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

by Ray, Timothy A.

  Charon’s Debt

  Book 3 of the Rotting Souls Series

  Timothy Ray

  Charon’s Debt

  A Ray Publishing Book/ May 2017

  Published by

  Ray Publishing

  Tucson, AZ

  All rights reserved

  Copyright © 2017 by Timothy Ray

  Also by Timothy Ray

  The New Age Saga:

  The Acquisition of Swords

  Pure of Heart

  Phoenix Rising

  Prophecy

  Coalescence

  Rotting Souls:

  Charon’s Blight: Day One

  Charon’s Blight: Day Two

  Charon’s Debt

  This book is dedicated to my children

  Kevin, Michael, and Brianne

  Who have been patient when their father is writing

  And unerring in love for who his is and what he does

  I love you

  If I am killed, I can die but once;

  but to live in constant dread of it, is to die over and over again.

  Abraham Lincoln

  Chapter 1

  Aftermath

  Saint

  Clifton, AZ

  She thought that they had left the madness behind, having been told that Clifton and Morenci were unscathed by the chaos that gripped the world; but apparently that information was outdated. When she caught sight of what was transpiring down the road, she had quickly pulled into the Circle K parking lot and hid their truck on the south side of the building, obscuring it from view.

  They had been lucky getting out of Queen Creek relatively in one piece and most of their journey had been quiet, until they heard the gunshots echoing across the canyons around them.

  “You guys should stay here, protect the baby,” she told the couple and quickly got out of the truck. She reached behind the seat and liberated her rifle, then creeped along the brown bricked building, came to a halt behind the Reddy Ice machine, and peeked out at the highway beyond.

  Someone was standing to her rear and she reached up to brush her long raven colored hair back to glance at them. Naima’s dirt brown eyes met hers and she simply nodded, there was no point in telling her to go back, she was not going to listen.

  “Mike’s got the baby, what the hell is going on down there?” Naima asked, her shoulder-length brown hair pulled back into a ponytail, the black blouse of hers buffeted by an afternoon breeze.

  “No fucking clue,” she muttered, wondering how she could possibly have more information than Naima did; they got here at the exact same time.

  The gunshots were starting to peter out and she watched in horror as a bulldozer drove off the cliff on their left and slammed into the highway below. More rock and dirt piled on top and her heart sank in her chest.

  “Well, shit,” she muttered, realizing that their plans had been shattered.

  When the dust had settled, an eerie silence filled the air. She didn’t dare step out, in case the survivors decided to take out their frustrations on them instead. It was best to wait and see how things sorted out.

  She could hear someone hollering from the mountainside above, but the words were lost upon the wind. A coughing fit hit, and she was forced to duck back and put an arm over her mouth, to stifle the sound being forced out of her. Her nose tickled, and her vision momentarily blackened.

  “What do we do now?” Naima asked. “We need to get through there, right? Do we need to go fight our way through?” She was proving to be feistier than Sabrina had imagined and it was hard to imagine the woman cowering in an attic and not clearing that house of hers on her own.

  Maybe if she had shown this much aggression then, Erik would still be alive.

  “We sit and wait,” she responded, trying to work out what they needed to do next. There had to be another way up the mountain, right? That seriously couldn’t be the only road, what did they do when they had to work on it? Isolate the town completely?

  If it was, they were screwed. She didn’t know her way around this part of Arizona and the only thing she could think of to do, was to go back to that intersection with the abandoned Drive In and take that road through New Mexico. Surely that would take them north and let them come back down towards the compounds that way.

  But was it clear that way or would they be further up shit creek?

  She picked up her phone and began to dial. “Todd?” she asked when she heard someone pick up.

  “Todd’s a little busy getting his face looked at right now, who’s this? Stop flinching, dumbass,” came a voice over the receiver. “A maxi-pad, really?” She could hear someone in the background say something about survivor tips on the Talking Dead, but she couldn’t make out who it was. There was more, but the woman was back to talking on the phone. “Better make it fast; we’re in the middle of something.”

  “That wouldn’t happen to be pushing bulldozers off a mountain, would it?” she returned and was greeted by silence.

  “Who is this?” came that strong female voice again.

  The trucks that were on the road were now leaving. She pressed herself against the side of the building, aware that she didn’t have time to hide adequately and had to hope that as long as they stayed still, they wouldn’t be seen. Naima was still gawking, so she reached out and yanked on the woman’s arm, pulling her back out of sight.

  “It’s Sabrina,” she whispered as five trucks drove past. There had been over a dozen, so there must not have been as many survivors. Could they handle them if they got noticed? With Naima’s baby so close, she prayed it didn’t come to that.

  “Saint?” the woman asked in shock. “How do I know this is you?”

  Her frustration was mounting, despite the relief she felt when the trucks rolled out of sight. Who the hell else would be calling? Did they not have caller ID?

