Empty Bodies (Book 4): Open Roads

by Zach Bohannon

  The laugh returned, and Will cocked his head. It sounded so familiar. Not to pre-teen Will Kessler, but to adult Will Kessler.

  It was unmistakable.

  The sky opened, revealing the face of David Ellis. Will’s eyes widened, and the sky laughed again just as his father lunged toward his face.

  ***

  Will woke up screaming. It echoed through the entire cabin. He rolled onto his side from his back to confirm he was no longer dreaming. It had felt so real.

  The door swung open and Holly appeared in the doorway. She darted to the side of the bed.

  Will kicked off the sheets, which had become damp, the intensity of the dream lunging him into a cold sweat. He sat up, pushing himself back against the headboard, and rubbed his forehead.

  “I’m fine,” he said. “Just another bad dream.”

  Holly grabbed his hand, but he jerked it away. She cocked her head and narrowed her eyes in surprise and frustration.

  “I’m sorry. I’m just not in the mood to be touched right now.”

  “I understand,” Holly said.

  Will kicked the covers the rest of the way off of him, and massaged his temples. His head had begun to ache.

  “What was it about?” Holly asked. “David? Your parents?”

  Will thought back to his vivid memory of that trip to the state fair with his father. They’d gone every year until he’d turned sixteen and been old enough to drive there with his buddies. The time he’d dreamed about was one of the most vivid memories because, unlike in the dream, he had gone on the ‘Starship 5000’ and he’d gotten very ill, vomiting during the ride. Just before jumping on that ride, Will’s father had joked with him about going into ‘Clown Town’ instead, knowing his son had no interest in that.

  “Yeah,” Will mumbled.

  “Is there anything I can do for you?”

  Will rubbed his eyes, then looked to her and said, “I just need some time to wake up. Can you give me a few minutes? Maybe see if you can find any aspirin?”

  “Of course,” Holly said. “I’ll see what I can find and I’ll meet you out in the living room.”

  ”Thanks,” Will said, and he leaned in, then kissed her.

  Holly smiled. “I’m really glad we decided to stay here.”

  “Me, too,” Will said, running his hand through her dark blonde hair. “Me, too.”

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  When he had finished showering, Will dressed himself in something warm and headed out into the living room. As he entered, the heat from the fireplace hit him, having a calming effect. Holly had put a blanket down on the floor in front of the fireplace and was lying on her side. Even with all they’d been through, her face still showed the same beauty Will had noticed when he first saw her at the end of the loading dock at Ellis Metals, it now reflecting in the light of the flames. She smiled as he entered the room.

  “Charlie came by,” Holly said. “He said he had something important to talk to you about. He wanted to try and discuss it with you before dinner.”

  “When’s that?”

  “I think in about an hour or so.”

  Will asked, “Where are the kids?”

  “Playing board games with Reece,” Holly said.

  Will approached Holly, kneeling down beside her. Even in the oversized clothes she wore now to stay warm, her curves were obvious underneath. He joined her on the blanket, facing his back to the fire and wrapping his arm around her. He ran his hand through her hair, and kissed her on the lips.

  He smiled and said, “That gives us plenty of time.”

  ***

  Charlie opened the door before Will even had the chance to knock. He smiled and moved aside, allowing Will to enter his cabin.

  “You look a lot better,” Charlie said.

  “Likewise,” Will said, noticing Charlie had cleaned himself up, as well, since their expedition earlier. “How’s Scott?”

  “Pretty sure he’s still asleep at his place,” Charlie said. He looked outside, then said, “Holly not with you?”

  Will shook his head. “She went to check on the kids. She need to be here?”

  The sound of the toilet flushing came from the bathroom, and its door opened. Larry, one half of the older couple at the campground, came walking into the main room, adjusting the belt on his pants.

  “No,” Charlie said. “You can fill her in later.”

  “Alright,” Will said.

  Will sat down on the loveseat, and Charlie offered him a glass of water.

