Charon's Blight: Day Two

By Timothy Ray

The Zombie Apocalypse has begun and across the country, a group of Doomsday Preppers race to the compounds they built in hopes of surviving through the End of Days. Friends come together to help one another survive as the undead begin to swarm Humanity, the military barely keeping the outbreak in check. Cut off from the world, Todd has to sit by and watch as the world around him burns to the ground. He struggles with the guilt of his family's safety as his friends and extended family struggle just to make it through the day. But another horrid and devastating secret looms in the background, who was responsible for this virus that was bringing the world to it's knees? Was it one of their own?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Timothy Ray
• Release date: May 16, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463580905

Timothy Ray

Timothy Ray (1978-) was born in Tucson, Arizona, where he resides to this day. His family is from eastern Arizona, from Safford to Morenci, and he enjoys camping on Mt. Graham during the summer months. He attended Desert View High School, where he was inspired by an English teacher to explore his creative writing skills and work on his first novel; the Acquisition of Swords. He joined the Writer's Group under Mrs. Wakamatsu, and finished the rough draft of his first book in 1995.

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Chapter 1

Restoration

Saint

Tucson, AZ

The enforced curfew by the military had curbed her plans to make it out of the city that night. Just as they had approached the parking lot of Caesar’s apartment complex, a pair of jeeps had come screaming down the road, veering across their path and coming to an abrupt stop, their guns trained on them.

She had nearly pissed her pants.

They had survived multiple battles with the undead and the military that was supposed to be protecting them was about to finish the job. A uniformed man standing in the back told them to get inside and stay there for the night; the guns pointed at them leaving no room to argue, only implying submission. It shook her up so bad that all she could do was nod and drive quickly into the gated community. As much as she wanted to leave, getting shot by the living was high up there on her not to do list.

She had spent the entire day trying to get out of town and had only gone three miles. Amazingly, it had only taken her a couple of minutes to get to Caesar’s apartment from that fire station. It hadn’t been very far from where that last battle had taken place; if only the truck had kept running. They would have had to force their way through that horde they’d fought, but they would’ve avoided coming into contact with Robert and the rest of his mindless cronies, and her life would be a lot simpler right now.

Then again, Erik would probably be dead, and Manny would be stuck traveling with a mad man. Raleigh had turned on her almost as soon as Robert had shown up; how much could she have trusted him had they kept going? His loyalty had shown to be non-existent; he would’ve turned on them sooner or later. Todd wouldn’t have appreciated her bringing a turncoat into the compounds. They had to fully trust the people she brought in or else everyone’s lives were forfeit.

Caesar hadn’t waited for the truck to come to a stop before he had dashed up the stairs towards his apartment; his worry over his wife and kid finally overtaking him now that they were close enough for him to find them. It had been a good thing the complex appeared to be empty, void of the living and undead, otherwise they never would’ve been able to follow after him.

As they headed for the stairway that led to the second floor of his building, the world exploded around them. She had fallen flat on the asphalt and busted her lip from the impact, her ears ringing and her heart pounding rapidly in her chest. The Air Force had begun bombing parts of the city and the wind carried their fury upon the wind. The roar of their engines swallowed everything in its vacuum; their altitude having to been pretty damn low as the windows of the surrounding apartments nearly shattered with their passing. Gunfire echoed in the distance, closing in. She may have escaped Robert only to be trapped in a warzone. She wasn’t sure which was worse and that was pretty fucked up.

She had gotten to her feet quickly, fighting off nausea and vertigo from her throbbing eardrums, and dashed up the stairs. The sobs coming from the open doorway were muffled by the war waging around them and she almost missed which apartment he was in. Manny and Erik were right behind her and nearly pushed her to her knees in their frantic attempt to get to safety.

Safety, what the hell was that?

