Empty Bodies (Book 5): Damnation (16 page)

Will turned back and saw residents looking down the street toward him. The doors of the van were open, and Charlie and Karl were among the eyes staring his way.

The human scream sounded again, prompting Will to look back toward the trees.

Without hesitation, he raced into the woods.

The fact that he was unarmed didn’t escape him, but he chased after the cry anyway. He sprinted as fast as he could, pushing away branches, stomping over twigs, and nearly tripping over a stray log. The human scream came again, bouncing off the woods all around him.

Will ran for another thirty yards or so before he came to a fence. Vines had found their way through the openings, gripping the steel. He heard the scream again, this time coming from his right. He followed for a few hundred feet until he came to an opening. It was just big enough for someone of Will’s size to walk straight through to the other side. He squatted down and noticed the fresh blood dripping off the chain link.

“Oh, shit,” he mumbled.

“Help!”

The voice came from behind him, and Will turned back toward the woods. He ran again, but he didn’t have to go far to find the source of the human cries.

A large group of Empties, perhaps around twenty, or maybe two dozen, were gathered around a tree. They were about fifteen yards from where Will stood. Hanging from the tree like an exhausted gymnast was Spencer. He hung from a long branch, its end almost touching the ground under the weight, his arms extended. The creatures stood under him, his feet just out of reach from their dead grasps. He managed to look up and make eye contact with Will just before Will concealed himself behind a nearby tree.

“Help! Will, help me!”

Will stood against the tree, his eyes closed, trying to come up with a strategy. All the while, Spencer continued to cry a desperate plea for Will to help him.

Drawing in a deep breath, Will opened his eyes and shifted from behind the tree. He walked five yards and stopped. Spencer continued to cry out, and he shook the branch as he writhed. Will waved at him with both arms, trying to get him to calm down. The branch bounced with every single movement that Spencer made. It looked to Will as if it might not hold up much longer if Spencer kept tugging on it.

Continuing to wave his arms, but looking down at the Empties now, Will yelled, “Hey! Over here!”

The creatures lowered their hands and turned in unison. They snarled, and the creature that Will was focused on tilted its head, as if curious. It led the pack in lumbering toward Will, who stepped backward slowly, so as to not trip and fall.

“That’s it,” Will said. “Come on, you ugly bastards.”

The monsters continued toward Will. In the tree, Spencer’s expression had stretched into a smile.

“Yes!” Spencer yelled. “Fuck yes! Get the fuck outta here, you ugly cunts!”

The tail of the horde had almost cleared the space under Spencer when he yelled again. The Empties looked back to Spencer, dangling in the tree.

“What? No!” Spencer cried.

“Spencer, shut the fuck up!” Will yelled.

But Spencer apparently didn’t hear him, or at least didn’t heed the advice. He continued to bawl. Most of the horde turned away from Will and moved back under Spencer. As each creature made their way under his feet and reached for him again, Spencer writhed more. Will looked up to see that the branch was close to faltering under the pressure.

“Spencer, you’ve gotta stop moving. That branch is gonna br—”

The crack of the branch echoed through the forest, even overshadowing the Empties’ hungry howls. Spencer fell to the ground, still holding the branch. He landed on his feet, but immediately screamed and fell down. His screams now were those of agonizing pain. Through a gap in the horde, Will could see Spencer rolling on his back and holding onto his ankle. He imagined the ankle rolling like that of a basketball player’s, coming down awkwardly from a rebound attempt.

Spencer screamed one more time, and then the Empties piled on top of him, and the cries faded. Will, still backing away from about five Empties who’d remained focused on him, turned away from the gruesome scene. He looked back for a brief second before he cut through the woods and ran back to the neighborhood.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

When Will emerged from the trees, Charlie was waiting on him.

“I was just coming to look for you,” Charlie said. “What the hell happened?”

Working to catch his breath, Will thumbed over his shoulder. “There’s a group of Empties in there. There’s a hole in the fence and they must’ve come through. They got Spencer.”

“Shit,” Charlie said.

Adam jogged up from behind Charlie with three people, one of which was the woman who had greeted them at the gate.

“What’s the matter?” Adam asked.

Will told them about the Empties in the woods, and Adam raised his eyebrows, mouth wide in disbelief.

“They killed your man?” he asked.

Will nodded. “I don’t know why he didn’t just outrun them and come back. He either panicked, or they ended up surrounding him somehow.”

“I’m so sorry,” Adam said.

“He shouldn’t have run off,” Charlie said.

Before answering, Will said to Adam, “You’re going to have to fix that fence once you take care of the herd. There’s about twenty of them. You have plenty of artillery, right?”

Adam furrowed his brow. “You aren’t staying to help?”

Will shook his head. “I’m sorry, but no. We have to get back to our own group and get the medications to Dylan.”

Karl ran up behind them. “What happened?”

The woman nudged Adam on the shoulder. “It’s fine, we can handle it. Let them go.”

“Handle what?” Karl asked. “And go? We can’t leave without Spencer. Where is he?”

Charlie looked to Will, then pulled Karl aside to explain to him what had happened. Will extended his hand to Adam.

“Thank you,” Will said.

Accepting Will’s hand, Adam said, “I hope the boy ends up all right.”

