Red Dreams

By Eric O'Neal

A city caged off from the rest of the world. The city of Sunrise. Nearly everyone has been killed off by a horrifying new disease. It's remaining inhabitants are going completely insane. Boredom can lead you down dangerous roads. They are trapped by an enormous barrier around the perimeter of the entire city. The government has abandoned them. They watch but they don't intervene. They give them no aid. The military guns down anyone who tries to escape. Gunmen patrol day in and day out. Helicopters roam the skies. But the people are on their own. All the survivors can do is destroy themselves. All the while, they have to survive the plague known as the Red Dream.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Eric O'Neal
• Release date: Sep 21, 2016
• ISBN: 9781536517705

Book preview

Prologue

"You know, before all of this happened, I was ready to end it all. I was just really tired of the cycle. Every day I would do the same thing over and over again with no point. And people were just glad to accept that as their way of life. I was all ready to end the cycle and kill myself. Then one day, everything changed. A few months ago, the disease hit, and I felt like I was free. In spite of the fence they put up, I felt like I had finally broken out of the cycle into something different. And so I went a little crazy. I broke things, and drove cars into wall, and set things on fire, but at the end of the day what did it matter? Again, all I was doing was just going around in circles. Until I found my purpose.

Then one day I met a young girl. She was waiting at the line. You know the one. The line that separates us from them, or so they say. She was probably no more than eleven years old, and I walked up to her, and I noticed that she was holding something in her arms. Two little legs were poking out under her arms, and I asked her what she was doing there. I looked off in the distance, and I saw the sniper with his gun pointed at her while sitting in his little makeshift watchtower. She said that she was waiting for him to do it. She wanted him to kill her. She said that they had been there for days waiting. Then she pointed off past the line, and there were two bodies in the streets. She said it was the bodies of her parents. They had tried to get out. They thought if they demonstrated before they went that they had children, then they would be able to get all the way to the fence. Then they could negotiate with the obviously benevolent guards to release them from their so-called prison. That was not the case. They were gunned down without any remorse. So, the young girl stayed there, and it was at that moment that I looked around her and saw that the legs belonged to a very small boy. His face was covered by her long hair, but I could see that his body was so tiny, and he was probably only about three. There was no way they had eaten for days. They were both almost skeletons.

Then she looked up at me. Her face was like a mask stretched to its breaking point. But her brother was in a much worse condition. She had a box cutter resting against it. His nose was missing and so were his ears. Pieces of his skin were sawed off. But he was still alive. She had taken off his eyelids, but his eyes rolled around in his head, and he tried to look at me, but he was completely in a daze, and his eyes were red and bulging. She kept going and cutting. She was making it slow and taking off the kid’s forehead by this point. I asked her why she was doing this. She said that she and her brother were left all alone by the world. They were going to die in this city.  She said that she hadn’t moved from this spot since they had killed her parents. What she wanted was for this sniper to take them out to. That he had been up there this whole time just watching through that scope of his. He just watched while she killed him slowly. And I asked her why she didn’t just cross the line. They wouldn’t have a problem killing her then. And that’s when she said the thing that changed my whole mindset on this world.

The line is in your mind. That’s what she said to me. She wanted the sniper to kill her because he wanted to. She was trying to push him into committing a murder because of what she was doing to her brother as a means of protecting him. She wanted this person who had never even met them, who knew nothing about them, to take away the life of the child whose parents he had murdered. He sat up in his tower and killed her parents, and she wanted him to kill her to protect this boy he had just orphaned. You don’t get to sit behind a line and dictate what morality is. You don’t get to pretend that there are two different kinds of people on either side. The little girl who carved up her brother’s face is the same one who went to his birthday party. They’re the same person. So, her sitting on the other side of some arbitrary line is a lie. He could kill her if he wanted to, but he puts this restriction in his own mind where he lives on the side where everything is normal. And if we cross over then we deserve to die. We deserve that. Then she finally said that it was her way of getting out. That sniper would have to carry the memory of her and her brother with him forever. She would get out of this place in his mind. 