  “Thanks,” Will said, accepting the glass.

  Larry sat in the recliner across the room, groaning as his joints popped from the change in his body’s form.

  “So,” Will said, “what’s up?”

  Charlie took a sip of his water, leaving it just under a quarter full. “I think we may know somewhere where we might be able to get some answers.”

  “About?” Will inquired.

  Charlie looked to the place on Will’s sleeved arm, where his wounds were. “About what happened to you. About what’s happening to everyone.”

  Will glanced back and forth between the two men, focusing on what they’d say next.

  “My late brother, God bless his soul,” Larry said, “had a good friend over in Raleigh. A preacher. He was heavily involved with a large Catholic mega-church in Durham. I’ve seen the place with my own eyes. It’s huge.”

  “So, you think your brother’s friend might be there and can help us?” Will said.

  Larry shook his head. “Part of the church is an enormous library. One time, I was at a family get-together and Father Ted, my brother’s friend, was there. I remember him talking about how all kinds of old books were there at this church library. He talked of it like it was almost a relic, or a sanctuary for aspiring priests. Well, for all Catholics who give a darn about their faith, anyway.”

  “The drive is only a couple of hours from here,” Charlie said.

  “So, you’re thinking we should go there and scour through thousands of books, trying to find an answer to all this?” Will said.

  “It wouldn’t hurt anything,” Charlie said. “We’ll get up and go early in the morning, and we’ll be back before dark.”

  “We could spend hours looking through books there. Especially if it’s as big as you’re saying,” Will said, looking to Larry. “That’s all assuming that we can even get there. I stayed with you guys because I’m tired of being out there. I’m tired of running.”

  “This isn’t running away,” Charlie said. “This is running right at our problems. This is looking for answers. And what if, by chance, we just so happen to come across something? We might be able to save a lot of people.”

  “Look,” Will said. “I’ve been through a lot over the last few days. I’m mentally drained, and my body is tired.”

  “At least think about it,” Charlie said. “Will you do that?”

  His elbows on his knees, Will looked down into his worn palms. He closed his eyes, knowing he should just say no. His hands went to the bite wounds on his arm again, reminding him of the hell outside. Rubbing them, he thought about what Thomas had said — how the information they had could be crucial to helping find a solution to this mess. Drawing in a deep breath, Will looked back up to Charlie.

  “I’ll think about it, alright?”

  ***

  After dinner, Will and Holly retreated back to their cabin. She started another fire while he sat on the sofa and kicked his legs up on the coffee table. It almost felt like a real home instead of some post-apocalyptic safe house.

  Of course, the proposed trip to Durham didn’t come up in conversation at dinner. The kids had been present, and the three men had decided to just keep it amongst themselves for the time being. That being said, Will knew he’d have to discuss it with Holly. Whether or not to go to Durham wasn’t a decision he could make on his own.

  “Good idea to let the kids go play at Reece’s for a little while longer,” Holly said.

  “
I agree,” Will said. “I’ve got something we need to talk about anyway, before they come back.”

  “Okay,” Holly said, letting the word carry itself out and show her hesitation. She finished getting the fire going and joined Will on the sofa, snuggling up next to him to steal his warmth while the orange glow began heating the air.

  “Charlie wants me to go on a short trip,” Will began.

  “A trip? Where? For how long?” Holly asked.

  Will told her about the large church and library two hours away. He explained to her how he had been hesitant upon first hearing about it, but now had had a change of heart, thinking there might actually be an answer somewhere inside that library. Some book or text that could explain what the hell had happened to him and how Samuel had drawn the demon out of him.

  “When?” Holly asked.

  “Not sure,” Will said. “I haven’t told them ‘yes’ or ‘no’ yet about even going. But I want to go. So, I’d imagine we’d drive out there on one of the next few mornings if I tell them I’m in.”

  “I’m fine with you going, but I’m going with you.”

