Daniel looked around, not seeing anything new with this position in the hallway. “This is it?” He was ready to push the back door open.
“One second. When they built this building, someone must have fucked up in the plans. Contractors, you know?”
Daniel stood silent, waiting for the plan.
“Anyway, these two doors open.” Manny grabbed one door on the side of the hallway, it swung outward into the hallway instead of inside the classroom. Manny did the same with another door, directly across from the other side of the hallway. It wasn’t a classroom, but a closet. “It wasn’t a big deal because it wasn’t two classrooms where the doors would always hit together, so I guess they just left it.”
Both of the doors met, creating a makeshift wall. He immediately saw the flaw in this plan. The doors swung loose. Anyone could push against it. Other than it being thicker than the table, there was no benefit for staying here. Two people holding these doors back would still not be enough.
“I’m outta here,” Daniel said, beginning to head to the doors to the outside.
“Wait a second, boss.” Manny kicked down the kickstand to the door, making it stop swaying. He then reached above the door for a little push latch. “They put these on all the doors, just in case. There’s no locks, so they put these up high where kids can’t reach, but adults can just in case of lockdown.”
“I didn’t think churches had to think of those things,” Daniel replied.
“Maybe at one time, but everywhere that has large groups of people has to start thinking of those things. This church isn’t that old.” Manny was short and made a good effort to latch the door up, but he couldn’t push it all the way. “A little help, boss.”
Daniel went over and pushed the latch all the way up. There was no spot to lock it into, like he assumed they had inside the classrooms. He pushed hard, making a hole in the ceiling, poking through the tiles and resting against the metal frame. Daniel pulled hard on it and the door barely shifted.
“Good enough for you? I’d say we could go inside the room instead, but—”
“No, if they put enough pressure on, they could break the lock, maybe not as easily as out here, but we have a backup plan here,” Daniel said.
“Hey, guys,” Jeff said, finally offering something to the conversation.
Daniel looked up as the large group of soulless turned the corner. The leader being a kid in a letterman jacket, arm dangling from his side.
“Let’s get the other door in place,” Manny said, quickly.
The group of soulless were close. Daniel dashed to the closet and pulled it open. He could smell the soulless. It was a combination of sweat and spit. Some of them were drooling heavily from all the smacking, while others stared out with jaws hung open. Daniel began to kick the stand down, but Jeff quickly swung the door back.
“Brent?” Jeff said, sad and scared at the same time.
“Come on, kid,” Daniel shouted. He wasn’t as concerned for Jeff as he was with closing the door.
“That’s my brother!” Jeff said, pointing to the smaller soulless teen behind the kid with the dangling arm.
“Get in here, it’s not your brother anymore,” Manny said.
Daniel grabbed Jeff just as the soulless caught up to them. One of the soulless grabbed Jeff’s right arm as Daniel pulled his left arm. It became a tug of war, and Jeff was the rope. Daniel watched as the soulless gathered around Jeff. Their mouths nearing the kid’s arm with the same chomping and smacking sound. Jeff looked back at Daniel, his eyes were full of fright. They were begging Daniel to save him.
Manny was at the door, ready to shut it as soon as they were behind the doors. There was still time to save Jeff, even if it was a slim window. Daniel looked down at Jeff’s arm and the realization sunk in. As the group of soulless pulled at his other arm, Daniel loosened his grip from the kids arm. Jeff’s eyes went wide when he did this. The leader with the broken arm was the first to sink his teeth into Jeff’s arm.
“Help me!” Jeff screamed out.
“Shit!” Manny let out from behind Daniel.
The next bite came from Jeff’s brother. As Jeff was pulled deep into the group, the shorter kid grabbed at his shoulder and took a huge chunk from his neck. Blood spurted out across the room, streaking across Daniel’s face. The red warmth, so familiar and rejuvenating. It wasn’t his hands doing the killing, but it felt so comfortable to be so near it.
Daniel smiled as he watched Jeff sink into the crowd. It looked like he was drowning in a sea of people. His screams became muffled as more surrounded him and dug their teeth into the kid. Daniel just stood, watching. Suddenly, a hand grabbed him. He swung around to see Manny. He pulled Daniel inside and locked the door down in the hallway.
Daniel peered through the crack in the doors, trying to see the rest of Jeff’s demise, but Jeff was hidden by the soulless. He looked at Manny, who had fear filling in his eyes. But Daniel could tell, it wasn’t the soulless he was afraid of.
4
Paxton slowly let the door close behind him. He hadn’t taken the time to check, and just as he realized it, two soulless teens were snarling in his ear. He quickly pushed them back before they could grab him. They stumbled into each other and fell to the concrete, each of them growling at Paxton. There weren’t many other soulless in sight, luckily, but still enough he knew he should get moving.
He didn’t have much of a plan other than get to the office and grab the keys, then get his car from the parking lot and get the others. It sounded so simple, and maybe it was. He left the pair of soulless still scrambling to get up after taking a deep breath. He felt a little more confident now that his path was clear.
He jogged, as silently as he could, to the main worship building. Pastor Jerry’s office was attached to the building in the back. He figured the easiest way would be to get in through the main doors, and then get up to the office. The building was probably locked, and the back door didn’t have any glass to break.
