Open Roads (18 page)

“Well, ain’t that a backwards ass way to fall in love?” Charlie said.

Will felt a hand clutch his shoulder, and turned to see Holly’s beautiful green eyes staring at him. She leaned forward and kissed him, then ducked back into the back seat.

“Oh, shit,” Charlie said.

Will looked ahead to see a group of Empties lumbering along in the middle of the road. This had been a common occurrence on their travels, and he was honestly surprised this was the first horde they’d seen on the short trip.

“This is gonna happen a lot,” Holly said. “You’ve just got to drive around them.”

“We’ll have to take each of these scenarios on a case by case basis,” Will said. “If there’s no way around, we’ll have to clear ‘em out ourselves.”

This group gathered around only one abandoned car, leaving an entire two lanes of interstate wide open. Charlie veered away from the creatures, driving past with the vehicle unscathed. The beasts hissed and growled as the van rode by, but they became but a speck in the mirrors in no time.

“I hope it’s that easy every time,” Charlie said.

Will forced a short laugh. “Yeah, me too.”

***

In just a hair over three hours, they reached Durham. Being naive and somewhat ignorant to what it was really like out on the interstates, Charlie had calculated their ETA as if they’d be driving 70 or 80 MPH the entire way. He hadn’t accounted for how often they’d have to slow down to 20 or 30 in order to maneuver around a group of Empties, or collections of abandoned cars. Luckily, they’d only been forced to get out of the vehicle one time to take out a small horde of the creatures. All told, it had added just under an hour to his original projections.

The church itself actually sat on the outskirts of Durham, meaning they didn't have to drive all the way into the city. Will was surprised to find the church standing all on its own, with no other structures in the vicinity. It was the only building off of the exit, and he'd known they were approaching it from miles away, upon seeing the three large crosses on the horizon, the one in the middle being slightly taller than the others. He'd seen these sorts of mega-churches before. He specifically remembered passing by one in Memphis that was very similar, just off Interstate 40.

"A church this big, do you think there will be survivors here?" Will pondered. "Seems like it would be a pretty common place for people to migrate to in such a disaster."

"Very possible," Charlie said. "If that ends up being the case, we need to be very careful about who we share the information we have with. Don't know what kind of panic that could cause."

"Agreed," Will said.

Charlie pulled onto the exit ramp and took a left at the end of it. They crossed over the bridge, and Will looked down the way they'd come to see the tops of all the abandoned vehicles. A group of Empties they'd just passed about a quarter of a mile back limped down the highway, following the same path they’d taken, as if the creatures actually thought they'd catch the van. As far as Will knew, the things didn't possess the ability for thought. They didn't have feelings or the ability to convey emotions. They walked and they ate, until they were destroyed. That was it.

Around twenty cars remained in the parking lot, most of them parked in spaces. Two vehicles had collided near the middle of the lot, and sat with doors open, the cars’ front ends still mended together. Near the two wrecked vehicles lay the remains of five dead bodies, two of which had been children. Will swallowed the lump in his throat.

“Guys,” Holly said, pointing toward the front of the church.

The front entrance to the church, guarded with two engraved, wooden doors, was wide open. Large, stained glass windows were up high on the side of the building, bringing the sunlight into its large sanctuary.

“You think any of those things are inside?” Charlie asked.

“If there were any in the parking lot, then you can be damn sure they’re now inside,” Will said.

“I think that’s the library over there,” Charlie said, pointing to a wing of the building. The mega-church was made up of only one structure, so if there were Empties inside, they could be anywhere.

“Looks like there is a door leading straight into that part of the building,” Holly said. “We should go check and see if it’s unlocked.”

Will reached into one of the duffle bags, pulling out a pair of flashlights. He handed one of the lights to Charlie and kept one for himself.

“Let’s go check it out,” Will said.

CHAPTER TWENTY

Even though it was a church, Will was still surprised when the side entrance of the place was unlocked, opening without a fight. They entered the building, unable to see with the power out. The sun brought at least some light in through the door — enough for them to see that they were, indeed, inside a library. Will clicked on his flashlight. He'd brought with him a rifle, which hung over his shoulder, as well as a pistol. A knife hung next to the sidearm, along with a pouch containing extra ammunition. Behind him, Charlie clicked on the other flashlight.

"Stay close," Will whispered. He then stood still, trying to see if he could hear any of the creatures inside of the building. It was quiet as he took the first step into the building.

With the sun pounding the opposite side of the church, the natural light quickly dissipated. Three tables sat just in front of them, each with four chairs neatly pushed under them. Beyond those tables started the rows of shelves housing books. It didn't appear to be as large as the local public libraries that Will had visited countless times. He'd become somewhat of a bibliophile in his late twenties, so he'd spent quite a lot of time in libraries. Not that any of that mattered now.

"How the hell are we supposed to find what we’re looking for with no light?" Holly asked.

"Just check as many books as you can," Will said. "You two check out these racks." He was signaling to the bookshelves just in front of them. "I'm gonna head over to the other side of the room and see what I can find."

"Be careful," Holly said.

"Likewise," Will said.

He moved slowly, listening carefully for Empties. The wide open doors at the sanctuary entrance of the church weighed heavy on his mind. There were a few cars in the parking lot, so there was a good chance that someone had been here at the time of The Fall.

