Empty Bodies (Book 4): Open Roads Read online

  The man turned, let out a spitting snarl, and lunged at Mary Beth’s father. Both her and her mother screamed, watching her father just miss the man’s grasp. The man fell to the ground, and her father bolted back to the car.

  Mary Beth looked into the man’s eyes as he worked himself back up to his feet. Pale and empty, just like Susan’s. His skin was further decayed and rotted than hers had been, though. He looked like a monster, not a human.

  “Go, go!” her mother shouted.

  Mary Beth and her mother simultaneously screamed as her father drove the vehicle right at the man. After a crash, Mary Beth looked up, and saw the windshield wipers clearing blood off the glass.

  “I just clipped him. The car’s fine,” her father said.

  “Are you okay?” The voice came from her mother, and Mary Beth looked up to see her looking into the back seat.

  Mary Beth nodded.

  “Put your seatbelt on,” her father said, looking into the rearview mirror.

  Mary Beth moved from the middle of the bench seat, and locked herself in behind her mother.

  Her father veered onto 129, barely slowing down to make the turn.

  ***

  Somewhere between Maryville and Knoxville was where Mary Beth’s life changed forever.

  She looked ahead, the city of Knoxville still far out of sight, and saw a woman and a child standing beside a truck on the side of the road, the woman waving her arms frantically.

  “They need help, Charles,” Maria said.

  Mary Beth’s father looked straight ahead, his hands tightly gripping the wheel. He failed to acknowledge what her mother had said.

  “Are you going to stop? It doesn’t look like any of the sick people are around.” her mother noted.

  “No,” her father replied, short and to the point.

  As they passed by the woman and the child, the freckled boy locked eyes with Mary Beth. When she looked back, the boy held her gaze, and Mary Beth saw the desperate look in the woman’s face.

  “How can you just leave them?” her mother asked. “She had a child, dammit.”

  “Yeah, and so do we,” her father said, raising his voice. “Do you want me to get us to safety, or have you already forgotten what happened to Susan?”

  Mary Beth’s mouth fell open in surprise, and she noticed the instant regret in her father’s face.

  His lips moved, obviously trying to spew out words, and he finally bumbled out, “Honey, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—”

  “Don’t try to backpedal,” her mother said. “You said it.” She drew in a deep breath. “Just keep driving.”

  But Mary Beth’s father had already pressed the brake and cut the wheel toward the median. He found a gravel emergency vehicle path and used it to cross over to the southbound side of the highway.

  The woman seemed to know that he had turned the vehicle around to come and assist her and her child, and she jumped up and down, yelling.

  Mary Beth’s father crossed back over the median and pulled up next to the truck.

  “Oh my Lord, thank you,” the woman said. She spoke in a very country accent that reminded Mary Beth of one of her uncles, who lived somewhere out in the middle of nowhere in Kentucky.

  Her mother’s window rolled down and her father leaned over to look out at the woman.

  “Truck broke down?”

  “Yes, sir,” the woman replied. “Me and my boy here seem to be stuck.”

  “Do you need a ride into town?” he asked.

  The woman shook her head. “I think it’s an easy fix, I just don’t have no knowledge ‘bout cars. You don’t by chance know somethin’, do ya?”

  “A thing or two,” her father replied.

  He undid his seatbelt and opened the door.

  “Be careful,” her mother said.

  Mary Beth’s father looked back to her mother and smiled before stepping out of the vehicle. He moved around the front and stopped at the hood of the woman’s truck. It had already been raised and propped open.

  Mary Beth watched her dad duck his head under the hood, and then her eyes were drawn to the boy’s. He looked to be around her age, and something struck her as funny about him. Unlike her, he didn’t appear to be scared. Even his mom had been scared, so how could he look so calm? He smiled at Mary Beth. Not the kind of smile that a boy from school had once given her where his face had turned red before he looked away. This was something scary, something strange.

  “Mommy,” Mary Beth said. “Mommy, I’m scared.”

