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

by Drew Strickland

After some time, the trees opened up. It looked like someone had been chopping down trees to create a clearing. Up ahead was a small lot of cars and behind that was a gate. Holy shit, this was it. They had found a camp. He silently prayed there were people inside. Old habits die hard sometimes. "I think I see people," Vanessa said. The excitement rose in her voice.

  Pax threw the truck in park and hopped out. He looked at the entire camp, trying to take it all in. There was a gate at the entrance. It was attached to walls made out of wood and metal. The construction wasn't the prettiest, but obviously it was doing the job. Pax figured they could help them with better construction when the time came. There were plenty of people with knowledge of how to build things back at the hospital. The camp looked like it surrounded a hill where a structure sat at the top. It was a good place to set up a camp. It was mostly off the main road, surrounded by trees and slightly up hill. They looked like they had lots of land, too, and Pax hoped they had crops set up.

  The men got out of the SUV behind him. He turned and looked at them with a grin. "Looks like a good place," Mark said, clapping his hand on Pax's shoulder.

  "Just don't fuck up negotiations this time, eh?" Carlos said, walking by the men.

  Pax inhaled deeply and turned to the walls. After trying to sneak up on Howard's diner, Pax figured it was useless to try that again. They surely would have been spotted by now. The best thing to do was own up to being there and meet them face to face. Pax walked up to the gate and before he could even knock, it opened in front of him.

  He was met by a group of scared people, running toward them. He quickly grabbed his pistol from its holster and looked to the first face he saw. It was a man, probably about the same age as he was. "What's going on?" Pax asked.

  The man looked scared. "The dead, they're here. Patrick is dead. Courtney and Jennifer, they— I don't know what to do!"

  Pax looked to his people who quickly nodded to him. They all went running past the walls and into the camp. Pax didn't have time to assess what all was in the camp, but he ran past what looked like a garden, then around the hill where the structure sat. He heard the screams and struggle of people and kept heading to the back wall.

  A piece of the wall had split open and fallen down, confirming Pax's idea of helping them with their construction. Soulless were filtering in. It wasn't a horde, but it was a large group. He saw the pile of dead bodies near what looked like some sort of wood working station. Except it wasn't just a pile of dead bodies, there were people underneath them. That's when he heard the screams intensify.

  "Help! Anyone, help!"

  "No guns unless you have to," Pax said. "Carlos, you and Vanessa clear a path to the fence. Eduardo, you and Todd shore it up and keep any others out. Mark and I will get the people out." Nobody argued with him. Pax knew that while they all had their differences, when it came to keeping people safe and getting the job done, they were all in it together. He watched as Carlos and Vanessa pulled out their knives and begin to plunge the blades into the skulls of the dead.

  Eduardo and Todd were close behind them. While Vanessa and Carlos paved a way, the two other men reached toward the tables, grabbing wood, nails and hammers. When the path was completely clear, Pax watched as Eduardo pulled the fallen down piece of metal and lift it up. A rotting soulless peaked its head through the break in the wall before Eduardo could put it in place, but Todd quickly swung a 2x4 at its head, splattering its brains across the wall. Eduardo shoved the metal closed and Todd was on top of it with the wood. The two men put their weight into the fence, keeping it held as they both nailed down the boards. There was push back from the soulless still outside, but the two men were able to fortify the wall enough to keep them out.

  Pax quickly turned his attention to the pile of dead on top of whoever was underneath them. With how many there were, Pax was almost sure someone had to have been bit. He quickly grabbed the first soulless from the pile and flung it backwards. The dead man snarled at Pax, but he quickly jabbed his knife into its head, dropping the body to the ground. Pax turned back to the pile and was amazed at what he saw. There were two women, holding multiple soulless bodies away from them. Sure, they struggled, but it looked like they were fine. He and Mark would need to act fast to keep it that way.

  "Don't worry, we're coming," Pax said as he plunged his knife into the back of the skull of one of the soulless. It immediately stopped flailing and biting at the woman. She quickly pulled her hand from underneath the dead one and pushed up with both hands on the other body she held.

