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  She took a deep breath, wiped her eyes, and opened the door to the house.

  The Davies’ home was dark and still as Jessica and Melissa entered. The smell of lavender still lingered. It was a scent that Jessica always remembered well from her childhood, as the air was infused by the potent oils her mom loved to burn. Her mom burned so much of it, in fact, that the oils had left a permanent stench on the walls and the furniture.

  Jessica looked around and noticed that the house looked untouched. To her right, the furniture in the living room sat in its same respective places, not turned over and ravaged like she had feared. The kitchen to her left was spotless, aside from a small stack of dishes left in the sink.

  Melissa reached over and flipped the light switch by the doorway, but nothing happened. Jessica heard the click and turned to look, as Melissa shook her head. The old woman hugged herself as the cold air hit her. She shivered.

  “Mom?” Jessica called out. “Dad?”

  No reply.

  She walked through the kitchen and into the laundry room. The door next to the dryer led out into the garage, and she opened it. Her dad’s red sedan still sat in the garage. Her heart began to race.

  Melissa checked the living room, noticing all the photographs on the wall and on the tables. One in particular caught her eye. It was a picture of Jessica wearing a ballet outfit and laughing as her mom wrapped her arms around her from behind and tickled her. The picture made Melissa think of her son. She wanted so badly to get to him, and hoped soon that they would reunite. Though, she wasn’t sure how she was going to tell him that his father had died. At least he would be proud knowing why Walt died.

  Jessica entered the living room and a startled Melissa looked away from the photo on the wall.

  “Anything?” Jessica asked.

  Melissa shook her head.

  “Did you check the downstairs bedroom yet?”

  “No. Just in here.”

  Jessica passed the couch and hurried to the guest bedroom. Like everywhere else downstairs, it was empty.

  “I’m gonna check upstairs,” Jessica said. “Can you stay down here and be on the lookout?”

  “For what?”

  Jessica handed the pistol to Melissa.

  Banging began at the front door.

  “Shit,” Jessica said.

  She ran to the stairs as the howl from outside rang through the foyer.

  The sweet scent of lavender faded into a musky overtone as Jessica climbed the stairs. Dying sunlight from outside shined in enough light for Jessica to see the faded fruit drink stain she had caused when she was nine years old, still embedded in the worn carpet on the fourth stair. The same pictures from her childhood remained nailed to the wall, unchanged and unmoved for years.

  As she got closer to the top of the stairs, the scent got stronger. It stung Jessica’s nostrils and began to make her nauseated. Her heart drummed with the beat of the door, as the beast continued to pound its fist against the wood.

  Her parents’ room was just to the right as she reached the top of the stairs. A nervous Melissa Kessler took turns looking to the front door and watching Jessica creep to her parents’ room. She knew that the young girl needed to hurry, but she couldn’t bring herself to push the issue. Not with everything that she had gone through herself today and how Jessica had been there for her through the whole ordeal. Grieving for her husband was something that would have to come in time. There was no place for it now, and Melissa feared that Jessica might experience a similar tragedy.

  And as Jessica turned the cold handle to enter her parents’ room, her exact fear was realized.

  Chapter 15

  Will

  Will and Holly stood side by side in front of the large metal bay door of the loading dock. They could hear the Empties on the other side, spitting through their decrepit teeth and scratching at the door. Will felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around.

  David held up a radio, offering it to him.

  “Keep this on channel one,” David said. “Marcus is stuck in a room near the back of the building, but this will help you get to him and stay in touch with us. He should be able to help guide you to where he is once you get inside.”

  Will took the radio and clipped it to his belt. He stared down at the rifle in his hands, thinking again about how he’d gotten into this situation. Wishing he had ignored the beautiful, and now scared, girl that stood shoulder to shoulder with him, about to take on a horde of Empties. And for what? To save some guy he didn’t even know.

  The rifle felt natural in his hands. One thing that he was thankful for was all the hunting trips that his father had taken him on when he was younger. His father had a friend who owned a plot of land near Manchester, a town about an hour and a half east of Nashville known only for hosting Bonnaroo each June, and from the time Will could fire a gun until he was seventeen years old, they had gone out there multiple times a year to hunt. Will had been raised with a gun in his hand and would have no issues taking down anything, or anyone, that threatened him.

  He looked over to Holly.

  “Are you ready for this?” he asked her.

  She looked over at him. Her face was worn from crying and beginning to turn from a blush red to a pale nothing. She had a pistol in her hand that she hardly knew how to use and a knife holstered at her side. Holly was scared for her life, and Will tried his best to calm her nerves, even though he too was scared for their lives.

  “We are gonna be fine. We will be in and out in no time. Just point and shoot like I showed you.”

  Holly took a look at the ground and then stared straight ahead again, waiting for the large door to slide up and reveal the dangers of the outer world. Though being under the control of another person—especially a dictator like David Ellis—was not an enjoyable life to live, the place they were in did provide a certain comfort. It had kept Holly and the rest of the group safe over the past two days. But now she was being put into a situation that she wasn’t sure she would survive.