  The woman next to her saw the anger rising and reached out, snatching the phone away. “Hey, it’s Naima. Oh, hey Monica. Look, we’re down here at the corner store, just at the base of the mountain. Yeah, they’re gone. Okay. All right, we’ll wait. Bye hon,” she said, then handed the phone back over.

  “Hello?” she asked, but the line was dead. Growling, she pocketed it and glared at the other woman. “What did she say?” She had been in control since leaving that fire station in Tucson and after the events of the previous day, she did not like the feeling of being at anyone else’s mercy.

  Naima acted like she didn’t hear the hostility in her voice as she answered, “when they are sure the trucks have left, they are going to send some guys down to check on the wounded, put any of their friends out of their misery, and check the trucks that were left behind. Apparently, they look to be loaded with supplies and no one wants to just leave them sitting out there.”

  She reached in her shirt pocket and retrieved a cigarette, then popped it into her mouth as she glanced back towards the truck. Michael was getting out, their infant in hand; watching them curiously.

  Frustration filled her body and she was unable to push it away. If they had been half an hour sooner, if they hadn’t had to stop in Thatcher to use the restroom, they might have been up that road before all the shit hit the fan and been at Todd’s compounds by now. But no, now she had to sit here on the side of the road and wait to be escorted up due to a large fucking tractor and an avalanche. Was she ever going to catch a break?

  “Are you okay?” Naima asked her, hand out.

  She tried not to glare, but failed as she took out another cigarette and handed it over. “Sure, why wouldn’t I be?”

  “Because Monica said that it was Robert that just drove away in those tr
ucks,” Naima responded.

  “What?” she managed, choking on the smoke she had just inhaled and having a coughing fit.

  Chapter 2

  Finally

  Todd

  Morenci, AZ

  “Who was that?” he asked, seeing his wife talking on his cellphone and cursing that he’d given it over. She had walked away to hear better when he began interrupting her and she was loving the power she had over him at the moment; seemed to delight in holding back information she knew he wanted. She had a needle and a thread and was trying to stitch up his face. The dust was beginning to settle down and those that had been up here with them were loading into their trucks; preparing to go down below and check for survivors.

  She was trying to hold it in, but a smile was edging its way up. “Sabrina and Naima are down below.”

  “Are they all right? Did Robert see them? They aren’t hurt, are they?” he asked, suddenly jumping to his feet, but his wife pushed him back onto the tailgate, his ass bone striking metal and causing him to yelp in pain. “What the—?”

  “You’re hurt and you’re going to sit there and let me patch you up. They can handle it,” she commanded, dismissing his attempts at arguing further and finally he had to just give in and sit there.

  He should have known better to argue with her; he never won.

  “How are they?” he asked, hoping she would at least give him that much.

  “She sounded good, actually. I’m sorry, we didn’t have time for a nice long chat. You know, there is a lunatic down there who would just love to get his hands on your new girlfriend. Wouldn’t want that to happen, would we?” she asked, teasing him. “I mean, you already have two wives, what’s the loss of just a girlfriend?”

  “She’s not my girlfriend,” he growled. Yes, he was poly and yes, he had committed himself to two women and was involved with a third, but he could only be stretched so far. Even now, he was having a hard time keeping up with things. Besides, Sabrina had never shown any interest, but he knew Monica was not going to believe that, her eyes said as much.

  Wasn’t there enough going on right now without this as well?

  “Why is it that everyone we text, everyone we tell that the world is going to hell, when not even your best friend listens to you, that this coworker of yours drops everything at a drop of a hat and comes running? What is up with that shit? You’re gonna shit there and seriously tell me you haven’t had sex? Wasn’t the point of being open, of being poly, to be honest and forthcoming about our extra-marital relationships? Why not just admit it?” she ranted, obviously undeterred by his denials.

  “We haven’t had sex,” he told her, trying to look her in the eyes. “I don’t know why she believed me when no one else did. It was a Hail Mary sending her that text, I sent it to a lot of people, and she just happened to text me back. Maybe she knew I wouldn’t fuck around on something like this? I don’t know, I’m not her!”

  She was finished with the stitches, the last pull a little harder than it needed to be and he yelped. “I’m just giving you shit. I know that you can’t do any better than me, we’re soulmates, remember?”

  He tried to smile, but he was too confused to answer. Were these the hormones talking? What the hell was going on? His wife leaned forward and kissed him full on the lips. “I just don’t understand,” he muttered.

  “I know,” she grinned. “Now, why don’t you tell me what happened earlier before we came out here. And don’t bullshit me, I know there’s something you’re not telling me.”

  The look he gave her wiped any trace of a smile off her face.

  “That bad, huh?” she asked, her brow drawing together and her smile fading.

  He wasn’t sure that he could talk about it, the revelations that he had learned from Ben, the guilt he felt for the world falling apart, how could he put that on her as well? He looked at the others around them, aware that their conversation was not private. “I don’t know if I can talk about it, or how much you need to know. It’s just—I can’t. Not right now.”

  She was silent for a moment, refusing to let go of his gaze. “I’m not letting you off the hook,” she told him firmly.