He ran past the coffee station. It was dead tonight. Usually on Sunday mornings, it was bustling with people gathering around, buying coffee and talking about their week. There were a lot of people who went to the church that knew each other, even though they were on the status of becoming what would be called a mega church.
A loud crash startled Paxton. He looked over and saw a single soulless teenager. Somehow, she had gotten separated from the rest of them. She had fallen over a picnic style table, knocking over some of the heavy equipment that had been left out. He stood watching as she tried to keep going. It was the first time he’d had a solid moment to even watch one of them or think about what was happening.
The girl wasn’t even aware that she had fallen. It wasn’t an issue of not caring, but not being there. Whatever had driven her body before, like her soul, was gone. Now, she just wandered with no reason. Knocking things over, running into walls, no place to be. However, obviously, if she knew he was there, she would head in his direction. He had no intention of making his presence known to her. But what about him would make her want to attack him?
He had no answer, but as he watched, his mind shifted to his wife. He hadn’t had much time to think about her other than he had to get to her. But what if she was one of them now? His mind began to shift toward that thought. His eyes welled up, thinking of her wandering around aimlessly. Her mouth chomping, lips smacking. If he got to her and she was one of them, he just didn’t know if he could even-
A loud snarl came from the girl. She figured out he was there and began to crawl toward him. Eventually, she began to get up on her feet. It was time to move. He had killed enough time thinking about things that were out of his control, about things he didn’t even know if they had happened or not. Once he was out of here, his only goal was to get to his wife. Once he was there, he would assess the situation. But for now, he had to believe she was alive. That she still was her, soul intact.
Paxton reached the main worship center. He didn’t see anyon
e or anything around. The large glass doors and windows made it easy to see the entire lobby was vacant. He figured it would be about the same once he made it past the lobby doors but would still need to make sure to be cautious. The doors were locked, just like he thought. He looked around for something large and heavy. There wasn’t much, so he walked around the corner, hoping to find a large rock in the landscaping.
As soon as he looked around the side, he spotted two soulless. He didn’t recognize them, but he didn’t know all the students. They were young, and one was male, the other female. They had probably come out here to do more than just watch the event. Even though they were at church, they were still teenagers and had the same hormones as all the rest of them. It was something Paxton would have done at that age in a previous life.
They groaned and snarled at him. He hadn’t made an effort to silence his steps, thinking he was alone on this side of the church campus. They began to walk toward him, feet shuffling in the gravel. He looked down and spotted a large looking river rock. It would be his best bet. He grabbed it and headed back to the glass doors. The soulless still made their way to him, but he figured he wouldn’t have to worry about them as long as he kept his distance. They were much slower than he.
He chucked the rock through the door. The glass shattered at the center, but still left a lot to remove. He kicked it in at the bottom, causing the entire pane to drop. A hot pain shot through his leg, and he realized he had sliced it in the kick. He looked down and saw the blood dripping down. It wasn’t bad enough to deal with now, but he would have to dress it later.
Inside was silent and gave him no sense of alarm. He opened the doors to the worship center and headed in. He had been in here alone a few times, usually to run errands and pick something up for the youth ministry. This time seemed different. There was more than just silence in the room. It was more than just being alone and dark. It felt abandoned. There was no other way to describe it. He didn’t know what to think of it but just powered through.
He passed all the pews, all still neatly presented, waiting for the next worship service. Bibles were spaced out every few feet for anyone who didn’t bring their own when they came. He wondered if there would be a time when anyone would come again. Past the stage was the door to the back of the center. It led to all the offices.
He left the large open room and headed to the hallway. There was nothing but silence there. No commotion in any of the offices. He made it to the final room, which was the senior pastor’s. He hoped the door would be unlocked. If it wasn’t, he didn’t know how to open it other than try and break the handle off. He closed his eyes and twisted the handle. It shifted, opening the door.
Paxton exhaled in relief. He swung the door inward and saw the large desk in the front. There were some papers and a Bible on top of it, looking as if Pastor Jerry had been working on his next sermon. Just as Paxton stepped into the office, the door swung closed behind him. He quickly turned around and saw him.
Pastor Jerry snarled, his mouth drooling like a rabid dog. His jaw was chomping as Paxton put his hands up. The two of them tumbled to the ground, Paxton’s side hitting against the chair across the desk. The fall hit him hard and would definitely leave a bruise.
He kept his hands up, holding at the now soulless’s collar bone. He pushed hard, keeping its mouth away from him. The hot saliva dripping down on his face. He could smell the onions from the pastor’s late-night meal he had just before turning. The man was strong, and becoming a reckless monster only made him stronger. Paxton struggled hard with him, their legs being entangled as each of them kicked. Paxton took his left hand, keeping his stronger hand on the monster on top of him, and searched around, hoping for it to find something, anything to just grab onto. Other than the chair next to him, he found nothing.
He looked to his right and shifted his head up. Under the desk he saw a pen. What good it would do him, he hadn’t figured out. But it was something. He put his left hand back on the thing’s collar bone. He took his right hand off him for a moment, and immediately the chomping jaws moved closer to his face. The hot breath feeling moist against his cheek. He put his right hand back and pushed up. He had to be fast if he was going to make this work.
