Chapter 1: Rain & Blood_Waterbug

Waterbug

Volume 1:

(Riverside)

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“I sleep like a log in the rain.”

“A bad trait to have at the beginning of the end of the world.”

“I remember the harsh rain pounding on my window pane at the time. It was hard to forget. It sounded like hail on a tin roof. The noise almost drowned out the sound of sirens going off alerting me of the oncoming storm.”

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“I’m drowning…? How did things come to this?” A young blonde man with green eyes, green boots, and a yellow raincoat was being dragged under the freezing cold foul-smelling water by elusive and slimy vines pulling him to the depths below. They had wrapped around his legs and were slithering up his body, giving him no slack in the process. Despite his desperate attempts to break free, it was no use. He simply didn’t have the strength or the tools to break free. His struggle made it harder to hold his breath and only aided in tiring him out. “I hear them.” Reverberating beneath him were the gurgled cries of others drowning, screaming their last bit of air out in the hope that someone would help or save them. He managed to open his eyes in the deep dark murky waters and looked over at the female companion he was traveling with. She was in a similar situation as he was. The light from the surface illuminated her battered body. She was unconscious, sinking slowly to the bottom of the water. He could see vines slowly begin to coil around her limbs. But what was the point? He knew it was too late. They were infected and now there was no saving either of them. All he could do was close his eyes as the intense need for air built up the carbon monoxide in his lungs, causing him to nearly black out…

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*Gasp!*

Marsh Mackintosh’s lungs burned as he gasped for air. He resurfaced out of the pool he was swimming in letting out a sigh. The cool air reached his wet skin and caused the hairs on his arms to tingle and the scent of chlorine filled his nostrils. This was a normal everyday routine for him. Running was agony for him. He hated it with a fiery passion, but swimming felt like second nature. Each day Marsh would swim forty laps in a lap pool. Today was no different. With heavy breathing, Marsh hoisted himself out of the pool with both arms and stood up on two feet. He was by no means an Olympic swimmer by any measure. He only swam for exercise and cardio. Marsh had weather-induced asthma. A form of asthma that only occurs when exercising in the cold. Even after a light jog, even slightly lowered temperatures would cause him to wheeze and struggle to breathe. The sound of crackling thunder echoed ominously throughout the gym he was currently at.

“Looks like it's going to rain…” Marsh muttered to himself, moving and adjusting his goggles toward his forehead. Looking out the window, the skies had darkened due to an overcast. He figured that was enough for today. He was constantly being told by his parents not to swim during a thunderstorm due to the risk of getting electrocuted. Luckily for him, he lived in a townhouse community. The facility he was using was a local one that was available to all the residents of the area. Marsh’s unit was a short walk away. With quite haste, he could beat the weather in no time. It was roughly 8:00 PM and the pool had become quieter the closer the storm came. Most people had left by now with a few exceptions.

Marsh took one quick glance at the others in the pool area and noticed a few people remaining oblivious to the storm's approach. There was a young mother and her daughter. The former was somewhere in her early thirties while the latter was around the age of five or so. Marsh didn’t really know them too well, although he would see them often, due to seeing them at the pool. Otherwise, he preferred to mind his own business and keep to himself. Besides the mother and child, there was a janitor as well. His name is Ryan. A dark-skinned elderly-looking fellow, with black hair, and a chipped front tooth. He was roughly about forty-five years of age. He wore custodial blue workers attire, and was in general, a hard-working and earnest man. Ryan had always been obsessed with the political spaces of the world. More often than not, he would come up with conspiracies about everything. Sometimes the claims were completely and utterly ridiculous, ludicrous even, but Marsh didn’t mind entertaining him during their conversations. It was refreshing to speak to someone while living in solace. Surprisingly, fifty percent of the time, Ryan was right, but he would tell you he was right one hundred percent of the time. His reasoning you might ask? The other explanations were simply a cover-up so his conspiracies remained hidden from the public eye.

