Jen had run ahead of Will when an Empty jumped out from behind a car in Adam’s driveway, startling her enough to make her fall. The thing snarled and lunged toward her. Will ran up beside it and unloaded a single round into its head. Blood splattered his face and down onto Jen. He reached down and offered his hand to her, and Jen’s eyes looked wide over his shoulder as she drew her pistol.
“Duck.”
Will fell down and Jen fired. He looked back to watch an Empty fall near him, a bullet hole in its forehead.
“Shit,” Will said, panting and looking up at Jen. “Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it.”
They ran toward the house, finally arriving at the front door. Will turned the handle, but it didn’t budge. For a moment, he thought about knocking or trying to kick the door down, but he still wasn’t sure if the only threat that had come to the neighborhood had been Empties. He didn’t look past the idea that there could be a human threat around.
“Let’s check around the side,” he said.
As they raced back down the steps, Will looked out into the road. Most of the Empties were now heading for the van, and a small group was moving up the lawn toward Adam’s house. Charlie and the others had moved away from their vehicle, continuing to fire at the oncoming creatures. Jen took two shots with her pistol at the oncoming beasts before Will grabbed her arm and pulled her around the side of the house.
A six-foot-high privacy fence surrounded the backyard. Will holstered his gun and pulled himself up, launching over it. On the immediate other side of the fence it was clear, and he called Jen to hop over. She came over the top of the fence and he helped her down onto the ground.
“Stay behind me,” Will said. “And be ready.”
He pulled his AR-15 around to the front of his body and held it ready to fire. Arriving at the back corner of the house, he stood with his back against the brick wall. Slowly, he peeked around the corner.
“It’s clear,” he said.
Will moved around into the backyard and Jen followed. The grass rose to his ankles and looked even more ragged near the playground equipment at the back of the yard. A concrete slab porch furnished with a table led to the back door.
They arrived at the door and Will tried to look inside, but found that the curtains were closed. He took hold of the handle and pulled on the door. It took a little effort, but the door slid open.
He looked back to Jen and said, “Just stay behind me. We don’t know who, or what, could be in here.”
Will slid the AR behind his back again and readied the pistol, preparing for gunfire in a tight space if necessary. He moved the curtains out of the way and entered the house.
The back door opened into the kitchen and dining room. A strong smell hit Will immediately and he brought his hand to his face, covering his nose and his mouth.
“Oh, God,” Jen said, following suit. “What is that?”
Keeping the gun ready, Will looked over the bar and into the living room, where two bodies lay next to each other. One was a male and the other a female. He moved closer to get a better look and saw the handguns lying next to each body. Looking into the male’s face, he saw the bullet wound in his forehead and the blood pooled around the back of his head. Will turned away.
Jen saw the bodies, and she immediately averted her eyes and muffled a scream with her mouth. Will turned around and put his finger to his lips, urging her to hush.
“I think they killed each other,” Will said.
“Why?”
Because it’s better than being trapped in Hell, Will thought.
Jen continued to shake, looking down at the ground.
“Hey,” Will said, looking right into Jen’s face.
She looked up.
“You’ve gotta focus, all right?”
Arms trembling, the woman nodded.
“All right,” Will said. “We’ve gotta look around for Adam, or anyone who might be alive.”
They had to go through the living room to move through the house, meaning that they had to pass the dead bodies.
When they entered the dining room and passed the corpses, Will said, “Just try not to look down.”
Outside, gunshots continued, but on the inside the house was eerily silent. They checked the two rooms downstairs, the laundry room, and the bathroom, all to no avail.
“We gotta try upstairs,” Will said after they’d scoured the entire downstairs.
Will rounded the corner of the living room and arrived at the staircase. The stairs were covered with faded gray carpet, and fresh blood stains crawled up each stair to the top floor.
“Keep an eye out,” Will said. “And be very quiet.”
Will crept up the stairs, being careful not to step in any blood. He tried to keep his eyes focused at the top of the staircase just in case something, or someone, appeared, but it was difficult not to look down at the stains on the carpet. Along with the blood on each step, there were also red handprints on the walls and on the wooden handrail.
When he reached the top, Will looked each way down the dark hallway. Still, he saw nothing. But he did know which way to go.
“Look,” he whispered to Jen.
The blood trail continued to their left, stopping at the first door on the right side of the hallway. It was closed.
With his sweaty hand still gripping his gun, Will made his way toward the door. It had a similar crimson handprint to what he’d seen on the wall.
“I want you standing back with the rifle ready to fire,” Will said. “I’m going to swing the door open and go inside.”
“All right,” Jen whispered. She stepped backward until she hit the wall before holstering her handgun and pointing the assault rifle toward the door.
Will used the tail of his T-shirt to wipe the blood off the handle. He then put his hand around it, making sure it wasn’t too slick for him to open. He closed his eyes and thought about the promise he’d made to Holly and the children.
I will make it back, he thought.
Will drew in a deep breath and threw the door open.