He pushed with all his might, flinging the pastor up, giving him his moment. He reached over with his right hand, still keeping his left on the senior pastor’s neck. He grabbed the pen, clicking it to have the point stick out as if that would make it any more of a weapon. He could feel the weight of the monster begin to fall back on top of him. There was no way he was going to be able to catch it all with one hand. Even with both hands, he didn’t think he could keep those jaws from clamping down on his face.
His eyes met with the soulless’s across from him as the body came down on him. Paxton quickly brought the pen in front of his face, catching the man who had hired him, mentored him, and helped him through tough spots in his own life, right in the eye. The pen sunk deep into his skull as the weight of the man fell further on it. Blood and other matter squirted out of the eye socket, landing on Paxton’s face. Jerry went limp.
Paxton shoved the soulless and now lifeless body off him, retching from the blood from his friend. He stood, trying to hold it in. He breathed heavy. His mouth watered from the rush of adrenaline. He finally stood up and looked at Jerry. He remembered having dinner at his house weeks after he was given the job. His wife and two daughters seemed happy in that moment, along with Jerry. He had no idea where they were now, but he knew where Jerry was, and he hoped he could find his peace. Jerry and himself.
Paxton rushed to the disheveled desk and pulled out the drawers. He dug through the papers but saw nothing. The keys weren’t there. Just random office supplies. He looked at the wall, thinking there may be a hook with the keys, but there was nothing. If Jerry was here working late, he would need the keys to get out. Paxton’s eyes fell to the body of his friend on the floor.
He rolled Jerry over, looking at the hole he had made in his eye. It wasn’t as bad as before, but Paxton felt the rise of bile in his stomach. The one good eye seemed to stare into nothing as Paxton studied it. He looked around and grabbed the jacket from the back of the chair. Even in the warm weather, Jerry always had a jacket. It had something to do with being cold in the church, Paxton had figured, but never really had the chance to ask. He placed the jacket over his dead friend’s face, never having to look him in the eye again. He quickly dug into his pockets and found the set of keys.
A loud snarl echoed through the hallway and into the office, slightly muffed by the closed door. He had to move before too many of them figured out where he was. Getting cornered in the tight hallway would not end so well for him. He dashed down the hallway, not seeing any of the soulless. He slowed when he got to the door leading to the main worship center.
He could hear the soulless on the other side of the door. They were groaning and shuffling. He put his hand on the door and could sense something on the other side, almost like they were scratching against it. There was definitely more than one. Maybe it was just the two, possibly three, that he had seen earlier. Even so, he didn’t think he was prepared to take down three when he had so much trouble with one earlier.
Paxton ran back to the office, stepping over Jerry’s body. He grabbed the lamp off the desk and chucked it through the window on the left wall. The glass shattered much easier than the front door had. He grabbed a book and used it to clear the larger pieces of glass that remained. The sting in his leg gave him an extra reminder to be careful. He climbed through it, gingerly placing his legs out first while holding on to the wall. He dropped to the ground, managing to make it out with only minor scrapes.
With the keys in his pocket, he ran, this time as fast as he could to the parking lot. His pant leg was sticking to his leg, wet with blood. He had to wrap it up but needed to get to the car first. Once he reached the gate at the lot, he fished the keys out. There were a few different ones, but it only took him the second try to get it open.
The gate creaked, echoing across the nearly empty lot. A loud snarl came from behind him. He quickly spun around and could see a small group of soulless heading his way from the alert the creak sent them.
“Shit.” Paxton darted through the lot. There was another car there, it was a newer model Buick. It was Jerry’s car. He thought about taking it but decided to just get to his truck. Finding the keys to Jerry’s car would take longer, and he wasn’t used to driving it. Besides, part of him still thought of it as Jerry’s, even though he knew what had just happened to him.
Paxton unlocked his truck and started it up. It wasn’t the best looking thing in the world, but it was his and it was the first time in the night that he felt a little more at ease. The familiarity of the truck gave him hope that he was going to get out of there and get Stacey. They were gonna make it out of this together.
The truck roared to life, and he pulled out of the lot, passing by the small group of soulless.
5
“What the hell was that?” Manny exclaimed.
Daniel didn’t say anything. He was still transfixed on Jeff’s death that just took place before him. It wasn’t shock, but realization that settled in him. The blood, the way he was just taken down. Nobody was here to stop them. They were going to have to help themselves. But if they couldn’t, then they would perish just like Jeff did.
“I’m talking to you, man,” Manny tried again, his words passing to Daniel, who ignored them.
So, what now? Daniel had saved them. They were dead before he got here. He didn’t have to save them, and now he put himself in danger because of it. They owed him, and Jeff was the first payment. Even if they didn’t owe him, they didn’t belong. Daniel was beginning to understand this new world, for whatever short moment he had experienced it. The rules from the old world may still be there, or they may have changed. Whatever they were now, he knew he didn’t have to play by them anymore.
Soulless Wanderers: Soulless Wanderers Book 1 Page 4
