Empty Bodies: A Post-Apocalyptic Tale of Dystopian Survival (Book 1)

by Zach Bohannon

  She looked out the window and saw the vehicle. It was an ambulance.

  The passenger side door of the ambulance opened and she watched a well-built, dark man, pull a gun up to chin height and unload a clip into one of the beasts.

  Their eyes met. He ran over to the van and looked through the window at her.

  “We gotta get y’all out of there,” the EMT said. “Open up!”

  ***

  Jessica sat up, disoriented, with little sense of where she was. Pain hit her shoulder immediately and she grimaced. A hand touched her good shoulder, giving it a slight push.

  “Lie back, miss. You’re going to be alright.”

  She blinked a few times and looked up to see the man who had pulled her out of the van.

  “Where am I?”

  The man checked her heartbeat with a stethoscope, found that her beats were getting back to normal, and wrapped it around his neck.

  “You’re in an ambulance. The wreck was really bad. Your collarbone is broken and you likely suffered a concussion.”

  Jessica looked around the ambulance and tried to sit up again.

  “Whoa,” the EMT said. “Just relax.”

  “Where is Melissa?”

  He put his hand up, palm out, urging her to calm down.

  “She’s fine. We called in a second ambulance to come get her. She was worse off than you. Knocked out. But she’s going to be fine.”

  Jessica put her hand to her forehead, feeling her concussion for the first time. Raising her left arm wasn’t easy, but her right arm, which had slammed against the door and broken her collarbone, wouldn’t move up at all.

  “My name is Lawrence. What’s yours?”

  “Jessica.”

  He smiled. “Nice to meet you, Jessica. Sorry it’s under this circumstance.”

  Jessica couldn’t even crack a small smile, but she gave Lawrence a nod. He was attractive, and she wanted to smile, but in this moment of pain, loss, and grief, she couldn’t muster it up. Not even for the man who’d saved her; the second stranger in two days to compete the task.

  A small bag sat on a flat surface near her and she saw the photographs she’d taken from her parents’ house poking out of the top of it. She closed her eyes, letting out a sigh of relief that the memories weren’t lost.

  “Do you know what happened?” Jessica asked.

  Lawrence filled his cheeks and let out a large breath. “Melissa, right? She must have swerved…”

  Jessica cut him off. “I mean with the people outside.”

  Lawrence frowned and shook his head. “We have some theories, but we aren’t sure. Watching them all fall down, it’s something I just can’t even begin to try and understand.”

  Jessica squinted. “Fall down?”

  He glared at her. “Where were you when it happened?”

  Jessica thought back to the moment when the elevator door opened and she’d seen the frightened people on the 8th floor of the hotel.

  “I wasn’t around any people,” she said, remembering the time lapse between leaving the front desk, going down to housekeeping and dry storage where she was alone, and then up to the rooms where she first saw the people who were sick.

  Lawrence took a deep breath and crossed his arms over his knees, using his tongue to wet his lips so that he could speak clearly.

  “I was out on an emergency call. My partner and I were called over to a recreational park where a man had had a heart attack while playing softball. Guess the guy was past his prime.

  “I was performing mouth-to-mouth on the man when I heard a collective gasp. My partner, Robin, was down. I shook her, checked her for a pulse, and found that she wasn’t breathing. Chest compressions did nothing for her.

  “When I looked around, I saw that most of the people in the park had fallen. Everyone who didn’t fall just stood there, confused and frightened.

  “Then, moments later, it happened.”

  “The bodies rose?” Jessica said.

  Lawrence nodded.

  “I was lucky. I was distracted, in utter shock of everything, as I watched people begin to eat people. Then, Robin grabbed me. I honestly don’t remember how I got away, but I did.”

  “Oh my God,” Jessica said.

  Lawrence laughed. “Something tells me He was involved.”

  Jessica cocked her head. “God?”

