Empty World

by Zach Bohannon

  And he looked forward. He closed his eyes and thought about his unborn child. He pictured lying beside Brooke and holding his baby for the first time. Only, they weren’t on some street corner or in some rundown hotel. They were in a beautiful house, with a warm and comfortable bed. Their friends were there, and everyone was happy. Paul could think of nothing more he wanted than to live that moment.

  Paul opened his eyes and came out of the thought when he heard Brooke stir. He smiled as he saw his wife’s green eyes glow in the sun and look at him.

  “Hey,” she said softly before she yawned.

  “Good morning.”

  “Did you get any sleep?”

  Paul shook his head. He went to the bed and lay on his side, cuddling up to his wife’s backside. He wrapped his arm around Brooke, kissing her on the cheek. Then he rested his hand on her belly.

  They lay in silence. Paul ran his hand over Brooke’s baby bump, and they looked out the window to the bright sky.

  “You need to be here when our child is born,” Brooke said, breaking the silence.

  “I will be. This should only take a few days. We’ll be back before you know it.”

  Brooke took Paul’s hand and gripped it tight. Her eyes turned glassy and a tear rolled down her cheek.

  “What is it?” Paul asked.

  “Those men were evil, Paul. I saw it in their eyes. They had no remorse for anything. If the men who took over Shell’s town are anything like them…”

  “Where else can we go? I’m tired of running, Brooke.”

  Brooke turned to look into her husband’s eyes. “But what makes you so sure you can beat them?”

  “What makes you ask that?”

  More tears moved down Brooke’s cheeks. “You didn’t see these men. They were ruthless. I mean, what if Dylan is right? What if this is all just a big mistake?”

  “It’s not a mistake, okay? This is just what we have to do.”

  “But why? Can’t we keep moving, away from that gang, and find somewhere else?”

  “Where else?” Frustration grew in Paul’s voice. “How much farther do we have to go, Brooke?”

  “Don’t get upset with me. I’m just scared.”

  Paul sighed as he kissed his wife’s hand. “I’m scared, too. But I’m also tired of running. You can’t have our baby here, Brooke. And you can’t have it on the highway. If that town is half of what Shell described, then I can’t see you having it anywhere but there. And I know this sounds crazy, but I think she was brought here for a reason. So that we could help her get her town back and we could stop running.”

  Brooke didn’t reply. She merely held her husband’s hand and let him continue to spoon her. After a few more minutes, Paul got up and grabbed his bag off the table.

  “I have to go meet the others downstairs before we leave.”

  “All right.”

  Brooke was no longer crying, but her face was red from doing so. Paul went to her and leaned down to kiss her forehead and run his hand through her hair. Then he went to the door. When he got there, he stopped and turned around.

  “Eloise.”

  “What?” Brooke asked.

  “That’s what we should call our daughter.”

  “I thought you hated that name.”

  Paul smiled and shook his head. “It’s the most beautiful name I’ve ever heard.”

  “Well, what if it’s a boy like you want?”

  Paul’s grin grew and he shook his head. “It’s not going to be a boy. We’re going to have a little girl, and she’s going to be just as gorgeous as you.”

  Brooke’s face glowed. Her eyes welled again, and Paul himself fought back tears. He had to stay focused.

  “I love you,” he said. “I’ll see you downstairs in a bit.”

  He shut the door behind him and wiped his eyes. Then he took a deep breath and headed downstairs.

  32

  Shell stared at herself in the mirror as she put her hair up. Her reflection only appeared in the top left corner, as the rest of the glass had cracked and shattered.

  When she’d finished putting her hair up, she stayed in front of the mirror and stared at her face. She hardly recognized herself. The last few days had felt like years. Her life had changed so much in the previous week, and her tired eyes and hardened cheeks reflected that.

  She saw a shadow in the mirror and turned around to see the boy. Kneeling in front of him, she wiped a smudge of dirt from under his eye.

  “Everything’s going to be okay. I promise you. They’re going to take real good care of you here while I’m gone.”

  He didn’t say anything. He only wrapped his arms around her and hugged her. Shell held him tight, fighting back the urge to cry.

  Then Shell stood, throwing her backpack over her shoulder. She took the boy’s hand and led him out the door. They walked downstairs to the lobby and through the front door, to where everyone waited outside at the entrance. She was the last one to arrive.

  “We were beginning to wonder if you’d bailed on us,” Keon said, smiling.

  “Sorry to disappoint you, but here I am.”

  Brooke stood nearby, and Shell walked the boy over to her. She kneeled down again.

  “You remember Brooke, right?”

  Brooke leaned over. “Hey, sweetie.”

  Shell said, “Brooke’s gonna let you hang out with her while we’re gone. That sound good?”

  The boy nodded, a small grin on his face. Brooke took his hand and Shell joined the others.

  “This everyone?” Shell asked, glancing around at the group of nearly twenty.

  Paul nodded. “Only two people are staying behind, along with Brooke and the four kids.”

