Empty Bodies: A Post-Apocalyptic Tale of Dystopian Survival (Book 1)

by Zach Bohannon

  The eyes, formally a man’s eyes, had gone as gray as a cloudy Spring day. Blood covered its cheeks and pieces of flesh were stuck around its mouth as it came at Gabriel without hesitation.

  As Gabriel backed up, the plane began to rumble and it sent him and his stalker both to the ground. The creature rolled over Gabriel, the plane sending it hissing over him, and toward the back of the plane.

  When he was able to catch his balance, he looked back and saw the remains of his stalker’s brains splattered on the wall as a result of the plane’s toss.

  He turned back toward the front of the plane just as another beast came at him. It was just about to bite his right arm when he blocked the path to his wrist with the stake, and the thing bit into the wood instead of his flesh. It chomped at the wood, leaving teeth marks in the middle of the shaft, as Gabriel pushed the beast away from him. They both fell backwards, away from each other, Gabriel hitting the back of his head on the floor when he landed.

  He stumbled to his feet and limped over to the fallen creature. Looking over him, he saw those eyes. Those dead, cold eyes. They looked up at him without a soul. Remembering that the stab to the stomach had done nothing to his previous foe, Gabriel took the stake over his head, and with a thunderous plunge, drove it into the face of the monster below him. The blow covered his white dress shirt in a mural of red, but the thing’s arms went limp and didn’t move.

  Gabriel put his foot on the chest of the beast and tried to remove the stake, but couldn’t. The lights flashed and the plane shook again, sending Gabriel off his feet, banging his head again, this time against one of the chairs. As Gabriel fell, he clutched his hand and grimaced, feeling the burn of a newborn splinter in his palm from the shaft of the plunger.

  All around him, he could hear the echoing of beasts’ howls and pleading victims as the plane continued a turbulent and eventual fall to the earth.

  The plane fumbled again and sent Gabriel rolling down the aisle toward the front of the plane. One of the things passed over the top of him, chomping its jaws and hissing as they passed each other in mid-air.

  Gabriel stopped sliding and rolling as the plane leveled again. His face was against the ground and as he looked over, he saw the young boy curled under the seat in front of his. Dylan lay on his forearms and gripped the metal base of the seat, the lonesome helplessness flashing over him.

  Gabriel knew that his only chance to survive was to get back into a seat and hope—pray—that none of those things got to him. He reached up, grabbed onto the arm rest on the closest chair, and pulled himself up into his original seat.

  Dylan seemed unaware that Gabriel was there; he was in shock.

  “Hey, kid,” Gabriel whispered urgently.

  The back of the boy’s legs faced Gabriel and he continued to look straight forward, never glancing up.

  “Dylan, right? We have to get you up into your seat,” Gabriel told him.

  Dylan still didn’t respond.

  Gabriel heard more screams from further toward the front of the plane, piercing through the pounding shriek of the alarms.

  He knew there was little time, so he leaned over and reached for Dylan’s legs.

  The boy screamed and began to squirm, kicking back at Gabriel.

  “Calm down,” Gabriel demanded, but Dylan didn’t.

  Gabriel lifted Dylan off the ground as he continued to yell and, with his back facing Gabriel, who had his hands around the boys stomach, slapped at whatever part of Gabriel he could find. Gabriel let out a groan, turned Dylan around, and slapped the boy across the cheek.

  The squirming stopped and Dylan looked to him in shock.

  “Listen to me,” Gabriel said. “If you want any chance of seeing your mom and dad again, you better stop that shit right now and do as I say. Do you understand?”

  Dylan, holding his face where the palm had landed, reluctantly nodded.

  Gabriel guided the boy into the seat closest to the window and strapped him in. Above their heads, the oxygen mask swung through the air like the strings of a fallen puppeteer. He grabbed the mask above Dylan’s head and secured it to the boy’s face, hoping that any beasts still alive were being bludgeoned by the plane’s walls.

  “Now, hold on,” Gabriel told him.

  Gabriel extended the seatbelt over his own lap and clicked it in, pulling to make sure it was secure. When he went to reach for his mask, the scream beside him stopped him.

  A man, sick and decaying, reached at Gabriel. He was about the same height as Gabriel, but heavier by at least twenty pounds from what he could tell. Their hands were locked on each other’s shoulders and Gabriel tried desperately to hold the thing at bay. Its mouth was open, spitting blood and saliva all over Gabriel, who screamed consistently, trying to fight the thing off.

  Gabriel’s hand slipped, allowing the thing to get within inches of his face.

  Then, Gabriel watched its face fall back and away from him as the lights dimmed and the plane began to dive.

  “Shit,” Gabriel mumbled, his eyes wide. The plane was going down.

  Frantically, Gabriel reached above his head, trying to grab the mask. His nervous hands shook but he found it and secured it to his face.

  He took the hand of the little boy, who was screaming through his mask.

  “Hold on,” Gabriel cried out.

