Red Moon Rising

[Box of Rain]

This is a futuristic, zombie-killin', sci-fi, thrilller, suspense, horror, later on romance kinda thing story. Please read and review if you wish.

Chapter One: Dawn

The year is 3066, exactly 1000 years since the nuclear war that wiped the planet Earth out. No one has been to Earth since then; all surviving life forms moved to the other seven planets. The fate of those left on the planet was a gruesome one indeed. The people were left mutilated and transformed, close to tasting death, but the radiation wouldn’t allow the brain to stop working. The chemical reaction sopped all blood flow, heart beat, and organs, except for the brain. The brain kept the body working, however gruesome and mutilated it was. You couldn’t say they were alive; they were far from it. But they could move and function. Some say they could even still use machinery. No one is brave enough to go back to that godforsaken planet to find out…

On the planet Mars, the small village of Koatu lies in the province of Quextin. It was small and quaint village, looked down upon by many of the more upscale towns. The villagers were rejoicing, for it was the marking of Koatu’s most valued young woman’s eighteenth birthday, the day of which she swore to get her hunting license. A hunting license was a card that carried all of the carrier’s personal information in a simple barcode, including their social security number, date of birth, blood type, mother’s maiden name, and finger print. It enabled access to the carrier’s funds through a holographic bank teller. However, most importantly, it allowed the owner to buy weapons for the sole purpose of hunting. Be it hunting for monsters or bounties, no one wanted to undergo this dangerous career. Perhaps they valued their life more than the safety of others. Bravery was certainly a required virtue for this task.

Victoria Loire had bravery, or something close to it. She stood a good 5’8”, and was average in weight, though some considered her to be quite the Buxom Beauty. Her lustrous hair was long and curly in the back. They were loose, soft curls that didn’t require much maintenance. Her bangs were straight and parted on the left side of her head, and they fell just above her right eye. Her wild eyes were a striking honey-golden color and always seemed to have a psychotic glint to them. Her skin was slightly tanned from the constant sun, and it always warmer than most others due to her never-ceasing adrenaline rush. Her pearly white teeth glinted in beam of sun that shown through the saloon’s shuttered windows as she raised her glass of mead high in the air and shouted in celebration.

She drained her glass in seconds and slammed the mug down in earnest. A young man of about 16 was seated on the bar stool to the right of her. He had wild black spikes and bright blue eyes. He watched his life long best friend shyly.

“Now, now, Robbie! Don’t you give me that look. Today is my day, I get my hunting license! I’m going to end this plague of monsters that have been haunting the nights here in Koatu! HA HA HA! I’d like to see any monster try ‘n stop me. Don’t they know who I am? Victoria Loire’s the name!” Victoria guffawed, obviously under the influence of alcohol. Robert Ackerson looked down at the floor and sighed.

“You don’t even know who you are…,” he muttered. Victoria slapped him abruptly on the back, causing him to choke on his cream soda.

“No more rotten spirits! Today, we party! And tonight, I begin the extermination of filth that’s been ravaging the streets at night. Ain’t that right, Pops?” Victoria elbowed an elderly gentleman in the ribs sharply and he doubled over in pain.

“Sure thing, M-M-Miss Loire,” the balding man with glaucoma ridden eyes sputtered out. The afternoon continued with Victoria’s drunken antics, and those around her ducking, jumping, or just generally being annoyed. She was respected for getting her hunting license, but she was still notorious for her out of control, thrill-seeking behavior. Some people wondered why she didn’t find herself a nice young man and just settle down.


Sunset finally struck, and Robbie shook Victoria awake. It took a couple of swats and groans before she finally opened her eyes and sat up on the bar counter of Pops’ Saloon. Her blouse was unbuttoned enough to reveal a red, lacy see-through bra, and her skirt was torn up the side, showing the matching panties. Robbie should have been used to seeing her get like this, but he blushed regardless and felt his heart give a small twang of anguish. It killed him to see her this way.

“Oh shit, I need to get down to the licensing office, don’t I? Dammit, Robbie, why didn’t you wake me sooner?” she pouted and folded her arms across her chest. Robbie looked at the floor again.

“I did, but you were too drunk to notice,” he muttered sheepishly.