  “And we’ve already rationed out the food we had left and given most to them. I figure we’ll be able to find some more food for us along the way.”

  “Good idea.”

  “Speaking of good ideas,” Katrina said, looking at Shell. “Are you sure it’s the best idea for us to follow the train tracks?”

  “I do. The train tracks lead right into Yazoo City and are only about a mile from my house. And from what you all have said, the highways aren’t exactly the best way to travel if we’re trying to avoid more bandits.”

  “What about Demons?” Katrina asked.

  “Demons are going to be a threat no matter which way we go,” Keon said.

  “Yeah, but walking through the woods and the fields, away from the roads?” Katrina shook her head.

  “We’ll deal with them as they come,” Paul said. “Like Keon said, we can’t avoid the Demons no matter where we go.” He looked at Shell. “But if this place is half of what you say it is, then it’ll be worth it.”

  Shell smiled at him, and as she was looking his way, she saw Dylan standing against a wall by himself about twenty feet away.

  “Let’s go ahead and get going,” Paul said. “We want to make as much progress as we can today.”

  Everyone started to scatter.

  “I’ll catch up with you guys,” Shell said.

  Paul and Keon both looked over to Dylan, then nodded at Shell.

  “Take your time,” Paul said.

  Shell adjusted her backpack, slipping it all the way onto both her shoulders. She held the straps with her thumbs as she walked up to Dylan.

  “You sure you don’t want to join us?”

  “You sure you don’t wanna stay alive?”

  Shell rolled her eyes. “Nothing you can say is going to make me change my mind.”

  “I know.”

  “So you ready to tell me where you’re going and why?”

  “Doesn’t matter. It’s a personal journey. Always was. I see that more now than I did before.”

  “It’s always going to be a personal journey if you’re never going to be willing to let others become close to you.”

  “I lost faith in people a long time ago,” Dylan said.

  Shell looked away, biting her lip in frustration. There was so much she wan
ted to say. She wanted to curse him. She wanted to hit him. But in the end, she knew none of that would be worth it.

  “That said, maybe there’s a chance in that changing,” Dylan said. “Maybe you brought me back a little bit.”

  Shell jerked her head back as she looked up at the drifter. “Did you just say something nice?”

  Dylan stepped away from the wall. “You take care of yourself, and the boy.” He extended his hand for Shell to shake.

  Shell glanced at it and then up at Dylan. She pushed his hand away and leaned into his chest, and wrapped her arms around him.

  After a moment, Dylan’s hand landed on her back. She pulled away a few seconds later, her hands on his shoulders.

  “I hope you find whatever it is you’re looking for.”

  She faced around and walked to catch up to the others.

  Don’t turn around.

  She told herself this over and over again, but she couldn’t resist.

  She turned around.

  But when she did, no one was there.

  As mysteriously as he’d appeared, Dylan had vanished.

  Paul turned to his wife when they reached the train tracks. He’d already been holding onto one of her hands, and now he took her other. Her eyes filled with tears and he ran his thumb across her cheek to wipe them away as they fell.

  “There’s no reason to cry. We aren’t saying goodbye.”

  “I know, but I’m scared.”

  “So am I, but that’s just more motivation for me to make it back here to meet our little girl.”

  Brooke laughed, and the tears came out now. Paul hugged her, running his hands up and down her back. As he was holding her, he saw Ronald, one of the men coming on the journey with them, hugging his wife and his little boy. Then he watched Shell approach the group alone. He’d held out hope that Dylan would change his mind. As much as he hated the bastard, Paul knew they’d have a better shot against the gang if he were with them. Shell looked Paul’s way for a second, before heading over to join the others. Paul pulled away from his wife.

  “You going to be all right?”

  Brooke nodded. “Amy is here in case something happens. She can help me deliver the baby.”

  “Eloise.”

  Brooke laughed, still crying. She wiped her eyes and said, “Eloise.”

  Paul kissed his wife. He ran his hand down her cheek, and it felt like the first time they’d kissed. And he knew it wouldn’t be the last, even as scared as both of them were.

  “I love you,” he said.

  “I love you, too.”

  He took a deep breath, and then turned around. He walked over and joined the rest of the group.

  “You ready for this?” Keon asked, clearly able to tell his friend was hurting.

  “I’m good. Let’s get going.”

  Everyone said their goodbyes to those staying, and finally they started down the tracks.

  Don’t turn around, Paul. Keep looking forward.

  But he couldn’t help it. Paul had to turn around and look at his wife.

  She was no longer crying. A smile stretched across her face, and she blew a kiss at her husband. Paul returned the gesture and mouthed the words, “I love you.”

  When he turned forward again, he didn’t look back until they’d rounded a corner and those they’d left behind were out of sight.

  I hope I’m making the right decision.

  33

  Shell walked alone, the anchor of the group. She looked out into the open countryside, taking in the beautiful scenery. When she wasn’t surrounded by the vacant, ruined city, it became easier to wonder what the world had once been like. The world before her. She’d only heard the stories from Lewis and the others who’d lived in the town with her, and who had lived over thirty years ago before everything had changed.

