Patriarch: Soulless Wanderers Book 2 (A Post-Apocalyptic Zombie Thriller)

by Drew Strickland

  Pax, Guthrie, and Diego were feet away from the doors. They were heavy metal doors with windows in the center. Before they could reach them, the gunfire started from above. Looking up, windows had been shattered from the third floor. Pax could see the rifles sticking out and raining fire down on the group. Billy took cover behind the truck. Pax watched as Walt tried to take cover, too, but was hit in the arm from a bullet. He grabbed at it, ducking behind two soulless, who took the rest of the gunfire for him. Three shots each before they were hit in the head and Walt dove next to Billy before any more bullets could hit him.

  Pax looked back at the entrance. The door was opening, and Pax was ready for whoever came out. He pulled his pistol up, but when the door opened completely, he quickly dropped his gun. It wasn't a man or woman, nobody with a gun. It was a child. He looked to be about six years old, but Pax was never great with ages. All he knew was it was a kid who was not armed. He spun to see Diego, his face full of dread and pleading. Pax turned to his left, where Guthrie was a few feet behind. He had a smile on his face and his pistol raised.

  "No!" Pax shouted and jumped forward. He pushed the kid back inside. The kid fell backward into the hospital and skidded away from the entrance on the slick floor. The gun went off, and Pax felt the bite of the bullet. It seared into his side. He couldn't tell where exactly it hit, but it did hit. He could feel the blood soaking through his shirt around his shoulder and turned to looked at Guthrie.

  "You idiot! Guthrie stepped closer, pointing his gun into the entrance of the hospital. Pax watched him, standing above him. Did he not see that it was a kid? Pax looked inside and saw other children. He saw scared women, grabbing for their children. A few men tried to help, too, but nobody was armed.

  "Guthrie, no!" Pax screamed, but Guthrie didn't listen. He only grinned and held his pistol.

  Diego screamed and ran into Guthrie. The two of them toppled over backward, away from the door. Pax tried to climb to his feet but felt weak. The pain in his shoulder shot white, hot pain when he tried to pull himself up. He watched as Guthrie and Diego struggled. Guthrie was easily getting the upper hand with Diego's hands being tied behind him. Guthrie sat on top of Diego and pointed his gun at his face.

  Before Guthrie could fire, Billy quickly pulled him off Diego. "Time to go, Boss!"

  The soulless were surrounding them faster than they could kill them. The men above still fired at the vehicles, making sure not to kill any of their own army of soulless. Pax climbed to his knees and watched Billy and Guthrie run out the hole in the fence they had created, while Walt gave them cover fire. They all jumped in the back of the truck with Sean and Mark stepped on the gas. He made eye contact with Guthrie for a brief moment before Guthrie looked away. He was on his own again.

  Diego rolled over and got up. Pax was still trying to get up and, eventually, fought off the pain and lightheadedness and got to his feet. The soulless crowd started to make their way to the door where the two men stood. Diego looked at Pax, still gagged, hands still tied behind his back. He didn't try to fight, he only nodded to the door, motioning for Pax to open it.

  Pax pulled the door open. Diego ran inside, and Pax followed behind. He closed the door behind him and watched as the soulless slammed their palms and faces against it. They were biting at the air, having just missed their opportunity at flesh. Pax turned around and saw Diego being let out of his bindings.

  Suddenly, a voice shouted next to him, "Hey!" Pax spun around at the voice, seeing the butt of a rifle coming at him. Before Pax could see anything else, pain washed over him and everything went black for a moment. He slid to the floor, everything spinning. He could hear the chamber racking on the rifle.

  "Don't kill him," was the last thing Pax heard Diego say before taking one more hit to the head and blacking out.

  10

  Beep. Beep. Beep.

  Pax opened his eyes. Everything was so bright in the room that it took a while for his eyes to focus. Finally, he was able to make out his surroundings. A bright light shined above his head. A small couch sat in the corner of the room, with a television bolted to the wall. He laid in a bed with a plastic railing on the side. The beeping of the monitor was sounding in his ears. It was painfully obvious he was in a hospital room.

