Daimones - Book 1 of the Daimones Trilogy. Booktrope Publishing Edition

Ghost Town

...To the Teeth

From the border with Switzerland, the road turned into a long straight line until it reached the Cornavin rail station in downtown Geneva. The new tramway lines had been inaugurated only the previous summer, and streetcars now connected passengers from the CERN laboratory to the city; traffic had improved considerably. The Swiss road authority had also built a tunnel going under the satellite city of Meyrin. This alone cut the trip time to the center by not less than fifteen minutes, and everything had been completed on time and on budget. Didn't matter now.

I did not want to risk going through the tunnel that might have been blocked by car wreckage. Instead, I chose to drive in the middle section devoted to streetcars to cross Meyrin without troubles.

To reach the border I avoided the expressway and opted to drive through the village. It had been two weeks since that gruesome February morning and degradation had become visible. Nothing spectacular, just weeds surfacing wherever they could. Quickly, efficiently, and spreading undisturbed.

Vegetation was not trimmed, of course, and leaves and debris accumulated in various spots along with loose pieces of paper and garbage. I suspected animals were responsible for that, probably escaped domestic ones that had searched through trash bins, contributing to the general feeling of a place that had been forsaken.

I kept radio contact with Mary but I almost lost the signal when I approached the border. A car had smashed right against the custom booth. The impact brought it down and part of the large canopy had collapsed, but it left a narrow passage free. I slowed down and went through. Right after, I realized I could have simply crossed the border in the other lane, unobstructed. What was I afraid of, a fine?

"Mary, I can't hear you anymore. I'll call you in a sec."

I stopped the car in the middle of the road and in front of the main entrance to the CERN laboratory. I felt a sense of utter desolation. Sickening, but I was getting used to it. "Mary, I'll stay in touch about every twenty minutes or so. I'll keep you posted." In any case, she should not be worried as I didn't expect to find company in Geneva and I would be on my toes, regardless.

A streetcar was at rest at the CERN stop, the first one of the line, or the last if you were coming from the city center. I drove by slowly. No corpses that I could see. I accelerated and proceeded toward downtown and my ultimate destination.

I wanted to go to the gun store first thing. Joe's pistol would have been enough for self-protection in normal cirmunstances, but we were not living in normal circumstances. Both Mary and Annah needed to have their own gun.

Everything was still confused in my mind. I admit I was being guided by catastrophic movies and the behavior of survivors in Hollywood blockbusters. Yet, I was now the one living in my own blockbuster, and a very real one, too.

I reached Meyrin. A few cars had crashed against walls or other obstacles, and I saw a few rotten fellows at the tram stop. People used to drive slowly on those inner roads so there were no spectacular accidents. Whatever happened to us in this part of the world had happened early, in the wee hours of the morning. I couldn't imagine how it must be in other cities if everyone had been caught on a busy weekday.

After Meyrin, the road overpassed the highway to Lausanne. I stopped on impulse and got out. I never heard birds or crows before during the day in town because the everlasting hum of traffic drowned out their calls. Now there was none of that; no artificial noises, no human buzz. I reached the railing and a disturbing scene greeted me. It was similar to what I had seen on the expressway but this time crows and other scavengers were feasting.