Victoria ruffled his hair, smiled, and said, “Hey don’t worry about it. Why don’t you accompany me down to the office so I don’t get all scared-like? After all, I am just a damsel in distress, aren’t I?” Robbie smiled back and looked at her.

“I don’t mind coming with you, but don’t you think you oughta change out of those clothes? Honestly, you look like common street candy,” he said with a light tone. Victoria playfully hit him on the arm.

“I reckon you’re right. It ain’t too proper for a young woman to walk ‘round town with her delicates showin’, now is it? It’s a good thing I did laundry the other day. You wait right here, young man, and don’t you dare peep while I change,” she said, jumping off of the counter and walking up the stairs to her room Pops always kept available for her. ‘Nothing is really left to the imagination, the way she’s dressed…’ Robbie thought.

Victoria came down fifteen minutes later, her hair and make-up fixed, and Robbie suspected she put in some eye drops to hide her bloodshot eyes. She was now wearing a white lacy corset, tied tight to accentuate her curves, a studded pyramid belt strewn across her hips, an empty gun holster, a long black leather skirt that flowed down to her ankles, and a pair of black platform knee-high boots. She walked up to Robbie and extended her arm.

“Shall we go, then?” she prompted, and he linked his arm nervously with hers at the crook of her elbow and they walked out the front door of Pops’ Saloon. The air was dry, and the ground was barren sand. Cacti sprung up for as far as the eye could see. Occasionally tumbleweeds would even roll by in the old-fashioned village of Koatu. The newly birthed night sky made everything seem more eerie, just like an authentic ghost town. Royal colors shadowed normally bright objects and life forms, and it was deadly still, except for the howling wind. Nevertheless, Victoria still had her devil-may-care grin intact.

“Beautiful night, eh?” she said as they walked south-bound. The licensing office was a good mile and a quarter down from the saloon. Robbie merely grunted.

“Don’t tell me you’re scared, b.o.y. Ain’t nothing to be afraid of out here. Not while I’m around, anyhow,” she said, too loudly for the time of night. Robbie tried to hush her.

“I am not afraid, Victoria. I’m just conscientious of the poor townsfolk trying to get some rest,” he said quietly.

“You are no fun,” she scoffed back. They continued on in silence, the only audible sounds being those of the howling wind battling the cries of the coyotes. Robbie broke the link of arms between them and rested his hands in his pockets. Victoria stretched hers behind her head. The air felt tense and heavy, like something was out of place. Robbie felt his heart drop to the pit of his stomach, and he was six feet tall, so that was no minor fall. Neither of them could help but feel aware of their surroundings. However, they reached the licensing office shortly thereafter, each of them still intact.

The young red-haired woman greeted them as they walked in. She appeared to be about to close for the night. Victoria and Robbie recognized her immediately as Jessie Bellinger, with her dark red hair and unmistakably emerald eyes. She smiled politely and stood up straight behind the counter.

“Ah, Miss Loire, I have been expecting you. I have your customs issued gun and card all ready for you. Not to sound too old-fashioned, but happy hunting! I appreciate you doing this for us,” her sweet voice rang out just like a bell chime, and the two of them couldn’t help but feel at ease as they listened to it. Victoria reached for her pistol and put it in the holster. She slipped her card away in her bosom.

“You have a good night now, you two,” she bowed as she bid them farewell.

“The same goes for you, Miss Bellinger. And thanks again!” Victoria said.

“Yes, please stay safe,” said Robbie.

Suddenly, something came hurdling through the wimpy glass window, shattering it to bits. Jessie screamed and ducked. Robbie looked alarmed and he and Victoria simultaneously twisted to face the site of the intrusion. They stared a gruesome mass of what appeared to be rotting flesh in the face, its hollow, blood red eyes scanning the room for its prey. It crawled more than walked, its long jagged nails scraping across the wooden floor, dragging its scarred and mangled greenish body with it. It moaned and cried an ungodly sound. Jessie screamed again and covered her ears. In a sickening manner, it twisted itself around like a serpent and began to crawl towards the scream. Victoria determined that its eyes did not work as well as its ears.

The shock had petrified Victoria where she stood, and she shook herself back to life, reaching for her newly acquired pistol. The putrid smell of the creature hit her like a ton of bricks. It smelled indescribable, like a dead rat that had sat out in the sun for days, festering with infection and maggots. She gagged, but quickly recovered. She had no time to waste; Jessie’s life was in danger. She fired off three shots, hitting the monster in the back of the head, the neck, and the back.

