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

by Drew Strickland

  Dan landed with a thud in the dirt on his backside. It wasn't quite the graceful landing he was hoping for. He stood up and began walking in the direction that he had seen Eden go. Just a few moments ago there had been a group of soulless breaking down walls and Eden decides to leave those walls and go outside with the rest of them? He needed to know what she was thinking.

  Dan kept walking until he could no longer see the camp behind him. The sun was very low. It wasn't safe to be out much longer. He needed to get Eden and get back home. Then he heard the noises. The groans and smacking of wet lips, chomping teeth hoping to find purchase on human flesh. There were soulless around. He quickly pulled his knife out and began to jog.

  When Dan crested a small hill and stepped around a tree, he saw her. Eden was walking around the monster, almost as if taunting it. The shirt that was once on the soulless man's back had been torn to shreds, barely hanging off one shoulder. Its beard was full of congealed blood and bits of flesh. There was a large bite on its neck. The wound was black and purple, with pus filled pockets surrounding it. This had been a person after the event had happened. He had been one of the unlucky ones to live to see it all crumble, but get bit and turn into one of the monsters. Nobody had been around to put him out of his misery before that happened.

  Dan pulled his knife up as he saw the monster lunge for Eden, but before Dan could run out, he saw Eden make a swift duck, evading the monster's reach. She popped back up and picked up a knife from the ground.

  Where had she gotten that knife from?

  The blade was long and curved, planted inside of a leather-bound handle. It looked much nicer than anything that could have been pilfered from a sporting goods store. Perhaps nicer wasn't the best word for it. It looked more custom than anything. Yes, custom was a better word. Dan watched as she quickly darted up to the monster and plunged the blade up behind the monster's skull. It penetrated deep into its brain and fell to the ground. Eden had been quick enough to pull the blade out before the weight of the man's lifeless body took it down with him.

  Had she been out here teaching herself this?

  Daniel certainly had no part in teaching her anything. Watching her had made him realize how hands-off he had been. Maybe it wasn't a bad thing as he saw her skills at dodging and taking down soulless. But at the same time, he knew the danger she was in by teaching herself. He had put her in that danger by letting her figure it out without him. He closed his eyes and thought of Greg. It had been a long time, but without his old friend, where would he be now?

  He honestly didn't know where he would be. Maybe he would be right where he was now, or maybe he would be dead. But the most probable was that he would have been caught. His teacher had taught him how to stalk, how to stay in the shadows, and how to get away. He taught Daniel how to blend in with the people he couldn't stand. Funny how some of those tricks still applied these days. Maybe he had changed and didn't despise the people as much as he did before, but what Greg had taught him still stood as proof of his survival now. He supposed that was what Cole would have wanted for his daughter. To be taught to survive at all costs.

  He glanced back at Eden and was reminded of Greg again. This time, it was in the act that she was doing. He watched as the girl, only barely a teenager, plunged her dagger into the lifeless body, tearing it open at the stomach. She pulled out its intestines and guts, splaying them all over the ground. Dan's eyes went wide at the sight.

  It was her. She was the threat. She was the serial killer in the making.

  27

  Pax

  With the sun gone, Pax could feel the chill from the night air on his skin. He knew that soon it would be snowing and wondered if he would be there to see it. He remembered that lots of the kids came up this way to go skiing and snowboarding. He had never been, but had wanted to try it at some time. Most of the kids from his youth group had begged him to put together a sort of field trip to the mountains. They could stay at the lodge, study the Bible and, of course, go play in the snow.

  A smile crossed his lips thinking about the teens again. It had been some time since he had thought about that part of his life. He had not gone a single day without thinking about Stacey, about her love and, most importantly, what happened to her. But his life as a pastor was almost like it never had happened. The lives he had been helping to mold, they were almost forgotten.

  It was his little secret, but he had planned on taking a group of the kids up to Snowbowl. He figured he was going to pitch it to Pastor Jerry as a retreat, maybe even get Jerry to come with them. It was one thing to hear from the usual youth pastor, but if the lead pastor for the whole church came to support the teens, maybe get out there on a snowboard, it would earn all the adults some street cred. At least, that's what Paxton had hoped.

  His smile quickly fell from his face. Those days were long gone. Hell, none of those people from that time in his life were even alive anymore. It was a strange feeling to have so many memories of so many people and be the only person still alive from them. It was almost as if he made it all up, as if it never happened. Like he faked the whole thing. Maybe he could have been convinced of all of that, but not now. He knew it was all real, and he had proof. Daniel.

  How could he explain any of that to Vanessa? She barely knew anything about him before. She had met Pax at his worst. She had met Guthrie. Was it fair to her to let her know there was something worse out there than that? That Guthrie had only scratched the surface of evil. The man was driven by greed, by power, and maybe lust, but those were human traits. Daniel was none of that. There may be a case for Daniel being led by power, but he knew it was more than that. When Paxton had first met him, he seemed so genuine. Then he saw the shift. He saw the lies beneath the mask.