I’m telling you now that there is no difference. There was no difference between the little girl and the sniper. They’re both the same. I’ll take the good and the lies and rip it out and leave only the ugly. I want the same thing from you that that girl wanted from that sniper. I want you to kill because you want to. I want you to let me in, and I want to take your friends down into that basement, and destroy their souls. I want to hurt them until the only thing left of them is madness. And I want you to be the one who delivers the first real blow. And once I’m done with everyone in this city, once I’m done killing everybody, then I’ll kill everyone in this house. They’ve already left those fictional lines far behind. Then when I’m all alone I’ll take this thing, this city that’s something entirely different, that’s been twisted and set free from the cycle. Then I’ll destroy it. I’ll destroy myself and the last piece that’s left. I’ll slit my throat as I stand before the line that they made up. And I’ll leave the bodies behind as a testament to that, to truth. They’ll just get a small taste of the new world that I created, that’s all they deserve. Because the line is only in your mind, but to show that I have to destroy the minds that it exists in. So, what do you say?"

CHAPTER ONE

THOSE WHO ARE LEFT

Doug waits for his son Martin in the remains of the city of Sunrise under the oppressive sun. His eyes remain ever moving envisioning any number of dangers that could befall them. He keeps his hand on his revolver at all times. No one in their right mind would dare to try and take him on. Or so Doug tells himself. It is so empty now. Across the street from the pharmacy where Martin searches for any possible supplies that they can use stands the old diner that had been there even before Doug was born. He imagines the waitress offering him more coffee while Doug makes a pitiful attempt at flirting. She laughed, but he was never sure if it was merely a professional courtesy.

The door to the pharmacy swings open as Martin strides out. The noise sends Doug whirling around with a fury and his hand on his gun ready to draw. Whoa, dad, calm down, Martin says as he sarcastically holds his hands up. Don’t shoot. He puts his knife away that he always carries on him as protection. It’s a large six-inch blade that his father gave to him as a gift years ago. It has a red handle and Martin’s name set into the side in gold lettering. Doug had higher hopes for his son back in the day.

Doug calms himself and asks his son, Did you find anything? And be careful with that.

Martin cannot help himself as he smugly comments, Not a thing like I said. Martin had said that this was a place that was almost guaranteed to not have a single resource left. His father had dismissed his words and forced Martin to search while he stood guard.

You can’t ever be too sure, and watch your tone. Doug hadn’t gone this far outwards into the city in months. Not since they had put up the fence. The government had blocked them off from the rest of the world after an outbreak of the disease that the residents had taken to calling the Red Dream. They were terrified by how quickly and viciously the plague spread. It had killed off half of the city within weeks. At first they put barriers on the doors and quarantined the inhabitants inside of their homes. They tried their best at keeping the disease contained within centers made at the local hospitals to keep anyone who showed any signs of illness inside, but that wasn’t enough. The military made sweeps regularly searching for bodies and burning them outside of the city. In their rush to contain what had happened, they’d decided on a simple wall to keep the ones who were left in and everybody else out. That became more complicated as the disease got worse. It was fifteen feet high and surrounded the entire city. What normally would have taken months was done in weeks with the aid of thousands of contractors and soldiers operating day and night to construct this monstrosity.  They had at first offered aid, but in time as the inhabitants grew restless and more of them died, they began to rebel against their captors. With a sizable force, they had gathered and attempted to break free from the city walls. They were immediately shot down and their bodies burned.

But who could really blame them. The Red Dream was a horrifying disease. It attacked your blood. The most minor of skin to skin contact could infect you. It essentially made your immune system consider your very own blood to be a poisonous substance. It forces your blood out of every orifice in an attempt to cleanse the body. So, the victims were a mess with red liquid pushing its way out of your eyes, ears, mouth and multiple pustules growing on the skin. It drove its victims crazy as they started to scratch violently at their own skin to release the blood. It was accompanied by heavy fever, coughing, and all the other signs of a simple illness. The plague would eventually rob its victims of their sight and induce hallucinations by way of the blood inside the brain. In your last days, you become trapped in a horrible twisted version of illusion and reality. That’s where the name the Red Dream comes from. Eventually, the blood vessels in your brain explode and kill you. The time between infection and death was at most a week. So, it shouldn’t surprise really how seriously the government enforced its rules on the people of Sunshine.

And so with no cure in sight, they sent in the soldiers to ensure that no uprising would take place again. Thousands of soldiers went on a tear throughout the city. The houses were searched, any guns found were taken away, anyone who offered any resistance was killed, and any bodies that might have been missed were destroyed. All the doctors who had been sent into the city with the task of investigating the nature of the disease had been taken away. There is no more aid incoming. The people that have been left behind are on their own. The electricity and the water have both been cut off. The perimeter is constantly monitored by soldiers and roving military Humvees. Overhead, the helicopters go back and forth across the sky never setting down, only watching cruelly as the survivors slowly die. The only way out of this town are two gates at the north and south ends of the city. Once it had been the way for supplies to come to the people who needed them. But now there is only a line 100 yards away from the gates. Below the line reads the words, written in white paint, DO NOT CROSS. That was the only warning they left. Anyone who crosses that line is gunned down by snipers like an animal.

