The Rotting Souls Series (Book 5): Charon's Vengeance

by Ray, Timothy A.

  “I’d ask what you meant, but we can talk about it when we see each other again. I’ll let you get back to dinner. Thanks for the info, I’ll pass it along. She’ll probably say yes, which means if we do head out, it’ll probably be in the afternoon tomorrow,” he told Ros, seeing the scowl on Carrie’s face for making the decision without her input.

  “Well, you’re in Show Low, right?”

  “Yeah, why?”

  “Okay, don’t go through Springerville. There should be one or two roads that will cross from there to Alpine, use those. Trust me.”

  “Okay,” he agreed, suddenly glad he hadn’t gone through there on his way here. “So I’ll just call when I get closer?”

  “Yeah. You should have the coordinates just in case, right? If you get here and I’m not answering and someone challenges you at the gate, ask them why pallies bubble hearth,” she told him.

  “Excuse me?”

  “It’s an inside thing, but it’ll get you through the door. Just, try to remember it, okay? I’ve got to go check on my husband. If you and your family decide to make the journey, great. If not, take care of yourself out there, things are going straight to hell and I don’t see anything getting better anytime soon.”

  “We will. Thanks. Take care and tell John and Matt I say hello.”

  “I will, bye.”

  Click.

  Chapter 17

  I

  It had been a long night.

  He thought he got some sleep here and there, but it couldn’t have been much. Carrie had slept first, his nightowl ways keeping him up regardless of the exhaustion he felt. The three kids had slept on the bed while he’d moved the recliner into the room and stretched out there. He had used his iPad for a bit, had a few games to keep his mind busy, but after a while, he could do nothing more but get up occasionally, pace restlessly, eyes on the clock as it took ten minutes for only one to pass.

  Carrie had taken over at three in the morning, but he’d been unable to truly rest, the events of the last couple of days flashing at him every time he even got close to drifting off. If it wasn’t his SUV bouncing over a dying man, then it was Randy charging at him from an open doorway.

  Any time the kids moved he’d snap awake. Even with the lights dimmed, he still saw the undead in the shadows, waiting to leap and end his life, to convert him to their cause. He heard noises that he would have normally dismissed, but now seemed more relevant as some insidious specter skulked around in the dark. If he had finally drifted off, it had to be because his brain just couldn’t handle it anymore.

  His wife had shaken him awake at seven, her movements slow, her eyes looking a little blood-shot.

  “You want to lay down for a bit? I’ll take over,” he groaned, struggling to open his eyes.

  “Too late for that,” she said. “The kids are up. I’m going to make breakfast, then you and I are going to talk through our options. Did you sleep at all? You were rolling around all night.”

  “I don’t know,” he told her; he really didn’t. “Let me get up, give you a hand.”

  “I’ve been fixing breakfast for your kids since they came out of my womb and started throwing spoons at me. I can handle it. Get a shower, you stink,” she said, then straightened up and left the room.

  “Well, that wasn’t nice. Like—at all,” he grumbled, pushing himself up and taking a look around. The kids had obviously played together before getting out of bed. The blanket on that side of the bed was completely ashambles, toys lying haphazard and crumbs from whatever they’d been munching on all over everything. No wonder she’d gotten them out of there before he woke up, he’d have tore them a new asshole.

  “Hey Babe, the TV is doing that emergency alert thing again!” his wife called from the kitchen.

  Swinging his legs around, he got to his feet and hurried to the living room, surprised that the kids weren’t already playing video games. Instead, they were huddled on the couch, their eyes wide as the Presidential Seal appeared on the television, then faded as the stern face of Bernie Sanders appeared before them.

  What in the flying fuck was going on? Had the President been eaten? Was she roaming around Washington munching on voters?

  “My fellow Americans, as of right now I’m assuming the office of the President of the United States. The former President, Michelle Obama, has decided to flee the capitol and abandon the White House. I, in good conscience, refused to go with her. I will not abandon our people or our beliefs. I will not abandon you in what has become our darkest hour. Behind me is a city in chaos, but I am assured by my advisors and generals that this city can be cleansed of the infected and that we will win this war on the abominations that have risen against us.”

  “Let me say this, I am ashamed of what this office has done in its vain efforts to battle this heinous terrorist attack that has been launched upon our Nation and the world. That through my leadership, I will put our Nation back together, taking no loss of life for granted, and only using measures necessary to save American lives.”

  “As most of you are aware, a group of hackers has now assumed control of the internet servers across America, having won a pitched battle with the traitors that served the former President of the United States, and have released videos of the war crimes that former head of state authorized. I make this promise to you, once this has been ended and our lives restored to the prosperity and promise that we have always enjoyed, I will not rest until that woman is brought to justice. I will see to it that the courts try Mrs. Obama for every atrocity and heinous act that has been inflicted upon the American people. To those still in service to our new Hitler, I give you this one chance at amnesty. Forsake her agenda, do not say you were just following orders, and return to the righteous cause of preserving the American Nation and the soul that has been ripped out of her.”