“You know…” Marsh gestured toward Ryan who was sweeping the pool floor, “A tin hat would really compliment that look.” He jested.

“Ah, just you wait, sonny. The truth always comes out eventually.”

“What’s the scoop this week?” Marsh asked.

“I hear supposedly there is a virus that’s been spreading in Uganda. It’s turning people into feral crazy folk. Makes them mad, you feel me?” Ryan explained.

“Crazy? How so?” Marsh began drying himself off with a towel he had placed nearby on a chair. He was intrigued by such a claim.

“They start spouting nonsense about water. There was apparently a case of someone forcing another person to drink still water, claiming they would become infected too.” Ryan explained.

“There’s no way that’s real, right?” Marsh doubted, a chill went down his spine at the thought.

“You may not believe me, but as of right now, I’d start stocking up on toilet paper,” Ryan explained. Marsh thought about it, while he put on his shirt and grabbed his belongings from a bag on the ground.

“There have been diseases in the past like Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease more often described as (human) mad cow disease that caused people to lose their minds, but that didn’t make them feral. Then again, that was a disease that was caused due to proteins destroying the body and mind, not a virus. Then there was rabies, which caused people to be feral, but gave them hydrophobia of sorts.” Marsh had many interesting little facts about knowledge most people would find useless, but he enjoyed learning about obscure things. He figured that something that dangerous would stay local in Uganda, with some rare cases or exceptions in the US.

“Well. At least they aren’t zombies, biting people.” Marsh said to reassure himself, only to second guess his own statement. “They aren’t biting people, right?”

“No. They aren’t biting people. But mark my words! They will, and when they do. You better be ready to run.” Ryan warned ominously. He was somewhat serious, but also said it as a jab toward Marsh’s inability to sprint for long durations.

“Guess I’m screwed then. Hahaha!” Marsh got a laugh out of it.

“Excuse me! But you’re scaring my daughter!” The young mother commented. The two had stepped out of the pool and the woman was covering the ears of her child. The lady appeared to be irritated by the mention of the virus. She would often sit on one of the chairs and watch her child swim in the shallow end of the pool, although Marsh had a sneaking suspicion that she had her eyes on him as well.

“Oh. I’m sorry ma’am. My apologies-” Ryan was rudely interrupted before he could finish.

“Did you just call me ma’am?” The woman scornfully glared.

“Uh… I, umm…” Ryan was dumbfounded.

“Uh-oh. That blew a fuse.” Marsh immediately stepped in and intervened for his friend. “You see, my friend here is from the south. They call everyone ma’am, regardless of age.” Almost like magic, her mood changed to a pleasant one when her attention turned toward Marsh.

“Oh, honey I don’t need you to mansplain to me. I know sweetheart. But I also know that this janitor has been ogling me with his eyes for the past hour.” The woman's wrath turned back toward Ryan. She was wearing a bikini indoors, it was hard to miss due to its bright red color.

“I hate this lady.” Marsh’s opinion of this single mother was finalized after speaking to her.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t-.” Ryan tried to apologize for scaring her daughter but was misunderstood.

“So you admit it! You sleaze bag.” The woman claimed.

“Hey!” Marsh raised his voice. He had just about enough of it, he couldn’t sit back and watch his friend get belittled. “First of all, you’re not that hot. Second, we were minding our own business until you butted in. So, how about you wear something a bit less revealing and screw off?”

“See, men are evil, Melanie.” The woman said to her daughter, uncovering her ears. She picked her child up and grabbed her stuff with her other hand. “Here I thought you were a good man.” She said as her face began to turn a bright red.

“Don’t care. Didn’t ask.” Marsh commented. The woman's jaw dropped from the audacity of Marsh.

“Augh!” She stomped her feet and then she headed out the door, slamming it on her way out. The door slamming echoed loudly, causing the silence afterward to become even louder.

“Thanks, kid.” Ryan thanked him.

“I didn’t want you to lose your job, man,” Marsh explained with a smile. “Who else would I talk to after a good swim?”