Martin seethes silently as his father did what he always did. Doug is tough on his son. He pushed Martin as hard as he could into sports and competitions at his school. It was part of the reason why Martin had essentially begged his mother to take him away from his father. Doug was a mall security guard with aspirations of being a cop, but aspirations soon turned to merely dreams as the years wore on. And yet, Doug still acted as though he had the authority of a police officer. Martin resented his father for his constant restrictions on anything constituting a life. Doug had kept him from socializing and going to parties all the while trying to turn him into a jock. All that Martin had become was a smart mouthed jackass who consistently dreamed of ways of escaping from his father’s oppressive rule. Martin just wasn’t what his father wanted him to be.

For starters, Martin was short and not very athletic much like his father. Doug had lost track of many young punks while chasing them throughout the mall that he’d been security for because he couldn’t keep up with them. Martin would never say it, but he doesn’t believe that his dad has the slightest clue about what to do in this new world that they lived in. Doug would like to believe that he had been prepared for this day all along. He leads his group as what he thinks is a tight unit. His wife had told him not to buy a gun, but he was too interested in appearing tough as opposed to compromising. He’d managed to hide it from the military, but they’d gotten their hands on his spare ammo when they surprised him. It was merely a three shot revolver after Doug had used three bullets to scare off a couple of looters. They had never returned, and now Doug believes that with his gun and his tight fisted authority and leadership his group could survive this.

They walk in silence both feeling the overwhelming melancholy that they had become accustomed to over the past several months. The buildings around them stand empty, the cars are abandoned, and they are alone. The sidewalk and the buildings all combine into one monstrosity now all grey and terrible and stretching off into the world uncaring for the people that walk amongst their ruins. Overhead, the sun beats down upon its hated people, and they scurry into the shade of the walls around them to avoid the heat. Doug’s old and heavily dented white vehicle would be perfect for a day like today. Martin often complains about Doug not allowing them to use his car for quick movement around the city. Doug justifies this by telling everyone that gas is a commodity that must be hoarded carefully and that the car is only to be used in emergencies. Most of the cars have already been siphoned for their gasoline anyway, and anyone who was smart escaped the city as fast as they could, so the number of cars left on the streets is quite low. I think that you could stand to treat me like an adult by now, Martin says.

I would if you were capable of acting like one, and that involves mostly just shutting up and doing as I say. The old man resents his son as much as his son resents him. He could never do anything without offering some comment about his father’s leadership. Doug had always been disappointed in the life choices his son had made. He’d desperately hoped that Martin could accomplish more in his life than Doug ever had. But the more that he pushed his son to strive towards what his dad wanted the further it pushed Martin away from him.

Doug has heavy gray hairs at his temples now. When the Red Dream had first been spotted in the city of Sunrise he’d had a thick coat of black hair. The time has worn him down, and the hands of the clock have twisted forward sending him into premature discoloration. His son meanwhile, has a ponytail of brown hair that he had inherited from his mother. He keeps it long in order to spite his father. A miniscule revenge for a lifetime of bitterness.

They approach Doug’s house. The one he had inherited long ago from his parents. The house that he grew up in and raised Martin. It glows a deep shade of orange in the setting sun. It’s an old fashioned home with a white picket fence along the edge and a row of hedges that stand in front and under the windows. A garage where the vehicle and several cans of gasoline are stored is connected to the side. A chain link fence separates the front yard from the back yard with a gate on the side of the garage that connects the two. A nice suburban neighborhood that from the outside would seem to be the picture of the perfect American family. They spend much of their days exploring the town. They don’t usually venture too far outwards from the house for fear of the unknown. But as the supplies run dry and the days merge into weeks, the desperation pushes them further into the abyss.

Jon, Lena, Doug says into his walkie talkie. He presses the radio to his ear in anticipation of their reply. Within seconds of them not responding, Doug again speaks with the slightest amount of fear building inside of his stomach, Answer me, guys.

Yeah, Doug, we’re here, Jon’s static voice comes through.

