think this way, but really, he needed to have a little faith.

  When he reached the top of the hill, the man extended his hand out. "I'm Howard." Pax held his pistol at his side, hesitant to shake the man's hand. "You can keep your gun, but I'm telling you this right now. You point that at me or anyone else in this place and you'll be dropped faster than a sack of shit, you understand?"

  "I
think I do. Although, I haven't seen too many sacks of shit in my day," Pax said, holstering his weapon on his hip. He took Howard's hand and shook it. "I'm Pax."

  "Well, Pax, come on in. We're fresh out of shit sacks these days, if that's why you came." Howard grinned.

  Pax chuckled. He was beginning to get a good feeling about this man. Anyone who could joke these days was a good man at heart, at least that's what he hoped anyway.

  Pax followed Howard to the front gate and watched it open up. They walked by the large metal doors, and Pax saw the man closing them behind. Pax nodded to the man, who nodded back. There was no animosity here. "So, Pax, what are you doing here?" Howard asked as he turned and faced him. He looked over his shoulder and saw the man who had closed the gate standing behind him. He didn't need to check to see if he was armed as he was certain of it already.

  "We're looking to help folks. My people and I, I mean."

  "The people out there? The ones sneaking up on my place here?"

  "Yes, and others. We have a set up in the city, and we were hoping to find other people."

  Howard looked Pax up and down. He paused for a moment and nodded. "I can appreciate that. Looks like you've found some." Howard nodded to the man behind Pax and turned around. "Come on with me."

  Pax continued to follow Howard as he went to the building that stood in the center of the walls. It was a large diner that had been here before the event took place. It looked like nothing had happened to it. Pax wondered how soon after the apocalypse Howard had set this place up. He entered the door Howard held open for him.

  The first thing Pax noticed when he walked inside was how clean it was. There were few places he had seen so clean in his life, let alone in his life after the apocalypse. It rivaled the surgery rooms at the hospital. He could smell the lemon scented Lysol in the air and smiled. He was so used to dust filled rooms, blood and guts on the floors, and holes all throughout all of the buildings he had been seeing that cleanliness and chemical smelling cleaners brought back memories of better times.