  She turned her attention forward and saw Keon sneaking a look back at her. He walked near the middle of the pack alongside his sister. Shell smiled when he looked at her, and he returned the expression. He said something to his sister, then stepped out of line and waited for the group in front of Shell to pass.

  “You’re going to leave your sister alone like that?” Shell smiled again.

  “Believe me, she probably fist-pumped when I walked away. I annoy her enough.”

  Shell laughed.

  “Besides, you look like you could use some company back here. Trina can find someone else to talk to.”

  “How do you know I don’t want to walk alone?”

  Keon raised his hands up. “Cool. That’s all good. I just wanted to—”

  “I’m kidding.” Shell laughed again. “You can walk with me.”

  “Oh, okay,” Keon said, relieved. He moved in next to Shell, falling back into line.

  Keon didn’t say anything after that, and Shell could feel a strange tension.

  “I thought you came back here to talk to me,” Shell said to break the silence.

  “Well, to give you some company, more or less.”

  “Either is fine.”

  “You could tell me more about your town,” Keon said.

  “Not much to say. It’s just a little town. Nothing like Jackson. But I will say that Yazoo is in much better shape. There’s a lot of great houses for everyone to live in. My house is gorgeous, though probably not as much as it once was. But I was happy there.”

  “And you’re going to be happy there again.”

  Shell glanced up at him and smiled. “I hope you’re right.”

  There was another awkward silence. Shell could tell Keon was trying to work up the guts to say something.

  “Did you really lose track of how long you were there alone? I’m sorry if asking that is rude. I just couldn’t imagine being stuck somewhere by myself for a long time. I feel like I’d go—”

  “Five years, three months, and eleven days.”

  Keon stared at her, his jaw slack. He was silent for several moments. Shell kept her focus forward until she finally looked over at him again.

  “Um, wow,” he said. “But you said earlier that you weren’t sure. How do you—”

  “A week or so after the last person died, I started keeping track of the days.” Shell shrugged. “Something about it just felt necessary.”

  “Jesus Christ, Shell. That’s a long damn time. I don’t think I would have lasted that long without cracking. How did you do it?”

  Shell pictured Lewis’ face. She thought of the conversations they’d had, and what he’d told her in the moments before he’d passed on. “You have to live,” he’d said.

  “I made a promise to someone.”

  Keon shook his head. “You’ve got to be the strongest person I’ve ever met.”

  “I don’t know about that.”

  “No, I’m serious. I’m just happy you’re on my side.”

  “Yeah, well, I don’t know what would have happened if you guys wouldn’t have shown up when you did. Those Deads were overwhelming us.”

  “You would have gotten out of it. I’ve seen you shoot, remember?”

  Shell laughed.

  Keon said, “Everything happens for a reason.”

  “Do you really believe that?”

  Keon nodded. “I do. I think that we all ended up there at the same time so that we could be here now, doing this. On our way back to your town. You wouldn’t have gone back to it without us, and we’d still be on the road, trying to find somewhere we could call home again.”

  “We don’t have my house back yet.”

  “But we will.”

  Shell pursed her lips. “How can you be so sure?”

  “Because I know we won’t lose..”

  “Well, we could lose.”

  Keon looked to the front of the group. He shook his head as he pointed to Paul.

  “That’s not an option for him. Trust me. He’s going to do everything in his power to make sure he gets home to his wife and that he sees his child be born.”

  These men will have wills of their own. />
  Shell hesitated to share her thoughts out loud. She wanted to believe they would easily be able to walk into her town and take it back. But with the way Dylan had spoken of the gang awaiting them, she couldn’t be sure. She was scared.

  34

  Standing at the front of the group by himself, Paul looked to the sky. Though he didn’t know exactly how long it’d been since they’d left, they had been walking for hours. The sun hung low in the horizon with night fast approaching. He didn’t travel when it got dark, not when he could help it. Not only did the darkness make it more dangerous to traverse the landscape, but the group was more vulnerable if they were tired. And Paul’s feet and calves had begun to ache, so he could only think the others were wearing thin as well.

  Katrina and Caleb moved up to the front to join him.

  “What are you thinking?” Katrina asked Paul. “It’ll be dark soon.”

  “I’d like to try to find somewhere with some shelter. If we can help it, I’d like to be out of sight of any Demons or raiders. It looks like it could rain, too.”

  “There’s nothing out in front of us,” Caleb said. “It could be another hour before we come across something.”

  Paul looked ahead. His friend was right. In front of them, he saw nothing but train tracks surrounded by trees and, beyond those, open plains filled with nothing. He pointed to a bend in the tracks some half-a-mile ahead.

  “We’ll head around that corner there, and if we don’t find a building or something at that point, we’ll make camp outside.”

  “Maybe there’ll be an empty train car or something,” Caleb said.

  “We’ll keep going and see what we find,” Paul said. “Fall back and let the others know.”