Will wasn’t looking outside when Charlie took the final turn before the neighborhood Adam’s group lived in and suddenly slammed on the brakes.
“What the hell was that, man?” Shawna called out from the back seat.
Will looked up and, like Shawna, was confused as to why they’d stopped. There were no Empties in the road ahead, and the car seemed to be fine. He couldn’t think of why else Charlie would’ve stopped.
Then from the back seat, Franklin said, “Holy shit. Look.”
Will looked over to Charlie again and then followed his dumbfounded gaze.
And then Will saw it, too.
And all he could do was stare.
CHAPTER NINE
“Don’t tell me that’s where we’re headed,” Steve said.
Smoke rose above the tree line in the near distance. And Will was sure of it: the smoke was coming from Adam’s community. It was too thick and dark to have come from burning trash or a bonfire, and there were three separate clouds. Three houses on fire.
“No way,” Jen said. “We can’t. We’ve gotta turn around.”
“Are you kidding me?” Shawna said, looking at Jen. “Girl, there could be people in trouble there, and we could be their only hope.”
“She’s right,” Steve said.
“We can’t go,” Jen said, starting to panic. “Turn the car around now.” She reached up and started to shake Charlie.
Jerking away, Charlie snapped back at her. “Hey, stop it.”
“Everyone, stop it,” Will said, raising his voice.
Jen pulled away, and everyone looked up to Will in the front seat. He gave Charlie a quick look before turning back to the rest of the group.
“There’s six of us here. I say we decide together what to do. But we need to decide fast. If there are still people alive there, we need to get there as quick as possible.”
In the back seat, Shawna pulled out her pistol again, making sure it was loaded.
“Fuck this,” she said. “I’m not holding a vote while people could be dying over there.”
“Shawna, calm down,” Franklin said.
“No,” she said, shoving her weapon back into its holster. “I’m going out there.”
“What?” Will said. “You’re gonna walk over there by yourself, and then what? You just gonna start dragging people out? Shoot all the Empties by yourself while you do? And what if it’s not Empties? What if there’s a group of rogue survivors attacking them? And that’s all assuming you even make it. The street they live on is in the back of a big subdivision. We’re still at least a mile away.”
“I’ll figure it out,” Shawna said, starting for the door.
“Sit down,” Will said, raising his voice even louder. He stood up himself and narrowed his eyes at the woman.
For a few moments, she glared back at him. Then she scoffed and sat down.
“Good choice,” he said to her. “Now, let’s vote. By raising your hand, who wants to return home right now?”
Jen immediately raised her hand. It trembled as it stayed in the air.
Steve also raised his hand. He looked at Shawna and said, “I’m sorry. I’ve got a wife and kid back at home.”
“Then maybe you shouldn’t have come,” Shawna spit back.
“Stop it,” Charlie said.
Will looked into the face of Franklin, and so did everyone else. He knew that, like himself, Charlie was all for going in and trying to help Adam and his people. Franklin could hold the tying vote, and then they’d have to figure out a way to break that draw.
Franklin looked at Shawna, then over to Jen. “I’m sorry, Jen. I just can’t in good conscience leave here without checking if there’s people who need our help.”
Jen dropped her hand and rolled her eyes as she choked back tears.
“All in favor,” Will said, raising his hand.
Charlie, Shawna, and finally Franklin all raised their hands.
Jen shook her head, staring down. Will looked to Steve.
“I’m sorry. You knew there would be risk coming out here.”
Steve nodded, and Jen looked up, her cheeks red.
“So do you have a plan?” Steve asked.
“There’s a gate they keep guarded before you even enter the neighborhood,” Charlie said. “We should know a lot just by pulling up there.”
“Agreed,” Will said. “If no one is manning that gate, which I’ll assume there won’t be, then we’ll know for sure something bad is going on.” He looked to Shawna. “Go in the back and get the ARs ready.”
“Got it,” she said.
“How comfortable are you guys with assault rifles?” Will asked.
“I’m good,” Steve said.
“I’ve shot Uzis,” Franklin said. “But never anything like an AK or an AR-15.”
“Shot them plenty at the gun range,” Jen mumbled.
“Good,” Will said. He looked to the back of the van. “What about you, Shawna?”
The cop’s daughter picked up an AR-15 and inserted a full magazine without blinking an eye. She then held it across her chest, ready to aim and fire.
“I think that answers your question,” Charlie said to Will, grinning.
Will smiled back and then gestured for Charlie to pull forward.
His fear came to fruition when they rounded the corner into the neighborhood.
“Shit,” Charlie said.
Nobody was there to guard the wide open gate. Will looked off into the woods to their right, from which armed guards had emerged the last time they’d come here.
“Hold up,” Will told Charlie, and he opened his door.
“Where’re you going?” Steve asked.
“Everyone just stay here and be quiet.”
Will stepped out of the van. He drew the .45 from his holster and raised it, gripping the weapon with both hands. He walked off the path and into the grass, peeking into the trees. Entering the woods, he glanced both ways, looking for any sign of the guards that hung out there. When he saw nothing, he turned around and headed back toward the van.