  Will shook his head. “Holly, you need to stay here and be with the kids. If something happens to me —”

  “Nothing’s going to happen to you,” Holly said. “The kids can stay here with Scott, Larry, and Marie.”

  Will scoffed and said, “That’s comforting. A guy barely out of college, and grandma and grandpa.”

  “They’ll be fine,” Holly said. “We’ll only be gone a day.”

  Will sighed and nodded. “Alright. I’ll let Charlie know the two of us have agreed to go, and we can work on getting everything arranged with the kids.”

  “You gonna talk to him tonight?”

  Will shrugged. “May as well.” He looked off toward the fire, watching as the flames spilled out into the open part of the room, licking the air. He then looked back to Holly. “You sure you want to go?”

  Holly smiled and leaned in to kiss Will on the cheek. “Go talk to him. I’ll start gathering the kids things they’ll need to stay at Larry and Marie’s.”

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  As they approached the North Carolina-Virginia state line, the sun had headed to sleep, only just peeking over the horizon now. An exit for the Virginia Welcome Center lay just ahead.

  “We should stop here for the night,” Thomas said.

  Gabriel shook his head. “We’ve still got some daylight left. We should keep driving.”

  “What if there isn’t a good place to stop for another half an hour down the road?” Claire asked. “It’ll be dark by then.”

  “She’s right, Gabriel,” Jessica said. “I’ve been through here before, and I know that there won’t be a good place to stop for at least another thirty miles.”

  ”Take the exit, Gabriel,” Thomas said.

  Gabriel sighed, and his hands trembled in frustration, gripping the wheel tight. At the last minute, he cut the wheel and exited the interstate.

  “Thank you,” Claire said as Gabriel pulled the SUV to the front of the building.

  Four Empties loitered outside of the small building. Gabriel noticed that the glass door on the front of the structure was closed and unbroken.

  “Looks like we’ll be pretty safe if we can get inside,” Gabriel said. “I was a little worried the windows would be busted out.”

  Thomas leaned in from the back seat and handed Gabriel a shotgun. He then looked to Claire and Jessica and said, “Stay in here. Gabriel and I can handle four of ‘em on our own.”

  Gabriel accepted the shotgun, but shook his head. “Way too loud. We don’t know how many of those things are around here, but I can almost guarantee you that if we start firing off buckshot out there, we’re sure to attract all of them.” He passed the shotgun back to Thomas and said, “We’ve still got enough sunlight to safely see. Take this and hand me one of those hunting knives back there.”

  Thomas returned the shotgun to the back seat, then reached into the bag. He pulled his hand out, grasping onto the grip of a large knife. The stainless steel shimmered as he handed it up to Gabriel.

  “I like big knives,” Thomas said, smiling as he noticed Gabriel’s reaction to holding the large blade. “So, how are we gonna do this?”

  “Like this,” Gabriel said, opening the door and stepping out of the SUV.

  Gabriel walked over to the nearest Empty, which trudged away from a picnic table it had been standing around. He raised the knife and drove it into the side of the creature’s head, sending it down to the ground. He looked to his right as he heard Thomas sound out a grunt, driving his own knife into the face of an Empty that had been standing near the entrance to the Welcome Center. The knife he held wasn’t much smaller than the one he’d loaned Gabriel.

  Gabriel stood near a brick-faced bathroom facility, separate from the Welcome Center’s main office. The other creature closest to him stood near the entrance to the men’s room, and another came limping out of the restroom itself. Gabriel rushed over to the first creature, driving the knife into its cheek before it could even reach its arms out. The thing fell before Gabriel could withdraw his knife, and the other Empty came all the way out of the men’s room and lunged at him. Gabriel put his hands up, ready to defend against the creature, when a boom came from behind him, and the creature fell to the concrete, most of its blood splashing onto the wall while some made it onto Gabriel.

  Gabriel wiped his face and turned around.

