The Rot

Chapter One, 31st October, 2025.

"So... scientists believe life on Earth began about 250,000,000 years ago."

"Oh! Sounds like a biology lesson to me", said Saphie, looking across to Jacob.

Keelin noticed the look and felt a peng of jealousy run through his 14-year-old heart. How he wished Saphie was his girlfriend and not his older brother's!

They were watching a program called 'Life on Earth'. Suddenly, it was interrupted by a major news flash- a reporter announced that there was about to be a meteor strike. The meteor was heading straight towards Watford in North London, and everyone within a 300-mile radius was instructed immediately to get as far away from the sea as possible. Those in Birchington had little chance.

Keelin, Jacob, their dad, Dr. Davies, and Saphie rushed out of the house to look at the meteor. Tragically, its landing was worse than they imagined. The shock caused their house to collapse with Mrs. Davies trapped inside. When the roof collapsed, she was crushed to death.

Standing outside the ruins of the house, traumatised by what happened, Jacob and Saphie stood hand-in-hand trying to maintain their love for each other . Keelin had a strange look on his face, which suggested he wanted Saphie all to himself. Although they were brothers, Keelin and Jacob were being pushed apart by the jealousy that floated between them.

The following morning, the three friends and Dr. Davies walked through what was left of Birchington High Street to see what had occurred in the last few devastating hours. For miles they followed the trail of destruction through the town. A thick layer of dust and smoke filled the air and the four could only see what had happened as an apocalypse...

They had survived, but thousands had not. Bodies lay in the roads. Water was streaming along the pavements. The power was down and darkness was rolling in. Fast.

Could this be real? wondered Dr. Davies. Surely not!
"Where shall we go?" asked Keelin. " Everywhere is either flooded or in ruins!"

"We must find a safe place to stay and find shelter. We must stay positive," Saphie exclaimed, clutching at only things the meteor had not been able to destroy... Jacob, and her love for him.

All that remained of their favourite sweet shop was a metal structure left sticking out of the ground- and that was more than could be said for the Co-op.

A dark, shifting cloud covered the sky, consuming any light left from the tail of the meteor. Bricks and overturned cars disrupted their path as they continued their journeys to Westgate in the hope of finding shelter.
"What'll we do Dad?" Jacob asked. Silence.

"Dr. Davies?" Saphie was worried now, as they all were.

"Your mum is dead! What do you expect me to say boys? I don't know anymore."

They managed to drag themselves to Westgate, only to find it was in a worse state than Birchington. All thinking the same thing, they salvaged a couple of cans of tinned food and headed back towards what had once been their home.

The next day, Jacob, Keelin and Saphie went into town to look for food. They encountered sights more horrific than any they had ever seen before- dead bodies that reeked of rotten eggs and out-of-date milk. Flies hovered around the corpses, while rodents scratched and nibbled away at them. A few poor souls were still alive, moaning and festering, bleeding from their eyes and tearing out their hair.

"Oh my God!" Saphie cried, holding her nose. "It's disgusting!"

"Why has hell come here, to us?" mumbled Keelin to himself.

The trio walked further into town, ignoring the rotten bodies and crying people. Suddenly, they heard a scream far off.

"What on earth was that?!" Keelin cried.

"Let's find out!"said Jacob.

"Are you sure?" asked Saphie anxiously.

Jacob ignored her and ran off. The others followed.

The scream had come from a man who was moaning and groaning on a street corner. He was covered in green infected blood; his clothes were torn and bloody. The friends approached him with caution.

"Are you OK?" asked Jacob, holding out his hand to the man.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" the man screamed. "I'm infected... infected with the Rot!"

"The Rot?" Keelin asked fearfully.
"What's the Rot?"

"The Rot- how can you ask?" the man replied weakly. "How come you don't know? Ever since that meteor crashed into London, people have starting acting a bit crazy..." He paused, gasping for breath. "It affects nearly all humans, leading them to a slow painful death, rotting them from the inside out.
It has many stages before you die"

The unknown man wept before continuing, "First your breath smells as if you have been living off sewage water, burning your mouth and creating boils inside."

He coughed, weakly. "Then your toes and arms get blisters and boils which explode unexpectedly, oozing green blood and pus," he gasped.

"And finally, all your guts rot, making you bleed internally and causing unimaginably painful stomach cramps. Then the Rot kicks in full blast. All your insides start to putrefy, and you dispense of them when you go to the toilet. This kills you, but slowly.

"Mainly people die from heart attacks. Others are not as lucky." He chuckled darkly. Then he fell to the ground, out cold- dead!

Jacob and Saphie turned to look at each other in disgust and disbelief.

"What's going to happen to us?" asked Keelin fearfully.

"We're in a lot of trouble and if we don't do anything soon we are going to die a slow painful death", said Jacob.

"I don't want to die, bro. What are we going to do?"

"I'm not sure, but I have a plan..."

"And what would that be?"

"I'll tell you on the way back, Saphie." Jacob smiled at her.

Keelin watched them with growing anger and jealousy.