  Lawrence shrugged. “That’s my theory at least. I believe in the book of Revelation. And I think we witnessed the Rapture. Only, while the Bible describes people disappearing, I think only their souls disappeared. And that thing we see left is nothing but a vacant shell.”

  Jessica only listened, didn’t respond. Her faith had always been shaky at best, and the past 48 hours hadn’t done much to help it.

  “Anyways, I was able to get a small group of survivors into the ambulance and head back to the hospital. That’s where we’re headed.”

  “Is it safe?”

  Lawrence nodded. “We were able to quarantine ourselves in the west wing of the building. We aren’t strong in numbers, but we have power, supplies, food. You’ll be taken care of there.”

  Jessica lay her head down and let out a sigh.

  Turning away from Jessica, Lawrence began to put together a syringe. He loaded it and flicked it twice, making sure the medicine was set.

  “We will be there soon, but I want to give you an anesthetic. You need to sleep and you won’t be able to through the pain. This should put you out enough where we can work on you once we get there, in just a few minutes. This isn’t our normal procedure, but I don’t think that much matters anymore.”

  Jessica smiled.

  “Thank you,” she told him.

  Lawrence smiled back. “Just relax.”

  He found a vein in her arm and injected the anesthetic into it.

  Within moments, the roof of the van became cloudy. Jessica’s head fell over and the last thing she saw before she fell asleep was her parents’ smiling faces in the photograph, hanging out of the bag.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  WILL

  When they reached the front of the aisle, Will realized the racking extended all the way to the wall, trapping them. He flashed the light at the racks and saw that each rack was filled with pallets of large, metal blocks.

  He tried to move one of the pallets so that they could duck through the racks, but it didn’t budge.

  The Empties, now in a group of nearly twenty, inched closer by the moment.

  “What are we gonna do?” Holly cried.

  Will looked up. He threw the gun around to his back and looked over to Holly.

  “Shine the light up there.”

  Holly pointed the light at the racks and Will climbed five feet to the second level, standing on the orange beam and using the objects on the pallet next to him for balance.

  “Come on,” he yelled down, reaching his hand down to help her up.

  She grabbed his hand and Will pulled her up to the second level of the racking. Holly flashed the light down to see the Empties only yards away.

  “We have to get higher,” Will said.

  He reached up and grabbed the beam above his head, pulling himself up, thankful for the pull-up bar under his bathroom door at home. One of the pallets at the top was empty, and Will spread across it on his belly, extending his arms down to Holly.

  When she reached up, she slipped on one of the slick metal beams.

  Will reached down and caught the arm of the screaming girl just as she was about to fall. He had a tight hold on her forearms and worked to pull her up, grimacing as his biceps bulged through his shirt.

  Below her, one of the Empties screamed back at her, grabbing her legs.

  She began to panic, kicking her legs as she felt the slimy dead hands wrap around her ankles.

  “I’ve got you,” Will yelled. “Hang on!”

  It began to dig its worn nails into her calf as it scratched and pulled. Holly let out a scream that echoed through the facility, tears rolling
down her face.

  Will grunted as he pulled, fighting the surprising strength of the dead below. Her frantic kicking wasn’t making things any easier, either.

  Rapid shots rang through the air as Empties at the back of the pack began to fall. Will could only see black outlines disappear, and he heard each let out a grizzly yell as they hit the concrete.

  The Empty let go of Holly’s leg and Will finally pulled her up to the top level.

  The gunshots of a semi-automatic weapon continued to scream off the walls.

  Will pointed the light down to the ground and saw the creature that had a grip on Holly fall to the ground, losing its head in the process.

  Once he knew that Holly was secure, Will panned the light across the ground, seeing the collection of dead bodies stacked in rows on the ground.

  Will panned the light a little further on and saw a black man carrying an assault rifle and looking up at them.

  Holly squinted her eyes.

  “Marcus?”

  The man nodded and let out an echoing laugh.

  ***

  The three of them moved back into the office part of the building where there was light.

