Open Roads (17 page)

“You okay?” Thomas asked.

Her hands trembling, Claire mumbled, “Yes.”

Gabriel, unnerved by the bullet hissing by his head and just narrowly missing, shook it off and moved away from the brick wall. He walked over to Claire as Thomas reached out and lowered her gun, asking her to hand it over to him. She complied, and the two of them hugged. When they broke their embrace, Gabriel smiled.

He said, “Thanks.”

“Y-you’re welcome,” Claire mumbled.

Gabriel checked inside the bathroom, then came out and looked to Thomas. “It’s clear. Come on, let’s see if we can get inside this place.”

***

Just inside the front door of the Welcome Center, a body lay on the ground. It appeared to be that of a security guard, wearing the proper uniform, a gun lying near him. He didn’t appear to have turned, what was left of his face following the apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound appearing to be that of a human, and not of one of the demon creatures.

Claire coughed and covered her nose.

“Just stay on your toes, guys,” Gabriel said. He listened close, but didn’t hear any creatures snarling inside the small building. It sounded as if it was clear of anything undead.

“What the fuck do you think happened to this guy?” Thomas asked.

Gabriel looked down to the man’s hand, noticing the absence of a wedding ring. “Must’ve given up is all I can tell.”

“We don’t have to sleep in here with that thing, do we?” Claire asked, a tremble in her voice.

No one replied.

Gabriel went to the main desk and walked behind it. He quickly turned away from the rotting body lying beside the desk chair, but not before he could see that the person had been turned into an Empty. He looked over toward Thomas, who had opened an office door to check for any survivors or creatures.

“This room’s clear,” Thomas said.

“We’ve got another body over here,” Gabriel said.

Claire gagged, then doubled-over and vomited onto the tile floor. Thomas hurried over to her, checking to make sure she was alright. Covering her nose, she waved him off as she stood up straight.

“I just need to step outside for a moment.”

Thomas walked her to the door and opened it for her to step outside.

“We’ll have to get these bodies out of here,” Gabriel said. “And we need to see if we can find a supply closet with some cleaning supplies. Maybe also some candles or a can of air freshener so we can try to get this smell out of here.”

“I’ll look for that,” Jessica said.

“Alright,” Gabriel said. “In the meantime, Thomas and I can work on getting these two bodies out of here.”

***

It had taken just over an hour, but the group had made the Welcome Center inhabitable. Jessica had broken into a closet between the outside bathrooms and found a slew of cleaning items, including surgical-type masks they’d used to cover their noses from the smell of rotted bodies. Gabriel and Thomas had thrown the bodies on the opposite side of a tree near the small recreation area outside. Then, together, the four of them had worked to scrub the remains of the two bodies off of the tile floor. The place smelled like a chemical plant, but that was a welcome alternative to it smelling like a pit of dead bodies.

As Gabriel scrubbed the last bit of matter off of the floor, he rose from his squat and rubbed the sweat from his brow, using his forearm. The four of them migrated to the center of the room, each taking off their gloves, as they’d finished their cleaning at almost the exact same time. Without speaking, they all came to the conclusion to step outside for a breath of fresh air.

Outside, Gabriel removed his mask, itching to breathe in the open air, but the wind wafted the smell of the dead bodies toward them. He covered his face again with the mask, and darted away from the wind’s aim, stopping near the bathroom.

“Pretty fucked up when standing right outside of a bathroom smells better than standing in the open,” Thomas said.

Gabriel chuckled. He tossed his rubber gloves, caked with death, into the nearby trashcan. Jessica, Thomas, and Claire followed suit. The night had fallen upon them, the moon in the sky only days away from being full. Not sure of how safe the area was, they couldn’t stay outside for too long.

He went to the SUV, popping open the cargo area and grabbing his things. All he had to himself was a small duffle bag with a couple of sets of clothes in it, and a sleeping bag. He’d received the sleeping bag from Claire, as her and Thomas’ family had been prepared to go camping while up in the mountains. He’d also taken one of the pillows from his cabin, giving himself a complete mobile bed.

Gabriel went back into the Welcome Center, dropping off his things before heading back to the SUV for essentials. Everything had to be unloaded in order to keep their food and weapon supply protected from possible looters. It was doubtful, but entirely possible, that someone could come by during the night and rob them. Between the four of them, they only needed one trip to unload all the common goods out of the SUV. To be safe, Thomas went back to the SUV and parked it out of sight, behind the Welcome Center.

After Thomas was finished, he came back inside, and Gabriel locked the door behind him. He took one last look outside, the night quiet and still. Then he turned around to join the rest of the group.

“I don’t know about you all, but I’m exhausted,” he said. “Let’s get some rest.”

CHAPTER NINETEEN

The following morning, Will and Holly woke early and began gathering things together for the day’s trip. After informing Charlie the previous evening that he was down with going to check out the church and that Holly would be joining them, Will had suggested that they just go ahead and make the trip the following morning. He’d decided he’d rather get the trip out of the way, in hopes of being able to just rest afterward, as opposed to taking a few days off and then having to find the motivation to drive two hours through an impending wasteland. Even though he knew that, if they found something, there would likely be no rest for the foreseeable future.