When he reached the shelves on the other side of the room, he began to run the light across each row of books, observing each spine as quickly as possible. In truth, he wasn't sure what exactly he was looking for. But he searched for words and phrases like: exorcism, lost testament, lost books of The Bible, the truth about Revelation, demons - anything that could possibly relate to the widespread demon possession that had seemingly infected the world.

After a few minutes of searching, Charlie whispered from the other side of the room, "Any luck?"

"No," Will said. He refocused on the shelves, shining the light on the books that lay in front of him.

Will jerked his head when he heard a groan. He stood completely still, listening to make sure he wasn’t just hearing things. He looked over to where Holly and Charlie stood, noticing Holly’s flashlight had become still. They’d apparently heard the noise, as well.

The noise happened again. No doubt now that it had been a groan, but it was hard to tell if it was that of a human or that of the possessed. He began moving toward the far end of the aisle he stood in, hoping to creep around and sneak up on the sound. He hated that he had to use a flashlight. If someone was waiting on him, they would sure have the upper hand.

He came to a wall and flashed his light onto a doorway about ten feet from where he stood. He heard the groan again. It sounded as if it may have been coming through the door. His back to the wall, Will looked over to see that Holly and Charlie hadn't moved. Holly held the flashlight now. The light from it reflected off Holly's face, and Will could see the concern in it. Will put his finger to his lips, signaling to Holly to be quiet. He poked his head into the doorway, and heard the moan again. It was definitely the moan of a man, not a beast. Will pointed the flashlight into the room, and a man sitting in the corner of the tiny space covered his face.

"Please," the man said. "Don't hurt me."

Will looked over toward Charlie and Holly and said, "Guys, come here. I found someone," and the two of them hurried over.

"I beg you," the man said. "Please, don't hurt me."

"I'm not going to hurt you," Will said. "I want to help you."

"I am afraid, son, that I am not to be helped." The man put out his arm, revealing a nasty bite, just as Holly and Charlie arrived behind him.

"Shit," Holly mumbled.

Will pointed his light at the man, who covered his face again, pleading for Will to turn the light away. The man wore a white cloak, with almost matching hair on the top of his head. He was a priest. Will hurried to the man’s side and kneeled down next to him.

“Please, stay back,” the priest said.

Will shined his light on the man’s body, noticing that one of his hands clutched his opposite leg. The priest pulled the hand away, revealing a large wound where a chunk had been
 
taken out of his calf. He’d been bitten.

A thunderous bang out in the library pulled Will’s attention away from the priest. Charlie grabbed the flashlight from Holly and darted out into the main room.

“They’re coming,” the priest said.

Will furrowed his brow. “Who? Who’s coming?”

“The demon people,” the priest said.

Will’s eyes widened. “Demons?”

Charlie returned and said, “We gotta get the hell out of here. A bunch of those things are about to bust down a door and fill this library.”

“Help me get him up,” Will said.

“Will,” Holly said, “he’s been bitten. We can’t help him.”

“I think he knows something about the possessions,” Will said. “Just help me get him out of here.”

The priest wasn’t obese by any means, but he’d possibly taken communion a time or two too many. Will lifted up under one arm while Charlie propped the priest up under the other. Holly stationed herself just outside of the room, keeping one of the flashlights focused inside the room to give the men light, while keeping the other on the door being beaten at by the creatures.

Both Will and Charlie groaned as they got the priest up onto his feet. The priest cried out as his weight fell onto his wounded leg.

“We’ve gotta hurry,” Holly said. “They’re coming.”

The three men hobbled out of the room, the old priest breathing heavily as they moved. He began to mumble something that Will couldn’t quite make out. Will didn’t know how long it’d been since the priest had been bitten, but he knew the demon was burying itself deep inside of the man’s mind. If they hoped to get any information out of this man of God, they’d have to hurry.

Nervous and terrified, Holly had moved too far in front of the three men, taking all the light with her. Right as Will was about to call out to her to slow down, Charlie tripped over the leg of a chair and all three men tumbled to the ground. When the priest screamed, the Empties seemed to bang against the door even harder. Will heard the sound of splintering wood.

“Holly, help us!” Will yelled.

Charlie groaned and cried out, as he’d initiated the fall, and most of the priest’s heavy frame had fallen onto him. Will got to his knees, and he and Holly rolled the preacher’s weight off of Charlie. The three of them stood the priest back up, and the two men assumed their positions beside him.

Will said to Holly, “Stay focused. We need light to guide us out of here.”

She nodded, her hand trembling, obviously regretful of her mistake. They were halfway to the exit when the door crashed open. Holly shone the light in that direction, revealing the faces of an undead onslaught headed for them.

“Move!” Will shouted.

They began to trudge toward the door again, Holly staying only a few feet in front of them now. She pocketed one of the flashlights, and withdrew her sidearm. For once, the creatures had an advantage in speed. Will had to dig down deep in order to move the priest with haste, and Charlie walked with a limp now from their fall. Holly moved ahead of them enough to push a table out of the way, creating a clear path. The Empties moved down a nearby aisle of bookshelves, almost as if they were looking to cut them off.