  David patted them both on the shoulder and then turned around.

  “Oh,” David added. He waved his finger in the air at them. “If you try anything funny, these two will put you down. Got it? If you try and escape, I assure you that we have ways to find you. Now, go and complete your mission.”

  David moved to the other end of the room before turning around again. He crossed his arms and looked over to Jonas, one of his men who was standing by the door. He used his finger to signal Jonas to raise the door.

  The light glared off the warehouse floor as the door opened, the screams of the Empties echoing inside the building. From the dock, the front door to the other building was about twenty yards away.

  Will swallowed and wondered to himself if telling Holly that they were going to make it was nothing but an empty promise, a lie giving them false hope.

  Outside, there were at least thirty Empties clawing at the edge of the loading dock. Their nails scraped the concrete, inches in front of Will and Holly’s feet. Even though their lives were long over, Will scanned their faces and wondered about the lost clouds of memories behind each set of eyes. He wondered who these people were, what kind of lives they had lived, and if any of them deserved to be reduced to a limping nightmare. It was hard for him to fathom that anyone really deserved it. Even David Ellis.

  Jonas stepped toward Will and Holly and pulled a road flare out of his back pocket.

  “Ready?” he asked.

  Will and Holly looked at each other, and then Will nodded his head at Jonas.

  Jonas struck the flare, lighting it, and threw it across the parking lot.

  It caught the attention of almost all the Empties, who turned and began to walk toward it.

  Will looked back and saw David smiling.

  “Good luck,” David said, tapping his fingertips together repeatedly in front of his face.

  With the Empties distracted, Will jumped down off the dock to the ground. He stuck his hand out, offering it t
o Holly. She took it and joined him in the parking lot.

  They got the attention of a group of Empties that were scratching at the building next door, which they were headed to. The group of eight turned around and began to walk toward them.

  Will brought the rifle to his shoulder, took aim, and looked over to Holly before firing.

  “Remember to aim for their heads and to move quickly. When we start firing, that road flare isn’t gonna do shit to help us.”

  She nodded and held the pistol up in front of her face. Her hands were shaking, and she could barely keep aim on the male Empty walking toward her.

  Will had already looked away, cocked the rifle, and taken aim.

  He took down four of them in succession, inhaling and exhaling to keep in control of every movement. When he looked over to Holly, he saw that she was still shaking and hadn’t yet fired a shot, and that the Empty in her sights was moving closer.

  “Shoot him, Holly,” Will yelled. He could hear the snarls grow behind them as they were now about ten yards from the front of the building they were headed to.

  She didn’t shoot. Only remained frozen, except for her hands, which continued to shake, as the Empty moved closer to her.

  As it reached out to grab her, the top of its head flew through the air, landing on the ground next to her. She woke from her trance, looking over at Will, who had the gun pointing where the Empty had stood.

  “Holly, I need you. Breathe, and shoot these fucking things.”

  She shook her head and raised the gun again, taking one hand off it briefly to move her hair out of her face. She wished she had remembered to put her hair up before jumping off the dock.

  There were only three left in front of them. Holly’s first shot went wide and the Empty she missed howled at her. Without hesitation, she fired another round and connected with a shot right in the middle of its forehead.

  Will managed to take down the other two and looked back to see the horde behind them gathering closer. He reached out his hand toward Holly.

  “Come on,” he said.

  Holly grabbed his hand and they sprinted the remaining distance to the front door.

  Six steps led up to the door, and when they reached the top, Will looked back and saw David standing on the edge of the dock, clapping his hands and sporting an arrogant smile across his face.

  When they walked through the front door, they entered an office with a layout similar to the one at Element. The power was out, leaving the only light to illuminate the space coming from the glow of the sun outside. Office furniture was scattered around the room, turned over like a tornado had swept through the inside of the building.

  Will checked the room and saw that it was free of any immediate threat. He sat down in a chair and reloaded his weapon, looking over to Holly.

  “I need you, Holly. Make sure you breathe. You can do this.”

  Holly stood in the middle of the room, nearly hyperventilating, with her gun down at her side. Her adrenaline was slowing down and the shock of potential death was starting to reach her mind. Will stood to put his hand on her shoulder and she turned to him.

  “It’s gonna be okay,” he said. “We are gonna get through this.”

  Holly let her head fall into Will’s chest as she began to cry. He embraced her, letting his hand run through her soft hair. Her warmth comforted him, especially in such a cold and dark moment. He let his fingers intertwine through her locks as his hand made its way down to her back to provide her the comfort of a strong embrace.

  “I’m so sorry,” she said.

  “For what?” Will asked. He knew what she was talking about, but part of him wanted to hear her say it.

  “Getting you involved in this,” Holly began. “When I signaled you from that dock, David had a gun pointed at my head from the other end of the room.

