Solitude – Book Teaser #2

 

Paul knew what was out there, waiting for his return. There were enough reports on the radio, his only link to civilization, giving him all the information he needed to understand the end of days were upon the earth. He had prepared enough food and gear for a week-long excursion, but even with his forced strict rationing it was running out.

It was only days ago that the reports degraded from professional newscasts to desperate cries for help. Then those cries turned into madness before Paul shut off the radio for good.

It wasn’t zombies or war that consumed the world; it was incurable sickness. The last intelligible reporter claimed it was a worldwide plague the likes of which had never before been witnessed. No one knew the cause, but the symptoms were all the same, as was the inevitable end.

Sitting on his meager deck, swallowing the last bit of his fresh water, Paul wondered which fate was worse; slow starvation or the pains of terminal sickness. Perhaps the madness of extreme dehydration would convince him the best plan was stepping off the edge into the embrace of the deep.

Tossing his empty water bottle into the waves below, with a long gaze at the distant shoreline, his decision was made for him. Once the wracking chest spasms and gasping for air subsided, Paul’s hand was steady enough again to hold the end of the cold barrel against his temple. He would not spend his last days crying out in the darkness as the plague ravaged his body. He had heard the news reports, and knew what awaited him if he returned to the mainland.

It all started with a cough…