Empty Bodies (Book 5): Damnation

by Zach Bohannon

  Disoriented, Lance landed on the other side of the room. Gabriel saw the Glock lying within reach, and Lance went for it.

  Grabbed it.

  Lance went to his knees and lifted the gun as he turned around toward Gabriel.

  He faced Gabriel just in time to see the bat coming, but not soon enough to evade the blow.

  The aluminum bat crushed the top of Lance’s skull, and he fell limp, dropping the Glock. Gabriel watched as his body sank to the concrete, and his Philadelphia Eagles hat fell beside him.

  The sound of aluminum hitting concrete echoed throughout the tiny space as Gabriel dropped the bat and fell to one knee. He wasn’t sure how he’d managed to stay on his feet at all, but knew he now had to garner the strength to leave. He grabbed the bat again, using it as a cane to stand.

  He got to his feet, but before he could grab any guns, the door opened.

  Gabriel readied the bat on his shoulder as a man appeared in the doorway, a rifle aimed at him. He’d been about to swing when he suddenly loosened his grip.

  The man standing in front of him lowered the rifle and squinted his eyes.

  “Gabriel?”

  Gabriel spit blood and mumbled, “Will.”

  ***

  Rolling the stretcher, Jessica stepped backward as Bruce came toward her. He smiled, showing his yellow teeth.

  “There’s nowhere you can go this time,” Bruce said. “No one is gonna save you.”

  When her back hit the wall, Jessica pushed Claire to the other side of the room, away from both herself and Bruce. Nothing stood between them now.

  “I’ve been waiting for this,” Bruce said. He licked his lips. “I haven’t been able to get you out of my mind.”

  Jessica moved down the wall, but knew she had few to no options on where she could go.

  Bruce faked a lunge toward her, and Jessica almost lost her balance. He laughed.

  “Now, come on. Let’s just make this easy, all right?”

  “Stay away from me.”

  Jessica came to the stretcher and had no place else to go. She was sure to keep herself between Bruce and Claire.

  “Stay back,” Jessica said.

  Bruce came forward and tried to grab her, and Jessica slapped him. She dragged her hand so that her nails scraped across his cheek, breaking flesh. He stepped back and held his face. When he pulled it away and looked at his fingertips, he saw the blood.

  His taunting smile turned to a glare of hateful lust.

  “You stupid bitch.”

  Jessica screamed as Bruce came at her again. She swung her arm again, but he caught her by the wrist this time. Using his other hand, he backhanded her across her face. Jessica fell to the ground.

  “Get the fuck up.”

  He grabbed onto the back of her coveralls, yanking Jessica to her feet. Tears streamed down her face as he turned her toward him, binding both of her arms with his strong grip.

  “Please, just leave us alone,” Jessica pleaded.

  “We’re far past that, darlin’.”

  He struck her again. Hard enough to turn her around. She caught herself on the edge of the stretcher, bending over. Behind her, she could hear Bruce groan.

  “You like it this way, huh? Fine by me.”

  The sound of him unzipping his pants was like glass shattering. Soon, his hands were on her waist, moving up her body. He squeezed her breasts and pinched her nipple. Jessica cried out. Further violating her, he slapped her on the ass. It burned, but not as much as her pride.

  “It’s a shame your friend can’t watch,” he said, laughing.

  His hands slid to the front of her coveralls and reached for the zipper.

  “Please,” Jessica cried. “Don’t do this.”

  Bruce grabbed the back of her head by the hair and pulled it back.

  “If you don’t shut the fuck up, I swear to God that I’m gonna twist your goddam head off your chicken neck.” He pushed her head back down toward the stretcher.

  Jessica continued to cry, looking down to Claire. Her friend didn’t move. Jessica turned her eyes away from Claire’s face. That’s when she noticed something pinned under her friend’s arm.

  The plunger of a syringe poked out from under Claire’s wrist. Jessica couldn’t tell if a needle was attached to it, but it would be her only hope.