“Good point. Well, go on, now. It's gonna rain any minute. You just dried off, so you better get going if you want to beat the storm.” Ryan advised as he returned to floor-sweeping.

“Right,” Marsh said with a smile. “I’ll see you tomorrow!” Marsh quickly made his way to the exit.

“Don’t forget the toilet paper!” Ryan shouted as a friendly reminder. Marsh gave a thumbs up behind him accompanied by a chuckle. Soon Marsh threw his towel over his head and was on his way home. He looked up at the dark skies and he could feel it. Perhaps it was due to the scent in the air, or the very obvious giant cumulonimbus above him, but he could tell it was about to rain. He could see his small green townhouse nearby. Thanks to his efforts, he made it home on time. Without any further notice, Marsh unlocked his front door and walked inside After placing his bag down on the floor he let out a sigh of annoyance caused by the events with the single mother.

“I’m sure this is going to cause me a headache in the future.” Marsh groaned to himself. Suddenly, heavy rain began to pour down from the heavens above directly behind him. Marsh looked back seeing that the door was still open. The sound of rain hitting the concrete in a drum-like rhythmic pattern pulled his attention combined with the earthy smell of the fresh mud. “Looks like I just barely made it in time,” Marsh said in relief. “Well… I’ll wait to shower until after the storm settles down a bit.” Marsh’s home was made up of two floors. Upon entering one would see the kitchen and dining room on their center right, and just beyond that was the living room with a sliding glass door that led outside and a restroom. On the left was a set of stairs that led to his master bedroom, bathroom which had the laundry unit inside, and guest bedroom which was directly at the top of the staircase. His home wasn’t large by any stretch, it was roughly only 900 sqft, but it also had a balcony and an open rooftop one could sunbathe on. Marsh made his way upstairs and after picking out a set of clothes to change into, he settled on grabbing a black shirt and gray sweatpants. By the time he had changed clothes and sat down in his living room for some late-night television, he heard a loud knock on the door.

“Hello!” The sound of a woman's voice was muffled behind the wooden exterior.

“Huh?” Marsh was surprised someone was knocking this late in the evening yet alone during a storm. Slightly irritated that he had to stand upright after taking a seat, Marsh approached his front door. “Who is it?” He answered.

“It’s me. Ruth.” The woman replied.

“Ruth? I don’t know any Ruth.” Marsh didn’t have many close relatives or friends, so someone coming over surely was a surprise to him. He cracked open the door and peeked through it with his head, to his dismay it was the woman from the pool, he noticed she was still in her provocative swimwear. She was completely drenched from the storm as well.

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“Go away,” Marsh told her off attempting to close the door in her face but before he could she shouted loudly.

“Wait! Please, let us come in. We’re freezing out here!” Ruth begged.

“Us?” Marsh mumbled. His eyes looked down. In one of her hands, Ruth was holding a bag full of their stuff, but it was completely soaked by the rain, the other hand was being held by the little girl who was next to Ruth, somewhat hiding behind her. It was her daughter and she was shivering cold with a purple towel over her head. Marsh felt bad for the poor girl. “If I recall, her name was Melanie.”

“We are locked out of our home. I guess I forgot my keys before heading outside. I tried calling the police to help but I think the storm is blocking calls from going through. I couldn’t get a hold of them.” Ruth pleaded.

“Don’t you have a spare key or something?” This was the last person Marsh wanted to let into his home.

“No… I’m sorry.” Ruth replied.

“What about family or relatives? Can’t they help?” Marsh was trying his best to weasel his way out of this one.

“I can’t contact them either… The phones are down, remember?” Ruth looked saddened.

“Ugh… why me?” Marsh grunted in irritation, but he couldn’t sleep well at night knowing there was a little girl waiting outside in the cold harsh rain. He could tell Ruth’s sass levels had dialed down after getting humiliated by him and then left outside in the cold. With no other option, he reluctantly opened the door.

