Empty Bodies 3: Deliverance (Empty Bodies Series Book 3)
Read Empty Bodies 3: Deliverance (Empty Bodies Series Book 3) Online
Authors: Zach Bohannon
“Zach comes out with suspense that will haunt you, and you won’t be able to look away.”
J. Thorn, Amazon Top 100 Horror Author
“Few horror writers work as hard as Zach Bohannon. Turn the lights low, and don’t let the blood splatter hit you.”
Dan Padavona, author of
Storberry
“Bohannon’s
Empty Bodies
is dark, enthralling, and offers an impressive look into a terrifying post-apocalyptic world.”
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EMPTY BODIES SERIES
EMPTY BODIES
EMPTY BODIES 2: ADAPTATION
EMPTY BODIES 3: DELIVERANCE
DELIVERANCE
(Book Three of the Empty Bodies Series)
by Zach Bohannon
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DELIVERANCE
Zach Bohannon
Copyright
© 2015 by Zach Bohannon. All rights reserved. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, businesses, events or locales is purely coincidental. Reproduction of this publication in whole or in part without express written consent is strictly prohibited.
Edited and Proofread by:
Jennifer Collins
Cover design by Johnny Digges
PROLOGUE
Dylan
A certain aura of fear and hateful lust filled the air. It held the hand of a musty stench, consuming the space they were in. The girls shuddered, and the preacher babbled on. And the boy, by no choice of his own, remained silent, made so by the dirty sock that gagged him.
It hadn’t taken his captives long to break the boy. When they’d chained up one of the creatures just over a foot away from his face, leaving the child blindfolded, he’d both soiled and wet himself, and his gums had nearly bled from his clamping down so hard on the gag.
And while he had cursed them before, talking to Gabriel, Dylan even prayed to God for his mommy and daddy.
He’d long ago lost track of how long he’d been here, though it’d barely been more than a day. The only way he knew of the nightfall was because of the preacher pleading with God to bring the sun back to show them light.
Dylan had so many questions for the preacher.
Where are we? Who are these people that have us captive? How long have you been here? Are they going to kill me?
But none of them seemed destined to be answered. Not as long as he was gagged, at least.
The door to the barn busted open and Dylan jumped, causing the shackles to pull against his wrists. He cried out through the gag.
“Lord, please protect these children,” the preacher said. “Please protect them, and bring forth your sword to strike down these men.”
Dylan breathed heavily, the solemn words of the preacher only heightening his nerves. The people loved to come into the barn and toy with him and the other prisoners. They’d, of course, brought the creature in the one time, leaving it there for a time before bashing it with a baseball bat right in front of them. The sound the bat had made, crushing the skull of the beast, was something Dylan would never forget. He only knew it was a bat because one of the men had run the cold aluminum across Dylan’s face, leaving trickles of blood to creep down his bare cheek. The cruel laugh that had come from the man’s voice said a lot about the people who were holding him captive.
The footsteps now were that of more than one person, and they stopped near where Dylan believed the two girls to be.
“Mmm, which one?” a man asked.
“They’re both so pretty,” another man said. “Do I really have to choose?”
Dylan heard both the girls crying desperately through their own gags.
“Eeny, meeny, miny, moe,” the first man started. Dylan had played this game hundreds of times before, and he pictured the man pointing his finger, alternating back and forth between the two girls.
“Catch a tiger by its toe…”
The two girls whimpered, and Dylan envisioned them with their blindfolds removed. The people had done this to him when they’d stuck the Empty in his face, and he had to think these men would want these two girls to see their faces now as they teased them.
“My mother told me to pick the very best one, and that is…
you
.”
One of the girls cried louder now, and the two men laughed.
“Looks like it’s your lucky day, baby.”
The chains above rattled, and it sounded as if a struggle was going on between the men and at least one of the girls.
“Stop all your fuckin’ squirmin’,” one of the men demanded, and the chains continued their furious clanking.
There was a loud pop, and that’s when the chains calmed.
“Now, I didn’t wanna have to go on and hit ya like that, but you gave me no choice. You gonna be good now, or not?”
The room was silent, other than for the shuddered breaths through the gags of the girls and the young boy, and the mumbling of the preacher, as the man waited for a reply from the girl.
“Good,” the same man said.
Dylan heard the girl being pulled out of the barn. The other girl, the still restrained one, started to wail again.
The door to the barn creaked and slammed shut. Now the girl next to him tried to scream, the volume muffled by the gag, and the preacher went on.
“Show us the light, Lord. Praise these children, and save them from these evil-doers.”
***
When the door opened again, Dylan wasn’t certain about how much time had passed. He only knew it had been enough time for him to have fallen asleep, as he’d now been abruptly woken by the double doors’ screaming hinges. His blindfold had shifted during his nap, and he was able to see three sets of feet under it. They stopped in front of the preacher, just to the boy’s right. Dylan contemplated lifting his head to see their faces, but thought better of it, so as to not draw any attention to himself.
“Ready to try again, preacher?”
For one of the first times since Dylan had ended up here, the preacher spoke words outside of scripture or prayer. He said, “Please, don’t make me do this.”
The slap echoed through the barn as one of the men hit the preacher.
“You ain’t gonna tell us what to do, you got that?”
The preacher whimpered, and started into another prayer. “Oh, Lord, please allow me grace…”
Chains rattled above the preacher’s head, and Dylan looked over when he heard the man hit the ground. The preacher had dropped to all fours, grasping the dirt as if, if he held tight enough, the three people wouldn’t be able to pick him up off of the ground. But as a man wearing a black t-shirt and a faded baseball cap leaned over to pick him up, the priest made eye contact with Dylan for the first time.
“Bless you, child,” the preacher mumbled as the man stood him up straight and dragged him away.
One of the pairs of feet approached Dylan and the boy gasped for air. His blindfold came off, and the last thing he saw before passing out was the back of a bearded man’s hand coming down toward his face.
CHAPTER ONE
Gabriel
A short time had passed since David Ellis had thrown Melissa Kessler into the locked room with the Empty. Will and Jessica still remained lying on the ground beside the room, and the rest of the group stood across the hall in utter shock at what had happened. Gabriel had the the sense to start moving people away from the gruesome scene. He left Will alone, allowing him to do what he felt necessary to mourn his mother, but moved the rest of the group down the hallway into a large, vacant room. Jessica had remained behind, as well. Gabriel just wanted to get everyone else away from the scene, but wasn’t ready to take everyone back to their living quarters yet. They’d regroup while giving Will and Jessica time to mourn.
Holly had wanted desperately to stay with Will, but Gabriel had encouraged her to give him some time alone. After putting up a small fight, she’d reluctantly agreed, and joined the rest of the group as they trudged away from the murder scene.
After relocating the group down the hall, Gabriel returned to the scene along with Brandon. They moved back around the corner, and saw Will and Jessica in the same spot they’d been. Inside the room, the Empty hissed out of sight.
Brandon walked into a nearby room, and when he came back, he held a bed sheet under his arm. He walked across the hall and used it to cover Kristen’s body. He then approached Gabriel, and reached into his pocket.
“I grabbed this in there, too,” Brandon said, revealing a scalpel to Gabriel.
“I got it,” Gabriel said, reaching his hand out to retrieve the blade.
Brandon extended his hand, and Gabriel accepted the tool. As he moved toward the door, Gabriel glanced down at Will. He didn’t even acknowledge Gabriel’s presence, simply staring off at the opposite wall. Gabriel looked up and reached for the door, and pulled it.