  He couldn't worry about Vanessa right now. She would be fine. She would understand when it was all over. But he wanted to keep her far away from Daniel. He had to. To keep her safe. Besides, this was his fight. He had a debt to settle. He looked over the open field behind the death house. It was pitch black outside. There hadn't been street lights in the city for some time, but something about being out, surrounded by the forest with no lights made it different. It made it almost peaceful. At the same time, it was terrifying. Like anything could be lurking out in the unknown.

  A light flickered in the distance at the edge of the tree line. Pax watched as it seemed to move. What could be out there? He pulled his pistol from his hip and pushed open the back gate, stepping into the open field.

  "Pax? Everything okay?" Mark asked from behind him.

  Pax turned around to see his friend. He had a concerned look on his face. "I'm good, you?"

  "Yeah, I'm good." He seemed to mull something around in his head while he twisted his lip. "It's just, Vanessa seemed pretty upset. She didn't want to talk to anyone. And, you've been out here a while."

  Pax nodded. "Yeah, I have. Vanessa will be fine."

  Mark nodded. "Yeah, she will. But what about you?"

  Pax turned back to the forest and saw the light still flickering. "I'm gonna go check out that light." He pointed. "It just showed up, and it's moving around."

  "I'll come with you," Mark said. He pulled his pistol from the holster and walked to meet Pax at the gate.

  "You sure?"

  "What the fuck else am I gonna do?"

  Pax grinned. He was glad to have a friend like Mark. He was someone who had come back from the bottom, like Pax had. Maybe he hadn't seen the real evil, but he had taken a part of things that seemed irredeemable, but they were both trying. The pair walked across the open field to the tree line, their guns drawn.

  The light seemed to disappear as they got closer. "Where did it go?" Mark asked.

  Pax shrugged and continued to the trees. When they reached them, there was no light at all. "I know something was out here."

  "I saw it, too—"

  Before Mark could finish, a woman stepped out from the trees, holding a candle. She was covered in a large purple cloak. The candl
elight wasn't enough to light up her face, but he could tell she was somewhat young. Mark immediately raised his gun from being startled.

  "Mark," Pax said, wanting to calm the storm before anything happened.

  "Do not fear me," the woman said. Her voice was confident.

  "Who are you?" Pax asked. "Are you from the camp? Did Daniel send you?" His voice grumbled the last words of the question. His hand tightened its grip on the pistol, but he still did not raise it up at her.

  He could see her smile spread, her teeth illuminated by the candle. "No man sent us here."

  "Courtney then?"

  She laughed. "There is a woman we look to, but it is only because she is the savior and the rod to the one who sent her."

  "What the fuck are you talking about?" Mark asked.

  "And what do you mean by us?" Pax added.

  They heard the footsteps crunch from behind the trees. Three more women came out of forest. They each held their own candles. This time Pax raised his gun.

  "There is no need to fear us, but be warned, we do not take threats lightly." One of the women to Pax's right said. They each wore the purple cloaks, the hoods covering over their heads, catching the candle light from underneath.

  Pax slowly lowered his weapon. "What are you doing here? If Daniel or Courtney didn't send you, then who?"

  "We are sent here from The Mother. She sends God's word to us, to find others like us."

  Pax rolled his eyes. "You know nothing of God."

  "Quiet your tongue for you do not know what you speak," the first girl cut sharp.

  Pax was not in the mood for a religious conversation. He had bigger worries than some kooks who decided they would live in the forest. "You came here to debate God with the wrong people."

  "We do not come here to debate—"

  "Then what?" Pax interjected.

  "To discover those who are worthy. Worthy to live among us. Worthy to become part of the redeemed."

  Pax laughed. "I get it. This is some sort of Mormon bullshit, isn't it? You guys all got in your bunkers, stocked up your pantry, and now a group of you are walking around, preying on the hopeless. What's the end game? Get them to scavenge for you, get them to share their food? Are you all married to the same man, too?" Pax felt the heat in his cheeks from his rage. The only thing worse than a believer was a deceitful one.

  "You fool. You dare mock the Sistren?" Pax wasn't sure which one of them said it, but he didn't care. His patience was growing thin.

  Pax could feel the veins in his neck pulse. "No, I don't dare mock the Sistren, whatever the fuck that is. I mock God. I mock the whole idea of religion. I've seen what God is interested in, if he even exists, and it's to let evil thrive in this world." Pax was spitting his words like a rabid dog.

  Mark cut in. "Pax, maybe you should—"

  "I should what?" Pax was shouting now, his body filled with rage. "I should teach you all a fucking lesson about what God loves to see. Evil is strong in this world, and if he is backing it, then there is no fucking hope for any of us. I've seen the face of evil, do you understand me? I've seen the good people of this world get taken advantage of, get left for dead and worse. If you are backed by God, then you're just as bad. You are the problem."

  "Heathens," each one of the women hissed.

  The gunshot broke Pax out of his rant. He didn't even realize what had happened until he saw the gun in his hand, pointing at the first woman he had met. The woman was dead in front of him, his barrel still hot from firing. One shot to the head.