It hollered one of its blood-curdling screams, rotating its disfigured head to face the perpetrator. It rushed at her with impeccable speed. Robbie managed to find a bat and raised it high above his head, waiting for the foul beast to come close enough. It was only a mere inch away from mauling Victoria when Robbie brought the bat down like a war hammer, connecting with the mutant’s skull, causing a sickening CRACK to be heard. Jessie fainted from the gore of it all. The monster was bleeding and spewing fluids from its body. Victoria was about to jump up and cheer, when she was brought down with a hard THUD to the wooden floor. The creature had grabbed her ankle and was ripping though her boot to get to her flesh. It sunk its claws in, her skin spilling the warm, ruby liquid all over the floor. She was soon sitting in a pool of her own blood.

She fought the pain and spun the barrel of her silver handgun. She pointed it right between the eyes of the scourge that had wounded her. Her extended arm was shaking violently, and she began to feel sick. Regardless, she fired off the entire cartridge, the fifth bullet causing the monster to heap to the ground, bleeding black liquid, along with an assortment of others. Victoria cast a smug smile before passing out entirely…

[Box of Rain]

Chapter Two: Cleanse

Victoria Loire awakened groggily in one of the infirmary beds of the only medical facility in Koatu, the Saint James Infirmary. She sat up rigidly, her head reverberating waves of anguish with every pulse of her heart; her heart was beating at an irregularly rapid tempo. Her vision was a complete blur and her head was swimming with various subjects, all of them being discursive. She had no recollection of what had occurred only twelve hours ago, that is, until she moved her left leg just a little and felt an excruciating sensation searing through her leg up to her chest. She coughed and a mass of blood spewed from her mouth. She wiped her mouth with her arm and suddenly became aware of her surroundings.

“R…obbie…,” she squeaked out in a raspy voice while reaching a hand out towards him. She felt her stomach lurch and another glob of blood was quick to follow. He gasped as he stood up and coaxed her to lie back down. His eyes were underlined with an unattractive violet, accented by even more unattractive bags bulging from beneath his gorgeous slate-blue eyes. His clothes were tattered and he appeared to be quite worn. He hadn’t slept since the battle with the creature. Victoria felt a pang of guilt rip through her heart.

“Don’t speak, Victoria, you are too weak,” Robbie said, his eyes glossing over in tears. His hands were shaking as he ran his fingers over her tattered face. The tears cascaded down and he let himself lose control to the sobbing. Victoria frowned sadly, and then soon hardened up.

“ROBERT! You stop your foolishness, this instant, ya’ll hear? I just got knocked out, that’s all. I am fine now. It is nothing that Madame Rory can’t fix. Here she comes now, you just watch,” Victoria said, putting on a false bravado so her friend wouldn’t worry anymore. He was always more sensitive than the other men in the village.

Madame Rory was a short, plump woman in her early fifties. Her hair was a dull copper color, wildly bushy and held back in a loose ponytail. She was very tan and had kind, smiling brown eyes and plump lips. She was very amiable indeed.

Her reputation for being the best nurse around didn’t come about for nothing. Her repertoire of antidotes, liquids, syrups, tonics, herbs, and aloes were the most potent and effect you could get in all of Mars. Travelers from as far away as Opaq, on the other side of the globe, came to Koatu just to get remedies from Madame Rory.

She approached Victoria and Robbie, holding a warm, damp washcloth in one hand and an assortment of needles in the other. She looked from one to the other, her usually cheery face hardened with trepidation. Victoria felt sweat run down the side of her face. To be able to make Madame Rory Bennett have a grimace such as hers was no small feat.

Madame Rory slowly pulled back the covers on Victoria’s bed, revealing her completely nude body, except for the white gauze splattered with blood that covered her wounded leg. Victoria didn’t remember being stripped down; Robbie looked away quickly, blushing.

“I haven’t seen this kind of wound in a long time. I hoped I’d never have to see it again,” Madame Rory’s alto voice was saturated with melancholy reminiscence. She swiftly, but carefully unwrapped the bandage constricting Victoria’s left leg. She winced at the sight of her own gory limb, and Robbie covered his face entirely. The afflicted area was black around the edges, the muscle and sinew ripped completely away. It took up more than a quarter of her leg. Her ivory white bone showed through clearly in the light of the room. She hadn’t realized her attacker had been so brutal.

