William Rose - Apocalyptic Organ Grinder

The girl tossed the lantern she held and the glass shattered against the nearest building as a wall of blue fire spread with a whoosh. The flames engulfed the flimsy curtains dangling in the window and crept across the ground, pooling around the remaining barrels of oil. She then scampered over the ridge behind the kitchen, whooping with a loud trilling noise as she disappeared over the rim and returned to her waiting people.

The entire time, all Tanner could do was watch. As if paralyzed by shock, he was peripherally aware of the fire, of how quickly the dry wood crackled and burned and how the tongues of flame leapt from the first building to the next. His muscles felt tense and tired, as if he were wound up and worn out at the same time, and the beating of his heart was as shallow as the breaths of air he managed to gulp.

They’d eaten it. All of them. They’d shoveled spoon after spoon of slow acting poison into their bodies, had gulped down infection and went back for more. Even now, the Gabriel Virus was spreading within him, replicating and mutating cells as it turned his own body into an enemy.

He could never hold Shayla in his arms again, never kiss her wetly on the cheek or tickle until her giggles gave way to gales of laughter. With the virus raging within him, he’d infect anyone he came into contact with. There would be no more games where they laid in a field and connected the stars, no more walks through the forest or even something as simple as holding her little hand in his own.

A single tear leaked from the corner of Tanner’s eye as he walked to the table by the cooking pot. Picking up the revolver, he flicked open the chamber for visual inspection.

The citizens of Knoll had responded to the column of smoke rising from their own community and he watched the six of them, even the toddler (who apparently thought it was playtime) running for water with which to douse the flames.

They’re infected too….

Six shots later, they were not.

Tanner stepped over the bodies of the dead, tossing the emptied firearm to the side and walked toward his quarters. The ground rumbled with explosions as flaming shrapnel from the oil barrels burst into the sky. The area he’d just left was now a wall of flame and the burning buildings crackled and popped amid the roar of the fire.

Slipping the strap of the barrel organ over his shoulder, Tanner Kline closed his eyes and turned the crank as the searing heat warmed his face. The conflagration crept slowly toward him, devouring everything in its path with an insatiable hunger. With dark smoke billowing into the air and the music of the barrel organ providing an off-key soundtrack, Tanner Kline made his final decision.

He would give his life so that others might live….

Music is a vital part of my creative process. It inspires me and plays in the background as I write, lending its rhythms and tones to the story I’m trying to tell. Apocalyptic Organ Grinder was no different and I would like to acknowledge some of the songs and artists which helped keep me motivated as the story unfurled before me.

“Paint It Black” - Firewater

“I Want To Be A Machine” - Pornophonique

“Ratamahatta” - Sepulutra

“Eraser” - Nine Inch Nails

“Cantara” - Dead Can Dance

“Future Fail” - Front Line Assembly

“Headhunter” - Front 242

“Ja’her” - Skinny Puppy

“Sanvean” - Dead Can Dance

Named by The Google+ Insider’s Guide as one of their top 32 authors to follow, William Todd Rose writes dark, speculative fiction which often lends itself to the bizarre and macabre. With short stories appearing in various magazines and anthologies, his body of work also includes the novels Cry Havoc, Shut The Fuck Up and Die!, The Dead and Dying, and The Seven Habits of Highly Infective People , as well as the short story collection Sex in the Time of Zombies . For more information on the author, including links to free fiction, please visit him online at www.williamtoddrose.com.