  Pax watched as all of the women pulled long, curved knives from beneath their cloaks with their free hands. But they were no match for Pax, finger on the trigger. Each one of them fell, their candles being snuffed out as they dropped. Bullet after bullet, firing into each one of them. The blood exploded from their necks and faces as Pax went for headshots on each one of them.

  The four women laid dead in front of the two men. Pax dropped his arm to his side, pistol still in his hand. He turned to Mark and saw his friend, jaw dropped. He hadn't even raised his own weapon. It was pitch black now, except for the moon. There was no more candlelight.

  Pax killed them all.

  28

  Courtney

  Courtney examined the wall where the soulless had breached the fence. The patch that Pax's people had done would hold, besides, who was she kidding, she knew nothing about construction. Sure, she could put more nails and wood into it, but would that help at all? Possibly, but she knew they needed help. If there were people knowledgeable about those things, that were willing to share their knowledge, then why not help them? But then, it wasn't up to her, it was up to them.

  Why had they left so abruptly? What had happened that made Pax so sick? Something didn't seem right. She was glad she had the conversation with Dan. She laid it all out there, and she was at peace with herself and him. Everything was up to him, but she felt that he understood now. She really felt like he would do the right thing, whatever that may be. But now, she couldn't get Pax and his crew out of her mind. Dan had really gotten inside of her head, because now she was the one being paranoid. Were those people in trouble? Were they a threat? She needed answers and only knew one person who might have them. At the very least, it had been a while since she had a good milkshake.

  She walked around the camp, looking for Dan. Almost everyone was in their tent at the camp area inside the fence. Tents were all laid out, the lights on inside of them. She climbed the hill to the cabin and opened the door. It was empty inside. She stepped into the kitchen and opened the drawer to the left of the stove, pulling out a flashlight. She headed back down the hill, shining her light across the camp. Had Dan left again?

  Godammit.

  It was the middle of the night, he knew it wasn't safe out there. Oh well, she thought. She had already told him how she felt. She was going to stop worrying about what he was doing and focus on what she was going to do. But what was she going to do? She was so in thought that there was no way she was going to sleep. And she was pretty pissed at Dan, even though she was doing everything she could to not let it affect her.

  If he can be out at night, then so can I.

  She knew it was stupid, but she wanted to prove to him, to herself, what it was like. She headed to the gate where Blanche was at. She looked tired and not attending the gate as well as she should have been. "Hey, Blanche, can you open the gate, please?"

  She opened her eyes wide and looked at Courtney. It was as if a fresh, second wind took hold of her, and she was awake again. "You want to go outside, right now?"

  "Yes, I need to run an errand."

  "Can't it wait for the morning?"

  "No, it can't. And I'd appreciate it if you'd just open it and keep quiet."

  "Why don't you take Dan with you—"

  "You know why." Courtney tilted her head, staring down the woman.

  "Well, what about Jennifer?"

  "Look, I don't have time, just open the gate."

  The old woman shrugged. "Whatever you say, boss." She pulled the gate open.

  Courtney would have loved to ream into Blanche for the boss comment and for giving her so much shit just then, but she opened the gate. She would rather the woman not change her mind and try getting help to stop Courtney. The reaming would have to wait. "Just close up behind me."

  "I may be old, but I'm not an idiot."

  "I never—"

  Blanche waived her hand. "It's fine. Sometimes it's better that people think that. Makes them leave me alone. But Courtney…" Blanche looked Courtney in the eyes with sincerity, "we lost Patrick today. Dan isn't here much. The last thing we need is to lose the person that has been holding this place together. You hear me?"

  Courtney swallowed hard. Wow, had Blanche really just given her a compliment, along with being worried about her? Today had surely been full of surprises. "Thanks, Blanche," she replied, feeling humbled inside.

  "Oh, what do I know," Blanche said. "I just don't want that lesbo run
ning things."

  "Jennifer?" Courtney scrunched her face. "I don't think she is—"

  The woman closed the gate before she could finish, leaving Courtney standing in the dark lot of cars.

  Courtney opened up the truck at the end of the lot and sat in it. The keys were already in the ignition. All of the vehicles had keys in the ignition. It was a much quicker way of getting out if an emergency happened, plus it was easier to keep track of, instead of having a board with all the keys labelled. It may not be the best way, but it was the way they had settled on.

  The truck fired up and Courtney pulled out onto the dirt path, leading to the main road. Once on it, she headed straight to Howard's place. She had made this drive many times in the past six months. But this was different. First, she was alone. It wasn't an uncommon trip, but most of the time she had liked people to go out in pairs. At the very least, if something happened, then someone could help you out or they could send a message to camp. Second, it was night time. Courtney had never travelled at night, paired up or otherwise. Since finding camp and putting up a fence, there was no need to be out at night. It was unsafe. Here she was, going against her rules. Doing the same thing that got her all fired up about Dan in the first place. But she did it anyway.

  Her headlights lit the way down the road. There was no debris. No trees blocking the way. She could see the trees that had fallen, pushed to the side of the road. It reminded her of the last time she was out on this road at night. It reminded her of Alan. It reminded her of all the things she wished she could take back and do over. But she couldn't. Was that why she was so curious about Pax and his people?