The Rotting Souls Series (Book 3): Charon's Debt

by Ray, Timothy A.

  The young animated woman on the other end had been way too talkative. She had million things to say and Monica only had the patience for one thing; a way to bypass a lockdown from outside—that’s all she cared about. The woman said she’d get back to her, and she was going to have to trust she’d do just that or come up with some other way of taking care of business.

  “Hello,” a young Hispanic male said. She had seen this guy before but didn’t remember talking to him, much less his name. He was young, maybe twenty, with a thin frame, long black hair, and dark eyes. He was wearing a black shirt, jeans, and had peach fuzz growing under his chin. Maybe younger than twenty then.

  “Uh hi,” she responded, extending her hand. “Not sure we’ve met. My name’s Monica.”

  “Miguel,” the boy responded. “And this is my life mate Jake,” he said, putting an arm around the thin white boy next to him. He was dressed in a dark blue shirt, had matching black jeans, but his freckles and red hair contrasted greatly with the man hanging onto him. Were they taking this moment to come out to her? Because she didn’t really care.

  “So,” the boy began and she waited patiently for him to go on, not sure why she was being held in suspense. Was she supposed to say anything? She had a lot to do. “We can help out on guard duty tonight. If there’s anything else that we can do, just let us know.”

  “Oh, okay,” she said, not sure of how to respond. “I think John has the list for the rotation. If you can do me a favor and talk to him, make sure you’re on it, then that will be greatly appreciated. And thanks, I’m grateful for the offer. Just so much going on right now, you know?” she asked, stepping away. The boys seemed nice enough, but she was a woman on a mission and the meet and greets would have to wait.

  “Sure, okay,” Miguel called after as she smiled politely, waved, then exited the room. She quickly went up the stairs to the ground floor level. She had to find John too, as funny as that was. She wondered if the two boys would end up catching up to her up there. She took a glance behind, half expecting them to be following her, but so far, the stairs were clear.

  She was getting paranoid. But then, she was planning something that she wasn’t supposed to—so yeah, she had the right to be.

  She came around the corner that led towards the front doors and saw that John was busy slamming the butt of his shotgun into one of the airlock hinges. “I think we have tools for that,” she called with a smile.

  The glare she got was not humorous at all. “What the hell do you have to be happy about? You feeling on top of the world, that it? The great heroine that stands triumphant, while others lay dead on their backs?”

  She paused, a hand rising in defense and her step faltering. “What the hell is your problem?” she thundered, anger rising quickly. She had very nearly died earlier and she wasn’t going to be treated like that, not right now.

  “It’s amazing that all of you have made it this far. What the fuck were you thinking going in there alone? Where was all this training of yours? You ran past a full fucking armory of weapons and you didn’t think to stop and pick one up? How long would that have taken you? Half a minute? Twenty seconds? You know better! You don’t leave a corpse unattended without first driving something through its brain!” he responded, his face red and his shotgun held firmly in his hands.

  She had forgotten her weapon in her desperate flight earlier, but now seeing this raving man before her, she wondered if she might need one now as well. “Why don’t you lower that thing?” she asked him, keeping a hand up and taking one step forward.

  His rage was making his hands shake and he looked at her with fury. “We are trying to keep those things from getting in here, not creating more by the sloppiness and undisciplined manner that all of you displayed today. You never go anywhere alone, always in pairs. You never leave your flank unguarded, you dispose of threats before you move on. And you never go anywhere without a fucking weapon.”

  She let him lecture, knowing that it was working to ease some of the pressure he was venting. “You’re right John, I fucked up. I fucked up and people died. Do you not think I know that? That I don’t hate myself for it? Well, come on then. You want to finish the job those walkers started? Those were my friends down there you fucking bastard!” Well, she could vent too. “You want to shoot me? Then shoot me!”

  Mark was emerging from the armory on the left, he had his axe in hand, and he was moving slowly behind the pissed off sheriff before her. She held her left hand up, motioning for him to stop and shook her head.

  John caught the movement and looked to his right. His jaw was moving as if he was gritting his teeth and she could see the veins pulsing on the side of the man’s head. He lowered his shotgun though, letting it hang limply at his side. No one else had caught any of this so far and she wanted to defuse it before it got any worse.

  “You’re right,” she said again. “With everything going on, we were starting to feel comfortable, to forget what’s really happening in the world right now. I fucked up. Nothing will change what happened, but I have a plan and I need you to help make it happen.”

  He was still working his jaw, thinking things through, his eyes on the man with the axe just out of range, waiting to see what would happen next. “No one goes anywhere unattended, everyone moves in pairs and we set up regular patrols to keep tabs on everybody or I’m out. I’ll leave and take my chances out there,” he said, nodding towards the outside world. “I will not wake up to find out that one of you guys fucked up and are eating me for lunch. Just not going to happen. Got it?”

  “I totally agree,” she said and let out a sigh as the man’s temper seemed to be cooling off. Mark walked forward then and came to stand at her side.

  “What do you mean you got a plan?” the taller man asked.