  “He has people that keep watch from the roof. They noticed you the other day when you went outside and took down some of those things. Ever since, David had someone keeping a close watch on you in case you made a move and tried to escape. He figured that you would after the plane came down and all the Empties started to move away from your building.”

  Will let go of his embrace and stepped back from Holly.

  “The plane?”

  She nodded. “Didn’t you hear the explosion?”

  “That’s what that noise was?” he asked.

  She nodded. “Came down yesterday about the same time everything happened.”

  Will licked his dry lips. “Earlier you said something about a fall. What did you mean?”

  After grabbing a nearby office chair, Holly sat down and took a deep breath. Holding back tears, she began to speak.

  “I was in our lunch room grabbing some coffee. Rachel, one of my co-workers, walked in and we started having a conversation. She suspected her boyfriend was cheating on her, it was a big mess.”

  Holly let out a sigh.

  “One thing that was kinda strange was this cough she had. The few minutes we were in there, she kept letting out this wrenching cough. I asked her if she was okay a few times, and she just waved me off like she was fine. I reached into the refrigerator to grab some half and half, and when I turned around, she was just lying there. I heard a gasp throughout the building. When I kneeled down to help her, she wasn’t breathing. So I ran out of the lunch room to get help.

  “When I left the room, I saw that Rachel wasn’t the only one who had fallen. Almost everyone in the office had. A few other people were performing CPR. One of them was Bruce, our accountant. He pointed at me and asked me to call 911.”

  She began to cry now, and Will put his hand on her shoulder, which she clutched for comfort.

  “The line was busy. Craziest thing I ever experienced. How could 911 be busy? Then I heard the first screams.”

  She was crying more now and couldn’t describe what she saw. But she didn’t have to. The story resembled Will’s all too well.

  “I locked myself in the office and just watched. Marcus, the guy we are going after, is the one that finally came and got me out of there. I don’t even remember how much time had passed. Twenty, maybe thirty minutes? It seemed like hours.”

  She wiped her face and cleared her throat, still holding tight onto Will’s hand.

  “Apparently, everyone fell. That’s why I said that calling them ‘Empties’ made a lot of sense to me. They aren’t the same people. It seems exactly like you said: that their souls were taken.”

  For the first time during the conversation, Holly looked up from the ground into Will’s eyes.

  “It’s almost like it was an act of God.”

  It hung in the air for a few moments before Will changed the subject.

  “Who is David?” Will asked.

  Holly handed her pistol to Will so that he could reload it. She pulled a hair tie out of her pocket and began to put her hair up. Will noticed how her breasts collected in the V-neck of her tank top she wore under the green jacket as she lifted her arms.

  “He owns these buildings,” she said. “This building and the other one, they’re one company. The company is a metal heat-treating facility. We all worked here. David just happened to be here in town from St. Louis when all this shit started happening. He always comes here this time of year to check on the business and to go hunting. That’s why he has all those weapons. The man brings a fucking arsenal with him just to go out and kill Bambi.” She licked her lips. “Marcus, the guy we are here to find, was the plant manager at this location and a huge suck-up to David. I think he only does it because he has to. He’s a really good guy, and David actually cares for him a lot.”

  She looked up at him.

  “They’re all loyal to him. They think that he’s going to get us out of this mess. It’s bullshit. He’s a rich, control-hungry, smug, asshole. And he’s using this situation to try and become some kind of dictator or saint, as he thinks.”

  Will’s face went cold. He knew that going back to David wasn’t the ideal sit
uation, but trying to escape and not going back would be much worse. All he needed was some loyal, cult-following assassins coming after him and Holly.

  “I don’t wanna go back there,” she said.

  Will stood and looked down at her. “We have to. But we won’t be staying long when we do.”

  She cocked her head slightly at him.

  The radio at Will’s waist let out a static hiss.

  “What’s going on? Are you guys there?”

  It was David.

  Will took a deep breath, put the radio up to his mouth, and pressed the button.

  “We’re here, over.”

  Chapter 16

  Gabriel

  The heavy duffle bag hanging from his side swung and hit Gabriel in his right thigh with every stride as he rounded the corner at the end of the row of stores. When he made it to the parking lot in the front of the mall, he saw that it now consisted primarily of empty vehicles. The loitering dead were now behind him, completing their circle around the back of the buildings after following him into the sporting goods store.

  As he ran, the place where the boy was supposed to be standing came into view, but Dylan wasn’t there.

  Gabriel arrived at the spot at the edge of the woods and looked side to side, scanning for the boy.

  “Dylan!” he called out.

  No response.

  “Dylan!” Gabriel cried out again, his voice shaking.

  He looked back to see the horde, a couple hundred yards away, coming around the corner at the back of the shopping center.

  Then he heard a faint sniffle and cry.

  Gabriel ran into the woods, following the sound of a child in fear. He didn’t have to run far before he came across Dylan, sitting on the ground in front of a tree, his face buried into his arms. In front of him, a body lay on its back with ghostly eyes and pale, faded skin. It had a hole in its forehead, seeping with blood.