Now she stood on her coworker’s balcony, hidden in the shadows, eyes on the street below. Her long black hair was down, and she pushed her bangs out of her face as she watched a pair of Humvees pass by on the main street. Somehow, knowing that they were out there making their rounds made her feel safer. Part of her wanted to run into the street and flag them down, ask them to take her with them, but knew that there was no chance they’d do that. A curfew was being enforced and they’d probably shoot her the second she broke from the shadows anyways.

What really surprised her was that they were making no effort to evacuate the living. They were not ferrying civilians anywhere; they’d been left to fend for themselves. The National Guard wasn’t going door to door and demanding people leave, there were no armored escorts heading to safe zones. It was like they didn’t care who got caught up in the carnage, who might be in an area they were currently carpet bombing, and that kind of attitude chilled her to the bone. Why would they just leave them unprotected? Had she misjudged how bad things were? Were things ever going to return to normal?

Whatever their mission, they were serious about seeing it done. They would show no mercy; nor should they. If the world was going to have any chance at surviving this plague, they were all going to have to stop pussyfooting around and start making the hard decisions. It was something she’d been struggling with throughout the night and despite her adjusting attitude, she was still there. She was trying to convince herself that the smart play was to wait, not to just get in the truck and take off, leave the added baggage she’d picked up since leaving the Wal-Mart and let them be someone else’s problem. She hated being tied down and straddled with responsibility that she didn’t ask for; she did better when she was on her own. It wasn’t lost on her, that if she hadn’t stopped to pick up Jeremy, she’d be out of this mess and safely resting within Todd’s compound right now. But no, she had to stop and try to pick his dumbass up. Just because you were sleeping with a guy, didn’t mean you had to die for him, yet that might end up being the cost exacted for her stupid mistakes.

She paused to let that sink in. It had been easy to stay mad at him for keeping her here, but then she’d remember the ugly death he’d been dealt and the grief would set in. It was hard to believe that she couldn’t call or text him, his loss felt like something out of a nightmare, not this horrid reality she was currently inhabiting. And only now that he was gone did she realize how much she missed him. Maybe it was just the manner of his death or that she had wanted to do the very same thing when she was trapped in that store; fling him into a herd of zombies and run away. She told herself that it had just been a fleeting thought born of anger, that she’d never actually do it, but she couldn’t help but wonder. If she had been in Robert’s place, would she have sacrificed Jeremy to save her life and those with her?

Not wanting to admit the dark truth in her heart, she tried to convince herself that she would’ve found another way.

She was drinking a Rockstar while leaning against the balcony railing, her gaze slowly moving across the northern horizon. Caesar’s wife had given her a black t-shirt to wear, which was fortunate considering the state of her clothing and her bags of replacements left in the Lexus back at the Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market. It was a bit baggy, but it hid what it needed to, and she would take what she could get. Her black jeans were slightly soiled, but she’d taken a dishrag with some Dawn and washed them off the best she could. Marisol’s ass was twice the size of hers and no amount of belts in the world would be able to keep them on her hips. Her mocha colored skin glistened in the light attached to the wall of the balcony, and the shower she’d taken had helped to finally get the rest of the gunk off.

Smoke was hovering like a fog over the city, dark and ominous. The Air Force had finally ceased their bombing, but she could still hear rapid gunfire in the distance; someone was going to town. She didn’t have enough height to see anything over the roofs of the adjacent buildings and she wondered how much of the city was still standing.

So far, their area had remained quiet, but that could change swiftly and without notice. They had listened to the radio throughout the night and the static seemed to permeate even through the brief nightmares she’d had; it may have even contributed to them. Nothing else had aired since the President’s speech and she thought it odd that no one else was out there trying to fill the unused airwaves. She had seen a lot of movies where people died at their microphones trying to get the news out, but was that realistic? Would they abandon their families in some vain pursuit of truth or a heroic death? Maybe the loners would, but apparently, they were in hiding as well. She wondered how many had hung around once they discovered the truth of what was going on. She guessed that the journalistic need to spread the word hadn’t overridden their instinctive need to survive.

She checked her phone and stared at the last message from Todd.

