Empty Bodies (Book 5): Damnation (3 page)

“Hey, look,” Thomas said.

A large gas station sat in-between the eastbound and westbound lanes of the highway. It had at least one fast food restaurant joined to it.

“We’ve gotta check this place out,” Thomas said. “We’re in the middle of nowhere, and there’s hardly any cars in the parking lot. Maybe this place hasn’t been raided.”

Gabriel doubted that. But Thomas was right that the gas station didn’t appear to be a threat—at least not from the outside. And it had a restaurant attached that might have food.

“All right,” Gabriel said. “Let’s stop and have a look.”

CHAPTER THREE

After a period of screaming, Dylan finally passed out.

“Check his pulse,” Will said.

Charlie placed his index and middle fingers on Dylan’s neck. “He’s alive. Must’ve passed out from the pain.”

Outside of the SUV, Mary Beth sat on the ground and cried.

“Go take care of her,” Will told Holly. “I’ll keep pressure.”

Holly wiped her own eyes and stepped out of the vehicle.

“Come on, sweetie, let’s get out of the rain.” Holly led Mary Beth to Charlie’s cabin.

Ten minutes later, the bleeding had almost completely stopped.

“I think it worked,” Will said.

“Where did you learn that about cayenne pepper?” Charlie asked.

“My old boss, I think. He was one of those survivalist types. Loved being outdoors and shit, and always read a lot of books about Navy SEALs and the military. I thought I remembered him saying one day in the break room that you could clot blood with cayenne pepper.”

“He’s still going to need medical attention,” Charlie said. “If that thing is infected, he’ll—”

“I know,” Will said. “The bleeding’s stopped, so let’s just be thankful for that. We’ll tackle one problem at a time. For now, hand me that first aid kit so I can dress this wound.”

Charlie opened the box and passed a large bandage to Will, who dressed the wound. The white of the bandage showed spots of blood, but not nearly as much as the t-shirt and the towel had. He tied the extra shirt around Dylan’s arm, just above the wound, using it as a tourniquet. When he’d finished, the two men backed away, allowing the boy to rest.

Outside, the rain had stopped, and Holly and Mary Beth sat on Charlie’s porch. The young girl appeared to have calmed down some, and Holly’s eyes were dry, as well. She looked over to Will and he gave her a thumbs up as a signal that the bleeding had stopped.

“Thank God,” Holly mouthed.

Charlie had moved ten yards away from the front of the SUV, standing near the playground. His hands gripped his hips, and he looked down to the ground.

Approaching Charlie, Will asked, “Do you know of any doctors around here?”

Charlie shook his head and looked up. “There’s not even a hospital around here that I know of. And even if there was, I doubt we’d have any luck finding a doctor.”

“Then we’re gonna have to load up in the car and leave. We can’t afford to stay here.”

“Agreed,” Charlie said. “But where are we gonna go?”

“I suppose we’ll head North for Roanoke.”

“You still want to go and try to find that preacher?” Charlie asked, puzzled.

“I want to get him help,” Will said, gesturing toward the SUV. “That is my
only
priority right now. But if we’re able to find him help, then yes, I want to go and try to find Father Bartman.”

Charlie nodded. “I just hope that we can find a doctor, and soon.”

Me, too,
Will thought.

Holly and Mary Beth approached from behind them.

“How is he?”

“I wrapped the wound in bandages. He’s still passed out, but he’s breathing steady.”

“What’re we gonna do?” Holly asked.

“Charlie and I both agreed that it’s best for us to leave. We still have good shelter here, but we really have no choice but to try and find a doctor. Salt, aspirin, and bandages are only going to take us so far. We need to get him checked out for an infection, and see if we can find someone who can properly close that wound.”

“We need to raid the two cabins and grab anything that we can use,” Charlie said. “Clothes, more medicine, food—anything that we can take with us.”

“You and I can do that,” Will replied. He looked at Holly. “Stay out here and keep an eye on the kids.” She nodded and took Mary Beth by the hand.

Charlie went to his cabin while Will checked on the only other one still standing, which had been vacant when The Fall had happened. He wasn’t sure that he would find much inside. At most, he hoped that he would find some more medicine, or more canned food.

The door was already unlocked when Will turned the handle. The fire hadn’t made its way over to this building at all, and the place was clean like it hadn’t been touched in weeks. There were no empty bottles or cans left on any of the tables in the living room. In the kitchen, the counters were spotless. The trash next to the refrigerator was empty, and the sink was clear of any dirty dishes.

Will opened the refrigerator, and shut it almost as fast. A rotten smell permeated out of the appliance. It smelled of a mix of spoiled milk, aged meat, and rotten vegetables.

He checked the pantry next. Inside, he found a few cans of beans, canned vegetables, and some spices. He looked for cayenne pepper and didn’t see any, but he made sure to pick up the container of salt. This one was almost full.