  "Get it, get it, get it," she screamed out, trying to keep the body high enough that Pax could kill it. He grabbed the body and pulled it back. It was a lot stronger than the last one he had picked up. Pax fell backward, landing in a seated position. The soulless stood tall and turned around. It snarled as if it was angry at Pax for ruining its meal. The clotted blonde hair got in the way of her face but didn't seem to bother her at all. Pax began to climb to his feet, but before he could, the blonde soulless dropped in front of him. Behind her stood the woman that was just on the ground before, holding a bloody hammer. She stroked her brunette hair from her face with the back of her hand, still holding the hammer, not caring about the blood smear she just made across her face. She held out her free hand to Pax. Pax took it and was lifted to his feet.

  "Not all done yet, Pax," Mark said from behind the woman. Pax looked over and saw he was still fighting with two soulless of his own. The woman underneath that side of the pile was beginning to stand. Once on her feet, she grabbed at one of the soulless and pulled it backward. It stumbled and landed against the table. Before it could gain its footing, she grabbed the hammer from the brunette woman's hand and plunged it into its eye socket. A putrid green liquid oozed out from underneath the hammer.

  "Fuck, that's nasty," the woman said after releasing the hammer. She turned to check on Mark, but he was already digging his thumbs into the eye sockets of the soulless he held. Before long, the monster stopped moving and dropped from his grasp.

  "You think that was nasty? Try getting it on your hands," Mark said, wiping his thumbs on his pants.

  Everyone double checked around themselves, making sure there were no more soulless bodies to attend to. The pile was gone, and the fence had been fortified for the time being. Vanessa and Carlos had taken out any other soulless, while Pax and Mark were dealing with their own. Bodies, all leaking fluid of different sorts, laid on the ground. On the ground, Pax spotted a man, mostly eaten, covered in blood among the soulless. Pax took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "So, what do you guys do with your dead?"

  The brunette woman looked at Pax for a moment, then to everyone else that was with him. "I appreciate the help, but who the fuck are you?"

  20

  Dan

  Things didn't go quite like he had wanted them to go. Dan couldn't get what had happened out of his head. It was supposed to be an easy kill. He would find them, he would kill Mick and most likely go on to kill Shane and Lacey. Sure, it was possible that Shane and Lacey could have come back to the camp with them, but it was a variable. It was supposed to be the only two outcomes possible. Dan didn't even get to kill Mick. It wasn't supposed to end like it did. It wasn't supposed to be so…sad.

  It was the only word he could think of to describe it. Lacey and Shane loved each other so much that when Lacey was dealt a death blow, Shane went with her into the dark. They died together. Is that what romance was? Is that what love was? If so, Dan confirmed that he would never feel that way about anyone. Self-preservation was above anyone or anything else. Sure, he didn't want Courtney, Eden, or Jennifer to die. But if it came down to it, he would make sure he was the last one alive. Maybe this whole time he was kidding himself about being with those people.

  The entire time he stalked Mick and the others, he felt the need to kill them deep inside. It surged throughout him, like an addict jonesing for their next fix. But when it was all said and done, Dan felt… Well, he felt nothing. There was no hi
gh, there was no relief or satisfaction. The only thing he could describe inside of him was empty. Was any of it worth it?

  At the very least, the threat was gone. But were those people really a threat? Mick was, and he was taken care of. Shane and Lacey though, he knew they weren't. They were in over their heads, but they could have helped in ways. Instead, they were now dead. In the end, it didn't solve the problem the camp still had. Mick wasn't the type, and the way that Shane and Lacey were together, there was no place inside of either of them to do what was being done. Dan still had to find the person responsible for killing the animals, for gutting the soulless. There was someone around camp, whether in it or stalking nearby it, that was dangerous. It was only a matter of time before animals and soulless turned into real, living people.

