***
The large man, Jonas, led Will into a small room, shutting the door behind him.
David watched the door shut and then retreated to his office.
Marcus stood in the middle of the warehouse, looking out of the large bay door at the Empties. At the very left edge of his view, he saw a white car appear, moving down the hill that led into the industrial park.
“They’re back,” Leon yelled from the loading dock. Along with Jonas, he was David’s other primary member of security. He pulled a radio from his belt and repeated the same message to someone on the other end.
On the side of the building, there was an area twenty feet wide that extended all the way to the rear of the building, surrounded by an eight foot tall chain link fence. Marcus walked to the edge of the dock and watched the white car pull up to the fence to his left. He jumped as Leon lit a road flare and threw it out into the parking lot to his right. The Empties howled and followed the flare.
“All clear,” Leon said into the radio.
Marcus heard a rumble and watched as the fence to his left began to open, allowing the vehicle to drive through to safety.
“And that’s that,” Leon said, smiling at Marcus.
Marcus looked across the warehouse to the yellow door that led into David’s office. He could see him sitting at his desk with one hand to his chin and his other scribbling notes on a piece of paper. With a swift pace, Marcus went to the room and barged through the closed door.
David looked up from his notes to Marcus, laying his palms flat on the desk.
“What the hell are you doing, David?” Marcus asked.
David shook his head, smiling, and looked back down at his papers.
Marcus brought his fist down onto the desk, knocking over a cup full of pens.
“Answer me!”
Jonas, back from tying up Will, approached the window with Leon. David looked up and waved them off, signaling to them that everything was okay.
David sighed and put his palm up, pointing toward the chair at the front of his desk.
“Have a seat, Marcus.”
The chair in front of him was a standard wooden office guest chair with an ugly blue cushion. Marcus pulled the back of the chair and sat down, never letting his eyes leave David’s.
David licked his lips, supported himself on the desk with his elbows, and leaned toward Marcus.
“You have to understand something, Marcus,” he began. “I have nothing but the best intentions for all of you. You realize that, right?”
Marcus nodded. “Yeah, but…”
David cut him off, holding his index finger into the air.
“Rich and Mike have made multiple trips out there. And the news they have brought back hasn’t been pretty.” David grabbed his coffee mug and took a sip, the steam rising in front of his face. “The world has changed, Marcus. And we have to change with it.”
Marcus shrugged and shook his head. “Okay. But what does any of this have to do with holding that innocent guy hostage in there?”
David clasped his hands together. He looked out the window of his office and saw the people, his people, each in their assigned position, doing as he asked. The power brought a certain tingle through him; it was almost an erotic, arousing sensation.
“He’s a threat, Marcus.”
Marcus squinted his face. “To what? Your little kingdom here?”
David leaned back. “You’ll see, Marcus. Just be patient, friend.”
The eyes of Marcus’ friend had changed. He saw it now, just like Holly had warned him in the building next door. He slowly rose from his chair, pushing it back under the desk.
“Okay,” Marcus said softly.
Hands in his pockets, he turned and headed for the door, knowing that those eyes stared into the center of his back the entire time.
Before he made his exit, Marcus turned back to David and asked him one more question.
“Did you put a gun to Holly’s head?”
For a moment, David remained quiet. He ran his fingers over the stubble on his chin as he tried to read the reasoning behind Marcus’ question by looking into his eyes.
“Whatever it takes,” David said as he looked back down to what he was writing.
Marcus shook his head and exited the room.
CHAPTER TWENTY
GABRIEL
“Dylan! Just sit back,” Gabriel commanded.
The boy kept leaning into the front seat, distracting Gabriel, who was trying to keep the white car in his sights.
They were speeding past old, vacant businesses in a poor part of town. There were abandoned gas stations, coffee shops, and boutiques lining the road. It appeared that most of the people who survived were following the house arrest brought down by the government. Except the person in the white car.
In the distance, he saw the car veer off onto the entry ramp of a highway.
Gabriel exited onto the ramp when he reached it. He saw the car climbing a hill in the horizon.
When the car disappeared over the hill, he finally lost it. Gabriel drove over the hill, but never saw the car.
“Shit,” he yelled, banging his hands on the steering wheel.
He came to a stop on the shoulder, realizing he wasn’t sure where he was. Nashville was unfamiliar to him, and he had been so focused on the car in the distance that he wasn’t paying attention to where he was going. He looked and saw just that he was on a highway. Like everywhere else, many cars had been left abandoned. There were a few dead drifters in the distance, far enough away to where they were of no threat to him and Dylan.
Dylan moved into the front seat. As he did, he saw something in the distance.
“What is that?” Dylan asked. He was pointing the same way the truck was headed.
Smoke rose on the horizon, not far from where the truck sat. Gabriel threw the shifter into Drive and pressed the gas with his toes.
A couple of miles down the road, he reached an exit that looked like it led to the smoke. He veered the truck to the right and took the ramp, dodging abandoned cars and more of the undead.
