“You’ve got a good thing going back there at that hospital. Electricity, plenty of resources for the group that’s already there to survive. Why risk it by bringing in more people to use those resources? And what if you come across a sour grape who has a different plan than you do for survival?”
For a few moments, Lawrence was quiet. He concentrated on pulling out onto the interstate before he replied.
“We have to show that there’s still good people in the world. That we can survive, together… persevere.”
“And what if there aren’t any good people anymore?” David asked.
Lawrence traded glances between David and the road. “You trying to tell me something?”
“No,” David lied, knowing inside that he was one of the bad ones. “Just trying to make you realize what you have. It’s hell out here.”
“And that’s why we have to help people,” Lawrence said.
David stared outside and didn’t respond. They were passing through an industrial part of town and he saw a line of warehouses, similar to where he’d spent his first couple of days in the new world. For a moment, he wondered if there were survivors in any of those buildings, but then he looked back out at the road. He considered the man sitting next to him. The group at the hospital had it good, much better than he assumed most people had it out here in this godforsaken world. How could the man be looking to invite more and more people in? With the resources they had at the hospital, the small group who was already there could endure for a long time with little need to go out into the world.
And with that, David decided: the group was going to need a new leader. Someone else needed to be making decisions.
Lawrence Holloway was weak, and he needed to go.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Will
The sun was out, which, in and of itself, put a smile on Will’s face as the group pulled away from the pawn shop.
Will sat in the very back of the SUV, cuddled up to Holly. He’d decided to let Gabriel take the first shift driving, which he hoped would be the only shift necessary between here and Knoxville. Dylan sat in the front seat with Gabriel, and Miranda was redressing Marcus’ wound on the middle seat just in front of Will.
“You feeling better?” Holly asked Marcus.
He turned his head to the side and glanced back at her. “Yeah. It sure was nice to stay the night under a roof and be able to really stretch out.”
“No shit,” Will said.
Marcus smiled for a moment before grimacing and clutching his shoulder.
“Sorry,” Miranda said.
“Damn. Go easy,” Marcus told her.
Miranda smiled, shaking her head, and continued to work on covering the gunshot back up.
Holly rested her head against Will’s chest, and he ran his fingers through her hair. The two had become very close over the last few days, though they hadn’t actually had any time alone together. Will hoped that would change soon, as he wanted to be able to sit down with the girl and have an actual conversation without the others around. With the way things were going, he wasn’t sure when or if he’d have that opportunity.
“We’re going to get there today,” Holly said.
“I hope so. A three-hour trip has taken us three days.”
“And we’re going to find your parents. I know they’re there, Will. And that they’re safe. I can just feel it.”
Will continued to run his fingers through Holly’s hair, and he leaned his head back against the seat and shut his eyes.
“Yeah. Yeah, I hope so.”
The truth was, Will had begun to lose hope that he’d ever see his parents again. He wondered if the people around him would be the only family he’d have from here on out. He still had some hope, from the text message he received, but it was quickly fading. Added to that was the fact that every time he tried to call the number back, he got nothing more than a busy signal. Most times, though, the line was silent. Both his patience and his faith were wearing thin, fast.
“I just want to meet them to tell you how much of a gallant hero you are,” Holly said, smirking at him.
“Hahaha,” Will replied.
Marcus turned around and looked at him.
“Hey, man, don’t underestimate what you did back there for us. That was some serious shit.”
Will laughed. “Dude, I was kidnapped. Not like I had much of a choice.”
“The hell you didn’t!” Marcus said. He turned all the way around so that he could look directly at Will. “You could have kept driving when she waved at you.” Marcus nodded toward Holly, and Will looked at her. “But, you didn’t. You came to help her. Plus, you’re a smart dude, man. You probably could have gotten away if you really wanted to before you came to save my sorry ass.
“Either way, the point is you didn’t. You helped us. And now, here we are.”
“Yeah, but, what is here?” Will asked.
“Here is a hell of a lot better than back there,” Miranda said.
Holly looked up and kissed Will on his cheek, then looked him in the eyes. “It’s much better. We’re going to be fine.”
***
Gabriel
For once, the road ahead was fairly clear. While there were some Empties and abandoned cars out on the highway, most of the vehicles had gone off of the road, making it much easier to maneuver. He hoped that this would be the day they finally reached Knoxville, so they could find Will’s parents, and head on toward the East Coast.
At the same time, Gabriel had other things on his mind.
Ever since their talk earlier that morning, Dylan had been acting strange. He sat in the front passenger seat while Gabriel drove, but had yet to say a single word. While he wanted to continue their conversation, Gabriel really wasn’t sure if this was the time or the place, not with the others around.
When he looked over to Dylan, the boy was tossing a small, red rubber ball that Donny gave to him. The kid looked as if he was focusing intently, and Gabriel wondered what the boy was thinking.
Soon after, he stopped tossing the ball, and Gabriel didn’t have to wonder anymore.
“Why are they here?” Dylan asked.
The four that sat behind Gabriel and the boy stopped talking, and Gabriel could see in the rearview mirror that they were looking up toward Dylan now.
