"You scared, Pax?" Billy asked as they made their way around the building.
"Just shut the fuck up. I want to get this over with so we can go back home."
"You're scared. I ain't scared, though. Think of everything that's in this place. All the drugs, medicine, food probably."
"Yeah, and all the soulless inside. Look at the outside. If this wasn't done by someone who cleared the place out, then the inside is still swarming with all of those people who were sitting in those hospital beds." Pax looked and saw a few hospital gowns floating by. He took a better look and saw they were being worn by children. "Holy shit."
He looked up as they rounded the corner. The sign out front read CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL. Before Pax could talk any more about it, or even think about who or what was inside, the gunshots went off. Billy pushed Pax against the fence as bullets whizzed by the two of them. Billy pulled his gun out and started shooting toward the source of the original gunshots.
Fingers grabbed at Pax as his body pushed against the fence. He looked over his shoulder and saw the chomping jaws trying to fit through the fence. Luckily, the fence still held and there were no large gaps in it. Behind the soulless, Pax could see large windows to the hospital. At the top were tarps where it looked like there was construction going on at one point. There was a chute leading down to a large metal construction dumpster. It was just one of many projects left over from the previous world that never got completed.
More gunshots alerted him that it was time to stop sightseeing and fight back. He pushed against the fence, palms flat so his fingers didn't poke through a hole, only to end up in the mouth of one of the soulless. He pulled his pistol out and pointed it the same way Billy was.
He couldn't see anyone in the distance, and Billy had stopped shooting. He grabbed Billy by the shoulder and yelled in his ear. "Let's get the fuck out of here."
Billy nodded and fled with Pax as more gunshots rang out behind them. He could see the bullets hitting the pavement around them. One of the soulless behind the fence went down as a bullet struck it in the head. More soulless filled its place, stepping over the body as if nothing had happened.
The truck was in sight. Guthrie stood outside, firing his gun at a group of people across the street. He climbed in the truck when he saw Billy and Pax coming. "Let's go, motherfuckers!"
Pax looked behind him and saw a pair of men running toward them. He fired his gun, hitting one in the leg, dropping him to the pavement. His partner kept running, firing his weapon. Mark and Reggie lifted Pax into the truck before Billy. Billy was almost to the truck, but his foot slipped, and he went down.
"Help me!" Billy screamed as the gunshots continued. The man running was almost to Billy. "Pax, help, please!"
"Fuck it." Pax jumped from the truck, firing his gun in the direction of the man. He grabbed Billy's hand and helped him up. The two made it to the truck, and Billy climbed in. Pax started to pull himself up but was grabbed from behind. The truck took off and Pax was pulled from the back. He watched as his three friends took cover when bullets flew all over the inside of the back. He was on his own.
Pax turned around just in time to see the man throwing a punch his way. He quickly dodged it and punched him in the gut. He wasn't going to go down without a fight. He saw over the man's shoulder that his friends were helping up the one he wounded from the street. "Help Diego!" the man screamed from the ground.
Pax assumed Diego was the one he was fighting. He watched Diego pull his gun up, but Pax quickly kicked it from his hand and brought his own gun up. Diego dove for his weapon, but Pax fired, grazing the side of Diego's abdomen. "Stop right there, asshole. The next one is going straight in you."
"Alright, man. You got it." Diego stopped and put his hands up. Pax looked over his shoulder and saw the men racing to help their friend. Pax grabbed Diego and spun him around, putting his gun up to his head.
"Anyone takes another step and Diego's brains are all over the street. Got it?"
The men slowly stepped forward. Pax pushed the gun hard against Diego's temple. "Alright. Stop. Don't come any further," Diego told his friends.
"Good. Now tell them to put their guns down."
"Just do it."
Pax watched them put their guns in the street. "You're not gonna get far, pendejo," the man who stood first in the group said. His shirt was dirty and his face hard.
"If I see you, Diego's dead." Pax started walking backward, pulling his hostage with him.
