The Rotting Souls Series (Book 1): Charon's Blight [Day One]

by Ray, Timothy A.

  “This is bullshit!” she yelled at him, choosing to break from the others and stand against the atrocity unfolding. “Robert!” she yelled, trying to distract the man before he could swing the bat, ending her coworker’s life. These two were supposed to be friends, how could Robert do this to him without a hint of hesitation?

  “Hey man, maybe you don’t have to do this,” a young man in a blue sweater and long black hair said. He had a guitar slung over his left shoulder and a large butcher knife held in his right hand. He was another one of her coworkers and she began to understand that they all must have been traveling together. None of them had been at the store when it came under attack, so they must have been hanging out when the shit hit the fan. It was too much of a coincidence to be just chance. Andy stepped in Erik’s direction, but paused when he saw the dark look on Robert’s face. He seemed uncertain and she felt the unease spread through her as well.

  Those cold eyes looked at the others gathered around behind her. They were keeping their distance, but the horror of what they were about to do was finally settling in. It hadn’t even been a day since this shit began and she wondered; were they that far gone already? The humanity in their eyes told her that none of them had quite reached that point. The line had been drawn in the sand and they were hesitating before crossing it. How long before it was obliterated and murder was an acceptable part of this new life?

  Well, if she had something to say about it, it wouldn’t be tonight.

  His eyes came to rest on her. He knew she was the real threat to what he was obviously convinced he had to do. “Stop trying to be a Saint, Sabrina,” he told her coldly; he had recognized her after all. They had spent numerous cold mornings at their break table and she thought they were friends. She wondered if the events of the day had changed them so much that she’d might not even recognize herself in a mirror. He raised his voice so the others could hear him loud and clear. “Just in case you’re not aware of this, if you get bit, you die. You become one of them,” he roared, pointing his bat at one of the corpses at his feet.

  To make matters worse, Erik tripped over a corpse and fell to the ground with a horrible squeal. He had tried to make a break for it while Robert was distracted and now he was on his elbows, lips trembling, bloody arm exposed for all of them to see. It wasn’t much of a wound, more of a patch of missing flesh. He wouldn’t lose the use of it and if treated, the skin would heal over with only a slight scar. He could go on to live a long and fruitful life.

  At least, as long as anyone could hope for in a world gone mad.

  She had taken a few steps towards her fallen friend and tried to maneuver between him and Robert. “Jesus Christ! It’s not even that bad! We’re supposed to be friends,” Erik cried, trying to stay the swing of the bat hovering over his head.

  “You’re dead already,” Robert responded without turning. He continued to look at his small group, then to the others that had journeyed with her from the store. Jeff, Jesus, and Randall had worked with him and he glared at each, daring them to deny that he was doing the right thing. It came as no surprise that even her boyfriend wasn’t coming to her side. Andy had begun to edge forward and was the only one of the group that seemed to want to stop it from happening.

  “If you get bit, you die,” Robert repeated. “It doesn’t matter how bad it is. Do you want to wait for him to die; to turn and become one of them? We have to end this now, we can’t take the chance!” he yelled.

  To her horror, they were all nodding in agreement.

  “You don’t know that will happen! What makes you so sure, because you saw it on a TV show? This is real life Robert! At least wait to see if he gets sick before you end your friend’s life!” she roared back, her temper getting the best of her. She had moved between them, her hands clenched, eyes flaring with her own inner rage.

  “Get out of my way Sabrina,” he told her firmly. Whatever friendship they had was now at an end, she could see that in his eyes. She thought she knew the man, that he was a sweet, quiet, strong man who could be depended on to always be there for you. What she saw now was a hateful angry beast who was about to kill her for standing up to him. The power and confidence emanating off him was stifling and she fought to stay in control; to stand her ground.

  “No fucking way,” she responded in defiance. She hadn’t realized it but Andy had come to stand beside her. She had never taken him for a physical sort of man, more of a stoner get-along type. But now he was supporting her when the rest of them wouldn’t lift a finger. She would always remember that if they lived through this.

  Randall had finally decided to make his presence known. He had given up his bent pipe and was walking forward with his large hands up in a display of peace. “Maybe she’s right, maybe we should wait,” the big man said.

  Her heart thumped harder as she waited to see if it would make a difference.

  Robert raised his bat and she prepared to duck should it come her way. How had he gone so far over the edge this fast? What was really fueling this manic rage? Or was she the one that was completely insane, what if he was right? Was she saving Erik only to watch him die and turn? She didn’t know; couldn’t know. She was only sure that if she was going to die in this God forsaken world, it would be on her terms, not theirs.

  Those eyes bore into her for a moment longer, then the bat lowered. He leaned towards her and kept his voice low so that the rest of the group wouldn’t hear. “If he starts to turn, you get to end it. If he kills anyone else, I’ll kill you.”

  She sighed and knew for sure that their relationship would never be the same; the hate flowing off of him in waves. She held her ground for a moment then backed up and nodded, having to drop her eyes from that painful stare.

