Empty Bodies (Book 6): Revelation

by Zach Bohannon

  Franklin’s eyes were barely open. What Will could see was totally bloodshot. One arm dangled off the side of the seat, nearly touching the ground, while the other lay over his chest. Everyone was silent as they waited for him to speak, but the only thing they could hear was his troubled breathing.

  “You have to leave me,” Franklin said before he started coughing.

  “Leave you?” Steve said. “We can’t just leave you out here. We at least need to get your body back to camp.”

  Franklin nodded. “It won’t be long.”

  “I can do it,” Shawna said. She pulled out her pistol.

  Shaking his head, Franklin mumbled, “No. That’s not how I want to die.” He looked back up to Will. “Please, just take me out of here and leave me.”

  Will looked to Steve and then back to Charlie. Sighing, Charlie stepped into the van.

  “Let’s take him out,” Charlie mumbled.

  Looking back to Franklin again, Will said, “This is what you want?”

  Franklin nodded.

  “All right,” Will said to the others. “Just be careful with him.”

  The three men picked Franklin up and carried him outside. Shawna was waiting to help carry him.

  “Take me to that tree over there,” Franklin said.

  They carried him to the tree he was speaking of, just off the road. They set him down into the overgrown grass, leaning his back against the tree. Franklin groaned at they set him down, reaching for his leg. When he was all the way down, the group stood and looked over him.

  “Is this good?” Shawna asked.

  Franklin nodded. “When I was a boy, my Pappy used to bring me to a tree like this one and tell me stories. He’d tell me about when my father was younger and how I was so much like him.” Franklin scoffed, which caused him to cough. “That turned out to be bullshit, but I loved my Pappy very much.”

  Steve had tears in his eyes when he kneeled down next to his friend and patted him on the shoulder.

  “You’ll see him soon, brother,” Steve said.

  Franklin smiled and he nodded. “You take care yourself, man. And take care that wife and boy of yours. I don’t want to see you again anytime soon, all right?”

  The two men hugged, Steve holding on tight. When they were done, Franklin looked past his friend to Will, Shawna, and Charlie.

  “Thank you,” he said.

  Neither Will nor Charlie had words. Will simply nodded.

  “Now go,” Franklin said. “I don’t want you to be here when I turn into one of those bastards.”

  Steve was still crying when Will grabbed his shoulder, urging him to stand.

  Franklin gave his friend one last look, then stared straight forward, off into the distance. At first Will thought that he had passed right then, until he saw him blink. Steve continued to stare down at his friend.

  “Come on,” Will said, grabbing his shoulder again.

  With his arm wrapped around Steve, Will headed back for the van. The group loaded back inside and Charlie started the engine.

  Staring outside, Will took one last look at Franklin. He sat against the tree, still looking off into the woods. Will had remembered what it was like when he had been infested by one of the demons. He had begun to hallucinate, losing his mind before the full turn. He pictured Franklin now, imagining himself sitting there with his Pappy. Perhaps even seeing his grandfather, and speaking to him right now. At least all this was what Will hoped. That Franklin was spending his last moments alive in peace.

  In the back seat, Steve cried, and in a rare moment of compassion, Shawna sat next to him and wrapped her arm around him.

  Charlie put the van into drive and eased off the brake. Will watched Franklin until he could see him no more.

  Another good person lost, he thought.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Several people were outside when Charlie rounded the corner to the cul-de-sac. The guards opened the newly reinforced gate, allowing him to pull through.

  Kids playing in the middle of the road shouted and ran toward Timothy’s house, calling out that Will and the others had come home.

  Charlie pulled into the driveway straight ahead where the van had been parked before they’d left. He then threw the van into park and looked at Will.

  “You all right, man?”

  Will was looking down at his hands as he tied his fingers around one another, nervously distracting himself.

  “Just not looking forward to this.”

  People had began to gather around the van. In the back, Shawna slid open the panel door and stepped out.

  Will opened his own door and followed suit.

  At the edge of the crowd was Steve’s wife and son, and he pushed through the people to get to them. His wife was crying, covering her mouth, as he brought both of them in for a hug.

  “Where’s Jen and Franklin?” someone asked, sparking a murmur through the gathering crowd.

  Will pushed his way past people, looking for Timothy. He found him in the road, making his way toward the van with Samantha at his side. Charlie made it to him before Will, stopping him.

  “Jesus,” Timothy said, looking at the blood all over the two of them. “What the hell happened?”

  “Can we go somewhere and talk about it?” Will asked Timothy.

  “I don’t think that’s going to be possible,” Samantha said, looking past Will.

  The volume in the crowd increased as people continued to voice their curiosity about the whereabouts of Jen and Franklin.

  “You’re gonna have to tell everyone at once,” Charlie said to Will.

  Will went back to the van, pushing through the crowd again as they tried to pry answers out of him. He went to the front of the vehicle and climbed up the hood, all the way to the roof. Looking down over everyone, he scanned the crowd. Most people had gathered near the van while some others were in the yards. On a nearby porch, he spotted Jessica, Gabriel, and the kids. Dylan waved, and Will smiled. He then looked to the house he’d been staying in just in time to see Holly walk outside. She covered her mouth, waving to him with her other hand.

