The Corruption: The New Darkness Trilogy, #1

By Victoria M Todd

What would you do if your city is in danger? Would you run, hide, pray? Claira Hack runs blindly to find a cure to heal the ones she loves; but however an Academy drop-out seems to be always in her way. Will she prevail or die trying? 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Victoria M Todd
• Release date: Feb 15, 2016
• ISBN: 9781519929525

Victoria M Todd

I live in the south with my family and is currently a college student, who is meerly persuing a a dream. I enjoy being who I am which is, an anime lover, a Simmer, K-popper, and a over nerd in gerneral! 

Book preview

Chapter One

I’ve experienced many things in my young life; but nothing like I’m witnessing now. High up in an old oak tree I see kids playing in the park while their parents shop in the market district. The district is booming with life, and with it being right in the middle of the city it’s always busy. The smell of fresh baked cheese pies fills the air with a hint of lavender. A smile threatens to curl on my lips, then I remember what I’m looking at.

The shoppers are trying not to cause a scene by walking away slowly. Some even manage to gather their children before running off in hysterics. I purse my lips together, five seconds go by.  Then I hear, The Infection!, being shouted. Everybody in the marketplace starts running, gathering their kids, leaving belongings behind. It takes me a minute to find where the source is coming from. Out in the middle of the crowd is a woman carrying a baby. The baby is crying but otherwise looked fine, its the mother on the other hand...

The woman is possibly young, but her skin appears ashen and appears wrapped around on bone, rather than muscle and flesh. Skin is peeling and cracked, blood seeping through her clothing and bandages. The woman’s eyes are black, so black that I can’t tell where the pupil ends and the irises begin. The Infection has taken its toll on her. There is no help for her.

Upon my observing, I didn’t hear the sirens, the Medical trucks speeding towards the scene, a firing squad is holding the crowd back. A man in his thirties tries to get past them. A soldier points a gun in his face and this doesn’t stop him. I quickly assume that the man is the sick woman’s husband. He fights against the soldier. A gunshot goes off. The crowd is now in a frenzy. More gunshots, five are gunned down. I hear the sick woman scream over the chaotic group as the Medical Patrol try to restrain her. They already managed to take the baby away from her. I count to twenty as they put her into a Medical truck, strapped down on a gurney. In thirty minutes the scene is over. I wait another hour before hopping down.

I kept my back turned to the scene. Looking hurts, the once busy market place is now eerily quiet and in the process of being fenced off. Now the only thing the people inside can do is wait. Wait until they slowly die from the infection or starvation, wait for a vaccination or the nonexistent cure. Nobody knows how the infection starts; we just run and hide.

Melting into a crowd of people I start home. The citizens, despite the incident, are going about their daily lives. Jumbo-screens play the news. The news anchor reveals a clip from this afternoon. I look away. The people next to me look anything but horrified. I take in their appearance. Fine jewelry, real fur coats. The woman is wearing a silk blouse with a pair of top name brand high heels. The man, her husband, is wearing a suit of fine material. They probably live in the Wing district, close to the Wing building. Government workers.

I silently curse them.

The National Anthem blares through the streets and foot soldiers study everyone. I place my hand over my heart and mouth the anthem. I feel no pride in this country, everything is leaned to one side of the spectrum. Their guns are propped on their shoulders. Their uniform is all black with tiny silver buttons upon the jacket. The caps have transparent black visors to keep their eyes covered. I ignore the one staring at me.

The anthem ends without incident. I board the nearest monorail and sit in the back. The screens on the wall are still playing the news. They drone on about how the Elite, a group of highly respected scientists, are working hard to make a cure. They’ve been at this for as long as I can remember. It’s dumb to give these people false hope. If you haven’t found the cure then say so, I can live with the fact that we’re all doomed.

The news anchor mentions something about the President. Something or other about how the people on the West coast will be moving closer to here, the East coast. The west has been experiencing major and life threatening earthquakes as of late. More people to get sick and die.

A group of schoolkids sees me sneering at the screen and starts snickering. I don’t mind. I don’t like their kind anyway. They’re not a private school, I can tell by their uniforms. Beige bottoms, white collared shirts and grey blazers. They’re from the local public school. I don’t attend school anymore, I tried it once and I got paranoid. I never went back to school. I was expelled due to my paranoia, I hacked into the school’s security system turned off all the cameras and erased my entire file. I don’t know why I done it, but I was relieved when I did.