  Then she did what could be seen as either very brave or very stupid; she turned her back on him and went to Erik’s side. She yanked a do-rag off a dead gangbanger’s head, wrapped it around the flesh, and winced at Erik’s cry of anguish. She cinched it and his fearful eyes met hers.

  “I am so fucked, but thank you,” he said, voice shaking at his near-death experience.

  She had no way of knowing if she was doing the right thing, but the grateful look in his eyes told her that for now it was. That might change should his health go south; but something in her gut told her to be patient and see. She didn’t want to be the one to end it, but Robert was right. Erik had become her responsibility and should things go badly, it would have to be her that righted what she’d done.

  “You don’t know that,” she told him, her voice shaking from the forcefulness of the confrontation. She didn’t know what she was doing, she didn’t need another person slowing her down. Now she wouldn’t be able to leave Erik’s side for fear that once she did, Robert would finish what he’d started. She had lost too many friends already and she wasn’t about to hand another one over to the reaper.

  “We need to keep moving!” Robert declared, ignoring the two of them now that the moment had passed. She knew that she’d have to watch her back; he would not forget what had just happened. At the very first opportunity, she’d do whatever it took to get away from him. “There’s a fire station down the road. We’ll check the store for supplies then head that way. There’s bound to be weapons there that we can use. Only dumbasses fight barehanded against a zombie!”

  The last remark seemed to be thrown in her direction, though he refused to look at her. That was fine, she didn’t want those eyes on her again anytime soon.

  “You can’t count on someone else to save your life. You fuck up, you die. Then I’ll kill you again! Let’s move!” he roared. He may not have been the group’s leader before the conflict, but now no one was going to dare question him now. The others moved like cowed dogs after a severe beating; the fight gone from them for the moment.

  She helped Erik to his feet and Jeff finally came to their side, his face blank. The fucker had not even tried to help her, he was going to stand idly by while Robert killed her with that fucking bat. No matte
r what happened next, the two of them were done. She could see from Jeff’s face that it had already occurred to him as well. He didn’t look to shook up over it. Well, fuck him.

  Her hands shook, her breathing was rapid, and her eyes were trying to lose focus. She took a long deep breath in an attempt to steady herself. Andy put a hand on her shoulder for support. She looked into his eyes and saw the compassion hidden within. He smiled weakly, then moved to help Erik walk towards the abandoned convenience store.

  Jesus was hovering to her rear and she knew that he was thinking of taking off on foot, his eyes kept cutting north along that road. His apartment wasn’t too far away and he had to be thinking he could make it on his own. She could tell that he wasn’t ready to do that. The idea of going it alone scared the shit out of him. She could see the fear in his eyes; he’d wait and see what happened next before chancing it.

  “Shit, I thought he was going to kill you,” Randall said, his teeth flashing in the moonlight.

  “Thank you,” she responded softly, brushing her legs off and walking slowly behind the injured man. Her eyes were on Robert as they walked, waiting to see if he’d turn and attack them anyways. There was no need, he was acting like they weren’t even there; the stern face focused on what was ahead.

  Randall chuckled. “I didn’t want you to get killed, sa’ll. Though, you know he’s probably right.”

  “No, I don’t,” she countered. “You’re his roommate. You should have been the first to step forward.”

  The big man took a step back. “Hey, he’s the one bit, not me,” he stammered as if it was a defense for leaving his friend to die. She was grateful for what he had done, but it had been too little too late. “Robert’s a good guy. He wouldn’t do it unless he was sure that it was the right thing to do.”

  Her heart had echoed that same sentiment only a few moments before, but after seeing the hate in the man’s eyes, she wondered if any of them really knew him at all. He hadn’t been like this before, it had to be more than what was going on that had changed him so drastically. He had a little girl, where was she? Had something happened to her? Was that what was fueling this rage?

  The more she tried to understand, the less she actually did. There were too many unknowns and she knew that getting answers from him now would be near impossible. That link had been severed.

  Randall’s eyes cut to Erik, who had stumbled a bit as they reached the sidewalk in front of the store. He had an uncertain look in his eyes and she knew what was going on in there. He was questioning whether he should have stopped Robert after all.

  “Just go on,” she said, motioning for him to go with the others. The big guy hesitated, gave Erik another judging look, and then rushed inside with the rest of the foragers ransacking the store.

  “He could use some water,” Andy said. He placed his guitar against the glass window and watched Erik with concern as the injured man leaned against the side of the building, his face pale. He wasn’t looking to good.

  “I’ll stay with him,” she said to the young guitarist. He looked at her indecisively, but then nodded and strode away. “You two should get some food too, we don’t know when we’ll stop again,” she told Jeff and Jesus, exhausted from the fight and in no mood to argue. Jeff looked like he was going to say something, but then only shook his head and kept quiet. With a firm set of his lips; he set their bags on the ground and followed Andy inside.

  Jesus didn’t follow after them. He came to stand by Erik instead. “He was going to kill you,” he said softly, the reflection of understanding leaking through his words. “I just can’t believe it.”

  “The Robert you know is gone. That man is a stranger. You better start believing it, because he won’t hesitate again. If you get bit, he’ll kill you too,” she told him, trying to break through that dense cloud of denial he was clinging too; like he was going to wake up in his bed at any moment.