  Looking at her, he mouthed the words, I told you I’d come back.

  “You gonna tell us what the hell happened to our friends?” a man in the crowd demanded.

  Will gestured with his hands for everyone to be quiet, and those in the crowd who paid attention and died down urged the others to hush.

  “Thank you,” Will said. He looked down at all the blood on his clothes and skin. “I know you’re all wondering what happened.”

  Everyone went silent, and so Will told the story. Occasionally, people would gasp and begin talking amongst themselves, and he’d have to stop. This happened when he told them about the fires, about what Adam’s street had looked like when they got there, about what he and Jen had seen inside Adam’s house, and then finally what had happened to both her and Franklin. Many people in the crowd cried, and their neighbors comforted them with hugs.

  “You couldn’t bring their bodies back?” someone asked.

  “No,” Will said. “I’m sorry.”

  Someone else shouted, “I bet if it had been one of your people you would’ve brought them back.”

  When Will tried to respond, he couldn’t because of the commotion in the crowd.

  A gunshot sent a gasp through everyone and nearly startled Will enough to send him off the top of the van. He looked back to see that Shawna had joined him on top of the vehicle. She holstered her weapon and looked over those who were gathered around them.

  “How dare any of you question the integrity of this man?” she said, gesturing toward Will. “He didn’t have to leave here and go try to find medicine for us. He could’ve left today and gone to help his friend find his family. But instead, he stayed here another day so that he could go out and try to find supplies we need. And I watched him almost die in the process.

  “Now I know you’re upset that we don’t get to bury our friends, but that’s not the world we l
ive in anymore. We live in a bubble here. Nothing has happened on our land. But if you would’ve seen what I saw today, you’d understand that we aren’t promised that we will be able to keep this place protected. I don’t think Adam’s group thought it would happen to them, but now their homes are on fire and their streets are crawling with the dead.

  “If we had tried to load Jen’s body into the van to bring it back, it’s possible that none of us would’ve returned. And we tried to bring Franklin back, but he wouldn’t let us. Because he didn’t want to turn into one of those dead creatures and become a threat to us.”

  The crowd was silent aside from some people crying.

  Pointing at Will, Shawna said, “This man tried to help them both. He risked his own life to try and save Jen, but she died because she went crazy and thought she saw something that wasn’t there.”

  There were more murmurs and gasps among the crowd.

  “I was right there, and I’m telling you the truth,” Shawna said. “We saw what can happen to a community if enough of those things infest it. We have to build stronger walls, train more of you to use weapons, map out escape routes and learn them by heart. We need to be ready for any situation. Any threat.”

  Among the horde of the community, people began nodding their heads in agreement. A woman near the front started clapping, and others followed.

  Will found Timothy among the crowd and passed him a smile. His gaze then shifted to Holly and he hopped off the van.

  People in the crowd patted him on the back and several tried to stop him to talk or ask questions. He brushed them off, saying he could talk later, and continued to push himself through the sea of people.

  When he finally reached the edge, Holly was there waiting for him and threw her arms around him. He held her tight, sinking his head into her shoulder. She didn’t seem to be bothered by the healing gunshot wound in her other shoulder as she squeezed Will hard. She then let her feet go, allowing them back to the ground, and kissed him.

  “I’m so glad you’re back,” Holly said. “I had such a bad feeling.”

  “I promised you I’d come back, didn’t I?” He smiled and kissed her again.

  “Will!”

  His name had come from both of the kids simultaneously as they ran up from behind him. Will turned and smiled. He hadn’t intended to open his arms to the kids since he still had blood covering his front, but neither kid seemed to care as they ran into him, hugging him.

  “I missed you guys so much,” he said.

  Dylan pulled away and said, “You weren’t gone that long.”

  Will smiled. “I know, buddy. But it felt like I was, believe me.”

  Beyond the two kids he saw Jessica. She’d stopped around fifteen yards away, her arms crossed, looking on.

  Will stood up, patting Dylan on the head, and looked back to Holly.

  “Be back in a second.”

  As he approached her, Jessica averted her eyes from him, nervously running her hands up and down her arms.

  “Hey,” Will said.

  She looked up. “Hi.”

  Jessica didn’t really seem interested in talking but, trying to show her he’d put everything in the past, Will asked, “How were the kids while I was gone?”

  “Will, look, I’m sorry about—”

  “It’s fine,” Will said, cutting her sentence off.

  “But I was such a jerk,” Jessica said.

  Will shook his head. “No, you were right. I shouldn’t have made that decision without talking to everyone. Do I feel like it was the right one? Yes, I do. But that doesn’t mean I should’ve acted like I had the right to make an executive decision. That’s not the kind of family I want all of us to be.”

  “I’m glad you understand that,” Jessica said. “And just for the record, I would’ve gone with you on this. These people have done so much for us, including save me and Gabriel’s lives by helping us get out of that prison.”

  “How’s he doing?” Will asked in a lower tone.

  Jessica shrugged. “About the same.”

  “Awesome,” Will said sarcastically.

  “He’ll be fine once we get out of here.”

