Soulless Wanderers: Soulless Wanderers Book 1 Read online

  Soulless Wanderers

  Book 1

  DREW STRICKLAND

  www.drewstricklandbooks.com

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  For Sara, the love of my life.

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  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

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  About the Author

  1

  Killing someone was easy. It was the prep work leading up to the kill that was the most difficult.

  Daniel crouched in the dimly lit hallway. His arms stretched under the shelving unit in front of him, straining to pull out the box he had planted there earlier in the day. He finally pulled it out, relieving the fight his arms were dealing with, and stood up, holding it against his body. The dust he kicked up reached his nose, giving him a tingling sensation. He paused, waiting for the need to sneeze to pass. It did, and he continued toward the source of the light, a lone lightbulb swaying in the concrete shaft.

  He reached the door and put his shoulder into it, opening it with a creak. The light in the next room was much brighter. It was a small work light, which looked inadequate, but put out enough light to fill the room. He needed it for the work he was to do that night. Every moment went into planning tonight, and he wouldn’t let something as simple as lighting stop him.

  Most of the lights were burned out or broken from kids breaking in. The power was still connected to the rundown building, which is why Daniel picked it. He set the dusty box down on a table next to a small television. He clicked the TV on, and the glow from the screen lit his face up. It was mostly a clear picture, but he adjusted the rabbit ears of the antenna anyway, causing a little fuzz to move in and out.

  The news was on. A countdown clock was in the corner as the lady news anchor spoke. “We are minutes away from the big show tonight. I urge anyone watching this to go outside or get near a window and watch the sky. This will not happen again for another five hundred years, according to historical evidence.”

  Daniel smiled and looked up. There was a skylight above him. Tonight’s event seemed like a great time to perform his own event. He knew this building would come in handy sometime and was glad he hadn’t used it yet. Tonight would be perfect. Besides, it seemed like a nice idea to let someone else witness it before they took their last breath. Or maybe during their last breath. Daniel hadn’t figured it out yet, but he knew that the time would feel just right.

  He took out a large knife from the box and carried it to the other side of the dusty room. He laid it neatly on the end of the table as it shook. It was easy for him to drown out the muffled cries coming from the man strapped to the table. This wasn’t his first time, and it was almost a soothing rhythm when the person tried to cry. The duct tape over his mouth made sure he wouldn’t be heard from anyone outside this room.

  Daniel looked into the man’s eyes. They were disoriented, rapid, random, and watery. They were full of fright, and Daniel wouldn’t have it any other way. The leather straps across the man’s body prevented him from getting up or moving his arms and legs. Daniel began to trace his fingers along the man’s face and down his arm.

  Daniel knew nobody would be looking for him. Most people were preoccupied with tonight’s event. Even if they weren’t, this building was abandoned years ago, and he knew this man’s history. He lived with nobody. If he didn’t show up to work, nobody would care. Call centers have people abandon their jobs on a daily basis, only to be replaced by the next lifeless face that can hold a phone. The man had no family, and unless you considered the bartender at the nearby shit hole bar, he had no friends. Daniel had done his research, and this man was nobody.

  Daniel picked up the knife and put a finger against his own lips. The man seemed to nod, still shaking. Daniel grabbed at the tape covering the man’s mouth and ripped it off in one fluid motion. The sound of the duct tape pulling across his face echoed in the room. The man let out a yelp but seemed preoccupied with his situation to register the pain.

  “Who-who are——” the man stumbled with his words. He opened his mouth again.

  “You don’t know me. I’m not anyone you have seen before, or anyone your friends know. I just am,” Daniel replied. Although it may have seemed he was being mysterious, it was his usual reply in this situation. Anything more direct didn’t seem to register with anyone. They still couldn’t understand why this was happening to them.

  “Why?” the man managed to squeak out.

  Daniel smiled wide. This was his favorite. The why was much more fun than the who or where.

  “Because, I can. Because you were the perfect fit for Daniel.” Daniel pointed to himself with the knife when he said this. When he was Daniel, it was something pure. He could release himself fully and truly. Daniel White was something ancient inside him, almost biblical in a sense. Not the other guy. The one everyone saw on a daily basis—Danny.

  Sure, Danny was acceptable by everyone’s standards. He had developed himself over the years to be so. Took every little thing he said and examined it with everyone’s reactions to make sure he was behaving accordingly. He tried to sneak as much of Daniel out but could barely scratch the surface. It wasn’t just because Daniel would be completely out of place and misunderstood by society. In fact, he could let Daniel loose at moments and get away with it completely. Like that time in the coffee shop where the guy was taking too long with his order and rubbed everyone the wrong way. Daniel made a spectacle out of him, and everyone cheered. It felt amazing.