“Fine… come in. Let me grab a pair of clothes for you to put on though.” Marsh gestured for the two to walk inside and Melanie’s eyes lit up with hope. “I didn’t know how much I didn’t like my privacy invaded until someone invaded it…”

“Okay, and thank you. I promise to leave once the phone lines are back up.” Ruth said while entering hand in hand with Melanie. Marsh had them both stay at the entryway until he got them both towels and a change of clothes.

“You can wear these for now.” He handed Ruth a fresh pair of joggers and a blue T-shirt that had a penguin on it. For Melanie, he selected an old keepsake outfit he had from his childhood. An old superhero shirt and pants from his favorite show he watched as a kid. The Tree Hero Groverman! TM. He fights for justice with a wooden sword that allows him to control nature and a red cape that enables him to fly. Tagline: The hero who fights crime with every vine. Upon handing her the clothes, Marsh seemed a bit embarrassed. “I don’t really have anything that would fit her well except some old clothes I kept from my childhood.” Marsh reached over for her bag full of clothes and asked for them. “Here, hand me your clothes. I’ll throw them in the dryer.”

Ruth looked at Marsh with worries in her eyes. “Fine, but don’t do anything weird.” She said as she hesitantly handed her bag over.

“Geez. Just what kind of guy do you take me for anyway? You can go change in the restroom right down the hall.” Marsh snatched the bag from her and pointed her toward the restroom, then he walked up the stairs into the bathroom toward his dryer in a sour mood. “Talk about being ungrateful. You come into my house and wear my clothes and then insinuate I’m being creepy? How did you even know I lived here anyway? There is no winning with her, is there?” Marsh took everything in the bag and piece by piece he placed them into the dryer and noticed something shiny had fallen out, landing on the top of the pile.

“An engagement ring?” Marsh thought to himself as he reached down and picked it up. “It must be important… I’d better give it back to her.” Marsh turned on the dryer and made his way back down the stairs into the living room. Both Ruth and Melanie had changed and were sitting on the three-seater couch. Ruth noticed Marsh and looked like she was anticipating something.

“I see you made yourself comfortable,” Marsh commented with a furrowed brow.

“Sorry. Thanks again.” Ruth nodded. “Is there any way I could get a glass of water?” She asked.

“I only have tap water,” Marsh answered.

“That’s fine,” Ruth replied.

“What’s with this chick? She was so rude and obnoxious not even an hour ago and now she's timid and polite.” Marsh grabbed a glass in the cabinet and poured her a glass of water. “Do you want anything, Melanie?” Marsh asked.

“No thanks, mister!” She said with a smile. “Mama said that you are super nice and that if I asked, You’d turn on the TV for me.”

“Super nice, huh? Sure that’s fine.” Marsh rolled his eyes. “Way to take advantage of my kindness. Not like I could say no to a little kid anyway…” He then walked over and handed Ruth a glass of water, sitting down next to her on his three-seater couch. He grabbed the remote and turned on a children's television program for Melanie.

“Oh! I love this show.” Melanie leaned her head on Ruth’s arm. She appeared pretty tired while letting out a yawn.

“Any luck with the phone?” Marsh asked.

“No… It didn’t go through at all.” Ruth said with disappointment.

“I see…” Marsh checked his cell phone and noticed it had no signal as well. He looked out the window and to no surprise at all, the rain was still coming down hard as ever. “The cell towers must all be down. At least the TV is still working.” Marsh suddenly felt uncomfortable. There was a good-looking girl who was over seven years older than him, sitting right next to him wearing his clothes. She had bright blue eyes and brown hair. She was in relatively great shape as well. She had a mole right under her left eye and dimples in her smile. It was a very strange situation to be in like an event out of a video game. Looking closely, she wasn’t anything special, but that didn’t make him any less awkward or nervous.

“Are you done staring?” Ruth asked, blushing a bit.

“Sorry. I was lost in thought. I was trying to think of a way to tell you I found this.” Marsh held out the ring he had found in her bag and handed it to her. “It’s yours right?”

