The Purification (From the Ashes We Will Rise: Book One)

Chapter 1

 The streets that once thronged with life stood empty. Gone were the food vendors and the women in their bright clothes selling handmade goods from carts and baskets. Gone were the children who played amongst the crowds with their games and laughter. Gone were the children who played amongst the crowds with their games and laughter. Gone were the stores with their windows of fine clothing or delicacies.

Now, even at midday, all that you would find is the dusty street with only the wind for company. There were cracked sidewalks, empty gun shells, and broken storefronts laid waste by desperate looters. Occasionally there was a person or two, moving quickly with tense purpose.

I ran my fingers over the sheet of notebook paper, checking off the places I had already searched. As I gazed around the house, it now had the look of a place that had been burgled. Sifting through my bag, my eyes were constantly on the look-out for anything that could get me through the night. Once I was inside the room, my muscle memory took over.

Stop for five whole minutes and listen. Close the curtains. Check the bedside cabinets and bathrooms for pharmaceuticals and toiletries. Low weight, big value trade items. Then go through the closets, drawers, and suitcases. Check pockets. I only take clothing I want for myself, waterproof parkas, soft boots, pants, and t-shirts.

Normally it takes a handful of rooms to hit the jackpot, but this one's a real gem. Whoever the not so good looking corpse is, had a whole heap of medical issues. They must have really rattled just to get out of bed. I've got antidepressants, painkillers, blood thinners, anti-psychotics, and cigarettes. But best of all, he or she, I can't tell yet, has antibiotics, lots of them.

"Liam!" I heard a little voice cry out.

When I turned around, I saw the little boy's reason for distress. The zombie had one ear missing and both lips bitten off, perhaps that was its death kiss from the zombie that turned him into one of the undead. One hand had been mangled and his right bicep was chewed away, exposing the white bone beneath. He had been sculpted by some failed attempt to slay him and as he drew each rattling breath, he mad a low growling moan that chilled my blood. I quickly pulled the knife from my belt and stabbed the creature in the head.

I quickly wrapped my arms around the eight year old boy before calling out, "Tuck!"

The dog came shooting around the corner with blood on his muzzle. He must have caught one of his own. I quickly stuffed my findings into my pack before we quickly made our way to the truck.

"Are you okay Linc?" I asked the young boy.

As he always does, Lincoln shot me a big smile, "I'm okay, promise."

I'm nineteen years old and I'm taking care of an eight year old boy. After the outbreak four months ago, I found Lincoln crying in the middle of a camping supply section of store. I don't know what happened or how he ended up there. What I did know, was that I couldn't leave him. If I had, I would have been condemning him to death. That would have stayed with me for the rest of my life, and I never would have been able to forgive myself. So, I took him with me. It's been the two of us, and Tuck against the walking dead.

As we drove further and further out of town into the woods, I watched as the day turned into night. The bare branches spiked into the sky, no sign of life to be found anywhere. It was so dark I was barely able to see where I was going. There were only small sounds of rustling bushes and the howl of the wind. I didn't know what laid in the dark forest, all I knew was that it wasn't going to be a peaceful journey.

I pulled the truck off the road and into the woods a little bit before setting up noise traps around the tree. After securing the ropes with the cans attached to a few nearby trees, Lincoln and I settled into the tent that was set up in the back of the truck.

"Liam?" Lincoln yawned.

"Yeah, pal?" I responded, looking down at the little boy next to me.

"Can you sing?"

I held his gaze for a second before deciding on a song.

"You tucked me in, turned out the light. Kept me safe and sound a night, little boys depend on things like that."

As I began to sing, I could feel Lincoln's small frame relax into mine.

"Brushed my teeth and combed my hair, had to drive me everywhere. And when I couldn't sleep at night, scared things wouldn't turn out right. You would hold my hand and sing to me. 'Caterpillar in the tree, don't you wonder who you'll be? Can't go far, but you can always dream. Wish you may and wish you might don't you worry, hold on tight. I promise you there will come a day...butterfly fly away'."

When I reached the chorus of the song, I could hear the steady breathing of my child. I'm glad that he can sleep through night considering the world we live in now. He had all these questions about why he can't go to school anymore or why he can't play with his friends anymore. I don't know what to tell him. How do I explain to him that some government scientist screwed up and almost wiped out the entire human race? How do you explain that to an eight year old?