Soulless Wanderers: Soulless Wanderers Book 1

by Drew Strickland

  “There we go. That wasn’t so bad,” David said, putting the needle aside. He grabbed the bowl of water and poured some on Paxton’s leg.

  “Thank you,” Paxton managed to squeak out as the water washed over his leg, painful but necessary he was sure.

  “Now that we’re all done, how did you get that nasty cut?”

  Groaning was heard from across the room. Paxton shifted his attention to it. He looked down the hallway, but it was too dark to make anything out.

  “What’s down there?” Paxton asked.

  “The basement,” Kyle said, preparing himself.

  Out from the dark, a child popped out. He held his arms up in a stretch, letting out a loud groan as he did so.

  “Godammit, Liam,” Kyle said, letting his shoulders relax.

  “Hey, watch it,” David said to Kyle. “We don’t say those things here, especially in front of your pastor.” He chuckled a little after saying it.

  “It’s alright. I was ready for it, too,” Paxton said, relieved, as well.

  “Ready for what?”

  Just as Liam came from the basement, he crossed in front of a bedroom door that was open a bit. He stopped in front of it and peered inside.

  “Mom, are you okay?” Liam asked.

  A guttural growl came from the room, and Liam’s eyes went wide.

  “Get away from the door!” Paxton shouted, putting his foot on the floor. The pain was still there, but it was nothing he wasn’t getting used to by now.

  The door swung open and out stepped a woman. She was dressed in sweat pants and a T-shirt, even though it wasn’t cold out. Her eyes had clouded over, and her mouth hung open, letting strings of saliva drip down. She grabbed Liam and bit into his throat. The kid screamed in a combination of pain and fear.

  “Kathy!” David screamed at his wife.

  She growled as she kept on with the bite. David made it to Liam and pulled him away, blood spurting from his throat. David put his hands over the wound, but the blood just kept on pouring. There was nothing he could do for him now.

  “Kyle!” Paxton shouted, hoping to get his help.

  Kyle was nearly frozen as he watched the scene unfold in front of him. It was his mother eating his little brother. There was much to be shaken from. He glanced at Paxton, wide-mouthed. He quickly looked back to his mother, who was making her way toward him now. He pushed her backward, causing her to hit the door frame. She grabbed onto his arm, pulling him down with her.

  “Help, I can’t get loose,” Kyle said, panicking.

  Paxton hobbled over to her, his leg shooting pain with each step. Now that the adrenaline was wearing off from the church, the pain was settling deeper. He wished for another shot of adrenaline but didn’t think it would come. He was going to have to handle this one on his own. He grabbed Kyle and pulled, trying to free him. Her grip was too tight on him, so he quickly looked around.

  The end table seemed to be the smallest thing nearby. He picked it up and it was light enough. He swung the tabled down on Kathy’s now soulless body and nailed her in the arms. He swung once more, this time breaking her grip on Kyle. Kyle pulled away and slammed against the floor.

  Paxton lifted the table again and slammed it into her head. The wooden tabled shattered apart, leaving him holding a splintered wooden leg in each hand. He looked down at Kathy, covered in blood, but still alive. Well, alive in the sense that she was still moving around, but not alive like he knew himself to be. She turned her head up to him and let out a loud growl. She began to get up. He lifted the table legs high in the air, hoping one more hit would take her out. Just as he was about to bring it down, David tackled him, slamming his back against the wall.

  “Don’t fucking do it!” David screamed in Paxton’s face.

  Paxton slid down the wall from the heavy blow to his back. It only compounded the pain he was already in. He climbed to his feet, glad he was still able to do so.

  “That’s not your wife anymore, David.”

  “You don’t know that. For all you know she’s just sick.”

  Paxton looked over to Liam on the floor. He was lying in a puddle of his own blood, not moving anymore.

  “She killed your son. What kind of sickness makes someone eat their own kid?” Paxton asked.