  He craned his neck, reminded again about the painful part. His side ached, and he grabbed at it. It was wrapped in a bandage and what felt like gauze. There was no blood coming out, but when he looked at the bandage, he saw what looked like old blood soaked partially through, showing a dark layer beneath it. In front of him was a bottle of water and a pudding cup on a tray. He shook his head at the sight. Who the fuck were these people?

  Pax swung his feet around and off the bed. That's when he saw it. He wasn't wearing his shoes. In fact, it was more than that. He wasn't wearing any pants, or a shirt. The only thing he wore was a hospital gown. There were no restraints on his arm, and he lifted himself to a seated position. His hand rested on his leg, and he felt a plastic tube underneath his gown.

  "Oh fuck. Please, no," Pax said, hoping he wasn't right. He quickly looked under his gown and his worries were confirmed. He had a catheter sticking out of his penis. The tube ran out of his gown and into a pouch next to the bed. "Motherfucker," Pax said, throwing himself back against the bed. This was worse than any restraint. He grabbed at the tube and took a deep breath. He'd been stabbed and shot many different times, but the buildup for this was worse than any of it. He counted in his head.

  1…

  Fuck, I can't do this.

  2…

  Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck.

  3-

  Before Pax could pull the tube, the door to his room swung open. He immediately looked up to see a very attractive woman wearing a nurse’s outfit, pushing a cart in the room. Her dark hair flowed down, leading directly to the cleavage she showed from her large breasts. The timing couldn't be worse. Not only was he trying to escape, but this was the worst time to get a boner. He bit his lip hard, still holding the tube.

  "I wouldn't do that if I were you," she said, circling around the bed.

  He stopped biting his lip. She was no threat to him, so he decided to hear her out. "Why's that?"

  "Cause you're really going to regret doing that yourself, especially the wrong way, when you find out that I'm here to do it for you."

  He let the tube go. That was all he needed to hear. "I appreciate the help, but I'm pretty sure I'd have been alright. I've been on the receiving end before when I was a kid. They yanked and it sucked. That's how I remember it."

  She smiled and nodded. "That's how most people remember it, and you're not totally wrong. But you don't know about deflating the balloon. You don't do that, and well, floppy is probably the most accurate description."

  Pax shuddered at the description. "Fair enough."

  She went to the side of his bed and pulled his gown up, exposing everything to anyone in eye sight. He put his head back, trying to avoid any embarrassment. "Okay, you ready?"

  "You're not going to do that thing where you count to three and then pull-"

  "Nope," Vanessa said, pulling the tube out.

  "Oh goddammitfuckitallaway!" Pax screamed out.

  "All done. You didn't take it quite like I thought you would." She threw some sort of antibacterial wipe on the bed. "Here, clean yourself up." She eyed his crotch.

  "What? Do most people show pain more?"

  "No, you were way more of a pussy than I thought you'd be about it."

  Pax opened the wipes and cleaned the little bit of blood off and threw it in the trash next to the bed. "Alright, so what's the deal?"

  "With what?"

  "You, I guess. Everything here. Why am I not dead? Why are you helping me?"

  "You're here because we have a surgeon who can do near miracles. Turns out, nothing too serious, but he still had to dig the bullet out and stitch you up. Lucky for you, you were in a hospital when you got shot so it didn't get any worse. You got a healthy shot of antibiotics
, so looks like you'll make it." She made a pouty face at him.

  "And they did that because?"

  "Because Diego said so. Nobody hurts you, that was his order. He put you in surgery, he put you in here, and he told me to come check on you. That's why you're not dead." She pushed him back against the bed and unwrapped his bandage. She pressed around, small amounts of blood oozed out, but not much. Pax bit down, trying not to show any signs of pain, especially after being called a pussy. "Lucky you, no infection."

  "I take it you don't approve."

  "It doesn't matter if I approve or not. Diego says something, we listen."

  "Why would you listen to Diego? He just-"

  "Diego saved all our lives. Don't you get it? Without him, we'd all be dead. He keeps us safe from those things and from people like you."