"So, what's the plan now, asshole?" Diego asked as the gap between him and his friends grew larger.
Pax hadn't thought that far. As far as he knew it, he was happy to just be alive now. Getting home before dying while the sun set was a completely different issue.
4
Pax looked behind him, still not seeing anyone in the road. He looked in the buildings and saw nothing. It was getting difficult to see with the sun nearly set and no streetlights. He tugged on the back of Diego's shirt, his gun still pressed against the back of his head.
"You wanna stop right here, in the middle of the street?" Diego asked.
"Shut the fuck up," Pax whispered at him.
Diego stopped talking, and Pax listened. A slight breeze blew through the street. The heat from the sun throughout the day heated up the streets. He could feel the warmth radiate from the asphalt, making the jacket he wore overkill. He didn't plan on removing it anytime soon, though. He needed his hand to hold the gun as long as Diego was with him and as long as there was a possibility someone was following them.
"Did you hear what you wanted?"
Pax pushed the gun against Diego's head harder. "Start walking." Pax was satisfied nobody was following them, at least for the moment. He couldn't be too sure, but he also needed to move faster. The other reason he wanted to listen was to see if there was anyone coming back for him. If Guthrie, or one of the other guys, was out looking for Pax, he didn't want to miss it. The sound of the streets was completely dead.
"Are you gonna keep that gun to my head this entire time?"
"I thought I might just pull the trigger if you keep talking," Pax said, his eyes scanning the streets as they walked. They were a long way from the warehouse where Guthrie and the rest called home. The sun was nearly out for the day, and there was no way they'd make it back before it was pitch black out.
"I don't think you will."
"You have no idea."
"I'm sure, but you could have just killed me already."
"I still have time."
"But you won't. That's not who you are, I can tell," Diego said, seeming to not care about the gun against the back of his head anymore.
"If you didn't notice, I need you alive. You're the only reason your friends aren't killing me. Apparently, they like you, so congratulations."
Diego shook his head. "Nah, man. It's more than that. If you hadn't noticed, they aren't around. They haven't been for a while."
"Maybe. Or maybe they're waiting for me to drop my guard and take me out at the right time. It's what I'd do."
"Could be. It would be a lot easier to kill me and move faster to wherever it is you're going."
"Do you want to die? You seem to be trying to goad me into it."
"Nah, I just know you won't. Even after us shooting at you and your guys."
"I've killed people for a lot less."
"I bet you have. I think most of us have, to be here, anyway. A month through the hell of this world now, I don't think you can be here without having done so. Isn't it funny?"
Pax gritted his teeth. He just wanted to get back to his friends, if he could call them that. They left him out here to die without even checking back. At least the conversation was moving time along without him concentrating on his likelihood of making it back alive. "What's funny?"
"All the people who survived. There are some good people, but it seems like a lot of shit holes really made it through this."
"Yeah, I can name at least one."
"Oh, you'r
e talking about me?"
"You did try and kill me and my friends."
Diego laughed. "We don't know who you are, man. Me and my guys are told to defend from intruders. You come sniffing around our hospital, carrying weapons and looking like you're up to no good. We have a right to protect what's ours."
Pax felt the heat start to bubble inside him. "Yeah, but how would you know who is good or bad if you just shoot at them? You said yourself that you know me, that I'm not the type to kill you. So, you're full of shit."
Diego stopped and turned around, staring down the gun Pax held at his face. "I do know who you are, I can see it. I can also see who you surround yourself with. What would you and your group have done if we didn't shoot first? I think you've got the question directed at the wrong guy right now."
"You are a piece of work, you know that? You don't even seem to give a shit that I'm the one in charge, that I've got the gun and-"
"Pinché Cabrón. Shut the fuck up," Diego's voice became hushed and Pax stopped talking. The sun finally set behind the buildings, leaving them in near dark, other than a few rays between the cracks. They both walked a bit to the end of the building they stood beside. The shuffling and dragging sounds were unmistakable. Soulless were in the area.
