Jessica also showed them to another room where there were women prisoners. One of them had died, and the others looked terrified when they saw the group. Jessica assured the women that they meant them no harm, and it was proven so when they let them loose. It took some time for the women to warm up to the group. When they did, they agreed to head back to Timothy’s community.
Within two hours, they were all heading out of the school’s parking lot.
Gabriel rode with Will and the others. He took one last look at the school as they pulled out of the lot. He shook his head, thankful that he could look forward now. Forward to getting to Washington and finding his family. And, more immediately, forward to seeing Dylan once again.
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
Will thought Gabriel might jump out of the moving vehicle when he saw Dylan waiting for him on the front porch. When the vehicle did finally come to a stop, the boy was already halfway across the yard. Gabriel was the first one to exit the vehicle, and Dylan ran to him. They had explained to Gabriel what had happened to Dylan’s arm, but Gabriel still cried when he saw it was missing as he held the boy close.
Mary Beth appeared in the doorway. She ran across the yard to join them, sprinting into Jessica’s arms.
As Will watched the reunion, he began to cry. Especially when he witnessed Gabriel examining Dylan’s missing limb for the first time. Though Charlie and Holly had told him different, Will still blamed himself for the accident.
He wiped his cheek with his arm as Timothy arrived from another vehicle.
“We’re going to move Holly inside to remove the bullet and stitch her up,” Timothy said. “She should be feeling better by this evening, or the morning at the latest.”
“Do you need my help?” Will asked.
Timothy shook his head. “We can handle it.”
Together, they looked on as Gabriel and Dylan continued their embrace.
“Gabriel really cares for that boy, doesn’t he?” Timothy asked.
“He does,” Will replied. He turned and shook Timothy’s hand again. “Thank you for everything.”
As they shook hands, the doctor said, “I want you to stay. All of you.” He looked around. “We’ve got plenty of room. I could let you have three separate houses.”
Will looked over to Dylan and Gabriel again. Dylan was now hugging Jessica, but Gabriel had left his hand on the boy’s shoulder. Dylan looked back to Will and smiled. Will returned the gesture and waved.
“I appreciate your offer, but I can’t pull them apart again. We’ll stay here for at least the night, maybe a couple of days, but Gabriel is going to want to get to Washington. It’s all he’s wanted since all this happened.”
“Are you sure?” Timothy asked.
Will sighed and wiped the sweat from his brow. “We’ve separated from Gabriel twice, and this is the second time we’ve been reunited. I think the universe wants us to stay together.”
Timothy put his hand on Will’s shoulder and he smiled. “Not the universe, but God.”
TO BE CONTINUED…
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thank you to all the readers who’ve come along this journey with me!
Thank you to Jimmy Chew for all the awesome information on field amputation.
Thank you to The Empties!
Thanks, as always, to Johnny Digges for another great cover, and to Jennifer Collins for another fantastic edit.
WHAT DID YOU THINK OF DAMNATION?
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Something about the dark side of life has always appealed to me. Whether I experience it through reading and watching horror or listening to my favorite heavy metal bands, I have been forever fascinated with the shadow of human emotion.
While in my 20's, I discovered my passion to create through playing drums in two heavy metal bands: Kerygma and Twelve Winters. While playing in Twelve Winters (a power metal band with a thrash edge fronted by my now wife Kathryn), I was able to indulge myself in my love of writing by penning the lyrics for all our music. My love of telling a story started here, as many of the songs became connected to the same concept and characters in one way or another.
Now in my 30's, my creative passion is being passed to willing readers through the art of stories. While I have a particular fascination for real life scenarios, I also love dark fantasy. So, you'll find a little bit of everything in my stories, from zombies to serial killers, angels and demons to mindless psychopaths, and even ghosts and parallel dimensions.
My influences as a writer come primarily from the works of Clive Barker, Stephen King, and Blake Crouch in the written form; the beautifully dark, rich lyrics of Mikael Akerfeldt from the band Opeth; and an array of movies, going back to the root of my fascination at a young age with 70's and 80's slasher films such as Halloween, Friday the 13th, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
I live in Nashville, Tennessee with my wife Kathryn, our daughter Haley, and our German Shepherd Guinness. When I'm not writing, I enjoy playing hockey, watching hockey and football, cycling, watching some of my favorite television shows and movies, and, of course, reading.
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OTHER BOOKS BY ZACH BOHANNON
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Table of Contents
Updates
Navigation
Copyright
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Cha
pter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Coming Soon
Author's Note
Acknowledgements
Review
About the Author
Other Books
Empty Bodies (Book 5): Damnation Page 26
