SurvivorZ: Grave Harbor

2

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER – DAYS 14-33

DOMINION OF DARKNESS

"I've been walking forty miles of bad road

If the bible is right, the world will explode

I've been trying to get as far away from myself as I can

Some things are too hot to touch

The human mind can only stand so much

You can't win with a losing hand"

- Bob Dylan, Things Have Changed

MAUREEN

While Danielle stayed with the others to keep watch by the cars, her mother, Maureen Sommers, followed Charlie to the front door of his home in Manchester, New Hampshire. Accompanying them were Drew Goodman and Robin Gaines, the electrical engineers who signed on with their group two weeks ago. Everyone kept their eyes peeled for trouble. The quiet, middle-income neighborhood in this part of town appeared to be deserted, but in their experience, appearances could be deceiving.

The apocalypse was still in its infancy, but already the days were starting to blur together into a waking ritual of scavenging and survival. Were it not for the occasional home decorated early for Halloween, Maureen might almost forget that October was nearly over. They had spent so much time preparing to leave Amherst that they never considered the deepening chill in the air, hinting at the bitterly cold winter soon to come.

Charlie rubbed his stomach. Though he stayed off his feet for the past couple of weeks while his wounds healed, his stitches were apt to remain tender for a while longer. The injuries he sustained when Penny Trask and her band of gore-covered highwaymen tried to hijack their car was healing over nicely. He'd carry a scar on his belly to remind him of the encounter, but only a small one. He was lucky. They all were.

Sometimes, in the dark hours before sunrise, she would lie awake and wonder: Is this the day their luck runs out?

They had lost so many people to make it this far. Maureen carried their memories with her like invisible chains clamped to her heart. On the day the world ended, she had lost Bob Sommers, the love of her life and the father of her children. The death toll had only risen since then. Family, friends, neighbors, coworkers... they had outlasted them all.

Now they might end up shedding more tears. Charlie froze on his family's front step, unable to bring himself to open the door. Maureen placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Maybe you should wait with the others?" she suggested. "We can check it out for you. There's no reason for you to go in there."

Charlie stared at his reflection in the door's window. "If I know my dad, he's liable to be hiding inside with his twelve gauge. It's probably best that he sees a familiar face."

"The place looks dead," Robin noted, looking around. When her gaze returned to the others, she found them all staring at her. She paled and added, "I mean... deserted. Maybe they left already."

Maureen had noticed the same thing coming up the walk. The driveway was empty. Best case, the Lemanns had already fled somewhere safe. Worse case... well, she didn't even want to entertain that thought, for Charlie's sake.

"At least let us go in first," Maureen said. "If it's empty, fine. If not... You don't need to see that. Don't let this be your last memory of your parents."

"Listen to her," Robin concurred. "Don't make the same mistake I did. I'd give anything not to have seen how my wife..." She choked. "How she ended up. Every time I think of Lori now, all I can see is how I blew her brains out all over our dining room. You don't want that, trust me."