  Dan kept walking away from the horde of soulless. He could still hear them in the distance behind him, moaning, breaking twigs and branches, their mouths chomping about. Shane, Lacey, and Mick were long dead now, but he thought about how long it would take for their bodies to be eaten completely. Did the soulless even eat people completely, or was there a moment when they turned into soulless themselves before being devoured?

  Dan had seen what happened to people who were bit but weren't killed right away. They eventually died and turned into soulless themselves. The past six months had many experiences in them, including lots of death. But he hadn't stuck around long enough to find out what happened when an entire horde came down on someone.

  Dan didn't have to move fast. His regular hiking speed in the forest was quicker than a group of soulless that had many distractions. He wasn't worried about anything catching up to him. He stepped over another dead soulless in his path. It was gutted and torn apart. Maybe it wasn't a person. Maybe it was just soulless catching the animals and maybe it was just an animal ripping the soulless apart. He tried to lie to himself, but he knew the truth. He was deep in his head now, thinking about what it all meant.

  A quick blur of purple came into view to his left. He lifted his head, realizing how much of his guard he had left down. If anyone with a gun was out here, he could have easily been killed. He spun to his left and set his eyes upon a woman. She was beautiful. Her hair was a light brown and curled, draping over her shoulders. She wore a purple robe. It was more like a cape of sorts, but it was closed in the front, her arms beneath the fabric. Her boots cracked against a twig as she stepped toward Dan.

  "What are you doing out here?" Dan asked. He wasn't afraid of her. It was a genuine curiosity. He looked her over again, and the biggest thing that stood out to him was how clean she was. Dan was sure he was covered in dirt, blood, and other filth. Most of that was from rolling in the dirt with Mick, but even back at camp, everyone had a certain level of dirt on them. Even with showering and washing clothes, people didn't stay clean for long. Getting one’s hands dirty in the apocalypse was a must. But here stood someone, much cleaner than anyone should be out on their own, not in a community. "Are you okay?" he asked.

  She smiled this time. She didn't seem at all hurt. "Of course," she said, her voice confident. There was no hint of trouble at all, no waiver, no timid cracks in her speech. "I am redeemed."

  Dan had no idea what the hell she was talking about. Was she in shock? That was a good possibility, except for the cleanliness. She wasn't the threat, that was for sure. Anyone killing animals would definitely be getting their hands dirty, and probably much more. "Where did you come from?" he asked her.

  "The Mother has sent me out here to find others," she responded. Her eyes held steady on his own, never looking down or around Dan.

  "I see," he said, still having no idea what she was talking about. "Did you need help? Did someone take you out here?"

  Her smile persisted. "I told you. I am redeemed. The Mother has sent me here. Nobody has taken me out here."

  This was getting strange. The feeling started to rise inside of him. The feeling of dread, of something not quite right. His intuitions had rarely been wrong before. Something wasn't right about her. Maybe she didn't intend any harm, but she was definitely not right in the head. "Who is The Mother," he asked.

  "She is all things amazing. She was the one that saved us all. If there was ever any doubt, she made them see." Her face lit up when talking about The Mother. Dan wasn't sure which way to keep the conversation going.

  "I see—"

  "No, you don't," she cut him off.

  "Help me see then," he said, pulling his knife from his belt. She was no immediate threat to him, but she was, for lack of a better term, a crack pot. That was something he definitely didn't need anywhere nearby. Somehow, she had lived this long out, so she wasn't lacking basic survival skills.

  "I don't know if I can help you see. The Mother chose us, she let us in and showed us the way. I'm but a simple servant, a devotee of hers. I can point you in the direction, but only she can show you. Only she knows all. She is God's divining rod."

  Dan had heard enough. She was making zero sense. He wasn't even sure she was talking about anyone in particular. Maybe she hadn't eaten in a while, maybe she had eaten the wrong thing. Hell, maybe she was just some crazy lady who managed to live this long and decided to come out for a stroll. Either way, she came out at the wrong time, talking the wrong kind of crazy to the wrong person. Dan stepped closer, holding his knife by his side. She would never see it coming.

