Inside, his stomach twisted a bit. He didn’t think much of it. Just the remnants of his old life trying to tell him to stop. He wouldn’t stop. The world was different now. God had abandoned him. He had seen things far worse than he had just done. No matter how much bad he did in this world, nothing compared to the pure evil he had stared directly in the eyes of. He would never forget what the beginning of all his pain was. Daniel.
Paxton walked back to the vehicle, a new shiny look on his face. Guthrie turned to him, noticing his change in demeanor. “Everything alright?”
“Couldn’t be better.”
“Good to hear it. So, what are we calling you, anyway?”
“Pax—” A smile crept onto the side of his face. “Pax. My name is Pax.”
37
Daniel followed Eden deeper into the rundown farmhouse. He was barely able to stand but found the strength to keep going. She took him into a room that was decorated with dusty curtains and old furniture. On the bed in the middle of the room, Courtney and Jennifer were tied up, still gagged. Eden ran over to Jennifer and Daniel ran to Courtney. They both took off their gags and started untying their bindings.
Courtney was crying. “You came back for us? But why?”
“I wasn’t going to let you die here. I couldn’t do that.”
“After all we did to you? You knew about Alan. You saw through him, but we stopped you. We tied you to a tree.”
Daniel stopped and looked at Courtney. Her mouth was rubbed raw on the sides and all along her cheeks from the gag being so tight. Her face was bruised, but he imagined she looked a lot better than he did at the moment. He smiled at her, causing her to stop crying for a moment. Her face twisted in a bit of confusion for a moment. “I won’t hold it against you. I probably would have done worse in your situation. I’m just glad you didn’t kill me.”
She smiled back. “Your face looks awful.”
“I won’t take that personally.”
She leaned forward and kissed him. His mouth hurt so bad, pain shooting all over his face, but he didn’t stop her. It felt nice to be wanted for a change. She broke off, and he helped her from the bed. Eden was finished with Jennifer, and she was able to stand just fine.
“I’m sorry about everything,” Jennifer said to Daniel. “We were wrong.”
Daniel shook his head. “I’m sorry I didn’t act sooner. If I did, then maybe Miles—”
“Stop. What’s done is done. If you didn’t act when you did, we could all be dead. And if you didn’t come back, we would have been. Or worse.” She nodded to him, letting Daniel know he was accepted.
“Where’s Cole?” Courtney asked.
Daniel shook his head. Courtney started crying again and wrapped her arms around Eden. “I’m so sorry, honey.”
“I got to say goodbye and he got to tell me he loved me. I think it’s better than most people get. It’s what this world is now.” She looked up at Daniel.
He looked at the girl who spoke like a much wiser and older adult. He wasn’t sure if it was this new world that changed her, or if she always was like that. Either way, she was still very different than anyone else he had known. “So, where do we go now?”
“I have something to show you. Follow me.”
They followed Eden to the back of the house and out the door. There was a fence that wrapped around what seemed to be a separate yard. All along the side of the fence were cages. Eden flipped a switch, lighting up the whole place. Everyone gasped at what they saw.
People hid in the corners of the cages. They looked scared. They were bruised, and some of them bloody. Others were just filthy. It looked like they had been there for days. “Who are these people?” Jennifer asked.
Eden shrugged. “I saw them when they dragged me through here once. I think they are like us. Taken by Alan and his friends.”
“Hello?” a voice squeaked out from one of the cages. “Who is there?”
“Shut up, Tracey.” Another voice was heard whispering.
“It’s not them,” Tracey said. “Please, help us.”
Daniel cleared his throat. “It’s okay. We’re here to help you.”
The four of them ran to all the cages and saw the locks. They couldn’t open them. Eden popped up fast and ran into the house. Everyone looked at each other, and Daniel just shrugged. Eden came running back outside and had a set of keys in her hand. “Alan carried these around.”
“And you just dug in a dead man’s pocket, no hesitation?” Courtney asked, her face twisted in disgust.
“How else are we gonna let them out?”
Daniel smiled. Eden was definitely going to be okay in this world. She unlocked the first cage and tossed the keys to Daniel. He unlocked his cage and tossed the keys to Courtney. She did the same and then Jennifer. The cages opened and the people came staggering out of them. They were still frightened, but glad to be out. Daniel received the first hug. Then it was just a wave of the survivors coming from the cages and hugging every one of their saviors. There were about ten people all locked up.
“Where are they? The men.” It was the voice that shushed Tracey earlier. She was a short woman with grey hair.
“They’re dead. You don’t have to worry about them anymore.” Jennifer said.
“You did this?”
Jennifer shook her head. “It was him. He saved us, too.”
Daniel looked at her finger. She was pointing directly at him. Everyone was staring, directly at him. He never wanted to be the center of attention, for obvious reasons, but here he was. Being looked at like some sort of god to these people.
“Thank you so much. Who are you?”
Daniel opened his mouth. “Uh, me?” He had never had so many people look at him with admiration before. “My name is—” But he couldn’t be Danny to these people. Danny wasn’t who this world needed. Daniel was always a little bit there in the background, but he wasn’t Daniel anymore. Not really. He wanted to save these people. He looked at Eden.
“It’s okay,” Eden whispered and nodded, like she knew his inner turmoil.
“Dan. My name is Dan.”
“Thank you, Dan.”
He looked around at all the faces. They were filled with tears and gratitude. Dan was who was going to thrive in this world, and he was going to keep his people safe.
<<<<>>>>
Continue the story in the next book,
Patriarch: Soulless Wanderers 1.5!
Join My Reader’s List
Want to read about Daniel before the apocalypse?
Join my list to receive notifications on new releases and promotions from me! Plus receive Tribulation: Soulless Wanderers Prequel for free!
Signing up is free and you can unsubscribe at any time.
Join my Reader’s List!
Please Leave a Review!
Hey! I hope you enjoyed the book. If you did, it would be awesome if you could leave a review.
Reviews help me stand out and can bring my books to the attention of other readers who might enjoy them.
To leave a review, click below.
Leave a review!
Thank you!
About the Author
Drew Strickland is the author of the post-apocalyptic series Soulless Wanderers. When he isn’t writing, he enjoys reading, watching horror movies and spending time with his wife and children.
www.drewstricklandbooks.com
Copyright © 2018 by DREW STRICKLAND
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Cover Design by Clarissa Yeo
ISBN: 9781728887463
Soulless Wanderers: Soulless Wanderers Book 1 Page 25
