Dead End Chronicles (Book 1): Dead End Journal

by Alex San Lyra

  For the record: The demented are hairless, white skinned, human-like creatures, with blackened hands and feet. The whites of their eyes are also black and they can’t really see very well. In my experience, they rely mostly on their hearing and maybe on their sense of smell. They wander around in groups, or “hordes”, as we call them. I don’t think they can really speak or anything, but I’ve seen them communicating through looks and grunts. They might be insanely violent, but they aren’t as stupid as most people like to believe. For example, I don’t think they know how to make clothes, but they do wear stuff they find laying around to keep warm. Also, they hunt with coordination, moving in absolute silence, and when they attack... it's anything but slow or mindless. I’d rather take on zombies any day. One other thing, I think the demented might be capable of procreating... I’ve seen females carrying babies around a few times. And I doubt they’d adopt a normal human baby, instead of eating it.

  But the demented remained just stories for a while. I was about eleven years old when we saw the first actual case of dementia. Nothing could have prepared us for that shit. Once it hit our neighborhood, people started getting sick left and right. No one knew how the disease was spreading. It wasn’t like with zombies. I mean, we didn’t "know the rules". I was never into those horror games or movies, I was too young, but I knew that people only turned into zombies if they got bitten by one... or something like that. With the dementia disease though, people who had never even seen the infected were getting sick. It was like it was just in the air. That’s when the army started building these bases, all over the country. Like, the one I’m living in now.

  In the beginning, the soldiers were going around detaining anyone who showed signs of infection. But it got out of hand fast. It wasn’t long before they starting shooting people in the streets. Then one day, they stopped coming around at all. The demented started wandering the streets freely. A lot of the people in San Antonio who saw them, ended up killing themselves and their whole families, out of sheer desperation. My dad wouldn’t have that though. I helped him bolt all the windows and doors shut. We locked ourselves in and waited it out.

  But then Xandy’s mother got sick. She got infected somehow. Xandy was only a baby, barely a year old. Thankfully, he doesn’t remember any of it, but for me... watching her degenerate... it was one of the worst things I’ve ever had to witness. First, she came down with that fever, burning to the touch, with sickly pale skin. Then it was the dizziness. She couldn’t even sit up straight, her head kept bobbing to the sides, out of control. The headaches were so strong, she’d pass out every few hours. In a week’s time, she couldn’t remember anything anymore, she didn’t know who we were or where she was. She couldn’t see straight anymore and she didn’t look like herself either. She had gone completely white, her hair had fallen out and the whites of her eyes were dark. Her fingers blackened, like they had died off or something. She was turning into one of them. A week or so after that, it was like she wasn’t even there anymore, like some creature had taken over her body, a demon. My dad had to strap her down... and kill her.

  Watching what that did to him, what it did to his mind, was the worse part though. He had watched his first wife, my mother, die of cancer. But it seemed like that was nothing compared to the dementia disease. He never talked about it, but I’m pretty sure he was readying himself to kill us all. We were terrified, thinking we had all been infected. It was better to die than turn into one of those monsters. Personally, I think I’d prefer to end it while the only symptom was the fever. It all seemed so painful. We never got sick though... no fever, no headaches, nothing. Either we were immune or just plain lucky. Whichever it was, we were some of the few who survived that insanity.

  In the following years, we lost all contact with the rest of the world. The words “nation”, “civilization”, “order” lost all meaning. The neighborhood we lived in became desolate. There was no one there anymore to trade stuff with. And, whenever we did see anyone, we’d run and hide. There was no knowing who we'd run into out there... thieves, murderers, rapists... There was no more police, or army, or government... there were only bad people doing bad things, banding together to survive. When it wasn’t the demented killing people, it was people killing each other.

  The weather was already completely chaotic by then. It was snowing hard... "in Texas"... and, for all I knew, the sun could shining in the north pole. I don’t doubt anything anymore. There were days I thought we weren’t going to make it. I was so hungry... and lonely... but my father had started teaching me to hunt. I was twelve then. I guess that’s when I finally grew up. I stopped feeling sorry for myself, wishing for another life, and I started living the one I had.

  We didn’t stay in San Antonio for much longer after that first snowfall. When it got hot again, staying out in the sun could be lethal. We saw people dying of sunburns. But we finally abandoned our house one day and started moving east. My dad never told me why he chose to head in that direction. I never thought to ask either. I suppose it didn’t matter much what direction we headed in... as long as we kept moving. Staying put was the problem. It was like waiting for the monsters to find you, whichever variety they came in, human or demented. We walked for the most part. We found some working cars, but they all broke down at some point. Either that or we were forced to abandon them after some demented attack. Like I said, it’s their hearing, they’re attracted to noise.

  As long as we were moving, they couldn’t catch us, but what to do when you have to stop the car? We kept away from the big cities. That’s where most of the demented had gone, probably following all the noises there. In the countryside, we only had to worry about psychopaths and cannibals. Yeah, sadly, some non-infected humans also started eating human flesh. Needless to say, we learned all too well how not to draw attention to ourselves. Maybe that’s why Xandy’s such a quiet kid. I mean, all we ever taught him was how noise was bad. There were a few times when I thought he might start to cry and give us away... but he never did.