"Don't even think about trying anything, you got me?"
Diego shrugged, his hands not moving from his side. "It's your rodeo, asshole."
"You know what, you go first." Pax grabbed Diego with his free hand and pushed him into the street. Pax joined him and turned to his right. Four soulless scuttled across the asphalt. One of them looked like it had a broken leg it had managed to still make work to get around. It hobbled and put pressure on it at an angle, creating an almost crutch with its own broken limb. Pax imagined the pain it would be in if it still had its soul inside.
Pax raised his gun at the leader of the foursome. Diego pushed a shoulder into Pax before he could fire the gun. Pax stumbled slightly, but not enough to knock himself over. He pointed the gun at Diego. "Don't shoot, man. The gun is too loud. You wanna bring a fuck ton of those things down on us when we're already up against it with no light?" Diego didn't flinch at the gun pointed his way.
He had a point. Pax holstered his gun and pulled his knife from his belt. He ran to the first one and planted the blade up its throat and into its skull. He pulled the bloody blade out and let the body drop. He looked over to see Diego struggling with his own soulless body. He watched as the man grabbed it by the throat and put his leg behind it, flipping it onto the pavement. He stomped its head three times until Pax couldn't tell what its face looked like anymore. Pax was mildly impressed.
The snarl in his left ear made Pax swing around, planting his fist against the soulless that was next in line. What used to be a man stumbled to the side. Pax raised the blade high, ready to plunge it down into its skull. Just when he was about to, the broken leg soulless grabbed his shoulder and pulled Pax back. Its jaws were chomping as Pax's body moved closer to its mouth. Pax's eyes went wide. The surprised feeling rose inside him, and he tried pulling away from its grip. It held on too tight, and Pax turned around, grabbing its throat.
Pax managed to push the thing back far enough, but he couldn't remove his grip from it, otherwise it would pull hard and chomp down on his arm. The smacking and chomping went to his ear as he heard the previous soulless behind him. He could feel the hot, wet saliva hit his ear. He braced for the bite, knowing this was going to be the end. Eaten here in the alley as he walked a prisoner back to his group, never able to get his revenge on those who put him here. What a way to go.
Before any teeth bit down on him, he heard a yell behind him. He turned and saw Diego pulling at the soulless' face, its skin peeling away from the sides. Diego brought the body to the ground and stomped it to mush, just as he did the previous one. Pax focused his attention on the last one in his grip. The knife slid from his hands and fell to the ground. The blade scraped against the asphalt as Diego picked it up from beneath them.
"What do you think now?" Diego asked Pax, watching him struggle with the soulless in his hands. The chomping mouth was inches away from his skin.
Pax was not going to plead with him. If he was going to die, then he was going to die. And if that was the case, then he would take Diego down with him. He could imagine getting bit, the pain searing through him like a hot line in his blood stream. He would get the leverage he needed after that and smash its skull. Then he would pull his gun and unload it into Diego. It may not be the way he wanted to go, but he wouldn't go down without taking someone else with him.
But that didn't happen. It didn't need to. Diego grabbed the back of the soulless' head and drove the knife into the base of its skull. The weight from the body fell on Pax and made them both hit the ground. Pax could feel the teeth against his shoulder but not biting down. He felt relief for a brief moment and looked up at Diego holding the knife.
Pax quickly pushed the body off him and pulled his gun out, still lying in the street. He pointed it Diego's way, who only laughed at the situation. "Man, I saved your life and now what? You gonna kill me?"
Pax climbed to his feet, shuffling the gun between hands as he got up. "You're still my insurance policy."
"Do you see my guys anywhere? Wouldn't they have come out just now?"
The sun was completely set. It was dark out, except the moon. It was large in the sky, it's light shining across the street. "Thanks for that, by the way."
Diego held the knife out, palm open. Pax took it and wiped the blood on his pant leg before sliding it in his belt. "No problem. I know who I am. And I'm not someone that's going to kill a good man for no reason."