Todd: Do whatever you have to but you need to GTFO of Tucson

Tell me something I don’t know, she said under her breath as she flipped her phone shut. She took another swig of her energy drink, sighed, and then went back into the apartment.

As the glass door slid shut, she heard a cough from behind her and turned to see Caesar and his wife Marisol looking at her expectantly; they had been waiting on her. Caesar’s head looked to be recently shaved, his moustache trimmed, and the portly face was looking at her with a mixture of guilt and worry. He’d exchanged his work shirt for a maroon one, and had changed from slacks to blue jeans, as he had access to his entire wardrobe, and she didn’t. His wife was average in height, wearing a tan blouse and a black skirt; she was not dressed for the apocalypse. She had a baby in her arms, and her hand was on the back of the infant’s head, as if protecting it from seeing her.

If they wanted to talk, why hadn’t they done it while she was on the balcony?

We’re not going with you, he stated almost immediately, not even waiting for her to take a seat and eat a bowl of cereal like the rest of them were doing. The other two didn’t reply, as if they had already been told, and she wondered why they seemed afraid of how she’d respond, that they needed a unified front in order to tell her that?

Now that, that’s some bullshit.

She wasn’t a freak like Robert; she wasn’t going to blow up or try to kill them for not going with her. Hell, it made her life easier as she’d spent most of the morning trying to figure out how to get all of them out of town safely. Now she only had two people to worry about rather than five. That worked in her favor.

I know I said I would go with you, but Marisol has family we need to find. They’re not answering their phones, Caesar said firmly, his eyes on her.

Okay? she responded slowly, not sure of what to say. It’s your life. You can do what you want. I’m not going to stop you, she replied in an I don’t really care tone of voice and adding a shrug in for good measure. Dude, you looked like you were telling someone’s father you knocked their daughter up. Totally uncalled for. I don’t give a shit.

Caesar sighed as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders and it began to piss her off. When or how did she get elected leader of this bunch?

I know where I’m going; the rest of you can do what you want, she stated, making it quite clear she could give a damn what they decided to do. Manny and Erik gave her a hurt look, but she ignored it. She took a large mouthful of Cheerios and tried to keep from saying anything further. She ground her teeth a little harder than she needed to with the mush, cursing under her breath between spoonful’s. She was not their leader and she was not responsible for any of them. She knew that their choosing to come with her in the first place had more to do with getting away from Robert than her as a person; she was a realist and not delusional on that score.

Her hand closed over the cellphone in her pocket and she fought the urge to take it out and check it again. The only messages she had gotten were from Todd; she hadn’t received any responses to the texts she sent to her family. Her mother, her sisters, an aunt here in town, none of them were getting back to her. Were they even still alive? The grim reality of the situation was beginning to stalk her from the shadowy recesses of her mind and she knew that there wasn’t anything she could do for them even if they did answer. Hell, she couldn’t even get down the road without almost dying once or twice on the way. With Robert coming after her, and she knew that he would, they’d be better out of the path of his wrath fast; she was tired of looking over her shoulder.

Everyone has weapons now, Caesar offered, as if that let him off the hook for some imagined slight. We should be all right.

Don’t be so naïve. In case you slept through it, the military is going to town out there. They are wiping the slate clean and they don’t give a fuck about any of us. You think you can hunt down family members in this shit? We couldn’t even make the ten-minute drive from work to your apartment. But whatever, I don’t give a shit, do what you want dude. No me respondes, no soy tu madre, she snapped and saw Marisol’s eyes darken. Well, she wasn’t going along with her, so why did she give a fuck what the woman thought of her? For all she knew, she’d be a zombie tomorrow and all that hate would be gone from the world.

It was a horrible thought, but she was pissy this morning. She hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before, having caught a brief nap on the couch, and it was making her crankier than usual. That, or this whole morning drama was just a waste of time, because she wanted to be on the road and on their way. Dawn was fast approaching and the curfew would be lifted soon.