  Her mother looked into the back seat and smiled at her daughter. “I know, sweetie. So am I. But everything is going to be fine.”

  A loud crash and a scream drew Mary Beth’s attention outside, and her mother turned back, as well.

  “Oh my God, Charles!”

  Her father lay motionless on the engine. A man towered over him, holding the truck’s hood in his hand. He pushed it all the way up, then slammed it down onto Mary Beth’s father again. A grotesque crack sounded through the air, and her father’s limp body slid down the front of the truck, onto the ground. Mary Beth’s scream harmonized with her mother’s.

  Panting, her mother jumped over the center console, into the front seat. When she went to shut the door, another man appeared, holding it open.

  “No!” Mary Beth’s mother cried.

  Laughing, the man reached in and pulled Mary Beth’s mother out of the vehicle. Mary Beth cowered into the corner of the back seat as her mother’s kicking legs disappeared and her scream moved into the open air. Tears flowed down Mary Beth’s face, and she felt a sudden sense of vulnerability; a type of fear that she’d never realized.

  Bang.

  The loud noise startled Mary Beth and she sat straight up.

  Her mother screamed, “No!”

  Mary Beth looked to the front of the truck and saw one of the men aiming a gun at the ground. Her eyes moved down to see the quivering legs on the asphalt. Her father’s legs.

  Bang.

  The man had pulled the trigger again, and her father’s legs had stopped moving.

  “Daddy?” Mary Beth whispered.

  Her mother continued to wail, looking back toward Mary Beth. She urged the people to leave them alone. But moments later, she was out of view, taken to the other side of the truck. Mary Beth heard her mother cry out, followed by a loud ‘thump’.

  Bang.

  Her mother stopped screaming.

  Then the car door opened, and the woman, laughing hysterically, stuffed a sock into Mary Beth’s mouth and blindfolded her. Mary Beth bit down on the sock, trying to scream out, before she was picked up, and tossed into the stiff metal bed of the truck.

  The engine, apparently working just fine, roared to life, and the truck pulled away.

  Mary Beth never got the chance to confirm with her own eyes whether her parents were alive or dead. Instead, the terrifying people who’d abducted her dragged her off to a farm where she was sure she’d spend her final days.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Mary Beth’s story left a dark cloud looming inside of the van. No one spoke.

  The story made Gabriel think of Katie and Sarah. As scared as Mary Beth and her mother had been at the moment when their world had been turned upside down by this demonic plague, at least Mary Beth’s father had been there for them. He was confident that Katie would put Sarah first and make sure that she was safe, of course, but he also knew the way Katie typically handled stressful situations. Many times, she would overreact before thinking things through. He should have been there. His palms sweating, he gripped the leather-covered steering wheel tight. The further toward the coast the group drove, the more anxious Gabriel became. And though they were making progress toward him getting home, he still felt so far away.

  The voice next to him broke him away from his thoughts.

  “You want me to drive?” Jessica asked. “You drove all day yesterday.”

  Gabriel shook his head. “I’m fine. I prefer this.”

&nb
sp; “How’re we doing on gas?” Will asked from the back seat.

  Gabriel chewed on his bottom lip. Though he needed to keep close attention to it, the gas gauge only stressed him out. He’d chosen to ignore it, much like people ignore the need for going to the dentist. The last thing he wanted was to have to waste time finding another vehicle on the road that met the list of criteria the group had; it had to start, be spacious enough for five people and their things, and have plenty of gas. It wasn’t exactly ideal to have such a wish list with the threat of flesh-eating creatures wandering around outside.

  “The light’s been on for a few minutes now,” Jessica said, replying to Will’s question for Gabriel.

  Everyone fell silent.

  They’d all grown accustomed to ignoring the Empties outside. Even the children didn’t let the beasts faze them anymore. But with Jessica’s answer to Will, each person in the van became acutely aware of the danger lurking outside.

