Chapter 3:

"Oh no!" he noticed Randy in camp smirking and prancing around like an idiot. He wanted to punch him when he approached. He hated the way he treated his mother and took control of leadership in camp. Randy had a makeshift room in the command tent right next to his mother. It bothered him every time he went into her room to see her. He'd lost count as to how many times he'd kicked Randy out.

"What did you get from the hunt?" He asked as his satisfied smirk became wider.

"Squirrels, rabbits and a deer." Something was off. Why was Randy so God Damn happy? He'd obviously accomplished something while he and Denny Hughes had been out hunting. "What did you do?"

"Your mom." He pranced around camp with a huge grin on his face. "Oh yeah! I scored!"

"Wait? What?" His face turned bright red with rage. There was no way. It wasn't true. He refused to believe him. "You're a fucking liar Marsh! She hates your guts! S-she wouldn't."

"Yuh ha! I totally did. Just now." Randy's victory dancing patronised him he wished he had his taser. "I got laid! Yeah!"

"What are you gloating about now?" Denny Hughes asked with irritation.

"Dad?" Stan and Shelly Marsh stood behind him. "What's going on?"

"I scored!" Randy continued prancing around camp. Despite the apocalypse he could still dance.

"Scored what?" His son asked with confusion.

"Mary. I scored with Mary" Randy announced to the survivors in earshot joyfully.

Jimbo slapped his younger half brother across the back of the head. "No you fucking didn't. You couldn't score with Mary with your life depended on it."

"Ask her if you don't believe me." Randy grinned. "We totally had sex just now."

"Jesus Christ!" Randy's children were horrified and he couldn't blame them.

He shuddered at the thought. It couldn't possibly be true, but Randy was obviously satisfied. He hoped to God it wasn't true. He sought out his mother. He had to confront her.

XXXX

"Oh Geez!" His body ached and his muscles were weak. He ripped his IV lines out and rolled out of bed. He lay on the ground for several minutes before he could conjure the will to sit up. "Nurse?!"

He was still thirsty and went straight to the bathroom. He drank straight from the tap to quench his thirst. He wished his snacks hadn't gone stale and mouldy because he was also hungry. His stomach growled loudly.

Where was Mary? Her blazer jacket was draped over the chair beside his bed. It still smelled like her perfume. Her purse was still on the ground lying on its side with the contents strewn across the floor. Maybe she's getting coffee?

Her cell phone battery was dead when he checked it. In her wallet he found a photo of him and her with their children. It was taken shortly after they adopted Katherine. He wondered where they were. "Mary?"

He found one of his jackets, put it on over his hospital gown and pocketed the photo he found. The door to his room was locked from the outside. He braced himself and thanked God the door had a class window. He shattered the glass with his fist and let himself out.

"M-Mary?! Katherine?! Peter?! Alex?!" He panicked when he saw the state of the hospital. Something happened here. Something bad. It explained why Mary wasn't with him. It explained why his family was gone. He clutched his wife's blazer jacket and purse and frantically sought out an escape route. He didn't like it. Something was horribly wrong. The hospital had been shot up, bullet holes covered the walls. He watched each step he took as shattered glass littered the floor and he had no shoes.

"What happened?" He asked no one in particular nervously. He didn't know which way to go until he found an exit sign.

Florescent lights hung dangerously from the ceiling as electrical wiring sparked. He was careful to avoid any exposed wiring. Large amounts of blood smeared the walls and blood pooled at the doors to some of the rooms he walked past. When he finally noticed the decapitated bodies and the double doors bolted shut warning anyone they were dead inside he knew what had happened.

"Gee whiz! Not this again!" He sighed with exasperation because he hoped he'd never see another vampire, zombie or anything else undead ever again. He thought that Mary may be helping to contain the infection. She was the mayor of South Park and she usually led the emergency operations whenever there was a disaster like this in town.

He had to get out. He didn't want to stay in the hospital anymore. He found the reception area and frantically searched the draws for a flashlight. Nothing. All he found were matches. They'd have to do as he needed them to get through the emergency exit. He checked Mary's purse. She usually kept a gun on her when he gave her extra security. Nothing. Not even pepper spray. He wished he had his gun. He leaned against the wall for a brief moment as he was still weak. He didn't know how long he'd been out for or how long his family were gone for. He missed Mary. He wished she were with him.

XXXX

"Mom? She recoiled under blankets too ashamed to face him. She knew what this was going to be about. Alex had returned from his hunt and he was pissed. She felt like an idiot for thinking Randy would keep his mouth shut about it. He'd finally succeeded in having sex with her, so of course he'd gloat about it to anyone who'd listen.

She didn't know how she was going to explain it to him or anyone else. Guilt overwhelmed her. She felt dirty and used and it wasn't just because she still hadn't cleaned herself up. She cringed. What would Barbrady think if he were still with her?

"Mom?!" He demanded answers. "The fuck is this I'm hearing about you and Randy Marsh?!"

"I-I…" She trailed off. She couldn't speak. She didn't want to admit what she'd just done to herself much less anyone else. Certainly not him.

"You didn't actually have sex with him like he said did you?!" He was both horrified and disappointed. She couldn't stand it.

"What have I done?!" She wailed. Her sobs muffled as she buried her face in her pillows.

His face went green and he vomited with disgust which only made her feel worse. He sat beside her and rolled her over to face him. She knew by looking at him that he didn't want it to be true. "You didn't! Tell me you didn't!"

She couldn't tell him what he wanted to hear. She couldn't even lie to herself. As much as she hated to admit it. It was true. She just had sex with Randy Marsh despite the fact she swore she never would even if re-populating the human race depended on it. She started sobbing again. Her body shaking. "I-I'm sorry."

"What happened to you? You used to be feisty. You never used to take his crap. Mom?!" He tried shaking sense into her.

"I just want my husband back!" She wailed in distress. She couldn't take it. Even though she had responsibilities to her children she couldn't stand to be without him. She wanted Barbrady. There was no one else. Now she had nothing. Two husbands gone. It wasn't fair.

"I'm going to get that son of a bitch!" She looked up and noticed his face had turned bright red with rage.

"What?" She took the blanket back from him and wrapped it around her.

"Son of a bitch!" Alex clamoured enraged. "He used your grief against you!"

She was disgusted with herself. Alex was right. Randy only succeeded in getting what he wanted from her because he got to her when she was weak and vulnerable. She didn't have the emotional strength to make him stop.

"Please?" She was too embarrassed, but she needed help. "Please keep him away from me." She was too broken to stand up for herself. Randy had a makeshift room next to hers. She shuddered at the thought of sharing her bed with him again. "I can't do this again."

Alex left her with her second late husband's old dog Barney while he went to deal with Randy Marsh. She knew there'd be a fight between them. She didn't care. Randy deserved more than a punch to the face.

XXXX

He fumbled with the matches trying to escape the hospital. The stairwell was so dark he couldn't even see his hand in front of his face.

"Oh camel poo!" He either dropped his matches or they burned his fingers when they ran out. He hoped there wasn't much further to go because he didn't want to run into anything in the dark. He had to get out. He had to go to city hall, the manor he shared with his wife and kids. He had to find his family. He had to know if they were alive.

It was doubtful given everything he'd already seen. But, he hoped he'd find her at city hall running the town as she always did. He just wanted to find her.