He came out of the trees and was halfway back to the van when he heard a scream come from ahead. Charlie and him exchanged a glance, and Charlie threw the van into drive as Will jumped back into the passenger seat. He hadn’t even shut the door yet when Charlie punched the gas, racing up the drive and into the subdivision.
“Everyone get your weapons ready,” Will said. “Shawna, hand me one of those rifles.”
“Here you go,” Shawna said. “It’s all loaded and ready to go.”
Will looked at the others in the back seat. Steve was taking deep breaths. Franklin had his eyes closed and was saying something to himself—a prayer, Will guessed. Jen had an assault rifle in her shaking hands.
“You good?” Will asked Jen.
She looked up to him and nodded.
“You can do this,” he said.
“I know.”
“Just take deep breaths and aim. Be true with each shot.”
“Will,” Charlie said.
Along the main road of the neighborhood lay bodies, sprawled out and mangled. Blood stains spread across the road, leaving trails from torn bodies and amputated limbs. Ahead, four Empties were down on the ground, picking apart human flesh.
“Should we stop?” Charlie asked.
Will could see the corpse between the Empty bodies. Whoever the creatures were feasting on was already dead.
“No,” Will said. “Keep going.”
As they neared Adam’s street, the smoke cloud loomed larger and its toxic smell poured into the van. Will was sure now that it was coming from one, perhaps even several houses, on that road. To the left were the woods Spencer had run into the last time they’d been there, where he’d gotten himself killed. A small group of Empties was walking from the trees, headed for the road.
The van came to Adam’s street, and Charlie hit the brakes almost as soon as he started to turn onto it.
“Jesus Christ,” Steve said f
rom the back seat.
Will couldn’t count the Empties. There had to be several dozen. Some lumbered in the streets while others feasted in packs on humans. One body lay on the hood of a car in the middle of the street while a small pack of the creatures tore apart flesh. No humans made any noise.
“We can’t just sit here,” Shawna said.
“There’s no way we’re finding anyone alive here,” Jen said.
Shawna turned to her and said, “Bitch, if you say that one more time, I’m gonna—”
“Both of you, quiet,” Charlie snapped. He looked to Will. “What are we doing?”
Two of the Empties down the street turned toward the van and started to head their way. The ones that had been walking out of the woods snarled, approaching the vehicle.
Will bit his lip as he looked to the houses. The burning home creating the cloud of smoke was three houses down from Adam’s. The path to Adam’s door was clear, the only obstacle being two Empties kneeled over a body in the front yard.
“I think I can make it to Adam’s,” Will said.
“By yourself?” Charlie said. “No way, man.”
“We aren’t talking about this,” Will said. “There’s no time.” He unbuckled his seatbelt and looked into the back seat. “But one of you does need to come with me.”
To Will’s surprise, Jen immediately raised her hand. “I’m coming with you.”
“You sure you’re calm enough to run?” Will asked.
“I don’t think we have enough time to discuss this any longer,” Charlie said. He was looking into his side mirror as the Empties from the woods approached.
Charlie opened the door and jumped out of the van. The first gunshots rang out from his pistol as he took out two of the Empties from the woods in succession.
“Go!” Will shouted.
He hopped out of the van while Shawna opened the sliding panel door and got out with the others.
The gunshots had drawn the attention of the Empties up the street, and many turned to head their way. Others kept their focus on bodies they were already eating.
At the rear of the van, Shawna helped Charlie finish off the small horde from the woods. Jen stood next to Will, her eyes wide.
“You ready?”
Jen nodded.
“Charlie, keep them off of us best you can!” Will shouted.
“We got it,” Charlie shouted back, waving Will away. “Shut up and go!”
Will looked to Jen and said, “Come on.”
He took off, holding the AR-15 across his chest. Gunshots rang out behind them. Will watched Empties hit the pavement, and others kept coming. Some of the creatures broke off from the pack in the middle of the road and headed for the two of them.
Will had thought they had a straight shot to Adam’s house and could just run around the few Empties he’d seen, but more creatures had emerged from an open garage two doors down from Adam’s house. He readied the assault rifle and slowed to a crawl, aiming at the creatures. He was about to fire when a shot rang out nearby and one of the Empties in front of him fell. He turned to see Jen with her own AR at her shoulder, taking aim at the beasts. Thankful that she had calmed down and could focus, he turned and took aim at the creatures. A burst of fire came from the rifle, giving him a good kick, but the creature he’d been aiming at fell down. As they moved closer, he slid the AR around to his back and drew his .45, giving him better aim at short range. He and Jen took out the other Empties, and then Will spun around to see how Charlie and the others were doing. Several Empty bodies lay in the road, but over a dozen more were still making their way toward the van. Charlie had a moment to look up at Will and wave him on again, and then he put his hands back on his AR and continued to fire.
“Let’s go,” Will said to Jen.
In the next yard, an Empty looked up from the body it was chewing on and Will drove his foot into the thing’s face, smashing it against the ground and feeling the crunch of its skull under his boot.