  In an attempt to ease the mood, Gabriel reached down and powered on the stereo. Inside, the same The Cadillac Three CD that they’d heard many times over the past few days spun to life. Though Southern rock wasn’t Gabriel’s favorite, hearing the music play was a welcome alternative to the snarling beasts outside.

  As they passed over the top of a steep Appalachian incline, Gabriel’s eyes widened.

  “My God,” Jessica said from the passenger seat.

  Smoke rose from a building a few miles further up the open road. They weren’t coming into a city, but a small town along the I-40 countryside. A building sat aflame, and from what he could see, it didn’t appear that any emergency crews were there fighting it off.

  As they approached, Gabriel noticed something. A sign of hope.

  Another mile up the road, he took the exit.

  ***

  Gabriel pulled the van into the parking lot of Home Depot. The burning building sat about a block away. He pulled to the front of the store and shifted the van into park. The glass front doors and windows had been shattered, the place apparently already ransacked by looters.

  “I don’t see any Empties anywhere,” Holly said.

  “They may have been attracted to the fire,” Will suggested.

  “Doesn’t mean there won’t be some inside,” Jessica said.

  Gabriel unfastened his seatbelt and turned back to the group.

  “We need to go inside and see if we can find some gas cans and a hose,” he said. “Though, I doubt we’ll have much luck.”

  “I’ll go in with you,” Will said.

  Gabriel nodded, then looked over to Jessica. “When I get out, jump into the driver’s seat. Keep it cranked, because it’s gonna use more gas turning the engine back over if you shut it off.”

  “You three keep a look out the back and sides for her,” Will said to Holly and the two children. “Can you do that, kids?”

  In near unison, the children nodded.

  Will looked to Gabriel. “You got ammo for your pistol?”

  “I’m good. Just grab that rifle for me.”

  Will reached into the bag and retrieved ammunition for his own sidearm. He then grabbed the rifle for Gabriel and a shotgun for himself, and moved to get out of the van. A hand squeezed his arm.

  “If you aren’t back in ten minutes, I’m coming in after you,” Holly said, looking back at Will and holding onto his forearm.

  Will smiled and said, “I’ll be back.” He leaned over and kissed Holly. “I promise.”

  ***

  Shards of glass lay all over the entrance, covering three human bodies, the flesh on them having been picked apart. Every display in sight had been turned over and emptied. At first glance, only useless items seemed to have been left behind. Looters apparently had no interest in planting flowers, as packs of daisy and lily seeds covered the ground near the customer service desk to their left.

  “It looks like a tornado rolled through this place,” Gabriel said.

  “Strange we haven’t seen anyone around. You’d think with as much shit that’s gone that we would’ve seen more people,” Will said.

  “Maybe they all retreated back into the mountains.”

  Will chuckled. “If they’re smart.”

  Gabriel looked over to the right and saw the entrance to the garden center.

  “Come on,” he said, and he stepped over an empty display rack to begin making his way to the outdoor area.

  They moved with caution, listening for the snarls of the beasts, or even the murmurs of humans. So far, they’d heard nothing but their own steady footsteps and breaths. They reached the entrance to the garden center and moved to the fenced-in, outdoor area.

  To no surprise, most of this section had been left alone. The middle of the space was filled with concrete fountains, yard gnomes, and flowers. The displays all seemed to be in tact.

  “Doesn’t look like this place has been touched,” Gabriel said.

  “Might get lucky and find a hose out here.”

  Gabriel turned when he heard a strange noise, and saw far across the room a shape lumbering along the edge. He put his arm around Will and threw them both down to the ground.

  “Shit,” Will said, and Gabriel put his finger up to his mouth.

  “I saw something over there,” Gabriel whispered, pointing across the large, open enclosure. “Over there where those few aisles of racking are, I saw something moving. I think it was an Empty.”

  “Toward or away from us?” Will asked.

  “Away.”

  “Alright,” Will said. “I’m gonna see if I can sneak around behind it. Go cut it off and be ready to get its attention. Hopefully, it’s alone.”