  "Diego's your leader?" Pax was floored. Why the hell was the leader out, guarding the hospital when he had other people to do that?

  "Yeah, he is our leader." She smiled seeing Pax putting it all together. "You're telling me you had no idea? Holy shit, you white boys are stupid."

  "You're wrong, though. Diego isn't good. The gang he runs isn't good."

  "Whatever, asshole." She started collecting her tray, but Pax quickly grabbed her arm.

  "I'm telling you the truth. They aren't who they say they are. He may have saved your life, however that works, but he isn't who he says. They kill and they beat innocent people to death."

  The nurse pulled her arm back and stared Pax down. "I don't know you, or who you think you are, but you have no idea. They saved everyone in here. There's no gang here. We're just people trying to survive."

  She rewrapped his shoulder, not giving any care toward being gentle. "This hospital was full when it all happened. I'm sure you have your own story about when it all went down but try to imagine this place. It's a children's hospital. Not only that, but it's the best hospital in the southwest for a number of conditions. They perform heart surgeries on babies here, they cure cancer in kids who haven't even seen two digits to their age yet. All of those kids and their families were here."

  "How'd you all survive?"

  "Most didn't. When it happened, they all turned to these… these monsters. Like they didn't-"

  "They didn't have a soul," Pax completed her sentence, nodding. He knew it all too well.

  "This place has a lot of floors going up, but it also has a few floors going down. For whatever reason, anyone in the basement floors lived."

  "Everyone up top, though?"

  She shook her head. "It was like that." She snapped her fingers together. "Doctors, nurses, patients, entire families. They were gone and became whatever those things are out there. A few specialty patients and their families were downstairs. A few nurses and doctors on those floors, too. Like me."

  "What about Diego? The others?"

  "Kitchen staff, janitors, whoever else was visiting, a couple of construction guys working late on the expansion."

  "Diego is a fucking janitor?"

  She shook her head. "He was in charge of the grill in the kitchen. The cafeteria is on the lobby floor, but the prep area is downstairs in the basement."

  "You take orders from a fucking fry cook?"

  "He's more than that. He just knew how to take charge. He took the other men, anyone that was able and willing, and they cleared this place out, floor by floor, room by room. It was awful. All the children, the people we knew. He went through all of that for us, so we could survive. So we can live and thrive here. Who were you before this? What qualifications do you have to survive this hell on earth?"

  Pax swallowed hard, knowing the answer. He was nobody before this. The person he was before definitely wasn't meant to survive this world. In fact, part of him didn't survive. He had to become something else to make it this far, which is why he knew Diego was more than he was letting on.

  "I understand. I'm sure it was horrible, I truly am sorry for all of that. Maybe he was a good man but now, maybe he had to become something else. That is who he is now."

  "Like you, you mean? Someone who kills good people trying to defend their home." She spit in his face. "You're all cleared. If it wasn't for Diego, I'd kill you myself." Pax wiped his cheek. He watched his nurse push the cart out the door. She turned around and pointed at his tray. "You need to eat something to keep your strength up. It should go to a child in need but, instead, we have to waste it on a piece of shit like you."

  "What's your name?" Pax asked his hostile nurse.

  "Why does that matter to you?"

  "If you're going to kill me at some point, I think it's only polite."

  "Vanessa."

  "Thank you, Vanessa. I'm-"

  She turned around and slammed the door behind her. He opened the pudding cup and ate it. Chocolate was never his favorite flavor, but this was the best pudding he had eaten in his life.

  11

  Pax let most of the day slip by him. There was no threat to him while he was there, he figured. They wouldn't have saved his life just to kill him. And if so, fuck it. Why would he care in the end? He would figure it all out as it came. But for the time being, he had been safe, in the most comfortable spot he had been in since all of this went down. There weren't too many beds when traveling with Guthrie. So, he napped most of the day. Besides, if he was going to heal, that was what his body needed. Ever since the church, it had been going and no stopping. He had plenty of scars to prove it.

