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

by Drew Strickland

  That was fine. Howard wasn't who he needed anyway. They needed a real place with a real community. Howard was just a trading outpost. To be used for sure, but not to build what they needed. Vanessa had been sure if they found the right community, Pax could help lead both of their communities to strength and glory. But Vanessa knew Pax was now reconsidering it. His first interaction with someone, and they pointed a gun at him for wanting just that.

  Once he had told everyone what happened, they had all gone silent. He drove the truck, but Vanessa had only squeezed his leg. The two-way radio was completely silent. They followed Pax to wherever he went, but she knew the others were disappointed, just like he was. Maybe they had talked about things in the SUV, but Pax would have no way of knowing. She was sure that was a good thing.

  The road had been fairly clear of vehicles. There had been some downed trees, but they were off to the side of the road. That was a good sign. It gave Vanessa hope there were people around who cared enough to clear the roads. It meant they were on the right path. Maybe they were people who traded with Howard. If that was the case, she would make sure nobody mentioned anything about their interaction. She hoped Howard wasn't in communication with any of them. There was no word about an antenna back at the restaurant, so she was pretty sure he couldn't reach that far out with a radio.

  There was a small road up ahead. "What do you think?" Pax finally asked Vanessa, breaking the silence.

  It was a dirt path off the road. "Looks like a driveway more than a road."

  Pax nodded. "Could be a good thing, but we'll need to be cautious." He grabbed the radio and clicked the button. "We're gonna check this small road out. Follow behind, but keep your eyes peeled. We may need to back up quick depending on what we run into."

  "Roger that, Pax," Mark replied after the static.

  Pax turned the truck down the dirt path and slowly went through the turns. Up ahead there was a metal rod gate held up by a brick fence. It was some sort of property. Possibly a farm. Pax pulled up to the gate and got out. It wasn't latched, but was in the closed position. She watched Pax pushed it open slowly, keeping an eye on the building out ahead. It didn't look like anyone was home. He motioned for Vanessa to get out of the truck.

  "I think it's best if we explore on foot," he said when she reached him.

  "Looks pretty big out here. Where is everyone?" she asked.

  He shrugged and watched Mark lead the rest of the men out to meet them. "What's the plan, boss?" Eduardo asked.

  "I think it's best we all go on foot. Eduardo, you stay here with the vehicles. If anything strange happens, fire your gun."

  "You got it."

  Nobody argued with him, but Vanessa could feel the tension in the air. He wasn't sure if it was the building or if it was him. She knew they felt disappointed in Pax that Howard had kicked him out so quickly, but something also didn't feel right at this place. She didn't know what made it any different. Most places had been deserted and had an eerie feeling to them, but it was like something bad had happened here.

  Vanessa and the others made their way to the house. That's when she saw it. There were bloodstains on the porch and against the walls. Bullet holes filled the walls. There had been a fight here. Maybe someone had a run in with a bunch of soulless, but she thought maybe it was something else. There were no bodies around, so that either meant whatever had gotten shot had either been moved, or had turned themselves. Pax slowly pushed the door open, and she made sure she was right behind him.

  Blood again. Everywhere. Bullet holes in the walls. What happened here? Did someone clear out soulless from the place? If so, then why didn't they stay here? Blood had soaked into the carpet and was crunchy when she stepped on it. None of it was fresh, and none of it had even attempted to be cleaned up. This was nobody's house anymore.

  "What the fuck happened here?" Todd asked. At least Vanessa wasn't the only one trying to figure it out.

  They searched all the rooms and found nothing. The only thing that Vanessa saw that made her stomach flip slightly was a bed. There was no blood or bodies, thankfully, but on the headboard were ropes that had been cut. They were frayed, but they were also at each post, making her think about someone being tied down to the bed. She knew what that hinted at. What the fuck was this place?