“Why are who here?” Gabriel asked the boy.
Out of the corner of his eye, Gabriel could see Dylan finally look up at him, and he glanced over at him while trying to keep an eye on the surprisingly open road.
Dylan pointed to Gabriel’s left, and Gabriel looked out of the driver’s side window.
They were passing a vast, wide-open corn field. It seemed to go on forever until it finally met the slowly rising sun at the horizon. About fifty yards off the road, three Empties limped through the farmland. Everyone in the vehicle was silent, and Gabriel could feel the others looking out into the field just as he was, and watching the three creatures walk aimlessly through it.
Gabriel re-focused his attention on the road and could feel the boy looking up to him. Dylan was awaiting a response. Finally, one came, but not from Gabriel.
“Buddy, we don’t know why they’re here,” Marcus said. “But we’re going to make sure that they don’t hurt you, okay?”
Dylan looked back at Marcus, and then stared over at Gabriel as he navigated the vehicle around a small group of Empties and an abandoned semi-truck that was taking up a large portion of the highway.
“Do you think… God sent them?”
Gabriel glanced into the rearview mirror to see if anyone else looked as if they’d respond. When no one did, he broke the awkward silence.
“Why would God send something to kill us?”
Dylan shrugged. “Maybe he’s mad at us.”
Gabriel was a man of no faith. He grew up in a Catholic home, but quit going to church after going off to college and living on his own. He simply didn’t believe in all the things the Bible had to say about rights and wrongs
, life and death. But, he wasn’t sure of the boy’s beliefs and allegiances, so he decided to take the high road.
“Dylan, I don’t think that a loving God would send anything down here to hurt us. I mean…”
“Look out!” The yell came from Holly in the very rear of the truck.
Gabriel looked ahead and saw the SUV heading straight for a fire truck parked in the middle of the road.
He reacted quickly and turned the wheel hard to his left, the sound of screeching tires and the aroma of burning rubber moving through the autumn air. Behind him, everyone in the vehicle was in a panic, yelling out, and Gabriel struggled to regain control of the truck.
But he couldn’t.
The SUV swerved off of the road, flying over a ditch and rolled into the grass just on the other side.
With Gabriel’s foot still on the brakes, the vehicle slid in the grass and stopped as it collided with a tree.
Steam rose from the engine and the air bags deployed.
Inside the truck, no one moved.
But outside, the Empties loitering on the highway were making their way toward the truck.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Jessica
Jessica had almost fallen back to sleep in the chair when the door to the room opened. She nearly hopped out of her skin and the nurse herself jumped in reaction to seeing how she’d frightened Jessica.
“Oh, I’m sorry!” Sarah said.
Jessica sat up straight in the chair, then sighed and rubbed the side of her head. She watched Sarah walk over to her bed and check the various machines connected to Melissa, recording data on a chart as she did.
“She doing about the same? No movement?” Sarah asked.
Jessica shook her head. “Not from what I’ve seen.”
Sarah took a few notes, then looked back over to Jessica. “How about you? How’s your shoulder?”
“Actually, much better today, thanks.”
Sarah placed the clipboard back on the table beside the bed, then asked, “You up for a little walk?”
Jessica looked over to Melissa, seeing the woman in the same state she’d been in since they arrived. While she wanted to be here when Melissa awoke, she knew that it would be a futile task, simply waiting. So, she looked up to the smiling nurse and nodded.
“Sure.”
***
Sarah led Jessica down the hallway to a small room near the front corridor. She went inside and picked up a large plastic tote, then smiled at Jessica. “Laundry day.”
“Do you do everyone’s laundry?”
“It’s not a huge deal. It’s not like everyone has very much. I mainly just end up washing sheets and linens.”
Sarah rested the bin on the ground and then walked back into the room, returning moments later with an additional laundry basket in tow, which had wheels and a handle.
“Mind pulling this one?”
“Not at all.”
Jessica used the hand on her good arm to grab the bin, and they walked back down the hallway.
The two women went from one room to the next, collecting the dirty laundry from the floor. Sarah explained to Jessica that the survivors occupying the hospital had been instructed to just leave their dirty clothes or linens on the floor just inside the door, and whoever had laundry duty next would come by and pick it up.
Once they’d gathered all the dirty laundry, they headed back toward the front of the hospital wing, and Sarah led them to a door and opened it.
“Wash is through here.” The two women headed inside.
***
The small laundry room had been built inside one of the guest lounges for visitors to use if they were required to have an extended stay at the hospital. They’d begun to load the washing machine with the pile of laundry when Jessica finally turned and asked the question that had been on her mind.
“What happened here?”
Sarah stopped, mid-lean over a laundry bin, while collecting another pile of linens. She dropped them as she stood back up, looking at the wall for a moment before sitting down in the nearest plastic chair.
Jessica leaned back against the washing machine and ran her hand through her hair.
“I’m sorry to have asked,” Jessica said.
Sarah looked down to the floor and shook her head. “No, it’s okay. It’s just still really… new, you know?”