  The problem with letting Daniel out in his day to day life was that the more he got away with it, the more he wanted to do it. The more Daniel would slip out in situations that weren’t acceptable. He couldn’t let that happen. He’d worked so hard to get where he was, just to enjoy moments like these.

  A man strapped to his table. Fearing for his life. Completely at Daniel’s control. Under his knife. His breath, short but heavy at the same time. His sweat seeping from his pores. The blood pumping in his veins, just waiting to be let out all over the floor.

  “Daniel, you don’t have to do this,” the man said, crying. The saliva from his mouth was sticking to his lips in strings as he pleaded.

  “That’s true. I don’t. But I want to. Daniel can’t be swayed.” Daniel got up close to the man’s face, letting his breath land against his cheek in hot
waves. “I’ve waited too long for this.”

  Daniel stood up and looked at the television. The news anchor showed an unusual excitement for wanting to see some lights in the sky. But he figured everyone had their own thing to get off on. The clock showed only a couple minutes left in the corner of the screen.

  Daniel prepped his knife, then realized he needed more light where he was at. As the eclipse started to happen, it would darken, and the light across the room probably wouldn’t be enough to light up his workspace. He had no idea what type of lights would be in the sky and whether they would provide any sort of illumination for what he was doing. After all, nobody had seen this event in his lifetime.

  He walked over to the small work light and grabbed it by the stand. He pulled it, lightly scratching across the floor. He made it halfway to where he wanted when the cord pulled out of the wall, leaving him left in the dark.

  “Hmmm,” he said to himself. He knew that anyone else would have said something profane, but not Daniel, not in his time. He was calm and calculated. He felt profanity was for the random and emotional. He had no time for that, only solutions to problems.

  He scavenged through the box of things he sat next to the television. He could feel the man on his table eyeing him with every movement, probably waiting for his moment to cry out. He let it continue on as he looked. Daniel realized there was no extension cord in the box. Where was it? He nodded to himself and knew it was in the hallway, next to the box. It probably fell out when he pulled it from the shelf.

  Daniel walked to the hallway, letting the heavy door close behind him, leaving the man alone, strapped to the table in the dark. The screams began the moment the door slammed shut.

  A light was lit up at the abandoned mill tonight in the top floor. It was far in the distance from the church, but it still could be seen glowing, just a spec in the night. Paxton had been in that building a number of times when he was a teenager. It was a popular place to drink and break things. He didn’t know the last time he saw it lit up and was surprised there was even electricity running to it still. Over the years, it had lost its appeal to kids breaking in and, eventually, just became another sad building in the desert. He shrugged it off and figured it was a good place to view the night’s spectacle.

  Paxton turned his attention to the grass field to his right. He smiled at the sight of all the teenagers gathering around, conversing and just having a great time. Commotion set off his internal alarm, and he headed toward the gathering of students. Two older boys were wrestling in the grass.

  Paxton quickly stepped in the middle of the circle the other kids had begun to make. “Alright, guys, let’s break it up.”

  One of the kids was flipped on his back with a loud thud. Paxton’s face shifted to worry. The last thing he needed was one of these kids’ parents calling him up and complaining that their kid wasn’t being watched and was injured. He stepped toward the boys and grabbed the one on top, pulling at his shirt.

  “Ah, come on, Pastor Bale,” the one on top pleaded.

  “Haha, yeah. It’s cool, we’re just messing around,” the one who’d been flipped said, standing up as the other was pulled off him. Paxton let go of the kid’s shirt and watched them both dust themselves off.

  “Come on guys, it’s just a few more minutes,” Paxton said, glad everyone was okay.

  Some grumbling and laughs were met with his intervention, but Paxton was glad the crowd dispersed and no more rough housing commenced. He may have overreacted, but he didn’t want to take any chances. He knew everyone was friends and having a good time, but he didn’t want to let anything get out of hand. He smiled as he watched the majority of the group gather around while some of their friends started strumming on guitars.

  There had to be at least fifty kids out there tonight. It was the perfect night to gather. Perfect weather, great friends, and open eyes ready for the night event that wouldn’t be seen for who knows how many more lifetimes. He was happy he could lead the youth group to celebrate the Lord tonight. He was also happy that so many youths could come together and not be ashamed or embarrassed to show their love for Jesus.