Quién crees que eres, puta? the overweight Hispanic woman snarled, cradling her baby in her arms and rocking the infant as she glared at her. She had dark hair and there was a yellow highlight on one side; Sabrina never got how that was a popular thing to do, but maybe it was some fad she had missed. Marisol’s eyes were dark and menacing; territorial even.

Did you just call me a bitch? You best check yourself, she shot back, her gaze narrowing. She had to balance the anger against the laughter fighting to break through. The world was going up in flames and this chica was actually concerned that she was going to take her man?

What a fucking riot.

Who am I? I’m nobody, but I’m the nobody that is getting the fuck out of here and hopes that kid of yours isn’t zombie food by lunch-time. Anyone that is with me had better get their shit together, because I want to be out of town before the rest of the city wakes up and decides to do the same, she growled, getting to her feet and pushing the half-eaten bowl away. Reaching out, she picked up her rifle and gripped it tightly as she pushed herself to her feet. Luckily, she didn’t have much to gather, as most of their supplies had been left in the truck in their mad dash to get inside the night before.

The others at the table looked like they were prepared for more arguing, but she didn’t have it in her. If they wanted to go off on their own, fuck ‘em, let them go; she had places to be and people to see.

Someone brushed past her and she smiled weakly at Erik as he began to get his things together as well. He was still a little pale, but rest had brought some of his color back; maybe she’d been right after all. They had cleaned out his wound, which wasn’t as bad as it had appeared once it had been cleared of blood and gore. The bite didn’t look infected and they had given him some antibiotics that Marisol had kept after her pregnancy. It must have been working because the redness had faded from the edges of the wound and the yellow pus had cleared out an hour earlier; he would have to keep taking it or the infection might return. The wound had been dressed and cleaned again this morning and he barely winced as he shouldered his pack. She guessed Caesar’s wife had scrounged up some painkillers as well.

Erik was still wearing the same clothing as the night before and looked to have slept in them. His blue shirt had a bit of blood on the left sleeve; he hadn’t even tried to wash it out. He was in his early twenties, with short black hair, brown eyes, and an overly thin frame; a stick pole if there ever was one. He looked to have a bit of Puerto Rican in him, maybe even part Cuban, which made sense as he was a recent transplant from Florida.

Manny was hanging back, his guitar at his side rather than a rifle. He also had black hair, but it was long, and his bangs were constantly covering half his face, causing him to reach up and push it back, only for it to fall back down the second he moved his head. He had on a Led Zeppelin shirt and baggy jeans, his green eyes looking slightly bloodshot, indicating he hadn’t really slept either. He seemed reluctant, unsure of what he was going to do, and was shifting his weight from one foot to another as his mind tried to work through his options.

Well, he would have to make up his mind quickly. She would not try to convince him either way. Yet, she found herself secretly wishing he’d choose to come with her, the only one of the group she’d willingly have tag along without outside circumstances pushing them together. He had stood by her the previous night when even her boyfriend had failed to come forward, a slight bond formed over a tense situation that both of them were lucky enough to live through. Not to mention, he was a bit of a smart ass and had a good sense of humor, one that she could relate to. She wasn’t sure what the future held, but it might be easier with him by her side.

Caesar and Marisol had taken their baby and retreated to their bedroom now that the conversation seemed to be over and she was glad; if she had to stare at those spiteful eyes for one more second—

There will be a lot more people on the roads today, Erik said, eyes searching her. He seemed eager to move on, probably the looming threat of death at the hands of a former friend pushing him to get on the road as fast as possible. She hadn’t asked him how he was dealing with Raleigh’s betrayal; they had been friends and roommates. It was a subject she herself was dealing with and imagined that their grief was shared.

She tried to smile, better the living than the dead. Though, we should try to avoid both if we can. Her mouth spoke before her mind, but she felt the truth in it. Even though there was theoretical safety in numbers, it was also deadly to their cause. The more people that were around, the more food there was to be offer should the undead find them; as sickening as that sounded. She didn’t think for an instant that her day would be easy. It would be long, and they would be in constant danger, but she had little choice, they had to go.