  “Still, what if he’s right?” Jesus asked. She didn’t answer. She looked at Erik’s pale and struggling form and was already asking herself the same question.

  Chapter 25

  Million Dollar Wound

  Todd

  Compound 2

  The man that stood at his side was of average height and build, his gray hair a signature of the life he’d lived. He was dressed in a nice silk red shirt and black slacks. In his right hand was a scotch, the other a half-burned cigar.

  “How’re they doing?” Sean asked, taking a swig from the rock glass in his hand. He had come out of hiding and was watching the girls as they went to work on helping their wounded. Nick hung in the background and tried to be useful. He handed them tools when they asked for them, eyes watchful of everything they were doing.

  Their older daughter Michelle was alternating between Monica and Lucy, bouncing back and forth as the two women worked on their two fallen comrades. Ben hadn’t made an appearance, even with the news of his father’s injury. He wondered how the young man was handling it. He was probably burying himself in his computer in an attempt to distract his mind from what might happen to his father.

  There were three tables placed in the center of the room, they had never believed that they would need more than that. Their med lab looked no different than any other ER and the crash cart was close by Rodger’s bed in case his vitals crashed. For the moment, they were steady and he prayed those paddles remained in their places for a very long time. “Casey’s on morphine, so he’s not really feeling anything. The bullet didn’t get past his fat ass.”

  “I heard that, asshole,” Casey murmured from the table he was facedown upon. “This shit is better than what I got; why not give me some more?”

  “You’ve had enough already,” his wife told him, as she worked to remove the bullet from his exposed rear. He didn’t like it any more than she did, but it had to be done. It was not a fatal wound, but they couldn’t just leave it in there; they’d never hear the end of it.

  Casey however, never missed a chance to take cracks at them. “Always wondered what it’d take to get you to touch my ass.” He suddenly yelped in pain as his wife adjusted the angle that she was working at, obviously causing a bit more pain than what was needed.

  He wanted to laugh. “I’d watch it bud, or I’ll shoot you in the other cheek,” he told his friend.

  “I can handle this myself,” Monica said, placing a fisted hand on the right ass cheek and pressing downward. The scream that erupted from the chair was drowned out by Sean’s laughter. His buddy drowned his drink with a smirk on his face.

  “How’s Rodger doing?” he asked Lucy. The helmet had been removed and though there was a slight amount of blood on the inside, it didn’t look to be that serious of a wound.

  The older woman only gave them a fleeting glance as she continued to work on her husband. “He’ll be fine. He needs a couple of stitches.”

  “Why’s he still out?” Sean asked, taking another drag on his cigar.

  Lucy pinched her nose at the cigar smoke flowing across the room, but kept her face passive. “He has a concussion. He’ll need some time to recover, but he should be okay.” They didn’t have an MRI so they couldn’t be sure of that assessment. They’d have to trust in the training she’d received and hope for the best.

  “I wish Ros was here,” Michelle said quietly, watching over Lucy as she started to apply stitches to the wound. His older daughter had worked with Rosilynn more than the rest of them had; she had even considered going to medical school. He was proud of her and he felt a brief bout of sorrow fill him as he realized that would never happen now.

  Sean was heading towards the door. “Where you off to?” he asked his friend. Sean was looking haggard; like he had slept in those clothes the night before. His face was sunken and his brow kept trying to draw together. It looked like he had a great weight was on his shoulders and was starting to buckle under the pressure. He wasn’t the self-assured man that he had met so many years before and was proof that no matter how prepared you were, it was neve
r enough.

  His comrade glanced his way, but his eyes were unfocused, as if he was staring through him rather than at him. “It’s the end of the world as we know it,” he sang, then walked away. It had a sorrowful tone behind the cadence and he felt that his friend was trying to convey some inner turmoil that was waging within his soul.

  He could sympathize.

  So much death and destruction in the world; it was hard to keep hope alive in the face of such atrocity. He had sung those very words himself earlier that morning and it had been a much different world then.

  Everything was under control here and with his head full of violence that he wished he could forget, he decided it was time to take a walk and clear his head. Sean had been a reflection of his own soul and unless he wanted to end up at the bottom of a bottle like his older friend, then it was time to take a break. Giving Monica one last glance, he turned and left. He knew that it would take more than fresh air to clear his soul of the evils that he had witnessed. That might just take a life time to clear away.

  Chapter 26

  Suicide Cult

  Rosilynn

  Nevada/Arizona Border

  Traffic slowed as they reached the Hoover Dam Bypass. Slowed? Hell, it had come to a complete stop; again. She squinted at the large flood lights and the flashing red and blue lights beneath them. It looked like a barricade had been set up on the state border. They were inspecting vehicles before allowing anyone to pass. Shit. “Get off!”

  “What?” Matt asked. He was confused by her sudden need to go through the Hoover Dam rather than staying on the bypass. He knew how much time they’d lose detouring that way, but it couldn’t be helped.

  “Just do it Matt,” she reinforced, not wanting to speak her fears aloud. In his current state, he might just drive up there and tell them he had been bitten. He’d let them do what he wanted her to hours before.