Next, he walked to the cabinet above the sink. It was also mostly empty, but he found a bottle of aspirin, some cough syrup, and a first aid kit that was even smaller than what they had. He set the first aid kit down on the counter and popped it open. Inside, he found a large bandage, gauze, some tape, and Band-Aids. He closed it and put it under his arm, stuffing the bottle of aspirin into his pocket and carrying the cough syrup.

Two bedrooms were located in the back of the cabin. He’d hoped that he would find some clothes, as he’d lost most of his in the fire. He checked the closets, the bathroom, and the laundry room, but found nothing useful. Even still, one of the beds had clean sheets, a comforter, and four pillows. All the linens on the bed in the second bedroom had been stripped, likely by the survivors at the campground. Will removed the blankets and the pillows from the bed, and set them down near the front door.

He made one last sweep through the building, looking to see if he could find anything that would be of use to them. When he didn’t, he headed back out the door.

Outside, Holly was playing with Mary Beth in the middle of the campground. For the first time in hours, the child finally appeared calm. It put a smile on Will’s face to see her happy.

“You guys want to come over and help me carry some of this stuff to the car?” Will asked.

“Sure,” Holly yelled back.

Will threw the bedding onto the porch and asked Mary Beth if she could carry the pillows to the vehicle. Her arms weren’t quite long enough to grab all four of them, but she managed to grab three.

“What else did you find?” Holly asked.

Will sighed. “Not a lot. I found a little food, more aspirin and bandages, and those blankets and pillows. That’s about it.”

After handing Holly the bag of food and the first aid kit, Will picked up the blankets and the remaining pillow. As he stepped off the front porch, he heard Charlie come out of his cabin. Will stopped in the courtyard to wait on him.

“Did you find anything?” Will asked.

Charlie carried a duffel bag and two reusable grocery bags.

“Pretty much just my clothes and some food. I cleared out the rest of the medicine cabinet. Never know when we’ll need that stuff. I’ve got one more load just inside the door.”

“I’ll grab it,” Holly said.

Charlie nodded, and he and Will made their way to the SUV.

The back door of the SUV was open, and the two men set their things in the rear cargo area. Will peeked over the top of the seat and saw Dylan still fast asleep, his stomach rising and falling. The bandage on his arm showed red spots, but it wasn’t soaked.

“Still hard to believe that cayenne pepper actually worked,” Charlie said.

“Thank God it did,” Will said. “I don’t know what I would’ve done if he would have...” Will stopped the sentence short. “Gabriel left him with me, and he trusted that I would take care of him.”

Charlie put his hand on Will’s shoulder. “You can’t beat yourself up over what happened, man. We didn’t know those things were out there, or that they would come here and start a fire. We just didn’t know. We’d been here all this time and hadn’t seen any. It’s not your fault.”

Will sighed. “I know.”

A few moments later, Holly returned, carrying the remaining bags.

“This was all I saw.”

“That’s everything,” Charlie said.

“So, does that mean we’re ready to go?” Holly asked.

“I think so,” Will said.

“Where are we going?” Mary Beth asked.

“We’re going to go and try to find a doctor for Dylan.”

“Is he going to be okay?”

“Yes, sweetie, he’s going to be fine. He just needs a doctor to check some things.” Holly grabbed Mary Beth by the hand and led her to the rear of the truck. “You’re gonna have to squeeze in back here. We need to let Dylan lay down on the back seat.”

“Okay,” Mary Beth said.

With Holly’s help, she loaded into the cargo area of the truck in a small area they’d left clear for her.

“Comfortable?” Holly asked.

Mary Beth shrugged.

“Would you rather sit in my lap?” Holly asked.

“I'll be fine here.”

“All right, sweetie. It’s just until Dylan gets better.”

“When will that be?”

Shaking her head, Holly said, “I’m not sure. Now, watch your hands.” She shut the back door.

Five yards from the SUV, Charlie stood with his back to the vehicle, his hands on his hips. Will stepped up behind him.

“You ready to go, man?” Will asked.

 Charlie didn’t respond. He raised his hand to his face and wiped his eyes. Will walked around to face him and saw that he was choking back tears.

“I really thought we’d have this place forever,” Charlie said. “I can’t believe it’s gone. I can’t believe
they’re
gone.” He looked at the cabins that had burned, clearly thinking of the friends they’d lost within the campground.

“Nothing is forever,” Will said. “Especially not now. But we’re going to be all right.” Will put his hand on Charlie’s shoulder. “Come on, man. Let’s get out of here.”

Charlie turned around and walked with Will back to the SUV. The passenger side rear door was open, and Holly sat inside.

“I’ll sit back here with Dylan,” she said. “You can ride up front with Will.”

Will got into the driver’s seat, adjusting it so that it was comfortable for him. He looked over to Charlie, who stared outside at the destroyed cabins, his hand on his chin.

“It’s gonna be all right, brother,” Will said.

There was a moment of silence, and then Charlie said, “For us, it’s possible.” He shook his head. “But not for them.”

Will drew in a deep breath, put the truck into drive, and headed for the campground’s exit for the last time.