  Bruce opened the front of her coveralls, squeezing her breast again, over her sports bra. She felt him as he rubbed up against her and he moaned.

  “Goddam, I feel like I could cum now.”

  This was Jessica’s last chance to hold onto any dignity she had left.

  She grabbed the syringe and twisted, burying it into Bruce’s neck, pushing down the plunger. The tube was just under half-full, and whatever was in there went under his skin. He stumbled back, eyes wide. She’d swung as hard as she could, sending the entire length of the needle into him. Bruce fell to his knees, his hand gripping the plunger.

  Out of the corner of her eye, Jessica saw something that caught her attention. A small bottle sat on a nearby table. She squinted her eyes to read the package.

  DANGEROUS: CONTENTS ARE POISONOUS.

  Bruce pulled the plunger out and looked at it. Then his eyes went to Jessica, and he fell forward, landing face first on the tile floor.

  Jessica zipped up her coveralls and looked back to Claire on the stretcher. Her eyes were still open, but it was clear that she wasn’t there. Jessica turned over her friend’s wrist and saw the place where they had inserted the needle. Jessica pressed her index and middle fingers against Claire’s forearm, searching for a pulse.

  She waited, and felt only a faint pulse.

  She was pulled away from her friend when the door opened.

  The guard Derek entered the room first, aiming a rifle at Jessica and shifting his gaze down to Bruce.

  Ambrose entered the room behind him.

  “Stay right there,” Derek commanded Jessica.

  She remained still, with no intention of moving.

  With Derek’s gun pointed square at Jessica’s chest, Ambrose moved past him and kneeled down next to Bruce. He placed his fingers on his neck and waited. After a moment, he scoffed and looked up at Jessica.

  “You did this?”

  She made no signal and gave no response.

  Ambrose laughed. “Damn, girl. You didn’t write in that diary of yours just how much of a badass you were.” His eyes shifted to Claire on the table behind Jessica. “What about her?”

  Derek went to Claire and placed his fingers on her neck. “She’s barely alive.”

  Ambrose shrugged. “Well, your girl for my guy, I guess, right?” He stood and patted Derek on the back. “They come with us.”

  Jessica looked up, and Derek reached out and took her by the wrist. He forced her to walk between himself and Ambrose while he pushed Claire along.

  They headed down the hallway, and the firefight continued outside.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  Gabriel held Will’s embrace, mostly just so he could stay on his feet. His face pulsated, his ribs ached, and his legs wanted to give out on him. Will eventually pulled away, but allowed Gabriel to hold onto him. Holly and Charlie stood behind Will, smiling. Holly came to him and hugged him.

  “What happened?” Will asked.

  Gabriel shook his head. “I’ll explain later. We’ve gotta find Jessica and Claire.”

  “Where’s Thomas?” Holly asked.

  Gabriel shook his head.

  “Damn it,” Holly mumbled.

  “We can still save the girls,” Will said. “Do you know where they are?”

  “Hopefully they’re still back in my room. Are we able to cross the parking lot and get into the school?”

  “Most of the fighting is happening at the front entrance of the school,” Charlie said. “We cleared out this end of the parking lot.”

  “Ambrose’s headquarters is in the school’s main office,” Gabriel said. “They’re probably protecting him.”

  Will f
urrowed his brow. “Who is Ambrose?”

  “He runs this place. He’s evil. We’ve got to find Jessica and Claire before he hurts them.”

  “Can you walk?” Will asked. “You look like shit.”

  Gabriel signaled his head toward Lance on the floor. “You should see his face.”

  Will eyed the baseball bat. “You ready to trade that for a gun?”

  Gabriel nodded. He gestured toward Lance and Derek’s weapons, and Charlie picked them up.

  “You said you cleared out this side of the lot?”

  Will nodded.

  “All right,” Gabriel said. “Directly across the lot, there’s a side entrance to the school. We’ve gotta go down a couple of hallways, and we’ll be at our room.”

  “You and I will lead the way,” Will said. He looked to Holly and Charlie. “You two watch our six, okay?”

