Empty Bodies (Book 2): Adaptation (7 page)

It was more like thirty-five minutes when the two men were finally in the ambulance, heading down the swirled parking garage. David looked around, expecting to see Empties, but there were none inside the garage.

“They ever get in here?” he asked.

“Occasionally,” Lawrence said. “Of course we have that barrier at the top of the garage. They haven’t made it through that yet, and hopefully it stays that way.”

Moments later, they were speeding out of the garage, and David finally saw the Empties he’d expected to see on the way down through the parking garage. The sun had made its way up from behind the horizon for the first time in the past couple of days. It had been raining, but the sun was out and warmed the slightly chilled autumn air.

They passed a sign that said “To I-40 West”, and David looked over to Lawrence.

“Where we headed?”

“Going to try and find more survivors.”

“Why?”

Lawrence looked over at him and smiled. “Why? Why not?”

“You’ve got a good thing going back there at that hospital. Electricity, plenty of resources for the group that’s already there to survive. Why risk it by bringing in more people to use those resources? And what if you come across a sour grape who has a different plan than you do for survival?”

For a few moments, Lawrence was quiet. He concentrated on pulling out onto the interstate before he replied.

“We have to show that there’s still good people in the world. That we can survive, together… persevere.”

“And what if there aren’t any good people anymore?” David asked.

Lawrence traded glances between David and the road. “You trying to tell me something?”

“No,” David lied, knowing inside that
he
was one of the bad ones. “Just trying to make you realize what you have. It’s hell out here.”

“And that’s why we have to help people,” Lawrence said.

David stared outside and didn’t respond. They were passing through an industrial part of town and he saw a line of warehouses, similar to where he’d spent his first couple of days in the new world. For a moment, he wondered if there were survivors in any of those buildings, but then he looked back out at the road. He considered the man sitting next to him. The group at the hospital had it good, much better than he assumed most people had it out here in this godforsaken world. How could the man be looking to invite more and more people in? With the resources they had at the hospital, the small group who was already there could endure for a long time with little need to go out into the world.

And with that, David decided: the group was going to need a new leader. Someone else needed to be making decisions.

Lawrence Holloway was weak, and he needed to go.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Will

The sun was out, which, in and of itself, put a smile on Will’s face as the group pulled away from the pawn shop.

Will sat in the very back of the SUV, cuddled up to Holly. He’d decided to let Gabriel take the first shift driving, which he hoped would be the only shift necessary between here and Knoxville. Dylan sat in the front seat with Gabriel, and Miranda was redressing Marcus’ wound on the middle seat just in front of Will.

“You feeling better?” Holly asked Marcus.

He turned his head to the side and glanced back at her. “Yeah. It sure was nice to stay the night under a roof and be able to really stretch out.”

“No shit,” Will said.

Marcus smiled for a moment before grimacing and clutching his shoulder.

“Sorry,” Miranda said.

“Damn. Go easy,” Marcus told her.

Miranda smiled, shaking her head, and continued to work on covering the gunshot back up.

Holly rested her head against Will’s chest, and he ran his fingers through her hair. The two had become very close over the last few days, though they hadn’t actually had any time alone together. Will hoped that would change soon, as he wanted to be able to sit down with the girl and have an actual conversation without the others around. With the way things were going, he wasn’t sure when or if he’d have that opportunity.

“We’re going to get there today,” Holly said.

“I hope so. A three-hour trip has taken us three days.”

“And we’re going to find your parents. I know they’re there, Will. And that they’re safe. I can just feel it.”

Will continued to run his fingers through Holly’s hair, and he leaned his head back against the seat and shut his eyes.

“Yeah. Yeah, I hope so.”

The truth was, Will had begun to lose hope that he’d ever see his parents again. He wondered if the people around him would be the only family he’d have from here on out. He still had
some
hope, from the text message he received, but it was quickly fading. Added to that was the fact that every time he tried to call the number back, he got nothing more than a busy signal. Most times, though, the line was silent. Both his patience and his faith were wearing thin, fast.

“I just want to meet them to tell you how much of a gallant hero you are,” Holly said, smirking at him.

“Hahaha,” Will replied.

Marcus turned around and looked at him.

“Hey, man, don’t underestimate what you did back there for us. That was some serious shit.”

Will laughed. “Dude, I was kidnapped. Not like I had much of a choice.”

“The hell you didn’t!” Marcus said. He turned all the way around so that he could look directly at Will. “You could have kept driving when she waved at you.” Marcus nodded toward Holly, and Will looked at her. “But, you didn’t. You came to help her. Plus, you’re a smart dude, man. You probably could have gotten away if you really wanted to before you came to save my sorry ass.

