“Stop!” he finally ordered them. “Jesus, can’t you kids stay fucking still for a little while?”
“Gabriel,” Jessica said, narrowing her eyes toward him.
“Chill out, man,” Will said, looking at him through the mirror.
“You guys just need to calm the hell down,” Gabriel said. “We don’t have room in here for you to be acting like that.”
Mary Beth scooted away from Gabriel, crossing her arms and lowering her head.
“You’re scaring them,” Holly said. “What’s your problem?”
Gabriel’s jaw tightened and he ground his teeth together.
“What’s my problem? You’ve got to be kidding me, asking that question. Right? Tell me you’re joking.”
“Guys, let’s not do this here,” Jessica said.
“No,” Gabriel said. “I want to know. You’re joking, right, Holly?”
“Holly, just let it go,” Will said.
“No,” Holly said, turning around in the front seat to face Gabriel. “You’re unbelievable. Taking your frustration out on the children? This whole trip has been about you and getting home to your family. Meanwhile, Will has lost his family. He has done nothing for you but worked to get you home since we all met. And the two times you tried to go out on your own, who helped you when you got into trouble, huh? Remember when you lost Dylan and you had to come running back to the hospital? Do you remember that, Gabriel?”
“Holly, come on,” Will said.
“Or how about when you got trapped at that school? Who came to help you then? It was Will and those people he helped yesterday. So, excuse me if I think you’re being a little selfish because we had to wait one more day to get you home.”
Gabriel’s internal temperature rose. He’d been scared while at the school, but he hadn’t been this angry. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt this way. Before he replied, though, he looked down at the kids, who’d both begun to cry.
“Look, everyone just shut up,” Will said. “We’re not doing this now.”
“You’re scaring the children,” Jessica said, looking back and forth between Holly and Gabriel.
“There’ll be time for this later,” Will said. Looking at Gabriel in the mirror, Will said, “Let’s just focus right now on getting you home, and forget about yesterday, or the day before that, or last week. All right?”
Gabriel stared back out the window.
Will was right; there’d be time to hash it out later. And when they did, it wouldn’t be pretty.
***
Jessica had briefly fallen asleep when she was woken up by a strong vibration. Dylan, lying against her, had begun to tremble. His eyes wide, he stared into nothing.
“Dylan,” she said, cupping his face.
“What’s going on?” Will asked.
The boy began to shake more intensely. Mary Beth scooted away from him, covering her mouth and saying his name.
“Stop the car,” Jessica demanded.
“What’s going—”
“Now, Will! He’s having some sort of seizure or panic attack.”
Jessica cradled Dylan in her arms as Will pulled off the shoulder and stopped the vehicle. She looked to Gabriel.
“Help me get him out.”
Gabriel jumped out as Jessica ran her hand through Dylan’s hair.
“It’s all right, sweetie. We’re going to get you some fresh air.”
The door opened and Gabriel reached inside. He grabbed Dylan under the arms and slid the boy across Jessica’s lap. She took hold of Dylan’s legs and stepped out of the vehicle.
“Mary Beth, grab a blanket,” Jessica said.
The young girl showed up moments later with a blanket she’d grabbed from the back seat. She folded it once for extra padding and lay it on the ground. Together, Gabriel and Jessica lowered the boy onto the soft surface.
Jessica kneeled down next to Dylan, who continued to stare with wide eyes.
“Just breathe,” Jessica said, caressing his face.
“We’ve got company,” Will said.
Jessica looked up from the boy to see a pack of Empties moving down the middle of the interstate, heading straight for them.
“Gabriel, Holly, and I will take care of them,” Will said. “You just stay focused on Dylan.”
The three grabbed their weapons and focused their attention on the oncoming threat while Jessica continued to try and calm Dylan down. She put the back of her hand on his forehead when she saw sweat beading up. He was warm.
“Get me a bottle of water,” Jessica told Mary Beth.
The first gunshot startled Jessica. It was the first thing to catch Dylan’s attention, too, as he looked toward the others.