  She looked around to make sure that they were alone, then she told them.

  “Are you fucking out of your mind?” John thundered again, gripping his shotgun once more.

  Mark however, was smiling. “When do we start?”

  Chapter 32

  Under the Radar

  Monica

  Compound 2

  It had been an hour and things were progressing too slowly for her taste. Jenn wasn’t picking up her phone and she was getting irritated with her. Everything hinged on whatever response she’d get from the younger woman and she hated being ignored. They were north of the compound. She was standing next to her quad and John was still straddling his, the shotgun rarely out his hands since they left. He had insisted on coming with her, even though he didn’t agree with what she was doing, but at least he hadn’t tried to rat her out either.

  “We’re here,” a voice said over the walkie and she watched as four men came into view in the distance. They were outnumbered; she had thought the man was coming alone. John shifted in his seat, but remained where he was—weapon ready. She had her own rifle in hand and tried to smile as the men approached.

  “Didn’t think to hear from you so soon,” the man said. “Kind of surprised it’s you, actually.” Vitarius stepped forward from the other three men but was stopped from going too far as the tallest member of the group grabbed his elbow.

  All four were dressed in fatigues and wore camouflaged hats. The newcomers had M16s and were clean shaven with short cropped hair. One of the two on the left could have been Vitarius’s father, but the taller one looked old enough to be their grandfather.

  “He says you wanted to talk, so we came,” the tall man stated in a gruff voice, his eyes taking stock of her and her gear.

  She took a breath to settle her nerves. “My husband made an offer to Vitarius yesterday, after our—misunderstanding,” she began, keeping her voice neutral. That incident had almost led to her daughter’s death, something that was still eating at her. But she pushed it aside; she had an agenda to accomplish.

  “And why isn’t he here?” the man countered, eyeing her.

  She could lie, but she had a feeling he’d see through it. She hated gi
ving up that they might be under strength, but then how would he know how many people they actually had in their compound? Mark was busy over at the other one removing the computer systems, just in case things went as she planned. “We have people that are in danger, family. He’s out picking them up.”

  The man considered, setting his jaw and eyeing her with those cold blue eyes. Now she knew how her husband felt whenever she glared at him; it was unnerving. “Thank you for being honest, I know how vulnerable it made you feel,” he offered, then took a step towards her. John raised his gun a bit, but when the man’s hand extended—it lowered. “Names Bill.”

  She sighed with relief and took the older man’s hand, giving it a tight squeeze. “Monica, and that’s John.” The man’s smile grew and she knew that she had passed her first test. “I know that your—,” she raised an eyebrow and the old man nodded. So, the resemblance was a significant thing. “Grandson,” she finished, then continued, “thought that we were military folk, and while I hold no ill will towards our established government, I would like to assure you that we are not affiliated with them in anyway.”

  “Of course you’re not,” the man replied. “And on behalf of my family, I’d like to extend my apologies for his rash actions. I hope your wounded fare well?”

  “They do, but how did you—,” she began.

  He laughed. “No one in the armed forces would come out here exposed like this, with only one man for backup and another hiding just out of sight,” he grinned.

  She had to chuckle in response. “Casey, you can come out now,” she said into her ear bud and a quad engine fired up from behind the cover to her rear. “How’d you know?”

  The man looked offended. “We scouted your position before we approached. These days, you don’t take anything on blind faith.”

  The quad came to a halt to her right and Casey was looking flustered at having been found out. He was glaring at Vitarius and she suddenly questioned the wisdom of bringing him along.

  “Hey,” Casey called, nodding at the young man across from him and she saw the edginess spread amongst the rest of the men as well.

  Bill was not worried though, and the glare he was giving his grandson made the young confident man look like a chastened boy again. “Sorry about the ass, bro,” Vitarius apologized to her friend.

  She was nervous about what Casey would say, how he’d respond, but she was surprised when he just shrugged it off. “It’s cool, at least you didn’t shoot me from the front. Then we’d have to throw down.” Her surprise must have been apparent to the others as well because they eyed her when she suddenly relaxed and let out a held breath. “Breathe boss lady, we’re cool,” her friend snickered and she wanted to shoot him in the ass as well. See how fast he forgave her then.

  “Now that that’s off our chest, maybe we can get to the reason you called?” Bill ventured after a moment.

  “My husband’s offer stands,” she told the man, walking away from the others and the old man inclined his head and followed. The others remained where they were and she lowered her voice as she continued talking. “We are Preppers,” she told the man and saw an understanding nod.

  “Kind of figured as much,” he told her, eyeing her gear once more. She was wearing her tight rubber suit and pads, along with some of the other gear upgrades she had thrown on before leaving. Like the gloves, boots, and headwear.

  She paused near a large tree, then put her hand against it, flexing the bandaged rigid palm underneath. “We had a wealthy benefactor that helped set it up, along with some others across the country.”

  “Bolt holes for the rich, huh?” he asked, cutting to the chase.

  She was going to like this man.