  “I have ordered that all media outlets be returned to working order, the newscasters put back on the air, and any further attempts at communication black outs to be terminated. I believe that we as a people cannot survive without talking to one another, keeping each other informed, and that the only reason things have grown to be as bad as they are is due to the insane whims of a mad woman that stripped our constitutional rights away from us. I am on your side. For those of you that want to fight and preserve our country, I say to you now, stand with me, fight for me, and together we will see ourselves through this and we will win the day.”

  The camera jerked, and a smattering of gunfire erupted, peppering the window behind the President showing the front lawn. Vice President Sanders stood, his hands balled up as he began pounding the desk. Before he could run, a body flew across the screen and tackled the older man like a defensive football player sacking a quarterback. Screams erupted from behind the desk and the camera suddenly fell to the ground, an arm spasming in frame.

  “Holy shit,” Carrie said in shock. “You three, go play in your room. You don’t need to see this.”

  “But Mom,” Ralphie began but Carrie put her hands on her hips and scowled. “Okay. Come on.”

  The two girls slid off the couch and followed their brother from the room.

  “I guess that’s it for the government’s assistance, huh?” Carrie whispered, trying not to be overheard by their children.

  “Oh, I’m sure their hidden in a bunker somewhere safe, deep underground, prepared to wait this out,” he said, still not believing what he’d just seen.

  He’d been raised to believe that their government had everything under control, had the ability to handle every situation and find the right path going forward. That was, until they went to war with Iraq the second time. But still, one of the leaders of their country had just been attacked and within minutes would begin tearing through his own secret service team.

  The Seal came back on the screen, what the hell were they going to watch now? The Vice President rising from behind the desk and attacking the cameraman? Instead, Michelle Obama appeared on the screen. She was dressed in fatigues and
was wearing a headset with a mic pressed against her lips. They were in a helicopter in flight with several soldiers sitting next to her, their faces just off screen.

  “My fellow Americans, and those around the globe that are watching this; I want you to know that I have not abandoned you. I will not forsake you. Members of my secret service detail informed me that staying in Washington was no longer a viable option and I listened to them. As you have all seen on screen not moments ago, I’d say it was a wise choice.”

  He couldn’t help chuckling at that.

  “I grieve for Vice-President Sanders, and so should you all, but I refuse to be labeled Hitler and accused of war crimes. Everything that I have done and ordered has been in the best interest of saving the maximum amount of American lives. I am sorry if there is no law book here, no set of orders telling me what to do. My fellow Americans, I had to call an audible,” she said with a smile. “I am and will continue to do whatever is best to give our country a chance to survive and if I had made mistakes, it was not a failure of judgment but rather a failure to understand the true nature of what we face—extinction.”

  “I have heard the words of my fallen comrade and I have given thought to his concerns. The media blackout was for everyone’s safety, I believed it best to keep the country from panicking and feared the deaths that would result because of it. The blame on that front is mine and mine alone. I must ask your forgiveness in the days to come for ordering that. I still believe it was the right call, but I recognize that maybe if we had all been better informed there might be less pointless deaths in the world tonight. To that end, I’m upholding the orders given by my former colleague and lifting the restrictions on the communications grid.”

  “As of right now I am drawing a line in the sand. We are pulling most of the armed forces not deployed at sea into the great state of Montana. The navy will continue its operations under Col. McAlester, but the ground and air forces across the nation are to pull back to Montana and the bases being constructed there. From there, we will fortify and work to protect the rest of the Nation from the undead masses that have been unleashed upon us all. If you can make it there by car or on foot, you will not be turned away. Refugee camps will be established and we will make it our priority to keep you alive and safe. If you cannot, then I ask that you do whatever it takes to help each other survive. Keep each other safe. Stay indoors when you can and fortify your homes. Dispatch any of the living that die before they rise and kill you as well. Wait for us, we are not going to give up on you. We may look like we’re retreating, but my fellow Americans that is not the case; we are digging in. I could be hiding in a bunker right now, as I have been advised repeatedly to do, instead I am flying on a Blackhawk helicopter to Malmstrom Air Force Base, where I will coordinate with our generals on the best ways to go forward and fight this plague ripping our Nation apart. Trust in me for I trust in you.”

  “And I have been asked to remind you that if you do come north, you are going to need cold weather gear. The term “winter is coming” keeps getting thrown about, and as funny as that may be, I am forced to apologize; we do not have enough supplies to warm the Nation in the months to come. Please be safe on your journey; take every precaution, avoid the undead as much as possible, and for God sakes, when you shoot the damn things, go for the head. If you can’t do that, then run.”

  “My prayers are with all of you tonight. May you stay safe, may you persevere, and if you are coming to Montana, then I hope to see you soon, because I’ll be waiting,” she told the camera with a big smile and the President’s Seal reappeared.

  “Montana?” Carrie asked as the television went back to static. “Is she fucking kidding? You had the hardest time getting here from Denver, which is only twelve hours away, and that was before half the country were undead and feasting on the rest. How the hell does she expect us to get there from here?”