  After a few months on the road, we arrived at Houston, where we ended up meeting Bibi. By then the world was pretty much what it is now.

  I don’t really believe that Harptown is the only town out there. And I know for a fact that there are still many people wandering around, either alone or in small groups. Every now and then, some of those wanderers still show up at Harptown’s gates, like we did a year and a half ago. And, in our time out on the road, we came across several of them. Some ran away, in fear, others tried to rob or kill us, others yet ended up trading stuff with us.

  I know there was a fortified community in Jackson, Mississippi, where we met Stone. It was a big community... that was, like, four years ago. It’s probably still there now. Thing about that place though, it’s a dictatorship, and a violent one at that. One of the military battalions that survived the demented, did so by enslaving people. Like I said in that previous entry, it’s a long story. It deserves it’s own entry. I’ll have to take a deep breath for that one though. That place was a nightmare and escaping it, leaving all those poor people behind... it wasn’t easy.

  Of all the major shit that went down, there’s at least one thing I haven’t touched on yet. The war. That’s mainly because I can’t say I remember it. It’s not that I was too young to remember... it just didn’t register in my brain for some reason. I suppose there was already so much going on in my life... I dunno. All I know about it is what people told me. My main source on it is Stone, so he’s to blame if I got it all wrong.

  The war had been raging for several years already when the USA got involved, in thirty-seven. I was eight. They sent troops overseas, to North Korea, in Asia. That was around the time, my dad married my stepmother, in San Antonio. It was a political war. Stone says they only sent those troops to distract people from the trouble back home. The economy was going bad and spirits were low. People needed something to look forward to and they thought invading North Korea was the answer. President Johnson, the last e
ver president of the USA, was the man who got us into that war. Apparently, it started in North Korea and spilled over to neighboring countries, such as South Korea, China, Japan, Russia and eventually the USA, through Alaska.

  We never knew how that war ended, if our troops made it back or not. By then the world had already pretty much ended, as they say. I don’t even know if this was important, in the grand scheme of things. But Stone seems to think it’s worth putting down, so there you have it.

  I thinks it might be a good idea to put down my list here, for the record. “How to end the world in a few easy steps”:

  1. Climate change

  2. Food crisis

  3. Economic crisis

  4. War in Asia (?)

  5. Dementia disease

  6. Government falls

  7. World ends

  There are seven items there, but, for example, I don’t know if the “climate change” and the “food crisis” should be placed separately or if I should consider them one single prolonged event. They’re intrinsically connected. Also, I don’t know for sure if the economic crisis actually came after the food crisis. It felt like it for me, but I was just a little kid. And I certainly don’t know if the war had any real impact on the whole thing. I'm not even sure if the disease came before or after the fall of the government. For all I know, it might have been the very cause of civilization's collapse. And finally, all that is just my personal experience. I really have no idea how the rest of the world ended up.

  Maybe there are still countries out there that have gone completely unaffected by the disease, or war... Maybe they still have food, and electricity, and televisions... and cartoons and video games...

  Or maybe there's nobody left out there anymore...

  I wouldn't know.

  Entry 08

  March 11th, 47

  Search and rescue

  Some days, I get the distinct impression that the world is testing me. You wake up and tell yourself, “I’m ready for another day!” Then something happens that shakes you to the core and it makes you wonder... if there’s someone or something out there watching you. Maybe they thought that your life became a bit too easy and decided that you needed a challenge, just to spice things up.

  Yesterday morning, I was making preparations for the trials when Ranger came to me with the bad news.

  - - - - -

  I was at the hut, discussing things with Mouse and Lexa, when Ranger came in. He was breathing heavy, as if he had run over as fast as he could. His expression spelled “urgent news”. It was very unlike him, he was usually so cool and composed.

  I immediately dropped everything and gave him my undivided attention. “Ranger,” I said, “What is it?”

  “Dana,” he panted, “I came as soon as I could. Something went wrong with the scavenging party...”

  “Oh God,” I realized, bracing myself, “Stone?”

  “He’s missing,” he reported, “Looks like only seven of them made it back... and two of them are infected.”

  “Demented attack,” Mouse quickly noted.

  It took me a moment to absorb that information. The scavengers had gone out in three trucks, a total of eighteen armed men. Only seven made it back? And only five were going to live to tell the tale. There were at least eleven missing, including Stone.

  Ranger went on, “There was some commotion at the front gates. I went to check what it was all about and...

  “I have to talk with Bibi,” I unintentionally cut him off, snapping back alive, “Lexa, can you look after Xander for me? If he gets scared or anything just call Singer.”

  “Sure,” she replied.

  Kissing my brother goodbye, I darted out of the hut.

  Ranger followed me, saying, “Bibi’s at the front gate. She’s the one who asked me to come get you.”