  David opened his mouth but couldn’t speak. Instead, tears flowed from his eyes. He was a man that was now broken, realizing that Paxton was probably right. Realizing that his youngest child was dead. Paxton took this as his moment. He stepped around David, leaving him sobbing. He lifted the broken legs up again and looked down at Kathy.

  “No,” David’s voice was low from behind him.

  Paxton was pushed to the side, causing him to drop the legs, trying to keep his balance. It was no use, and he fell to the floor. David bent over and picked up the table legs. He looked down at Paxton.

  “You’re not doing anything to her.”

  Paxton stood up again, shakily. The abuse to his body was settling in, and he really needed to rest. But first, he had to make sure they were safe. David wasn’t thinking clearly. God knows Paxton would be in the same situation if it was his wife. He decided on a softer approach.

  “David, I know it’s hard. But you have Kyle to think about.”

  David stood, staring down at Paxton. There had to be something inside the man that knew he was right. The tears were still flowing, but David’s face broke from anger to sorrow. He nodded in agreement.

  “Oka—”

  David was pulled back quickly. Kathy snarled as her mouth was inches away from his neck. His face was twisted in fright and shock. There was nothing Paxton could do in the moment, but he still had to try. He stepped forward as he watched her chomping jaws get closer and closer to David.

  Suddenly, Kathy’s body dropped to the floor, along with David. David scooted away from his now dead wife. This time, she was dead in every meaning of the word. Kyle stood over her body with a hammer, fresh blood dripping from the claw.

  “I had to do it, Dad.”

  Kyle broke down, and his father raised to his feet, embracing his son. Paxton let out a loud exhale, finally feeling a little sense of safety.

  “We should—” Paxton managed to get out before everything went black one more time. The last thing he could remember was flicking his eyes open, watching David and Kyle hurry over to him as he laid on the floor, too.

  11

  The chomping surrounded him. The wet smacking filled his ears. The groans, the moans, and the growls hung in the air above him as Daniel waited. The sounds were overtaken by wet hollow noises. He had no other way to describe the sound. It was hard to make out with all of the soulless on top of him. He was surprised there hadn’t been a single bite yet.

  Then a voice stood out above all of it, and Daniel realized the bodies on top of him weren’t moving anymore. Sure, there were some groans and growls still coming, but they weren’t right in his ear. A few gunshots rang out as the voice got closer. It was a man.

  “Are you okay under there?” the man’s voice asked.

  The weight on top of Daniel began to lighten. The bodies were being lifted off him. Daniel could see some light come from the doorway. Headlights of his car. The door was open. Daniel was quickly hoisted to his feet, still unsure what was happening.

  “We need to get the fuck out of here before we’re overrun,” the man shouted in his ear. It was a little unnecessary with how close he was, but Daniel figured he wasn’t the poster child of “With it” at the moment.

  The man put his arm underneath Daniel and helped him out the door. Both of the men fell to the dirt out front of the building. A cloud of dust filled the air in front of the headlights.

  Daniel looked up, finally realizing where he was a little better. The door was still open, and the soulless were still coming, following them through the large opening. Two other figures started to close the doors. The man that had saved Daniel yelled at them.

  “Alan is still in there!”

  Just as
he said that, a lanky man came running through the doors, following the four soulless that made it out. His blond beard was illuminated in the light, and his eyes were filled with a kind of fire. Daniel recognized that look in the eyes, it was the same look he had when he hunted his prey.

  “Close them!” Alan shouted as he stuck an axe in the head of the tallest soulless’s skull.

  The two behind the doors shoved them closed before any more bodies could make their way through. Daniel watched as Alan finished up with the other three soulless.

  After prying out the axe, he planted it into another skull and grabbed another by the throat. He smiled as he squeezed hard and pulled a knife from behind his back. He planted it in the side of its head and let it fall. There was only one left and it was nearing Daniel and the man who’d saved him.