  Marcus followed Will and Holly through the door into the office with a smile across his face and the assault rifle over his shoulder. He wore a neatly kempt mustache on his face and had matching hair on his chin, though they didn’t connect. His eyes were as bright as his smile, but his scent was dull and reeked of his reality—several hours trapped in a small room.

  Marcus gave Holly a hug, letting his chin rest on her shoulder. “It’s good to see you, Ms. McNeil.”

  “Likewise,” she said back.

  They broke their embrace and Marcus looked over to Will, extending his hand to him.

  “Thanks,” Marcus said.

  Will snickered as he accepted the hand. “I should be thanking you.”

  Marcus shook his head. “Nah, man. You all distracted them long enough for me to get out of there. Once I heard the gunshots, I put my ear to the door. The scratching and awful scream of those things stopped pretty quick after the shots. I counted to a hundred then got out of the room and came to find y’all.”

  “Well, thanks, regardless,” Will said.

  Marcus nodded. He looked over to Holly. “How is everyone else?”

  She bowed her head and didn’t respond.

  “They’d be doing a lot better if that asshole wasn’t over there holding a leash on everyone,” Will chimed in.

  “What?” Marcus asked.

  “That asshole, David Ellis,” Will said with a smile.

  Marcus approached Will, glaring at him the entire time he moved closer. He stood about a foot away from Will now.

  “You ever think that maybe you’re the asshole?” Marcus asked.

  Will snickered and said, “Yeah. The asshole who just saved your shit ‘cause that pussy didn’t wanna come do it.”

  Marcus threw Will against the wall and pressed his forearm against Will’s throat, pinning him against the drywall.

  “I don’t know who the fuck you are, man, but I’m not gonna let you talk about my friend like that, okay? David is a good man,” Marcus said.

  Will was hardly able to get a small chuckle out through the arm on his throat. “Yeah? Well, if that prick is your idea of a friend, maybe I should have just let those things tear your ass apart.”

  Anger spread across Marcus’s face and he sent a soaring left through the air and connected with the right side of Will’s face, right below his eye.

  “Marcus! Marcus, stop,” Holly yelled.

  He turned and looked at her.

  “He’s right, Marcus,” she said. “It’s not the same. He isn’t the same.”

  Will made it to his side, propping himself up with his elbow, and rubbed his hand on his cheek to check for swelling.

  “What do you mean?” Marcus asked.

  She began to sob, lightly. “He’s over there trying to control everyone. Tell everyone what to do.”

  “He’s the boss,” Marcus said.

  She shook her head. “No, Marcus. This is different. He’s acting like some kind of dictator or mayor or something. Like he’s trying to start a new community within that fucking building and make himself the king. Besides, you think he’s still our boss?”

  Holly went to the window and pulled the blinds down.

  “Look outside, Marcus,” she continued. “You think that job titles really fucking matter?”

  Marcus looked at her, his eyes slanted and stern. Then, he looked away with pouty lips as he tried to digest everything she was saying.

  She had begun to tear up, not convinced she was getting through to him.

  “For Christ’s sake, Marcus. He pulled a gun on me.”

  His head turned quickly toward her right as the radio on his belt began to buzz.

  “Anyone there? Over,” David Ellis said through the walkie.

  Not letting his eyes leave Holly, Marcus slowly reached for the radio and pressed the button with his worn thumb.

  “David. It’s Marcus. I’m out. Over.”

  ***

  Will reached up, grabbing onto Jonas’ forearm and pulling himself up into the warehouse while the Empties remained distracted behind him by the road flare in the parking lot, the flare still spraying red sparks and smoke into the sky.

  He looked over to see David and Marcus embracing, as if they hadn’t seen each other since high school. Holly had taken a seat to Will’s left, still trying to allow her nerves to recover from all she had seen and experienced during the impromptu rescue mission.

  Jonas reached out his hand to Will and waved his fingers toward himself.