  “Got it,” Charlie said.

  Gabriel went to the door and drew in a deep breath as he gripped the handle. His ribcage screamed at him with each breath, and he fought to ignore it.

  He opened the door.

  People screamed and bullets soared, but it all came from the front side of the building. As Will had said, this side was clear. The proof was in the bodies that lay sprawled across the parking lot. Fresh blood pooled on the ground next to them. Gabriel scanned the area to make sure it was clear. Then he pointed to the school’s side entrance and hurried across the lot.

  The side door was unlocked, and the group spilled into the stairwell.

  “Were any of those people out there with you?”

  “Two of them,” Charlie replied.

  “Who are they?”

  “Just a group we met. Good people,” Will replied. “Where’s your room?”

  “We stay downstairs. Come on, this way.”

  They put their backs to the adjacent wall as Gabriel opened the door to the hallway. He nodded at Will, who spun into the doorway, rifle ready.

  “It’s clear,” Will said. “Let’s go.”

  Again, Gabriel and Will led the way while Charlie and Holly guarded their back side.

  They turned one corner and arrived at another vacant hallway.

  “How many people are here?” Holly asked.

  “I don’t know,” Gabriel said. “I’ve seen several guards, but I’m not sure how many people are here total.”

  “We only brought about twenty-five people with us,” Will said.

  “Sounds like they’re holding their own pretty well out there.”

  They arrived at another corner, and Gabriel peeked around to check the hallway, clutching his ribs. Like everywhere else, it was vacant. He led the others around the corner, slowing to a walk.

  “We’re this room right here,” Gabriel said, pointing to a nearby door.

  He went to the room, expecting the door to be locked. Instead, it was just barely open, the mechanism sitting against the plate. Gabriel readied his handgun and turned with his fingers to his lips, signaling for the others to be quiet.

  He drew in a deep, painful breath and drove his shoulder through the door.

  The beds remained in place, their blankets tossed where they’d left them. Neither girl was there.

  “Shit,” Gabriel said.

  “You said they were both here when you left?” Charlie asked.

  “They must’ve taken them hostage.”

  Gabriel walked over to one of the cots and sat down on the edge. Adrenaline was wearing off and he could feel the aches all over his body, each one defining itself.

  “Do you know how to get to the lobby from here?” Charlie asked.

  “Yes, but they’re sure to have numbers on us. Ambrose probably has all his people guarding those doors so that no one can get inside.”

  “Are you gonna make it?” Will asked. “You look like you’re in a lot of pain.”

  Grimacing, Gabriel said, “I’ll be fine.”

  Standing at the door, keeping it propped open, Holly said, “All right, so we should—”

  She was cut off by shouting coming from down the hallway. Will grabbed her and yanked her inside the room, being sure to ease the door shut so that whoever was coming wouldn’t hear it.

  They remained silent and still in the dark room, standing against the wall. Shadows filled the room as several people passed the window. It was impossible to tell how many. Their boots kept moving down the hall, eventually fading out to nothing. Gabriel came off of the wall and peeked through the window. He saw no one in the hallway. He turned to face the group.

  “They must’ve found out that you killed their side entrance guards,” Gabriel said.

  “Good thing we made it in here before they got to that door,” Charlie said.

  “We can’t stay here,” Will said. “We’ve gotta try to find Jessica and Claire.”

  Suddenly, Gabriel had an idea. He smiled, almost mad at himself that he hadn’t thought of it before. Will noticed his face light up.

  “What?”

  “Come on,” Gabriel said. “I’ve got an idea.”

  ***

  When they came to the door, Gabriel looked through the window. He fumbled for the keys in his pocket before finding them. He tried three keys before getting the door to swing open.

  There were six men inside the room. Two lay on the floor, not acknowledging Gabriel and the others. The other four men looked up. One of them was standing, and he raised his hands at the sight of Gabriel’s rifle, looking confused as he eyed Gabriel up and down.

  “Are you here to kill us?” the man asked, a tremble in his voice. “We hear all that commotion outside. If that’s why you’re here, just get it over with.”