  Claire stood ten yards away, her gun pointed toward where the beast had fallen. Beyond her, Gabriel watched as Thomas took down the last standing Empty in the area. Thomas wiped at his own face and glanced over before running toward his sister. Jessica had come out of the SUV and stood a few yards behind Claire.

  “You okay?” Thomas asked.

  Her hands trembling, Claire mumbled, “Yes.”

  Gabriel, unnerved by the bullet hissing by his head and just narrowly missing, shook it off and moved away from the brick wall. He walked over to Claire as Thomas reached out and lowered her gun, asking her to hand it over to him. She complied, and the two of them hugged. When they broke their embrace, Gabriel smiled.

  He said, “Thanks.”

  “Y-you’re welcome,” Claire mumbled.

  Gabriel checked inside the bathroom, then came out and looked to Thomas. “It’s clear. Come on, let’s see if we can get inside this place.”

  ***

  Just inside the front door of the Welcome Center, a body lay on the ground. It appeared to be that of a security guard, wearing the proper uniform, a gun lying near him. He didn’t appear to have turned, what was left of his face following the apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound appearing to be that of a human, and not of one of the demon creatures.

  Claire coughed and covered her nose.

  “Just stay on your toes, guys,” Gabriel said. He listened close, but didn’t hear any creatures snarling inside the small building. It sounded as if it was clear of anything undead.

  “What the fuck do you think happened to this guy?” Thomas asked.

  Gabriel looked down to the man’s hand, noticing the absence of a wedding ring. “Must’ve given up is all I can tell.”

  “We don’t have to sleep in here with that thing, do we?” Claire asked, a tremble in her voice.

  No one replied.

  Gabriel went to the main desk and walked behind it. He quickly turned away from the rotting body lying beside the desk chair, but not before he could see that the person had been turned into an Empty. He looked over toward Thomas, who had opened an office door to check for any survivors or creatures.

  “This room’s clear,” Thomas said.

  “We’ve got another body over here,” Gabriel said.

  Claire gagged, then doubled-over and vomited onto the tile floor. Thomas hurried over to her, checking to make sure she was alright. Covering her nose, she waved him off as she stood up straight.

  “I just need to step outside for a moment.”

&
nbsp; Thomas walked her to the door and opened it for her to step outside.

  “We’ll have to get these bodies out of here,” Gabriel said. “And we need to see if we can find a supply closet with some cleaning supplies. Maybe also some candles or a can of air freshener so we can try to get this smell out of here.”

  “I’ll look for that,” Jessica said.

  “Alright,” Gabriel said. “In the meantime, Thomas and I can work on getting these two bodies out of here.”

  ***

  It had taken just over an hour, but the group had made the Welcome Center inhabitable. Jessica had broken into a closet between the outside bathrooms and found a slew of cleaning items, including surgical-type masks they’d used to cover their noses from the smell of rotted bodies. Gabriel and Thomas had thrown the bodies on the opposite side of a tree near the small recreation area outside. Then, together, the four of them had worked to scrub the remains of the two bodies off of the tile floor. The place smelled like a chemical plant, but that was a welcome alternative to it smelling like a pit of dead bodies.

  As Gabriel scrubbed the last bit of matter off of the floor, he rose from his squat and rubbed the sweat from his brow, using his forearm. The four of them migrated to the center of the room, each taking off their gloves, as they’d finished their cleaning at almost the exact same time. Without speaking, they all came to the conclusion to step outside for a breath of fresh air.

  Outside, Gabriel removed his mask, itching to breathe in the open air, but the wind wafted the smell of the dead bodies toward them. He covered his face again with the mask, and darted away from the wind’s aim, stopping near the bathroom.

  “Pretty fucked up when standing right outside of a bathroom smells better than standing in the open,” Thomas said.

  Gabriel chuckled. He tossed his rubber gloves, caked with death, into the nearby trashcan. Jessica, Thomas, and Claire followed suit. The night had fallen upon them, the moon in the sky only days away from being full. Not sure of how safe the area was, they couldn’t stay outside for too long.