  He had turned all the lights off, except for one. Honestly, he wasn't sure how to turn off the remaining one. It was in the corner of the room and at a low level. He figured it was like that so nurses could come and go, checking on their patients without disturbing them. It hadn't bothered him being on, and actually put him a little at ease, reminding him of how things used to be. It was also the first place in a month that had working lights. There was probably a generator somewhere nearby, maybe on the roof. That would be the safest place to put it without getting damaged. Really, this place was set up well. Once again, Pax thought about how Guthrie was right about this place. It would be perfect for them.

  He looked outside and saw the sun setting again. He really had let the day escape him. Nobody else came to check on him since Vanessa, and all he ate was the pudding cup and the bottle of water. It didn't bother him much. He had gone longer without eating before, and the sleeping made his mind forget about it. But now that he was awake, he was starting to feel hungry again.

  He slipped out of bed and slid on the hospital booties from the dresser next to the door. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing. He held the gown behind him, making sure he didn't catch a sudden gust and show his world to everyone. Not that it mattered. He would actually prefer to avoid anyone, lest he get asked questions about who he was, or why he killed their friends. Yeah, that would be good to avoid.

  Pax peered out into the dimly lit hallway. Nobody was there. They hadn't even put a guard on his room. Who were these people? They definitely weren't skilled in enemy capture. Pax shrugged and headed down the hallway. At the end, he saw the elevators and pushed the button. It dinged, opening the door almost immediately. Before he stepped in, he realized it probably wasn't the best idea to alert everyone he was coming, even if it was just to find food. He pushed the door to the right, opening the door to the stairs, and stepped inside.

  Pax made his way down, seeing he was on the fifth floor. He remembered Vanessa had said the cafeteria was on the lobby floor and the prep area was in the basement. Six floors going down wouldn't be too much exertion. He made his way to the bottom, catching his breath before opening the door. It wasn't too bad, but still not the easiest thing to do having just had a bullet dug out of him.

  Pax slowly opened the door and stepped into the dark hallway. "That's fucking convenient," he said in a whisper upon seeing the map of the floor bolted to the wall. It said the prep kitchen was three doors down the left. His stomach growled, and he made his way down without giving another look. The door sa
id Prep Kitchen and was in the fashion of a two-way swinging door. He didn't think they needed that kind of easy access down here, but he also never saw it operating when it was at full capacity. Who was he to judge these things?

  Before pushing inside, he heard voices coming from down the hall. They were slightly muffled, but one of them seemed to be crying. His stomach grumbled again, and he looked in the prep kitchen before cursing himself and heading toward the voices. His curiosity was stronger than his hunger.

  At the end of the hall, a light shone from underneath the door to the room on the right. He pressed his head against it, trying to hear what was happening. "Sorry, not gonna buy it. You had your chance."

  "I'm telling you, please, please listen, I can get it back. I can-" A silenced weapon went off, and Pax heard the sound of a body hitting the floor. A month ago, he wouldn't have been able to guess what that sounded like, but a month out in the hell the world had turned to, he had seen and heard his fair share of bodies hitting the ground.

  "Had to do it, man. You know that, right?" one voice said.

  "Don't worry. I won't lose sleep over a piece of trash like him," another voice replied.

  Pax heard the footsteps coming to the door, and he ducked into the corner, facing away from the direction the elevator was. The door opened, and the light clicked off. The two men walked down the hall, toward the elevator, never seeing Pax. "Let's go let Diego know it's done. He'll send someone down to get rid of the body. Is he with that asshole on the fifth floor?"

  "Nah, he's in his office." The men hit the elevator button and stepped inside when it opened up. When Pax heard the door close, he went into the room they came out of and turned the light on.

  The blood on the floor was pooling and running to the center of the floor where a drain sat. Pax got closer and squatted down, looking at the body. It suddenly hit him who it was. He hadn't seen him in the light before, but he recognized that it was Rodger, from the warehouse. When Pax turned him loose, maybe another couple of guys from Diego's group had found him and brought him in. Either way, he didn't deserve this. It only fueled Pax more.