Empty Bodies (Book 5): Damnation by Zach Bohannon Read Free Book Online Page A

fetch Holly, Mary Beth, and their things, Maureen led them to another house. The front door opened into a large, open living room with all the furniture still in place. With the power out, the large windows lining the front of the house illuminated the living room. On the wall near the staircase were pictures of a family featuring a man, a woman, and four kids ranging in age from 7 to 17. Will didn’t recognize any of the faces as people he’d seen in the street.
    Maureen smiled and leaned down to Mary Beth, her hands on her knees.
    “Are you hungry?”
    Mary Beth nodded. The trails of tears from her eyes were visible through the dirt on her cheeks.
    Standing up, Maureen asked, “Do you guys want anything?”
    “I’m starving,” Holly said.
    “Yeah,” Charlie said. “We could use something to eat, thank you.”
    “All right,” Maureen said. “I have to run a couple of houses over, but I’ll be back. You folks just make yourselves at home.”
    “Thank you,” Charlie said.
    Maureen smiled again, focusing it on Will, who still held a blank expression of apprehension on his face. She walked past him and exited through the front door.
    Will went to the fireplace and picked up a picture off the mantle. The photograph showed the same man from the other photos, but now dressed in a swimsuit, pointing a hose at one of his daughters and one of his sons. The children laughed, holding their arms up to try and block the blast of the water. It looked like the kind of cookie-cutter, all-American family you would find in an apparel catalog.
    “Do those people live here?” Mary Beth asked.
    Will set the picture back on the mantle. “I don’t think so.”
    “Then why are their pictures in here?”
    Forcing a smile, Will ran his hand through Mary Beth’s hair. “Why don’t you hang out on the sofa until that nice lady comes back?”
    “But I wanna go look around the house.”
    “You need to stay in here with us,” Holly said. “Maureen will be back soon with something to eat.”
    Plopping down onto the couch, Mary Beth asked, “When can I see Dylan?”
    “Soon,” Holly said.
    “Is he gonna be all right?”
    “Yes,” Will said. “Now just rest, okay?”
    Mary Beth laid down on her back, staring up to the ceiling with her arms crossed over her chest.
    A few minutes later, Maureen arrived back in the house. She carried a large bowl and a bucket, as well as a plastic bag looped through her arm.
    “There’s some spaghetti in this bowl. We’ve got a couple of generators and a microwave, so I was able to warm it up for you. Unfortunately, we ran out of pasta sauce a while back, so you’ll have to eat it dry.” She set the bucket down on the table. “I've also got some clean water here that the girl can use to wipe her face off with. If the rest of you want to wash up, I can always go grab another bucket.”
    “Thank you,” Will said. “We might take you up on that after we eat.”
    “Is there a bathroom nearby were we could take this bucket and get Mary Beth cleaned off?” Holly asked.
    “It’s just down the hallway over here,” Maureen said. “Come on, I’ll show you.”
    While the girls went into the other room to get Mary Beth cleaned up, Will and Charlie each found a seat at the dining room table. Will found some plates that appeared to be clean in one of the cabinets and set them down on the table. Assuming that there was no running water at the house, he checked the tap on the sink anyway. As expected, nothing came out.
    When the girls arrived back, Will and Charlie had prepared each person a plate of pasta. They’d set a fork and open bottle of water next to each dish. Mary Beth walked into the room with a big smile on her newly cleaned face. Will smiled back at her.
    “You look beautiful,” Will said.
    “Well,” Maureen started, “I’m going to let you all have some time to eat and rest up. Whenever we have some news on the boy, we’ll come let you know.”
    “Thank you,” Charlie