Black Sun by Clifford Beck - HTML preview

Chapter 59

After leaving the market, they made their way down Helderberg Avenue. It seemed to be filled with cul de sacs, large sprawling yards of green grass. They noticed how, at night, the air smelled cleaner and the grass appeared to produce a smell that was nearly intoxicating. They stopped only briefly to take in the aroma of the night, then moved on. At a quick pace, they soon found themselves at Route 90. Another look at the map pointed them in a westward direction. Ryan hoped they would make good time on their way to Amsterdam, but walking in the asphalt highway was becoming tiring and once again, their feet were started to blister. Just before Antonia Hills, exhaustion forced Abigail to stop. It was not yet dawn, but they had been walking for what seemed like hours. Bending down, she grabbed her knees, allowing the blood to go to her head. Ryan had seen her do this once before and remembering what happened shortly after insisted that they find a place to stop, preferably before the sun rose. Scanning the area, he saw a small group of well-kept houses just off the highway. A row of trees had been planted as a barrier from the noise of the highway, but that was no longer an issue.

“Come on,” he said. “One of these places has to be empty.” Abby simply nodded her head.

Leaving the highway, Ryan and Abby walked through the trees and were struck by what appeared before them. “Holy fuck,” Abby said. “How long can we stay here?” The house was beyond beautiful and in the backyard was a pool. Abby was already beginning to strip off her clothes, ready to jump in.

“Hang on a second,” Ryan said. “We don’t know if there’s anyone here, and I don’t want to run into any trouble.” Abby sighed in disappointment. She was desperate to dive in, having not been in a pool since high school. “Shit,” she replied. “I suppose you’re right.”

Picking up the clothes what few clothes she had already removed, Abby followed him around to the front of the house. The sun was breaking over the morning horizon when, as they were approaching the opposite end of the pool, the increasing sunlight illuminated something Abby had missed. The water bore a slightly reddish tinge, leading Abby to investigate. As she approached the edge of the pool, she looked down into its calm water when she noticed a familiar shape.

“Jesus Christ!” she said.

As she backed away from the pool, Abby motioned to Ryan, who quickly came to her side.

“What is it?” he asked.

Abby was horrified and near tears, but Ryan, stepping over to the edge, looked down in curiosity. On the bottom of the pool lay the body of an adult—what was left of a cell phone sat only inches away. Lying in the shallow end, Ryan could see the injury that had caused their demise. When the storm hit, the phone’s battery had surged. The explosion had blown most of the right side of their head away, leaving small bit of bone shards on the bottom of the pool. He wasn’t especially surprised, much less frightened. However, Abby was not yet accustomed to the sight of death and backing up against the house began to tear up. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to this bullshit,” she said. Ryan’s examination was brief and walking over to Abby put his arms around her as she laid her head on his shoulder. “Well,” he began. “I guess we won’t be going for that swim today.” In spite of what lay at the bottom of the pool, Abby managed to find a bit of humor in Ryan’s comment, prompting a slight giggle. “That’s so bad,” she said.

Ryan leaned back and looking into her eyes, commented on her response.

“I think there’s humor in everything,” he said. “You just have to look for it.”

Abby took a deep breath and began to calm down. “I suppose you’re right,” she replied. “It’s just that this shit is everywhere--just dead bodies. And the people who are still alive have turned into animals. I think that, as scary as it is, I’m actually starting to prefer the dead over those assholes.” Ryan was surprised to hear this from her, and he hoped that she was beginning to toughen up a little. But they still had a long journey ahead of them, and there was no doubt that they would encounter more trouble. It was inevitable.