Will smiled and nodded. “I think he will.”

When he heard the faint snarls, Will turned around to look back into the trees. The creatures weren’t yet visible, but they sounded like they were close. Will hurried over to Charlie.

“And he’s sure he’s dead?” Karl was asking Charlie as Will approached. Karl then directed the question at Will.

“I’m sorry,” Will said. “We need to get out of here.”

As they ran toward the van, the woman and Adam shouted orders at the other survivors. Many of them were already armed, and others raced to find weapons. Others, women and children mostly, scurried away from the scene entirely, though many of the women held weapons and were ready to fight. Will, Charlie, and Karl found themselves running against a small wave of individuals as they headed back to the van. They loaded inside, this time lighter by one person and a generator. Karl’s hands shook on the wheel.

“You need me to drive?” Will asked.

“No,” Karl said, shaking his head. “I’ll be fine.”

One of the guards who had been perched up high at the fence waited for the van as it approached. The gate opened, and he saluted Will and the others as they passed by.

And as Karl drove through the gate, a fury of gunshots rang out behind them.

***

Each time Will looked over to Karl, he seemed to be gripping the steering wheel tighter. Will noticed sweat glistening off its leather covering. He thought about trying to speak with Karl about what had happened, but then he thought back to friends and family he’d lost over the past few weeks, and how he had wanted to just be left alone.

The silence gave Will time to reflect on what had happened. He felt guilty about leaving the survivors to handle the horde on their own—especially when they’d had so little experience dealing with Empties. But after losing Spencer, the risk of staying had elevated. Going home light one person would be grueling enough, and Will knew he needed to get the supplies they’d obtained back to Timothy. Most of all, to Dylan.

Playing over and over again in his head was the scene with Spencer. Surrounded by trees on the ride home, he couldn’t help but think about Spencer’s face as the branch broke, sending him to the ground and, inevitably, his death. It replayed in his mind in slow-motion, especially the terror in Spencer’s face as his hands had let go. Then, when they passed the place where they’d stopped to fight the small group of Empties on the way to trade for supplies, Will held back tears. Even though he’d been frustrated with both Spencer and Karl for the way they’d frozen inside the van, Spencer had still saved Will’s life. That same sour attitude Spencer had displayed then was the exact thing that had killed him barely even an hour later. The whole thing was sad, but Will had to remind himself there was nothing more he could’ve done to save the man.

On the way home, they had no physical encounters with any Empties. Within only twenty minutes, they were back.

A few people who Will didn’t recognize were there to greet them when they arrived. One of the people, a woman in her forties, called Timothy’s name. Others began gathering outside.

Will stepped out of the van. When he looked over the hood, he saw Holly on the porch of the house they’d been staying in, a grin stretched across her face. She shuffled down the steps and ran to him, and he picked her up and hugged her. When they were finished, she stepped back, moving the hair out of her face, and looked back at him.

“What happened?” she asked.

Even though he’d been able to clear most the grime off his face and out of his hair, Will had forgotten that his shirt still displayed the aftermath of their encounter with the small pack of Empties on the road.

“We had a run-in with a small pack,” Will replied. “No big deal.”

“Were you guys able to trade with them?”

Will nodded.

Charlie stepped out of the back seat, holding some of the medical supplies in his hands. He hugged Holly, and Will turned around as Timothy approached.

“Did you get everything off the list?” Timothy asked.

Will handed the list back to Timothy. Everything had been scratched off, telling him that it had all been obtained.

“We had to trade just about everything we took with us, but we got everything you needed.”

“This should last us a long time,” Timothy said. “I’d like to give you some for the boy.”

Waving his hand, Will said, “When Adam heard the story about what happened to Dylan, he offered to give us a small supply. It should be enough to get Dylan through until he heals.”

They shook hands. Timothy said, “Thank you for going.”

“It’s no problem. Thank you for all the care and hospitality you’ve shown us.”

When Timothy looked over to Karl, he scrunched his face in confusion. “Where’s Spencer?”

Karl put his hands on his hips and he shook his head.

“Shit,” Timothy mumbled, looking down to the ground.

Will explained to Timothy what had happened. How Spencer had become upset when they had agreed to unload everything they’d brought with them. How he’d then wandered off, and what had happened when Will found him.

When Will finished, Timothy fell silent.

“Did he have any family here?”

“No,” Timothy said. “Thank God, too, because I’m not sure I could go through that.”

“I’m sorry,” Will said, his hand on Timothy’s shoulder. He glanced over to the house and saw Dylan and Mary Beth standing on the front porch. Will patted Timothy on the back, then moved past him and headed up the yard.

Dylan smiled, looking the happiest he’d been since his arm had been amputated. Will leaned down and hugged Mary Beth first, then Dylan. Dylan’s single arm wrapped around Will’s side, patting him.

“I’m glad you’re back,” Dylan said.

“Me, too, buddy.” Will pulled away and observed the dressing on Dylan’s arm. “How’s it feeling?”

Shrugging, Dylan said, “A little sore, but a lot better.”

“Well, we got you some medicine that should help out a lot, all right?”

Will turned around to face the gathering crowd in the street. Timothy had his head in his palm and he appeared to be crying now. The same was true with Karl. Charlie and Holly headed up the yard as others poured into the street.