“You have come in contact with a victim of the Nuclear War’s offspring, Miss Loire. How it got here, I do not know, but I’m afraid that this is exactly what this is. If it is not treated promptly, one of two things could happen. One, as unpleasant as it sounds, would be the better outcome. That outcome is death. Judging on the seriousness of the wound, you have less than a week. The second option is that you will turn into one of those horrible undead monsters, a fate much worse than death. The infection is already spreading, based upon your blood-coated coughs. This procedure that I am about to perform will hurt like hell. I cannot give you anesthesia; it will cause the infection to spread faster. I hardly understand this condition or those zombies. Are you willing to undergo what I am going to subject you to?” Madame Rory had never been as stone-cold serious as she was at that particular moment.

Victoria stared firmly into her eyes and replied, “I understand what must be done. I lost my parents to those cretins and most of my family as well. I’ll be absolutely damned if I’ll let one of those bastards take me, and I will never die by one of their mangled hands. I don’t care how much it’ll hurt, Madame Rory, do what you must.” Their gazes clashed; Victoria’s was fiery with determination, and Madam Rory’s was cold with affliction. Madame Rory solemnly nodded and went to the back to get in her surgeon’s uniform. She kicked Robbie out into the waiting room, disinfected the room, and set to work.

Madame Rory walked over to a cabinet and pulled out what seemed to be four short leather belts. Victoria could sense what was coming, just based on the thickness of the air. She sprawled herself spread-eagled on the bed to hasten the process. The surgeon strapped all four of Victoria’s limbs down to the bedposts, tight enough to almost cut off her circulation. Rory went to the cabinet again and retrieved two longer straps and secured Victoria’s waist and chest to the bed as well. Rory then poured an emerald green salve onto a gauze strip and placed it firmly on one section of the infected site. The chemical reaction of the salve and the corrupted flesh caused a terrible stinging and burning sensation in the section. Victoria did the best she could to arch her back in order to fight the agony. Rory wordlessly put a second salve-drenched gauze strip adjacent to the previous one, this time causing a greater agony within Victoria. She screamed shrilly as smoke rose from her wound. She could feel her leg trying to rip itself apart from the inside out, or that’s what it seemed to be doing to her. As a third execrable strip went on, covering three-fourths of the wound, and clenched her fists, gnashed her teeth, and flailed like a wild horse that had been scared senseless with means to escape her hellish entrapment. The restraints lacerated her wrists as she tried to break free, tears obscuring her vision, and her screams blocking all internal thought. She dug her nails so far into the palm of her hand she broke the skin, trying to focus on anything but the dolor of her muscles being cleansed and re-growing. The fourth strip went on as mercilessly as the last three, further intensifying the pain. Victoria’s thrashings ceased as she tired herself out, crying hopeless sobs. Her last thoughts were death wishes as she slowly drifted away into unconsciousness.

Madame Rory had put on four more layers of the muscle restoring salve strips, and Victoria was still rendered unconscious. The strips would need to stay there for days until the muscle would be fully re-grown. She picked up her scalpel and hovered over Victoria’s heaving chest; her breathing was staggered. Rory knew this meant the treatment was working. She unbuckled the restraint confining Victoria’s chest to the bed and placed it around her hips. Madame Rory let out a long, sorrowful sigh before making an incision in her pale chest, black liquid pouring out from the cut. Rory gasped as she sopped up the mess with a cloth sitting on the operating tray next to the bed. The black fluid meant that that the infection was being forced out by Victoria’s body, but the spores had settled in her chest pretty deeply. Rory reached for more salve and covered the incision with a cold, slimy green substance. White smoke drifted once again from the infection site.

After the smoke cleared a few minutes later, Rory slowly pulled apart the sides of Victoria’s chest and saw her heart almost completely covered in what appeared to be dead rot. The smell was absolutely putrid, as if a dead body had been left to ferment for weeks in a damp, musty cellar. Rory gagged as she grabbed a bottle of clear solution, similar in appearance to that of water. She poured it right onto the rot encased heart and stepped back as the combination made a loud hissing sound. The smoke billowed out maleficently, as if it were a tocsin daring Madame Rory to try and do that again. She smirked to herself and doubled the amount she had poured on last time.