“Oh! Thanks. I was so caught up in the storm I almost forgot.” Ruth said with joy.

“Shh!” Marsh shushed her as he gestured toward Melanie. She had fallen asleep. Ruth noticed and gently sat her so she could lie on her lap.

“Looks like she was tired…” Ruth whispered.

“It seems the storm isn’t going to let up anytime soon. You two can stay here for the night if you’d like. I have some spare blankets upstairs and a guest bedroom you can use.” Marsh offered.

“Are you sure that’s alright? I don’t want to cause you any more trouble.” Ruth said with a worrisome look.

“Yeah, it’s fine.” Marsh insisted.

“Okay… but I’ll sleep down here on the couch. If she wakes up it will be hard to put her back to bed.” Ruth explained.

“Whatever floats your boat.” Marsh agreed as thunder roared loudly behind him. “I’ll go grab your blankets real quick.” He tried to stand up, but Ruth grabbed his arm.

“Wait… Don’t go yet.” Ruth said with a worried look. She was trembling a small amount.

“What’s wrong?” Marsh asked.

“I… just don’t want to be alone just yet,” Ruth said while scooting closer to Marsh.

“Look. I don’t know what you thought was going to happen… but you treated my friend Ryan very poorly. You’re lucky that your daughter was here otherwise I would have shut the door in your face.” Marsh said with irritation.

“I get it, okay! Sheesh. I just wanted you to pay attention to me. Why do you think I come to the pool all the time? It’s to see you, not some hillbilly.” Ruth confessed.

“Yeah, that hillbilly has a name. It’s Ryan, and he's a good guy.” Marsh explained.

“You’re right. I was out of line. I’m sorry, and I’ll apologize to Ryan next time I see him.” Ruth said.

“Cool.” Marsh was completely uninterested.

“Just give me a chance, please!” Ruth asked with desperation.

“What about her father?” Marsh asked.

“...” Ruth fell silent.

“Bad subject to bring up?” Marsh questioned.

“We were engaged, but he left when I got pregnant. He chickened out of being a father and left me alone.” Ruth just spat it out. Opting to be honest.

“Great. Now I look like the bad guy here.” Marsh felt somewhat guilty. “Look. I’ll forgive you, but I’m not going to do anything with you so stop.”

“Okay… You’re right. I am already taking advantage of your kindness.” Ruth said sorrowfully before letting out a rough cough.

*Cough, cough!*

“You’re probably catching a cold… I’m going to go and get your blankets now.” Marsh said. “Ugh. A pity party. I know I should feel bad, but I just can’t convince myself she is being genuine.” Marsh got up silently and walked up the stairs.

After grabbing the blankets out of a woven basket in his spare bedroom, he brought them downstairs and handed them to her. Ruth’s mood seemed strange as if she was spacing out.

“...” She stared blankly at the TV and had nothing to say.

“Well… get some rest, so you don’t get sick. I’m going to head to bed myself.” Marsh said awkwardly.

“...” Ruth didn’t reply.

With no reply, Marsh thought she was upset and then regretfully made his way upstairs to get some rest, locking the door behind him just in case Ruth invaded the room late into the night uninvited. Marsh was notoriously cautious when it came to things like this. Then he laid down, shut off his lamp next to his bed, and fell asleep very easily thanks to the sound of the storm.

(a few hours later…)

*CRASH OF THUNDER.*

“!”

Marsh’s eyes jolted open. His heart skipped a beat racing from being surprised. The rolling thunder shook his entire household. He sat up in a nervous sweat. Immediately his attention was pulled to his nearest window. “It’s hailing? How long was I out?” He thought, but upon closer inspection, the rain was being carried by an intense wind and was coming down so hard that it painted his window an almost white color. “Sheesh! I’ve never seen it rain this hard before.” Marsh stared at the window concerned for his property.

*BEEEEEEOooooooEEEEEoooo*

“?”