  "Let's look for supplies," Pax finally said back in the living room. Thank God, he was taking control of the people. Too many things were going through Vanessa's mind to reassure him. "It's obvious nobody is here anymore, and that nobody is coming back anytime soon. So, let's see what we can find to eat or take, and get out of here. Everybody nodded in agreement and headed to the kitchen.

  The walls were dingy, but it looked mostly like none of the carnage had come into the room. Vanessa wouldn't have been able to tell if it had or not, though. The place looked trashed. Empty boxes littered the countertops and old food was rotting on the floor. All of the cabinets were open. She immediately knew the place was cleared out. Carlos went to the fridge and put his hand on the door.

  "No, don't open—"

  But Carlos pulled the door open. A few bits of rotting food sat on the shelves, but nothing of note was inside. The room immediately filled with the stench. Carlos dry-heaved and covered his nose with his arm, slamming the door shut. Everyone cleared out of the room and went down the small hallway. Vanessa pushed through the backdoor, immediately hit by the fresh air. She breathed greedily, trying to rid the stench from his nostrils. Everyone else did the same.

  "That was fucking nasty," Carlos said, spitting on the ground. "It's like I can taste it."

  "You dumbass. Didn't you ever learn not to open a fridge that's been sitting without electricity?" Todd asked.

  "How the fuck would I know that?"

  "Watch some house flipping shows sometime, man," Todd said, shaking his head.

  "And how would I do that now?"

  "What the fuck is this?" Mark said, stopping the conversation. He walked further into the backyard and grabbed at the large cages. Pax stepped up behind him and looked at the gates that swung back and forth.

  "Dog kennels?" Vanessa asked.

  "These aren't dog kennels. They're too big. Look at this, I can walk inside of it." Pax stepped inside and back out. "These were made for people."

  "How the fuck would you know that?" Carlos asked.

  "Inside, I saw the bed. Ropes were on the headboard. People were tied up there. They were caged. Something went down here," Vanessa chimed in. She was sure Pax was right.

  Carlos shook his head. "I'm hungry, and I ain't staying in this place any longer." He turned and walked back into the house. Todd followed him.

  "I don't think there's anything else left to do here, Pax." Mark went along with them.

  Vanessa put her hand on Pax's shoulder. "What if I was wrong about all of this?" he asked her.

  "What are you talking about?"

  "Look at this place. This is more fucked up than anything we've seen. Are we stepping into something we'll regret?"

  "People die. People get killed. We're strong. Whatever happened here is done. Whoever this happened to will meet their end one way or another, if they haven't already."

  "Maybe," Pax said, motioning to the pile across the field. A large heap of burned, blackened ash of bodies sat undisturbed. "Think that's them? Or the victims?"

  "You should eat something," Vanessa told Pax, trying to change the subject.

  "I will. You go ahead, I'll be out in a minute."

  "Okay." Vanessa grabbed his shoulder one more time, making sure he knew she was there for him before turning back into the building.

  Before she entered the house again, she thought she heard Pax sniffling but decided it was better to let him have his time. She continued through the house, which felt like death, and back outside to the front. She was glad to be out of the building and getting back to the vehicles. Pax was right about it feeling wrong in there. Before she could say anything, she heard the men talking at the vehicles.


  "All I'm saying is that Diego would have never let something like that happen." It was obviously Carlos talking. He was a stubborn asshole about things.

  "Maybe, man, but Pax isn't so bad. It's not like he could control what that dude back at the diner was gonna do. And this place isn't on him."

  "Man, I'm telling you. Diego would have talked with that guy, and if he didn't like what he said, Diego would have put that cabrón in his place."

  Vanessa heard enough. She stepped up around the back of the vehicle and spoke up. "Diego isn't here anymore, Carlos. Besides, you didn't know him at all. None of you did. I did. Diego would not have handled this situation any better than Pax has. You think he was so great?" Vanessa stood up against Carlos, in his face.