What’s taking you so long? Doug says exerting his imaginary authority.

Jon does not take kindly to being pressed, Look, we ran into some of Roy’s gang alright, but we’re heading back now.

Doug continues his questioning, Did they hurt either of you?

No, we’re fine. They tried to be intimidating, but they backed off.

Well, hurry up and come home, Doug orders them.

Lena taking over from Jon and being far more unwilling to deal with Doug’s demands says sarcastically, You got it, chief. Be in soon. They reach the door of their home and enter inside. It opens directly to the stairs. Two sets of stairs lead up to the second floor while separated by walls branching off to the left and right of the stairs lead to the kitchen and living room respectively. In the living room are a sofa and a loveseat, both black leather, that face towards a fireplace and a completely useless television over it. Next to the fireplace is the door that leads into the garage. In the kitchen granite tiles lay below an oak round table, and a counter for working with food items, and several cabinets line the walls. Doug and Martin go through the kitchen and exit out the back door to find Winona and Ross tending to the small garden in the back yard.

How’s it looking? Doug asks although he can see that the vegetables are not exactly blooming. He overlooks his garden from his back porch while he leans on the wooden handrail.

Well, you’ve been gone for all of a few hours, so we haven’t spontaneously created the Garden of Eden back here, Winona jokes. Did you happen to bring me any gifts? Doug smiles and removes his backpack that he always keeps close to him. He roots around in its contents and takes out a pack of cigarettes. He tosses them to Winona who mockingly tips an imaginary hat in his direction.

You guys find anything worth having? Ross asks in his usual depressed tone. He has no real interest. Often he seems to be going through the motions. All of Doug’s group have suffered loss, but Ross has taken it the hardest. His face is trapped in perpetual frown as his dark blue eyes wander around the garden. His entire family had been born and lived in this city. Now he has no one. He tries sometimes to put on a more cheerful demeanor, but it often rings false.

Doug hates having to admit, No, we didn’t find much, a couple cans of food, but nothing beyond that. Ross merely nods his head and stares off into space. Doug does not like coming back essentially empty handed, this group relies on him, it needs him, and it cannot possibly survive without him. Or so he likes to tell himself. They only have to hold out until the military comes in and reclaims the city. Then the burden of protecting them can fall off his shoulders. Doug has to believe that they will come soon providing vaccines. He can’t allow the thought that they might not come soon enough to enter his mind. They have to, they have to come and save them.

Winona takes several drags off her cigarette and breathes a deep sigh of relief. She is the oldest of the group, and her grays shine through. She considers herself a mother to this wayward group that has gathered in the house. Winona cares for them and does much of the cooking and cleaning. She often is hamstrung by only being able to use a small fire pit that sits in the back yard, but she still puts together immaculate feasts. Whenever she sees the members of her group however, all she can really think of is her family. Lena reminds her of her daughter. Jon reminds her of her son in law. Winona’s family managed to escape the horrors of Sunrise. She hadn’t followed them. Her husband had died not long before the Red Dream, so she wasn’t afraid at the time of any disease. She now wonders if that was a mistake.

Did you speak to Jon and Lena? she asks putting up a brave front as always. Yet she is continually concerned for their well-being.

They ran into some guys from Roy’s gang, Winona leans forward to press Doug for more information, but he is prepared for this and puts his hands up to calm her. They’re fine, the gang was probably just trying to stir them up or whatever.

Winona gathers herself and tells Doug, I don’t like this. Doug waves off her fears, but he won’t admit out loud that he doesn’t like it either. The last thing he wants is trouble between the two groups. He knows that even with three shots in his revolver he can’t possibly hope to beat Roy’s entire gang. It’s made up of at least ten thugs that Doug had dealt with before during his security guard days. He doesn’t want to risk a confrontation with these people. They were thieves and assholes back then, and they hadn’t changed at all.  Now they don’t have anyone that keeps them on their leash. What really worries Doug is that once Jon had been a part of that particular way of life.

Earlier in the day, Jon and Lena are searching the wrecked innards of Sunrise High School. It was Jon’s high school; Lena however had moved to Sunrise during a long relationship with her ex-boyfriend. They didn’t last together long, so she was left on her own when the Red Dream struck. Lena had convinced Doug to allow them to search further out into the city. It was difficult, but she pressed him hard enough to concede. Although, Lena would have gone whether Doug had okayed it or not.

As always, Doug made sure to