Exodus: Soulless Wanderers Book 3 (A Post-Apocalyptic Zombie Thriller)
Page 19
Pax climbed to his knees and looked at the man as he removed his glasses. His face was burned to the point that Pax barely recognized him, but with the voice paired up with the shape, it all hit him. "Luke?"
Luke laughed. "You do remember! It's like a blast from the past, right? I thought the explosions were appropriate for our little reunion here. The guys thought I was crazy, but what can I say? I like to be a little over-the-top." He held his arms out wide as if presenting a performance.
"You were at the house. I thought you died in the fire. I watched it burn. How did you get here?"
"Well, when I heard that a Pax was out here, I just had to check it out. I've followed you a while, or at least tried to. Didn't start off that way, but life, well, it has a way, doesn't it?"
Pax looked over at Dan and nodded. "It sure does." He turned back to Luke and began to stand. "I'm really glad to see you—"
But he couldn't stand, and he couldn't finish his sentence. Instead, the last thing he saw was the butt of the rifle before he blacked out.
43
Eden
Eden watched it all go down. The men threw grenades and had what looked like a rocket launcher. She huddled behind the wall at the fence, peeking around the corner. She thought Dan was going to die but, instead, they only hit him in the head. He was sleeping, or passed out now.
Then the two other men started talking. The man from the trucks hit the man Dan was trying to kill, making him pass out, too.
What the fuck is going on?
She didn't have time to worry about Courtney. She knew exactly what happened to her. There was no helping her now. It was just like her dad. What's done was done, and she needed to figure out what to do about Dan. She thought about running back to camp. Maybe telling Jennifer would help. But no, there weren't many people at the camp who would be willing to face these men.
Besides, she watched them work, and they were fast. She could see the men grab Dan and throw him in the back of a truck.
"Him, too," the man said pointing to the other man on the ground.
Before Eden knew it, they had loaded the men into the back of a truck and were inside of it themselves. There was no time to leave. If she did, she would lose track of them and never know where Dan went to. She had to stay with them.
She heard the vehicles rumble to life. They formed a caravan in the same way they came in. One of the big rig trucks in the front, the other vehicles between and the second semi in the back. They exited the gate and drove by Eden. She pushed herself against the wall, hoping they didn't look to the side and see her.
Nobody looked. They only kept driving on. The last semi came out and crept along the dirt road. She had to act now.
Eden quickly grabbed the side of the truck and pulled herself up on the back ledge of it. There wasn't much space, but there was a handle she could hold onto. She shimmied her way to the center so she couldn't see any of the mirrors. She knew she was out of sight. If she couldn't see them, they couldn't see her.
The trucks pulled out and turned onto the highway. They drove away from where her camp was at. She had no idea where they were going, but knew she had to stay with them. As scared as she was doing it, she was even more scared at what might happen to Daniel.
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Afterword
So how about that ending?
I’m sorry. Cliffhangers aren’t my bag, but here we are. Sometimes a story just has to take a huge swerve and someone from your past just shows up and knocks you out. What can you do?
I wrote the bulk of Exodus in November and December of last year. Obviously a heavy holiday time, so people were busy. Things got stalled up for a bit when polishing it up, and then there was a small hospital stay for me. So that was good times!
Don’t worry. You won’t have to wait too long for the next book to come. Luke has some story to tell about where the hell he has been!
I honestly hated having Courtney go like she did. I felt there was so much she could have done, but sometimes things don’t work out like that in life. Besides, Dan(iel) didn’t really know what he had until he lost it.
Sometimes life is like that, too.
This was mostly about people not able to find their place in life.
Then they were set up to lose it all.
There will be plenty more heartache, loss, forgiveness and happiness in the coming books. Resurrection is next and we find out what kind of hell Luke went through to get to where he is now, and more about where Pax, Dan and Eden are headed.
As always, I couldn’t have done this without the support of my family, friends, editors and readers like you.
Thanks for reading,
Drew Strickland
April 6, 2019
About the Author
Drew Strickland is the author of the post-apocalyptic series Soulless Wanderers. When he isn’t writing, he enjoys reading, watching horror movies and spending time with his wife and children.
www.drewstricklandbooks.com
Copyright © 2019 by DREW STRICKLAND
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Cover Design by Clarissa Yeo