The young nurse cleared her throat and then finally spoke, keeping her eyes focused on the ground.
“I was making my rounds, checking in on different patients. My shift had only started about a half hour before, so I was seeing some of them for the first time. I went into a room where a young boy was, maybe around twelve years old. His name was Harrison. He was recovering from surgery. The day before, his dog had run out into the street and he’d chased after it. The guy driving was allegedly text messaging when he hit the kid.”
“Asshole,” Jessica mumbled.
“Yeah, no shit,” Sarah added. “Anyway, I’d gone in to check on him. His surgery had gone well and he was resting. There had been a good bit of internal bleeding, which is always scary, but the doctor had done a good job and stabilized the boy. When I walked in, he shot me a big smile, which is always satisfying to see when you know a child is in pain. Harrison’s mother was in the room with him. We talked for a few moments, and then I went on with doing some of my normal procedural stuff.
“While I was checking his blood-pressure, I heard a thud on the ground behind me and Harrison cried out. When I turned around, his mother was on the ground. I kneeled down and checked her pulse and, of course, there wasn’t one. Almost at the same time, I heard the panic in the hallway.
“I rushed out of the room and the entire hospital was in a panic. There were bodies on the floor, people leaned over performing CPR. Honestly, I didn’t know what to do. There was so much going on, it was as if I had been dropped right in the middle of a war zone. I stopped and tried to help a few people, until I remembered that I’d left Harrison back in his room with his mother collapsed next to him. So, I hurried back to him.”
Sarah began to cry, and Jessica reached over and put her hand on the young woman’s shoulder. Sarah took her hand, and let the tears flow. After a few moments, she continued.
“She was… on top of him. The screams… they were like nothing I’d ever heard before. Blood sprayed from both sides of the bed, staining the mattress. I started to run to help the boy, but when his mother looked up at me, I stopped dead in my tracks. She was one of them, and I watched her tear her own son apart.”
Sarah couldn’t hold back now. Jessica watched the girl slump over and her shoulders begin to move up and down as she cried. She patted Sarah on her back, and knelt down to embrace her.
“It’s okay. We don’t have to talk about it anymore.”
Sarah picked up her head and wiped her eyes. She shook her head.
“No, it’s okay. I need to.” She sniffled, and moved her hand under her nose to wipe it down. Sarah took a deep breath, and then started again.
“She moved to where I could see the boy… at least, what was left of him. It was horrible. I’ve seen people come into the hospital after devastating car wrecks, but I’d never seen anything like this.
“Then, the boy’s mother was crawling over the bed toward me. I thought of running for the door, but the screams outside were deafening. I could hear people running up and down the halls, yelling out, and could hear what I now know was the snarling of these monsters. My back was against the door to a bathroom, so I turned around and trapped myself inside. When I went to lock the door, I couldn’t. The damn doors on these patient bathrooms don’t have locks. Within seconds, she was banging at the door. I pulled on the handle, just waiting for her to try and turn it. But all she did was bang and slam on it instead of trying to open it. I couldn’t stop crying and trembling. All I wanted was to be home in my bed.”
Jessica was covering her mouth, just listening to the story. “How long did you stay in there?”
�
��It was at least a couple of hours before I heard the door to the room open. I heard gunfire coming from somewhere inside the hospital. I jumped and cried more with every burst I heard. Then, the door to the room opened, and the banging at the door finally stopped. A loud gunshot rang through the room, followed by a crash. The snarling stopped, and I fell back against the wall, crying and shaking. I couldn’t feel my hand from gripping the door handle so tight.
“When the door to the bathroom did finally open, I screamed and balled myself up, waiting for one of the creatures to attack me. Instead, I turned to see a hand extended and a familiar face.”
“Lawrence?” Jessica asked.
Sarah nodded.
“When I walked out into the hallway, I couldn’t believe my eyes. And the smell was awful. There were bodies everywhere. Lawrence led me to a room where the rest of the survivors were hiding. He came back a bit later with Trevor, who had been helping him clear the place out.”
“What did you guys do with the bodies?” Jessica asked.
“We spent the rest of that afternoon moving them into a couple of the stairwells. It was exhausting, but we were at least able to get some of the smell out of here.”
“What about the rest of the hospital?”
“Lawrence, Brandon, and this guy Kyle went down to the floor below us. Lawrence and Brandon barely made it back. Kyle... he didn’t. Ever since then, we’ve kept ourselves isolated up here. Apparently, it was really bad, and Lawrence doesn’t want to risk looking around, at least not yet. If enough of those things get up here, we’re done.”
Jessica just crouched there, letting everything Sarah told her sink in. She thought about the hotel, and what happened after her escape. Did anyone survive? Maybe there was a small group there, like there was here. Just maybe some of her friends from her old workplace were still alive. She wasn’t sure if she’d ever know.
Sarah stood up and filled the washing machine with as many dirty clothes as she could before turning it on.
“Come on,” Sarah said to Jessica. “Let’s go grab some food and check on your friend; then we can come back later and throw this stuff in the dryer.”
Empty Bodies (Book 2): Adaptation Page 5