  “No,” Gabriel said. “We’re here to ask you to come fight those sons of bitches with us.”

  He entered the room with Will, Holly, and Charlie filing in behind him. The man stepped back until he was against the wall, still appearing hesitant.

  “It’s all right,” Gabriel said. “I’ve been a prisoner here, just like you all.”

  “We brought a group here and they’re out there fighting to bring this place down,” Holly said. “That’s the commotion you hear.”

  “We’ve gotta hurry,” Will reiterated.

  Gabriel eyed the conscious men in the room. “Are you able to move? Can you fight?”

  One of the men on the ground, a black 30-something guy, said, “They’ve hardly brought us any food. That’s why those two aren’t awake. They don’t have any strength.” He licked his chapped lips. “But I think I can muster up enough energy if it means that I might live.”

  “It does,” Gabriel said.

  “Do you know how to use a gun?” Charlie asked. Only one of the four men said they didn’t.

  Being sure to keep their heavy artillery to themselves, each person in the group handed over a handgun so that each of the prisoners had ones. Charlie gave the one guy a quick crash course on using a pistol.

  “I’m sorry that we don’t have something heavier to offer you,” Gabriel said. “But if you wanna make it out of here, this is gonna have to do.”

  “Doesn’t matter to me,” the black man said. “If I’m going to hell today, it can’t be any worse than this place. I’m just gonna make sure I take as many of those motherfuckers with me as I can.”

  Gabriel couldn’t help but chuckle. He slapped the guy on the shoulder.

  “Then let’s go give you your wish.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  When they arrived near the lobby, Gabriel slid into an empty nearby room that had once served as a lounge.

  “Stay here,” he told the others. “I’m going to peek my head around the corner and try to see how many soldiers are out there.”

  “Do you want me to go?” Will asked.

  Gabriel took his hand off his aching side and stood up straight. “I’ll be fine.”

  “Just be careful,” Will said.

  Gabriel exited the room, being sure to check both ways before entering the hallway, and hugging the wall
as he moved. Most of the fighting had settled down, as he only heard the occasional gunshot. He came to the tall, open archway of the lobby, and ducked his head around the corner.

  The glass doors and windows stretching across the front entrance of the school were practically nonexistent now. Three guards sat on the ground behind the desk near the entrance. Others stood with their backs against the wall on the far side of the lobby, out of sight from the people outside. The guards against the wall were facing his way, though not looking at him. Gabriel had to shift out of view again before he was noticed. He headed back to the lounge and rejoined the others.

  “Are they still fighting? I don’t hear anything,” Holly said.

  “They’re at a standstill right now.”

  “Were you able to see how many of them there were?” Will asked.

  Gabriel shook his head. “I had to duck out of view before they noticed me. I counted at least seven, but I’m sure there are more.” Gabriel used the white board on the wall to draw a map, pinpointing the positioning of the guards he’d been able to see.

  “I’m assuming there’s going to be more guards on this wall.” He pointed to the wall that was next to where he’d peeked into the lobby and been unable to see. “The door to the office is on that wall and it curves in, so I couldn’t see. It’s likely that Ambrose is in there, so they’ll probably have it well-guarded.”

  “What if he’s not in there?” Charlie asked. “What if he’s hiding somewhere else in the school?”

  “He’ll be there,” Gabriel said. “He’s not a coward.”

  “He’s right,” said the black man, who had revealed his name to be Joe.

  “We’ve gotta take out the guards behind the desk and on the far wall first,” Will said. “Then we’ll worry about whoever is in front of the office.”

  “We’ll go in first,” Joe said.

  Gabriel shook his head. “You don’t have to do that.”

  “Man, if you guys didn’t come and get us, we’d be sitting in that room right now, just waiting to be slaughtered. It’s cool, right?” He looked to the other survivors, and though they looked scared, they each nodded. “You just be ready to back us up with some heavier artillery.”

  “You’re all okay with it?” Gabriel asked the other men.