“What’s happening?” he asked.
“Everything’s gonna be all right,” Jessica said. “You’re just having some sort of a panic attack.”
“But the Empties, they—”
“Don’t worry about them. They’re taking care of them.”
Mary Beth arrived back from the cargo area of the SUV with a full bottle of water and handed it to Jessica.
“Here, see if you can sit up,” Jessica said.
Dylan, still staring with open eyes, slowly sat up straight. Jessica moved in front of him, blocking the boy’s view of the fight going on in the street.
She pressed the bottle to the boy’s lips and said, “Drink.”
He accepted the bottle, letting the cool liquid hit his lips and slide down his throat.
Jessica tried to focus on the boy and block out the onslaught behind her, but it was impossible. Gunshots continued to go off, along with the sound of a knife blade piercing and tearing flesh. Out of the corner of her eye, Jessica could see Mary Beth watching the gruesome scene.
“Don’t look,” Jessica told her. She reached over and grabbed the girl, forcing her to focus on Dylan. “I need your help with Dylan, okay?” Jessica lied.
The girl nodded.
“There’s more coming,” Will said.
“How’s he doing?” Gabriel called back to her. “We’ve got to go. Now.”
“Are you good?” Jessica asked Dylan.
The boy still trembled lightly, but he nodded.
“I need you to verbally tell me you’re okay,” Jessica said.
She didn’t turn around, but she could hear the horde approaching.
“Yes, I’m okay,” Dylan said.
“We’re good,” Jessica yelled back.
She stood up, then reached down and pulled Dylan to his feet
“Go, go!” Will yelled, running back to the SUV with Gabriel and Holly.
Jessica made sure the kids were safely inside the vehicle before she looked up to see a herd of a dozen Empties heading their way. Will was still turning around and firing at the creatures as he ran back to the car. Jessica jumped into her seat, urging Dylan to hurry and scoot over just as the others got back.
They slammed their doors and Will threw the SUV into drive. The road ahead was blocked with abandoned vehicles, fallen bodies, and the oncoming horde.
“Everyone, hang on,” Will said.
Jessica wrapped her arms around the children, shielding their eyes as the vehicle pulled forward. She peeked up just in time to watch Will slam into an Empty, its corpse tumbling over the edge of the hood. He hit others, and the creatures screamed as he plowed through them. But they made it away with the vehicle still in tact.
“I’ll find an exit ahead and we’ll pull over,” Will said.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Less than a mile down the road, Will pulled off at the next exit. He turned at the end of the ramp, gliding toward a desolate scene. On one side of the road was a gas station, its windows shattered. The inside looked like it had already been raided, so there would likely be no point to checking it. On the other side of the road were two larger buildings. Built with metal siding, they looked to have been some kind of warehouses. Will decided to pull into that lot in order to hide behind the buildings.
He parked
the vehicle out of sight from the interstate and then got out and went around to help Jessica get Dylan out of the back seat. The boy had calmed down, but still looked too fatigued to get out of the car on his own.
They set him down on the concrete, several paces from the SUV. Will ran his hand through Dylan’s hair.
“Just breathe, buddy.”
The others gathered around, and Jessica said, “Let’s give him some space, all right?”
Will stood up and backed away with the others. Holly had her arm around Mary Beth, and Will briefly glanced at Gabriel, who stood on the other side of the vehicle.
“Thanks for your help back there,” Will said to Gabriel.
“Yup,” Gabriel replied, staring away from Will, off into the distance.
Will wanted to say something right then. He wanted to slide past the hood of the vehicle and get in Gabriel’s face. To tell him not to be such an asshole. But he resisted the urge, not wanting Dylan’s panic attack to flare up again. Instead he reached into the vehicle and grabbed a bottle of water. Twisting off the cap, he took a sip.
“Go ahead and drink all our water,” Gabriel said. “We don’t mind.”
“What’d you say?” Will asked.