Chapter 10
All Jessica wanted to do was sit in her room and do nothing. She was still frustrated at the way Will had acted but, deep down, she was also thankful to have a bed for at least one more day. With the group about to head back out onto the road, she didn’t know when—or if—she would have a bed to lie in again.
Unfortunately, she wouldn’t be able to lie there all day. Any moment now, Holly would be bringing the kids over and it would be her time to watch them.
She lay on her back for a few more minutes, and then, as expected, a knock came at her door. She pushed out a breath as it opened and Teresa appeared in the doorway.
“Holly’s on the porch with the kids,” Teresa said.
“All right,” Jessica said. “I’ll be down in a minute.”
Teresa smiled and shut the door. Jessica swung her feet over the side of the bed and put on her pants. Then she headed out the door.
At the bottom of the stairs, Teresa waited.
“You need anything?” she asked.
Jessica shook her head. “I’m good, thanks.” The woman looked away, and Jessica could see the hurt in her eyes. She knew Teresa’s husband was out there with Will and Charlie. “Are you doing all right?”
Sniffing and wiping her forehead, Teresa said, “Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just not easy with him being out there.”
“I know it’s not. But I can promise you that he’s in good hands.”
Teresa looked back to Jessica, her eyes red, and nodded.
“It goes both ways: you let me know if you need anything, too, okay?”
“Thanks,” Teresa said.
Jessica opened the front door and Holly turned around, having been standing near the steps while watching the kids play in the yard.
“Hey,” Holly said, sounding reserved.
“Hi,” Jessica said back. She shut the door behind her and stepped onto the porch.
; “Get enough rest?” Holly asked, a sarcastic tone in her voice.
Ignoring it, Jessica said, “I did. Thanks. Is Will back yet?”
Holly shook her head. “Sorry to tell you he’s not.”
Again, Holly sounded frustrated, and Jessica narrowed her eyes.
“Is everything all right?”
Holly scoffed. “You’re really gonna ask that?”
“I’m sorry,” Jessica said. “You just sound like you’re pissed at me about something.”
“Oh, you mean about how you treated Will like shit?”
Jessica looked out into the yard. The kids continued to play, apparently not having heard Holly curse Jessica.
“Can we not do this in front of the kids?” Jessica asked.
“Do what?” Holly said. “I know Gabriel has a reason to be upset with Will, but why you?”
“Hey, you got up and left that dinner, too,” Jessica said. “He shouldn’t have just made the decision for us to stay here another day.”
“Who said you had to stay?”
Jessica glared into Holly’s eyes. Holly seemed proud of herself for getting a rise out of Jessica, and Jessica tried not to show it.
“Gabriel’s been out there by himself already and it didn’t turn out well. So maybe he just doesn’t wanna do that again. But why are you staying, Jessica? Why are you really staying?”
Jessica shrugged and sighed. “I don’t know, Holly. What is it exactly that you want me to say?”
“I know why you’re still around. I see it in your eyes every time you look at him. You think I’m really buying that you were mad at Will because he’s the only one with enough guts to make a decision?”
“Holly, listen, I—”
“No, you listen,” Holly said, cutting the distance in half between the two of them. “Will is mine, do you understand that? I want you and I to be friends, I really do. But I warned you about this before, and I’m not going to tell you again.”
“Are you threatening me?”
Holly moved right in front of Jessica and pointed her finger at her chest.
“Don’t be mad at him just because you’re jealous.”
Jessica didn’t even know how to respond. And before she could figure it out, Holly turned around and headed out of the yard. Halfway to the street, she looked back at Jessica once more with the same scowl, but then she flipped it to a smile when she looked to Dylan and Mary Beth.
“Have fun with Jessica, guys.”
“We will,” the two kids said simultaneously.
Jessica bit her lip and watched Holly cross the street, imagining herself running after her, throwing her to the ground, and stomping her face into the concrete.
Then the children looked up at her, breaking her away from her fantasy.
She smiled. “You guys ready to play?”
Chapter 11
Sunlight poured in through the window, giving Will enough light to see the dead creature lying in the middle of the room. A knife had been driven into its eye and it lay on its back, arms sprawled out and its blood staining the carpet around it.
Jen made her way into the room, standing beside Will. She jerked away from the sight of the fallen Empty and Will had to remind himself that she’d been sheltered, and hadn’t seen all the things he’d seen.
Gunshots continued to go off outside. Hurrying to the window now that the room was clear, Will looked out into the street. “There’s more Empties coming.” He closed the blinds and turned back around. “We have to go. There’s nothing h—”
The firefight outside ceased long enough for Will to hear something, stopping him mid-sentence and halting his steps toward Jen.
“What is it?” Jen asked.
Will put his finger to his mouth, urging her to be quiet.
The gunfight had started again, but Will was sure he’d heard something: shallow breathing and a gurgling sound.
Looking to the floor, he saw the sun shining in enough for him to see the trail of blood on the carpet. It led from the Empty’s feet to the closet with its door ajar.
Will readied his .45 and crept toward the door. Gripping the edge of it, he licked his lips, preparing for anything on the other side. He threw it open, the pistol pointed inside, before narrowing his eyes and dropping the weapon to his side.