  He shrugged, “I don’t know, but you can bet there will be those that try. And as you say, the undead trying to feast on them will follow; I wouldn’t want to be there when they arrived, they’ll be overrun in minutes. We are better off staying here or going to that compound Ros mentioned. Fuck Montana.”

  “Well, we can agree on that much at least,” she muttered.

  “Let’s get some food in us, then we can talk about what we want to do. But first, I’m going to take a walk, see if there’s any signs of visitors around our place. Better safe than sorry,” he told her, getting to his feet.

  “Oh, don’t be surprised if you see cars parked at the cabin across the way. I can’t remember who owns it, but I don’t think it was a bunch of drunken biker-looking assholes. They got here about an hour ago. Be mindful not to draw their attention, who knows what they’ll get up to when stirred,” she warned, and his eyes widened as he tried to wake himself up a bit faster.

  People had arrived at the empty cabin and he didn’t hear them? Maybe he’d been more out of it than he thought. “Okay, I will. I’ll be back.”

  After retrieving the 9mm from the drawer in the nightstand, he holstered it, rolled his shoulders, then went outside to take a look around. There were indeed two pickup trucks parked across the way, one of which had a wheel up on a log it’d hit, the front end at an unintended angle that rubbed him the wrong way. He wasn’t going to go fix it though. He didn’t need to be shot over someone else’s bad parking job.

  Walking to the south, he spared a glance at the Peterson’s cabin, Randy’s body right where they left it with signs that wildlife had gotten to it recently. He should have buried him but digging a hole in the dark of night with the undead roaming the countryside? I’ll pass.

  As he walked around the back of the house, he noticed something out of place and his stomach turned. The ladder that Carrie had used to peek in Jake’s room was lying against the house on its side, half covered by the ferns that had sprung up in their absence. She hadn’t gone and retrieved it, right? Even if she had, why would she leave it there?

  Going to the window to the master bedroom, he saw that his suspicions were correct, there were two indentations from where the ladder had been used, and four footprints angled as the climber moved around.

  Someone had been looking in their window while they slept; they had a reason to worry after all.

  Chapter 18

  I

  “I think it’s best we hit the road before afternoon. I know, it sucks. Especially with all the food we brought, but we had a visitor last night and I don’t think he’s going to just give up because we huddled up for a night. He might get creative, try to force the issue. Let’s not fuck around, let’s get out of here. It’s not like we don’t have somewhere to go,” he told his wife as she spooned some cereal into her mouth.

  She gestured with her spoon as she said, “you willing to bet our lives on that? That’s what you’d be doing. Okay, you talked to her on the phone last night, you got more information, but what do you really know about her? How do you know it’s not just a ploy? You are far too trusting.”

  “You’re right, but what’s the alternative? Wait for this psycho to sneak in and try to kill us? I say we pack up as many supplies as we can and get the fuck out.”

  She pursed her lips and looked at the children playing in the living room, then nodded her head. “Okay. But we need to be careful. If whoever this is sees us getting ready to leave, they might strike for fear of losing us altogether.”

  “Okay,” he agreed. “I’ll start getting our stuff together. Kind of glad I didn’t unpack now.”

  “Yeah, well, I did,” Carrie muttered, then tossed her spoon into her cereal. “The clothing and all that won’t take long, it’s the food and other supplies that will take forever to load. Unless you want to leave some of it behind.”

  “We will pack the important stuff first, that way if we have to leave in a hurry we’ll have what matters at least.” He then turned to look at the kids. “Hey kids, we’re going to go on a little trip. I need you to go pack up everything you brought, okay
?”

  They ignored him; they were too focused on their video game.

  “Hello, I’m talking to you.”

  Ralphie’s eyes fixed on his. “Okay Dad. Just one minute.”

  “No, not one minute. Now.”

  “Fine!” his son snarled, tossing down his remote.

  He sighed, even in the zombie apocalypse, kids were still kids. “I know that the SUV is a bit banged up, but if we have to do any off roading on these backroads, your mini-van isn’t going to like it much,” he told his wife as she walked towards their bedroom. “Just saying.”

  “We’ve been through a lot in that mini-van, done a lot in it too, if you remember right,” she responded with a disgusted look on her face. “We know what’s wrong with the van, how do you know you didn’t fuck up the SUV in your trip down here? The radiator could be damaged, the tires could have a slow leak. With the van, I know what we’re dealing with.”

  “And if we get stuck in it, we’ll be on foot,” he told her.

  “It’s a risk I’m willing to take.”

  He sighed. If she was going to insist, what could he say about it? She was already taking a chance going through with this, making her uncomfortable about how they went about it wouldn’t help very much. “I’ll go check the oil and stuff, then we can start loading her up. We won’t have room for all the supplies we got, so we’ll have to pick and choose what we need the most. We don’t need any of those vegetables at all.”

  “You still need your greens in the apocalypse. How else will you be strong enough to fight off the walking dead?” she snarked back.

  He shook his head slightly and tried his best not to make a face; he failed. “I’ll make do.”

  “There won’t be a McDonald’s or Taco Bell for you to sneak off to. You’ll eat what we have,” she grinned, tossing a towel playfully in his direction.