  “Turns out that way, yes. Thought we were the only ones, didn’t find out about the others til after the world went to hell. Anyways. The man loved his redundancies, had a backup plan for everything. Did you ever see Contact? It’s like what that guy Hadden says, first rule in government spending: why build one when you can have two at twice the price?”

  “Ran our damn country into the ground spending that way. Yeah, I understand the mentality. So you have two bolt holes and you’ve only got enough to defend one, that about it?”

  She smiled. “Right as rain. We have livestock in the other. The gardens and crops will have to be started, but it’s safe, it’s big, and you could make it your new home.”

  “Mutual protection but distance between us, at least til we get to know each other, that’s what you’re gettin’ at? Yeah, I thought so. Can’t say we haven’t considered it. Since you have been truthful with me, I’ll return the favor. Some of my people aren’t too big on other groups, like it just the way it is, depending on only each other. They don’t like outsiders,” the man confessed. “There were some that thought of taking the place. I was not one of them.”

  She nodded, she had figured as much. It was the way the world was now. “Thank you for not doing that. We could defend ourselves, but neither side would have fared well after.”

  “I know that. We can hide in the forest, pretend that we’re fine, but sooner or later those things will find us. It’s stupid to think otherwise. We can’t survive just living on our own. Mutual protection,” the man stated.

  “Mutual protection,” she agreed. “There’s a tunnel that connects the compounds, about two miles long. We will be far apart, but within reach at a moment’s notice if needed. Just enough space to feel comfortable but also close enough to help out if needed.”

  “You must have some worry about losing that other place if you are thinking of giving it up so quickly,” he ventured.

  She turned to look at the others. They were making idle chat, waiting to see what would come of their conversation. She briefly wondered if she deserved the faith that they were placing in her. This was their future she was deciding. “We had someone coming for us, but we drove them off before they even found the place. We are well off the main road, no visible signs to point anyone our way. He could search the forest for weeks and never find us. But we’d see him and deal with it before he came close to our walls.”

  “I found it,” the man stated sharply and she flinched.

  “And you know these forests, he doesn’t,” she returned, recovering quickly. “I’m sure he’ll be back, but in the mean time I’d rather not have to worry about him taking over the other compound by accident.”

  “I think we understand each other,” he said, nodding.

  “We have warehouses of supplies, more than enough to last for a very long time. We grow our own food and have an adequate security system, better than most. I was hesitant about this the moment my husband suggested it, but I’m glad he did. Meeting you put my mind at ease,” she said with a smile.

  “Disarm with a smile, not a gun, easiest way I know,” he said lightly, but she saw the fire in his eyes. If things had gone any differently, things would have gotten quite ugly indeed. “No secrets between you and I, then, open and honest is the only way to go, do you agree?” She grinned and shook on it. “Now why not tell me the only reason you pulled my ass out here. You knew we’d say yes, that we would have no other choice, but something else has driven you to do this, otherwise you would have waited til your husband came back and let him do it himself.”

  “No secrets,” she muttered, taking a flask out of her pocket. She had slipped some tequila in it earlier and now she took a sip, letting the alcohol sear her throat. She gave him an abridged version of what was going on and watched as the hardened face grew tense, his eyes penetrating her. When she had finished with the outline, she went in for what she was planning and saw the understanding come into his eyes.

  “I can see you think I’m going to tear into you for what you’ve said, I read it in your eyes. You need to let up on that. If you say you didn’t know, you didn’t know. Men in our government have been doing the same shit for years, saw plenty of it in ‘Nam and don’t expect the world has changed much since. That don’t mean that I’m going
to just sit by and not kill the son of a bitch that did this. What do you need from me?”

  Chapter 33

  Leatherface and Thor

  Robert

  Safford, AZ

  He held up his hands in triumph and the crowd responded. Over thirty walkers lay dead in the dirt and he crossed both his bats in the air to solidify his victory. The guards were looking nervous and he smiled. Give the people enough hope, they might get the courage to fight their new masters, but give it to them at the wrong moment and they’d just end up in this arena fighting him as the undead.

  Sitting on a very large recliner on top of a hastily built altar, Renny looked on from the end zone side of the field. Through the fence between them he could feel the cold stare of his enemy. He had been beaten, but he had risen. He had been branded, but he recognized no master. He smiled and pointed one of the bats at the sneering Mexican; his pose defiant.

  One of the guards handed Renny a mic and he put it to his mouth like he was in love with the sound of his own voice; nearly swallowing the microphone in the process. The boom box it was plugged into was cranked up and the voice carried over those speakers echoed across the former stadium.

  “You want more?” he screamed at the crowd and seemed to be ignoring the fact that the moment he had spoken, they had grown eerily silent. He saw guns rise and the cheering erupted in response. Those things were like cue cards. Why didn’t they just rush them? This couldn’t be everyone left from the town, where were the rest of the people and where were they kept? He was being locked in a Piggly Wiggly freezer, so he had no clue where anyone went after they left the stadium and the guards were careful not to talk about it around him.