Manny had made his decision and was getting his things together as the two of them hovered by the door, waiting. Caesar hadn’t come out to say goodbye and maybe it was better that way. She reached out, grasped Erik by the right shoulder and squeezed lightly. She had worried he’d be too weak for this trip and was glad to see some of that old fire in his eyes; he hadn’t given up yet. They had never been close before all this, but after all that had happened, she felt responsible for his safety.

She would argue she hadn’t done anything that someone else wouldn’t have done, but that held no real weight as that been proven to be true. She remembered how the other people had stood by, wordless, as Robert brought that bat around. How did they lose their sense of right or wrong so quickly, where was their conscience? It had been less than a day and they had all been willing to stand there and watch someone get murdered without a single nay amongst them? If this was what people were turning into then maybe it was best she was heading to the middle of nowhere and out of the madness this chaos was creating. She didn’t want to be surrounded by the ugliness that moment had revealed in the hearts of the average person, best to get away from it as quickly as she could.

She marveled at how fast people could sink, how fast they could change. It was like some nightmare that she couldn’t wake from. How could things get fucked up so fast? What did one day matter in the scheme of things? It wasn’t even a drop in the bucket of time. Yet, somehow that one day had changed everything—forever.

The three of them stepped outside just as the sun broke the horizon, shedding its light on a world gone mad. She glanced once more to see if Caesar would come out and say goodbye, but he was still absent.

Oh fucking well.

She nodded in understanding then closed the door silently behind her. She had never been fond of farewells and knew that she’d have to say quite a lot more of them before the week was out.

Erik led the way down the stairs and together the three of them plunged back into it; ready for whatever the new day would throw at them.

Chapter 2

Too early for this

Todd

Compound 2

As he’d expected, his sleep had been restless. Nightmares from the dark corners of his subconscious, no longer hindered by his inner will, broke loose and roamed freely, waking him in regular intervals. That kept him from letting go of his surface thoughts and after hours of tossing and turning; he had finally gotten out of bed and started breakfast.

Yet, even that simple act wasn’t helpful in dispelling the illusions creeping up from the dark recesses of his mind. In every shadow was a zombie waiting to lunge at him, every corner some monster just waiting for its next meal. While he hadn’t experienced any of these horrors firsthand, the video monitors had thoroughly set him on the path to insanity. He did his best to fight against it; his family needed him and as easy as it seemed to slip into the abyss, he wasn’t ready to let go—not yet.

It hadn’t been luck that got him out of the town he’d always called home, it had been the careful planning they had in place and the watchful eyes of boy eating hot pockets in front of a computer screen. Still, there had to be some luck involved when considering the chances of their group coming together as they did. That not only would the ten of them share in the same vision of creating a secure place to ride something like this out in, but that one of them had the money to see those aspirations realized.

It was too good to be true; something that he could readily admit to himself. That kind of stuff only happened in books or movies, never in real life. Things never clicked like that, falling into place as if meant to be, not without some serious effort and elbow grease involved beforehand. If he said it out loud to himself, it sounded ridiculous, unbelievable, a story of fiction and not based in reality. No one believed him at work when he had talked about what they were doing out here and at times it seemed surreal to himself as well, so he hadn’t taken their skepticism personally.

Was there someone behind the scenes moving things around like pieces on a chessboard, bringing them all together like that? A turtle fighting an infinite cat and mouse game against an insane Clown? Though he wanted to believe it, he just couldn’t.

To prescribe to a theory like that would also open himself up to the revelation that if that were true, that same chess player had put things in motion that had brought this horrid calamity into being. That a being capable of such power existed and had allowed all those monsters to roam the earth, eating their way through everything that was once beautiful in the world, was a hideous notion that his heart fought strongly against. Was this truly the will of a God? Or had some beast of hell finally broken free and released his minions from the bowels of the earth on a mission to devour their entire existence in a violent