  Dan smiled as he looked at the woman. There shouldn't be a reason to tip her off. Once he had her in his grasp, he could put her down. And he could enjoy it. She was the perfect target for him. Someone who had no ties to anyone he knew and was definitely off her rocker. Nobody would miss her. Maybe killing this woman would even make him forget about Shane and Lacey. Maybe he could go back to the unquestioning lust for blood. That seemed to be a lot simpler than questioning his ability to be human.

  "Sometimes the sisters of The Sistren aren't very clear," a voice said from behind him. Dan spun around, his heart beating in his throat. It was one thing to be in his head and snuck up on, but another to be alert to his surroundings, only to find someone else was there the whole time. He looked at another woman, her hair was black and framed her heart-shaped pale white face. She was just as beautiful as the girl he had been speaking to.

  "Who are you?" Dan asked, his hand trembling slightly as he gripped his knife. He looked at the woman, wearing the same purple robe as her friend.

  "If it wasn't clear before, we are part of the redeemed. Saved by The Mother."

  This wasn't some lady who wandered out of the nut house. At the very least, she had a friend. Did this change things? Two women, unarmed from what he could see. They shouldn't be a problem for him. Before he could act, another voice came from his right.

  "We can point you in the direction. Those who are worth saving will be accepted." Another woman wearing the same purple cape or robe, Dan didn't know what to call it, came out of the trees. How had he missed so many people, so close to him? The dread was still there, but there was no way of knowing what was next.

  21

  Pax

  Pax smiled at the woman. Of course, there were definitely questions. There were always going to be questions, it's just that when he got into the fight of it all, the clearing of soulless, it was like there were no sides. It was always just them against the dead. That's how it should be, at its most pure. But, eventually, the fight died down, and they were left to figure it all out again. They were given time to think. And when there was time to think, there was time to assess and question. So, now it was a question of is it still us against the dead? Or is it us against them?

  "I'm Pax. That fella who helped save your friend is Mark," Pax pointed to Mark. Mark waived with a stupid grin on his face. "That's Vanessa, Carlos, Eduardo, and Todd." He pointed at everyone, and they each held a hand or nodded accordingly. He turned back to the woman he saved. She seemed to take it all in decently and nodded.

  "I'm Courtney. This is Jennifer," she swayed her hand toward Jennifer, who smiled an
d waved.

  "Hey, thanks for the help," Jennifer said, looking at Mark. "Although, I think I could have managed alright."

  "I'm sure you could have," Mark said with a wink. Jennifer scrunched her face a little and quickly turned back to Pax.

  "So, who are you and why are you here?" Courtney asked.

  Pax looked around. "Well, I'd actually like to speak to whoever is in charge."

  Courtney looked at him and held a smile. He wasn't sure if there was something wrong or not, but it was a little strange that she wasn't talking.

  "So, who would I speak to about that?" Pax asked.

  "Maybe you should answer me first. Why are you here?" Courtney demanded.

  Pax stood his ground. "We're here to speak to whoever is in charge. I would think that saving two of the members of this community and shoring up the broken fence, preventing any more of the soulless to get in, while everyone else in this place is running from the problem, would get me a little bit of appreciation and possibly talking to the leader here."

  Courtney looked back at Jennifer, whose expression remained solemn. Courtney turned back to Pax and put her hand on her hip. Pax followed her arm down to her hip, making sure she was unarmed, which she was. "Then I guess you'd be talking to me."

  Pax eased up. "You're in charge?"

  "Is that so hard to believe? A woman leader?" Jennifer barked from behind Courtney.

  Pax shook his head. "No, not at all. I just figured I wouldn't have found you struggling in the dirt, wrestling with those things when we came up. What's with everyone else? Why didn't anyone help you?"

  Courtney pulled the hammer from the eye socket of the now dead soulless. It made a wet suction sound when she did. "These people mean well. They really do. I can trust them, but honestly, some of them haven't had to deal with much of the outside world. They've had a bit of a rough start, and then things got easier. Let's just say that."