“Adam?”
The man sat against the wall, inside the closet, with fallen clothes on top of him. Shirts and pants covered him from his stomach up to his neck, but Will could see in his face and eyes that he had been injured.
Will kneeled down. “What happened?” he asked.
Adam drew in a labored breath that carried a weeping gasp with it, sounding almost like a pressure valve loosening. He slowly lifted his bloody hand and removed the shirt from his throat.
Will shifted to allow light into the closet.
Adam’s throat had been torn apart, skin pulled open and blood seeping from the wound. When Will saw the opening, he grabbed the shirt and pressed it against Adam’s throat again.
“Shit,” he said, looking back to Jen. “I need you to grab me a fresh shirt or a towel. I’ve gotta keep pressure on this to stop the—”
Will felt a grip on his arm and he looked back to see Adam holding onto him, shaking his head.
“We might be able to stop the bleeding,” Will said.
Adam continued to shake his head. He lifted his quaking hands and used an imaginary pen to write on a nonexistent sheet of paper in the air.
“Never mind,” Will said, calling back to Jen. “Find a piece of paper and something to write with.”
Jen went to a desk on the other side of the room while Will held onto Adam’s bloody hand. She returned with an open spiral notebook and a fine-point black marker.
Adam took the items and began to write. He could hardly control his trembling hands, but he managed to scribble. When he was done, he held up the notebook.
Everyone left or died. Nothing left. Run.
“You want us to run?” Will asked. He shook his head, not thinking clearly. “No, we can’t.”
Adam’s arms fell, dropping the paper and the marker. His mouth fell open, eyes still wide and staring into the nothing beyond Will.
Reaching down, Will checked Adam’s pulse.
Nothing.
Will sighed and shook his head. He reached out and rolled his hand over Adam’s eyes, closing them, and then he stood.
“We have to go,” Will said.
“Shouldn’t we at least look around for some of the stuff we need?” Jen asked.
“No,” Will said. “You saw his note. He said ‘nothing left’. Whoever was able to escape took everything with them.”
Will jerked his head toward the window when he heard a scream.
He yelled, “Come on!” and ran for the door.
Shuffling down the stairs, he went straight for the front door, unlocking it and hurrying outside.
He stopped on the porch when he saw the small horde of Empties in the yard. Drawing his hand gun, he stood at the top of the steps and took aim at the creatures. Jen stood alongside him and fired at the beasts.
They had taken down all but two of the creatures when they both ran out of ammo. Another scream came from near the van. Jen was about to reload, but Will grabbed her wrist.
“No time. Let’s make a run for it.”
Will hurried down the stairs and rushed across the yard the same way they’d come to the house. Empty bodies lay everywhere, along with human corpses. Though many Empties had been taken down by Charlie and the others, more had shown up. An Empty stood in his path, and Will barreled his shoulder into the beast, sending it to the pavement.
Ahead, Charlie and Shawna were out front of the vehicle, shooting at the horde.
Waving toward the van, Will shouted, “Go—we’ve gotta get out of here!”
But Charlie and Shawna didn’t move. Charlie continued to fire at the Empties coming down the street while Shawna faced the other way and aimed at the creatures coming from the
woods.
When Will and Jen got closer to the van, Will saw why Charlie hadn’t moved. On the ground between he and Shawna was Franklin. Steve was kneeled down beside him, pressing a T-shirt against his leg. Another piece of a shirt or some type of clothing was also tied around his leg.
“We can’t go yet,” Charlie said. “He’s been bit.”
Will looked to Franklin and could see in his grimace just how much pain he was in. Will had been bit by one of the Empties himself, so he knew how much it burned.
“You two help Steve get him into the van,” Shawna called back.
Will looked to Charlie. “We can’t. We have to leave him and—”
“Just do it, Will,” Charlie said, cutting him off.
Will exhaled and shook his head. Looking back to Jen, he said, “Come on.”
Will kneeled down next to Franklin as Charlie and Steve continued to fire.
“It’s just the one leg,” Steve said. “If we can get him up then he should be able to move the other while we hold him up.”
Together, the three lifted Franklin, who cried out as his injured leg shifted. The bite was gruesome. His thigh had been torn apart above the knee. The white T-shirt Steve held against the wound had been dyed completely crimson. But they managed to get him onto his good leg. Will stood on one side of him while Steve braced him from the other.
“Jen, help them keep those things away from us,” Will said.
Jen collected more ammo from the van, then went to help Shawna fend off all of the creatures coming from the woods as Will and Steve hauled Franklin to the van. Will slid open the panel door and they helped a limping Franklin in, easing him onto one of the seats.
“Charlie, get this thing started,” Will said. “I’ll cover for you.”
Charlie took one last shot, hitting an Empty in the chest and knocking it to the ground, then turned around and loaded into the driver’s seat. Will took his own spot, using the assault rifle to take aim at the creatures.
The van came to life.
The Empty Charlie had last shot had almost made it back to its feet when Will put a round into its head, sending it back down onto the ground.
Empty Bodies Box Set | Books 1-6 Page 92