“I’m pretty sure you heard me,” Gabriel said. “Or maybe you’re just so far up your own ass now that you’re deaf.”
“Will, don’t,” Jessica said, but Will pretended not to hear her as he marched to where Gabriel stood, stopping just inches from his face.
“Look, dude, I don’t know what the hell your problem is, but this shit needs to stop now.”
Gabriel scoffed. “Okay. Sure.”
“You’re pissed that I went on that run yesterday for Timothy? Awesome. Well, you know what? Get the fuck over it. I don’t know if you noticed, but I’m here now. With you. Trying to help you find your family. What the hell else do you want?”
“You know, you’re right, boss. You’re always right. Sorry that I questioned you. Here, let me get you another bottle of water, sir.”
Gabriel started for the vehicle, but Will blocked his way, eyes narrowed as he glared at him.
“Get out of my way,” Gabriel said.
“No,” Will said. “Not until you promise me that you’re gonna stop this shit.”
“And what’re you gonna do about it if I don’t?”
Gabriel tried moving past him again, but Will shuffled to block his path.
“Don’t do this, guys,” Holly said.
“Stay out of this,” Will said to her.
“Wow, even telling her what to do now?” Gabriel asked.
Will shoved Gabriel with the intent of knocking him down, but Gabriel somehow kept his balance. His eyes went wide and he went at Will swinging.
Gabriel connected with the first punch, slugging Will in the cheek. The sting vibrated through his face as he stumbled back, stopping when he hit the vehicle.
“Stop!” Jessica shouted.
But Will ignored her. He rubbed his face, smiled, and then ran at Gabriel.
Wrapping his arms around Gabriel, Will tackled him to the ground. Both men grunted as they hit the concrete. The move took a ton of energy out of Will, even with the adrenaline rush. Lack of sleep and not eating enough had caught up to him. But he straddled Gabriel as the two men locked hands, trying to outmuscle one another and get in a blow. Holly, Jessica, and the kids cried out, but Will ignored them. He had the leverage on Gabriel, and he was going to get in as many licks as possible before the two men split.
Will managed to push Gabriel’s arm out of the way and threw his first punch, connecting with his cheek. He immediately swung again, but Gabriel raised his arm up to block the blow, taking hold of Will’s wrist again.
“You tired yet?” Gabriel asked.
Will gritted his teeth and threw Gabriel’s arm away long enough to hit him once more, this time in the mouth.
When Gabriel looked up again, he had a crimson smile stretched across his face. He laughed, spitting some of the blood straight into the air.
“That all you got?”
Will bit his lip, nearly drawing his own blood. He yelled out as he used the last of his strength to fight off Gabriel’s arm, punching him in the face again. And again.
Each time Will threw a punch, Gabriel laughed harder. It was almost as if he were letting Will hit him now. Like he was enjoying it.
After Will had gotten in five shots, a gunshot went off, and Will jerked his head around.
Jessica and Holly each had a gun in their hands. Smoke rose from the barrel of Jessica’s and both women glared at the two men as they made their way toward them. Jessica had hers aimed at Will, and Holly stood with hers fixed on Gabriel.
“You guys have to stop this right now,” Jessica said. “We can’t afford to have this kind of divide among us.”
“You’ve seen what happens out here,” Holly said. “How the hell do either of you idiots think we’re gonna survive if you’re acting like teenage boys?”
Still pinned under Will, Gabriel continued to laugh, blood pooling around his mouth.
“You think this is funny?” Holly asked Gabriel, extending her arm and aiming the gun straight at his head.
He lifted his hands. “Whoa. Really think you’ve gotta point that gun at me like that?”
“Shut up,” Will said to him.
“Both you shut up,” Jessica said. “We aren’t going to do this anymore. You want to get home or not, Gabriel?”
Neither man responded.
“Then we have to—”
Jessica turned around and Will looked past her to see the two children sprinting toward one of the buildings.
“Stop them,” Will said, pushing himself up and off of Gabriel.
“Come back!” Jessica shouted at the two children as she and Holly ran for them.
