Page 3 of Bad Blood

I raked a hand through my hair, my irritation with Strauss coming through in my biting tone. “No, I don’t have any water. It’s where it usually is, and if you didn’t bring your own canteen, that’s your fault. You can’t have any of mine. Just wait ten minutes, you’ll be fine.”

“I gotta piss now, too.” He grabbed his crotch and glanced down the hall toward the bathroom.

“No. It’s almost here, just wait until we get up there.”

It was like dealing with a fucking child. Strauss was fine when he wasn’t drunk, but a single drop of that moonshine shit and he was a completely different person. It was exhausting.

The elevator dinged.

I stared right at Strauss as the doors slid open, ready to run and grab him if he decided to fuck around.

“Yeah, but I?—”

When his head exploded, I fell back onto my ass with a scream.

Hunter and Hayes stepped off the elevator, sweeping the hall with their rifles. When they both turned their guns on me, I put my hands up. “No, wait! I can?—”

Pop.

A Letter From Dad

My dear Cain,

I don’t have a lot of time left.

I’m dying. I can feel it.

I’m sorry to leave you so soon. I never wanted you to be alone. I thought I’d live to old age with you, but I suppose life never turns out the way you expect it to.

At least we had the time we did, right?

I’m writing this so you can have something to remember me by. Have my words when I’m no longer with you in body anymore. So you never forget how much I love you.

How you made everything bearable.

I don’t want to leave you all alone in this cruel world. This ruinous landscape where the rain carries death and no one is safe. It’s a boon that you are immune to the virus, that you don’t have to worry about the rain or infection like so many others.

I don’t know how long this shelter will hold up; nothing lasts forever. But I pray it holds for you, that you can continue to live in comfort and safety.

I hope you can find something out there you can hold onto. Something to keep you going. Because without purpose, we lose our will to carry on.

My purpose is and always has been you.

So, my son, survive. Keep on surviving.

I love you more than life. There has never been a day I regretted finding you and bringing you home with me.

You are my entire world, but I hope that I am not yours, that you can move on from my passing and create a new world.

Maybe with someone else. Someone special.

Remember: life is a precious gift. Protect it.

Love, always,

Dad

Chapter 1