Charon Docks at Daylight

Chapter 2

I sat there with my legs dangling over the edge of the fire escape, leaning forward against the metal baluster and staring out over the water. I couldn't really discern anything aside from the bright red cherry at the end of my nose, which flared and deepened every time I inhaled a breath of smoke. Even if watching the glowing embers didn't temporarily blind me, it was a moonless night – there wasn't much to see anyway. The city on the opposite side of the river, just like the one behind me, was completely unidentifiable against the black sky, but I knew it was there. I'd grown up on that side of the river, and I could picture it perfectly.

My feet were swinging back and forth, and after I took the cigarette out of my mouth I tapped a bored rhythm against the metal railing with my free hand. After a minute of it the sound gave me déjà vu, and I thought it was a song I used to know. I sang some lyrics in my head, trying to match the words to the beat. Justify your soul? Sell your soul? Neither was satisfying. Something, something, hope.

"Oh, forget it," I mumbled to myself and fell onto my back, raising the cigarette to my lips once more. It had been years since I'd heard any real music, no wonder I couldn't remember.

What I missed even more than music was books. There was a library close by, but it was overrun with Biters. Every once in a while I'd find a good book in some home or store I scavenged in. On those nights I did I'd always hunker down in a corner, reading with my flashlight and getting so lost in it that only the gray of dawn could pull me away. I never took them back with me. I could only imagine the others making snide comments about it.

I wriggled against the grated surface I was lying on, and when I couldn't adjust to a comfortable position I reached under me and grabbed the 9mm out of the waist of my baggy black cargo pants. Setting it beside me, I smiled. Now I could gaze at the stars in comfort. There wasn't much else to do after the sun went down, and the night was still young. I could always go back to the complex and play a heated game of poker with the others, and in a couple hours I'd probably be bored enough that I would. But for now, just like every other night, this was how I got my space. I hated the complex, and the people in it.

It was nice being able to see so many stars. Before the outbreak the city lights were always so bright you couldn't see a single one. I used to go camping with my family once a year, with my parents and my two sisters. We loved getting away from the city, going out in the woods to be alone. If only they could see me now. I'd never been so alone, and I'd certainly never seen so many stars. It was a testimony to how truly dark the world had gone.

I lay there for a good hour before the boredom won out. Pushing myself up, I swung my legs back onto the fire escape, grabbed my gun and backpack, and stood. Despite not being able to see the handlebars or the ground, I climbed easily down the ladder and jumped the last couple feet to the concrete alley below, landing with a hushed thud. I had a small flashlight in one of my pockets, but I'd grown accustom to the black. Strangely, in spite of knowing what was out there in the darkness, I felt more at ease at night than I did during the day. Maybe I couldn't see perfectly, but that meant the Biters couldn't either. I'd always been light on my feet, quick and quiet, and I could feel where I was going better than a flashlight could show me.

Coming out the alley and back onto the main street, I turned away from the direction of the complex to explore the deeper parts of the city. The years I'd been here had been more than enough time for me to scavenge the buildings along the main streets. If I wanted to find anything, I'd have to wander for bit. So I stayed close to the walls, moving silently from shadow to shadow, and swung down a smaller side road.

Car after car lined the intersection I was strolling beside, the vehicles of those who didn't make it out of the city because there were just too many people trying to evacuate. The rate of infection during the initial outbreak was exponential. I wasn't even sure when it really started, or what caused it. Just a lot more missing persons than normal, then a quiet couple days because that's how long it takes for the virus to set in. That was the first wave.