  Will pushed up from his stomach and started down the perimeter of the room in a crouch. Gabriel got up onto one knee and crouched down behind a concrete garden fountain. He watched Will move to the wall on the other side of the large garden center, sneaking down one of the aisles. Will looked back to Gabriel, and gave him the signal to move.

  Gabriel stood and jogged through the middle of the room, being sure to keep low and mostly hidden out of sight.

  The last aisle came into view, and the figure appeared. It was, indeed, an Empty. It wore the patented orange apron of an employee, and hissed when it caught sight of Gabriel. Plenty of distance separated Gabriel from the Empty, and he figured he wouldn’t have to move too close before Will came up behind the thing and took care of it.

  “Over here, you ugly piece of shit!” Gabriel shouted. “Think you can show me where the hoses are?” He laughed.

  The beast snarled.

  Gabriel turned, pointing the rifle toward the main part of the store when he heard a scream. Not the snarl of a beast, but the distinct cry of a person. He heard quick footsteps and saw a flash in his peripheral of someone running toward the scream.

  It was Will.

  “Will!”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Jessica sat with her hands firmly on the steering wheel. A handgun sat in the seat beside her, loaded and ready in case any threat showed up around them. She peeked into the rearview mirror and saw the two children doing their part to help, Dylan looking out his side of the van, Mary Beth looking out of hers. Holly sat in between the two children, checking outside the rear window. Not wanting to scare the children any further, she didn’t hold a gun, but she had a slew of them in the seat behind her. The two women caught each other’s gazes when Holly looked into the front seat.

  “How long’s it been?” Holly asked.

  “Almost ten minutes,” Jessica said.

  Holly let out a deep sigh.

  “Just give them a little time,” Jessica said. “It’s a big store.”

  Jessica froze when she heard a noise. It sounded like it may have come from the inside of the store. Her face was blank of any emotion, giving off the signal that something concerned her.

  “What?” Holly asked.

  Jessica could have sworn the noise she’d heard was a scream, but Holly didn’t seem to have heard it. And to tell Ho
lly about it would only make her run recklessly into the building, doing so all on a hunch.

  “Nothing,” Jessica said.

  ***

  Gabriel stopped just outside the garden center when he heard the scream again. This time, it came with a word.

  “Help!”

  It was a man’s voice, and it sounded as if it were coming from the back of the store.

  Gabriel raced down the paint aisle. He was forced to dodge cans and hop over puddles of spilled paint on the floor, but he managed to get through without slipping and falling.

  He’d arrived across from the appliances section when he reached the end of the paint aisle, and stopped to look both ways to see if he could see Will, the man who was screaming, or any Empties.

  A snarl and another scream.

  A gunshot. Then another.

  Shit.

  Gabriel turned and followed the sound.

  Two more gunshots.

  He jogged down the center lane in the back of the store, glancing down each aisle to his right and left as he passed them.

  As he came to the plumbing area, he looked down the aisle to his right. Displayed on the walls on either side were water faucets and various sink parts. In the middle of the aisle, four bodies lay sprawling. Blood soaked the floor. Will stood in the middle of the aisle, his shotgun in hand, trying to calm a man down.

  “Will,” Gabriel said, and he hurried over.

  Gabriel looked down to the bodies as he passed them. Three of them were women and one was a male — all of them Empty. The man and one of the women wore the same orange aprons as the Empty in the garden center had sported.

  “You alright?” Gabriel asked Will.

  Will nodded.

  Gabriel turned his attention to the stranger in the red t-shirt and dark jeans, who had his hand over his heart, trying to catch his breath. He was black, and looked to be in his late 30s or early 40s.

  “Thanks so much, man,” the guy said. “Holy shit.” He ran both his hands through his short afro and said, “My name’s Charlie Luck.”

  “Luck? No shit,” Will said, taking the man’s hand and smiling. “I’m Will Kessler.”

  Gabriel stuck out his hand. “Gabriel Alexander.”