“Either way, the point is you didn’t. You helped us. And now, here we are.”

“Yeah, but, what is
here?”
Will asked.

“
Here
is a hell of a lot better than back there,” Miranda said.

Holly looked up and kissed Will on his cheek, then looked him in the eyes. “It’s much better. We’re going to be fine.”

***

Gabriel

For once, the road ahead was fairly clear. While there were some Empties and abandoned cars out on the highway, most of the vehicles had gone off of the road, making it much easier to maneuver. He hoped that this would be the day they finally reached Knoxville, so they could find Will’s parents, and head on toward the East Coast.
 

At the same time, Gabriel had other things on his mind.

Ever since their talk earlier that morning, Dylan had been acting strange. He sat in the front passenger seat while Gabriel drove, but had yet to say a single word. While he wanted to continue their conversation, Gabriel really wasn’t sure if this was the time or the place, not with the others around.

When he looked over to Dylan, the boy was tossing a small, red rubber ball that Donny gave to him. The kid looked as if he was focusing intently, and Gabriel wondered what the boy was thinking.

Soon after, he stopped tossing the ball, and Gabriel didn’t have to wonder anymore.

“Why are they here?” Dylan asked.

The four that sat behind Gabriel and the boy stopped talking, and Gabriel could see in the rearview mirror that they were looking up toward Dylan now.

“Why are
who
here?” Gabriel asked the boy.

Out of the corner of his eye, Gabriel could see Dylan finally look up at him, and he glanced over at him while trying to keep an eye on the surprisingly open road.

Dylan pointed to Gabriel’s left, and Gabriel looked out of the driver’s side window.

They were passing a vast, wide-open corn field. It seemed to go on forever until it finally met the slowly rising sun at the horizon. About fifty yards off the road, three Empties limped through the farmland. Everyone in the vehicle was silent, and Gabriel could feel the others looking out into the field just as he was, and watching the three creatures walk aimlessly through it.

Gabriel re-focused his attention on the road and could feel the boy looking up to him. Dylan was awaiting a response. Finally, one came, but not from Gabriel.

“Buddy, we don’t know why they’re here,” Marcus said. “But we’re going to make sure that they don’t hurt you, okay?”

Dylan looked back at Marcus, and then stared over at Gabriel as he navigated the vehicle around a small group of Empties and an abandoned semi-truck that was taking up a large portion of the highway.

“Do you think… God sent them?”

Gabriel glanced into the rearview mirror to see if anyone else looked as if they’d respond. When no one did, he broke the awkward silence.

“Why would God send something to kill us?”

Dylan shrugged. “Maybe he’s mad at us.”

Gabriel was a man of no faith. He grew up in a Catholic home, but quit going to church after going off to college and living on his own. He simply didn’t believe in all the things the Bible had to say about rights and wrongs, life and death. But, he wasn’t sure of the boy’s beliefs and allegiances, so he decided to take the high road.

“Dylan, I don’t think that a loving God would send anything down here to hurt us. I mean…”

“Look out!” The yell came from Holly in the very rear of the truck.

Gabriel looked ahead and saw the SUV heading straight for a fire truck parked in the middle of the road.

He reacted quickly and turned the wheel hard to his left, the sound of screeching tires and the aroma of burning rubber moving through the autumn air. Behind him, everyone in the vehicle was in a panic, yelling out, and Gabriel struggled to regain control of the truck.

But he couldn’t.

The SUV swerved off of the road, flying over a ditch and rolled into the grass just on the other side.

With Gabriel’s foot still on the brakes, the vehicle slid in the grass and stopped as it collided with a tree.

Steam rose from the engine and the air bags deployed.

Inside the truck, no one moved.

But outside, the Empties loitering on the highway were making their way toward the truck.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Jessica

Jessica had almost fallen back to sleep in the chair when the door to the room opened. She nearly hopped out of her skin and the nurse herself jumped in reaction to seeing how she’d frightened Jessica.

“Oh, I’m sorry!” Sarah said.

Jessica sat up straight in the chair, then sighed and rubbed the side of her head. She watched Sarah walk over to her bed and check the various machines connected to Melissa, recording data on a chart as she did.

“She doing about the same? No movement?” Sarah asked.

Jessica shook her head. “Not from what I’ve seen.”

Sarah took a few notes, then looked back over to Jessica. “How about you? How’s your shoulder?”

“Actually, much better today, thanks.”

Sarah placed the clipboard back on the table beside the bed, then asked, “You up for a little walk?”

Jessica looked over to Melissa, seeing the woman in the same state she’d been in since they arrived. While she wanted to be here when Melissa awoke, she knew that it would be a futile task, simply
waiting
. So, she looked up to the smiling nurse and nodded.