The monorail drops me off in the Glass district, close to the poorer districts. I walk in the shadows with my head hung low. I try not to attract too much attention, but whenever I do it spells trouble for me, Kyle and Rosemarie. The streets are pretty quiet compared to the city. People are out on their porches, trying to savor the night before the soldier makes their rounds. There is a strict curfew in effect, anyone living in the Barriers, Woodwork, Glass, and Wheat Districts are to be in their homes by 9 o’clock. I like to think it’s for the small peace march that happened two months ago. We were marching because of the shortage of electricity here. All of it goes towards the city and richer districts along with the shipping ports.

The poorer districts or the ghettos as the rich would call it is located within the inner city going on to the edge just before you meet the interstate and monorail tracks. Everything is cramped together here, every house here is built vertically and run down. The government refuses to give us funds to renovate the place. Most of the folks living in these areas works in factories, house keeps, or do grunt work out in the woodwork. The Woodwork despite its name doesn’t have to do anything with trees but rather sorting recyclables and digging ditches for garbage piles. Others are enlisted to work on the roads; however not everyone can be so lucky. Kyle on the other hand may have the hardest job, he works as a house call doctor, sneaking around treating people without a proper license right under the government’s nose. He would take the test and become a proper doctor working at the hospital; but the system is rigged and it’s too expensive to take the test anyhow.

It’s eight-fifty two. Eight minutes before the soldiers arrive. I cut through a backyard that was closest to me. The grass was overgrown and smelt of something foul. I would stop to find the smell; but I don’t feel like being caught tonight. This would be my first time in weeks that I would visit Kyle and Rosemarie and I wasn’t going to miss that.  I sprint through the yard then jump the fence. Not stopping to see if I cut myself on the gravel, I run down the street. From the corner of my eye I see flashlights. The soldiers are early. They love to catch anyone who’s outside a minute right before curfew. Right down the street is an old dam the government made twenty years ago. It oddly acts as a wall separating the Glass and the Barriers. The main entry point is down by the riverside two miles to the east of here; however there is also a non-regulated entry point, a small doorway hidden under the brush. I kick the door open. Inside I crawl to the other side, while avoiding support beams.

In my line of sight is a covered manhole. I guess it was left from construction; it leads to the other side right in an alley not too far from the river itself. I drop down into the manhole and sprint down the tunnels. Even in the dark I know every turn down here like the back of my hand.

On the other side I look around the corner before leaving through the alley. The river is silent and looks green. The water supply is no good; the well water must look the same way. Good thing I told Rosemarie and Kyle to stock up on fresh water in early spring. The house is just up ahead and the streets is completely empty, nobody is even on their porches.

I don’t take any doorways knowing they’ll be locked. On the roof is a skylight that I always keep unlocked. Pulling the skylight open I hop down and land on a bed. The room is bare except for the bed against the wall, a dresser facing the bed, a mirror hanging on the back of the door, and a school uniform which is thrown on a desk. I grimaced at the uniform; I’m back in my room which is always ready for me. But since I’m not in the system Kyle came up with an elaborate lie that their daughter (Zee) is dead. I programed all of the fake information into the government’s server.

I walk out of the room and the smell of bleach and cooking vegetables hits my nose. I gagged on the smell before I come to a conclusion. I’ve been away longer than I thought. I opted for the kitchen than Kyle’s office. The kitchen is filled with the earthy smell of vegetables and the very subtle stench of mold. Rosemarie is humming a happy tune while stirring the pot at the small stove. Her light brown hair is streaked with grey and her skin appears yellow. I’ve known she’s been sick for a long time and tried everything in my power to stop it, but I can’t. It’s the infection for sure; however it hasn’t progressed to any of the later stages. I would give her any medication that I could find and leave it at the doorstep, I’ve only been able to keep it at stage one. Kyle takes great caution to watch her for any signs of change.

Rosemarie I’m home. I said. She turns around surprised and hugs me. I smile too then I start examining her face. Everything looks fine; there are no bruises in the whites of her eyes and no skin peeling. She’s ok, but how long will I be able to keep her this way?

Clara it is so good to see you again. Why don’t you come home that often anymore? it’s her turn to look me over. Her face says I need a bath and my hair looks like a bird’s nest. I forgot my cap. I like hiding my unsightly hair from her. Clara, I want you in that bathroom now and scrub yourself clean.

But is there enough clean water in the tank? I rather not risk it. I said as I take a seat at the table. I decided to rest my feet on the table with a sigh of