The blackened area cleared up slowly with every deluge of holy water. The organ soon returned to its original red color, and Rory could see blood pumping through the veins once again, as opposed to the horrid black substance that once coursed through. She stitched the incision back up and rewrapped Victoria’s left leg in gauze. Rory smiled as she wiped the sweat from her tan brow.

“It’s going to be okay now, Victoria. You were stronger than you thought,” Madame Rory said to the sleeping hunter. Madame Rory went back into the changing room and went back into her previous working outfit. She pushed through the wide double-doors to and found Robbie
incessantly pacing the waiting room, fresh tears streaming from his bloodshot eyes. Rory smiled benevolently as she sat down one of the orange faux-leather covered chairs that littered the waiting room. Robbie jumped when he realized she was in the room with him. He ran over to her and sat anxiously in the chair next to her.

He opened his mouth to inquire about his friend, but she held hers up to silence him. He obeyed without contempt. She folded her hands in her lap and turned to face him, her brown eyes boring into his blue ones. He kept silent and waited for her to speak.

“Victoria’s going to be fine. But now, I need you to listen. What I am going to divulge to you is private and sacred, and I need you to listen as closely as you can. Can you do this for me, Robert?” She regained her warm manner. His tears stifled, and he sat rigidly, ready to listen to anything the woman who had saved his best friend’s life had to say. He simply nodded to let her know he was prepared.

Madame Rory drew a long breath and adjusted her oval spectacles before saying, “As you know, Victoria lost her parents when she was only a young girl. Most of her family was slaughtered by these monsters from the Nuclear Planet. They are survivors of the Nuclear War that took place on Earth over 1000 years ago. Some may be offspring, their genes and DNA so horrifically altered that they are no longer human; they can no longer feel love, mercy, compassion, or any human emotion. They are abhorrent, blood-thirsty, undead zombies. They are somehow finding ways to travel off of Earth. However they got to Jupiter, I don’t know, but that’s where Victoria’s parents were doing research when they were mauled, and the whole region was wiped out. I tried to treat her parents, but I just couldn’t save them. I… couldn’t save anyone…,” tears rolled down the doctor’s cheeks, but she quickly wiped them away.

“I knew I had to learn more on these infectious wounds, in case another outbreak like this occurred. Victoria grew up, and I was able to explain to her what happened, and well, Robbie, do you see why she wants to be a hunter? Why she wants to risk her life like this?” Madame Rory’s hands were on Robbie’s shoulders, and she was shaking slightly. Robbie understood completely.
“I now have a more clear idea of why she wants to do this. I will aid her anyway that I can. If she should decide to leave this town, I will follow her. I will follow her anywhere,” Robbie said, standing up and clenching his fists in resoluteness. Robbie had admired Victoria Loire for as long as he could remember, but nothing could compare to the respect that he felt towards her now. He could feel his heart swell and burst in an unlikely combination of pride and sadness.

“When will she wake up, Madame Rory? I’d like to see her,” Robbie said solidly. Madame Rory shook her head and chuckled quietly.

“She is lucky to have you for a friend. I hope she knows that. If it weren’t for you, she might have not even made it this far. She will probably be ready for visitors in a few hours. Until then, I recommend you get some rest, young man. She doesn’t want to wake up and find your face the way it is now, racked with worry and distress. No, she wants the Robert she knows and loves. But I will let you sleep in her room. I’ll even put a bed in there for you,” Madame Rory said, standing up and patting Robbie on the head. He felt his face fall.

“You don’t have-… I, uh, sorry…” Robbie muttered sheepishly, abandoning his attempt at valor. Madame Rory just laughed as she left the waiting room and set up another bed in the room next to Victoria. Robbie found a spare pair of pajamas and pushed the beds closer together before settling in under the covers. He stroked her peaceful, sleeping face for a while before he drifted to sleep as well.

Madame Rory peeked around the corner and smiled faintly. She stepped outside, and felt the cool, dry desert air wash over her. The red moon cast blood-red shadows eerily on the scene, allowing her to reminisce about all she had been through, including what had just happened. She looked to the sky, and prayed to anyone who could be listening out there to protect and watch over Victoria. An unseasonable cool, yet friendly wind washed over her, billowing her hair and cloak out behind her. She took that as a good omen that her prayer had been heard.