At the end of the ramp, he took another right and let the car creep down the street, his foot barely touching the gas pedal.
Gabriel’s eyes widened as he looked down and saw two black tire marks on the street in front of him. They looked fresh and he could smell the burnt rubber in the air. He let the car settle at the top of the road. On the corner, there was a sign that read Space Park East - Industrial Park. The road went for about half a mile before it hit a curve, leading to the matching rows of warehouses. The smoke rose still, further east from where they parked, but Gabriel could sense there was life down this street.
He pressed down on the gas and followed his instinct down the road.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
WILL
Will was locked in a small room, only about ten feet wide by ten feet long. The floor was carpeted, all four walls painted a slate blue—more than likely somebody’s office in the previous world. Now, it was empty aside from the prisoner. Above his head, built into the wall he sat against, was a window that brought in the pale light of the overcast day.
Jonas had restrained from roughing Will up more when he put him in the room, instead only tying his hands and stuffing a dirty sock in his mouth before leaving him sitting on the floor, alone.
Will suspected that Holly might be in a similar situation to his, perhaps even in the next room over. Clearly, David Ellis wanted full control of his camp. A disobedient flame like Holly would need to be extinguished for him to keep it.
Outside the door, Will heard footsteps. A door creaked open just down the hall from where he was entrapped. He heard the muted panic of a woman who sounded like she was gagged the same way he was.
Holly.
Will listened as her shrieks got louder before progressively fading. He closed his eyes so he could concentrate on her voice and estimate how far away they were taking her until her voice disappeared.
Then Will heard footsteps again. This time, they stopped in front of his room. He heard a click and then looked up to see the door open.
David’s eyes glared at him.
For a moment, he just stood in the doorway and stared down at Will. It was an act of intimidation, which Will found almost comical at this point. He sat on the ground, blood dried at the mouth, staring back into David’s determined eyes.
David entered the room, his boots clicking on the floor. He pulled a bowie knife from his pocket, which finally made Will stir.
“So you are afraid,” David said, grinning, as he waved the knife inches from Will’s face.
He pulled a cloth out of his pocket and began running it up and down the blade of the knife, cleaning it.
David knelt down with the knife in his hand, the blade pointed at Will, who began to squirm and yell through the sock. David reached toward him and pulled the sock from his mouth. Will gasped for air.
“I’m going to give you another chance,” David said. “While I see you as a threat to my agenda, I think that you could be of very good use to my plans here, if you want to be. If you play by my rules.”
Will caught his breath. Staring into the eyes of a man who had tried to feed him to the dead, he couldn’t help but question the motive.
“I have family out there. I have to find them,” Will said.
“You think you have family out there. But you don’t know for sure,” David said. He pointed toward the front of the building. “For all you know, they could look like those ugly fucks outside by now.”
Will’s blood went cold. He glared at David, wanting nothing more than to snatch the knife from the psycho’s hands and slash his throat.
“We can be your family, William,” David said.
Will let out a ‘pssh’ noise and then looked away. He stared at the wall for a moment before looking back at him.
“Fuck you.”
David let out a small laugh. He looked down at the knife.
“Wrong answer.”
He leaned in and put the knife to Will’s throat, freezing when he heard the shouting behind him from another room.
“Who the hell is that?” The voice shouted.
David looked behind him, letting the cold blade stay rested against Will’s throat. He looked back at Will and flashed him a smile
“I’ll be back to finish this,” David said, patting Will on his cheek.
He pulled the knife away from Will’s neck, stood up, and left the room, leaving Will behind to think about how much time he possibly had left in his life.
***
In the bathroom across the hall, Marcus peeked through the crack in the door at the hinges, waiting for David to leave the room. Once he did, Marcus moved quickly into Will’s room, being sure to quietly open the door and close it behind him, holding the handle down to prevent the loud click.
Will’s eyes got wide when he saw Marcus. He began to squirm and try to work his way out of the ropes again.
Marcus put his finger to his mouth, signaling for Will to hush. He walked over to him and pulled a knife out of his pocket.
Will pulled his head away, waiting for Marcus to take the knife to his throat.
“David send you in here to do his dirty work?” Will asked.
Marcus smiled. “Not exactly.”
He reached behind Will and began to cut at the ropes with the knife.
“What the hell are you doing?” Will said.
“Shut up and listen,” Marcus began. “Holly was right. That guy out there, that monster…that isn’t the same David Ellis that I know.” He kept sawing at the ropes. “We gotta get Holly and get the hell out of here.”
“Where is she?” Will asked.
Marcus nodded toward the door. “They’ve got her out there, tied up like you. I think David aims to make an example out of the two of you.”
The ropes came loose and Will took turns rubbing his wrists with his hands.
“Come on,” Marcus said, offering Will a hand to help him get up. Will accepted, pulling himself up and almost falling, his legs fast asleep.
They went to the door and Marcus peeked out to make sure the hall was clear.
