Downpour and Blood Moon

New chapter is live.

Settle in, take your time, and let's see what waits in the dark 🖤

✦

The second day was clear.

Evan and the others drove about a hundred and ten miles before stopping in undeveloped open land for the night.

A walker came knocking at one of the doors after dark. Daryl, lying on the roof, put a bolt through its skull without making a sound.

...

The third day was cloudy.

The convoy covered less than sixty miles.

Even so, by the time they stopped, it was already nine at night.

The reason was a family farm they discovered while following a small road. It was similar enough to Hershel's place to hurt.

This family had not been as lucky.

When Evan slipped inside, their bodies were lying in the living room.

Faced with the end of the world, they had chosen to kill each other.

But in a world this rotten, who had the right to call them cowards?

They had simply made a different choice, like those people back at the CDC.

With no living hands to tend the fields, almost all the crops had died.

The real surprise came from Maggie, who found two pigs wandering in the barn. One male, one female.

They had broken out of their pen, eaten every bit of stored feed in the barn, and even chewed through the straw meant for bedding.

Even then, when Maggie found them, they were weak from hunger.

If the convoy had arrived two days later, they probably would have died with their owners.

They loaded the pigs, dug up sweet potatoes buried deep enough to survive, found some seeds, and packed everything they could take.

That was why the third day covered less than sixty miles.

The fourth day brought light rain.

The sky stayed low and gray, like a storm waiting to happen.

Fortunately, although the rain never stopped, it did not grow much heavier.

To make up for the progress lost the day before, the convoy started early and pushed another forty miles before stopping to eat and rest.

The old worry had faded from many faces. As the forested region near the Prison drew closer, faint smiles began to appear.

The stable life Evan had described no longer felt far away.

The fifth day brought steady rain.

Evan's brow tightened. His knee bounced slightly, irritation and impatience showing in his face.

If someone looked closely, they would see thin red veins crawling through the whites of his eyes, as if blood were trying to stain them from within.

He looked up.

The rain was falling faster now.

"It's been raining all day, and it's getting worse," Evan said. "Rick, ask Daryl if he can find somewhere ahead with cover. It'll be dark soon."

Rick nodded. He would have done that even if Evan had not said it.

He lifted the radio and called Daryl.

They had vehicles to shelter in, but rain still caused problems.

Sleeping in a vehicle while rain hammered the roof was loud enough to ruin rest. Heavy rain cut visibility. The red brute's camera system could not see clearly through it. If a horde approached, they might not know until it was too late.

Half an hour passed.

The sky had begun to sink into dusk, but Daryl's voice never came through the radio.

He and Merle seemed to have disappeared.

Another half hour passed.

The sky was nearly black now, and the surrounding darkness pressed in like thick ink. Still no response from the Dixon brothers.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Carol knocked on the rear compartment glass.

"I don't like this. Daryl and Merle have been gone too long."

Rick turned back to reassure her. When he faced forward again, he met Evan's eyes, and the same thought hit them both.

Truthfully, they had sensed something was wrong after the first half hour.

Daryl had a radio. Even if he had not found shelter, he should have stayed within signal range and checked in with Rick at regular intervals.

That was not what was happening.

Daryl and Merle were silent.

The radios used a shared convoy channel. Even if Rick avoided asking too directly and scaring everyone, the other vehicles had probably noticed by now.

"Should we stop and wait for Daryl and Merle to find their way back?" Rick asked.

No one knew exactly where the Dixon brothers were anymore. Blindly searching in the rain was the worst thing they could do.

With night falling and the rain getting heavier, it might be better to let Daryl and Merle follow the road back to them.

After thinking it over, Evan slowed and was about to stop.

Ahead of them, the RV suddenly braked hard.

The shriek of locked brakes cut through the downpour.

At the same time, the radio crackled.

"Calling... Ri... ck. RV... static... won't... hold... fuel tank... empty... tonight... only... here... static..."

Dale's voice came through in broken pieces.

The transmission was rough, but the meaning was clear enough. After five straight days of travel, the RV had finally given up.

"Can you hear me?"

"Dale?"

Rick held the radio close and raised his voice.

Only harsh static answered.

Rick lowered the radio. He bowed his head, scratched his forehead, touched his chin, and rubbed at his beard.

He said nothing, but those small habits, rare for him, exposed his frustration.

Daryl and Merle were missing. The RV had stalled. Now even the radios were being disrupted by the storm.

"Evan, we aren't moving tonight," Rick said at last. "But we can handle these problems. We needed to wait for Daryl and Merle anyway."

He slapped the radio once, as if that might help, then accepted the situation.

Evan's breathing grew heavier. His hands tightened on the wheel.

He did not answer.

"Evan?"

"Hey. Listen to me. This isn't a disaster, okay?"

"We're still together. Daryl can handle himself, and I believe he'll find his way back. Right now, we need to make sure the convoy stays safe."

Seeing Evan's state, Rick knew something was wrong. He lowered his voice and tried to steady him.

Many people in camp trusted Evan. If Evan cracked first, fear would spread right behind him.

"No." Evan spoke through clenched teeth. "No."

He was trying to control himself, but his voice still sounded like an animal growling low in its throat.

"I'm going to find them."

He kept his eyes lowered so no one would see too much.

It almost felt as if his eyes were glowing faintly red.

Evan turned his head and looked up.

The enormous Blood Moon hung silently in the sky.

It made no sound. It did nothing at all.

But the longer Evan stared, the closer it seemed to come, pressing a heavy force down on his chest.

His heart beat faster.

Then faster.

Heat rose into his face. His blood surged hard enough to make his skin feel too tight.

✦

✦

✦

Want to keep going?

You can read ahead on my Patreon, with early access, previews, and extra story updates 🔑

https://www.patreon.com/c/EliasVane