But the two children were too fast. They reached the building before the two women could catch up to them, Will several paces behind them.
“Just leave us alone,” Mary Beth shouted as they reached the door.
She pulled open the double doors and screamed as she fell backward, knocking into Dylan and sending him to the ground with her. Three Empties poured out of the doorway, snarling at the children.
Will’s heart raced. Without hesitating, he drew the handgun from his side, clasping both hands on the grip and aiming at the creatures.
He fired two shots, missing with the first and connecting with the head of an Empty on the second. Holly shot one of the other creatures, hitting it in the neck with enough force to knock it down.
Mary Beth managed to work herself backward on her hands, but Dylan had frozen. With only one arm, it was much more difficult for him to maneuver on the ground.
When the last Empty was about to fall down onto Will, Jessica dived into the creature, tackling it to the ground.
“Jessica!” Will yelled.
As Jessica fought with the creature, Holly dragged Dylan out of the way. Will arrived to where Jessica lay struggling with the beast, pointing the gun down and trying to find a shot. When he couldn’t find it, he kicked the creature in the side, knocking it off of her. It chomped its jaws, trying to bite her, but Jessica pressed the barrel of her gun against the Empty’s head and pulled the trigger. The gun remained in her hand, the metal clicking against a ring on her finger as she trembled. Will reached over and touched her shoulder, but she jerked away.
Jessica stared at him with large eyes, blood splattered on her face. She stood, making it to her feet before Will could help her.
She looked back and forth between Will and Gabriel.
Will said, “Jessica, are you—”
“Am I what?” she said, cutting him off. She slammed the double doors shut. “Am I all right? No, not exactly, Will.”
Will could feel his face heat up, his cheeks turning red. Her eyes remained big, going back and forth between he and Gabriel.
“Do you see what the two of you have done?” Jessica continued. “Do you?” She pointed pa
st Will. “Look at them.”
Will couldn’t move his eyes off of Jessica. She was such a quiet woman, and he’d never seen her act like this. It was almost as if she’d held in all of her emotions since The Fall and since she’d found her parents, and now it was all coming to a head.
“Look at them!”
Will turned to Dylan and Mary Beth. Dylan was still on the ground, Holly kneeling behind him with her hands wrapped around his body. Mary Beth stood nearby, eyes flooded with tears. Will frowned, the muscles in his face aching. He was so tired of seeing the two children cry. All he wanted was to get them somewhere safe where the group could try to start a normal life together.
He was pulled out of his thoughts when Jessica continued.
“I want both of you to realize that it’s you who are making them feel like this. It’s your fault they’re crying. You think they don’t know you’ve been down each other’s throats ever since we got out of that school?”
Dylan was looking right at Will, who couldn’t force himself to look away. Jessica was right. He needed to see it. To feel what the children were going through.
Jessica turned her attention to Gabriel. “I know you hurt, Gabriel. These others don’t understand the hell we went through and they never will. But you’ve got to let it go. I know you want nothing more than to get to your family, but remember that these people are your family, too. If it wasn’t for them, then we wouldn’t be here. They came and got us out of that hell.”
She looked at Will. “You have to stop making decisions without talking it over with the rest of us. We’re all in this together. I know that you’ve put a lot of the burden on your shoulders, and we all love you for that. We really do, and maybe we don’t tell you that enough. But you’ve got to stop putting all the pressure on yourself. Lean on us a little bit.”
Keeping her eyes on Will, she pointed to Gabriel. “Now we’re going to do everything we can to get to his wife and daughter, and it’s happening today. Not tomorrow. Okay?”
Everyone in the group nodded, even Holly.
“All right,” Jessica said. “Now you two do whatever the hell it is you have to do to make up and let’s forget about all this crap.”
Will and Gabriel looked at each other. Gabriel swiped his hand across his nearly unrecognizable face again to wipe more of the blood off.
Empty Bodies 6: Revelation (Empty Bodies Series Book 6) Page 10