Marsh focused for a second, listening intently. His ears picked up on the sound of the weather siren going off, but it was almost nullified by the storm and rain. “I really hope those two didn’t go out in weather like this.” Marsh got up and went to reach toward his lamp. When he pulled on the cord, no light came on.

“Shoot… powers off,” Marsh whispered. He reached over, his arm flailing around his vicinity until he patted his phone. He picked it up and then turned out the flashlight feature on it. When he turned and placed both of his feet on the ground his feet made contact with a wet carpet. It seeped between his toes and felt like icicles on the soles of his feet.

“What the?” It felt particularly uncomfortable and gross, each step caused the carpet to rise and sink like a sponge. The feeling caused him to look for the source of the leak. Upon scanning around, his eyes finally spotted that the source of this water was flowing inside from outside the room.

“...” Hesitantly he walked toward the door and opened it. The creaking noise was nearly silenced from all the surrounding ambiance. He heard the sound of water running in the bathroom across his master bedroom and when shone his light on it, he noticed that the sink faucet had been left and was overflowing from the counter.

“What the hell?” That was the only correct response that could come out of Marsh’s mouth. The water had leaked into his room and down the stairs. While passing through the door to his room, Marsh noticed scratch marks on his door. It looked like nails had been clawing away at it. This was the final straw that sent a chill down Marsh’s spine. He knew something was off. However, the thought of Melanie and Ruth being hurt in some capacity steeled his resolve. He quickly rushed toward his drawer and pulled out a handgun. A Taurus, Millennium G3 9mm Pistol. A reliable weapon at an affordable price. (He named her Rebecca.) Cautiously, he walked down the steps, careful not to slip from the liquid. When he turned the corner, he readied his gun with the light of his phone aiming at whatever could be in the house first clearing the kitchen and dining room. His eyes were brought to the floor as something rolled out of the darkness. It was the glass of water that he had gotten for Ruth. It was still intact and was empty. His floor had flooded slightly as well, filling up a few inches. As his head turned toward where the cup came from Marsh’s grip tightened on his firearm. He felt a hauntingly chilling breeze that sent a shiver down his spine.

*Flash of Lightning*

A bright flash from the storm illuminated the living room for a split second. This was all that was needed for Marsh to get an image permanently burned into his psyche. The sliding glass door in the living room had been cracked open letting a body of rain water into the house. The wind picked up the loose shutters, thrashing them onto the glass. The worst part was what the scene laid out on the couch.

“Ruth…?” Marsh called out, his heart racing as he illuminated her with his flashlight. Hoping that all of this was some sort of bad dream. Ruth was crouched down straddling her daughter on the couch, her back turned from Marsh. With the back of her palm, she was caressing Melanie. Marsh couldn’t tell if the girl was unconscious or asleep, but one thing was very clear. She wasn't moving.

“Good, good, good, good, good…” Ruth chanted endlessly, her eyes locked onto her daughter.

“Ruth… get off of her,” Marsh warned, pointing his gun at the unhinged woman. His breathing intensified, becoming rapid and loud. He could see his own breath due to the low temperatures.

“Help… me…” Ruth sounded parched, her voice was dried out. As she turned her head toward Marsh, he finally got a good depiction of what he was dealing with. He noticed very strange things with Ruth’s appearance that set off instinctual red flags and alarms that gave him a sense of overwhelming danger. Her eyes were bloodshot red and her pupils were nonexistent. She was completely drenched as if she went out in the storm to bathe in the rainwater, but it was the bark-like texture to her skin that made Marsh sick to his stomach. As if her skin absorbed too much water and became wrinkly with groves throughout, but then hardened afterwards. It seemed like her veins were no longer veins at all, but instead vines that interconnected throughout her body. Marsh’s hands began to tremble. The weight of his weapon increased drastically due to the fear of confronting whatever Ruth had become. This wasn’t a nightmare. It was very real.

Chapter 1: Rain & Blood

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