"You've got that wrong, Diego. I used to be a good man, but these days, I come up a little short in that department."
"Just because you travel with bad people, doesn't mean you are. Your gang doesn't have to define you."
"So, we're the one with a gang? They're not bad people. Guthrie sticks by his people, taking down anyone who screws over others. This world is hard and sometimes people have to die."
"If he sticks by them, then where are they? Maybe I am not the one you're trying to convince."
Pax stared at Diego in the dark night. His supposed enemy made more sense than anyone has since he first met Guthrie. "Shut the fuck up, asshole," Pax said, pointing his gun at Diego. "Let's get going before we get caught by anymore soulless in the streets. We're almost there, anyway."
Diego took a deep breath and shrugged. He kept his mouth shut the rest of the way, but what he said was already spinning webs in Pax's head. What was he doing with Guthrie and the others?
5
The warehouse was up ahead. He could see it lit by the moonlight across the street. How he managed to make it through the city, at night, with a hostage still baffled him. Although, it was because of Diego he was alive. Maybe he would have been more alert if Diego wasn't with him, having to keep some attention on the man to make sure he didn't get away or try to kill him. Or perhaps he would be dead if he didn't have Diego with him. Either way, it was Diego's fault he was in this situation to begin with. There was only so much gratitude Pax had inside.
He pushed Diego against the wall next to the door and knocked. Pax stepped aside, just in case anyone was trigger happy. Just as he did, he heard the gun cock. He smiled when the door opened. Mark stood there, peeking out of the door. "Who the fuck is out there, asshole?" he whispered loudly.
"What's up, you son of a bitch?" Pax said, stepping into view.
Mark's mouth went to a smile. "Holy shit, Pax. I thought you were dead. We all did."
"Not so lucky, I guess."
Mark opened the door and watched Pax grab Diego and shove him into the warehouse. Mark shut the door and bolted it behind them. "Who the fuck is this asshole?"
"Our insurance policy."
Pax led Diego to the center of the room, where the rest of the men sat. Candles and lanterns flickered, lighting up the area in an orange glow. Couches, arm c
hairs, and office chairs were laid out in no particular fashion. Around the walls were boxes of food and other items they had scavenged throughout their time in the apocalypse. Everyone's beds, cots, and sleeping bags were tucked in different corners of the room. There was no order to how things were here. The only order was what Guthrie said, and what they wanted to do. This is where he called home.
"So, this is it then?" Diego said, looking around. Most of the men stood, except Sean and Walt, who were both most of the way through a bottle of whiskey. They remained on their cots in the corner.
"I'd keep your mouth shut if I were you."
"Whoa, who the fuck do you have here?" Billy asked, coming up, obviously having had a few drinks.
"Nobody that concerns you, Billy," Pax replied looking around the room.
Billy pulled out his knife. "We should gut him right here."
Pax looked at Billy. "Is that your answer for everyone you run into? It doesn't always work out so well for you, if you don't remember."
"Fuck you, Pax. I could take you right here."
Pax opened his mouth, ready to put Billy in his place for the millionth time but quickly clammed up when he saw Guthrie step into the circle in the center of the room. "Raised from the fucking dead! How the hell did you manage to make it out of there, then get here in the middle of the night?"
"This asshole pulled me from the truck, but I took him down. Put a gun to his head and walked out of there."
Guthrie turned to Billy, Mark, and Reggie, who sat in the dimly lit corner. "I thought you guys said he was gone. I thought you said, there was no going back, that he was dead."
Mark stuttered when he spoke. "G-Guth, he was. He was pulled out, and then-"
"Bullets were flying and they had to take cover. I saw it before I went down." Pax swallowed, not wanting to have a scene in what he called his home. "They had every reason to believe I'd been taken or killed."
Guthrie nodded. "If Pax says so. Then it looks like you're off the hook."
Patriarch: Soulless Wanderers Book 2 (A Post-Apocalyptic Zombie Thriller) Page 3