Jen had run ahead of Will when an Empty jumped out from behind a car in Adam’s driveway, startling her enough to make her fall. The thing snarled and lunged toward her. Will ran up beside it and unloaded a single round into its head. Blood splattered his face and down onto Jen. He reached down and offered his hand to her, and Jen’s eyes looked wide over his shoulder as she drew her pistol.
“Duck.”
Will fell down and Jen fired. He looked back to watch an Empty fall near him, a bullet hole in its forehead.
“Shit,” Will said, panting and looking up at Jen. “Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it.”
They ran toward the house, finally arriving at the front door. Will turned the handle, but it didn’t budge. For a moment, he thought about knocking or trying to kick the door down, but he still wasn’t sure if the only threat that had come to the neighborhood had been Empties. He didn’t look past the idea that there could be a human threat around.
“Let’s check around the side,” he said.
As they raced back down the steps, Will looked out into the road. Most of the Empties were now heading for the van, and a small group was moving up the lawn toward Adam’s house. Charlie and the others had moved away from their vehicle, continuing to fire at the oncoming creatures. Jen took two shots with her pistol at the oncoming beasts before Will grabbed her arm and pulled her around the side of the house.
A six-foot-high privacy fence surrounded the backyard. Will holstered his gun and pulled himself up, launching over it. On the immediate other side of the fence it was clear, and he called Jen to hop over. She came over the top of the fence and he helped her down onto the ground.
“Stay behind me,” Will said. “And be ready.”
He pulled his AR-15 around to the front of his body and held it ready to fire. Arriving at the back corner of the house, he stood with his back against the brick wall. Slowly, he peeked around the corner.
“It’s clear,” he said.
Will moved around into the backyard and Jen followed. The grass rose to his ankles and looked even more ragged near the playground equipment at the back of the yard. A concrete slab porch furnished with a table led to the back door.
They arrived at the door and Will tried to look inside, but found that the curtains were closed. He took hold of the handle and pulled on the door. It took a little effort, but the door slid open.
He looked back to Jen and said, “Just stay behind me. We don’t know who, or what, could be in here.”
Will slid the AR behind his back again and readied the pistol, preparing for gunfire in a tight space if necessary. He moved the curtains out of the way and entered the house.
The back door opened into the kitchen and dining room. A strong smell hit Will immediately and he brought his hand to his face, covering his nose and his mouth.
“Oh, God,” Jen said, following suit. “What is that?”
Keeping the gun ready, Will looked over the bar and into the living room, where two bodies lay next to each other. One was a male and the other a female. He moved closer to get a better look and saw the handguns lying next to each body. Looking into the male’s face, he saw the bullet wound in his forehead and the blood pooled around the back of his head. Will turned away.
Jen saw the bodies, and she immediately averted her eyes and muffled a scream with her mouth. Will turned around and put his finger to his lips, urging her to hush.
“I think they killed each other,” Will said.
“Why?”
Because it’s better than being trapped in Hell, Will thought.
Jen continued to shake, looking down at the ground.
“Hey,” Will said, looking right into Jen’s face.
She looked up.
“You’ve gotta focus, all right?”
Arms trembling, the woman nodded.
“All right,” Will said. “We’ve gotta look around for Adam, or anyone who might be alive.”
They had to go through the living room to move through the house,
meaning that they had to pass the dead bodies.
When they entered the dining room and passed the corpses, Will said, “Just try not to look down.”
Outside, gunshots continued, but on the inside the house was eerily silent. They checked the two rooms downstairs, the laundry room, and the bathroom, all to no avail.
“We gotta try upstairs,” Will said after they’d scoured the entire downstairs.
Will rounded the corner of the living room and arrived at the staircase. The stairs were covered with faded gray carpet, and fresh blood stains crawled up each stair to the top floor.
“Keep an eye out,” Will said. “And be very quiet.”
Will crept up the stairs, being careful not to step in any blood. He tried to keep his eyes focused at the top of the staircase just in case something, or someone, appeared, but it was difficult not to look down at the stains on the carpet. Along with the blood on each step, there were also red handprints on the walls and on the wooden handrail.
When he reached the top, Will looked each way down the dark hallway. Still, he saw nothing. But he did know which way to go.
“Look,” he whispered to Jen.
The blood trail continued to their left, stopping at the first door on the right side of the hallway. It was closed.
With his sweaty hand still gripping his gun, Will made his way toward the door. It had a similar crimson handprint to what he’d seen on the wall.
“I want you standing back with the rifle ready to fire,” Will said. “I’m going to swing the door open and go inside.”
“All right,” Jen whispered. She stepped backward until she hit the wall before holstering her handgun and pointing the assault rifle toward the door.
Will used the tail of his T-shirt to wipe the blood off the handle. He then put his hand around it, making sure it wasn’t too slick for him to open. He closed his eyes and thought about the promise he’d made to Holly and the children.
I will make it back, he thought.
Will drew in a deep breath and threw the door open.
Empty Bodies 6: Revelation (Empty Bodies Series Book 6) Page 5