  "Vaness—"

  "Diego was a good man, there's no doubt about that. But he wasn't able to keep us safe from Guthrie." She saw in the corner of her eye that Mark had looked down at the dirt. "That was Pax, that was Mark. Diego died. Believe me, I wish he was still here, but he's not. But don't forget that Pax is the one who saved us."

  "He saved us after putting us in that position in the first place." He turned and kicked at the dirt before walking to the other side of the vehicle. Vanessa looked at Todd, shaking her head. She then looked at Mark.

  "You should know better. He's your friend, and maybe the only one you or he have," she told Mark.

  Mark looked her in the eye, nodding. "I know that." He swallowed hard and turned to go with Carlos.

  Vanessa put her hand against her forehead. It was enough to come up empty handed twice, but another to have a near mutiny on her hands. What the fuck was she going to do? She looked up and saw Pax. How long had he been standing there?

  A half-smile spread across his face, and he nodded at her.

  18

  Courtney

  Why was she worried so much about Dan? Why did she even care what others thought about him?

  Courtney couldn't get what Eden had said out of her head. She knew it was just something to try and throw in Dan's face that Eden said. It was just a teenage girl and her attitude. Still, something about it was true. Killing did seem to come easy to Dan. But inside, she knew it didn't matter. Dan did whatever it took to keep them safe. They were his people, and anyone who had a problem with that could fuck right off.

  Eden had been right. Courtney and everyone else had been the monsters. They were the reason Cole was dead. If they hadn't have tied Dan up, he would have killed Alan. He saw what Alan was before anyone, and he was trying to save them. He was trying to fix the problem before it blew up. But it blew up anyway, and it was all because of them. They had placed more trust in the man who intended them harm instead of the man that was trying to warn them. To save them. All because they were frightened. But now they knew how it was in the world. She couldn't just trust a friendly smile anymore.

  But she knew it was more than that. Courtney knew there was something else to Dan. That something was dark. How had he known what Alan was? Why was he so willing to kill another man so quickly? He seemed to adapt very quickly in the new world, but Courtney wondered if it was adaptation, or if it was old habits. Did it matter? No, it didn't, and that's what she needed to keep telling herself. She was okay with who he was because of what he was doing, what he had done, for them. But what if he needed to please his dark side more than she knew?

  Inside her head was a torment of talking to herself about things that she told herself didn't matter. Suddenly, she was pulled out of it by a scream. She ran to the other side of the camp, around the bunker hill. A few people, including Blanche, ran past her. Before Blanche could get away, Courtney grabbed her arm.

  "It's Patrick. They're getting in, you need to run!" she screamed before breaking away from Courtney.

  Courtney steadied herself and looked at the fence. They hadn't built the sturdiest fence at places, and it was starting to bite them in the ass. The wall had fallen inward at one of the seams they had nailed together. It was right next to where they had a woodworking station set up. Mostly they created stakes for the garden, but they had been building boxes and walls for easy storage in the near future. The noise must have drawn the soulless in, and it being one of the weaker areas of the fence, it had caved in. Next to the wall, Patrick laid on the ground as two soulless chewed on his flesh.

  She hadn't known Patrick for long, but knew him to be willing to help. He was somewhat of a bigger guy, and they must have snuck up on him when they were working. He definitely didn't deserve to die by being eaten alive. He continued to scream until one of the soulless bit him on the throat, silencing his screams. She watched in horror as the scared look in his eyes died out. He was dead before she had a chance to do anything.

  Courtney ran up as other soulless struggled to get inside. Most of the people had cleared out, the cowards. She didn't blame people for being scared, but it was those people who had her concerned about Dan. Fuck them. The moment anything became tough, they ran. Not only did they run, but they didn't help their friend as he laid dying. If it wasn't for people like Dan, they would definitely not be here to complain about it. She picked up the hammer from the nearest table and swung it forward at the first soulless that staggered her way. The claw end of the hammer met the bald spot on the large, dead man, dropping him to the ground with a loud thud.