  There was already a crowd there, at the gates. Many people were yelling, some were barking orders, others were crying for the men who didn’t make it back. There was only one truck there, all battered up. Whenever something like that happened, the men were all taken to the guard’s headquarters. They were inspected for infection marks and kept under quarantine for a day. If they didn’t develop any sign of infection after twenty-four hours, they were released. The infected were allowed to say their last goodbyes to friends and relatives. Then, they were “put down”, as they said, and burned. We all knew the risks of going outside, and we were all ready to face the potential consequences.

  We walked through the crowd and found Bibi, inspecting the truck.

  “Bibi!” I cried, running up to her.

  When she turned to me, I caught her wiping away a tear. She didn’t like to let people see it, but I knew what she looked like when she cried. Thankfully, Ranger hadn’t notice anything. He didn’t know her that well, and she quickly toughened up when she saw him.

  Seeing the state the truck was in, I started to cry myself. I hugged Bibi and then asked, “Do you know what happened? Any news of the other scavengers and Stone?”

  She took a deep breath, composing herself and then started to repeat what she had heard, “The ones that made it back said they were fuckin’ ambushed by a large horde of demented, halfway to... wherever it was they were heading, some kind of closed condominium. Fuck, I don’t even know. Looks like the demented fuckin’ heard them coming and waited for them to come in closer. The sons of bitches actually took them by surprise, surrounding the trucks. The party scattered, each truck heading in a different direction... Stone was in the one in front... They told me his truck was fuckin’ swarming with demented when it disappeared into the woods.”

  “But they didn’t see what happened to him?” I asked specifically, swallowing my tears.

  “Nope,” she confirmed.

  “He’s still alive,” I pointed out confidently, “He’s not about to get wasted by a few wimpy demented. They’re not even considering a rescue party, are they?”

  “Nope,” Bibi repeated.

  “Figures,” I lamented.

  It was town policy never to send out rescue parties, especially when demented were involved. It made sense, there was no point in risking more lives. On the other hand, whenever someone was willing and able, they usually allowed them to go out in search of their friends or relatives.

  “So,” Bibi asked, exhaling, “When do we head out?”

  “Is now a good time for you?” I replied with a question.

  She smiled at me.

  “You’re going out there?” Ranger asked, mildly surprised.

  “We have to,” I replied simply, “This is Stone we’re talking about. If you knew half the shit we’ve been through together, you’d understand.”

  He thought about that for a second and then asked sincerely, “Mind if I join you?”

  “Why would you do that?” I inquired.

  Shrugging, he answered, “Guess I’m just feeling reckless today. Besides, it’s not like I have anything better to do.”

  I chuckled at him once and then turned back to Bibi, “What do you think?”

  She eyeballed him and said, “Whatever. As long as he doesn’t fuckin’ get in our way... if he does, I’ll shoot him.”

  “Fair enough,” he agreed unphased.

  I rolled my eyes at the both of them. “Wonderful. I just need to get my bow and some other stuff at the hut,” I said, mentally listing what I needed to take with me.

  “I’m, uh, going to see if I can somehow call in a fuckin’ ginormous favor,” Bibi commented thoughtfully, “get them to let us borrow a truck.”

  “We could just take the bikes,” I suggested.

  “No, Doll,” Bibi rejected the thought, “If Stone’s injured, we’ll just end up stuck out there with him.”

  “Right,” I agreed, “Well, good luck with that favor then... you’re gonna need it. Ranger, we’re going to need a map, or something, of where the scavengers were ambushed.”

  He nodded and said, “I’m on it.”

  “Meet you two back here in fiv
e?” I declared.

  We each headed in a different direction. On the way back to the hut, I bumped into Singer and Buba. They had already heard the news. Buba was clearly freaking out.

  “Dana,” he cried, “is Stone going to be okay? He’s all machine inside, right? He can’t die. He’s going to be back any minute now, right?”

  “We’ll find out soon enough,” I reported, “Bibi and I are heading out to find him and bring him back.”

  “What?!?” Singer asked nervously, “Dana, you can’t be serious. From what they’ve told us, there could be hundreds, maybe thousands, of demented passing through the region. It’s not worth the risk.”

  “Singer, I’ve already made up my mind,” I warned him firmly, “You telling me the odds is only going to piss me off.”

  He frowned at me, but was smart enough not to argue any further.

  “I’m sorry,” I added, “it’s just not an option for me. Will you keep an eye on my brother for me? I asked Lexa to look after him, but she’s got the girls already. There’s an off chance I may be away for a few days.”

  “Yes, of course,” he reassured me.

  They both followed me to the hut. I got my gear ready as quickly as I could and then headed out. Lexa, Mouse, Buba and Singer all accompanied me. When we got to the front gate again, Bibi was leaning against a old jeep, with a victorious grin.

  “Wow, that was fast,” I said incredulously.

  “Just workin’ my magic, Doll. Actually, I caught a lucky break,” she explained, “You remember Dr. Cassino?”

  “The mechanic?” Then I remembered, “His brother is a scavenger. What’s his name? Larry? Leo?”