  He closed his eyes, thinking of Katie and Sarah as the plane made its accelerated final descent.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  WILL

  Though clearing the Empties out of the building had taken a mental and physical toll on Will, he knew that he had to keep others from getting inside so everything he’d just done wouldn’t be for nothing. Before going back into the office, he moved two pallets, both stacked with product packed in brown cardboard boxes, in front of the two exterior doors at the back of the warehouse. They only opened from the inside, but it was better to be safe than sorry. With all the bay doors shut and locked, the two rear warehouse doors blocked with pallets, the door in the showroom at the rear of the building secured with a table in front of it, and the front door to the office barricaded with a few of the large desks, Will had secured every possible way inside, hopefully protecting himself from the Empties outside. He began moving all the bodies out of the main office and into the far corner of the warehouse where he wouldn’t be able to smell them once they began to rot. He hoped he wouldn’t be in the building long enough to have to worry about that, but moved them far away just to be safe.

  He dragged the bodies from the main office first, watching the small lobby on the other side of the stacks of office furniture fill up with Empties who banged on the thick glass on either side of the door. While he was pretty sure that the glass would hold up, Will planned to spend as little time in that room as he could. If they made it inside, he wanted to be as far away from that room as possible.

  Will moved Dean’s body last, dragging it through the showroom and out into the warehouse, where he had an empty pallet waiting so that he could easily move the corpse to the corner of the warehouse with the others. He used the fork lift to move the pallet, and when he got to the far corner of the 30,000 square foot warehouse, he tilted the forks, dumping Dean’s body off the edge of the pallet and onto the pile of other corpses. Stacking his dead did not seem like the most humane practice to Will, but it made the most sense to him, the only other option being to have bodies spread out over the building. Obviously enough, there would be no going outside to bury them. Will bowed his head and said a prayer in his head for his co-workers before jumping back onto the fork lift and driving up to where Jordan’s body lay.

  ***

  Jordan lay just like Will had left him: on his back, his head tilted to the side, mouth and eyes open, hands flat to the concrete at his sides. When he’d moved Andrew’s body minutes earlier, he’d fought the urge to look down at his friend here, as he knew this moment would come soon enough.

  He kneeled down beside his fallen friend, whose face Will had covered with a t
owel he’d found nearby after he put him down. Will grabbed his cold hand and held onto it as tears came out of his eyes.

  “I’m so sorry, man.” He dipped his head toward Jordan’s hand. “I’m so sorry.” They were the only words he could find.

  Will’s body shook as he turned his head toward an explosion outside.

  “What the fuck was that?” He mumbled.

  He hadn’t heard anything aside from the banging and scratching at the doors, or whatever noises he’d made himself, so the loud crash outside made his eyes widen.

  Will jumped to his feet and ran to the other end of the warehouse, through the door that led into the main front office.

  When he looked out the front window, he had a perfect view down the street. He watched in amazement as Empties walked away from the building toward a large cloud of smoke that rose up on the horizon.

  After staring for a few moments, he noticed it was too quiet.

  He looked down at the ground outside in front of him, and there was nothing there.

  Then he looked to his left at the lobby and, for the first time since everything had changed earlier that day, it was vacant.

  They were gone.

  He smiled and couldn’t help but let out a laugh—the first one all day.

  Was it safe to move the desks and go outside? He was hesitant at first, but could see both ways out of the window that it was clear.

  So, he walked a few steps over to his left, slid the desk out of the way, and opened the door to the lobby. Moving quickly to the front door, wanting to open it and feel the fresh breeze brush against his skin, he still wisely hesitated, not sure it was safe yet to go outside.

  Fuck it.

  Will opened the door.

  ***

  He stood at the top of the six steps that led up to the front entrance of Element and watched as Empties made their way down the hill toward the smoke; there were at least a hundred of them, maybe more.

  To his left, he heard a rustle in the brush.

  He drew the gun from the back of his pants, ready to fire, and crept down the stairs.

  Element was at the dead-end of the industrial park and sat next to a line of trees. There was a small path between the building and nature to allow access to the back of the facility.

  When Will stepped around the corner of the building, he saw what was making all the noise. One of them, a woman this time, had gotten her dress caught on one of the trees and seemingly been left behind by the others fleeing toward the smoke.

  Will looked around to be sure it was clear. Then he just stared at her. He hadn’t been this close to one without quickly putting it down and, for the first time, he got to see the fully transformed figure of the undead. She looked much older than she probably was. The blue polka dot sun dress that she wore gave him the impression she probably wasn’t much older than he was. Weeks ago, if he had passed her in the industrial park, he may have even admired her, flirted with her. Now, her eyes were pale and her skin had a milky but decayed look to it. He could see right through those eyes. Empty, dead eyes.

  She let out a viscous hiss and he shook his head, snapping back into reality.

  He drew the gun, cocked back, and then hesitated, taking a moment to think it through. The shot would bring at least some of the Empties back to Element. He reached down to his side and felt for the knife holstered to his side. While scavenging for supplies in his office, he’d found the large hunting knife which had belonged to his boss, Andrew. He wrapped his fingers around the grip, drew it from the holster, and approached her.

  His mind began to race. He looked into her grayish-yellow eyes and knew she wasn’t the same woman from her previous life. But he was hesitant to kill a woman; it was another taboo he hadn’t yet crossed. The grip of the knife became loosened by the sweat in his palms. He licked his lips as he wondered if he could go through with it.