  Daniel made it to his feet before it could reach him. He grabbed its shoulders, trying to keep it away from him. He grabbed at his belt, but realized he left his knife inside the building. The soulless pushed back into him, and he grabbed it again with both hands. Its jaws snapped at him once, then suddenly, the lights went out in its eyes, and it fell to the ground. Alan smiled at him from behind.

  “Woo!” Alan shouted. “Nothing like killin’ some dead, lip-smackers to get the blood pumping.”

  Alan jumped up and down like a boxer in the ring, ready to fight some more. Daniel watched him as he pumped his fists in the air. Daniel didn’t like him already.

  He looked to the ground and gave a hand to the man who had helped him. The man took it and was lifted to his feet.

  “Thanks, friend,” the man said.

  Daniel nodded to him, not wanting to speak just yet.

  “You’re lucky we saw the headlights of the car.”

  Alan kept jumping around while Daniel watched him. The man caught Daniel’s uncomfortable gaze and spoke up.

  “Alan, that’s enough. Let’s calm it down. I think our friend here has had enough excitement for a little bit.”

  Alan stopped jumping and put his arm around Daniel with a grin. “You’re one lucky sonsabitch,” Alan spat near Daniel’s ear. Daniel couldn’t place the accent, but it reminded him of watching movies about the backwoods.

  “I’m Henry,” the man that saved Daniel’s life said. He held a hand out, waiting for Daniel.

  Daniel looked at the hand, reluctant to take it. He didn’t have to. Just before he could take it, someone shouted.

  “No, no way. Not this guy,” a voice rang out.

  Everyone turned and looked to the raging man interrupting. Daniel couldn’t see him in the dark, but when he got closer, the sinking realization settled inside him. It was the man from the house. This wasn’t going to go well. Daniel had put a knife to his throat and stole his truck, so he doubted they would be very hospitable.

  “Cole, what’s going on?” Henry asked.

  Cole’s face lit up in the headlights. His face was red, looking like it was going to blow the top off at any moment. “This man is dangerous. I want nothing to do with him. He’s not part of us, and we aren’t helping him.”

  Henry looked to Daniel. “Is this true?”

  Daniel opened his mouth, ready to speak, but had no idea what he was going to say.

  “He put a knife to my throat and stole my truck!” Cole shouted.

  Daniel stepped backward out of the light. He figured he was better off leaving on foot before anyone had any ideas about what to do with him. This was exactly the position he was trying to avoid being put in. He hated the attention and definitely didn’t want to stir things up. He would have to leave the car so nobody would notice.

  He listened to Henry and Cole argue, Alan stood by their sides. Another man and two women stepped into the circle. Daniel headed to the building, hoping he could slink around it. He could feel the soulless pushing on the door and groaning inside.

  The idea hit him quickly. He didn’t like these people and didn’t owe them anything. They could turn out to be dangerous for him. They seemed like what one would consider good people. Daniel glanced at Alan, blood dripping from his beard. Well, maybe not all of them. But the last thing he needed right now was for good people to find out the kind of person he was.

  However, maybe he could prove something to them and get them to help him. He hated needing their help, but it was better to use them and get the guns, instead of have no guns and possibly get into a fight, which he was severely outnumbered in.

  They continued arguing. Cole’s voice getting louder with each word that Henry tried to say. Daniel stepped up, hoping he wouldn’t be putting himself at risk.

  “Where’s Eden?” he asked.

  Cole stopped yelling and stared at Daniel. Good, it had the effect he wanted. However, if he let the silence go any longer, he was sure either he or Cole would no longer be breathing.

  “I have a plan to get the guns,” Daniel quickly said.

  “I don’t like you asking about my daught—”

  “What’s the plan?” Henry asked, cutting Cole off.

  “If you guys will listen and help, we can get the guns out with nobody dying. We can help each other here. I don’t want any trouble.”

  “Yeah, right—”

  “Look, I did put a knife to your throat. But if I recall, I woke up looking down the barrel of your shotgun without provoking anyone,” Daniel said, tired of Cole’s accusations.

  “Is that true?” Henry asked, looking at Cole.