  Had the whole jealous act been a tactic to get him to slip up? To make him speak before thinking it through? He shook his head in frustration. After over two decades, he still didn’t understand women; especially this one. “I know you won’t. When we get a moment alone, I’ll try okay?” he asked, eyes pleading for her to drop it.

  Things were just too fresh and he didn’t want to go over it again so soon. He had hoped for time to work things out on his own. Then again, maybe talking to her would do some good, maybe come at it from angles he hadn’t considered?

  One of the men came jogging up to them. “You’re going to have to come see this. Those trucks were loaded with weapons and supplies. And they left some people behind,” the man told them.

  Who would have Robert left?

  He followed the man as they walked over to the church at the top of the hill. He took a moment to enjoy the afternoon, letting the sun soak his skin and the wind to cool his sweat. His cheek stung, his body was weary, and his mind was overloaded, but it still felt good to be out and under the open skies once more.

  Monica was by his side, they had driven Robert away, and hopefully some of his remaining family members would be coming back with them to the compound. Maybe a few others as well, he would have to think on that. They couldn’t afford to just take everybody they came across, but he also knew that Robert would be coming back, and they would need to strengthen their numbers before the next encounter.

  He ran a hand through his short brown hair, hazel eyes fixed on the church as they rounded the corner and walked into a group of men hovering by the front steps. This was the church his grandparents had renewed their vows at and he realized he hadn’t been back here since. As he approached the men, a few smiled and slapped him on the back. They were treating it like a victory, even as some of them worked to get the bodies of their fallen friends back up the hill.

  Like his cousin and uncle. He wanted to grieve, but this wasn’t the time or the place. He didn’t want to be the one to tell his father, but he also couldn’t put it on someone else. If only James had listened to his parents when they had come through—

  Someone stepped aside and a woman came into view, slouched on the lower steps leading to the church, her hair covering her face. She had marks all over her body, her clothing was ripped, and her wrist and ankles showed signs of being taped up.

  What had this poor woman suffered at the hands of that mad man? No matter who he had been before, this new world had turned him into a monster. He would have no trouble killing Robert when the time came. He had never taken a life, but he knew for certain he would lose no sleep over that one.

  The woman looked up as he approached and he saw the horror of what had been done in her eyes. Her round face was bruised, her cheeks puffed, and there was residue from tape on the corners of her mouth. The yellow highlight in her hair flipped into view and he gasped as their eyes met. “Oh my God, Marisol?”

  What the hell is she doing here?

  She looked at him and through him, as if not seeing who he was. Fear was still evident on her face, as if she thought she was in a dream and not finally freed of her prison. Her eyes narrowed finally and began studying his face as he leaned forward to get a closer look.

  “Todd!” she exclaimed, reaching forward to embrace him. “Oh Todd, I’m so glad you found me,” she wept.

  The sudden hug surprised him. He had known her briefly when she worked at Wal-Mart, but she had moved on, married his long-time coworker Caesar, and he had seen very little of her since. The sudden joy was a mystery to him.

  “They have my baby,” she whimpered, her voice full of despair. “That monster took my baby!”

  “Ma’am?” came a voice on his left and he watched as a man strode forward with a bundle in his arms. “We found him in the back of one of the trucks next
to some canned food.”

  The shattered woman looked up as the man drew closer, and tears burst from her eyes. “Oh my God, is he—?”

  A wail erupted from the bundle and she was instantly on her feet. She took the baby from the man and wept as she held her infant child to her breasts; the hope she had denied returned with every coo the baby gave at his mother’s embrace.

  Monica was crying as well, and he forced himself to turn away. Coming up the road was a red truck that looked to have been liberated from a fire station, making him wonder why someone would be driving that up here.

  The truck came to a stop and the doors opened. Sabrina stepped out of the driver side, and as he watched, Naima stepped out the other. “Thank God,” he muttered and launched himself forward. His best friend was already running and they flung themselves into each other’s arms, swinging and laughing at their mutual survival. “I can’t believe it, you’re here.”

  “What? You too busy throwing bulldozers off cliffs to come save your best friend?” she asked as they pulled back from each other and took stock. She laughed and hugged him again.

  After they broke away from each other, she went to stand beside her husband and baby, and he turned to see Sabrina still standing beside her truck. Monica was moving towards Naima now, and no matter what happened between them in the past; they still embraced like they were on intimate terms. He smiled as he walked towards the young Hispanic woman hanging back, studying their reunion.

  It made him laugh. “Seriously, give me a hug girl,” he told her, beckoning her forward.

  She tried to smile, but she was having a hard time with it. She looked around him as they embraced quickly, then she backed up, brought a cigarette up to her mouth, and took a quick drag. “Is that Marisol? I thought she was back in Tucson with Caesar. Is he here?”

  “I don’t think he made it,” he told her, both of them side-by-side as the others greeted one another and exchanged heart-felt tears of joy. “Robert had her in one of those trucks, they left her when they took off,” he explained. “Hurt her pretty badly.”