“We’re gonna head to the right. We gotta make a quick stop before we can go get Holly. Follow me.”
The door opened and they headed for the armory.
***
Enough of the Empties had scattered to other parts of the industrial park to allow time and open space for the SUV to park at the front of the building.
Jonas looked back to David as he entered the room.
“Some guy is out there with a kid. Apparently, he followed Rich and Mike back here. He’s begging us for food and shelter,” Jonas said.
David nodded at Jonas and walked to the end of the loading dock. He looked down the industrial park to his right and noticed that most of the Empties had gathered around a deer that had gotten loose in the area from the woods nearby. Only a couple of them gathered around the SUV with the man and child inside.
“What do you want?” David said.
“Food. Water. Anything that you can spare,” Gabriel said. “I have a child with me.”
David spit on the ground below. He pointed out to the west.
“You couldn’t find any food out there?” David asked.
Gabriel shook his head. “Have you people been out there? Everything is being or has been looted. These things, they’re blocking the paths into stores and homes.”
David pulled out a cigarette and lit it, letting the smoke rise into the air above his face.
“I’m sorry,” David said, pushing the smoke from his lungs. “But we can’t help you. Now get the fuck outta here.”
When David moved, Holly could be seen behind him, tied up and gagged.
“What the hell is going on in there?” Gabriel shouted.
David turned around. He pushed his coat aside and pulled the gun from the holster at his side.
“Did you not fucking hear what I said?” David yelled.
He fired his pistol at Gabriel, whose eyes had gone wide upon the drawing of the gun, and David now watched him shield the young boy in the passenger seat as the window shattered.
The assault ended when gunshots rang behind David’s head. He dived behind a pallet stacked with boxes of white copy paper.
When he looked up to see what was happening, Holly was snatched away by Will.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
“Are you okay?” Gabriel asked Dylan.
The boy remained curled up in the seat, covering his ears and barely able to hear his own crying. The gunshot had startled him and made Gabriel wonder what kind of man could fire a gun into a vehicle with a child. But another problem was looming.
The gunshot had attracted a group of beasts, the deer no longer a distraction.
Gabriel looked in the back seat and noticed that the passenger side window was broken, matching the one in the front seat.
“Dylan, you need to move to the seat behind me, okay?”
The boy didn’t move. He remained balled up, ears covered.
“Dylan! Dylan,” Gabriel shouted.
Finally, the boy looked up. He nodded hesitantly, worked out of his ball, and moved to the back seat, behind Gabriel and away from the open windows.
Gabriel threw the truck into drive and screamed as he floored the gas pedal, running over three of the undead before turning the truck around to exit the industrial park.
As he passed back by the bay doors of the warehouse, he saw, and heard, gunfire moving in both directions. Then, he saw it. Beside the building, sitting behind a chain link fence, he saw the same white car he’d spent the better part of the morning chasing.
Gabriel shook his head, sighed, and hit the gas pedal, heading out of the industrial park.
***
“Man down! Man down,” Jonas yelled.
David sat on the concrete, his back against a pallet of brown boxes filled with industrial shrink wrap. He checked his
body for wounds, not sure if he had been hit.
“We don’t want to hurt anyone. We just want to talk to David,” Will called out.
“It’s too late for that,” Jonas yelled, trying to stop the bleeding on Leon’s stomach.
“No one else needs to get hurt, Jonas,” Marcus called out.
David’s face went dark. He turned and looked over the pallet.
“Trader,” he screamed out.
Marcus leaned against the wall and shook his head. He looked at Holly.
“Do you know how many people are here?”
No longer tied up or gagged, Holly thought for a moment. “Two men are outside guarding the gate. And then there should be eight more in here,” she said. “Well, seven.” She was thinking of Leon, lying on his back and trying not to bleed out from the gunshot wound to the stomach.
“David,” Marcus shouted out. “Leon fired at us first. I can promise you that we don’t want to hurt anyone. We just want out of here.”
David grabbed an assault rifle leaning against a wall a few yards away from him. He checked the clip to confirm it was loaded. David slipped the clip back in, pushing gently enough to lock it in place but still control the volume of the click it made. Jonas was knelt down behind a pallet beside him and David nodded at him. Jonas looked over to Mike and Rich, signaling them.
“We’re past that, Marcus. No one is leaving,” David said.
Marcus closed his eyes and banged his head against the wall three times. He wondered if he had made a mistake turning against David, trusting the word of Holly that Will could be trusted.
“Please, David. Don’t do this,” Marcus pleaded.
Will looked over at Marcus.
“I don’t think he’s going to give us a choice.” He looked over at Holly and then back to Marcus. “It’s us or them.”
Marcus nodded at Will.
David lowered his eyebrows as he heard the roaring engine outside. He looked through the loading dock door and saw the black SUV scream down the hill toward the building.
Jonas grabbed the radio from his side and began to yell into it.
Empty Bodies: A Post-Apocalyptic Tale of Dystopian Survival (Book 1) Page 14