  Then there was a tearing sound and he looked down at the bottom of the dress pulling away from the branch, distracted just long enough for her to be on him.

  The spit wet his face as she snarled with her hands on his shoulder, working to get to his face with her decaying teeth.

  He fell backwards and she came down over him, ready to strike.

  As they were falling, her left arm moved off his shoulder just enough for Will to drive the large hunting knife into her left temple. Again, he found himself lying on his back with one of them on top of him.

  He didn’t have anymore stomach to empty, leaving him in a heaving cough as he lay looking up at the dying sun with a dead woman on top of him.

  ***

  With the parking lot in front of Element clear while the Empties walked down the hill toward the explosion, Will decided to head behind the building to look for roof access, wanting to get an overhead view of the area around him.

  Carefully, he peeked around the corner to the back of the building. There was another narrow path of grass between the backside of the building and more rocks and bushes. At the end of the path, with their backs turned, he saw two Empties walking around the opposite corner of the facility toward the front parking lot. Will kept still and quiet until they were out of sight.

  The bottom of the ladder had a small cage around it that was locked from the bottom with a standard Masterlock. Will took the lock in his hand and pulled, hoping it wasn’t latched all the way.

  “Shit,” he said as the lock didn’t budge.

  He thought of going back inside to find a hammer or a saw. Several tools were in the warehouse, but he didn’t want to waste time in case Empties decided to return.

  Against his better judgment, Will brought the gun up and pointed it at the lock. He figured, at worst, the two Empties he’d just watched pass around the corner would come back, and he should be able to take care of them with ease.

  He closed his eyes and pulled the trigger.

  A loud clank went through the air and Will saw small pieces of brick fly away from the wall.

  The lock was gone.

  He pulled the latch, opening the small hatch door. Put the gun in the back of his pants. Jumped up to grab the bottom rung. Began to climb.

  The snarls came from around the corner and the two Empties headed back his way.

  Will looked at them for just a moment before turning back up to the sky and continuing his ascent to the roof.

  ***

  When he reached the top of the ladder, Will pulled himself up onto the roof. He turned back and looked over the ledge to see the two Empties at the bottom of the ladder with their arms flaying in the air like two college girls dancing at a night club.

  Will turned away and jogged to the front of the building and looked out.

  No matter how much longer he lived, Will knew he would have the scene before him engraved in his head for the rest of that time. Years from now, he might even see the same image on a postcard, representing the frowning, depressed face of the new world.

  Smoke had risen up around the skyline of downtown Nashville. The most notorious building in the city, the Batman Building—all the locals called it that because it had two antennas at the top that were higher than the rest of the building, making the top of it look like Batman’s mask—was almost invisible from all the smoke. It was hard to tell if the smoke was coming from downtown or if it was just nearby. He wondered how many survivors were downtown, and if any kind of refugee camp had been set up, assuming that whatever had happened at Element had happened everywhere. Downtown was at least five miles away, so he didn’t see himself getting there anytime soon. And for all he knew, he might be the last person on the planet, as he hadn’t seen another person alive yet. He thought of the book I Am Legend and hoped that Richard Matheson wasn’t right.

  He turned his head to the left and noticed fire coming from a building that was closer by. From the location of the flames, it looked like the police station that was located on the main road, right outside of the industrial park.

  Will looked back to his right, down through the
middle of the industrial park, and that’s when he confirmed there were over a hundred Empties in the park. Whatever had exploded and caused the smoke in the distance was attracting them all, though, and the area was clearing out. Some remained, but most followed the smoke.

  Will looked down at his hands, palms flat on the ledge. He became overwhelmed by the moment then, and his heart sank. He realized that the world he knew was never going to be the same. He would have to adapt to the new way it was. Will began to think about his family. What were the odds that they had survived?

  The dying sun was cooling the air, and Will sat down on the ledge and wept, passing images of his parents in his mind. It was the first time that he had let out all his emotion since everything had changed just hours ago. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone in hopes of contacting his mother and father. One corner of the small screen showed him that the battery only had 50% of a charge, and the other corner read No Service. He didn’t even attempt to make a call. Instead, he turned the phone off and slipped it back into his pocket.

  He laid back, flat on the wide ledge to watch the sun go down, thinking of his family and what he would do next.

  CHAPTER SIX

  JESSICA

  Jessica shuddered at the scene before her, but quickly gathered herself. She was the only hotel employee on the floor and still had the responsibility to try and get as many people to safety as she could. Tucking away her fear as best she could, Jessica ran across the hall and pulled down the fire alarm, sending a wailing siren echoing down the hallway.

  She scanned the hallway and was completely overwhelmed, having no idea how to help everyone. Jessica pulled the cell phone from her pocket and dialed 9-1-1.

  The speaker beeped at her. Busy? How could 911 be busy?

  She looked down and saw him, the man she’d just watched have his face torn off by his sick wife, begin to move. While the skin on his face was torn away, his eyes moved around in their sockets as he tried to pull himself up. Even though they had turned pale, his eyes were the only thing left on his face that made him resemble a human at all.