  Two more soulless came in through the break in the fence, pushing it open wider, and looked right at her with their empty eyes. She pulled up at the hammer, but it was stuck deep in the skull of the soulless on the ground. She put her foot at his neck and tried to pry it out. The two soulless got closer, and she began to sweat, watching them make a line straight for her. She pulled with all her might, finally dislodging the hammer from the soft brains of the dead body on the ground. A giant splatter of grey matter and red, sticky blood flew in the air, and she fell backward from the force of her pull. The two soulless came at her and tripped on the body in front of her. They both fell on top of her, and she struggled to keep their faces away from her.

  She put the hammer in the first one's mouth. Its teeth had strings of flesh hanging from its teeth. She wasn't sure if it was from a person or animal, but was rank either way. The second one laid on top of the first, her blonde hair clumped with mud. Courtney grabbed with her left hand at its neck, keeping the chomping teeth away. She held them both up as best as she could, but couldn't get out from underneath them. She watched as more soulless made their way into the break in the wall. There weren't many, but they were enough to worry Courtney. She couldn't even get out from these two, how was she going to kill any others?

  The feet pounding the dirt beside her gave her relief. She looked up at Jennifer, who came swinging a large 2x4 at the small soulless girl who stood first in line for the Courtney buffet. The girl's head cracked open, spilling out on the ground next to Courtney as she still struggled with the two soulless on top of her. Jennifer grabbed at the blonde on top of the pile, but Courtney saw the two soulless behind Jennifer.

  "Behind you, don't worry about me!" Courtney screamed.

  Jennifer spun around, wood beam in at the ready. Before she could see which one to hit first, the fat dead woman came grabbing at her face. Jennifer yelled out, dropping the piece of wood. She grabbed at her hands and pried them off her face. She stepped backward and tripped over Courtney and the two soulless, creating a giant dog pile of human and soulless. Teeth snapped up and down, hungry for flesh. Both Courtney and Jennifer tried to keep them away from them, but they were heavy and there was still one more walking their way.

  Courtney could only think about where Dan was at. Nobody else was coming to help them.

  19

  Pax

  The others may not believe in him, but that was okay. Vanessa was still in his corner and that was what mattered. He knew he was right, and with her standing up for him, he knew he would show the others that there were people who could help them. They would make it all work. It hurt a little to know that Mark hadn't had his back, but it was
Mark. Maybe he was just assessing the situation. If Carlos didn't accept Pax, why could Mark have changed his mind? They came from the same place, marking the same level of destruction at the hospital. In the end, he knew Carlos would come around.

  They drove down the road from the death house. Pax didn't know what else to call it, but he did know that if they didn't find anything else soon, the death house would be the place to set up camp for the night. He didn't want to go back to that place, but the sun was getting lower. Where had the day even gone?

  "Vanessa, I—" Pax began but was quickly shut down.

  "Everyone has their reasons to not like you. It's hard to stand up to Carlos and the others sometimes. Bringing up Diego is a low blow for sure, but I know in the end that this is right. We need to be out here. If we don't get along and make this happen, then we won't make it to the next summer." She looked at him as he drove the truck. "Just don't prove me wrong. You are the man for this job, and I will keep reminding you of that until you make good on your promise, you got that?"

  He nodded, keeping his mouth shut. Vanessa was much stronger than he was sometimes. He looked down the road and saw another small path to his right. He stopped the car, and they looked down it. There were tire marks in the dirt and rocks on the path, making it seem like it had been used recently. "What do you think?" he asked.

  He watched her look at the path and shrug. "Looks about as good as any other place we could check out. But if this isn't it, then we need to think about finding shelter."

  "Agreed." He hoped this was the place. Pax didn't want to have to tell Vanessa the best place to set up camp for the night was the death house. He turned down the path and took it slowly, making sure that Mark was driving behind them with the rest. He didn't think that they would just bail on him, but worse things had happened to him.