  “I think it’s just hard for me to understand how he’s feeling sometimes,” Will said.

  “I understand.”

  Will reached down and grabbed her hands, running the thumb of one of his hands across the top of it. After a moment, she jerked them away. Will raised an eyebrow.

  “You all right?”

  “Y-yeah,” she stammered. “I’m fine. Look, I’m gonna go and try to get some rest before dinner, all right?”

  “Okay,” Will said, still confused about what he’d done to suddenly change her mood.

  But before he could pry more, her back was to him and she was making her way around the crowd.

  He caught a glimpse of Timothy approaching. The doctor had his hand outstretched and Will shook it.

  “Great to see you, Will,” Timothy said.

  “Yeah,” Will said. “I’m really sorry about the others.”

  Timothy looked to the ground and nodded. He looked up and said, “You got a few minutes to come brief me on everything that happened? I want some more details.”

  “Sure, do you mind if I—”

  He turned around to see Holly, but she and both of the kids were already gone. Confused, he looked around, but she was nowhere to be seen. His only thought was that maybe she had assumed he would be busy for a while and gone into the house, though it wasn’t usually like Holly to walk away without at least saying something.

  “You can come like that,” Timothy said. “You smell like hell, so we’ll sit out on my back patio.”

  Will grinned. “All right.”

  Charlie approached and Timothy gestured toward him.

  “Come on,” Timothy said to Charlie. “I want you to come, too.”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Jessica slammed the door behind her when she reached her room. Keeping on her clothes and even her shoes, she lay down on the bed and covered her face. Sniffling, she wiped the tears from her eyes.

  Between the conversation she’d had with Holly earlier and the way Will had touched her outside, she was beyond confused. She was lost.

  It tortured her that she couldn’t confess to Will how she felt. Telling him would only further the divide within their group. It would create a rift between her and Holly that she likely couldn’t heal. It wasn’t worth it. Not for Will, not for Gabriel, not for Jessica herself, and especially not for the children.

  Someone knocked on the door and Jessica shot up. She wiped her eyes and tucked her knees to her chest, leaning against the headboard. She moved her hair from her face then, checking once more that her eyes were dry.

  “Come in.”

  The door opened and Gabriel poked his face in.

  “Everything okay?”

  Moving her hair again—her most common nervous tick—Jessica nodded. “Everything’s fine.”

  Gabriel came all the way into the room, shutting the door behind him.

  “I’m not so sure I believe you.”

  Jessica chuckled once, and it quickly turned into her crying again.

  Gabriel approached the bed and sat on the edge.

  “I’m all right,” she said, wiping her eyes.

  “You wanna tell me what’s going on?”

  She shook her head. “I don’t think I can.”

  “Come on, Jess. You know if you get it off your chest you’ll feel a lot better.”

  “I’m not so sure with this.”

  “All right,” Gabriel said. He scooted off the bed. “I’ll leave you alone.”

  He was halfway across the room when Jessica blurted out what she’d never thought she’d say out loud with someone else in the room.

  “I’m in love with Will.”

  Gabriel stopped, slowly turning around.

  Embarrassed, Jessica looked away from him. Again, she moved her hair from her face. She didn’t have to l
ook into a mirror to know how red her face had become.

  Gabriel stood by the window, arms crossed and looking at her.

  “How long has that been going on?”

  She shrugged. “A while. It started at the hospital after Mrs. Kessler died. I didn’t think much of it at first. I honestly thought it was just more of a sympathy thing. I mean, he’d just lost his mother. But the longer we’ve been together, the stronger it’s gotten.”

  Jessica looked back up to Gabriel. He hadn’t said anything, and just continued to stand with his arms over his chest.

  “It’s the reason I left with you and split away from them,” she said. “I couldn’t be around him and Holly anymore.”

  “I’m guessing he doesn’t know,” Gabriel said.

  Jessica scoffed. “You kidding me? Holly would claw my head off if I told him.”

  “Does she know?”

  Jessica looked down and didn’t respond.

  “Shit,” Gabriel mumbled.

  “I didn’t tell her,” Jessica said. “But she knows. Believe me, it’s not that hard for women to figure these things out.”

  “Has she said anything to you about it?”

  “A couple of times. Today, in fact.”

  “What did she say?”

  Jessica told Gabriel about her two encounters with Holly, both of which had ended with Holly threatening her.

  When Jessica sighed, Gabriel said, “Sorry.”

  “It’s okay,” Jessica said. After a pregnant pause, she added, “All day, I’ve wondered if we should’ve already left. Just you, me, and the kids.”

  “We tried that before and look where it got us,” Gabriel said. “Will can be controlling and Holly can be a bitch, but we’ve all got a lot better chance of surviving if we stay together. Think about a professional football team. You think those guys all like each other? Hell no. There are guys in those locker rooms that despise one another. But they’re all focused on one common goal: to win.

  “Those two can be really hard to deal with at times, but they’re great with the kids and they want to help me get to my family. I can’t fault them for that.”

  “You’re right.”

  Gabriel sighed. “I know this has to be hard for you. But you’ve got to try putting it all aside and just think about surviving. That’s our only goal now.”