Their bags on the bed, Will and Holly went through their mental checklist, making sure they had everything they needed. Holly checked off each gun they’d bring with them, which included two sidearms a piece, a rifle, and a shotgun, matching ammunition, two bowie knives, a machete, flashlights, extra batteries, a first aid kit they’d found in a cabinet in their kitchen, six bottles of water, a bag of almonds, and two bags of beef jerky. Charlie would make sure to fuel the truck they’d be taking, as well as grab three extra cans of gasoline.

“I think we’re all set,” Holly said.

“Good.”

Will zipped up each bag and threw the ammunition and weapons bag over one shoulder, and the rifle over the other, leaving the emergency and food bag for Holly. They walked outside, loaded the gear into the vehicle, and then walked to Larry and Marie’s cabin.

Dylan and Mary Beth stood on the front porch, Larry towering behind them. He was around six foot three, and looked even taller wearing overalls.

Larry said, “Marie found some stuff to whip up some pancakes, including some syrup. Should be a fine breakfast for the kids. No one makes pancakes like Marie.”

“Great,” Will said, smiling. He walked up the steps and extended his hand to Larry. “Thanks for agreeing to take care of them.”

“No problem,” Larry said. “The Lord never did bless us with no grand babies, so we will enjoy this, even if it’s just for the day. Might take Dylan here down to go fishin’.” Larry rummaged the boy’s hair as he said this, and Dylan only looked slightly annoyed.

“I wanna go fishing,” Mary Beth said.

Larry laughed. “You can go, too, young lady.”

“Whatever you guys decide to do, just be careful,” Will said. “I know you’ve been fortunate in these parts, but you gotta remember what kind of world is out there.”

“Don’t you worry, we’ll be very careful,” Larry said. He pointed his thumb over his shoulder, toward the open door of the cabin. “I’m gonna go inside and see how Marie is doing on those pancakes.”

As Larry disappeared into the smell of sweet carbohydrates, Will turned his attention to Dylan and Mary Beth.

“Do you guys have to go?” Mary Beth asked. “I don’t want to stay here without y’all.”

Holly said, “Sweetie, we—”

“Yes,” Dylan interrupted. “They have to go.”

“It’s just for the day,” Will said, hoping he wasn’t inadvertently lying. “We’ll be back before the sun goes down.”

Mary Beth said, “Promise?”

Smiling, Will said, “Promise.”

Holly leaned down to hug Mary Beth, and Will did the same with the boy.

“You shouldn’t make promises you can’t keep,” Dylan said into Will’s ear.

Will pulled away from Dylan, placing his hands on each of the boy’s shoulders.

“I know you’re upset,” Will said.

“Then why are you leaving?”

“Because we have to.”

“Take me with you,” Dylan said.

Will sighed. “We can’t.”

Dylan crossed his arms and stared down at the ground.

“We
will
be back. Alright? Don’t you worry about it.” Will nodded toward Mary Beth. “Just take care of her, okay?”

Continuing to stare at the ground, Dylan nodded.

Holly stood up and looked as if she was about to cry, and Will used his eyes to tell her to keep it together. They had to stay strong for the children. Holly nodded, and managed to keep from showing her emotion.

“You guys all set?” Charlie’s voice came from across the grounds, where the vehicles were parked.

“Coming,” Will said back. He looked over to Holly and signaled her on.

On his way down the stairs, Will looked back to Dylan. Will smiled, then looked to Mary Beth.

“Don’t let him get upset when you catch more fish than him,” Will said.

This brought a smile out of both the kids, which made Will happy as he turned away from them and joined Charlie at the van.

***

The sun had dried most of the mud, making the drive down the mountain less treacherous. Few clouds spread across the eastern horizon, telling Will that they might have a clear day ahead of them.

They reached the bottom of the mountain, turning onto the familiar stretch of interstate. Charlie had opted to drive, knowing the lay of the land much better than either Will or Holly.

“You definitely know where you’re going?” Holly asked from the back seat.

“For sure,” Charlie said. “I had some buddies who went to UNC, and we’d occasionally ride up to Durham from Chapel Hill to go to this bar we really liked. It should only take us a couple of hours to get there.”

“If we’re lucky,” Will said.

They drove past the camping store, and Will looked down to see dozens of the monsters loitering in the parking lot. He wondered if the creatures had been out there waiting for him, Charlie, and Scott to return.

As they passed the Outdoors Unlimited exit, Charlie said, “Well, this is officially the furthest I’ve gone since this all started. I’m not gonna lie to you, it’s kinda nice to get out for a while.”

“Believe me,” Will said, “you should be counting your blessings that you haven’t had to be out on the open road.”

Will could feel Charlie take his eyes off the road to glance over toward him, but Charlie never spoke about it. Instead, he changed the subject.

“So, I never did ask. How did you two meet?”

Holly leaned up between the seats and said, “I kidnapped him.”

Charlie laughed, and it even made Will smile.

“That’s funny. But really, how did y’all meet?”

Will took his focus off the empty pastures to turn to Charlie. He said, “She kidnapped me.”

Charlie furrowed his brow. “Seriously?”

Will didn’t really want to hear the story, but Holly told it anyway. There was nothing he wanted to hear about less than David Ellis, but he understood that Charlie would just prod them until one of them explained, so he did his best to watch the passing scenes outside and ignore what she was saying. It would’ve been a good time to have his smartphone so he could blast a heavy metal record in his ears or listen to The Joe Rogan Podcast.
To only be afforded such luxuries,
he thought.