  “I don’t think you’ll be needing that anymore,” Jonas said, looking at the gun.

  Will looked at the rifle, reluctant to give it back. He had no trust for the people around him and hated the situation he was in, but knew that he was probably left with little choice but to hand the weapon over. He wasn’t going to start firing at everyone—he’d be dead within seconds—so he let the strap of the rifle slide off his shoulder and he handed it to Jonas.

  Removing his hand from Marcus’ shoulder, David walked over to Will, smiling. He reached his hand out, offering it to Will in a kind of thank you or truce.

  Will stood there for a moment, unsure what to do or think. He had no trust for this man. In fact, he hated him. A kind of hate that his humble blood had never felt for anyone else.

  Reluctantly, he put his hand out and grasped David’s.

  “Thank you,” David said.

  Will nodded.

  As Will loosened the grip of the handshake, David tightened it suddenly, pulling Will toward him and slamming his left fist into Will’s stomach as hard as he could.

  Will let out a grunt and hinged at the hips, gripping the pain in his stomach.

  David brought his knee up across Will’s face, sending him to the ground. Will could barely move. He rolled on the ground, holding his stomach and writhing.

  The crowd behind David began to rustle. Holly jumped out of her chair, screaming, and ran toward Will.

  “Get her,” David commanded two of the other men in the room.

  They came over and picked Holly up under her arms, moving her away from Will.

  David leaned down and turned Will over at the edge of the dock, digging his knee into the middle of Will’s back with all his weight.

  “What are you doing, David?” Marcus asked, walking toward him.

  Jonas stepped in front of Marcus, shaking his head from side to side.

  Marcus stepped back, looking down to the gun pointed at his stomach. He looked back up and glared at Jonas, a look of disgust in his eyes.

  David used his strength to slide Will’s body across the smooth concrete of the warehouse floor, leaving Will’s head hanging over the edge of the dock, exposed to the world.

  Holly kept screaming, uncontrollably, piercing the air.

  David rolled his eyes and turned aroun
d. “Take her inside!”

  The two men carried Holly into another part of the building, her screams becoming a faint, white noise.

  David grabbed Will’s head up by his hair. One of his eyes was nearly swollen shut, but Will could see the group of Empties only twenty yards away, still distracted by the flare. David leaned down into Will’s ear.

  “You are strong, son,” David whispered. “Too strong. You must understand that I can’t have a threat to my control hanging around here, can’t you? We have to do away with that.”

  “Fuck you,” Will said, spitting blood onto the asphalt below.

  David pulled back harder on Will’s hair, making him groan.

  “No. Fuck you, kid,” David replied.

  David whistled.

  Three of the Empties turned, spitting toward the dock. This caught the attention of the others, and they began limping toward the building.

  Will tried to fight it, his head hanging over the edge—exposed—only six feet above the ground. He wiggled his body back and forth as David dug his knee harder into his back.

  “David, don’t do this,” Marcus pleaded, Jonas still disrupting his path. “He saved me.”

  “Yes, but he plans to kill me,” David said.

  “Let’s just let him go,” Marcus said.

  The Empties were limping closer.

  “It’s not that easy, Marcus. This isn’t the same world. We have to do what we have to do to survive. Who’s to say, if I let him go, that he won’t just come back here and seek revenge on me for tying him up and forcing him to go get you?”

  Closer. Dead arms beginning to extend.

  “Yeah,” Marcus replied. “And I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for him.” Hurt crept into his voice. “Let him go, David.”

  The Empties were close. The first one could almost reach out and touch Will.

  David licked his lips and grimaced, taking a tighter grip on Will’s hair.

  He bit his lip and pulled back on Will, right before the baying creature could grab him.

  Will rolled over and coughed, unable to catch his breath and in shock from his near demise.

  David stood. He looked over to Marcus, running his hands together, holding the glare on him.

  “Lock this piece of shit up,” David told Jonas, pointing down at Will.