  Paxton swept his slightly unkempt hair from his eyes as he watched Manny cross the field. Manny was the maintenance guy that was at the church probably more often than he needed to. Paxton figured he appreciated the job, or maybe didn’t have much to go home to, but he was always a hit with the kids. The hi-fives Manny received from the number of kids on his walk proved that point even more.

  “Manny!” the shouts from multiple kids echoed across the field.

  Manny held up his hand in appreciation as if he was some sort of celebrity. Paxton laughed at the older guy as he met up to him.

  “What’s funny, boss?” Manny asked, referring to everyone that worked at the church as boss, whether or not they really were.

  “Just you. I spend all my time and energy trying to build up a relationship with the kids and gain their trust and respect. All you have to do with walk across the field and you’ve gained twice as much as I have.” Paxton wasn’t really jealous, it was just a genuine observation.

  “Nah man, you just gotta be yourself. These kids are just like you or me, just less experienced. You’re the one they really look up to. You guide them to show them how much better they can be. I’m just the guy who cleans toilets and fixes the sound system while speaking the language, ya know? You really make the difference.”

  Paxton liked Manny. He didn’t know his background but figured it had to do something with prison. The teardrop tattoo on his face had a little to do with it, even though it shamed Paxton to think so. Don’t judge a book and all that, but sometimes it was easy to do so.

  “You have kids at home?” It was an innocent question posed by Manny, but one that stung Paxton deeper than it should have.

  He smiled and shook his head. “No, I don’t.”

  “Shame. I’ve got five and they always keep you grounded, ya know?”

  Paxton wished he did know. It wasn’t for lack of trying. But it just wasn’t meant to be. The Lord decided it wasn’t for his path. Once the doctors said that his wife wasn’t a good candidate for in vitro, they decided to give up on the dream. That was when he decided to get involved more heavily in the youth program at church and worked his way into the lead youth pastor position. It felt like he was influencing all these kids’ lives and putting his own stamp on their futures.

  Paxton stood in silence for longer than probably appropriate, and he figured Manny could pick up on it. “So, what do you need, Manny?” he said finally, clearing his throat.

  “I’m working on getting those chairs and extra blankets out for you, but I need a hand with them. Can you and the other guys help me?”

  Paxton surveyed the group. He knew they were good kids, but with fifty of them left on their own, even for a few minutes, it would be a recipe for disaster. He motioned to Frank, a heavy set bearded man in a polo shirt. He always volunteered for these events with the high schoolers. Frank caught the signal and put himself into a jog toward Paxton.

  “What’s up?” Frank asked, already out of breath.

  “I need you and Tom over there to keep an eye on the kids. I’m gonna help Manny with the blankets.”

  Frank looked over at Tom. He was a balding man, and the junior youth pastor. He was cracking jokes with some of the senior boys. “Yeah, no problem, man. You sure you don’t need a hand?”

  “I’ll grab a couple of the boys to help me. Maybe I should put them all to work. Let us old guys take a break, right?” Paxton nudged Frank.

  “Sure thing. Just let me know when you become one of the old guys.”

  Frank was obviously right. Paxton was in his late thirties while the other two men were at least ten years his senior. Paxton shrugged and left Frank with a pat on the shoulder. “Lead the way, Manny.”

  Two boys, looking to be juniors or seniors in high school, accompanied Paxton and Manny into the gym of the church. The chairs were still lined up
facing the stage that was set in the back of the building. Usually, they held a worship service Wednesday nights and Sunday mornings for the youth group, unless there was some sort of special event or camp they were holding. Tonight was one of those situations.

  Manny hefted piles of blankets from the corner of the room and handed them off to Paxton, who then handed them to Jeff, the first of the two boys. Jeff began the walk across the gym to the metal doors. Paxton was handed another pile and held them out to Kyle. Kyle’s hand grazed Paxton's wrist where his watch was, catching on the broken clasp, and suddenly Kyle pulled back, grabbing at his hand. Paxton could feel it.

  Blood began to pool from the small drips that fell on the ground. Even with Kyle holding his hand tight, the blood managed to find a way through. Paxton grabbed at his own wrist and could feel the jagged piece of his watch. It was a broken fitted metal band that had done the damage. He had thought about getting a new watch, or at the very least, getting rid of the watch he had, but it was an anniversary gift from his wife and wasn’t so easy to get rid of.

  “Shit, it cut pretty bad,” Kyle said between clenched teeth.

  “Hey, I know it hurts, but you’re still in the Lord’s house here. Watch the language,” Paxton replied.