  “He killed my family!”

  Henry nodded, his tone went soft. “I understand, Cole, But you know they weren’t your family anymore.” He placed his hand on Cole’s shoulder.

  Cole began crying. “I don’t want any part of this.”

  He went to a car and sat inside. Daniel could see Cole looking in the backseat. Probably Eden laying down, he thought.

  “He’s still coping with it.”

  Daniel nodded.

  “You really think the plan will work?”

  “I know it will,” Daniel said, having no idea if it would work.

  12

  Paxton opened his eyes. His vision was completely blurry, but he could see lights and hear voices. The voices were familiar. As he came to a little better, he could hear it was Kyle and David. They were arguing, about what, he didn’t know. But he could hear them right above him. It sounded like they were panicked.

  Paxton realized he was lying face down and on some sort of cushion. Probably a bed or couch. He turned his head, trying to look in the other direction, but he still couldn’t make out any details. His mouth was dry, and he felt incredibly cold. He wanted to get up, but his body wouldn’t let him. Instead, all he was feeling was incredibly tired. He wanted to let the gift of sleep wash over him again. He didn’t care how long he slept, he just needed to. His eyes started to close again, but suddenly, he was hit with a force against his face.

  Finally, the words started to make sense.

  “Don’t fucking go to sleep. You can’t.” It was David.

  The slap against his face happened again. He couldn’t feel much other than pressure. But there was no pain included. It was like his body was shutting out all pain sensors, and he thought that probably wasn’t a good sign. With all his strength, he tried to get up, but was quickly shoved down again.

  “Don’t get up, but don’t fall asleep.”

  “Wh-why? What’s—” is all Paxton could manage to get out. The rest came out in mumbles.

  “It’s okay, Pastor Paxton,” Kyle said, somewhere above him. “You’ve got a cut on your back.”

  A cut? Where did he get a cut from? He thought hard about it, but it seemed like thinking was even more difficult than trying to get up at the moment. Still, he tried to force his thoughts. Then it hit him, the knife. When he was running away from that psycho at the church, he thought he was hit one more time as he fell into the bathroom.

  “It’s deep, and you’re losing a ton of blood. What the hell stabbed you?” David asked, more to himself than to Paxton.
/>   Kyle must not have told his Dad about Daniel. It didn’t matter much anymore. They were patching him up, but he didn’t know how bad it was. He still felt so cold. He just wanted to go to sleep.

  He closed his eyes and felt the slap against his face one more time. This time, it didn’t faze him. He didn’t care. Let them work on him. He just needed the rest. He let their screaming voices trail off in the distance as he slipped into sleep.

  Paxton could see a light through the slits of his eyes. It was all still fuzzy, but he could see he was on a bed. Most of the things in the distance were still hard to make out, but he was obviously in a bedroom. Nobody else was there with him. There has hardly any pain from his leg or back, more just a dull ache all over his body.

  He lifted his head from the mattress and noticed a long string of drool hanging from his mouth. He tried to lift his arm to wipe it but was too exhausted to do so. He slammed his head back down on the sheets.

  The voices started up again, still distant. This time, he knew they were actually distant as he knew he was alone in the room.

  “No, we can’t just leave,” Kyle said.

  Paxton could tell the boy had been crying or screaming from the strain in his voice now. It was a raspy whisper from where he laid.

  “The longer we stay, the longer we’re at risk. We need to get to safety,” David said to his son.

  Paxton didn’t know what the hell they were talking about, but he was too weak to try and figure it out.

  “Just leave him?” Kyle asked.

  Paxton started to fade off again, but he shook his head trying his hardest to stay with it.

  “-already dead—” is all Paxton could hear from David.

  Footsteps got closer as Paxton started to drift. They stopped in front of him as he closed his eyes. He tried to open them again, to open his mouth and scream, but nothing would happen. He felt his body betray him and not work in his favor. The footsteps walked away.

  In another second, a door slammed, and he listened as hard as he could before falling asleep again.